Genie wanted to laugh. But she was too disheartened. This was what her life had come down to? This was what she’d sacrificed everything for? An existence of smoke and mirrors, with nothing real? No family. No roots. No love.
“And what about Kyle?” Genie whispered as she saw him through the galley windows, walking toward them.
“He’s CTA, Genie. He must never know the truth.”
And who did that remind her of?
Genie stared down at the papers still strewn around the room, spread out on the table, the floor, and the few still clutched in her hand. Lab reports that listed in detail the drugs used on their mother and the fact that she’d been pregnant with triplets.
“Mom had come to the program looking to learn more about her empathic abilities. She thought CTA would help her. As the program leader, Dad spent a lot of time with her. Within six months they were married. Within a year, she was pregnant. They gave her fertility drugs, Genie. They wanted us to experiment on. Daddy knew what they were doing to her—what he was doing to her. He should have protected her, but she was just a damn experiment to him. As were we. He never loved her. He never loved us.”
Genie’s hands shook even harder as she gathered up the papers on the table and shoved them back into the envelope. She was wrong. Genie had felt the love her dad held for her mom, even now, so long after her death. As for her and her sisters, he’d said over and over how much he loved them all. She believed him, “I don’t know what to think,” she said, to stall until Kyle got there. She didn’t want to be alone in this. Not anymore. Only she couldn’t tell him about her abilities now, not with Becca standing there smirking at her. She needed time to explain, to make him understand…if he could ever understand.
“Emerich’s not here,” Kyle said, walking into the room but stopping short by the door as Becca stooped to retrieve the last of the papers off the floor.
“That’s what I said, sugar,” Becca responded with a smile, not missing a beat.
“Where is he?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.” He picked up an errant paper and glanced down at the page, his brow furrowing in confusion.
As Genie watched the interplay between Becca and him, a flash of insight went through her like a bolt of lightning.
Becca was going to kill him.
Genie jumped to her feet. The quick movement sent dizziness swimming through her head again. She grasped the table, steadying herself. Something was wrong with her. This was beyond seasickness. It was like—
Oh, God.
“What did you do to me?” she demanded, glaring at her sister.
Suddenly Kyle was by her side, holding her steady. She leaned into him.
“I’m really very sorry about this, Kyle,” Becca started, taking the paper from his grasp. “But you weren’t supposed to be here. Genie was supposed to come with Daddy. I’ve gone through a lot of trouble to fake my death; I really don’t want to have to do it again.”
Genie swayed. “I love him, Becca. I won’t let you hurt him.”
Kyle looked at her, stunned, though she wasn’t sure if it was from the declaration of love or from the warning that he might be in danger.
“Why Genie, you don’t love anyone,” Becca mocked. “You can’t. You refuse to let anyone get that close. Because if you did, then you’d have to lie for the rest of your life to keep our precious family secrets. Like our dear Cat.”
“But I do love him,” she protested, her focus fading in and out. “I won’t let you take him from me.”
“What is going on here?” Kyle asked, instantly alarmed and suspicious.
Becca turned to him. “I guess that decision will have to be up to him.”
But even as she said the words, Genie could feel she was lying.
Was it just last night Genie had thought she and Kyle could start over, work together, find a way to try and make it work?
But she hadn’t believed it. Not really. Otherwise she would have told him the truth about her and her sisters’ abilities right then and there. But she hadn’t. She’d been so stupid. The answer to all her problems, to her loneliness, to that overwhelming feeling that she didn’t belong anywhere, had always been standing right in front of her. Because with Kyle, she did belong, no matter where they were. As long as they were together.
“I’ll go anywhere you want, do whatever you ask,” Genie said, “as long as you don’t hurt him.”
“Whoa, wait a minute! I can take care of myself,” Kyle insisted, and pulled his gun out of his waistband.
“Kyle, put the gun away. We’re friends here. Family,” Becca said the words casually, but there was nothing casual about the way she was looking at him.
