Illicit Senses: Illicit Minds #1

by Royce, Rebecca

  “That’s a depressing thought.”

  He nodded. “In more ways than you can imagine.”

  Never having driven a car before, it took him a few turns and a few more grinding gear mistakes to find the shaded bushes where the guards met with the few smugglers and suppliers who sold contraband in the facility. The foreign bankers Rhodes paid to take some of the Safe Dawn money and hide it for unthinkable situations, away from the prying eyes of the Council, didn’t come to Safe Dawn. Will met with them elsewhere, and Spencer was one of the few people on Earth who even knew the older man did that at all.

  Coming to a halt, he turned the car off and regarded Addison in silence for a moment. She stared ahead of her, and he wondered if she was even aware they’d stopped. In profile, her long eyelashes shielded her blue depths from him, and he couldn’t even begin to guess what she was thinking about.

  “Nervous?” He was on a fishing expedition. Well, he’d never been fishing, but he assumed that was what it would be like.

  “Yes, and worried about Jeremy as well as other things.”

  He didn’t have to guess what the other things were. Why couldn’t life be simple?

  Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, he pointed in the direction of the building. “About five hundred feet from here is a door hidden behind that black air conditioning unit. Do you see the one I mean?”

  “I do.”

  “Okay. I’m going to go in the front door, sign in and do the whole shebang. Rhodes will probably schedule an appointment to debrief me for later today. I should be at that door to let you in in about ten minutes.” He paused as he tried to decide if there was anything else he should tell her. “If it takes me fifteen minutes it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong. I just might have gotten delayed somewhere.”

  “How are you going to explain it to them that I haven’t personally brought you back?”

  He shrugged. “I’ll tell the guards I pissed you off so much you refused to get off the highway and made me walk. You’re a Wade; everyone will expect you to behave badly.”

  “Spencer, won’t we need Rhodes’ help with this?”

  “Normally, but now that I hear he’s making deals with Roman and the Fury, I don’t know what to expect from him. In any case, we’ll already have you inside, so it’ll be too late for him to do anything about that. What’s that expression? It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

  “And if my power flares up inside? I’ll be completely exposed.”

  “It won’t.”

  She pounded her hand on the dashboard. “How can you possibly know that?”

  “Because of Rhodes. It’s his power.”

  “No one knows what William Rhodes’ powers are, or if he even really has them.”

  “No one outside the institutions know. We know what he does. He’s a power dampener; it’s how he can keep everyone under control. As long as he’s in Safe Dawn, all is well. It’s a very rare Condition, but essential for things to work. When he goes away, things get a little haywire.”

  “He’s eighty years old. Someday he won’t be there.”

  Spencer looked down at his hands as her words reminded him of a truth he’d long avoided. “I know.”

  Maybe it was the momentary sadness or the way the citrus moisturizer smelled on her skin, but he just couldn’t resist her any longer. Leaning over, he pulled her up against him over the center of the car and pressed his mouth to hers.

  For half a second, she gasped, before her lips softened and a quiet moan escaped. He closed his eyes and concentrated on living only in the moment. In that second, he was kissing Addison. The rest of the world could go to hell.

  She tasted of fruit and peppermint. It was an addictive combination, and he pushed his tongue in farther to plunge into the depths of her mouth. His groin immediately hardened, and since it was the only time they’d be doing any kissing, he tried to show her with his mouth what he wanted to do to her with other parts of his anatomy.

  Resisting the urge to explore her body, he pulled back. Her eyes bored into his, pleading with him for more, and he wished he could forget all the reasons it couldn’t happen.

  He cupped her cheeks with his hands and was more than a little pleased to see how flushed they had become in such a short period of time.

  “Spencer, maybe we could find Jeremy and the three of us could run away together. Find somewhere where they can’t find us and make a life.”

  He ran his pointer finger down her nose, tracing the long angles of her face.

  “They’ll always find me. Roman will always be looking. When this is over, you and Jeremy will run away and I will live knowing you are safe and hidden. That can never be true for me. I’m too well known from the newspaper articles. Wherever I went, people would know who I was. You’re Addison Wade; you’re probably equally noticeable.”

