But it had gone downhill from there. The closer they got to second injection time the more tense they were. Even watching a movie didn’t help. For the last hour or so they couldn’t even look at each other. Paradoxically, now that the wait was finally over, they weren’t exactly jumping for joy either.
Gabriel dragged his feet to the exam chair and sat down like he was sulking. He didn’t lock himself in this time, just sat there staring balefully at the tray of syringes. His eyes were back to normal, at least. Thank God for that. He wouldn’t be permanently affected like Hailey.
Amelia smiled. “How are we doing?”
“You tell me.”
“Well, the regenerative serum is working after the first introduction of the virus. You’re about halfway there. And you’re still alive.” She tilted her head. “I thought you’d be more excited.”
“Excited? Sure. You’re destroying my human nature so I can go on a killing spree. What’s not to be excited about?”
Amelia frowned. “You—”
“Will you stop saying I chose this?” Gabriel speared his hands into his hair. “I remember, okay? I was there.”
“Have you changed your mind?” she asked softly. Nothing would make her happier than to stop this right here and now. Except it was one injection too late to go back to the way he used to be. She’d never arrested treatment midway before. Finishing it might kill him but stopping now and leaving a DNA strand destabilized definitely would.
Gabriel dropped his hands on the armrests and met her gaze. She waited for him to make up his mind, careful not to betray her thoughts. She made herself breathe under his scrutiny, not wanting to influence his decision either way. If he asks me what to do… She would have no idea what to tell him; was afraid she’d say something wrong and make everything worse.
“No,” he finally said and her heart broke a little. “No, I haven’t. Too late now to go back anyway, right?”
Amelia dropped her gaze to the syringe tray. “Right.”
“Right. Have to see this through.”
She gave an infinitesimal nod and picked up the second virus injection. Only one left after this. And then he’d be gone forever. No more obnoxiously loud music, no more ruined supplies and equipment. No more life changing sex and being held all through the night.
Game face on. Can’t afford mistakes.
Amelia squared her shoulders and brought the syringe to Gabriel’s side.
“Hey,” he said, catching her hand. “Look at me.”
Somehow she did.
“Whatever happens, I want you to know none of it was your fault. You didn’t do anything I didn’t ask for.”
“And you think that makes a difference?”
Gabriel released her. “It should. I wouldn’t have traded this time for anything. Whatever price I have to pay because of it, I’ll pay it gladly.”
You’ll pay with your life!
Couldn’t he see it? Didn’t it matter to him one bit he would die? It made her so mad how little regard he had for his own life. Like he had absolutely nothing to lose. Like there was no one he’d be leaving behind.
Amelia shook herself. “Kiss for good luck?”
“No,” he said. “Just a kiss.”
She leaned in and Gabriel met her halfway for a kiss that somehow felt like goodbye. He was gentle, coaxing, and so perfectly under control he was a completely different man from the one who’d had her trapped in the greenhouse yesterday, demanding answers.
Amelia bit.
“Ow!”
“If you’re going to kiss me,” she said, “do it right.” And before he could say anything, she kissed him with everything she had, clutching his hair. Finally he went along with the program, cupping her nape to hold her close as he took over.
The computer started beeping, dragging her out of the pleasure haze. Amelia broke away, leaned her forehead against Gabriel’s.
“What is that?” he asked, sifting his fingers through her hair.
“It’s a timer,” she said, taking hold of his arm to find a vein. “The safest time to administer the injection is until the beeping stops. You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
It took less than a second to inject him and the moment Amelia pulled out the needle, the beeping stopped.
“So what happens now?”
A sonic boom shook the building and the lab plunged into complete darkness. Lights, computers, coms, anything electronic was down, including the emergency systems. Amelia blindly reached out to Gabriel. She could hear him moving; he wasn’t in the chair anymore. “Gabriel?”
