by Nina Croft
“Kaitlin, sit down.” That was Jake who had come in behind Kane.
For a moment, she thought about going for one punch. But in the end, she decided she’d bide her time. She cast Jake a sullen look, but sank down onto the seat behind her.
Kane gave her one last glance, and his hand dropped to his side. He crossed the room and took a free chair between Stefan and Dex.
Jake sat down beside Christa. “Okay, we have a few things to discuss.”
Sadie had told her most of what was going on during their drinking spree on the plane. It was some crazy mixed-up shit.
“First, the Conclave,” Jake said.
They sounded like the real bad guys in this whole thing. And if Sam’s death could be blamed directly on anyone, it was this Travis guy. Who, unfortunately, was dead, so she couldn’t kill him. That left her with the colonel and Kane. And Sadie’s boyfriend.
Sadie, whether she was admitting it to herself—or anyone else—was in love with Ethan Weiland.
“So what part of ‘they all need to be destroyed’ did you not understand?” Kane said, and his tone held more than a hint of sarcasm.
Who the hell made him boss?
“Is that your answer to everything?” she said. “Killing people. They get in your way, you kill them. They know something you don’t like, you kill them. They might be a threat to your precious-oh-so-important mission, and you kill them. Is there anything else you can do?”
He studied her, his eyes narrowed, but he didn’t try and deny her accusations.
It was all too much. This wasn’t who she wanted to be. She’d once promised Sam she would always be the best person she could. She didn’t want to be part of killing. She didn’t want to be one of the bad guys, and whatever his ultimate motives, this man was one of the bad people. Her emotions surged up inside her, choked her. She had to get out of there. Away from him.
“How about we kill you, instead?” She jumped to her feet and then ran from the room, slamming the door behind her. Then she hurried across the wide hallway and out onto a veranda that ran around the whole house. She continued around to the back of the building where she faced the high mountains, and sank into a wicker chair, leaning her head back and gazing at the beauty of nature. This place seemed almost untouched by man. Even the house had been built of local materials and blended in with its surroundings.
Maybe the world would be a better place without mankind in it.
Kane apparently claimed his mission was vital to the survival of mankind. Talk about delusions of grandeur.
She supposed she should get a better hold on her temper if she wanted anyone to take her seriously. But hell, she was a teenager, angsty was normal. Not that anything else about her was normal.
She was free.
It was finally sinking in. All her life, she’d never been free. Unlike the others, she and Sam had never been fostered out. They’d grown up in the compound that had become home for the Tribe. Privately tutored, they’d never even been to school. But they’d had each other.
Now, Sam was gone, and the whole world lay in front of her. She didn’t think anyone would stop her if she decided to walk away. They might try and persuade her to stay. Because they were her family. And they loved her.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Hello?” a voice said from behind her. She shuffled in her chair, and the tears dried up. In front of her was one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen—tall, with short dark hair and eyes like honey. Sharp cheekbones and a mouth to die for. What would those lips feel like against hers? She was eighteen and had never been kissed. Fuck, she was one sad case.
She delved briefly into his mind and sighed. This was the man of Sadie’s dreams, and someone else she should really want to kill.
…
Ethan had woken with a slight ache in his shoulder, but otherwise, he felt almost bright and alert. A bottle of water had been left on the table by his bed, and he drank it all. Someone had also left his medication, but he didn’t need the painkillers. Khaki shorts and a navy T-shirt lay on a chair, and he dressed quickly—they fit well enough.
His stomach rumbled, and he left the room in search of some food. But as he passed a set of French doors, he paused, his gaze drawn to the beauty of the scenery. He pushed open the doors and stepped out onto a wide veranda and stood for a moment taking in the majesty of the mountains. He had no clue where he was—he suspected Sadie had purposefully kept him drugged up so he’d be out of it for the journey. But he was guessing Africa.
Then a movement to his side made him turn. A girl sat on a wicker chair, hunched over. As he watched, she swiped her hand over her eyes.
Was she crying?
He vaguely recognized her from the airport. She had a look of the others about her. Long black hair, blue eyes, but her skin had a prison pallor, and she was too thin. And she looked young, way too young to be involved in something like this.
She turned then and studied him out of those brilliant blue eyes. “That’s what your friend Fergus thought, as well. But I’m eighteen and I’m not too young.” She sniffed again and gave him a forced smile. “I haven’t been young in a long time.”
“Me, neither.”
She waved a hand toward her face. “Just feeling sorry for myself. It will pass.”
He walked slowly to the chair close to her, as though if he moved too fast she might bolt, and he found himself intrigued by her. He shuffled the chair around and sank down facing her. “Why? Aren’t you ecstatically happy to be free and back with your people?”
She tugged at the ends of her long hair. “I am sort of. But…”
“But?”
She gave him a mournful look. “There are so many people I want to kill, and no one will let me. It’s very frustrating. I’ve been away six months, and now the enemies are friends, and honestly, you’d think there would be someone left to kill.”
“Who exactly do you want to kill?”
