Zane is busy shutting down the Vita program.
My thoughts instantly switch to concern for Cal as I monitor the live footage of the battle for control of the Ranger towns. It’s still in full swing. My nails are almost chewed to the nail bed. I’m listening to Calista as she gives orders to redeploy craft from Novo to Earth, to aid the ground combat, when the vision transports me to a different place.
Micha holds Cal in a headlock, a gun trained to his temple. His hands and feet are shackled with industrial strength metal, and his body is slouched awkwardly in front of her. A line of blood trickles down his face from an open gash on his forehead.
His dull eyes pierce my brain and I’m startled out of the ghastly image. A stabbing pain prods every inch of my body and I’m struggling to breathe. Hold it together! You need to warn him! I whip out my comm-clip and tap in Cal’s code. Each click that buzzes in my ear as the line tries to connect sends a bolt of absolute terror straight to my heart. Why isn’t he picking up! I’m pacing the room agitatedly but everyone is too focused on the ongoing battle to notice me.
I release the breath I’d been holding when the call connects. “Cal? Thank God.”
An evil laugh wafts down the line and I almost expire on the spot. A massive lump lodges in my throat. “Oh, dear,” Micha says, “Were you hoping to warn him about me? I’m afraid your timing is a little off. Cal and I are having quite the reunion.”
“Please don’t hurt him,” I rasp, clasping my hand over my chest. My dream from last night comes back to haunt me and I feel the tenuous hold on my emotions starting to slip. You need to stay calm. “What do you want?”
“A life for a life,” she snarls.
Icy claws dig their way inside my body. “I’m the one you want.”
“Naturally. I’ll make you a deal.” She blows down the line. “You come alone and we’ll do a little trade-off. If you tell anyone, I will kill him on the spot.”
“Send me your coordinates.” My whole body shakes as severe anxiety takes root deep inside me. “I’ll come alone.”
“It’s good to know you can cooperate if the right incentive is dangled in front of your nose. You have four hours to get here or he’s dead.” She disconnects the call and I clutch the side of the table. Sneaking a quick look around, I’m glad to see that Dad is totally pre-occupied and no one has been paying me any attention.
My comm-clip pings as the coordinates land, and I walk out of the room without a backward glance.
I make a quick stop at the apartment to grab a couple of guns. As I run toward the Velo station, my mind churns at ninety miles an hour. My brain has already started a mental countdown. Three hours fifty minutes and thirty seconds of a window. Every minute that ticks by threatens my sanity, but there’s no time for full-blown panic. I’ll think of a plan when I’m on the Velo.
I reach the station and come to a grinding halt. A stationary Velo lies idle on the platform but there isn’t a sinner in sight. Damnit! How the hell am I going to get out of here? Hot tears of frustration prick the back of my eyes. Running footsteps reach my ears and I swivel around.
“I can program it,” Zane says, opening a data panel on the side wall.
“Whoa!” I say, shoving him with my hand. “What are you doing here?”
“You let your shields down. I know Micha has Cal, and there’s no way you are going to face her alone.”
“Zane, she told me to come alone or she’ll kill him. I can’t take any chances with his life.” My tone is bordering on hysterical and I’m grappling to hold my shit together.
“She won’t know I’m there. Besides, you need me to help you get out of here,” he says, gesticulating toward the hunk of modern technology residing in front of me. “Done,” he adds, as the doors glide open. Taking hold of my arm, he propels me into the carriage. “We don’t have time to debate this, Ari. Strap yourself in. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
We alight from the Velo at the New York gate, and Zane effortlessly steals a car, plugging the coordinates Micha gave me into the auto-drive system. One hour forty-three minutes and twenty seconds to the deadline. I stuff my fist in my mouth to stop the scream that’s ready to let rip.
“Okay, so how do you want to play this?” Zane asks, once we’re out on the open road.
My eyes stare at him in a daze. I can’t even form a logical sentence let alone formulate a plan. My entire body is on lockdown, my fear for Cal overriding any ability to think clearly. My lip wobbles.
