“How can I be sure of that?”
“I brought these two to you, did I not?”
She blew out a deep breath and shook her hands, as if flinging her nerves away. “I came here because I was interested in our history, but I stayed because of the SAGE project.”
“That’s sick,” Rena told her, narrowing her eyes.
“I’m gathering evidence,” Zvoni shot back in defense. “Once I have enough, I’ll find a way to tell the world about what’s going on here. I’ll shine a light so bright they won’t have shadows to lurk in anymore.”
My heart stuttered at the thought of it. “But you’ll expose us all in the process.”
“I know.”
“There’s no going back from that.”
“I know. You think I haven’t already explored every other possible solution? Faye’s damn near immortal, and she has disciples everywhere. The cause would never die, so long as it remains under the radar. It’s the only way.”
“I…see.”
I couldn’t imagine going out of the house, knowing my secret was no longer my own. Would it be a witch-hunt, or a freak show? How would people react to—
“We’ll need to camp out here until our ride arrives in the morning,” Rena informed Zvoni and George, taking my fallen lead. “When the time comes, if either of you want to come with us, you’re more than welcome.”
A second ticked by and she slapped her forehead. “Wallace, we’re missing Clara’s move tonight.”
“She’ll understand. Besides, Cole is there.”
“Assuming Rachel is okay.”
CHAPTER 14
« COLE »
I broke every speed limit between Cleveland and Wilcox.
Rachel woke up in a daze, but I hadn’t been able to tell whether it was from the incident with Elise or the injection the dead bitch had forced on her—either way, she took up every resource in my brain.
As soon as I carried her into Henry and Jaya’s makeshift infirmary, they set to work. Explanations were hurried, blurred even. Tits handed over the ring, at some point. Then I was guided into a dank little hall to wait out their tests.
Telling Wanda had been painful. She wanted to cry, I could tell that much, but she put up a brave front.
Tits simultaneously marveled and scoffed at our base of operations. Delving into our world at the deep end of the pool hadn’t helped him. I think he expected more ERA-grade biometrics and was let down by our trip wire. Regardless, he stuck out the wait beside me.
“So, you’re The Flash incarnate,” he began, in an attempt at conversation.
“‘Fraid not. Mine’s natural.” I almost smirked. “And I heal fast. Remind me, and I’ll let you stab me sometime.”
“I look forward to it.”
Wanda sniffled, and Frank Bacon wandered over to her. The cute little fuzzball had a sixth sense when it came to those who needed him. Maybe he had some Dynari blood in him.
That would mean someone in our family porked a pig…
I scrunched up my face and tried to direct my thoughts anywhere but that rabbit hole. Wallace and Sis hadn’t checked in yet. Not that I expected them to. There wouldn’t be service away from the touristy areas. If they didn’t make contact by tomorrow morning, I’d just have to head up there—assuming Rachel was okay to travel.
My stomach turned.
“Hey, isn’t your grandma moving soon?” Tits tried again, bless his artery-clogged heart.
“Yeah.”
“And you’re supposed to be helping?”
I snorted. “Rach and I talked about following the caravan, but I’m not going with her like this.”
“Wait. You mean Clara’s going to have to figure this out solo?”
Way to make me feel like an asshole, pal. “I’ve been getting updates from the movers. Everything should already be in place. The guy said the utilities were disconnected, a few trees had been taken out, and they dug out around the foundation.”
Wanda leaned in, having been drawn into the conversation. “So, what, they just scoop it up and plop it on a truck?”
“Basically.” I stretched my legs out. “They cut openings in the foundation walls and insert steel beams. Then they build wooden cribs and cram hydraulic jacks under the beams.”
Tits cocked an eyebrow. “Someone’s been studying.”
“You think I’d let them do shi—stuff without consulting me first? Faye might’ve shelled out two hundred grand, but I’m running this show.” I crossed my arms. “They’ll jack Grandma’s house up, stick sliding beams underneath, and pull the whole thing onto these weird dolly-lookin’ things that attach to a truck.”
He heaved himself up and dusted off his pants. “You know, I think I want to see this miraculous feat in person.”
“Tits…” I stood up alongside him. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know,” he told me, his expression softening in mature understanding, “I want to. You know I love Clara.”
“You love her cookies.”
“Hey, she’s talented.” He grinned. “Can I borrow your car?”
Something warmed my chest, like the unicorn of friendship had pierced me with its mighty horn. Tits was going out of his way to take care of Grandma for me, for Rach, even after finding out I’d been lying to him all this time. There had been no reason for anyone to worry about me telling him. He had my back, ride or die.
“Titsy, I fucking love you.”
“Way to make this awkward.” He shoved my shoulder. “I guess I love you, too, ya damn weirdo.”
My mouth twitched as I reached into my pocket and tugged out a different keychain than I was expecting. “Ah, hell. I forgot my car’s still at the apartment. You’ll have to take Rach’s.”
He shrugged. “I’m cool with butterflies.”
“Be safe, Larry,” Wanda called out.
Shit. I’d forgotten she was there.
