He waited, but she refused to take the bait, remaining silent.
"Ah well. I wish you a very pleasant evening," Whitney said. His smile remained firmly in place as he pushed Brett's foot aside with the toe of an immaculate shoe. "I'll have someone collect the body." He turned on his heel and left them.
The door slid shut behind him with a familiar clang. Mari shuddered at the thought of Brett's dead body lying within a foot of her door while his killer faced her, blood on his clothes and hands.
She shook her head. "Why did you do this, Sean?"
"You know why, Mari. You've always known how I felt about you." He stalked past her to the small bathroom, his shoulder brushing up against her, nearly knocking her back.
She pressed back against the wall, tears burning behind her eyelids and choking her throat. "I don't, Sean. I swear to you, I really don't."
He came out, drying his hands off. "How did you think it made me feel letting Brett in here and hearing you fight, hearing him beat you? There wasn't anything I could do about it. He didn't belong with you; he never did. You knew it, and I told Whitney he didn't. Whitney agreed with me."
"So you took his place? That doesn't make any sense."
"Better me than someone else. I've always wanted you. I didn't hide it from you. You were the one who wanted to keep if just friends."
"And that should tell you something. You let Whitney pair us knowing I didn't want to be more than friends with you. That's not saving me, Sean." For the first time she felt absolute despair. He was looking at her without comprehension, uncaring what she thought or felt. "This is about you. You wanted me, and this was your way to get me. You didn't care at all how I felt, did you?"
He shrugged. "Better me than Brett or anyone else. You should have just accepted me one of the hundred times I made the offer."
"I don't feel anything for you other than friendship."
"Whitney's right, you're stubborn. You refused to try. You gave me no other choice, Mari. This one's on you." He stepped close to her, looming over her. "I want you to get in the shower and scrub that man's scent off of you."
"Go to hell."
He shook his head. "We're not doing this, Mari. You have no choice. You belong to me, and I'm going to make certain if there's a baby, it's mine. Get into the shower and do as I say."
She scowled at him. "Did you really think it would be that easy? That you'd walk in here and take away what little personal choices I have left and I'd just go along with it? Brett was a vicious brute and I despised him. You were always special to me. I couldn't have respected you more. But this . . ." She spread her hands and shook her head. "This is a despicable act, and anything you get from me you'll just have to take. And you can live with knowing you're a sick fucking rapist like Brett."
"I gave up my life for you, Mari. You will do what I say. I sold my soul to Whitney for you."
"You don't have a soul."
"Get in there and shower before I drag you in and scrub you myself."
"You're such an asshole, Sean."
Sean grabbed her by her hair and dragged her toward the bathroom, erupting into fury when she didn't do as he ordered. He shoved her hard. "Get in there."
She kicked the door closed in his face.
Mari. Baby. What's happening? You're scaring me, honey. Stop trying to cut yourself off from me.
She thought she had cut her mind off from Ken's, not just tried. She must have reached out because she was so stressed and afraid. She didn't want him to know, to witness her utter humiliation. She stood for a moment leaning against the bathroom door and then began to strip. Once Sean heard the shower, he might calm down and she could talk reasonably with him.
Mari stepped under the cascading water and closed her eyes, turning up her face. You can't help me now, Ken. This place is locked down and I can't escape without the others. I won't go without them. I'd never forgive myself. Please go away.
What the hell are you saying to me?
She leaned up against the shower stall and let the tears leak out under the spray of hot water, pretending she wasn't giving in to the feeling of despair, but she was drowning in it. Her chest felt tight. She could barely breathe, and her throat was raw and choking her. For the first time that she could remember, she felt panicked.
Honey. His voice moved in her mind. Soft. So tender it brought a fresh flood of tears. I'm here, Mari. Talk to me. Share it with me. Lean a little bit, for God's sake.