His arm slid around her from behind, pulling her into his chest. “Stay still and quiet,” he said, maneuvering her around. She had no sense of direction in the absolute darkness and any sort of movement threw her off balance. Gabriel steadied her and pushed her to crouch in a corner somewhere. “Don’t budge until I tell you. Got it?”
Amelia nodded. “Yes,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“I’m going to find out.” More movement. “By the way, this night vision thing? Pretty fucking awesome.”
Amelia chuckled but her heart wasn’t in it. She wasn’t exactly scared of the dark, just the things that went bump in it. And this was looking to be one big giant bump.
As if on cue, something big went thud. There was a distinct grunt and sounds of fighting, then silence. “Gabriel?”
Nothing.
More fighting and this time there was a loud crash. Amelia winced and covered her ears, hoping it wasn’t her new DNA code breaker that just got smashed. Someone gave a shout and then there were more sounds, more people and what she imagined to be fists flying left and right. “Don’t let him get away!” someone yelled.
“Get the lights back on!”
“Hold him—umph.”
“Gabriel!” she called again, as loud as she could to make herself heard.
“Get the woman!”
Amelia slapped a hand over her mouth. So stupid!
Gabriel gave a savage roar and the fighting intensified. It was closer, too. Something huge got shoved out of the way and then it sounded like they were right on top of her. Amelia covered her head, making herself as small as possible.
“Get the fucking lights!”
“Got him!”
Oh God, what happened?
When the lights came on she had to squint through the brightness. There were five huge men in her lab. One was on the floor bleeding, two held Gabriel between them like they were holding on to a tree. There wasn’t a single face unmarred or unbloodied. Gabriel’s head was down; was he unconscious?
One of the men still standing stomped across the broken implements all over the floor to get to her, glass crunching in his wake. Amelia screamed when he grabbed her and hauled her up so high her feet dangled a good couple of inches off the floor.
The sound roused Gabriel and he raised his head. Amelia swallowed a giant lump. His left eye was swollen shut, and his right eyebrow was cut and bleeding freely. He had to squint and blink to keep the blood from his eye. His cheek was bruised and his lip busted. Jesus, did they hit him with a sledge hammer?
“All this trouble for one little whore,” the one who held her muttered.
Amelia dragged her gaze away from Gabriel to look at her captor.
“Still,” he said, leering, “she’s got potential.”
Gabriel struggled against the two holding him. By their oaths, she could tell he almost got away from them. Smartly, he kept his mouth shut.
Amelia took strength from him. She drew back her head as far as she could and snapped it forward, butting her forehead against the guy’s bulbous nose. The loud crunch of bone wasn’t nearly satisfying enough to make up for the splitting headache she gave herself.
But he did let her go. With a savage oath he reared back and dropped her. Amelia found her feet too late. Her knees buckled and she dropped unceremoniously on her ass. And ow! Now she hurt at both ends.
Gabriel smiled as mu
ch as his busted lip would allow. “That’s my girl.”
That earned him a vicious punch in the stomach and he doubled over again.
Brokenose came after her. Amelia scooted back, slipping more than actually moving. He was reaching for her again when heretofore silent Intruder Number 5 barked, “Enough! Caesar wants them alive.”
Brokenose did not take that well. He bared his bloody teeth at Amelia, his eyes promising retribution somewhere down the line.
She did the stupidest thing she could: opened her mouth. “I could set that for you,” she said. “I think I’ve got a hammer or a shovel around here somewhere.”
Brokenose leaned over her, blood and spittle dripping from his chin onto her. “You think you’re so clever? You just wait. Caesar will tire of you soon enough. And then you’re all mine.”
“Marek!” the apparent boss snapped.
Like a temperamental dog, Brokenose snarled and straightened, turning to face his master.
“Pick up Lars and clear out.” He had the airs of a general. The guy was built like a tank, hardly a neck to his name, but he stood at ease with his giant arms loosely behind his back. He was missing an eye, but the one he had left was cold as ice. This one wouldn’t blink at ripping a child’s head off.
