The Gene Rift (Destiny by Design Book 2)

by J. Andersen

  He gains his composure quickly and says, “Don’t deny it, Saul.”

  “I don’t love her. I hate her. Hate everything she stands for.”

  “There’s a fine line between love and hate.” Micah looks up into the trees like he’s not willing to make eye contact, but it’s only for a second before he squares his fierce glare at me.

  How dare he suggest such a thing? I want to hit him, to rip his head right off his body. And I could. With one blow to his scrawny pencil-necked frame. My fists tighten at my sides, so I stretch my fingers wide to release the fury growing inside me.

  “It’s written in the way you look at her. Sure, you want her to suffer, but that’s only because torture and hatred for the rebels have been in-grained in you since the day you were born. But you love her, too. And if she dies because of that chip The Institute put in her, you’ll torture yourself for the rest of your days.”

  The extended silence between us is almost too much for the rebel to bear, and I see him revving up for another shot at convincing me. But hearing his sorry arguments is too much, so I stop him. I don’t love her. Far from it. But I could use this to my advantage.

  “What’s your plan?” I ask.

  With that, he relaxes some. “I know you won’t let me take Brody back to her alone, so I thought you could come with him. Just be there with Kate. Be there when she wakes up. Keep Brody close. She’ll feel his presence. It’ll work; I know it. If she can feel him, she’ll make it through the surgery.”

  I shuffle my feet in the dirt, brushing aside the needles. “You realize this is a long shot. She could die on the table when they’re digging around in her neck.”

  “I know, but it’s better than doing nothing and having her devastated when she wakes and realizes yet again that she’s lost Brody.”

  In my head, I’m going over the thousand ways this could go wrong. But there are also a thousand ways I can manipulate this to my benefit. “I’ll do it on one condition. I help you out, you owe me.”

  “I expected as much. Nothing ever comes free with you,” he says. “Let me get a few things settled. I’ll get Brody and be back in fifteen minutes.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  THIRTY SEVEN

  GIVE A LITTLE; GET A LITTLE

  (MICAH)

  Saul returns with Brody and a bag of supplies just as he said he would, and he follows me deep into the forest. It’s hot, sweltering actually. At the beginning of June, the days should be growing warmer, but today, it’s the kind of day that makes you wish you didn’t have to wear clothing.

  By the time we get to the clearing, my breath is heavy, and sweat pours down my forehead. Even Brody has sweat wetting his hair, but Saul is seemingly unaffected. Like he does this every day, well, because he does this every day.

  “We rest here. My team will pick us up,” I say.

  “So, how’s this gonna go down?” he asks.

  I know what he’s referring to. He knows we won’t let him see the entrance to the Hidden City. He knows too much about the place already. “Same thing as last time. We’ll drug you and take you in.”

  “I don’t think so,” he says. “I’m doing you a favor by coming here.”

  “So you’re cashing in on the favor I owe you?”

  “Let’s be civil now. After all I’ve done, you can’t give me the common courtesy not to drug me? I think a blindfold will do just fine. I’m not asking for a golden key to the city, just not to be drugged out of my mind. Give a little; get a little, Mr. Pennington.”

  I expect as much from Saul, and he’s right. Despite the practices of The Institute, the people of Arcanus are civil. So I pull out a dirty hand-kerchief and toss it to him to tie around his eyes. Once it’s securely in place, the sound of an approaching vehicle is heard in the distance. Saul cocks his head, and a smirk appears from under his blindfold. I want to drug him right now without him expecting. Just stick the needle in his neck and watch him fall to the ground, but he’s right. Give a little, get a little. And right now, any brownie points I can store up may help if I’m ever going find a way to get Brody back permanently. But at the same time, I’m kicking myself because I know he’s trying to ascertain every detail of his surroundings.

  Jaxon drives up, having received my message, and hops out of the car. “Are you insane, Micah?”

  “Apparently.”

  “Do you realize the elders will kill you for this?”

  “If it works, it’s worth it. She has to live through the surgery.”

  I hand Brody to Jaxon. “Get him strapped in.” Then I turn to Saul and grab his elbow, leading him to the car. I hand him a pair of earphones. “Put these on,” I say, shoving them into his hands.

