A cry of pain followed, and I desperately wanted to sit up and see what was going on, but I couldn’t. Hands were pressed against the gunshot wound I’d sustained, keeping me pushed down, and I knew I didn’t have the energy to sit up, anyway. Even so, I wished I could see who’d climbed in the van with us, and who had been hurt, or even killed. I didn’t want to lose any more people.
“Let’s go!” yelled a voice I recognized as Kit’s.
The tires spun in the sandy dirt and then we were moving, the momentum of the vehicle swinging me from side to side. People all around me held me down, preventing me from tying to sit up, and trying to staunch the blood flow.
“It’s okay, Ari,” Hunter said. “We’re getting you away from here.”
I hoped Middleton’s men wouldn’t come after us, but I knew they would. Even if it wasn’t today, they’d come after us and try to recoup what they’d started.
I wanted to stay conscious, to remain in Hunter’s presence. I wanted to speak to Kit about what his father had done, and tell Dixie that I was all right and that her voice in my head had kept me going. I didn’t even have the energy to try to connect with her telepathically. I was completely drained, and we were miles from anywhere. They needed to get me to a hospital, but I didn’t think I’d make it.
As though he’d read my thoughts himself, Hunter said, “It’s okay, Ari. We’ll get you a safe distance, and then you’ll be fine, I promise. You don’t need a hospital.”
I managed to speak. “Hurt... shot...”
“Hang in there, Ari. Help’s coming.”
It was? How could it be coming? We were miles from anywhere, and I was sure they wouldn’t have called the authorities. We had no idea who we could trust.
I lost track of time, the movement of the van, combined with what I’d been through, causing me to either lose consciousness or sleep, I couldn’t be sure which. The next thing I knew, the van had stopped, and the metallic sound of the side door being slid open jerked me back into consciousness. I thought I’d be carried out now, taken to the hospital, but instead a couple of people climbed in.
Hunter moved out of the way, and Kit took his place.
“Kit...” I managed to say. My mouth was drier than the desert I’d been in, and my lips stuck to my teeth, my tongue thick and plastered to the roof of my mouth. I suddenly realized the bullet wound Kit should still have been suffering from no longer seemed to bother him.
Someone else took a seat on the other side of me, and I blinked, starting to lose my vision. Everything swam around me, but another face appeared in my vision. “Zane?”
“I found my ability, Ari,” he told me.
“You did?” I was pleased for him, but I wasn’t sure this was the right time to be telling me.
“Yeah.” He started pulling at my t-shirt, tearing it down from the v-neck. My chest was tight and heavy, like a boulder was on top of it, or an iron band was gradually constricted around it. I couldn’t tell if the pain felt like it burned like fire, or was as cold as ice.
Feebly, I batted him away, some stupid part of me still concerned about my modesty, but he ignored me. A rip, and he’d torn the front of my shirt.
“Chill, Ari.”
He placed his hands on me, one beneath my body, at my shoulder blade, the other pressed above the bullet wound right above my breast. The same tingling I’d always experienced with him but now a hundred times more powerful, like a bolt of electricity, fired through me. The warmth spread from his hands and through my body, and with it came a renewed sense of energy. I was able to take a deep breath for the first time since I’d been shot, and when I opened my mouth to speak, the words came out, and I sounded like myself again.
“What did you do to me?”
Zane grinned down. “I healed you, Ari. Just like I was able to heal Kit and Hunter back in the parking garage. I don’t know how. I put my hands on someone who’s been hurt, and the ability comes to life.”
I struggled to sit, and he grabbed my upper arm and helped me up. I looked around to see my friends all looking back at me. Dixie had a massive smile plastered across her face, and she crawled across the seats and put her arm around my neck and squeezed me tight.
“We thought we’d lost you for a while, there,” she told me.
“Me, too.”
Kit smiled at me and gave me a nod. “Good to have you back.”
“I guess we know I’m not bulletproof now,” I managed to say.
He gave a small chuckle. “I guess not.”
