Mindsiege

by Heather Sunseri

  The door slid open and Jack rushed in. I let Sandra fall to the ground, and I fell into his arms. Jonas, Addison and Briana stood just outside the door.

  “Let’s go,” Briana urged.

  “Wait! The hard drive.” I pointed to the computer on the other side of the room.

  Jack held me in the doorway while Jonas rushed over and ejected the hard drive from the computer. “They’ll have a backup of this information, but I’m sure they were counting on this one. So we’ll at least slow them down a little.”

  Dr. DeWeese held himself up by leaning against the table. “Jack, don’t leave me here. You have to help us.”

  I looked at the open hatch in the floor, then at Jack’s face. His eyes were glued to mine, his message clear—his father would have to fend for himself. He didn’t even acknowledge his father. Sandra’s eyes, the only item on her body capable of moving, fluttered as she lay splayed across the floor beside me.

  When Jonas had rejoined us, he looked down at his mother. I thought he might spit on her or kick her, but he simply looked away. “We’ve got to get out of here. Briana, dear, you’re going to need to work your magic on Lexi and me. Addison, can you help Jack disappear?”

  Addison nodded. “Gladly.”

  “LAB WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN ONE MINUTE.”

  Jack leaned in and kissed the side of my head. “Let’s go home.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Three days later…

  I drew lazy circles with my forefinger at the base of Jack’s clavicle on a peaceful, sunny afternoon. He reclined on a large stadium blanket in the rose garden of the UK Arboretum, looking up at the sky. One arm was bent behind his head. I lay partially on my side, partially across his chest. With his free hand, he feathered fingers along my arm. The scent of jasmine drifted from the nearby herb garden.

  “Look,” he said. “That cloud looks like a rabbit.”

  “Uh-huh,” I mumbled, my eyes closed, and he continued on about cottontails and long, floppy ears.

  We were trying to take the day off from Wellington, The Program, and watching the endless news reports of the “strange lab fire that occurred on the University of Kentucky campus.” According to reporters, a small explosion caused a fire in a building that had, until recently, been mostly empty. A private organization had rented the space from the university for an exorbitant amount of money after receiving a grant for stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. So far, no reports had been made of fatalities or injuries from the fire.

  The destruction of the lab began right after we walked away from Sandra and Jack’s father. I shivered at the memory of the fire that broke out and threatened to trap us in the basement of the University building. Jack hugged me tighter.

  The other thing my mind refused to take a break from was remembering my best friend—her laugh, her never-ending habit of doing yoga anytime we talked, and her unconditional love. I didn’t know what I would do without her. And I couldn’t stop wondering if her death had been my fault. Could I have stopped it?

  “You did everything you could,” Jack whispered.

  I had given up on blocking Jack from my mind the last few days. Jonas promised to stay out. Georgia and I removed his tracker, but he could still get in if he wanted. The tracker allowed Ty to control me in ways that Jonas never would have—but Jonas was still capable of manipulating my thoughts and desires.

  “They just took her,” I said. My voice shook. “Her parents just swooped in and took Dani’s body before I even got to see her one last time. I didn’t get to say goodbye. No closure. Nothing. Why? And how did they find out so fast? It was the middle of the night—” My throat burned with a lump I could barely swallow past, yet my eyes remained dry, incapable of producing another tear.

  Jack tightened his hold on me. “I don’t know, baby.”

  I breathed in deeply, exhaling as a shudder moved through me. The school had organized a candlelight vigil in honor of Dani, but Dani’s parents planned a private funeral—family only.

  “I was family to her. She would have wanted me at her funeral. Don’t you think her parents’ actions were strange?”

  “Yes, but Wellington Boarding School is the ideal school for strange families.”

  I chuckled even though it wasn’t really funny. “What do you think Sandra will do when she discovers Dia and Lin didn’t make it to the next destination?”

  “You’re assuming that Sandra and my father got out alive.”

  “Yes. I have to assume that. Someone would have helped them through that trap door. Sandra was so calm. She had a plan for everything. I will not let them sneak up on us again.” I flattened my hand against his chest. “I hope Georgia and Fred are being hospitable to Dia and Lin.” I smiled. Dia and Lin had more of a chance at a normal life by staying here in Kentucky with us, but my heart tightened just thinking about how little we knew about them. Would they be missed? Or were they just as expendable as Ty was to Sandra? And what about the rest of the clones inside The Farm? I would have freed them all if there had been more time.