Genie felt a wave of strange energy push against her. Kyle placed the gun back in his holster.
Wide-eyed, she turned to Becca. “What are you doing to him?” This couldn’t be happening. Couldn’t be possible. But it was. “Stop it!”
“You would give it all up, Genie? Everything? Just for him?” Becca asked, clearly astonished.
Genie looked into Kyle’s vacant blue eyes and knew she couldn’t take the chance. Not with him. She turned back to her sister. “Yes.”
Kyle shook his head, snapping out of whatever influence Becca had wielded over him. “What?”
“Genie and I are going to take a quick boat ride. No one must find out you saw me. Can you do that for me, Kyle? Will you wait for us here?”
Genie felt another wave of energy pushing against him, watched his head slowly nod, his lips move to form a “Yes,” and realized if she didn’t discover what her sister was doing and how she was doing it, he’d be lost.
And if she lost Kyle, she’d be lost, too. Utterly and completely lost.
…
Kyle didn’t quite understand what was happening, but he knew it was bad. Why had he just agreed to let Genie go? Or to put away his gun? He hadn’t wanted to do either. But even as he was thinking there was no way in hell he’d lower his weapon or let Genie leave the yacht, he’d just agreed to both, words and actions coming out of nowhere, as if by a different person.
He reached for Genie. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered. “I promise.”
But he could tell by the stark fear in her eyes that it wasn’t going to be okay. Genie was never afraid of anything or anyone, but she was afraid of this woman she called her sister. He could practically smell it on her.
“Stay with me,” he said.
“I can’t.” Her voice trembled and her lips quivered, plucking something desperate inside him.
He pulled her close, suddenly knowing that he couldn’t let her walk off this boat. That if he did, he’d never see her again. “I’ve had to live the last eight months without you. Now that I have you back, I don’t plan to ever go through that again.”
Her lips lifted in a bleak smile that disappeared as quickly as it came.
“That’s very sweet, Kyle.” Becca was staring at him again, her eyes piercing and intense. “But we need to go. Now.” Once more, a slight pressure squeezed against his temples. A metallic smell filled his nose, and suddenly it felt like a cog was slipping in his mind, that his thoughts were no longer his.
Genie stepped away from him and whirled toward her sister. “I said stop it, Becca.”
Becca just smiled.
The pressure released. He took a quick step backward, but bumped into the wall. In the small galley there was nowhere to go. She was doing something to him, something Genie was aware of. Most likely that was the reason she was so afraid. Another Marsters secret he wasn’t privy to. He guessed had something to do with the paper he’d found on the floor. A paper with CTA letterhead: The Amelia Project.
He glanced out the window, searching the horizon, praying Cameron would get there soon. But with Marsters in the mix, who knew what was happening on that end?
Becca picked up a manila envelope that had been lying on the table. One
that Genie kept glancing at. Becca shoved the paper she’d taken from him into it. “The problem here, Kyle, is that you’re with the CTA, and there are some things about our family—” she patted the envelope “—that we don’t want CTA to know about.”
“You mean about the Amelia Project?”
The smile dropped from her face as though a switch had been flipped. “Smart boy. Too smart. Let’s go Genie. We’re out of time.”
“Genie is CTA, too,” Kyle said, grasping at a straw.
“Not anymore,” Becca said smugly.
He grabbed Genie’s hand. “Don’t go with her.”
Genie’s eyes swam with tears. Actual shimmering tears that turned her blue eyes into brilliant jewels. Just the sight of them tore into his gut. He held her hand harder.
Becca made an impatient sound. “This is all very touching, but if you want everything to end well, then we need to go.” Becca walked toward the door but hesitated in the doorway. “Feel free to rest in my cabin, Kyle. We’ll be back before you know it.”
Genie kissed his lips. “I’m sorry.”
She stepped away from him. He reached for her, but found only air as she hurried after her sister. Kyle followed, and watched worriedly as she climbed into the big yellow jet boat. What hold did Becca have over her? What secret was so awful that now she needed to abandon him in order to deal with her sister?
