by Lexi Blake
“I’m not a thief.” McDonald stepped right in front of her. So close that she could almost get her hands around her throat. If there hadn’t been that thick glass between them. “I’m a god, Erin. That’s what you don’t understand. There are people and there are gods. We’re the ones who were touched. Nothing I do is wrong because I make the world.”
Ah, the ramblings of the sociopath. “Open this door and I’ll show you how god-like you are.”
She rolled her eyes. “Violence is the refuge of the pitiful. It’s all you know, isn’t it? I have no idea what my Theo saw in you.”
Her blood chilled. “Saw? Have you already used the drug on him again?” She couldn’t cry. Not in front of this bitch, couldn’t let her see how afraid she was. “It won’t work. It didn’t work the first time.”
“I’ve perfected the drug since then.” Her heels clacked against the floor as she paced in front of the cell. “I wouldn’t use the experimentals on Theo. He’s too precious. I had to perfect it on the others before I used it on my prize. Theo is the ultimate warrior.”
“Seriously? I love the man but I know several better soldiers than Theo. He’s too emotional, too optimistic to be a truly great warrior. He’s the best man I know, but you could find a better mercenary. I suspect that’s what you’re building, isn’t it? An army of mercenaries to back you up while you make as much money as you can selling a drug that will ruin an entire generation of men.”
“I free them. I make life simple for them,” she shot back. “Do you even understand how much happier Theo was before you ripped him from me?”
“You mean before you kidnapped and tortured him?”
“I saved him,” McDonald insisted. “I did that. If it weren’t for me, he would be dead, and that makes him mine.”
“No, you insanely psychotic bitch.” Erin’s fingers itched to wrap around the doctor’s throat. “Look, I thank you for saving him. I truly do. Faith would have even looked up to you for saving him if you’d truly given him back his life. That’s what a doctor does. She repairs the body so the brain can heal, so the soul can be with its mate. You perverted that. He doesn’t belong to you.”
McDonald’s eyes went icy and narrowed. “Don’t mention my traitorous sister to me. Believe me, I’ll handle her at some point. I once thought I could bring her closer to me, but now I understand how bourgeoisie her thinking is.”
Which only showed how little McDonald understood her sister. “Faith is a real doctor. She’s a real human being and you didn’t answer my question. Have you used the drug on him?”
Her lips curved into a devilish smile. “Wouldn’t you love to know that? As it happens, I’ll tell you. No. Not yet. He’s not awake. I want to make sure the sedative he was given clears his system. I won’t have him end up like our new friend here.” She nodded to Owen, whose body twitched and then went still. “In about twenty minutes, he should be ready. I’ll administer the drug then and give him his first orders. Can you guess what they’ll be?”
“I’m sure I’m about to become your first female soldier.” She wouldn’t go into the darkness quietly. Not a chance.
McDonald’s laughter filled the room. “No, silly. Women are useless, with certain exceptions. You show no signs of true intelligence, so you’re nothing but a walking womb. I personally think we have too many wretched creatures in the world, so I’m going to have Theo kill you as his first act. Then we’ll go and find his son. I made sure you hadn’t lied and cheated on him like the whore you are. I’m satisfied that Theodore Jr. is his, so I’ll raise him. I’m interested in seeing how my techniques work on a child.”
Erin couldn’t help it. She ran at the wall, beating at it with her hands. “If you lay a hand on my son, I’ll rip your fucking throat out.”
McDonald didn’t move an inch. “I’m certain you would try. It’s what an animal does. You have those instincts. But you’ll be gone. Your dead body will be the final proof that Theo is mine. I intend to install him as my husband this time. When you die, know he’ll be in my bed thirty minutes later. I won’t even make him clean up.”
“No matter what you do, Ian is going to come after you. He’ll take you all down.”