He snaps his fingers in my face. “Wake up, Ari! We can’t afford for you to fall to pieces now.” His hands fasten on my upper arms and he squeezes tight. “Close your eyes and focus your mind. Do it now,” he demands.
Shaking his hands loose, I delve into my mind and concentrate on calming my emotions. Cal needs me at the top of my game and I won’t let him down.
When I reopen my eyes, my resolve is crystal clear. “Here,” I say, stuffing a gun into his hand. “We’ll stash the car out of sight once we near the location, and I’ll make the last part of the journey on foot. You can shadow me from a safe distance, but make sure to keep out of her range.” I remove my comm-clip and fasten it around his ear. “Call for backup as soon as we get there, once we’ve determined what we’re dealing with. I don’t suppose she apprehended Cal on her own so she must have other accomplices.”
“You can’t let her take you,” he says, his arm brushing mine.
“I know. I’ll use my gift to overpower her, and once we grab Cal, we get the hell out of there.”
He reluctantly nods. “Seems as good a plan as any.” He shoves a hand through his hair. “You can’t lose your focus, no matter what crap she throws at you.”
“I know,” I admit. “I can do this.” Except I speak with more confidence than I feel.
The coordinates bring us to an unused part of an old elevated highway. Zane brings the car to a halt underneath a nearby bridge while we reassess our options. “Crap,” I say, squinting up at the road. “There’s no way you can shadow me up there. It’s totally exposed.” I bite down hard on my lip, drawing blood.
“She’s making sure you bring no one with you.”
My fingers jerk around the door handle. “I’ll just have to go it alone. You call for backup, but no air support. She’ll see them coming from miles away. We can’t take that risk.”
His hand fists in my top as he pulls me back into a hug. “I don’t like letting you go out there by yourself.”
“There is no other way.” I hug him hard and then my eyes flip to the dash. Eleven minutes forty-two seconds left. Shucking out of his embrace, I jump out and start running.
I’m breathless by the time I reach the stretch of road. Micha waits at the side of the highway, her body propped up against the worn metal structure of the dilapidated bridge. A soldier restrains Cal on the ground. His shoulders are hunched forward, his knees digging into the asphalt. My legs turn boneless at the sight of my husband rendered powerless, and I have to force my limbs to take one step in front of the other. Micha straightens as I approach, pushing off the wall.
Cal’s head lifts and flustered eyes meet mine. “No!” He thrashes about. “You shouldn’t have come,” he wails. His startling blue eyes lock on mine, and a multitude of emotions races across his face. I dart toward him but Micha steps out in front of me, a restraining hand shoved in my chest.
“How sweet,” she sneers, her features contorting unpleasantly.
I reel back as I sense the waves of hostility and hatred batting me from all sides. That she managed to contain such strong feelings around me the whole time I was in Clementia shows a remarkable level of self-restraint. But she’s not restraining herself now. Far from it, if the psychotic look in her eyes is any judge. Her gaze flits over my head and her lips crank out a smile. “Ah,” she says, clamping a heavy arm on my shoulder. “We can get this party started now that all the guests have arrived.”
Grasping me under the chin, she turns me around. Zane is being dragg
ed up the road between two soldiers. They each carry one of his arms across their shoulders and his head bobs forward as his feet scrape the ground.
“What have you done?” I wail. She slams something cold and hard against the side of my head, and I scream as a bolt of pain hacks deep inside my skull. Yanking my wrists, she pins my arms around my back.
Cal yells until he’s quieted with a blunt punch to the face. Panic and fear choke me, knocking air out of my lungs.
“I’m so glad for your predictability, Ariana,” she says. The cold hard edge to her voice sends icy tremors zipping up and down my spine. I try to lockdown my emotions. “I could’ve insisted that you bring Zane with you, but then I would have tipped you off to my plan.” She leans in close to my mouth and her stale breath curdles my stomach. “This way is much more fun,” she says, easing back as she surveys my reaction.
The soldiers drag Zane over beside Cal, and Micha turns us both around. “They need to be conscious for this,” she instructs. A small metal device is held against both of their foreheads and they are jolted awake at the same time. Both boys narrow in on me, and we all exchange weary glances.
This is about to go downhill, fast.