Knowing he could do nothing to stop her, he turned his attention back to the galley. An answer to what was going on had to be somewhere on this boat. He yanked open drawers and cabinets looking for clues. For more papers. For anything that would give him a clue.
But found nothing.
My stateroom’s the big one at the end of the hall. Becca’s words, the smile on her lips, mocked him. And as he heard the engine of the big yellow jet boat roar to life, Kyle froze.
Then he whirled and ran.
…
Genie hoped she was doing the right thing. Kyle had obviously been confused and worried, and scared for her. She wished she could read him in, tell him what this was all about, but there was no time now. Right now her first priority was to stop Becca, and she had to do it on her own. Before everyone on the planet found out about their special abilities…and what Becca could be capable of doing, Genie had to stop this.
The mind control Becca just demonstrated had scared her senseless. She’d been able to influence Kyle, a powerful, strong-willed man, to do exactly what she’d wanted, against his wishes. Who knew what other dangerous things Becca might be able to do to unwilling victims. One thing was certain, she didn’t want Becca anywhere near Kyle. Not wielding such power over him. Did she have that kind of control over everyone? Or just people she knew well or was in close physical contact with? She claimed to have found Genie and Cat just by plugging into their thoughts and seeing their surroundings. That was truly frightening. Becca was the last person she wanted inside her head. Or anyone else’s.
She swallowed and went to sit in the captain’s chair next to Becca, who’d started the boat and pulled away from the yacht. At least she’d left Kyle behind, and he was safe.
“Where are we going?” Genie yelled over the noise of the engine and wind. She held on tight to the seat as they flew across the ocean. Becca didn’t answer, but after a few minutes she glanced at her watch then slowed the boat until it came to a stop. She turned off the engine and looked back at the yacht, far behind them.
“What‘s up? Why did we stop?” An uneasy sensation churned through Genie’s stomach. She didn’t like the look on Becca’s face, or the stillness of her body. Or the negative energy she was emitting.
“Becca?”
Becca pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. Alarm shot through Genie.
No!
“Don’t do it!” she screamed, and lunged for the phone.
But she was too late. Becca’s thumb had already punched the speed dial button even as Genie hit her. She clawed at Becca’s arm, knocking the phone out of her grasp. Becca tumbled out of the chair. Genie scrambled for the phone. Praying with everything in her she was wrong. She wasn’t. Even as Becca pulled herself up off the deck and climbed back into the pilot’s chair, a crackling sound split the morning air. Then another. Followed by a deep, hollow boom.
“What have you done?” Genie cried.
In the distance, the elegant prow of the yacht exploded into an inferno of flames.
“Kyle!” Genie screamed. She stared at the burning boat in stunned horror, tears welling to blur her vision. Numbness stole her strength, her knees weakened, and she collapsed to the floor.
“Genie?” Becca said, turning to her.
But Genie couldn’t see her through the haze of red filling her eyes. Hatred and molten anger as hot as the flames from the burning boat consumed her. “What have you done? You killed Kyle!”
Becca turned the key and the boat’s engine roared back to life. “Don’t you see, Genie? Now we’re both dead.”
Chapter Thirteen
The percussion wave from the explosion shoved Kyle across the frigid surface of the ocean, farther away from the burning yacht. Heat from the flames that engulfed it singed his hair and debris rained down all around him. Fire and black smoke filled the sky. Unconsciousness had threatened, but the cold slap of the water against his face woke him up to full alertness.
Holy crap. The bitch had blown him up!
Kyle struggled to recall what had happened as he shivered on a postage stamp-sized inflatable raft in the freezing water. He remembered running into Becca’s stateroom. It had been completely empty except for a sturdy table in the center of the room. Sitting on top of the table had been a bundle of six sticks of dynamite.
Holy shit!
