Cyrus shoved her aside and stepped around her. He grabbed David by the shirt, twisting the fabric in his fist.
“You left them alone?” he said with barely suppressed rage in his voice.
“Just for a moment. They weren't going anywhere.”
Cyrus let go of David's shirt. “We'll discuss this later. We have a lot to discuss, you and I.” He paused. “Now, what have you learned so far?”
“Nothing. Nothing, so far,” David answered. He slurped drool that ran from his lips. “Neither has said a word.” He stopped to slurp again. “But I know this one. His story is bullshit.”
“Is that so?” Cyrus pulled a chair from the corner by the door, flipped it around, and sat in it with his arms folded on the chair back.
“Why did you lie to us?” he asked Jesse in a minimally controlled tone. “We have done you no harm. And yet…you have lied to us. Tried to kill me. Why?”
Jesse blew air through his lips. “I didn't lie.”
“Bullshit!” Cyrus yelled. He calmed himself and rubbed a hand over his bald head. “You lied to me!”
Eve watched a slight twitch of irritation cross Jesse's face, but he quickly replaced it with a cocky smirk, as if he no longer cared what happened to him.
“David?” Cyrus asked, turning to him. “Tell him what you told me.”
“This guy is a cop from Texas. I'm sure of it. I met him years ago.”
“Texas. I see. A cop? You have indeed been lying to me. I don't like people who lie to me.”
Jesse seemed confused. His head flopped forward and his chin rested on his neck. Then he shook his head and flipped back up. “Texas,” he said groggily. “I said I was from Texas, not California. We only went to California to—”
David cut him off. “You are a cop and you stuck a gun in my damn face.”
“I—” Jesse said, lowering his head again. “—don't remember any of that.”
“Again with the lies,” Cyrus said.
Jesse shifted in his chair and stared at David. “That was so long ago. How could I remember? There were so many. Although, your face, there is something about it I remember, something familiar.”
“What?” David asked.
Jesse's grinned a bloody smile. “It looks a hell of a lot better now than it did then.”
David cracked Jesse across the mouth with the back of his hand. Jesse's head snapped to the right before slowly rotating and bobbing again to stare back at David. There was hatred, pure hatred, in Jesse expression. It was only there for a second, but Eve had seen it clear as day.
Trickles of fresh blood ran from the corners of Jesse's mouth and joined the dried blood already there. A knife came out of a sheath attached to David's waist. He brought the edge up and placed it against Jesse's throat.
“Not just yet,” Cyrus said, holding up a hand.
David withdrew the knife and put it away. Jesse turned and spit blood into the dark corner across from him. His head lolled to one side.
“I want these two kept alive,” Cyrus said. “For now at least, but I also want no lies between us. Am I clear? I have other plans for them.”
David nodded. Cyrus slammed his hand on the table. The table jumped and Jesse raised his head once more.
“Let's start again,” Cyrus said. “At the beginning. Who are you and why are you here?”
Jesse said nothing. He smiled. Blood stained his teeth.
“Enough with this bullshit,” Cyrus said, raising his voice. He lowering it and asked, “Eve, my dear, what do you think?”
The fine hairs on the nape of her neck stiffened. The room suddenly felt too small. She paused just long enough to be sure her voice would not crack then spoke as smoothly and plainly as she could manage.
She asked, “What do you mean?”
“You know them, obviously. So why don't you tell me who they really are?”
“I don't know them.”
“Now, now, my dear. How long have you been here? You should know you can't hold your thoughts from me. I know you have been lying to me. I know you've been trying to play me. I've known it since the minute I met you. It has…amused me.”
Out of fear, Eve took a step backward. She bumped the door and it closed behind her, shutting with a clunk of finality.
He'd known all along?
All of her efforts went into keeping her feet planted to the floor. She thought she had kept him fooled. She thought she was in control. But, she had it all backwards.
No, it couldn't be.
She swallowed.
She had little choice now. She would have to tell him the truth. He would know if she did not.
Her life depended on it.