“I’ve handled Mr. Taggart,” McDonald claimed breezily. “I have powerful friends, and Mr. Hutchins has ensured that we know when and where Taggart will strike. He’s looking for us in Munich. I left a false trail that will lead him there. By this time tomorrow, he’ll meet with an ugly death. I have a group waiting for Knight’s people in Tallinn as well. They won’t make it out of the airport. Hutch has been a miracle from heaven.”
It was so painful to think that sweet Hutch was working with the devil, but she’d seen it with her own two eyes. “Yeah, I think Big Tag will take care of him, too.”
McDonald chuckled, a cold sound. “Believe what you will. I wanted to come here and stand in front of you and let you know who the better woman is. Theo is the prize and he’s going to be mine. My victory is over you. Know that when you’re gone, I’ll have your man and your child, and neither one of them will remember that you existed. I’ll wipe you from the face of the earth, bitch. Think about that in your last few minutes. Good-bye, Erin.”
She turned and walked out and Erin was left with rage and fear.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Wake up,” a voice insisted.
Theo didn’t want to wake up. He’d been having a perfectly pleasant dream where Erin had been on her knees, ready to serve her Master. She’d been licking her lips and the world had been a perfect place. TJ was sleeping and they had hours and hours to play.
A hard slap across his face shocked him to consciousness. Pain flared through him and he blinked his eyes open. The world was blurry.
What the hell had happened?
“It’s time for you to wake up, you fucker. Mother is waiting for you.”
“Hutch?” Was that Hutch? He could sort of see the outline of a man and he kind of recognized the voice.
His head was spinning though.
“Yes, it’s Hutch. Come on. Do I need to hit you again?”
Hutch had hit him. Fuck. It came roaring back. Hutch had been there along with all the other new friends McDonald had decided to bring into his life. They’d surround him and Erin, and now he was fucked hard and not in a good way.
He forced his eyes open, made himself focus. “You bastard.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot lately.” He smirked, a look that he hadn’t seen on Hutch before. “Nonetheless, you need to man up and come out of dreamland.”
There was the sound of something sliding. A high-tech sound and Hutch suddenly stood up straight. He loomed over Theo and it was obvious the kid had made some serious changes to his physique. His shoulders seemed broader and he’d definitely added a ton of muscle to his previously lanky frame.
“You finally going to wake up, Taggart? Welcome home. I have a lot to get off my chest before you go under again. It’s about time for you to take your medicine.”
Medicine. That got him awake really fucking fast. Medicine here meant forgetting. Forgetting Erin. Forgetting TJ.
He couldn’t forget. Not ever again.
He started to bring his arms up, but they stopped moving. Theo looked down. He was strapped to the bed. He tried to kick his legs and found the same.
His heart rate ticked up. Here he was again, in a too-white room without the ability to move. He looked up at his friend. “Come on, Hutch. Tell me this is all a fucking bad dream. Come on, man.”
Hutch merely rolled his eyes. “I thought I explained this to you on the phone. This is my home now and I’m the big dog here. You’re the mutt who ran away, so don’t expect to get a happy homecoming.”
“Hutch, we talked about this,” a new voice said.
He fought with everything he had not to throw up. Hope McDonald was here. He heard her heels hitting the floor as she walked toward him.
“Theo is your brother and I expect you to honor him,” she was saying. “
You know how I feel about him.”
Hutch took a quick step back, his head going down. “Yes, Mother. I do and I will. I’m sorry. We weren’t close in our previous lives. I never liked him. I tried to stay away from him. I hope we can be closer once you purify him.”
Never been close? They’d spent most of their free time together until he’d convinced Erin to love him. He and Hutch, Case and Mike, Boomer and Bear and Deke, they’d all been close. They spent time at each other’s places playing video games and drinking beer. How could he have thought Hutch liked him? Hutch had flown right under his radar.
McDonald stepped into his line of sight, her face staring down at him. Her hand came out, smoothing back his hair. “I want all my boys to be close. But you, Theo, you are going to be the head of our family.”