Amelia had seen his type before. Her stint in New Alaska had been nothing if not an eye opening education about the human character. The Marek person was a loose cannon. Easily provoked and easily defeated with his own temper. But this guy was smart, and he was calculating. He was the type who’d wait until his enemies were asleep and then sneak into their bedrooms and disembowel them before they could call out for help. And he’d probably enjoy doing it.
“You two,” he said to the ones holding Gabriel, “hold him up.”
One of the henchmen adjusted his hold to free an arm and then raised Gabriel’s chin for the general guy to slap him. Amelia pushed to her feet, frantically looking for a weapon of some kind. Everything was a mess. Her implements were all over the floor and out of reach. The only thing close by was Gabriel’s last injection and the now empty syringe. She swiped both off the tray and pocketed them, then picked up the tray itself. It wasn’t much and it wouldn’t do enough damage to stop these guys, but it might slow one down a little. Maybe.
As if he’d read her thoughts, the general turned on her and narrowed his eye at the tray. “Feeble, Doctor. Hardly worth my attention.”
“And yet you take the time to tell me that? I think I’ll keep this at hand.”
He chuckled. “Be my guest.” Then he dismissed her and turned back to Gabriel. Marek was already gone with his fallen comrade, so there were only three now, blocking her way out. And they still had Gabriel hostage. Beaten, but she could already see signs of recovery. If the general noticed too, they were screwed.
The man slapped Gabriel again, rousing him. “Ah, welcome back,” he said.
“Hey … Soren,” Gabriel mumbled. “Long time. You still alive?”
“And doing quite well, thank you for asking.”
“Ah, that’s a shame.”
“Why are you here?” Amelia demanded. “Caesar said he still has time to come back.”
“Caesar changed her mind,” Soren said without looking away from Gabriel. “Her Gladius”—from his tone, he knew exactly what the word meant and enjoyed throwing it in Gabriel’s face—“is to report to the arena day after tomorrow, rain or shine. He’s going to be the main attraction.” He turned to her to add with a smile, “She was nonspecific as to his condition.”
“Are you willing to bet your neck … uh, your life on that?” Amelia challenged.
Soren raised his eyebrows. Or tried to. The scar bisecting his eye must have damaged a muscle on one side so that eyebrow came up only part of the way and crooked. “Your girl’s got guts,” he said to Gabriel. “You should talk to her about that. It’s gonna get her killed one day soon.”
“She’s smart too,” Gabriel said. “Smart enough that she could have gotten out of here by now if she wanted to.” He glared at her in reproach.
Amelia shrugged.
Soren looked at her then back at Gabriel. “We’ll take them both,” he announced. “I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but I have no doubt Caesar will want to know about it.” He jerked his head toward the door and his henchmen dragged Gabriel kicking and fighting outside. Then, like some perverted version of a gentleman, he inclined his head to Amelia and motioned her forward. “After you, Doctor.”
“I’m guessing that’s the easy way.”
“I prefer to think so.”
She wasn’t about to risk the hard way. Not with this guy. “Are you on good terms with Caesar?” she asked, edging forward.
“Quite good.”
“And Gabriel is her Champion.” Another small step.
“Indeed.”
She nodded. “I suppose she values the both of you quite highly.” She was next to him now and he wasn’t jumping her. A good sign.
“What are you getting at?”
Amelia shrugged. “I’m only thinking out loud. Because if she does value her assets, it would make sense she’d arrange first class transport for them.” And she preceded him out the door.
Chapter 17
They trussed him up with thick ropes, hands tied to his feet behind his back. For all that the queen bitch had contracted a private shuttle to transport them all back, Gabriel was on the floor, having fallen off the seat during takeoff. He fucking hated Romans. They were so damn cocksure there was no way Gabriel could escape they left him and Amelia alone in their cabin. Then again, it wasn’t like they had anywhere to run. Plus he was pretty sure they were being monitored constantly. A suspicion Amelia confirmed by subtly inclining her head toward the starboard corner.
