“I grabbed it when we walked through the backroom.” She held up her hand, that bulky rectangular shape.
I’d barely registered her pausing to pick it up, assuming it held papers inside that would tell us where the beta subspecies were.
“It was in the freezer and I put it in this transfer case. The tube was still in the deep freeze, wedged at the bottom. I found it while I cleaned the mess from the break-in.” She held the silver case up, clutched tightly between both hands. “If it thaws, the sample’s DNA will be ruined. It’s safe in here for forty-eight hours.”
“Let’s burn it,” Tramer said.
“Let’s not,” someone said behind me.
I spun around, dizzy not from the speed I moved with but at the impossibility of hearing that man’s voice. He’d demanded I hand something over before, and it seemed he was doing the same now.
One hand out, Michael gestured toward us. “I’ll take that now.”
Chapter Eleven
Luke
I dodged to stand in front of Cassidy, blocking Michael from a clear shot at her. There was no way in hell I was giving him a chance to load her with whatever was in the tranq gun he held in his hand.
Michael. Fucking Michael.
Three more men stepped out from the woods, forming a line to ward us from escaping.
“You lied!” Elena screeched behind us. “You— You led them here!”
Cassidy growled, fisting her hands. “I didn’t—”
“Actually, we didn’t need her to tell us where you are, Casal.” Michael lowered his empty hand. “We knew all along.”
Of course, they did. The depth of their internationally spread corruption had to guarantee they wouldn’t wait long for answers. The way Cassidy, Rosa, and Hendrick had to stay off the grid attested to that.
“Just waiting to catch up to the next participant.” He smirked at Cassidy.
Participant in their studies? Cassidy? Hell no.
“Your mother’s been waiting for you.”
“Fuck you!” Cassidy yelled.
Like a rock, the truth hit me hard and proverbially knocked me on my ass. Cassidy. They’d wanted her from the beginning. Not to kill her as a way of removing an obstacle to this vial of beta strain material or from Scott’s data to identify the source of the beta genes. They’d wanted her. I stumbled back, knocking into her.
She clutched my shirt. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Michael scoffed.
“You liars!” Elena again.
“They didn’t know,” Michael said with too much humor. “When I’d gone to Rosa’s to look for her data, it was like a miracle that you showed up. Then when you’d proven…elusive, I thought it’d be easier to wait you out.”
None of us spoke. All I could hear was the rush of blood threatening to drone out anything else the freak would say. In the distance, birds called, like egging us on in some way, the distraction grating at my nerves.
“Tami wanted to pursue you.” He shrugged. “So I let her have her way. But I guessed you’d go to Texas for Scott’s data eventually. That was the only place we hadn’t searched for the data yet. Hendrick…” He laughed once. “He was hard to track. But we’d always known the axolotls came from here. You just made it easier, almost like meeting us here. I appreciate the convenience.”
“Go to hell,” Cassidy seethed. “I’m not going to make anything easy for you.”
“No?” He cocked his head to the side.
If he was going to threaten me for her cooperation… I wouldn’t allow it. I raised my gun. Three men at the sides raised tranq guns.
“Déjà damn vu, man,” Tramer muttered, bringing his gun up as well.
Outnumbered. Again, we were outnumbered.
Michael was ballsy enough to step forward. Or perhaps not so ballsy. He—we all—knew bullets wouldn’t stop him. Our weapons weren’t going to stop any of these freaks.
“But wouldn’t you like to see Rosa one last time?”
Cassidy gasped behind me, her fingers cinching my shirt.
Sweat dripped down my back and I fought the tension coiling throughout my limbs. The urge to kill, to get revenge against this man…it consumed me. Shaking, I stood back, protecting my girl.
“She’s waiting for you,” Michael said.
“No.” Cassidy’s reply was quiet but firm. “No.” She said it again, louder. “I won’t fall for that trap.”
“Suit yourself. It wasn’t easy to locate her—I’ll give her that, but we’ve been holding her at our labs. Keeping her…safe until you can come for a little family reunion.” He walked up until he pressed his chest against the end of my gun. “You can’t stop me. You do realize that now, right?”
