by Tasha Black
“Oh dear,” Cordelia murmured, trying to undo the strap under her chin.
“I’ll get it,” he told her, deftly slipping the helmet off.
He stayed in front of her for an extra moment, willing her to give him some sign that she wanted to be kissed.
“Thanks,” she said quickly instead, and cast her eyes down.
Wordlessly, they headed toward the entrance.
Cordelia had worked at the zoo for a few years, that’s why she was here. Though he’d begged her to stay home and out of danger, she’d insisted that she knew the layout better than he did.
But there were still plenty of things that Cordelia Cross didn’t know about him. Like the fact that West had spent most of his childhood at this zoo.
It was one of the few places his family frequented when he was younger, before his parents lost interest in him and each other.
Almost all of his happiest childhood memories involved the zoo in some way. He remembered feeding the animals, riding his tricycle on the wooden paths, running through the trickle of a waterfall by the Amphibian House, squealing with delight while his mother laughed and his father tried to take his picture.
And when he got a little older, the animals and exhibits were his sanctuary as things started to fall apart at home. Since the Worthingtons were Platinum Level Donors, virtually nothing was off limits to Westley. He was allowed to talk with the vets and see the places where they cared for sick animals. He was given access to the labs and the area where the keepers visited the elephants, close enough to touch and give treats. These simple pleasures had smoothed the edges of his despair.
Later, when the distractions of adulthood pulled him in different directions, his visits became less frequent. But he still made sure the zoo always had enough money to keep its gates open, and to hold ticket prices low enough that all the kids in the city might have a chance to experience some of what West had.
He was devastated when the zoo flooded.
He even had a guilty feeling in the back of his head, the senseless conviction that this might not have happened if he had been there more.
He offered what basically amounted to a blank check to the board of the zoo, to rebuild, improve even. But in the end, the engineers they brought in explained that it just wasn’t feasible, the change in the ocean level meant the zoo’s location would be in permanent danger of another tragedy.
West settled for making sure each zoo employee, from the curators, to the custodial staff, to the gift shop clerks, was taken care of. No one, outside Dalton, knew it, but he had his people arrange transfers to zoos all over the country. Worthington Enterprises footed the bill for all of the relocation fees, although to the staff members, it just looked like a generous offer from the zoo or wildlife sanctuary in question. The employees that chose to stay in Glacier City all managed to find jobs with Worthington Enterprises, or one of its subsidiaries.
And that was how he had ended up with his most oddly qualified personal assistant ever, Cordelia Cross.
Which led to a chain reaction of events that made him care about things, like her, and the work he was doing.
Which ended up getting him tossed out a twelfth floor window and having half his body replaced with the very cutting edge technology he’d been fighting to protect.
Which somehow led to him deciding he wanted to make a difference in the city, and to treasure the people in his life, who he now realized were important to him.
And that new passion caused him to consider becoming some kind of comic book vigilante, and put him on the run from the police (which, honestly, wasn’t really a new situation for Westley Worthington), got him attacked by a madman with a saw, had half a building collapse on him, and most recently, got him shot in the back.
He could still feel the sting of the antiseptic Mallory used and her dirty look as she had fixed him up in stoic silence.
Now here he was, with the woman he loved, about to break in to an abandoned zoo in the middle of the night to save his only true friend in the world.
Cordelia was still holding back from him for some reason. And they had absolutely no idea what they were getting into here.
But, West realized, in spite of it all, he had never been happier.
Life could be funny that way.
“Oh,” Cordelia said suddenly as they emerged from the grove of trees between the parking and the gate.
West looked up to see a 12 foot tall chain-link fence, topped with razor-wire. It seemed to span the entire perimeter of the zoo.
Maybe it wasn’t so abandoned after all. He couldn’t imagine Glacier City expending the resources to keep the Scar’s homeless population out.
“This is new,” Cordelia said. “Looks like someone doesn’t want us snooping around. I don’t suppose you brought a set of bolt cutters?”
West grabbed a section of the fence and pulled it aside like a shower curtain.
“Oh. Right,” she said with a tiny smile.
“After you,” he gestured to the opening.
She stepped through, and West followed.
The zoo had never been so quiet. Or so leafy. Things had certainly changed since the flood.
“There are lights on in the office,” Cordelia whispered, pointing to the administrative building on the other side of the vast open field.
West zoomed in.
The offices were housed in a low brown building that had always looked like it was made of adobe. Some of the stucco had already cracked and begun to disintegrate now, so that the plain concrete block underneath was visible in the dim light.
“Someone’s working late,” West remarked.
They started off in the direction of the office.
Besides the faraway glow from its windows, it was completely dark. Not even the moon shone through the thick cloud cover.
The profound darkness was already messing with West’s focus. Suddenly he was unsure of his footing. He paused.
Quickly, he closed the new eye, and his balance returned.