“Will do.” He turned around and waved over his shoulder. “I’ll call when we get wherever we’re going.”
“Thanks, man.”
“If you wanna thank me, do me a favor and make sure our suits aren’t spandex when we inevitably fight crime.”
I laughed despite the situation. “Yeah, I’ll see what I can do.”
~
A few hours later, Jaya came out into the hallway. Apparently, she and my great-uncle had wisely chosen not to come out until they had answers.
“We made do with the limited equipment we brought down here,” Jaya explained. “So, this may not be completely accurate information we are about to deliver.”
“I understand,” I said, trying to hurry her up.
“Rachel” —the way she pronounced my girlfriend’s name would’ve entertained me, had I not been eager to hear the results—”appears to have been given a dosage of a designer agent.”
I stood up. “What does that mean?”
She folded her hands. “We cannot be certain, as neither one of us has encountered this particular array of symptoms, but it's likely Elise created it as a means of disabling someone temporarily or…”
A chill prickled every orifice of my body. I caught her drift. “Can I see her?”
“Yes, you both can. She is awake now. I simply wanted to prepare you.”
“Thank you.” I brushed past her, Wanda and Frank Bacon close behind.
The room they’d been operating out of was non-sterile and cramped, but they had done their best to adapt. For all intents and purposes, it was the equivalent of an ambulance rig with a few more pricey toys. I stumbled inside.
Rachel’s eyes followed my entrance, but she didn’t turn her head or smile.
“Angel…” I fell to the milk crate at her side and brushed her bangs back. “Are you okay?”
Squeeeeeeeeeal. Even our poor piggy was distressed.
“Think…so.” Her lips barely moved.
Somewhere in the background, Henry started talking—to Wanda maybe, or Jaya. I hadn’t noticed his presence at all whe
n I came in. “—exhibiting symptoms similar to a stroke. Paralysis, vision problems, et cetera.”
“My baby,” Wanda whispered, touching Rachel’s leg through the thin blanket they’d draped over her.
Henry cleared his throat. “It may be time to consider taking her to a hospital.”
“A human hospital?” I rubbernecked. “No way.”
“She is human.”
“And injected with something they’ll want to publicize and pore over.”
Henry rubbed his forehead. “So, you’re proposing…what? We’ve already done blood work, put in an IV, and given her vision screenings, but what she really needs is an MRI. I’ve assessed her mobility. I want to get a look at her brain and spinal column.”
“Give me a moment with her.”
“Cole, a decision needs to be—”
Wanda laid a hand on his arm. She understood. I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, until I wrapped my head around what was happening. In a matter of months, Rachel had eclipsed every other priority in my life. She needed to be okay. I needed her to be okay.
He sighed and yielded to her maternal veto. “Ten minutes. Then we really need to make a decision.”
I mouthed a thank you to Wanda as she followed Henry and Jaya out, casting one last look at her broken daughter.
Without an audience, I scooted as close to the bed as I could get and took Rachel’s hand in both of mine. I closed my eyes, kissed it, and pressed it against my ducked forehead. She couldn’t end up like this, not because of something we involved her in.
“It’s…okay.” Her voice was so weak.
“We’ll figure this out,” I assured her—and myself. “They just need a little time to analyze what was on that needle in Elise’s ring.”
There was a long pause, and I could only imagine what she was thinking. “Is she…?”
“Gone.” I lifted my face to meet her gaze. “She did it to herself.”
Rachel’s brows knit. “That’s…not what happened.”
“I saw it.”
“I felt it.”
I brushed my thumb over the back of her hand. “The scissors?”
She shook her head so minutely I almost missed it. “The relief that it would stop, that she wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else…”
“That’s natural.” I leaned in. “She would’ve killed any one of us, given the opportunity. Hell, she did this to you for a bargaining chip.”
“This…” Her gaze dimmed and lifted over my shoulder. “What did she do to me, Cole?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But we’re going to find out. It’ll be fine.”
“What if we don’t?”
“We will.”
Her lips turned down. “But…”
“We will,” I emphasized, smothering a spark of violent determination inside me. “All you need to worry about is getting well again.”
“But if I don’t,” she persisted, swallowing a lump in her throat, “I want you to know I don’t blame you for any of this.”
“Rach…”
Tears filled her eyes and quivered in her voice. “If something happens to me—”
I plugged my ears and belted out la-la-la’s. There was no way I could hear the rest of that statement. Not when I was trying to be strong for both of us. After a few unsuccessful tries to have a serious talk on her part, I dropped my hands.
“Sorry,” I told her, “I just can’t.”
“I get it.”
“I’m going to go break into ERA and steal Elise’s files.”
“Won’t that be more dangerous now?”
“I don’t care. She didn’t make this thing without documentation. Faye will be at the move, and Gail…” I ripped off my sleeve and used my knife to render it into a long strip that I tied over my left eye. “She won’t be using me as an eyepiece again.”
Rachel leaned her head back. “I feel like I’m in quicksand.”
“Sinking?”
“It’s hard to describe.” She looked down at her hand and narrowed her eyes. Her fingers twitched and her arm hovered a few inches above the sheet. “I feel like I’m raising my arm all the way up, but hardly anything is happening. When I woke up, I couldn’t even do that.”