I can't. She wanted to reach out. She wanted to feel the comfort of his arms, and maybe that was what was wrong. Ken had made her weak, made her feel she needed him. She'd always been able to endure--to stand alone, but now she wanted the solid rock of his body, the strength of his arms. She wanted him to shelter her close and stop the insanity before she lost her own mind. Whitney was tearing her into little pieces, just as Ekabela had cut Ken's body into tiny sections.
You can tell me anything.
You get so angry. She had had enough of angry men. She wrapped her arms around herself and huddled down, wishing she could disappear down the drain with the water.
Not at you. I have rage in me that I've never let out, and maybe it comes boiling to the surface, but never at you, Mari. I just want to make things better for you. Tell me.
She was going to tell him and she knew it was mistake, but she couldn't stop herself. She desperately, desperately, needed someone. Whitney gave me to Sean. Sean killed Brett. The body is outside my door and Sean is waiting for me. He isn't going to take no for an answer and he's way stronger than I am. You can't get to me in time. Not if you're on the second level.
For a moment he was gone; his mind jerked abruptly out of hers, leaving her alone and bereft and feeling sick. A loud thump on the door made her jump. Sean was coming to get her and there was no way out.
Baby, listen to me. There was pain in his voice, in his mind, pain and guilt mixed with the coldest rage she'd ever touched. I can't get to you. I'm drilling through a cap to try to find a way into the wall below me. Everything dead-ends here.
It's okay. Really it is. It wasn't and they both knew it.
Stay with me. Keep your mind in mine.
No. I don't want you here with me when this happens. I feel unclean. I couldn't bear for you to witness this.
She felt the sensation of lips brushing the corner of her mouth, and she touched her lips in wonder. How did you do that?
The door banged open and Sean ripped the shower curtain aside. Mari looked up at him with her tear-wet face, feeling total despair.
Try to connect with him mentally. Is he a telepath?
Yes. For a moment she didn't comprehend, and then a tiny hope flickered and blossomed. She didn't dare believe it could work, because it would be so terrible if he couldn't do it. Can you use mind control on him?
I'm sure as hell going to try. You can't make a mistake, Mari, and accidentally give away the fact that I'm here and we're communicating.
"Get up, Mari." Sean extended his hand.
Slowly she unfolded her legs, refusing to be intimidated because she had no clothes. Why are you doing this, Sean? Please just talk to me so I can stop shaking. I'm afraid of you. I don't like being afraid of you.
With a show of reluctance she put her hand in his and let him help her to her feet. He tugged until her body brushed up against his. She couldn't stop herself from going rigid, but she did manage not to fight.
Why are we using telepathy? Sean pushed her ahead of him into the bedroom, taking a careful survey of the walls, looking for a hidden camera.
I'm pretty sure Whitney has audio surveillance in here. Things he's repeated to me he could only know if he heard them in my room. Sit on the bed with me, just for a minute, Sean, let me get used to the idea of this.
Didn't he say you blew all the audio when you took out the cameras?
I don't want to take a chance. You know he lies all the time.
She felt Ken moving in her mind when she stepped back from Sean. He was stu
dying the energy field, the traces of Sean left behind. She felt the sudden surge of energy entering her mind, gathering everything she was and tying the two of them together into one powerful unit. It frightened her so much she nearly pulled back. She wasn't Mari, standing on her own, but part of Ken, open to him, all her fears and hopes and every memory she had. It was shattering to be so close to another human being, so completely vulnerable to him.
She allowed her body to sag onto the bed, reaching for the thin blanket to try to protect her body from the lust in Sean's eyes. Why did it repulse her so much? When Ken had looked at her with a hundred times that hunger, she had melted for him, melted into him. Self-preservation demanded she pull away before her mind released every secret fantasy, every secret desire, real and imagined, and Ken's responded in kind.
A tremor ran through her. His mind was already filling hers with so much information, and along with his memories came power. Their energy fused into one steady stream, one powerful flow, a current so strong she feared she might pass out before Ken could take complete control of it.