He still couldn’t see shit.
Cordelia reached out and took his hand, holding it firmly in her own.
His pulse raced at the sensation of her skin on his.
Concentrate, he told himself.
They inched forward in the darkness, Cordelia occasionally pointing out stones, fallen branches and other obstacles hidden in the dark. Her night vision clearly better than his own.
For what seemed like an hour, they picked their way through the overgrowth. But they’d only covered half the distance to the lighted buildings.
Something moved in the grass ahead.
Something big.
West and Cordelia froze as one.
The gravity of his error hit West like a freight train. Coming out here unprepared was a colossal mistake.
His desperate instinct was to turn on a light, even the light from his phone. But he knew it would merely give away their position.
There was another movement. On the left this time.
Why had he allowed Cordelia into this? She was strong, and plenty capable, but she didn’t have an unbreakable skeleton that could lift a truck.
If something happened to her…
West pushed the thought aside, tried to think like a hero. Or at least like a business man. He just had to figure out how to eliminate as much risk as possible.
He wondered if it were a leftover animal from the zoo. He remembered the news stories about how many of the wild dogs had escaped during the flood.
The movements were closer now. He heard something pass close by, on his right this time. Whatever it was, it was impossibly fast.
Or maybe there were several of them. West wasn’t sure which he would prefer.
Depending on the animal, they might be better off holding still than running. Cordelia would know better than he would, but he didn’t dare ask her.
As the thought echoed in his head, something slashed his leg from behind. He felt the now familiar icicle stab that substitut
ed for pain in his prosthetics.
Smart creature, it had tried to hamstring him, to immobilize him.
He tried not to think about what it would want to do next, and pulled Cordelia close against him.
“We need to get out of here,” he breathed in her ear.
She nodded, almost imperceptibly.
The attacker hadn’t counted on West having carbon fiber instead of tendons, or this would be over already. But Cordelia wouldn’t be so lucky.
There was another flash of movement, behind Cordelia this time.
West moved, with a blinding speed he hoped their assailant wouldn’t anticipate, kicking the empty air behind Cordelia’s legs.
He was rewarded with a satisfying crunch, followed by an almost inhuman yelp as he booted the attacker, sending him, or it, sprawling away into the darkness.
He could still hear its labored breathing, not so far away.
Movement erupted all around.
Definitely multiple attackers, and coming up fast through the grass between them and the building.
“Sorry,” he said, scooping Cordelia up and unceremoniously depositing her over his shoulder. “We’ve got to move. Try to get us some light.”
West was fast, but he couldn’t run at top speed in the darkness without risking a tumble for both of them.
He had an idea that ending up on the ground would be very bad for them.
The sounds of running footsteps and heavy breathing closed in on them.
A weak light flashed behind him.
Cordelia must have fished out her phone.
She gasped.
West had the sinking realization that she didn’t like what the light revealed.
“In front,” he said as calmly as he could.
He waited a terrifying moment, hoping she wasn’t so scared she couldn’t understand or would drop the phone.
Then the light flashed under his arm and he could see the ground at last.
He picked up speed immediately.
The sounds faded as he outpaced them. Or maybe they had given up. He didn’t really care which.
The hole in the fence only a few steps away. A few more seconds and they would be out.
A huge spotlight blazed out of the darkness, illuminating their only avenue of escape, stopping West in his tracks.
So close.
West tried to focus on the source of the light.
The unmistakable shape of a police car swam into view. He’d probably tripped a silent alarm when he ripped the fence to get in.
Shit.
He turned back toward the open field.
Cord shone her phone back on their pursuers.
The light reflected back at him in a dozen sets of glowing yellow eyes.
Waiting…
Shit.
They hadn’t given up. They’d sensed the car and the spotlight.
He put Cordelia back on her feet. She smoothed her rumpled clothes and shot him a deadly look that melted into a smile.
“Remember how we talked about when might be a good time to let everyone know I’m back in Glacier City?” he asked her lightly.
“Yes,” she agreed.
“How do you feel about doing it tonight?”
25
Cordelia couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Her stomach was still turning summersaults from the chase by the…whatever those things were.
At first she had wondered if it was an animal or a person following them.
Even after shining the phone on them she still wasn’t sure. They were shaped like men, but the way they moved…and those eyes…
Now they were in trouble with the police.
Shockingly, the police trouble scared her more than the… things behind them.
Cordelia was a follower of rules and respecter of uniforms. She had never been in trouble in her life. Not so much as a parking ticket or a school detention.
She disliked confrontations and couldn’t imagine an altercation with the authorities.
Cordelia was the kind of person who sometimes changed the channel if a kid was about to get yelled at by a teacher on TV.
It was inevitable that she was going to be arrested.
Then she’d have a record.
And then it would all come crashing down.
She would surely get some kind of prison nickname like the women on that TV show. And those nicknames were rarely complimentary.