I’m trying to calm myself down so I can focus on a plan, but I’m still reeling from Micha’s savage blow, and my emotions are skittering all over the place as anxiety of the worst kind attacks my self-control. The soldier holding Cal jams a gun into his temple, and the soldier detaining Zane stabs his weapon into Zane’s chest, right at the point of his heart. I try to jerk free of my restraints but my arms are securely bound. The options for using my ability to get us out of this mess are limited.
“Did you get word out?” I silently ask Zane.
“I sent a comm but these buttheads arrived before I could confirm receipt of the message.”
The click of a gun causes me to jump as Micha jabs her weapon into my stomach. Bile rises in my throat as Cal screams obscenities at her. “Be quiet!” she roars. “None of you are in any position to make demands. And you,” she says, drilling a bony finger into my chest, “Don’t even think about trying any of that freaky crap with me unless you want to lose them both.”
Her comment is immediately sobering.
“You took everything from me,” she says, her voice low and scary. “I never knew what happened to my baby. One day he was there, and then he was gone. Poof. Just like that.” She clicks her fingers. “Siva was my only child, my whole world. You took that away from me.” She circles me the whole time she speaks. “I didn’t even have a body to bury.” She slaps me hard across the face and a blistering sting ripples across my cheek, but I don’t cry out.
Cal lashes about wildly and I caution him with my eyes. Zane’s pained gaze fixates on me and I grit my teeth. “Imagine how I felt when my brother showed me your memory,” she continues. The manic look in her eyes chills me to the bone. “You took his life on a whim, and your only concern was protecting your loved ones. No remorse for what you’d done.”
“That’s not true!” I blurt out. “I was wracked with guilt every day over what happened, and I am truly sorry.”
“Save it for someone who might actually believe you.” She prods my face with dirty, stubby fingers.
“He tried to rape me, and he was going to kill Zane. I was only defending us. I didn’t intentionally set out to kill him.” I don’t know why I’m trying to appeal to her compassionate side. It’s already been proven that she doesn’t have one.
“Shut up!” she screeches. Fisting my hair, she tugs hard and my head jerks back. She tilts her head left to right, salivating over my neck. Fear seeps into every crevice of my being at the thought of what she has in store for me.
Releasing her hold on me, she slams her palms into her forehead and paces back and forth in front of me, muttering to herself.
“Don’t rile her up, Ari. She is seriously deranged.”
Before I can respond, Micha is all up in my personal space again, a hideous sneer plastered across her lips. “And as if that wasn’t bad enough, I’ve had to sit by and watch you fall pregnant without even trying!” She digs her nails into her lips. “I couldn’t have any more children, and you,” she says, placing her hands on my stomach, “you don’t even want this baby.” I bite down on my lip as her hands creep over my bump. Cal’s face pales.
Micha continues to stare at my stomach as she mutters to herself, her hands the whole time cradling my stomach possessively. The urge to body-slam her is riding me hard, but she’s on the verge of losing it, and we need to buy time. Offering up a silent prayer, I fervently hope that help is on the way. And that it arrives before it’s too late.
“You will feel the pain of my loss,” she says, her stony eyes drilling into me. A freezing cold shiver rocks my body and I visibly shudder. She throws back her head and laughs. Turning to the side, she looks at Cal and Zane and then back at me. “Oh, I’m not going to kill you.” She waggles her fingers at me. “That would be too easy. No,” she says, walking toward two of the most important people in my life. “I’m going to kill someone you love so you have to live with the pain and suffering I endure on a daily basis. A life for a life.”
She stops in front of Cal and snatches his chin in her hands, inspecting his face. “Which one will you save?” She turns to the side. “Pretty boy, here. Or your constant savior,” she sneers, moving to Zane’s side and running her finger down his face. “You choose.” She pins me with a look, hands perched on her hips. “Who do you love more? Who can you live without?”
Sweat dampens my brow and I’m struggling to breathe. My heart slams against my ribcage. Calm down and breathe, focus. Take out the soldiers first and then aim for Micha. My silent coaching isn’t working. I can’t control my emotions; they’re veering off the charts. My heart refuses to slow down as my eyes dart between Cal and Zane and liquid fright strips me bare. A huge sob escapes my throat and Micha chuckles.