“Yes, I know them.”
“Good, good, he said. “Now, don't you feel better? No more lies between us. How is it that you know them?”
She heard the chair holding Jesse squeak as he tried to lift it away from the floor. She flicked half-seeing glances at Cory then Jesse, realizing she was about to betray them. She'd seen what Cyrus had done to those who displeased him. Still, she owed Cory. She owed Jesse. More than she could ever repay.
But in this, she had no choice.
“We met in Denver,” she said. “That is to say, I met Jesse in Denver. Cory—”
Cyrus held up a hand to cut her off. He asked Jesse, “So you are not from California or from Texas?” He seemed puzzled. “Your accent tells me you are from Texas. You can't completely hide that. And I'm certain you are not from Denver.”
Jesse remained silent.
“I think he was originally from Texas,” she said. “And with Cory, I know he came from New York.”
“Well, this is indeed a mystery, but a simple one. Why would they come here when they could have gone south into New Mexico, or maybe Arizona? That's where most go. Into the deserts.” His expression filled with understanding. He rubbed his head and smiled.
“These were your companions when my men found you. I had guessed that, but needed to confirm it. And you just did. But why would they come back for you? Or was it our dear little Kate he was interested in finding? They look nothing alike, so I suppose there was a connection to her other than family. What was it? He liked them young? I can see her appeal now, too. Maybe it's finally time she and I get acquainted.”
Eve stiffened.
“And brother Jesse, yes, you are indeed one of our brothers now, crazy as that stunt you pulled might have been. I know you took out half of my scouting party singlehandedly. They tried to tell me they'd been ambushed by a group twice their size and had been forced to retreat, but I knew that was all bullshit. When I saw you two in the arena, I knew. I could tell. Two men.” Cyrus smiled and held up two fingers. “Just two men.” He let out an exaggerated sigh. “More lies. Now, what is it about Kate makes her so desirable? Why did you come here for her? Eve has told me her story, but I haven't heard the truth of it yet.” He glanced at Eve disapprovingly. “I would very much like to know the truth.”
Jesse said nothing, so Eve answered, saying, “He'd just found Kate in the city when I caught up with him. When Cory and I caught up with him, I mean. He saved our lives there. That's it. That's the truth. I don't know where Kate came from originally. She has never said where. All I know is she survived a terrible attack. She'd been sliced open and survived.”
“I see. Sounds awful. So you were with Cory when you met Jesse?” He eyed Cory. “Tell me then, did she try her little games on you?”
Cory leaned sideways and looked away, saying nothing.
Eve felt resentment building and cracking into her fear. Cory's reaction had told her everything she needed to know about him. He'd known all along.
She'd been such a fool.
“There's something else you should know,” Eve said. “He's on this…mission, or quest, or something like that.”
“A quest?” Cyrus said, brightening. “Really? And what might that be?”
The table violently shot upward.
Cory jumped to his feet. H
e continued his forward momentum and slammed Cyrus back against the wall. Eve knocked against David. They rebounded off each other and toppled to the floor. She hastened to push herself up, glancing across the room. Cyrus was on the floor. Cory was standing over him. The rope that bound Cory was hobbling him, but he had somehow managed to get to Cyrus. He stomped down hard with his foot and pinned Cyrus's ankle against the floor, twisting it nearly around. He stomped down again, this time sideways on Cyrus's knee.
Something snapped.
Eve drove herself back against the wall on her heels then pushed herself up to standing. David disentangled himself, shoving her away. He lunged for Cory. Before he could get there, Jesse crashed into David from behind, knocked him to the ground, and pinned him there with the bottom of his chair. Jesse yelled, kicked, and tried to free himself, but the ropes tying him to the chair kept him hobbled. He grunted in frustration.
Cory shifted positions and raised his heel again, preparing to crush Cyrus's face.
“No!” Eve screamed.
Cory stopped. His head spun toward her. She could tell he was puzzled. She tripped and scrambled on all fours next to Cyrus. She threw her arms around him, shielding him with her body.