Hunter was next. “People are waiting for you outside. You saved a lot of other Kin today, Ari. Most of them were in the other car so we could ride with you. I’m not even sure how many you got out of there.”
I shook my head. “Not enough. I left some behind...”
Admitting it out loud caused my eyes to fill with tears.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, brushing my cheek with his thumb. “You did amazingly. The couple who rode in the van with us have already said they would still be in there if it wasn’t for you.”
I tried to smile at his words, but all I could think about was Nadia and the big guy I’d left in the corridor when he’d fallen. I didn’t even know his name.
“If you think you’re strong enough,” said Kit, “there are people who want to meet you properly. And we need to meet them, too.”
“You don’t already know them, then?” I asked, remembering what I’d considered earlier about how these people could already have been introduced to the Cavern.
“We haven’t had a chance to meet them yet,” he said. “We’ve been in here, and they’ve been in the car up front. The ones I’ve met have been new to me, though.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
I allowed Kit and Hunter to help me up, and squinted as I managed to stand up from the row of seats I’d been lying on, and then climb from the van.
The other Kin I’d helped rescue were all waiting for me outside. I spotted Greg’s bruised and battered face among them, his shiny black hair catching the bright sunlight. He dipped his chin at me in a nod as I emerged. Hannah was there as well, and she smiled and lifted her hand in a small wave.
I took a moment to absorb my surroundings. We’d made it to a small town of some kind and were pulled up in an industrial area. The tall walls of warehouses surrounded us, hiding us from the view of anyone else.
Behind me, my friends all climbed out of the van.
I took the chance to wrap my arms around Hunter’s neck and squeeze him tight. He hugged me back, planting a kiss against the top of my head.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I said against his skin. “When I saw you run down by that car in the parking garage, I was so scared.”
He nodded. “I felt exactly the same way when I saw you come out of the building.”
“But you knew Zane could help.”
“Yeah, I did.”
I glanced over at Zane. “Thank you,” I told him.
He gave a bashful shrug. “Anytime.”
I caught Hunter looking over my shoulder and glanced around to follow his gaze. The newbies I’d helped release were standing together, watching us. Hunter was staring at the dark-haired girl who’d been helped along by one of the other guys as we’d run from the boxes where we’d been held.
I noticed she was staring back at him in exactly the same way, and his hold on me released a fraction.
“Alyssa,” he said.
A small smile touched her lips. “Hi, Hunter.” Her gaze shifted, almost as a secondary thought. “Hey, Kit.”
My stomach twisted. They clearly knew each other.
Hunter released his hold on me fully, and he took a couple of steps toward her before coming to a halt, as though he wasn’t quite sure what the protocol was for this situation. I felt the tension between them, and I didn’t like it.
“I can’t believe you’ve been there the whole time,” he said to her. “I’m so sorry. I’d hoped you’d just changed your mind. That you might have
gone back to your family.”
She shook her head. “No such luck.”
He seemed to remember me, standing at his side. “Oh, Alyssa, this is Ari. Ari, this is Alyssa.”
She smiled at me. “You saved us.”
I tried to smile back. “Not all of you.”
Kit stepped forward, commanding attention, as he had the tendency to do. “I have to go back. I can’t leave without facing my father.”
Hunter put out a hand. “We can’t do that, Kit. People are hurt. We need to take care of them.”
“There are more inside. I left people in there.” Saying it made me feel wretched.
Hunter gave me a sad smile. “I’m sure you did everything you could, Ari.”
“We can still do more.”
“No, you can’t. You’re still healing. Zane can help the process along, but you’re not completely better. We need to get you back to the Cavern.”
“Then we’re all going,” I said. “We’re not separating again.”
Hunter nodded. “I agree.”
I looked to Kit, and he lowered his chin. “Okay, Ari. Let’s get you home.”
Chapter Twenty-five
I’d never been so happy to see the Cavern.
Everyone crowded around us, hugging the members of the Kin they recognized, and shaking hands with the ones they didn’t.
One person was missing as I looked around.
I frowned. “Where’s my dad?”
Sledge pulled a face. “I’m sorry, Ari, but he went home.”