“Choose. Now. Or I’ll choose for you,” Micha says, tapping her foot impatiently.
“Ari, focus. Calm down and take her out. You can do it.”
“The clock is ticking,” Micha jeers, unlocking her weapon and positioning it against Cal’s forehead.
“No!” I scream, my feet moving forward.
“Stop!” she yells. “Take one more step and I’ll put a bullet in his head.” I slam to a halt. “Eeeny. Meeny,” she says, flicking her gun from Cal’s forehead to Zane’s and back again. My mind swirls round and round in panicked circles.
“I suppose I should mention one more thing,” she says flippantly, as if she’s suddenly remembered something important. Keeping her gun raised, she twists to the side, no doubt, so she can see the expression on my face. “I’ll also be taking your baby.”
Something cracks and splinters inside me.
A red glaze coats my eyes blurring my vision. Deep-seated trembling shatters my entire body, a violent shuddering working its way from the tips of my toes to the hair on my head. I barely hear Micha roar at me. “Choose, now!” Rage boils the blood in my veins, and I open my mouth and let loose a guttural scream that comes from the inner depths of my soul.
Asphalt loosens and ruptures and an ear-splitting noise pierces the air as a fault-line cracks right up the middle of the pavement. The highway trembles and bunches underfoot, and Cal uses the opportunity to rear back and head-butt the soldier behind him. Though he’s still curtailed, he throws himself at the other soldier and knocks him to the ground. Micha sways precariously on her feet as she attempts to move toward Cal, her weapon shaking in her hand.
The middle section of the road crumples in on itself as I pitch myself forward. A distant sound of gunfire taps my eardrums. Flexing my arms, I break free of my chains. Lifting my hands up, I thrust Micha into the air. In a swooshing movement, I toss her over the edge of the bridge, her body flailing as she soars through the sky. I clamber to reach Cal and Zane. They run toward me and we collide just as the pavement slides out from under us. Closing my eyes, I p
roject my shield out from my body and envelop us in a protective bubble.
“You can open your eyes now, Ariana,” Cal says a few minutes later, his body firm against my back.
I blink my eyes open and scan our surroundings. We are crouched in a huddle on the road below, chunks of scattered asphalt littering us on all sides. Tilting my head, I look up at the large, wide hole in the highway. “Holy crap!” I croak out.
“Yes. Indeed,” Zane says, standing up and stretching out his cramped legs. His eyes squint and focus on an object in the near distance. My eyes zone in on the crumpled, mangled torso lying discarded on the ground. I thought I’d feel relief once Micha was no longer a threat. But now, staring at her lifeless form, I feel nothing at all. Curiously numb.
Cal’s arm loosens from my waist. “Are you okay?” I ask, swinging around to face him.
A sheen of sweat cloaks his forehead and his hair is plastered to his face. Dull eyes lock on mine. “Ariana,” he rasps, stumbling back. He slams down against a chunk of broken pavement and air punches out of his lungs. A deep red stain spreads over his shirt and his eyes roll back in his head. He’s been shot!
As I watch my vision play out in front of me, my own gut-wrenching screams are the last thing I hear before I succumb to darkness.
I wake up on a medical gurney at the side of a large makeshift hospital. A warm hand clasps mine. “Ari?”
“Where’s Cal?” I ask, attempting to sit up.
“He’s in surgery,” Zane says, wrapping an arm around my back to steady me.
I swing my legs over the side and hop down. Zane pins me to his side as I stagger about the place. My head is fuzzy and little white stars dot my vision. But he knows better than to argue with me.
I cling to him for support as he leads me to a small cordoned-off area at the back. Pushing the canvas cover aside, I almost double over as my eyes adjust to the scene. Cal is unconscious on a bed, stripped to the waist, a deep serrated cut widening his chest. Tubes in his arms hook up to a mobile machine off to the side. A team of medics darts around the space in a flurry of activity. A doctor kneels on top of him, a hand inside his chest, massaging his open heart.
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