The dynamite had been wrapped in colorful wires that were carefully threaded through the blasting caps, then to a small battery pack. Old school, but deadly effective. Moving very carefully, he’d gingerly pulled his phone out to call Cameron. Dead. Unfortunately, his last dip in the ocean had done it in. Just as well, he thought now. His own signal might have triggered the bomb by accident.
Not that it would have mattered. Before he could examine the wires further, the cell phone attached to the bomb as a detonator relay vibrated. The red numbers on the timer had blinked ominously to life and started counting down.
Two minutes.
Kyle had whirled to get the hell out of there, and practically tripped over a self-inflating raft sitting next to the stateroom door. Without questioning its presence, he’d grabbed it and run, tearing it open, pulling strings, and unbuckling straps as he bolted up the stairs. As he burst out onto the deck, he yanked the cord to inflate the raft, and jumped, soaring over the side. The raft expanded as they sailed through the air, and he’d landed in the water just seconds before the yacht exploded, rupturing the morning sky.
He floated on the waves now, catching his breath, shivering like a Chihuahua, and trying to calm his galloping heartbeat. It was a pure miracle he’d survived.
There had been two minutes on that timer. Two minutes that had saved his life.
Or had it been a miracle?
If Becca hadn’t told him twice to go to her cabin, he would have died in that explosion. She’d warned him for some reason, and that warning had saved his life.
But why? He certainly didn’t take Becca for a hero. Was she the one orchestrating this situation, pulling all the strings? Or was she just one of Emerich’s puppets working on her own behind the scenes to try to protect her family? He wished he knew.
He thought again of the papers he’d seen on the table—CTA papers regarding the top-secret Amelia Project, run by her father. Papers Becca had insisted on taking with her when she left.
Stuart Marsters was up to his sneaky little eyeballs in this mess. Maybe even behind the whole damn thing. Kyle had no doubts about that. But he was at a loss what to do about it. Especially floating in a small raft, watching the flames from the burning yacht light the morning sky.
A few minutes lat
er, Cameron, Marsters and the CTA’s men finally arrived, pulling an outboard boat up alongside his raft. Thank God. He was nearly frozen to death.
“Where is Genie?” Marsters demanded, anxiously scanning the raft, then the water around it. “Where is my daughter?”
If Kyle didn’t know better, he’d say Marsters looked genuinely shocked to see him floating there. Alone. He truly wished he believed the old man was innocent of involvement, but Marsters had gone to way too much trouble to get Genie away from him that morning, and out to the yacht without him. And Kyle still didn’t know why.
So Kyle kept his mouth shut. As far as the world was concerned, Genie and Becca were dead, just as Becca had planned. He didn’t know what she was up to, but she could have let him explode with the boat. She hadn’t. At the very least he owed her two minutes’ worth of trust.
So he fixed his eyes on the fire and didn’t say a damn word.
“Montgomery, what have you done?” Marsters demanded again, louder this time.
“I believe that’s my line,” Kyle said, cutting him a lethal look. “Tell us, Marsters, what was the Amelia Project?”
“You son of a bitch, where is my little girl?” Marsters almost came over the side of the boat in his desire to get at Kyle.
“Leave him alone,” Johnny said. He leaned over the side and stretched out his large hand. Kyle grabbed it and let his friend pull him aboard. Johnny quickly wrapped a large towel around his shoulders. When Marsters came at him, he blocked his way. “Chill out, dude. Can’t you see he’s in shock?”
Grateful, Kyle looked up at his friend, and when he was sure no one else was looking, he winked.
…
Becca’s complete lack of compassion, of humanity, stunned Genie senseless as she stared at the plume of black smoke filling the sky. Grief fell over her, dousing her anger. Becca didn’t speak, just turned away and pushed the jet boat’s throttle to the floor. Genie felt numb as the vessel flew across the ocean. She tried not to think about it, about Kyle, about the fire burning behind her closed eyes. About where Becca was taking her.
Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies Page 17