“Well, the colonel, obviously. But Jake’s gone and married his daughter, so apparently, he’s off limits. I don’t see why—I’d be doing her a favor, and I’m sure she’d get over it.”
His lips twitched. “Who else is on the list?”
“That fucker, Kane. I kept myself going in that cell by dreaming of all the different ways I’d kill him. And look”—she waved a hand at the mountains—“here we are at his place like we’re his best friends or something. They expected me to sit in a meeting with him and pretend he wasn’t directly responsible for Teagan’s death.” She shook her head. “This is what happens when you go away for a few short months. Chaos.”
He wondered whether he was one of the ones she wanted to kill.
She grinned. “Yeah. I suppose, but in an abstract way. Your lot might have been responsible for Sam’s death, but you knew nothing about it.”
“You know that for sure?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m much better at reading minds than Sadie is. I can see everything. Your deepest, darkest thoughts.” She studied him for a moment. “Most people sort of clamp up at this point, as though they can keep me out. You don’t care. I like that.”
He gave a shrug. He’d come to terms with what he was a long time ago. If people didn’t like him—and to be honest most people would run screaming from what was in head—hard luck. “I’m sorry about your brother.”
“Yeah, me, too. He was nice. Much nicer than me, and he didn’t deserve what they did to him.”
“Does anyone deserve what they get?”
“I suppose not.” She studied him for a moment, staring into his eyes. “I’m sorry about your mother. She sounded nice as well.”
“She was nice.”
“Maybe too nice,” Kaitlin said cryptically. She sighed. “Well, here we are, two fucked-up humans.”
“I somehow doubt you’re beyond redemption.”
“And you think you are?” She shrugged when he didn’t answer and continued, “I was sixteen when I did my first
job. Jake had somehow stopped the colonel from using me before that, saying I was too young. I was pissed at him—I wanted to do something useful. That didn’t last long. My first was a terrorist. He’d planted a bomb somewhere. Most people would have said he was truly evil, but he was really just messed up.”
“When I was five, my father took my mother and me to an execution.”
“At least you had a mother and father. I mostly just had the colonel. Ugh. So who was being executed and why?”
“Don’t you know?”
She shrugged again. “I’m feeling too lazy to dig—you have a complicated mind.”
Was that a compliment? “A member of the Conclave, by heredity. She’d decided she didn’t want to participate anymore. They garroted her. The ordinary members they kill quietly, but any of us, they make an example. Loyalty is not negotiable. I remember my mother’s hand tightening in mine.”
She smiled, but a hint of sadness lurked in her eyes. “Yeah. We’re definitely a couple of fuck-ups.”
“Me, maybe. Not you. You’re trying to make a better world.”
She studied him, her head cocked on one side. “So are you, in your own way, within the limitations of your life. None of us can choose where we come into this world.”
“I like your idea of no more lies.”
“Really? Most people don’t think it would work.”
“Why?”
“Well, the argument I’m usually given is that people can’t handle the truth.”
“Then maybe the truth needs to change.”
She grinned. “Yeah. I like it. Are you going to change the truth?”
“Probably not.”
“I think you should try. You think you’re bad, but believe me, I’ve been in much worse heads.”
“Like mine, sweetheart?” Dave strolled onto the veranda, three bottles of beer in his hands.
Kaitlin grinned. “Yours isn’t bad. It’s just chaos.”
“I’ll bet. I saw the two of you out here, and thought you could do with a beer. Christ, this place is hot.” He handed them both a beer, the bottles icy cold. “Have you two been banned from the meeting, as well?”
“I voluntarily removed myself before I spontaneously exploded,” Kaitlin said. “But Ethan here was clearly not welcome, since the first thing on the agenda is Kane convincing them all that killing Ethan is the only way to keep his precious mission safe.”
“Sweet.”
Precious mission? Ethan’s ears perked at that point.
“It’s a secret,” she said with a grin. “Even Kane doesn’t know the details—all will be revealed when the time is right. Or so he says.”
Ethan took a swig of icy cold beer, and stared at the view. He couldn’t get up any real worry at the idea that this Kane wanted him dead.
“That’s because part of you thinks you deserve to die,” Kaitlin told him matter-of-factly. “But Sadie won’t let them touch you. And if it comes down to sides, Jake will side with her over Kane. She’s family. So I think you’re safe.”
“What about me?” Dave asked. “Does he want to kill me?”
Kaitlin regarded him. “Probably.” Then she grinned. “But you love Rose, so I think you’ll be safe as well.” Her eyes widened. “And you’ve slept with Sadie. With both of them. Together. Wow.”
“What?” The word came out before Ethan could stop it.
“Hey, it was a long time ago,” Dave said.
“Six months,” Kaitlin supplied.
Didn’t sound that fucking long.
“Before she met you,” Dave put in, but the bastard sounded amused.
“Two girls at the same time,” Kaitlin mused. “I’m not sure I’d like that. But maybe two guys…” She eyed them up, and Ethan’s lips twitched.
“Don’t look at us. We’re taken.”
“Yes, you are, aren’t you?” She heaved a huge sigh. “You know, I need to get out, see some of the world. How the hell am I ever going to meet anyone in this place?”