  “Hmm. I’m sure they’re fine. Probably experiencing a little culture shock being outside the lab.”

  “Do you think Sandra will come after us again when she discovers that we stole the trackers and the hard drive? Should we destroy them? Where did Jonas put the trackers anyway?”

  Jack covered my hand with his. “Lexi, stop. We agreed to take the day off from worrying about all this.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I wriggled my fingers from his grasp and trailed them down his chest, his stomach, and let them slide beneath the hem of his Bastille concert T-shirt until I found skin.

  His hand followed suit by slipping under my shirt and up my back. “I’m sure there’s gotta be something we can do to free your mind of all that junk.” His free hand cupped my chin and directed my head toward his. When my gaze met his, he said, “Come closer.”

  I moved further up his body until my head was even with his. “What did you have in mind?” I offered my best coy smile.

  He tilted his head as he slid his fingers around to the back of my neck and guided my face nearer until he claimed my lips with his. He pulled back. “A little of this.” He kissed me again. “A little of that.”

  After a long, deep kiss, I trailed my lips to his cheek until they found the spot behind his ear. His hands roamed all along my back and neck. I smiled against the skin of his neck, breathing hard. “Someone’s gonna see us.”

  “No they’re not.”

  I pulled back and studied the sly look on his face. “Why do you seem so sure?”

  “Because I rented this side of the arboretum out for the afternoon. It’s been blocked off.”

  “Can we stay here forever?” I asked.

  “No.” He brought me in for another kiss. His hands were relentlessly convincing me to forget about everything outside the here and now. His fingers ran down the side of my body, causing me to shiver in his arms. “I promised Briana I would have you back by tomorrow morning.”

  Tomorrow? What were we doing until then?

  “The rest of the day is a surprise.” He had read my thoughts again. “For now, we’re going to make out on this blanket in this very private garden.” His words took on a playful tone, yet his eyebrows drew together, casting a dark shadow over his eyes.

  He attempted to distract me with gentle kisses, but something bothered him. I let it go for now.

  “Why does Briana need me back at school?” I said against his lips.

  “She needs your help. A Halloween party or something. Said it’s a big event every year.”

  I bent my neck and buried my face into his chest, and I immediately cut off all thoughts from him. I hadn’t told him that my eighteenth birthday occurred this Halloween. Wellington had always allowed the students to make a big deal out of the holiday. I think it was their way of keeping students on campus on a night that could easily get out of control. “What if I don’t want to go back to Wellington?” />
  He crooked a finger under my chin. “Then we won’t go back.”

  I stared at his serious face for a moment before I spoke. “You’d do that?”

  “Haven’t I convinced you yet? I’d do anything for you. For us.”

  I nodded. “In that case, I think I’m ready to see the safe house my dad left instructions for.”

  “I’m already one step ahead of you.”

  What does that mean? I mindspoke to hide the accusatory tone in my voice. I hadn’t told anyone where the safe house was. Not even Jack. And except to swim, I never removed the starfish and key from my neck. Even then, the necklace was locked inside my locker.

  “Remember when you thought I was looking for my father? Questioning Cathy about Father’s whereabouts?”

  Yes.

  “That wasn’t the only thing I was doing.”

  I pushed up to my knees so that I could better see Jack’s face when he told me what he had been hiding from me.

  “Don’t freak out.”

  “Why is it that every time you tell me not to freak out, you immediately tell me something that I, of course, will freak out about? What is it? Just tell me.”

