by Rachel James
The lights popped on, almost blinding Logan; however, he ignored the glare and returned to the staircase. If he found signs of a second car, he would comb the outside area for tire tracks. With so many pools of water still standing, he’d be able to judge whether there was a back road out of the area.
He took the stairs two at a time, halting on the bottom step when he found himself facing a second living-room space. Blasted wench! How many rooms did she need to work in? He stepped into the recreation room and headed for the outside door; however, when a crinkle sounded beneath his boot, he lifted his toe. A Tarot card peeped up at him from the floor. How the hell had the card gotten from the table upstairs to the room down here?
His Meta Corps instincts shored up immediately, and so did the first stirring of real fear. Something had happened to Sonny—something she couldn’t control. Had she left the card as a clue? He studied The High Priestess on the face of the card. Everything connected to everything, isn’t that what Sonny had said? Nothing is random. Hadn’t she also said to say what you see?
He studied the card, noting the door stood out. And every door comes with a key, his intuition said. His hand shot to his shirt pocket. A green key to open a green door? He let his mind travel back to yesterday. Had he seen a green door at any time yesterday? None that he remembered. Think, Reed, his mind pressed. Think green.
He retraced his movements in his mind. There was the vision on the mesa, the vision in the cottage, and the fire at Serenity. No, think smaller, he told himself. He and Sonny had left the cottage and gone to Serenity. He had driven, and upon arrival, he had smoked a cigarette. Go smaller. His mind threw up the memory. He had smoked a cigarette, studying the property as Sonny pointed out its colors. The colors flew into his mind rapidly—purple, blue and green.
He glanced down at the card again. Everything connected. A beautiful goddess had been abducted by Hades and given a forbidden fruit to eat, and then Hades had made her his consort. Did a man desire Sonny more than life itself?
You should know, his inner voice remarked. You desire her more than life itself.
He grimaced. Never mind that now. Think who Hades could be.
He considered his suspect list. Charlotte Blake could be ruled out, unless of course she was manipulating her husband to do her dirty work. But what possible reason could she have for harming Sonny? Sonny posed no threat; besides, she seemed more like a woman on a mission—a woman who might know a terrible secret and was determined to protect Sonny from becoming a victim of that secret. Was Brad Fletcher on the same mission? Perhaps—but with a twist. He seemed genuinely fond of Sonny. But did that fondness harbor a twisted soul? A third name entered Logan’s head. It was more likely Ned’s soul was twisted. Lieutenant Cutter thought so. So did Blake. Why else focus on Ned’s late-night sessions and demand to see his travel receipts? Had Ned been using The Sanctuary as a safe haven, while enjoying a smorgasbord of possible victims, and Blake had found out? It would answer why he’d had to be killed. It would also answer why Foster had been killed. He was holding the mysterious Pandora DVD, which Logan suspected would clearly show the original patient therapy sessions had been reworked by a modern-day Jack the Ripper.
To his credit, Ned spent most of his time paying little attention to Sonny, but that could’ve been a ruse. If he showed too much attention, Sonny would’ve suspected him. And once she did, she’d use her abilities to learn his intentions. No, playing a quiet game of hide-and-seek was the smart thing to do. It’s what Logan would’ve done in Ned’s place—except for pretending not to find Sonny attractive. After all, what man wouldn’t find Sonny Blake so attractive he’d have to make a pass at her at least once in his life?
And what red-blooded man wouldn’t want to have incredible sex with her? his ego added. We do.
Logan frowned. Stop thinking with your balls. Sonny’s life is at stake. Think of how to find her. But why would Ned steal Sonny right from under Logan’s nose?
You’ll be blamed for her disappearance, and ultimately Meta Corps will be blamed. The thought felt so right in his mind that Logan knew he had hit on the truth. Ned Chalmers, or whatever his name was, had gotten access to Pandora and its power and now had every intention of using it on Sonny for his own personal agenda. But what was his agenda? Hatred? Obsession? Jealousy? Revenge? All four?
Logan’s adrenalin spiked, and he crumpled the card he held in his hand. He whirled around and dashed back up the stairs. He had to find Lieutenant Cutter and press him into launching a full-scale search for Sonny. If, as he suspected, Ned had built a secret laboratory for Pandora, Logan was sure Ned had taken Sonny there.
