The Gene Rift (Destiny by Design Book 2)

by J. Andersen

  The tap of her heels echoes against the stone walls of my cell. Medical bag in hand, she crosses the room and kneels in front of me. She doesn’t say a word. Doesn’t even look me in the eyes.

  “No rest for the weary, huh?” I say. “What time is it? I can’t really tell.” She glances at me, and her lips form a thin line before she ducks her head and unclasps her bag. She’s not going to speak unless she has to.

  “Okay then. Am I allowed to ask you why you’re here?”

  Her dark, blunt-cut hair falls across her face as she rummages through her bag, but the only response is the steady rhythm of her breathing. She pulls out some rubber gloves and snaps them over her hands. Then, grabbing some antiseptic, she splashes it onto a gauze pad and presses it to the cut on my nose. The cold surprises me, and the vapors burn my eyes. I try to back away, but the wall behind me keeps me directly in the path of her medical assault.

  I take the gauze from her hand and pat my nose where the blood is crusted onto my skin. The cotton quickly turns a rusty brown. “Not very chatty, are you? Don’t worry. I’ve never been one to give up easily. Do you have a name? Are you going to tell me what you’re doing? No, wait, lemme guess ... you’re going to clean me up so they can torture me again, right? I saw a movie about that once.”

  She ignores me as she adjusts her rubber gloves.

  “Maybe you’re here to inject me with some experimental serum? That’ll be cool. I’ve always wanted to be a science experiment for a bunch of crazed lunatics. Will I start barking or honking? Or maybe foaming at the mouth like a rabid animal?”

  It’s like I’m not here. Even the guards say hello before they kick me. Usually, it’s more like, “Good morning, sunshine!” Thud. But this woman refuses to speak, and it’s creeping me out.

  Leaning forward, I try to make eye contact. I’m about to brush her hair away from her face to force her to look at me. But finally, she looks up. She grabs my face so quickly I nearly topple over in surprise. Suddenly, her thumbs press down, and her fingers spread across my cheeks as she holds me steady. Without warning, she cracks my nose violently back into place.

  Instantly, I’m on my feet, letting out a stream of obscenities as fresh blood spurts onto my hands and drips to the floor. When my swearing subsides, she stands and looks me in the eyes, “My name’s Sara, and I’m here to fix your nose.” Then she walks out, leaving me holding my still bleeding face.

  TWELVE

  FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

  (KATE)

  “Under no circumstances are you to contact me,” I tell Clara, the woman who’s watching Brody today. She’s a friend of Ally’s, so I know I can trust her. “If there’s an emergency, take him to the hospital. Someone will get word to me, but I can’t risk having him out and about today, okay? That means no walks or stroller rides. It’s too dangerous.”

  “What’s so different about today?” she asks as she pats a graying curl closer to her head.

  It’s strange giving her instructions about my son. Clara is three times my age and is a capable woman. Still, I can’t explain why today of all days she needs to keep Brody inside. I’m not willing to risk Saul seeing him. Even if Saul’s blindfolded the whole time, it’s not worth the gamble that we’d run into each other. He can’t see his son … yet.

  After more instructions about Brody’s feeding and naps, I gather a few supplies in a knapsack, tuck my shirt into my pants, and toss the bag over my shoulder. As I lean in to kiss Brody, who’s comfortable in Clara’s arms, I inhale his fresh baby scent, memorizing it, just in case.

  Pausing at the door, I take one last look. This is crazy. It’s like my heart is being ripped out of my chest, but I know there’s no reason for it. Brody is perfectly safe here. But I’m still filled with dread. I shake off the feeling and head out the door and down the street toward Jaxon’s garage.

  We don’t say much as we get into the Jeep, but Jaxon informs me there’ll be another group following us into the woods. He didn’t want three of us against who knows how many of Saul’s men. No repeats of what happened at the cabin. Saul’s supposed to be alone—maybe one or two more—but we all know The Institute doesn’t always play by the rules.

  At this point, I don’t care who’s with us. I just want to know more about Saul’s strategy to get Micah out. And if I can figure out the game Saul’s playing with pretending he doesn’t know where the Hidden City is, that’d be great too.

