In the back of her head, Rachel heard the click of a door and sighed. Whatever it was didn’t really matter as long as Marius was there. She jumped when the door to her room burst open, and hybrids poured in.
“What the fuck!” she screamed.
Apollo stood in the door, rage etched on his face. “We’ve got you now, Rachel.”
Chapter Fifteen
“I keep telling you, I didn’t send that to tip them off,” Rachel said. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I sent the damn email as a threat.”
“I’m sure you did,” Apollo said and crossed his arms across his chest. “And that’s exactly why the van carrying the syringe got attacked last night, right?”
This wasn’t looking good for her. She had nothing to do with any of this, but it didn’t seem to matter to Apollo. She wondered what had happened to him. When she first met him, he'd been so easy-going, yet now he seemed hard and cold.
“I’ve had enough,” she said. “I want to talk to Marius.” For the past hour she’d been waiting for him to come, only for nothing to happen. How could he have just been gone like that after the night they’d shared? She refused to believe that he would think she was a traitor.
Apollo turned from her. “He doesn’t want to see you.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
He slammed a hand on the table. “I mean he’s sick of covering for you. You’re bringing him down, and he can’t keep you around anymore.”
Her hands shook, so she held them together. “That’s what he said?” She swallowed and tried to fight back tears.
Apollo glared at her. “Just let it go,” he said. “You can’t hold on to someone who doesn’t want you.”
Something in her broke. All the tears that she’d been holding came racing out. After all they’d shared, it really hadn’t meant anything to him. Once again, she was left holding the pieces, trying to pick up in life. She was a fool to think it'd be different this time.
In the distance, she could hear Apollo talking, but it didn’t seem to matter. Whatever he felt about this whole matter, his feelings on her were clear. It was time for her to go. Everything didn’t much matter.
“Get her out of my sight,” he said to one of the men.
“Where should I put her?” the man asked.
He sighed. “I guess with Rem for now until I talk with Titus.”
“What about Marius?” the man asked. He flinched under the glare of Apollo.
“Just do it.”
* * *
Marius had decided on his course of action. He’d kill him when he found him. He was just going to kill that rotten bastard and get it over with. He stormed through the front office where Jenna sat at her desk. She started to get up and stopped at the look on his face. He didn’t blame her. He’d go the other way at a face like this.
The door to the office slammed open as he charged through. He really didn’t give a shit what was going on. This was top priority.
Apollo stood in front of the desk.
“You miserable son of a bitch,” Marius said and charged at the other hybrid. Before he’d held back, but this time, he was going to use everything he had.
His first blow struck across the other hybrid's face and sent Apollo sprawling to the floor. Marius stood over him. Anger seeped from every pore.
“You’re mad because Hannah didn’t choose you, so you’re out to make the rest of us just as miserable?” he spat out. “You son of a bitch.”
Apollo glared up at him. “This had nothing to do with Hannah.”
“Bullshit,” Marius said. “You’ve been this way since she chose Lucius, and you’re killing the only chance we have of getting her well.” He stepped forward as Apollo stood. “You know Rachel's the only reason she’s alive?”
“We all know about the kidnapping,” Apollo spit out.
Marius kicked the chair next to him. He was so sick of people always acting like she didn’t do anything around there.
“Not the kidnapping,” he said. “Hannah was crashing, and Rachel made another enhancement to help her get through.”
“Against my orders then,” Titus said from behind him.
“Fuck your orders,” Marius said and glared at his leader. “What you want is impossible. She’s here to heal. That’s what she did. You don't give a shit, though.”
Titus stared at him, his eyes narrowed in shock. It was likely the first time he’d heard true defiance from Marius.
“She’s not innocent,” Apollo said. “She’s contacted the reverend.”
Marius froze. “What?”
“We believe she’s working with them. The van carrying the syringe was attacked last night,” Titus said.
Marius shook his head. “She was with me last night.”
“We have the proof,” Titus said.
“And what’s that?” Marius said.
They handed him a piece of paper. Marius read it very carefully.
“We have the syringe.”
Marius frowned. He could hardly see how this was the smoking gun. “It sounds like a threat.”
“Exactly,” Apollo said and sneered at the printout. “That’s why we locked her up.”
“What?” he said. “A threat from her to them, not to us. Let her out now!”
Marius charged forward but was stopped by Titus this time.
“Either way, we need to know,” Titus said. “It’s not going to hurt to know where she stands.”
“Maybe not you, but you aren’t the one locked up,” Marius said. “Considering how much you like to imprison people, I think maybe you need a reminder of our time.”
Titus narrowed his eyes at him. “You threatening me?”
Marius shook his head and stepped back. He could take Apollo, but Titus, well, that would be a tougher fight. “Just making a suggestion. And offering a reminder.”
This wasn’t getting him anywhere. If he wanted to get her out, he was going to have to find another way to do it. He walked to the door and stopped.