Reaching the foyer, Logan grabbed the car keys and bolted for the door. Throwing it open, he was startled to see Lieutenant Cutter’s jeep pulling into the carport and braking behind the Kia. Two men exited the vehicle, and Logan’s lips puckered in annoyance. Damn! He didn’t need Brad Fletcher’s accusations right now. For a fleeting second, Logan had déjà vu. He had been down this road before, chasing a female empath in trouble, only to have the incident backfire on him. Would this one end the same way?
He tossed the thought away, greeting the men as they reached the door. “I was coming to see you, Lieutenant,” he said quickly.
“Good, because I’ve come to see you and Sonny.” Cutter pushed Logan back from the door and entered the cabin. Brad Fletcher followed quickly on his heels. When the trio was standing in the great room, the lieutenant offered an observation. “You look more rested than the last time I saw you.” He looked beyond Logan’s shoulder. “Where’s Sonny? I thought you two were joined at the hip.” He waited for an answer, shocked when Logan suddenly grabbed Brad Fletcher and slammed him against the wall.
“Where the hell has Ned taken Sonny?” he snarled. Brad’s hands came up, attempting to derail Logan’s chokehold, but Logan threw all his weight against him. “When I let you breathe again, you better tell me where Ned is.”
A strong body pushed itself between the pair, attempting to dislodge the chokehold and take command.
“Let him go, Reed, or I’ll take a gun butt to your head!”
Logan attempted to shoulder the lieutenant aside but found the body as hard as a stone wall. He eased his chokehold, taking a step back, but his right hand remained plastered against Brad’s chest. His gaze took in the lieutenant’s dark expression.
“There’s no time for pleasantries, Lieutenant. Sonny’s been abducted.”
“What?” Cutter and Brad exclaimed simultaneously.
“Good God, what have you two been up to since last night?” Cutter asked.
Brad took the moment to shove Logan’s hand from his chest. “Damn charlatan!” He pulled his shirt back into place. “Is this how you work with empathic clients? You let them get abducted?” His gaze skimmed the lieutenant. "If anything happens to Sonny, I'll fry your ass."
Logan’s snarl came first. “What the hell are you doing here, Fletcher?”
“Enlisting Cutter’s help to arrest Ned.”
“What the hell for?”
“Among other things, David’s murder.”
“You have proof, I hope?”
Brad sought an empty chair, his tone disapproving. “As soon as Cutter lets me see the knife in evidence, he’ll have his proof. I’ll know who it belongs to.”
“Forget that now,” Logan stated. “We’re way past David’s death.” He tossed the Kia’s keys on an end table and signaled to the lieutenant. “Fire up the jeep, Cutter. We’ve got to search for Sonny.”
“Search five hundred acres in the hopes of stumbling upon her? You’re daft.”
“I’ve got to find her.”
“We will, but first we need a specific area to search. Now, calm down, and sit down. Catch me up on what you know, and I’ll help you reason out where we should look.”
Reluctantly, Logan sank onto the couch. Cutter was right; they needed a focus.
“David was never the intended target; he simply got in the way.” Loga
n withdrew Foster’s key from his pocket and flashed it at the men. When Logan didn’t say anything more, the lieutenant bent and snatched the key from his fingers. He studied its odd shape and the emerald jewel embedded in its top half.
“I suppose the key belongs to the mysterious Pandora?”
Brad’s gasp split the air. “You know about Pandora?”
The lieutenant’s gaze shifted rapidly. “Yes, we know. I could ask you how you know about it, but that would be pointless.”
Logan cut in swiftly. “I know you’re knee-deep in the project, Fletcher, perhaps even the mastermind behind it, so tell us what you know, or I’ll have Meta Corps here in less than an hour. They’ll bury you so deep you’ll never see daylight again. Now, tell me what you know, stat.”
“The only thing I know is that you’re a fucking screw-up.” His glare drilled Logan’s. “Where did you get that key? I know who owns it, and it bloody well isn’t you.”