My mouth dropped. “What?”
“Yeah, when you didn’t come back again, he said he wasn’t going to stay down here.”
“Wasn’t he worried about me?”
“Of course, but we told him you were with Hunter and Kit. We didn’t want to worry him any further.” Sledge frowned. “Was that wrong?”
“No. You did the right thing.”
But now I was worried about my dad.
There hadn’t been any further incidents while we’d been gone. I didn’t know what that meant, though I highly doubted Zane was responsible for what had happened. Now he’d found his ability, he seemed more relaxed. Plus, he could prove to be a hugely important member of the team. We didn’t know what point he could bring people back from, but he’d healed what had felt like a deadly gunshot wound, plus healed Hunter after he’d been run down, and Kit as well. Someone with his skills literally saved lives, and we weren’t going to let go of that in any hurry.
My dad no longer being here made my stomach twist with anxiety. I’d wanted to come back and relax, if only for a short while, but now I had him to worry about all over again. I felt a spark of anger and irritation. Was he being the irresponsible one for leaving, or was I being selfish and childish by trying to keep him here? With everything going on, how could I not worry for his safety?
Middleton wasn’t going to just let this go. I didn’t know if he’d been hurt when I’d brought the ceiling down in the foyer, but I’d taken five of his pet subjects, and he’d want me to pay.
For the moment, the Cavern was alive with people. The atmosphere felt like an end of school party, and I was thrilled I’d managed to play my part in so many people getting free, even if I did feel awful about those I’d left behind.
Hunter walked up to me and slipped his arm around my waist. “It’s all playing on your mind, huh?”
I nodded. He must have noticed me standing quietly in the corner. “Yeah, sorry. I know I’m not the life and soul of the party. I just can’t help feeling guilty at the ones I left behind.”
“It won’t be for long. We’ll go back for them, you know we will.”
“I’ll be amazed if they’re still there. The first thing Middleton is going to do is pack everyone up and hide them somewhere we can’t find them.”
“He’ll raise his head again. Men like him always do, and as soon as he does, we’ll be on him.”
I forced a smile. “Thanks, Hunter.”
“Anytime.”
Urgent movement across the other side of the Cavern caught my attention.
Franklin came running in, carrying a laptop. “Kit, you have to see this!”
Kit turned from the conversation he was having with one of the new members. “What is it?”
Franklin put the laptop down in front of us all and then expanded the screen and turned the volume up full. It was the local news, and I found myself frowning at the screen, trying to put together what I was seeing.
Someone had finally claimed responsibility for the bombings.
A young female reporter wearing too much makeup, but with a serious expression, spoke into a microphone. I recognized that she was at the site of the bombing where we’d found Zane.
“A new militant group has claimed responsibility for the two most recent attacks on San Francisco. But that’s not all. They’re also saying that there will be a third attack on the city, this one even larger.”
I sucked in a breath.
The screen went back to a male reporter who sat behind a desk in the studio. “And is this group giving their reason for the attacks? Is it because of religion, as many have suspected?”
The woman shook her head. “No, not at all. In fact, it’s something no one could have predicted. The person behind the bombings is the estranged son of the multi-millionaire owner of the tech research company, the Myriad Group, Kit Middleton. He’s at the head of what can only be described as a cult. They are calling themselves the Kin.”
Back in the Cavern, a murmur of shock rose up among us. I could hardly believe what I was hearing.
Whoever was really responsible for the bombings just made us the most hated people in America.
THE END
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About the Author
Marissa Farrar is a British author of more than twenty five novels, and has been a full time author for the last six years. She predominantly writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy, but has branched into contemporary fiction as well. When she’s not writing, which isn’t often, she’s taking care of her three young daughters or binge watching shows on Netflix.
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Also by the Author
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nbsp; THE DARK ROAD
AFTER FLUX
The Flux Series
Book Two
Copyright © 2017 Marissa Farrar
Warwick House Press
Edited by Lori Whitwam
Cover art by Killer Covers
License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.
Publisher’s Note
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
After Flux (The Flux Series Book 2) Page 19