Sean tugged at the blanket. Mari resisted, but it slipped enough to reveal the swell of her breasts. He jerked harder on the blanket, his elbow pushing her back until she was half-lying across the bed.
I don't want to wait. You've known me for years, Mari. You belong to me, you always have. I'm just taking what's mine. His mouth clamped hard on her breast, one hand circling her throat, fingers digging in to remind her not to struggle.
"Sean, you're hurting me." She slammed both hands against his chest, trying to push him off of her.
She expected Ken to lose it. She was aware of the rage in him, a living entity, black and vicious and brutal. Use telepathy, make him answer you.
Sean, please, that hurts.
Don't fight me then.
She felt Ken's instinctive reaction, the emotions pouring in, swirling together to make the rage even more powerful. But he grew as cold as ice--colder even, utterly still and focused, pushing away the rage as if it had never been, until his mind was the calm eye of a whirling hurricane.
She heard the soft cadence of his voice, mesmerizing, commanding, low and gentle but so insistent there was no denying it. The words slid by her, impossible for her to grasp, riding on the current of energy slipping from her mind into Sean's.
Sean sat up, his face shocked. He shook his head several times as if to clear it. The voice never stopped, never rose, never changed tones. It was relentless in its assault--pushing and pushing at Sean's mind, demanding obedience. Sean's face paled significantly, his eyes glazed over. She recognized the heaviness in his mind. She experienced it to a much lesser degree. Ken had gripped Sean's mind hard and refused to let go.
Sean stood up, shuffling backward, staring at her with a wild, helpless fear. She was afraid to move, afraid she would break the spell Ken was weaving with his voice. She didn't know how it worked, but the energy it took was exhausting. Sean resisted, fighting the continual murmur of that relentless command. Each step he took away from her dragged on the floor as if he resisted lifting his foot.
Mari held her breath as Sean swiped his keycard through the lock to release the door. To her shock he tossed the card on the floor before he shuffled out. The door slammed shut behind him, but he kept moving, heading away from her. She could hear his footsteps fading.
Still, the enormous flood of energy continued. Exhausted, Mari lay back, pulling up the blanket, her entire body trembling uncontrollably. She heard the ticking of the clock and her own heartbeat. The energy crackled around her, crackled in her mind, surging with such power it frightened her to think what Ken and she could do together if they were bent on destruction.
The voice continued, and she tried to catch the commands, determined to find out what Ken was demanding of Sean. She couldn't interrupt, afraid that Sean would come back, that he would know she hadn't been alone in driving him off. She saw the keycard on the floor but couldn't find the strength to even crawl to it. Everything she was went into that river of energy.
She lay with her eyes closed, feeling the swelling surge, and realized she wasn't alone anymore with Ken. Jack had joined them, throwing his psychic energy into holding Sean in their command. Sean's mind was no longer his own, but had been wholly taken over by the Norton twins. She tried to pull her own energy back, afraid of being so exposed to Ken's brother, but the melding was too strong. She was drawn farther and farther away from her mind, walking through a maze of corridors, searching with a deadly, dark purpose.
CHAPTER 16
Long after the sensation of energy flowing through their merged minds faded, Mari lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Tears leaked out of her eyes, but she couldn't make the effort to wipe them away. She heard someone outside her door removing Brett's body, but no one spoke to her. It was just as well. She didn't think she had the ability to answer.
Once, she felt a flutter in her mind and recognized Cami's touch, but she didn't have the strength to answer, even though she knew she must be causing the other women distress. They would have felt her fears. And they certainly would have felt the swell of psychic energy--anyone psychic would have felt that. There was no way to contain that kind of power.
Her mind felt drained, her body as heavy as lead. She couldn't imagine what Ken felt like, but it had to be worse. Her head pounded with one of the worst, most disorienting headaches she'd ever experienced, and using telepathy and other psychic talents often caused them. Her heart beat too hard and fast and she was dizzy and sick.