Logan grimaced. “You go first, Fletcher, and don’t bother trying to con me, because I already know Pandora takes a young subject and reprograms their memories. It literally wipes their minds clean and gives them a new life.”
“What?” the lieutenant exclaimed. “Are we moving into science fiction territory now? Next, you’ll be spouting that aliens have landed and are living among us.”
“I saw the film, Lieutenant, and I’m not talking Tom Cruise here.” He motioned to the key in Cutter’s hand. “Foster Sykes offered Sonny this key as proof of The Pandora Project. In fact, he admitted his involvement—just before he was shot to death.”
Floored, the lieutenant dropped into his chair. Brad, on the other hand, bolted from his.
“Good God! Foster’s dead?”
“This morning,” Logan said. “Before he died, though, Sykes claimed Sonny was the first successful patient of the project.”
“The man was deranged,” Brad said, annoyed. “There hasn’t been a successful patient yet.”
Logan motioned to the key. “According to Sykes, he made recordings of the patient transfers; however, before we could search for the DVD, the monsoon started. We’ve been stuck here for hours. Sonny went missing while I caught some shut-eye—”
“Fucking screw-up!” Brad cut in. “Your license should be yanked.”
Logan cast him a murderous glare. “Sonny left a clue before she was taken.”
“You’re sure she was abducted and not just tired of your sparkling personality?” Brad mocked him.
“Can the humor, Fletcher,” Logan said. “You’re wasting my time.” He handed Brad the crushed Tarot card. “Sonny left me this clue.”
Brad unfolded the card and studied its image. “No one but Sonny can read the truth associated with this card,” he said.
“She’s one smart cookie, I’ll give you that. She knew I’d look at the card and interpret it logically. Now, according to mythology, that card represents Hades abducting Persephone into the underworld. Substitute Ned for Hades.”
“See, Cutter?” Brad declared. “I told you Ned was a bastard. Even Reed figured it out. Now, what are we going to do about it?”
“We?” Logan repeated.
Brad fired up. “You won’t find Sonny without my help! I know The Sanctuary inside and out. If there’s a secret laboratory on the property, I’ll find it.” He waved at the lieutenant. “I've already told Cutter everything—my involvement—Charlotte’s involvement—our fears.” His eyes surveyed Logan. “If you are as good as Sonny claims you are, you’ll let me help you fry Ned’s ass.”
“What did he call himself before coming to The Sanctuary?” Logan asked.
Brad squirmed in his chair. “If you think I’m going to reveal the skeletons in my closet—.”
“You already have,” the lieutenant interrupted. He turned to Logan. “Ned’s real name is Fremont—a convicted felon. Spent ten years in prison for sexual battery.”
“None of that matters now,” Logan said, rising. He glanced at Brad, who had the good sense to remain silent under the scrutiny. “Being around Sonny, I’ve learned that two plus two doesn’t always equal four.” He snatched the key back from the lieutenant. “We’re looking for a green door, in a green building, with a room housing a chair and green headset.”
“Then you want Serenity—Green Arbor, to be precise,” Brad said. “It’s filled with therapy rooms.”
“With Sonny inside one,” Logan added.
“You’ve lost me,” the lieutenant remarked.
Logan’s jaw clenched. “The day Sonny and I met, she inadvertently whipped us into some damn vision of a therapy session in progress. We didn’t see much, but I remember seeing a green headpiece on a young woman’s head. We were hurled back out of the vision as fast as we went in, and when I asked, Sonny had no idea what the vision meant.”
An irritated growl sliced the air. “Are we going to stand here talking about her visions, or are we going to save her?” Brad chided. “Ned has a huge head start. It might already be too late.”
Logan bolted to his feet. “For once, Fletcher, you and I agree on something. We’ve got to act.”
Two minutes later, the trio was inside the waiting jeep.
“I hope you have some plan of attack for when we get there,” the lieutenant said, firing up the engine.
“By the time we get there, I’ll have thought of one,” Logan assured him.
“It’s easy to see why you have no friends,” the lieutenant said, backing down the incline. “It takes sharing to have one of those.”
“Have you been prying into my background, Lieutenant?” Logan queried.