  As the car rises through the cavern on its lifts, my mind races through the possibilities. A raid for Micah’s escape would bring too much attention. And sneaking him out of the maximum security prison would be extreme. Surely someone would notice their top priority prisoner missing. There has to be something Saul isn’t telling us. Some ace he has up his sleeve. But I wrack my mind and can’t think of anything he could possibly reveal.

  We reach the surface, and the rest of the drive is silent. All I can do is gaze out the window at the budding trees as they whiz past me in a stream of green. My heart pounds louder and louder as we get closer to the spot where we’re supposed to meet Saul.

  From the back seat, I can’t see Hunter or Jaxon’s faces, but the way Jaxon’s head moves, he seems to be scanning the area for any possible threat.

  The pathway opens into a clearing where the junkyard sits.

  “It’s off down the gulley,” I say, pointing to my right. I’ll never forget where I ran into Saul.

  Jaxon pulls over and parks under a tree, and the cars that follow us do the same. On the other side of the junkyard, a few Jeeps and trucks are scattered across the open lawn. No reason to hide them. We knew they’d be here ... waiting. Despite the vehicles, we don’t see any people.

  “Where was it exactly? Wherever you met him before, that’s where they’ll be meeting us.”

  “Come with me.” I climb out of the back seat, and both men follow.

  Car doors slam, and a group of people from Arcanus approach us. Hunter grabs my arm. “Before we go … here.” He hands me a weapon. It feels heavy and strange in my hands despite practicing with Jaxon. I’m still not used to arming myself, but living among the hidden, I’ve learned predators are always lurking.

  “What’s the plan?” A young woman approaches our small group, barely glancing at me. When I look into her face, I gasp. She’s me.

  I’ve seen her before, but only in passing. She was in Silas’s bookshop the first time Micah brought me to Arcanus. She’s the one who was supposed to take my place in The Institute. I still can’t get over how alike we are to each other—hair, chin, stature. But her lips are thinner than mine, and her eyes are more almond shaped. A birthmark on one cheek is small but noticeable among the few freckles spattered across her face. As she struts this way, I see how tall she is, towering over me by at least three inches.

  She’s dressed in skintight black pants and a painted-on black tank top. Across her chest from shoulder to waist is a gun strap. A belt with several knives hanging off each side is slung low around her waist. Her dark hair is pulled back into a slick ponytail, which accentuates sharp cheekbones. Eyes lined with dark kohl liner give her a harsh, pointed look. In this regard, she’s my opposite. I’m in jeans and a tank top, but I don’t look ready for war like she does. And my hair is wavy and braided loosely along one side. I’m the softer version of her. For once, I don’t like it. Today I need to be hard. To deal with Saul, I have to look tough, even if I don’t feel it. Too late now.

  “Jessica,” Jaxon says.

  She smiles broadly at him, revealing a slightly crooked smile that pulls up higher on one side. It might be awkward for some, but it fits her face.

  “Bring up the tail end. Kate will lead the way, but we need a group to follow and another to hang back. I’d like to think this dude will do what we say, but we have to be ready for anything.”

  She nods and jogs back to the group, weapons clicking with each step as she awaits further instructions.

  Tucking the pistol into the holster on my pants, I give my s
ore ankle a quick rub before I head off toward the forest and down into the ravine. The water level of the small creek is higher than it was a few weeks ago. Probably runoff from the rain we’ve had, so I stick close to the side, searching for where I stood when Saul found me before. A few rocks and trees look familiar, and I’m convinced I’m in the right place, but I don’t see anyone.

  “It was here. I’m sure it was.” I scan the area, and that’s when I see the footprints, new and deep in the soft mud of the ravine. My eyes follow the trail to a thicker patch of trees where a group of men emerges, Saul at the front.

  “Here we go,” I mutter.

  In minutes, his group crosses the creek in a tight squared formation of military precision, paying no attention to the water splashing beneath their feet. They keep their eyes on the target: me.

  Jaxon and the rest of our crew form a semi-circle around me. Jaxon flanks my right while Hunter stands at my left.