“Out of the way!” Cory shouted. He raised his foot again, preparing to smash Cyrus's skull against the cinderblock wall.
Eve shifted positions so the blow would hit her instead.
“Move!” Cory commanded.
She did not.
He kicked her with his toes, trying to dislodge her.
She held on tight.
Cyrus was growling beneath her. The blows coming from Cory were not hitting her with much force, but they still hurt. If he had meant to kill her, she knew he could without much effort. Still, she grunted with each blow. He continued trying to knock her off, but the ropes binding his wrists prevented him from using his hands for balance, and he couldn't get his leg high enough.
She held on tighter, moved closer.
“Help!” Cyrus yelled.
The door banged twice. The handled turned.
Then the door burst open.
Cory was immediately engulfed and buried under a flurry of movement. When she looked up again, three men were holding him down. He fought back against them, but they easily outweighed him by hundreds of pounds.
Jesse was similarly pinned, cheek pressed up against the wall by another group of men. She cried softly and held onto Cyrus, rocking him in her arms, cradling him. David barked orders. He called for someone to fetch the doctor. Eve stayed next to Cyrus, stroking his hair, his cheek. He moaned beneath her.
She knew she had done the right thing.
“There, there,” she said. “It will be all right. I'm here. I'm here for you. Always.”
-36-
PAYBACK'S A BITCH
JESSE WAS PINNED against the wall in a tangle of arms and legs. He pushed against the men holding him there, then again. They pulled him to the ground and piled on top.
He was trapped.
He heard voices. People yelled in his ear. Shadows flickered. A blow hit him under the ribs. He let out a loud explosion of air. He tried to breathe in, but couldn't. Another blow hit him in the side of the head. It was like being at the bottom of the pile in football and being unlucky enough to have the ball.
All fight left him and he relaxed.
“Raise him,” Cyrus huffed.
Slowly, the men surrounding Jesse got up and he was brought to his feet. He kept his head low as if his neck muscles were no longer working. He'd been faking it earlier, but he was no longer faking it now. Nails of pain racked his shoulder, his back, his sides. A sudden, involuntary inhalation of breath stunned him. The room dimmed and grew bright again. He saw a light, a bright light. It was swinging, out of focus.
Slowly, his vision cleared.
He saw Eve.
She had betrayed him. She had betrayed Cory. Now she was clinging protectively to Cyrus.
He'd come all this way thinking he might still be able to save her.
His anger swelled. His mind reeled.
Why had she betrayed them?
They had been so close. They had spent days on the road together. If she wouldn't have interfered, Cory would have killed Cyrus and he would have killed David. But she had put a stop to that.
She had doomed them.
Ultimately, though, she wasn't responsible for tricking Cory into coming here. That had been his decision. She wasn't the one who'd killed those men in cold blood. He had. He could have run away with her then. He could have gone with her through the fence. That would have been the sensible move. But—no—it was his vengeance. His sudden bloodlust had been responsible for her being captured.
This wasn't her fault. It was his. And now he had nothing. No plans. Nothing. He touched his head against his chest.
Motion.
“Doc,” David called. “Doctor.”
Jesse glanced up.
The woman he knew as Andrea came into the cramped room in a rush. Framed in the doorway behind her, visible to his blurred, swollen eyes was Kate.
Some faint glimmer of hope prevented him from what he had almost done. When she saw him, she smiled and quickly glanced away, but he had seen enough.
It was the most fleeting of looks.
The men holding Jesse forced him off his feet and into a chair, and then shoved him hard against the table. He flopped forward, and his bloodied cheek slapped wetly against the chipped tabletop. Cory was pushed down onto the opposite side of the table. He'd stopped fighting, too. His forehead was cut, and the long gash along the side of his head had reopened and was bleeding freely. Crimson rivulets dripped off his nose and chin, pooling on the tabletop. He snarled. His teeth were red, and blood sprayed out in tiny droplets when he exhaled.