He couldn’t stand having her hands on him. He tried to shrink away. “Where is my wife, you crazy bitch? Where’s Erin? Erin, the woman I love. Do you see how I can say her name and it doesn’t even bother me now? You failed. I didn’t forget her. I remember more and more every single day. I just remembered all the times I spent with Hutch. We were friends, man. How can you do this?”
Hutch shook his head. “We were never friends. I did what I had to do to stay out of jail. Ten gave me that lovely choice. Work for the fuckers in the Agency and then McKay-Taggart or spend my time in a lovely prison being someone’s bitch. Is it such a surprise that I forced myself to hang out with you morons?”
So much for friendship. “Fuck you, Hutch.”
Hutch puffed up, his shoulders swinging back. There was a cruel twist to his mouth as he looked down at Theo. “Back at you, Taggart. You know I’m going after Case next. I want to send Big Tag his brothers in teeny-tiny pieces, and when I’ve run through all of you, I’ll start in on the kids. I won’t stop until I’ve ruined your entire family.”
McDonald stepped in between them, a stern look on her face. “I told you, Hutch. I won’t stand for you hurting your brother. You can play your games with the other Taggarts, but not until we’re safe in our new home and Theo has accepted his place.”
“It’s hard to deal with him.” Hutch’s eyes found the floor. “I’m sorry. I know how much his stubbornness has hurt you and it bothers me. I’m sure once he’s had his medication, he’ll be more acceptable.”
She put a hand on Hutch’s chest and patted him with an almost maternal familiarity. “I know. I can’t question your loyalty after everything you’ve been through.”
“I’ll question the fucker’s loyalty. He’s a turncoat bastard. He’ll betray you in the end. It’s what he does.” He watched Hutch closely, looking for any weaknesses. He needed to figure a way to get out of the bindings that held down his wrists and ankles. If he could get free, he could find Erin and run.
McDonald shook her head. “It’s because you don’t understand how our family works. Not yet. You were happy when you were with your brothers. I’m going to give you an even bigger family this time. And I’ll get your son for you. We’ll raise him together.”
“Don’t you touch my son.”
“I would already have him if Owen hadn’t failed me,” she said with a tsking sound.
Hutch pulled out his cell phone. “Should I call off the boys and have his mother and sister returned?”
She waved a hand. “I had them killed an hour ago. It’s better this way. You know I like things clean and simple.”
There was no way to mistake how Hutch paled. So he wasn’t so far gone.
“Did she make a deal with Owen? That’s what she does, Hutch. The minute she doesn’t need you, she’ll cut you, too. Is he dead?”
Despite the fact that Owen had betrayed them, he couldn’t help but feel for the guy. Would he have done the same thing if McDonald had Erin and TJ? Right now he felt desperate enough to promise anything to make sure she was all right.
“Owen will become one of your brothers,” she explained. “He’s already had the new drug. When he wakes up, he’ll remember nothing. We’ll give him a home and purpose and he’ll serve us. He’ll be a good soldier. And he didn’t do as promised. He was supposed to bring me all three of you.”
His whole little family. Ruined by this woman. “I will not accept this. I didn’t last time and I won’t do it again. I’ll fight you every inch of the way and when I get the chance, I’m going to kill you. Do you understand me?”
“I understand that you’re in pain now and I can fix that for you.” She reached for him, stroking back his hair.
He struggled against his bonds. Her touch made him sick. “Let Erin go and I won’t fight you. You remember what it was like? How hard I fought?”
“That’s precisely why I reformulated the drug, love. There won’t be a fight this time. The new drug requires no therapy. It will wipe your memory and there will be no coming back. Think about it. You won’t get those pesky whispers that make your head ache. All my boys are happy now. You’re going to be happy, Theo.”
“I want to see Erin.” Was she even alive? Or had McDonald already ended her? It was worse than dying himself. She couldn’t be gone. She had to be alive. He could handle any of this if she was alive.
How had he thought for a second that he would rather die than live through this again? He would live through anything if it meant even the slightest chance of being with her again. Of being a father to his son. He would survive any pain for that shot.