  “What’s this?” he asks.

  “Give a little; get a little, Mr. Goodman.”

  He smiles that ominous smile again and places them over his ears. “Very well, Mr. Pennington.”

  At least he won’t be able to take in aural sounds. It’ll limit the sensory detail he can draw from. Placing his hands on the top of the car, I stand back as he clumsily climbs in the vehicle, blindfold still in place.

  During the car ride, Saul makes conversation like being blindfolded and deafened in the back of a vehicle is perfectly normal. He even turns his face toward whomever he’s speaking to like he can still see us.

  “So, here we are again,” he yells. “Interesting how you always end up depending on me, don’t you think? I’m sure you’d like to get rid of me once and for all, but you need me. I find that incredibly ironic and satisfying.”

  I pull the earphone away from his ear. “Shut up, Saul.” Then I let it snap back into place.

  He grimaces. “A bit touchy, aren’t we?”

  “We could kill—”

  “He can’t hear you.”

  Jaxon lifts the earpiece and starts to speak, but Saul interrupts. “You know, this conversation would be easier if you took these earphones off me.”

  “Not gonna happen,” Jaxon says. “We could end this easily enough. Kill you right here and now,” Jaxon adds. “No one would be the wiser. We’d have Brody.”

  “Except, if I don’t return to The Institute, Jefferson will have the entire military looking for me. They’ll be on you in a minute. I cover my back, too, you know.”

  We ignore him the rest of the way until we sink into Jaxon’s garage. “Underground. Impressive.” He sniffs the earthy smelling air. “Gets moist down here in the summertime, huh?”

  I remove Saul’s earphones. “Wanna cash in on that favor yet?”

  “In what way?”

  “Blindfold off now rather than waiting till we’re in the room. A little trust for a little trust.”

  He shrugs. “Eh, actually, I’d rather wait. I’ve got something else in mind much more interesting than seeing the blueprint of your secret hideout here.” He extends his arm. “Lead away.”

  “Um, I don’t think so.” I shake my head even though he can’t see me. “You’ll have to do your best following our voices. Here’s a stick to help you not bump into anything. I’ll carry Brody.”

  “Gee thanks.”

  While Saul follows us, Jaxon and I gesture to each other as we lead him along the streets of the Hidden City. Looping around a few times should throw him off a bit. An hour has passed by the time we cross the threshold of the hospital. At the main doors, the receptionist tells me Kate’s still in surgery. Once I explain my idea to bring Brody to Kate, she calls the O.R. Since Dr. Rosenberg is the lead surgeon, he approves it without question.

  In the waiting room, I remove Saul’s blindfold, and the three of us— me, Saul, and Brody—follow a nurse to the room to scrub in.

  As soon as Saul’s done getting into his hospital garb, he takes Brody from my arms.

  “My son. I’ll bring him in.”

  Maybe Brody is his son biologically, but what kind of father uses a baby as leverage?

  The room is silent except for the beeping of monitors. The smell of disinfectant h
angs in threads in the air. Then I see what they’re actually doing on a monitor. They’re destroying the chip with a laser, rendering it useless. I want to say something. To tell them not to hurt her, but Rosenberg knows what he’s doing. I have to trust that she’ll come out normal. If she comes out alive, that is.

  The doctor looks up from his work when he hears the door snap shut. A wriggly Brody pushes against Saul as soon as he sees his mother on the table. Her face is down, so he shouldn’t be able to recognize her, but he does. It’s like he can sense her near him.

  Rosenberg glares at me. “Be prepared, Micah, for the repercussions of bringing him in here.”

  He’s not talking about Brody; he’s referring to Saul. It might even affect Rosenberg himself if he’s had contact with Saul in The Institute. “Bring the baby over here. He can be near her, but don’t let him touch her, understand? I’m working around delicate nerves. Stand over here.” He points to a space about three feet away from Kate. Saul moves quickly into the space. Unfortunately, there’s no room for me, so I hang back. Rosenberg looks up and meets my eyes. I know what he’s thinking. He’s sorry Saul’s here. He knows the situation only because the receptionist, Paula, clued him in during a two-minute phone call just minutes ago. But he understands my desperation. He lifts his chin toward me and nods at a chair in the corner. I can be here when she wakes up. At least there’s that.