  Addison slanted her eyebrows, and he saw a determined look cross her face. She refused to give up the idea that they could find a way around this, which both frustrated and delighted him.

  Clearing his throat, he made himself open the car door. “Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes at the most. I’ll open that door. Be there.”

  Fourteen

  Addison approached the building with trepidation. The gray, industrial concrete hid whatever was inside from the outside world in a man-made glamour of respectability. She’d been mind-altered once already by someone Spencer had called a teenager. In no way did she want to begin to imagine what a full-grown adult could do to her. She tried to convince herself that an adult might actually use restraint.

  The door flung open, and she smiled. Spencer was on time. Ten minutes, as he’d said. The smile, however, died a quick death on her lips. It wasn’t Spencer standing there at all.

  “You know, it’s a good thing I always come out and do one more look, because one of you girls is always late to the party.”

  “Pardon?” Addison looked at the woman who stood in front of her. Five feet six inches tall and curved like something out of puberty-ridden little boys’ wet dreams, she was simply gorgeous. Dark, almost black hair that fell to her large and well displayed breasts framed the highest cheekbones Addison had ever seen.

  On some women they might have looked like facial implants, but on her they fit her face; they looked natural. Her eyes, almond shaped, were maybe an inch too far apart to be considered fashionable, but Addison thought it made her look exotic coupled with her dark olive complexion. She was probably of Armenian or Turkish ancestry.

  As she pushed away her anxiety, Addison realized she’d been doing that for years—sizing people up with a glance. It was something her grandfather could do; it was why he was so good at his job.

  “Are you deaf? Hello?” The other woman waved a hand in front of Addison’s face. “Are you coming?”

  “You were sent to get me?” She wanted to be clear on that before she went anywhere. Spencer hadn’t said he’d do that, but maybe the plans had changed once he’d entered Safe Dawn?

  “It’s my job. Come on.”

  She followed her motion to step through the door into complete darkness. Only a feeble neon glow from somewhere below the radiators gave any light at all.

  Trying to keep up with her guide, she attempted conversation once more. “I’m Addison.”

  “I don’t care.” The brunette’s tone didn’t allow for any discussion on the subject.

  Who was this nasty woman Spencer had sent to collect her? Where was he? What had happened to keep him from getting her himself? She’d opened her mouth to ask that very question—screw the woman’s attitude problem—when they came out of the dark hallway and arrived outside.

  Addison gasped. She was standing in a courtyard that could have been found on any small, northeastern college campus. Tiny, dormitory-looking buildings of six floors surrounded a green area that would have been perfect for a game of Frisbee golf or sun tanning on a warm day. No one was using the facility except for a small group of men who st
ood in the corner of the lawn smoking. She didn’t have any time to dwell on her surroundings or how well they were hidden from the outside. Spencer still hadn’t appeared, and she was feeling increasingly anxious about it.

  “Where’s Spencer?”

  The woman laughed, and it sounded more like a snort. “Oh, you’re a Lewis addict, are you? Sorry to disappoint you, but Spencer isn’t here right now. He’s out helping some rich bitch who came begging for his assistance, and even if he was here, he doesn’t participate in our little games. Spencer likes his women to be only one-on-one, which means you’re going to be disappointed. But don’t worry, there are plenty of hot freaks to do you the right way.”

  “Wait, what? Hold on.” Dear God, this woman, whoever she was, hadn’t been sent by Spencer and thought Addison was there to… to… to have sex with Conditioned people?

  “Sorry, no can do. The party waits for no one. This way.” The brunette pulled Addison forward, and Addison wrenched her arm out of the other woman’s hand only to stumble and fall backward onto her behind. Looking up, she nearly gasped as she saw the woman’s eyes glow red.

  “You really don’t want to screw with me. You paid your money, which means you get to come and do the dirty with a Conditioned man. As was explained to you when you signed up, there are no refunds, and once you’re inside the walls you have to be escorted to and from the event location by one of us.” The woman seemed to be taking deep breaths. “Now, I’m still under control here, but in a few moments I’m actually going to get angry, and then something is going to burn. I’d really rather it not be your body engulfed in flames, if it’s all the same to you. I haven’t had to bury a body in almost two months, and William Rhodes gets angry when the police come investigating.”