Please let her be alive. Please.
“You’ll see her very soon. Calm down.” She kept touching him, her hand on his arm now. “I haven’t hurt her. I want you to do that.”
So that was her perverted game. “I won’t hurt Erin.”
“I think you will,” she said quietly. “Hutch, will you bring me the dose I left on the medical tray? I would get it myself, but I don’t want to leave him. Not even for a second.”
“Of course, Mother.” Hutch’s footsteps echoed through the room as he walked away.
Theo heard the sound of a door sliding open and shutting again.
Where was Erin? How much longer did they have before McDonald would take his mind? He had to remember. He couldn’t give in, couldn’t allow himself to forget. Panic threatened. He wasn’t going to get his shot. He wasn’t going to have a way to get free and save Erin.
“Hope, do you want to start our life like this? With me tied down?”
She laughed. “Well, if you weren’t tied down, I’m sure I would be dead right now. Don’t even try it, love. I won’t take chances with you. You’re too important. Ah, there he is.”
Hutch walked in, a syringe in his hand. He had no expression on his face as he passed it to McDonald.
“All right, I know you won’t remember anything I say to you right now, but I feel like I need to prepare you,” she said as she looked at his arm, searching for a vein. She reached to a tray on the side of his bed and carefully prepped his skin. “You’ll sleep for a while. There’s a slight sedative in with the drug so you won’t feel any pain or anxiety while the drug does its work. When you wake up, I’ll be there and I’ll give you your first assignment. You’ll be confused at first, but the drug will make you susceptible to suggestion in the beginning. You’ll want to please me and so you’ll do your duty.”
He had a guess. “Kill the woman I love.”
It was the only thing that made sense. McDonald would get a thrill out of watching him murder her rival. Erin would fight him. God. He prayed Erin would fight.
“That’s the beautiful thing, Theo,” she said as she pierced his skin. “After this, you won’t even remember her name. Good night. When you wake up, we can be together.”
She pushed the plunger and the world went black.
* * * *
How long had she been left in this cold room? Erin shivered, but her mind was still racing. It had definitely been hours. How many, she couldn’t tell. There was no clock in this room. Everything was white, from the small cot she was sitting on to the floors to the sink and toilet in her cell.
> She’d already tried to take those fuckers apart. She’d attempted to scavenge anything in her cell for a weapon. Nothing. She couldn’t even get the handles off the sink. It was motion activated, and without tools, she couldn’t get inside.
She would have to use her body initially. Even if the guard came in with a gun, she could kick out and at least stun the guy. She wasn’t sure what these men had been told about her. She had to hope not much.
One had come by, as though making the rounds every so often. Likely every hour or two. There had been a different man the last time. A shift change? Were they on an eight- or six-hour rotation?
Both men she’d seen had been dressed in all black, what looked like semiautomatics tucked into a shoulder holster. They’d stared at her blankly, not saying a word before moving on to check on Owen. They never said a word, even when she tried to taunt them.
One of these times, the guard would open the door and haul her out. That would be when she would strike.
Go for the throat. Disable the guard. Take the weapon and then she would go find her man.
And complain to management. This was the single shittiest jail she’d ever been in, though she would admit it was clean. No one had thought to bring her dinner or even water. Not that she would have eaten.
Damn, she wished she’d had a better breakfast. Her hands were shaky.
It wouldn’t matter. She would find the strength. Everything depended on her finding the strength to get them the hell out of here.
Would Theo even go with her? Or would he be like Owen?
Owen had awakened a while before, a few minutes before the guard had shown up. He’d howled in pain and looked so confused as he’d stood. She’d tried to talk to him, but the guard had whisked him out of the room. It was the only time she’d heard him say anything.
I’ll take care of you, brother.
Owen had entered a nightmare. Was Theo waiting for him somewhere in this building? Had his mind been erased? Was he somewhere wondering who he was? Not knowing there were people who loved him.