My heart twisted like a wrung out rag. “So, you’re getting better.”
“Look who’s an optimist.” She closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “Sorry, I’m just so tired.”
“Don’t be.” I stood up. “Henry and Jaya are going to get you to a place where they can scan you to see what’s going on. Meanwhile, I’m going to go snatch Elise’s notes. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Is that safe?”
I leaned over and kissed her, brushing her bangs back from her face. “It will be.”
On my way out, I pulled Henry aside. “Offsite. After hours. No hospitals.”
“We don’t have access to—”
“I’ll get you access.”
CHAPTER 15
« CLARA »
I wrapped my sweater tight around my body. Faye had insisted on driving, since it was so late, and she’d cranked the air conditioner up full blast. Thank goodness our father had a blanket over his lap in the back. He didn’t do well with the cold anymore. I stole a glance at him in the mirror and smiled. He’d fallen asleep.
The process in which they moved the house was nothing short of amazing. Freddie would have been right up there with the movers, asking a dozen questions. He’d always loved to marvel at complexities.
“Looks like our caravan picked up a tail,” Faye said, nodding toward the rear-view mirror. “They aren’t going around us.”
I turned back and strained to see out the back window. A beat-up little silver car followed from a distance, giving us, and the movers’ vehicles, a wide berth. “Oh, that looks like Rachel’s car. She and Nicholas talked about joining us. I bet they just got a late start.”
“You don’t say.”
He had called the night before, using the special phone he’d told me to keep on. Something about it being disposable. From the sounds of things, the kids’ first mission hadn’t gone well. He hadn’t had time to go into details, but apparently my sister’s newest conquest had resisted and a fight had broken out. He was supposed to tie up loose ends today.
I’d meant to call him earlier, but things had been so hectic with the move. Maybe once I got settled in Cleveland…
“Here we go,” Faye announced as we slowed for the exit. “This is the neighborhood. It’s about ten to fifteen minutes from me, depending on downtown traffic.”
“It seems nice.” I folded my hands on my lap and tried to appear grateful.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t appreciative—I was. Nicholas had made the arrangements, but my sister had paid for all of the moving expenses and permits. She was the reason I would be close to my family again. It was just the feeling that had settled into the pit of my stomach, the slightest twitch of apprehension she was giving off. She split her attention between the road and her cell phone, hastily tapping something into the screen.
“Do you need me to do that?” I asked, not wanting to wrap up seventy-one years with a collision.
“No.” Her answer came without hesitation. I wasn’t intended to see whatever she was doing. Not that it came as a surprise.
“Thank you,” she added as an afterthought. “It’s just that we’re about to stop up here so the power company can raise the lines. I’ll manage it.”
I couldn’t imagine how much it had cost to arrange that. I’d looked over the itinerary between us when we left, and lines had to be lifted in more than one spot. Not to mention mailboxes removed and replaced, trees and bushes pruned back.
“We almost there?” our hard of hearing father shouted from the backseat.
“Yes, Dad.”
“Baghdad?”
“YES, DAD.”
“Oh.”
We rolled to a stop behind one of the mover’s flashing vehicles. A man leaned out from t
he driver’s side window and waved us ahead.
“What’s he doing?” I asked.
Faye glanced around before easing the car forward to ride the edge. “We’ll find out.”
The man sauntered over to my window, and I rolled it down. “This is going to take a while. The utility guys are gonna raise the line, and we have a cable to fix up top before we move on. Why don’t you folks head on out to the site first? You won’t have to waste your gas.”
My sister smiled. “How considerate.”
We carefully made our way around my elevated home, passing the drafty white vessel that contained every good memory still lingering in my mind—unhurried Saturday morning breakfasts, measuring the boys against the bathroom door frame, Freddy trying to fix the pipes and spraying us both in the process. I smiled to myself, despite the warmth building in my eyes.
This home was the fifth member of our family, a silent witness to every tear and moment of triumph. I couldn’t wait to see it standing and whole again, thriving amidst new surroundings.
We passed the lead trucks and returned to our lane. Faye had her eyes glued to the mirror, even though we were moving past where traffic had been stopped. I followed her gaze, but the angle was off, so I tried the side mirror. Had Rachel and Cole caught up to—
A power line whipped down from above and slammed against the hood of Rachel’s car. No sparks followed, but my heart ignited at the sight. I reached for the door.
Faye caught my arm. “Clara, it’s dangerous!”
“But—” I turned around and froze. “That’s…”
“What?”
“That’s Larry!”
“Larry?” She whirled around with renewed urgency. “I thought it was Rachel.”
“No.” I covered my mouth. “That’s Nicholas’ best friend. He’s driving her car, but…they’re not with him. Oh God. Do you think he’s all right?”
His emotions poured into me as I focused on him. Panic, regret, terror. Had he come in their place? What was he doing here? I reached for the door again, but this time Faye followed suit.
Dad stayed in the car, having fallen back to sleep despite the ordeal.
Loyalty Page 13