Jesse nodded solemnly, knowing he was ultimately responsible for everything that had gone wrong. Just as he'd been responsible for his father's death. Just as he’d been responsible for Amy's death. For his wife's death. For Hannah's death. And for many more. They had all died because he had broken his promises to keep them safe.
He had screwed up.
He had failed them.
He was a pathetic waste of a human being.
David broke the silence. “What do you want me to do with them?”
“Leave us,” Cyrus said to the men holding Jesse and Cory. They all glanced at each other, then David, finally Cyrus.
David drew a gun from behind his back and stepped away from the table. He waved the gun at Jesse and Cory.
Jesse instantly recognized the gun.
It was his M9 Beretta.
The gun had been his constant companion for years. He had kept it safe through five long years of running, of hiding, of fighting. He had cleaned it meticulously, oiled it, and could feel the weight of it in his hand even now.
He swore and pulled hard against his bonds.
A fierce rage simmered. Boiled. His arms shook and his anger began to fuel him.
He pulled harder.
But the ropes did not break. They only grew tighter and cutoff the circulation to his hands.
He stopped pulling.
Panting, he glared at David, who was neither smiling nor showing any signs of fear. The man just stood there with the gun out, holding it lazily with his index finger resting flat across the trigger guard. Cyrus was on the floor. Kate had dropped a bag next to him and was pulling out a pair of scissors, which she then handed to Andrea. The doctor used them to cut the fabric on Cyrus's black pants to expose his leg.
“Out,” Cyrus said to the men.
“You sure?” one of them asked him.
“Yes, get out! Leave us!”
The men left. The door closed.
Jesse again yanked at his bonds. The throbbing in his shoulder grew brighter, sharper, and more intense until he thought he would pass out. He let up and fell back against the tabletop.
Cyrus spoke next, slowly, obviously in pain. “What. Is. This…about a virus?”
No one spoke.
“I'm asking you both. What about…the virus?” Cyrus said.
David pointed the M9 at Cory.
Nothing.
“Last chance,” Cyrus said. “If he doesn't tell us…cut his… His…ears. Cut them off. One at a time. Eve is hungry. Aren't you, dear?”
Eve clung tighter to him. She looked at him, aghast. “No, I can't.”
“Yes, my dear, you will.”
Cory said nothing.
Cyrus banged his head against the wall behind him. “I've heard rumors…about a virus. Only rumors.” He gritted his teeth and winced as Andrea probed his injury. “We found…others who spoke of it.” He stopped to suck in a breath. “No one told us what it meant. The raptors…they were engineered. I know that. A virus…rumors. Only rumors. Legend. So, what do you know about this? Tell me where it is and… I'll spare your lives. Let you go. Don't, and David will carve you into bite-sized pieces and feed you to her.” He pushed Eve away. She shrank back against the wall and put her hands on her knees.
“Doctor,” Cyrus said. “What…do you think? Is it…possible? Would a virus kill them?”
Andrea thought for a moment then said, “No, that's ridiculous. It could never happen. It would have been used early on if it really existed.” She stopped herself for a moment. “But, there is the possibility that the rumor might be true. If you killed these two, you might not get what you—”
Cyrus waved his hand to quiet her. He then waved at Kate, who was blocking his view of Cory. “Move. Get out of my way, girl.”
Kate grabbed the medical bag Andrea was using and dropped it next to the wall. She then rounded Cory and stood behind him. Jesse tried to crane his neck to see her, but pain nearly blinded him, and he slumped again on the tabletop.
“Tell us now,” Cyrus said to Cory.
No one spoke.
Jesse lifted his head from the table. “He doesn't know. I do.”
Cyrus grimaced. “Is that so? David?”
David shuffled around the table to stand behind Jesse.
“You disappoint me,” Cyrus said to Jesse. Then shaking his head, repeated, “You really disappoint me. We could have gotten along so well. I would have thought—”
Andrea interrupted. “You need to hold still. I have to check how the bone broke before we can move you. And it is going to hurt.”
Red Asphalt: Raptor Apocalypse Book 2 Page 30