“I’ve got the pictures when you’re ready to give me Rachel,” he said and stepped through the door.
“Marius,” Titus called. “Don’t do this. We all need those. I know what you’re feeling, but you need to keep a clear head.”
Marius kept walking and raised his middle finger to both the men. “Suck a dick, asshole. Give me back Rachel.”
* * *
Rachel lay on the cot, thinking for a long time as Rem paced the room. Her tears had long since dried up, and now all that was left was the ache. She knew Rem was just as mad, but there wasn’t much they could do at this moment.
“I don’t buy this,” Rem said. He spun around and stared at her. “None of this. Something just doesn’t sit right.”
Rachel shrugged and sat up. The clothes didn’t quite fit and slipped to the side a bit. She could still smell Marius on the shirt and thought they must have grabbed one of his in the hurry.
“I don’t give a damn what the orders are!”
They turned to stare at the door. She could hear Paige on the other side having it out with the guard. Luckily, the one from this morning had left, and Zeno was on. She only hoped that he would give in.
“I’m not a damn doctor. Now do you want your friends to die? If you do, well, that's your call.”
She couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation through the door, but from the look on Rem’s face, she could tell that it was going in her favor. Rem turned and gave her a big smile just before the door opened.
“I guess you need to make rounds,” Zeno said from the door. She could see Servius watching them closely from the other side and just hoped that he didn’t feel the need to report to Titus. “Let’s go.”
She followed Zeno through the door and into the hall. When the doors closed, she jumped a little.
“She’ll need to change,” Paige said. Her voice didn’t allow for any discussion. She meant business, and they were just going to have to line up.
Zeno
looked back to Servius, who shrugged. “She can’t really go around in that.”
Rachel looked down at her clothes and was glad Paige had thought this through.
“You can change in your office,” Zeno said.
She nodded and moved down the hall. When they passed the window to her lab, she came to a halt. Equipment and reagents lay scattered all around the room, along with piles of paper.
“Who was in my lab?” she asked.
He looked away and frowned.
“We didn’t have a choice,” he said. “Titus wanted to know if you had more of the enhancement.”
She felt her head start to spin. It had been the one thing she didn’t want anyone to get.
“How did he know about it?” she asked. Her breath came out short.
Zeno stared at her for a moment before answering. “Marius.”
It was just like they had all said. He was not on her side. She had no one.
After the harsh news, his tone softened. “You can use your office to change.”
They reached the door, and she came to an abrupt stop.
“I don’t have anything to change into.” Rachel stared at the knob.
“Here,” Paige said. “I picked up a few things.”
“How did I get by without you?”
Paige gave her a dazzling smile. “I don’t think you really were.”
Rachel snorted and went into her office. In the end, she did have a few people on her side. As quickly as she could, she stripped out of her clothes and put on the new ones. It was nice to have something a bit more comfortable that actually fit.
Something hard hit her leg, and she dug in the pocket. Her hand closed around a cell phone, and she pulled it out. A message lit the screen when she hit the button.
Already programed and ready to go.
This is bullshit, and I’m on your side.
She could have danced, she was so happy. There were so many things about the situation that weren’t going in her favor, but she just needed something to go right. Well, now she had it.
Rachel slipped the phone back into her pocket and went to the desk. As quietly as she could, Rachel pulled out the back of one drawer. Two vials sat cushioned in a box. If she used an enhancement vial now, it was a risk. First of all, she didn’t know if she truly could be considered a Vestal, despite the thoughts of the hybrids. They weren't exactly experts in biology.
Second, there was no telling how long the effects would last. Hannah seemed to experience the effects for days. Rachel could only hope for the same. She had a feeling she was going need all the help she could gather to get to where she wanted.
She carefully shut the drawer and uncorked the vial. In one gulp, she swallowed the whole thing. It wouldn’t be near as good orally as intravenously, but it would just have to work.
She tossed the bottle in the trash and made her way out.
“I’m ready to see my patients,” she said with a smile.
* * *
Marius spent most of the morning pacing his office like a caged animal. He’d tried getting into the clinic all morning with no success. Titus had been serious about keeping her in custody, and Marius was more than serious about making sure she was released. The longer she stayed in, the angrier he grew. Never in his life had he felt this kind of rage before. It boiled out of his chest and made his head pound, which only seemed to fuel his need to help her.
If he couldn’t save her by breaking down the doors, then he was going to do it the one way he could, with a computer. For hours he’d searched through feeds to find out just what had happened to the van with the syringe on the way to the lab. If this was the damning evidence, then he wanted to make sure that they saw every aspect.
The only problem? The heavy fog. Whoever had done this wasn’t some idiot from the woods. They knew exactly what they were doing.
He froze the screen when a figure came into view. The more he focused, the less sense it made.
“What the hell?” Marius said and stared hard at the screen. A huge man, large as a hybrid, with brown skin stared back at him. His movements even reminded Marius of a hybrid.