  “I’d rather show you.”

  ~~~~~

  Jack insisted that we take a long motorcycle ride on the back roads of Kentucky in the heart of the Bluegrass before we went to the safe house.

  Late that afternoon, we pulled down a long drive lined with a plank fence. A chestnut horse ran alongside the black fence. I hit Jack’s arm, signaling for him to stop, which he did.

  After climbing off the bike, I lifted my helmet off and set it on the seat. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think that was—”

  “Cheriana?”

  I whipped my head around to look at him. “How did you know where this house was?”

  “How did you know where this house was?” he retorted. “Your dad didn’t mention it in any of the documents online. It’s not in any of your school records. It wasn’t in any of the papers my dad had on you from the time he hired a private investigator.”

  I remembered how Jack spoke with Coach Williams privately during several classroom and weapon sessions. He disappeared to “check on things” and never told me what.

  “Coach knew. Dad gave him access to everything. But he never told me anything,” I said mostly to myself.

  “He didn’t think you were ready.” Jack averted his gaze from me to glance up toward the house at the end of the drive. “I got permission to move Cheriana here.”

  My hands turned clammy. Panic began to build in my chest. “Permission from whom, Jack?”

  Jack closed the distance between us. He reached up and cupped my cheeks with both hands. “You know I love you with every cell, every neuron, every fiber of my genetically modified being, right?”

  “Tell me who I’m going to find at this house, Jack.”

  “You know who’s here—who’s waiting for you at the end of this drive.”

  I had faced so many obstacles in such a short period of time. More than one person should ever have to. Could I face one more challenge?

  I walked slowly over to the bike and put my helmet back on. And debated. Stay. Or go.

  “Want to know my opinion?”

  I faced Jack. I did not need his opinion. “Let’s do this.”

  He drove me the rest of the way up the driveway. Handing him my helmet, I locked eyes with Jack—the love of my life. His lips curved slightly, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes as he nodded in encouragement. I turned slowly and made the short trek to the front door alone. I reached my hand up to knock, but the door opened before I made contact.

  And I came face to face with the one person who had managed to elude the messed-up events of my childhood—yet whom I could blame for them all.

  Mom.

  A Note From the Author

  Thank you for spending time with Lexi, Jack, Jonas, and the rest of the cast from Mindsiege. Now that you’ve finished reading Mindsiege, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Amazon UK. Reviews are the greatest way to help other readers discover new books. I would truly appreciate it.

  Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter—A Piece of My Mind—at http://heathersunseri.com/newsletter and be the first to hear about what’s next in the Mindspeak series and other stories that might be in the works.

  Happy Reading!!!

  Heather

  Acknowledgements

  To God—Jeremiah 1:5. Thank you, God, for knowing and loving me before I was even formed and for having a purpose for me that is specific to my life.

  Thank you to…

  Mike—for the infinite ways that you love and support me in all my neurotic craziness.

  Maggie—Your clever zaniness inspires me every day.

  Robert—for always being patient and understanding when “Mommy has to work.”

  David Gatewood—I’m thankful to Hugh Howey for “introducing” me to your superhero power of making my words into a better story. (Are you sure your DNA wasn’t altered as an embryo?) Your sense of humor and especially your Star Wars quote got me through what you initially called a “light copyedit.”

  Taryn Albright—for your bravery of tackling a very early draft and asking tough questions. Your insightful suggestions enriched the story. And to that, I’m grateful.

  Jessica Patch, Laura Pauling, and Katie Ganshert—my beta readers. I couldn’t have done this without your honest feedback and willingness to read a story before it was fine-tuned.

  Connie Boyce and Jenny Kays—for finding those pesky typos.

  Kentucky Independent Writers—You are a talented and supportive group of writers.

  My friends and family—for your encouragement in the form of texts, Facebook messages, and phone messages. Sorry for all the times I said no to lunches and other meetings while working on this story. Love all of you.

  About the Author

  Heather Sunseri was raised on a tiny farm in one of the smallest towns in thoroughbred horse country near Lexington, Kentucky. After high school, she attended Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and later graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in accounting. Always torn between a passion for fantasy and a mind for the rational, it only made sense to combine her career in accounting with a novel-writing dream.

  Heather now lives in a different small town on the other side of Lexington with her two children and her husband, Mike, the biggest Oregon Duck fan in the universe. When she’s not writing or working as a CPA, she spends her time tormenting her daughter’s cat, Olivia, and loving on her son’s Golden Retriever, Jenny.

  Heather loves to hear from readers. Please sign up for her newsletter—A Piece of My Mind—to hear when future novels are released by following this link: http://heathersunseri.com/newsletter. You can also connect with her in several other ways:

  Heather Sunseri

  P.O. Box 1264

  Versailles, KY 40383

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