  Saul looks at his watch. “Hello, Kate. Right on time, I see.”

  He’s dressed in civilian clothing: khaki pants and a plaid button up shirt. It’s odd to see him this way, especially when his men are in fatigues. His sleeves are rolled up, revealing sinewy forearms covered in hair, and his top is unbuttoned one or two down, showing his muscular chest. If he wasn’t trying to steal my son and kill my boyfriend, I might think he was handsome.

  The rest of Saul’s crew wear their uniforms with weapons showing. An armed man stands at each side of him. It’s a standoff, neither side willing to retreat, both tensed and ready for the fight.

  A swish of his wrist and his company rests as he steps forward. “So this means you’re ready to hear my plan?”

  “Yes.” I take one step to meet him but stop short when his men raise their weapons. Saul flicks his head back, and they lower their arsenal. Once they do, I move forward again. No matter how scared I am at this moment, I must show fierceness he’s never seen before. I can’t let him see my trembling chin or my shaking hands.

  “You realize we can’t let you see the city.” I pull out a blindfold from my back pocket, but Jaxon clears his throat and moves to stand beside me.

  “Actually, the Committee thought this might work better than a blindfold.” In his hand is a small bottle.

  From a few feet away, I hear Saul snicker. “Well done, Mr. …”

  “Salinger. Jaxon Salinger.”

  “No relation to J. D.?” Saul says, smiling. “Well done, Mr. Salinger. And all this time I took you for a fool.”

  Jaxon doesn’t break a smile. “Drink it.” He holds the small flask out to Saul.

  “How long will I be out?”

  My mind is reeling. When did Jaxon get this? Who gave it to him? I have to admit, it’s a much better plan than blindfolding Saul. If he will go for it. But when did this idea get put into place, and why wasn’t I informed?

  “We have enough for your men, too,” Hunter adds, motioning behind him. Our crew members respond by removing small flasks from their belts. One by one, they pass them forward until there is a small pile at my feet. “That way, no one will be able to follow us.”

  Saul raises his hands and claps slowly. “Nicely played, gentlemen. From the look on Kate’s face, she didn’t know about this part of the plan.”

  I grind my teeth together. He’s right. I’m pissed that they didn’t find it necessary to inform me of the change in tactics. It makes me look weak, but I won’t let Saul think that. As if to spite him, I grab the bottle out of Jaxon’s hand and toss it to Saul. Then I do the same with the men behind him, tossing them each a flask from the pile at my feet. They all catch them midair.

  I lift my chin and narrow my eyes. “They go first. Then you.”

  “I assume my men and I will actually awake unharmed in a few hours.”

  “I guess you’ll just have to trust us,” Jaxon says.

  Saul looks at me then back to Jaxon and smirks. “You heard her, gentlemen. Drink up.” The entire row of men obeys their commander.

  “Wait for me here when you wake up.” Then he turns to me. “How long?”

  “Four hours,” Jaxon answers.

  Saul turns to address his men, “Be prepared for a killer headache when you come to, gentlemen. Looks like this is potent stuff.” He brings the flask to his lips, throws back his head, and downs the contents in one gulp. As his men drop to the ground behind him, he winks at me.

  “See you on the other side, my dear.” Then he crumples to the forest floor in a heap.

  ****

  “That was easy,” Jaxon says, as he nudges the body with his boot. “If only all our enemies dropped that quickly.”

  “We should kill him now.” Hunter stands over him with a gun pointed at Saul’s chest, but Jaxon holds up his arm.

  “He might be the type to do that to us, but we have more integrity than that. We follow through with our original idea.”

  “He’s threatening our families, Jax.”

  “Doesn’t matter. We’re better than that. Than him.”

  “Better than that?” I rush toward Jaxon and push him back. “What about making me look like an idiot in front of the enemy? Were you ever going to tell me things had changed? Don’t I have the right to know? Or were you going to hang me out to dry, too? It’s my fault we’re here. You can’t leave me in the dark on things like this.”

  Each statement is punctuated with my finger to his chest, and for once, he doesn’t joke.