But how could she possibly explain what they were doing in here? They hadn’t even filed a missing persons report for Edward.
She’d held her breath as the officer, a thick fireplug of a man with a large gun on his hip, got out and shined his flashlight on them, freezing Cordelia like a deer.
West had simply strolled over to the car, like he was asking for directions instead of getting arrested.
“Hey, Jerry,” West had boomed with an embarrassed smile.
What the heck?
West leaned in close to the man, like he was sharing a secret.
And now the police officer was… apologizing?
“Sorry about that, Mr. Worthington. Can’t be too careful,” Jerry said, obviously pleased to have the chance to talk to West.
“Absolutely understandable, Jerry. That’s your job, right? And nobody does it better than Glacier City’s finest,” West declared magnanimously.
Jerry’s face was practically magenta, and he studied the ground, like a wallflower being asked to dance by the captain of the football team.
West had been playing introvert for so long, Cordelia had nearly forgotten the almost magical effect he had on people.
“And I’m the one that should be apologizing for wasting your time,” West admitted. “My lady friend and I thought this place was abandoned.”
Lady friend?
“We just thought it might be a nice place to have a little… stroll,” West finished.
“Of course, Mr. Worthington,” Jerry recovered.
And then he winked at West. Unbelievable.
“But this is private property now,” he continued. “I’m afraid you’ll have to find another place for your walk.”
“Private property?” West asked.
“Yeah,” Jerry explained. “Whole thing is owned by Constantine Panchenko now.”
“Is that a fact?” West said. “Well, thanks for the heads up, Jerry. We’ll move this party to a new location.”
“I appreciate the cooperation, Mr. Worthington,” the officer replied.
“Say hello to Denise and the twins for me,” West smiled.
“Will do,” Jerry said, trying hard not to blush again.
“Oh, one more thing, Jerry,” West said, turning back as if it had slipped his mind. “I’m not supposed to be back in town for a few weeks yet. I don’t want to catch any heat from the shareholders. I’d really appreciate your discretion about this.”
“Not a problem, Mr. Worthington,” Jerry said immediately. “You drive safe, now.”
Then he turned to Cordelia and tipped his hat, “Ma’am.”
Cordelia was too flabbergasted to respond.
She watched in awe as Officer Jerry got back in his patrol car, swung a textbook three point turn, and headed off.
West turned back to her.
“Lady friend?” she asked.
“Sorry about that,” he smiled.
“You never cease to amaze me, Westley Worthington,” she couldn’t help smiling back.
“I aim to please,” he told her with a wink.
“Who’s Paterno?” she asked, as they walked back to his Vyrus.
“Panchenko,” West said quietly. “Constantine Panchenko is the head of the biggest Ukrainian crime family on the West coast.”
“Why does he want the old zoo?” Cordelia asked.
“That is an excellent question,” West replied. “One that I feel warrants further investigation.”
“How?” she asked, turning to look back at the not-so-abandoned zoo and shivering a little. “We c
an’t go back in there.”
“Oh, I’m going back in there,” West said, the steel in his voice leaving no room for doubt. “But first I need to talk to Mallory.”
And though she was frightened, Cordelia was dying to know what he would ask Mallory, to discover what had happened to Dalton, to live this wild adventure with the man she adored.
A pang struck her heart when she reminded herself that she probably wouldn’t get to be part of it.
She’d called to set up a meeting with West’s old friend, Peter, after the car trip with West the other day. Peter had offered her a job a while ago, and though she’d turned him down at the time, she was going to ask if the offer was still on the table.
Cordelia had tried, God knew she had tried, but she couldn’t be with West without being with him. It was just too hard.
Maybe if they didn’t spend so much time together it would be easier to keep him at arm’s length until Jess was safely in the program. But West was coming back to work soon, which meant she’d have nowhere left to hide.
Not for the first time, Cordelia felt ashamed of her duplicity.
But as soon as her sister had her chance at a normal life, she could make things right with West, she was sure of it.
26
West arrived at Med Pros after regular work hours.
He used the service entrance McSweeney had recommended. Somehow it didn’t feel like he was at Worthington Enterprises if he didn’t hear his shoes ring on the marble floor of the lobby, but everything in his life was changing. He was lucky he wasn’t arriving in a wheelchair.
Not for the first time, he felt a fierce admiration for Mallory and her insistence that West get the benefit of his own tech, stalling the doctors until Cordelia could arrive to back her up.
Jess had been pretty disappointed that he was calling off tonight’s escapades. But when Mallory texted that she was ready for him he couldn’t exactly say no.
He’d been killing time running more missions with Jess the last couple of nights. Although he had to admit, it was feeling like more than just killing time. He had started to lose himself in it. And the missions were going more smoothly. Smoothly enough that Jess was nagging him constantly to come up with some kind of scary codename.