  From my seat, I watch Brody whining and struggling to get out of Saul’s grasp. He wants his mother. Dr. Rosenberg notices the annoyed look on Saul’s face and tells him it’s okay.

  “She can’t feel him, but at least she can hear him. Look,” he points to the beeping screen next to Kate. “Her pulse rate has evened out since he’s been here. Just keep him far enough away that he can’t touch her. His voice is what’ll keep her calm, give her something to fight for. ”

  Kate’s been in surgery for hours, but convincing Saul and getting him here has taken up most of the time. Twenty more minutes of watching them dig around in her neck, of sitting on edge, of holding my breath before it’s over.

  Then Dr. Rosenberg steps back and pulls off his gloves. “That’s it.” He looks at me first then Saul. “She did remarkably well. There were no hitches; everything went as planned. We didn’t dare remove it, but we think we were able to destroy the parts that were causing her trouble. Now we wait until she wakes up and see if it worked. Bring the baby closer to her. He can sit at her side. Just keep his hands away from the incision.”

  I stand up to take Brody from Saul, but he twists so the child is away from me. “I don’t think so, Mr. Pennington. My kid, remember?”

  I’m not in a mood to argue. All I care about right now is that Kate’s going to be okay. If that means giving the floor to my worst enemy to make it happen, so be it.

  The nurses bandage Kate’s neck and turn her over and continue to monitor her breathing. Brody nestles down by her side with Saul holding him so he won’t fall off the table. I watch from a distance.

  “Kate. Katherine, wake up.” One of the nurses strokes her hair back away from the cords.

  Her eyes flutter and the fingers on her right hand twitch at the sound of a voice. Brody peeks his head up from its resting place on her shoulder and looks into the face of his mother.

  “You’ve just come out of surgery, Katherine,” the nurse says again. “Your family is here.”

  “Family?” she says. Her voice is raspy and crackly, probably from the breathing tubes. But the sound of it is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. In an instant, I’m up and moving toward her, but Saul manages to step in front of me, Brody in his arms. He’s got that grin on his face again, and it’s starting to annoy me. Whenever he smiles like that, he’s up to no good.

  Before I can push him out of the way and get to Kate’s side, Saul leans forward and kisses her forehead. The adrenaline in my veins spurts into overdrive, and I’m about ready to take his head off for the gesture when I hear him speak.

  “Yes, honey. We’re here. And we’re going to take you home.”

  THIRTY EIGHT

  CONFUSED

  (KATE)

  “What? What the hell?” The guy in the corner yells as he rushes toward me, his face twisted in rage.

  Gray eyes storming, he looks back and forth be-tween me and the man next to me, the one holding the baby. Before the dark-haired man reaches my bed, the doctor stops him with an arm over his chest.

  “Calm down, Micah. She’s still sore and sensitive from the surgery. Don’t upset her now. She needs to recover.”

  The man at my side with brown eyes and sandy brown hair looks down at me affectionately. “Kate, it’s me, Saul. Don’t you remember? We have a baby together?”

  Everything is foggy, but when I look at the child at my side and see the smile on his face, I know he’s mine. He has my brown eyes and high cheekbones, but his nose … that’s different. I look sidelong at Saul, comparing the child to the man at my side. It’s true. The child is his. His long, slender nose and rounded chin are duplicated on my baby. “Brody?”

  “That’s right. Brody.” Saul smiles. “Our son.”

  “Where am I?”

  “In a hospital. There were some complications with your microchip. They had to do surgery. Do you remember?”

  I shake my head and look at the faces surrounding me. “I can’t re-member anything.”

  Suddenly, the man who sat in the corner, the one the doctor stopped, breaks free and launches himself at my bed. “Kate, look at me,” he says. “It’s me, Micah. You’re in the Hidden City. This man, Saul, he’s the enemy. He’s trying to manipulate you.” Micah takes my hand, but I pull it away from him. His eagerness frightens me, and I lean closer to Saul on the other side. “I love you, Kate. Don’t you remember? You love me, too. We were going to raise Brody away from The Institute.”