“You could have gotten out,” he said.
“Yeah? And how exactly did you see that going in your mind? I run past the four massive behemoths blocking the only way in or out, make it to the street where no one ever stops for a red light and what? Yell for help before they catch up to me?”
She had a point. Damn it! He should have thought this through. They’d used an electromagnetic pulse strong enough to rattle the building. Which meant if Amelia had somehow managed to get away, she’d probably have had to run a mile to find a working transport.
Amelia sighed and slid off her seat to sit on the floor with him. “Guess we’re in trouble, huh?”
Gabriel snorted. “They haven’t invented a word strong enough for what we’re in.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I could think of a few choice ones.”
He grinned despite himself. At least she wasn’t freaking out. Ever the cool scientist. Amelia probably had the layout of the shuttle, number of people on board and how many weapons each of them carried.
She brushed a cool hand over his face. “You’re healing,” she said. “The cuts have already closed and the swelling is going down. At this rate you won’t have a mark left by the time we land.”
Which was a bad thing. The last thing the Romans needed was a serum that could make them impervious to injury. If Honoria found out what Amelia could do … “You should have run. All that technology, don’t tell me you don’t have some kind of panic room in that place.”
“I do, actually,” she said. “It was disabled the moment they shut the building down. Although, truth be told, I didn’t even think about it until now.”
Brilliant.
“Every last failsafe and security measure I engineered failed miserably, and all it took was one man and an EMP,” she grumbled. “I’m beginning to think I’m not as smart as I thought.”
“You? Never.” Amelia was a scientist, not a strategist. Her defenses might have failed, but he had complete faith in her ability to think their way out of this. “Your superior intellect must have decided the challenge wasn’t worthy of it so you subconsciously sabotaged the game to show off what you’re really capable of.”
The look Amelia gave him could have frozen the s
un. But all she said was, “Here, let me try the ties again.” She leaned over him, prying at the thick ropes. She’d worked her fingers raw once already and couldn’t budge them. “Nope, not coming loose.” She sat back on her heels with a frustrated sigh.
“I’ll live.” At least until they dumped him in the arena. Then he couldn’t make any more promises.
Amelia glanced at the recorder and met his gaze. She dragged him up to sit on his heels. Not an ideal position but better than lying on his side. His shoulder ached and his entire arm had already gone numb. When he was steady she slipped a hand into her pocket and pulled out a syringe. The syringe. The last injection.
He couldn’t believe she had it. In all the chaos, Gabriel had completely forgotten about that. “How long before you need to use that?” he asked, keeping his voice down.
She looked at it then met his gaze. The brilliant blues were filled with regret. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Right before she jabbed the needle into his arm.
Gabriel groaned and leaned back against the seat. Fire spread through his veins, burning him from the arm up to his skull. His vision darkened as if he was about to pass out and he doubled over as far as his bound arms would let him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again, catching him so his forehead leaned on her shoulder. It brought her mouth to his ear. “It’s a huge risk and I have no idea what this will do to you. But I know what will happen if they find the shot and take it.”
Christ, he was on fire! Muscles contracted in spasms he couldn’t control, breath locked up somewhere between his throat and his lungs, not going up or down. He felt his heart drumming up a storm, so hard his insides quivered with each beat. His arms down to the tips of his fingers cramped, threatening to break his bones and his abs tightened so much he could feel them tearing.
And that was just the beginning.
Amelia was talking to him softly. He had no idea what she was saying but past the ringing in his ears her voice comforted him. Not enough to stop the process. The ropes bit into his wrists and ankles, blood welled in the wounds and still the fucking things didn’t budge a fraction of an inch. His head pounded like his brain was trying to push his skull out. Any minute his eyes would pop out of their sockets.
Blood Debts (The Blood Book 3) Page 15