I gritted my teeth, holding back a scream. They had Rosa. This wasn’t going to be a repeat of what we’d faced in the subway in New York. Michael wasn’t going to use me as leverage to get Cassidy’s cooperation. She wouldn’t need to make a choice and save me. Now, she’d need to choose to save Rosa.
My heart raced faster at the idea of her going along… She can’t. I won’t let her.
“No!” Cassidy pulled me back, drawing us away from Michael.
“Fine. We’ll go about this the hard way.” Michael nodded to his left. “Get the vial.”
And that was how it happened. A blur of too many movements.
I knew I couldn’t gain anything by shooting him, so instead, I flung a solid kick to his hand, sending the tranq gun flying.
“Now!” Michael ordered his lackey.
Tramer grunted as he turned to shoot at the man rushing for him. The blasts echoed loud over the water’s surface. He fell with the Xol mutant, fighting to keep him from us.
“Never!” Elena yelled.
As I shoved Cassidy behind me, she clambered back to where another Xol had Elena pinned to the ground. The vial case was clutched in her hand above her hand.
“Just smash it! Open it and smash the damn vial!” Cassidy yelled.
Michael dove toward me and I caught him in the waist. It was like a truck ramming into me, but I stayed on my feet long enough to watch the last Xol freak go for Cassidy.
She stumbled to her feet and started to run. “Smash the vial!”
Elena growled but I couldn’t see her as Michael began punching at me in earnest. For each blow I took, I deflected half as many.
Cassidy! Where was she?
I roared and kicked at Michael, fueling all my rage into getting the bastard down.
“Cassie!”
I couldn’t see her.
Michael slammed his head into mine and I blinked, darkness threatening to take over. I staggered to my knees, trying to stay awake and get back in the fight.
“Luke!” Tramer? He’d yelled. I couldn’t place him either.
“No!” Elena’s scream that time.
I blinked twice more and checked everyone.
Elena lay on the ground, a knife sticking up from her chest. The Xol who’d fought her ran off toward the woods, heading east with the glint of the metallic vial case shining in the sunlight.
With a deep grunt, Tramer ran off after him, letting the man who’d attacked him slump dead—or more likely just unconscious—to the ground.
To my left, I watched as Cassidy hung limp in another Xol’s arms as he carried her toward an ATV behind a few trees.
I stood, struggling to remain awake after that last hit to my skull.
“Thanks for the entertainment,” Michael jeered.
On my feet, I whirled around and shot him with the tranquilizer he’d dropped.
“Shi—” He couldn’t even finish the word before his eyes slid shut. I didn’t think it’d work for long, but if it took him down for even a moment, I was winning.
I turned from him with a clumsy dip with my step, hearing him thud to the ground.
“Go get it,” Elena said as she clutched at the knife in her. “Go get it, you idiot.”
Drawing in a breath, I looked in the direction the
vial had been taken.
And then I ran.
I was going to get my girl.
To be continued in… GIVEN.
Acknowledgments
For editing, I thank C.J. Pinard at http://www.cjpinard.com. For the cover design and photography, I thank Kellie Dennis at Book Cover By Design at http://www.bookcoverbydesign.co.uk. For proofreading, I thank PSW.
For all the never-ending encouragement, suggestions, and cheerleading, I thank my great team of betas: Allyson, Crystal, Rachel, and Dawn. I treasure your input and am so glad to have you in my corner!
About the Author
Amabel Daniels lives in Northwest Ohio with her patient husband, three adventurous girls, and a collection of too many cats and dogs. Although she holds a Master’s degree in Ecology, her true love is finding a good book. When she isn’t spending time outdoors, or wondering how to negotiate with her mightily independent daughters, she’s busy brewing up her next novel, usually as she lets her mind run off with the addictive words of “what if…”
For more information about Amabel’s work, please stop by www.amabeldaniels.com.
Other Books by the Author
Project Xol
Seek
Lost
Find
Stolen
Reclaim
Given
Newland Family
Better Than the Best (FREE!)
Appetite of Envy
Resisting Redemption
Covert Identities
Don’t Go Back
Always Was
Indeed
Across From You
Next To Me
Flawed Plan
Olde Earth Academy
Secrecy
Discovery
Mastery
Victory
Reclaim: Project Xol Page 10