  The more he talks, the more panicked he becomes. His eyes blaze like a madman’s. He’s desperate for me to remember something, but my mind is blank. Saul puts his muscled arm between us to protect me from this man. For a moment, I feel safe. And in Saul’s presence, I know my son is safe.

  “Doctor, can you please escort Mr. Pennington out of here. He’s disturbing Kate. If she’s ever going to recover, she can’t be upset by lunatics at her bedside.”

  Micah jumps up, fists clenched and launches at Saul. “Lunatic? You’re calling me a lunatic? You’re the crazy one, Saul.” But the doctor swings his arms around Micah’s chest and detains him. All the nurses back up and line the walls with fearful faces.

  Saul’s jaw clenches, but his face remains under control. “Doctor, please. For Kate’s sake.”

  The doctor gives Saul a look. He loosens his grip on Micah and turns to him and says, “Micah, listen. She’s going to be okay. But you need to leave. He’s right; you’re upsetting her, and her nerves are too fragile now.”

  The talk quiets to hushed whispers. “Drew, you can’t be serious. This is Kate, my Kate. Don’t do this.”

  The doctor shakes his head and leads Micah to the edge of the room. “She’s safe here, Micah. But if you want her to remember the details, it has to be on her own. Forcing her will only make it worse.”

  Micah stands there silent for a moment, looking between Saul and me. He’s pained, but he’s holding it in. “I’ll leave,” he finally says, “after I speak to her alone.”

  Saul interrupts. “No way. I won’t allow it.”

  “Just add it to the favors I owe you, you bastard,” Micah says. With that, Saul’s lips quirk to one side. “Perfect,” he says then turns to me. “I’ll take Brody and get him something to eat. I’ll bring him back in a few minutes.” Saul kisses my forehead again and rests his hand in my hair, rubbing it between his fingers. His calloused hands graze the skin on my neck and make me shiver.

  “I won’t be long,” Saul says. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to work out perfectly.”

  One by one, they all leave until it’s just me and the man they called Micah. When we’re a
lone, the tension evaporates, and his shoulders relax. He crosses the room and pulls a chair next to my bed. It screeches along the floor till it comes to rest inches from me. The sound triggers something in me, but I can’t quite remember. He sits and looks down at his hands before running one through the mass of dark curls on his head. There’s something about the gesture that seems familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.

  Maybe I do know this man, but how can I trust he is who he says he is? That his intentions are true? Saul was right; Micah was the one acting crazy just a moment ago. I can’t trust anything he says. It was only Saul’s gestures that made me feel safe. Right now, when I can’t remember what has happened, can’t remember my past, my feelings are the only thing I have to go on. And my feelings tell me to be cautious with Micah.

  Finally, he dares to look at me again, and when he does, it’s like looking into a whirlwind. The color of his eyes seems to swirl between blue and gray, and long, dark eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks.

  Leaning closer, he hovers over me. “Look at me,” he says. “Do you honestly not remember me?”

  I reach out and cup his cheek in my hand. He leans his head into my touch. Brushing his hair back from his face, it’s like silk wrapping around my fingers. Closing my eyes, I try to envision this man, try to pull up a memory of us together, but my mind is blank. All I have is the look on his face when I open my eyes.

  “I’m sorry; I don’t remember you.”

  “You will. I’ll wait for you until you do. You fought for me once. I’ll fight for you now.”

  He’s so close, I can smell the orange on his breath, and for a second, I think he’s going to kiss me, but he doesn’t. Instead, he clenches his eyes shut, and a single tear trickles down his cheek. He brushes it away before anyone else notices and squeezes my hand. “You’ll remember.”

  When he leaves, I’m left wondering what we once were to each other and wishing I could remember him.

  THIRTY NINE

  GAINS AND LOSSES

  (MICAH)

  When I leave the room, Saul is standing just outside the door. Luckily, Brody is playing quietly on the floor, because I’d hate to hurt him when I slam his poor excuse for a father against the wall. “What the hell was that?”