“Come back to London with me,” Ethan said, before he thought better of it.
“You’re going back?”
“At some point.” He’d have to go sort out the fallout from his father’s death.
“Does Sadie know?”
“Probably not yet, but she will soon.”
“You don’t seem too worried by that. For someone almost in charge of a super-secret organization, you seem very unbothered by people knowing your…secrets.”
“Maybe I’ve had enough of secrets. Or maybe I trust you.”
“Cool.” She grinned. “Well, I’ll hold you to that offer of the lift back to London. Because if I stick around here too long, I’ll likely end up killing Kane, and then who’ll carry out his precious mission?” She jumped to her feet. “Now, I’d better go back, check what’s happening, make sure Kane hasn’t decided to kill me, as well.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sadie stared at where the door had slammed shut behind Kaitlin. She’d only said what a lot of them had been thinking.
Kaitlin had always been the upfront one, willing to say what she thought regardless of the consequences.
She glanced around the room. Jake’s lips curved in a small smile—a look of approval? Kaitlin had always been his favorite. No one had ever minded, because they had all loved her. The colonel had a sour look on his face. She had a peek in his mind—just a quick one, not long enough to curdle her mood completely. His thoughts were a mixture of dislike and guilt—no surprises there.
Kane was still staring at the door where Kaitlin had disappeared and he looked—sad? She could feel the emotion rolling off him. But no guilt. He’d done what he’d had to. He wouldn’t let the mission fail at this point.
He turned to her, as if he felt the flicker of her mind and gave her a brooding look. “I don’t like what happened at this party. Who were these people? What did they want?”
“To kill us. A lot like you really, just a little while back. Maybe all we need to do is have a nice chat with them, and we’ll all be friends.”
His eyes narrowed and his anger flared. Interesting. Not so cool after all. She sighed, this wasn’t getting them anywhere. “I don’t know who they were. I didn’t get a good look, but I suspect they are tied to us somehow. As to how”—she shrugged—“I have no clue. But they killed the Conclave person who’d been dealing with us, so I’m pretty sure it’s nothing to do with them.”
“Any way we can find out more?” he asked.
“Ethan’s assistant is back in London. I’ll get Ethan to ask if he can find anything out. Maybe look for video footage from the party…?”
“I don’t want to involve the Conclave. They already know too much.” Kane ran a hand through his hair and scowled—looking so much like Jake that, for a moment, her antagonism waned. “My people have guarded the machine for ten thousand years,” he said. “Am I supposed to sit back and let that all be for nothing?”
She could see his point. Sort of. She’d always wanted something to believe in. A cause she was willing to fight for. To die for, if necessary. Other people felt that way about love, but she’d always shied away from that. So yeah, she’d love to believe in Kane’s mission, that it would ensure the survival of mankind. But right now, she wasn’t convinced. And maybe mankind didn’t deserve to survive. They should leave well enough alone, and mankind would no doubt self-implode in the not too distant future.
When she didn’t answer, Kane continued, “Through everything, we have maintained our secrecy. Now this organization threatens that. They have to be destroyed.”
She blew out her breath. “Okay,” she said. “Say we go along with this. But we know enough now to understand that most members of the Conclave know nothing at all about us. Killing them would be a pointless waste of time.”
“Do we have any idea what’s going to happen, now their leader is dead?” Jake asked. “Are there files on us in existence? Is it likely the new leader will gain access?”
Good quest
ions.
Sadie thought about her answer carefully. “Ethan is next in line for leadership.”
“The one you brought with you?” Kane said. “You do understand that he can’t be allowed to leave here? He must die.”
Sadie pushed herself to her feet, stalked over to him, and glared down into his face. “You fucking touch him and I’ll blow up your fucking time machine myself. To hell with your mission, and mankind can fucking perish for all I care.”
Shock flared in his eyes, followed by a glimmer of amusement. Yeah, she was so funny.
“What is this man to you?” he asked.
She glanced at Jake. “Did you tell him?”
He shook his head. “I thought you’d rather ask him yourself,” he said out loud.
She blew out her breath. Time to share. And she wasn’t ready. But hell, it wasn’t as though they would think she was crazy. They’d gone beyond the point of believing anything was…unbelievable.
She went back to her chair, sank down. “Take a look,” she said to the room in general. She brought the whole damn thing to the surface of her mind, then winced a little. She didn’t want them to see everything, and she tried to keep the love scene dreams down at the bottom, but…what the hell?
“You can see the future?” Rose said, wonder in her tone.
She shrugged and shuffled on her chair. “I think so. At least, a possible future. But some of it’s come true. Max. And the vision before the party, where they were all dead.”
“Except they weren’t dead, just unconscious.”
Hmm, obviously she had to be careful how she interpreted what she saw. She could end up making decisions based on false assumptions.
“You love him?” Kane said.
Trust him to see the one at the bottom. No doubt Jake had as well. “No,” she snapped. She didn’t—did she? “As I said, it’s a possible, maybe, might-never-happen future. But that’s beside the point. I’ve been in his head. He’s a good person.”