“Absolutely,” Cutter replied. He spun the wheel and dropped the jeep into drive. “While I was talking to your boss, I asked him to e-mail me a copy of your personnel file.”
Logan’s gaze impaled the lieutenant’s, while a chuckle sounded from the back seat.
“You’re a fucking good cop, Dick,” Brad said.
“And you’re both fucking pricks,” Logan quipped. The lieutenant grinned and jammed on the gas.
The jeep picked up speed, with sirens howling and lights flashing. Reaching a blinking yellow light, it sailed into oncoming traffic, dodging an SUV as it screeched to a stop. It then headed for a second intersection, where it veered right, up onto an entrance ramp. In seconds, it was passing a road sign that read: SERENITY, 5 MILES AHEAD.
Seeing cactus stalks whizzing by at breakneck speed, Logan did the only wise thing he could. He buckled his seat belt with a muttered curse.
• • •
A thrumming saturated Sonny’s consciousness and she awoke with a jerk. Her gaze collided with a stark white wall, and she wondered who had the audacity to repaint her room while she slept. She felt an itch along the bridge of her nose and attempted to scratch it. However, she found her wrists shackled to the arms of a large chair.
Glancing down, she tested the metal clamps and then gave a frustrated groan when she felt how tight they were. Her glance dropped lower, to her tightly bound ankles. Her brain threw up the memory of being smothered by an obnoxious smell and then being dumped into the family limo. The remembrance of the abduction rankled, and a dangerous glint surfaced behind Sonny’s eyes. Ned had killed her father and was now bent on harming her.
Sonny swung her head left and right, surveying the room around her. Was escape possible? Sure, if one could find a door. She let her gaze follow the seam of the walls, searching for a break in the smooth plaster. When she saw none, she knew the room was airtight. Room! To call this chamber a room was being generous, she decided. Outside of the chair she sat in, there were no furnishings, no wall hangings, and very little light. And the chair she was shackled to? Well, it was uncomfortable, to say the least.
Sonny let her gaze wander upward, feeling something heavy bump against her temples and neck. What had been settled on her head? A million answers swam through her brain, each one more terrifying than the last, but her brain finally settled on the truth. Ned was going to use the Pandora
process on her to turn her into … what? A vegetable?
The thought was so frightening Sonny began straining at the clamps. If she couldn’t find a way to loosen the cumbersome links, she’d be a goner. Calm down and think rationally, her inner voice demanded. People who give in to panic end up hurt or dead.
Right.
She took a deep breath, and thankfully, her nerves steadied. That’s it, keep breathing, she told herself, and keep focused. Think what you can do to save your life. Think what Logan would do to save your life. Logan! Was he looking for her? A pool of tears welled at the thought. Perhaps he didn’t care enough to mount a rescue. Her pulse tripped. No, he took his job seriously, and he’d leave no stone unturned in finding her. It was a matter of pride.
Another unwelcome thought swam through her head, and she attempted to push it away. No matter how bad things got, she’d never admit out loud that she had fallen in love with Logan over the last two days. Besides, hadn’t Logan made it abundantly clear he didn’t trust women with empathic talents? She wouldn’t add more fuel to his dislike by declaring her love for him. But he kissed us, wants to go on kissing us, her inner voice reminded. You heard him; he’s going to kiss us as often as we let him.
Forget that now, Sonny told her ego. Concentrate on discovering where we are and how we can get out of here.
Sonny’s gaze snapped back to the white walls. Was she underground, in a basement or bomb shelter? Or was she tucked away in plain sight in one of her own dream lab wings? It was terrifying not to know. And terror, she knew, bred stupidity. If she didn’t somehow manage to figure out where she was in the next few minutes, she’d never be able to logically mount an attack against Ned.
The thrumming noise intensified, emanating from a place above her head. Sonny glanced up, noting a curlicue of a light socket hanging from the ceiling. What was its purpose? A light vibration along her temples gave her an answer.
It’s part of the Pandora process, her inner voice advised. A laser beam that alters brainwaves. Horrified by the thought, Sonny struggled against the clamps again. She needed to squeeze out of them before her mind was devoid of any rational thought.