He shook his head. None of this added up. Marius printed the screen, and the pictures from the flight. Maybe with this they would let her out. He had to find Titus and try.
* * *
“Four more men?” Rachel stared at the beds and the new occupants. “How can there be four more?”
Paige sighed. “They sent the men out sometime this morning, and this is how they came back,” she said. “Luckily, the epinephrine worked quickly, but they can’t act like it’s a cure all.”
Rachel stared at the four new faces, and her cheeks burned. This wasn’t going to end, and the only chance they had to fix this had been destroyed. There was only one choice. She had to get out of here as fast as she could, and she had to do it without getting poisoned as well.
“Keep up the good work, and if there are any changes, come get me,” she said.
Rachel nodded to Zeno to indicate she was ready to go back.
They reached the door, and her palms started to sweat as Servius eyed her suspiciously.
“Did you check her?” he asked.
Zeno frowned, and her heart skipped a beat. She was hoping that they might not even think of it.
She swallowed when his hands patted along her arms, stomach and legs. When he touched the phone, he glanced up briefly. Their eyes connected and for one moment, she thought it was all over. Relief washed over her as he moved on. He felt it. She knew he did, but he was letting it go. Maybe Zeno was cutting her a break. She wasn't quite sure why, but she was willing to take it. Perhaps Marius wasn't the only one who realized she had been only trying to help the Luna Lodge hybrids, not hurt them.
“She’s clean,” he said and turned away from her.
Rachel could tell that it hurt him to lie, but she had to get out of there. The faster she escaped, the sooner she would be able to find Reverend John and his people. It was the only way she could make sure she could figure out just what was hurting everyone before someone ended up dead.
She stepped in quickly before he changed his mind. Zeno gave her one last look before shutting the doors. As soon as they were in, she pulled out the phone and turned to Rem. She placed a finger to her mouth and showed him the message.
Rachel opened up the web and punched in her email. This was going to have to be swift in case they were still tracing her account. Rachel sent a message to Reverend John asking to meet. Her hands shook as she sent it, and she knew it wasn’t the best plan, but there really wasn’t anything better.
She glanced up to Rem, who shrugged. Part of her wanted to laugh that she was getting her moral compass from a guy who hit on anything that moved.
Within a minute, she had gotten a message back. She copied the address and deleted the email. There was no way she would let them stop her.
Rem nodded in the direction of Justus and motioned for her to stand near the door. She did as he suggested and watched.
Rem walked over to the other man's cot and flipped it upside down, knocking him to the floor.
“What the fuck was that for?” Justus said, shooting to his feet in front of Rem. The man was a wall of solid muscle, and Rachel wondered if Rem had made a mistake picking a fight with him.
“I’m sick and tired of being in a room with someone who pretends like they don’t even exist,” Rem said and stepped up to the other man. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized how evenly matched it might be. Rem spent so much time being a playboy, but when it came down to it, he was just as dangerous.
“I’d back up if I were you,” Justus said, his dark skin only highlighting the brightness of his eyes.
She watched as Rem’s own eyes lit up with a brilliant green.
The door burst open, and she watched as Zeno and Servius stopped just inside the door.
“What the fuck is going on?” Servius scowled at them.
Justus snorted. “I’m
on my cot, and this bastard—”
His words were cut off as Rem punched him in the face. Rachel winced at the sound it made. From there it was a blur of men. Justus trying to get at Rem, and the two guards trying to separate them.
Silently, Rachel took the moment to slip out the door and into the hall. She glanced around and breathed a sigh at the empty way. As quietly as she could, she went into her lab across the hall. Irritation pushed through her as she thought about all the asshats that had been in here, but just as quickly, she pushed those thoughts out of her head. Right now she needed something that would knock out a horse. Or a very angry hybrid, which was pretty darn close.
Rachel rummaged through the cabinets and came up with ketamine. She snorted to herself. Not only would they be knocked out, but they would be slightly happier. She was going to need it after what she was about to do. Rachel prepared several doses and placed the needles into her pocket, capped.
The volume of the fight grew, and she hurried back out of the room.
Once she was back into the hall, she slipped into the room unseen. Her heart pounded as she walked up behind Servius. The poke went quick. He turned to say something but didn’t get it out before then. Zeno rushed to his side.
“What happened? Is he okay?” Zeno leaned over Servius, giving her the perfect opportunity.
Rachel poked him in the arm. When he turned to look, she felt a piece of her burning in shame. He’d given his trust to her, and she’d betrayed him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It’s for the best. I promise I’ll fix it all. I'm going to save everyone.”
He closed his eyes, but she didn’t think he would ever forgive her.
“You fucking hit me for this?” Justus said to Rem. “Asshole.”
Rem shrugged and winked at her when Justus stomped across the room and slammed his cot back into the right position.
Marius (Luna Lodge, #4) Page 14