She visualized Ken lying on the floor somewhere in the large complex, surrounded by enemies, vulnerable to attack, and sweat beaded on her body. She could barely breathe with needing to know he was alive, well and safe. She couldn't touch his mind, and she was certain that if he could have touched hers to reassure her, he would have. She could only lie there, terrified for him, imagining the worst with no way to help him.
No one could expend that amount of energy and not have tremendous physical repercussions. He had given everything he was to save her. She heard herself sob. Her chest heaved. It shocked her that she would be lying on her cot sobbing. Not tiny tears, but weeping out loud for everyone to hear. She never did that. Never. She was a soldier, trained in survival. You never, never, gave the enemy ammunition against you, and you certainly never gave them the satisfaction of messing with your emotions.
All of her training seemed to be gone in that instant, leaving her with no control. She needed to know he was safe. How in the world could their connection have grown so strong that it was no longer just about sex? She thought she could have moments in her life that would make the rest of it all bearable, but being with Ken Norton had changed everything. She was changed. He had shown her life could be different, that there could be hope for her, she could have dreams.
For a good two hours she lay in the dark, wondering if he was alive. For the first time in her life, she prayed. Whitney had taught them to believe only in science and that people who believed in a higher power were people who needed a crutch. There was no such thing as God, or a savior, or even a way of life that was about anything other than discipline and duty. She'd been indoctrinated since she was a baby into the belief that those who had mercy and compassion were soft--sheep, people waiting for someone with the intelligence and power to guide them.
For most of her life, she'd thought herself a failure because she didn't strictly adhere to Whitney's teachings. She loved her sisters, and most of what she did was out of a desire to protect them and stay with them--not her tremendous sense of duty. She'd never believed in anything but her sisters, but now, just in case, she prayed. And then, as if someone really had listened to her plea--there was no sound, nothing to warn her--she nearly jumped out of her skin when the door slid open and a man slipped through.
"Ken?" She croaked his name, still unable to lift her pounding head from the pillow. It was him, his shoulders wide, his arms like steel sliding around her, gathering her close. She
turned her tear-wet face against his chest. He collapsed on the bed, and she realized he was trembling with weakness. "How did you manage to get here? I can't even move."
"You don't have to move; I'm just going to join you. My head feels like it's about to explode." He stretched out onto the bed beside her, hands running over her body to assure himself she was in one piece. "Your courage terrifies me." In truth she humbled him. To endure the things she'd endured her entire life, to stand there and face Sean and what he meant to do to her, to give herself up so fully to Ken, a man she knew to be every bit as dangerous--maybe more--it was almost more than he could comprehend.
He suddenly stiffened. "Oh, God, baby, you're crying. You going to break my heart. He's gone now. You're safe. You're safe with me."
He wrapped his body protectively around hers, feeling her tremors, the tear-wet face against his chest. His fingers tunneled in her thick hair as he dragged her as close as he could get her, trying to shield her from any further harm. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I tried to get here as fast as possible. They put you through hell and I wasn't here."
He couldn't breathe with her crying. His chest felt tight, his throat raw, and panic rose. "Stop now." His hands stroked caresses in her hair. He rained kisses over her face and licked at the tears in an effort to stop them. "I tried. I swear I tried."
"You were here, Ken, you were; you saved me when I didn't think it was possible." Now that he was with her, alive and well, she should have been able to stop crying, but somehow, the floodgates opened and she was worse, alternating between hiccupping and sobbing, clinging to him like a child. Mari knew she would be ashamed in the morning, but the cover of darkness gave her the courage to be honest. "I was so afraid for you."
"Afraid for me?" Ken brushed more kisses over the top of her head and down her face. His teeth scraped her chin, and then he was kissing the corners of her mouth. "I was safe. You were the one in danger. I thought I might go out of my mind." His thumbs brushed at her tears.
Mari tried hard to regain control. He wasn't joking; he was very shaken up by her tears. She took several deep breaths to calm down. "Will Sean realize you used mind control on him? Because if he does, Whitney will know I couldn't possibly have done it and he could go berserk and kill all of us."
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