  “You wouldn’t have let us drug them, and I wasn’t willing to take any chances with my men.”

  “Of course I would have let you.” But deep down, I know he’s right. Somehow, even though he’s barely spent any time with me, he knows what I’d do. The thought creeps me out. Am I that transparent?

  “I wasn’t going to let him be awake on the slight chance that he’d try something. This is better … safer. At least I’m not going to kill him. You should thank me for that.”

  “Don’t count on it, Jaxon.”

  As I look at Saul curled up with pine needles clinging to his cropped hair, I actually feel sorry for him. He’s breathing steadily, and there’s something about sleeping in front of us that softens him, makes him more bearable. For a moment, he’s not the Tier Two Military commander. He’s just a guy. Vulnerable. At our disposal, if we so choose. But we won’t. Jaxon’s right; we aren’t like that. As much as part of me would like to rid my life of Saul, he trusted us when he drank that … whatever it was.

  Jaxon leans down and places his hands under Saul’s arms. “Let’s get him in our vehicle and back to Arcanus. He needs to be in the town hall meeting room before he wakes up. If it happens before then, the elders will have our heads.”

  It won’t make any difference. He already knows where the entrance is. But maybe they’re right. If he’s inside the building, at least he won’t know the layout of the village. That might help somehow.

  Hunter gathers the other men. They lift Saul on their shoulders and walk up the ravine. Saul’s head bobs lightly at each step, but despite the motion, his eyes remain closed.

  Back at the vehicles, Jessica and a few others wait, weapons ready. On seeing us, Jessica opens the back door to the SUV, and the men carrying Saul’s body push it across the seat. I start to climb in after, but Jaxon stops me. “Whaddya think you’re doing?”

  “Getting in the car.”

  He shakes his head. “There’s no way I’m letting you ride in the back seat with this cretin. If he wakes up and … I’d never forgive myself.” His hand lingers just a second too long on my arm before he turns me around and nudges me toward Jessica.

  “Ride with Jessica. We’ll be right behind you.”

  We make eye contact, and I know by her rigid posture and the way the cords of her neck twist that this won’t be a pleasant trip. Rather than argue, I follow Jessica back to the other SUV. I’d love to get to know this mysterious version of me better, but it seems like she’s always angry with me. I’m not sure what I’ve done to irritate her, but some
thing tells me I’m about to find out.

  We’re driving over the bumpy forest path when it finally hits me.

  “You like him, don’t you?” I ask her.

  She whips her head toward me, slams on the brakes, and yanks the car to the side of the path. The motion throws me against my seatbelt, whiplashing my neck, and I grasp the dashboard for leverage. “Look,” she says, her jaw twitching. “I don’t know you. And this isn’t girly-girly time, so keep your thoughts to yourself, and I’ll do the same. How about that? Hmm?”

  “Wow, what crawled up your butt and died?”

  She glares at me, trying to kill me with her stare, but suddenly her lip quivers, and she breaks into a wide grin. Seconds later, she’s giggling uncontrollably. I’m thoroughly confused.

  The laughter subsides, and she sighs aloud. “Okay, look. We got off on the wrong foot. It’s been strange having you around knowing the whole time I was supposed to replace you, to be you on the other side. A bit awkward to have a duplicate of myself walking the streets of Arcanus, you know? And yeah, I like him, but for some reason, he seems more taken with you. All mysterious and being from The Institute and stuff. It’s starting to get on my nerves.” She grips the top of the steering wheel and runs her hands down the sides of it.

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better, Jaxon’s all yours. I’ve got my eyes set on someone else.”

  She shakes her head. “And that’s helped so much.” By now, she’s back on the path at full speed. She glances in the rearview mirror, rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Over my shoulder, I spot Jaxon in the car behind us. He raises both arms in a shrug as if to say, “What are you doing?”

  “Even though I dropped the hint to Jaxon a million times,” Jessica says, “he only seems to see me as a buddy. Then you come along, looking a heck of a lot like me only different, and all of the sudden, he’s all over you. A little hard on the ego, if you know what I mean.”

  “He’s not all over me. He’s just trying to be friendly.”