  Okay, enough was enough. Addison stood up, narrowing her eyes. She dealt with disgruntled employees all the time. This woman was nothing more than a bully, and Addison wasn’t afraid. “Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but no one talks to me that way, and no one takes me anywhere I don’t want to go. This has been a terrible mistake, and it is going to stop right now.”

  “I see you’re going to be difficult about this. What is it with you freaky women? Last week I had to drag a woman kicking and screaming inside, but when she left here, she could barely walk or stop moaning on and on about how great she felt. I swear, this is my last week doing this, my last frickin’ week.” The woman spun around and called out to the group of men Addison had noticed in the corner. “Holland, come here, please.”

  Not sure who Holland was and not wanting to find out, Addison moved closer to the stubborn woman. “Look, I need to see Spencer, okay? He can clear this all up.”

  “Nice try.”

  The man called Holland crossed the courtyard and stood before her. Six feet six inches tall and all of it hard, toned muscle, he reminded her of the men she saw playing professional football on television. His skin was a golden tan, unmarred except for a large tattoo on each of his cheeks. One was in the shape of a snake, and the other was of symbols she didn’t recognize.

  Addison wouldn’t have wanted to run into him in a dark alley, and she was even less happy about making his acquaintance behind walls she might not be able to escape.

  She placed both hands in front of him in a gesture she hoped was placating and calming. “There’s just been a mistake.”

  “If she goes home unsatisfied, she might tell the authorities.” Brunette looked bored.

  “I’m here with Spencer.”

  “She’s a Lewis crusher?” Holland finally spoke, and his voice was surprisingly unruffled, almost reassuring and musical in its tone.

  Her nameless tormenter who, Addison was sure she would hate for the rest of her life, laughed. “Seems that way.”

  “No, I’m not.” She was more than crushing on Spencer, so she didn’t feel like she was lying. “I’m here with him.”

  “Then where is he?” Brunette raised her eyebrow like the whole thing was so beneath her dignity she couldn’t believe she was discussing it.

  “Want me to knock her out?”

  “No, please don’t. I came here with Spencer Lewis.” Was that her voice sounding so frantic? If it was, then at least it matched the pounding of her heart in its desperation.

  “Do it.”

  Addison blocked her head with her arms, expecting a blow, but nothing happened. Holland stared at her and narrowed his eyes. She had moments to remember she was in Safe Dawn. No one here would have to lay hands on her to cause her pain. Seconds later, her world went black.

  * * *

  Addison awoke, sat up with a start, and realized she was screaming.

  “What did you do to her, man?”

  Her vision was skewed. Around her, all she could hear were voices she didn’t recognize. Colors danced in front of her eyes; shapes and flashes of light came into her vision and disappeared again. Nothing had substance or seemed real.

  “I just knocked her out. It shouldn’t be having this effect on her.”

  That voice she knew: Holland. She shuddered as she remembered the feeling of losing her will to stay awake. He had done that to her.

  “Why did you knock her out to begin with?”

  It was a man’s voice asking the questions, but not Spencer. She would have done just about anything to hear him right then. Even if he was yelling at her for coming into the building without him, even that would have been better than being alone and at the mercy of these people.

  “Tara said she was Lewis-crazed and that she needed to be brought here to be satisfied or she might tell.”

  “Hell.”

  A cool washcloth touched her face, brushing against her eyes, and a calm, feminine voice instructed her to be still. The colors still danced in front of her eyes, and she would have paid any amount to make them stop.

  “Listen to me. I’m not who you think I am.”

  “Who are you?” The male voice. At least it wasn’t hostile like the woman she now knew as Tara, whom she would be making it her life mission to destroy if she ever got out of this situation.

  “My name is Addison Wade.”

  A hush fell over the room. She wasn’t surprised. Hers was not a name anyone in their position would want to hear.

  “Fuck.” The male voice that had been speaking to her hissed the curse. “Tara, Holland, you guys knocked out Addison frickin’ Wade?”

  “I came here with Spencer Lewis. He’s helping me find my nephew.”

  “This is bad in so many ways.”

  “I didn’t know,” Tara’s voice finally said.

  Addison wished she could deck the horrid beast. “I tried to tell you.”

  “Here, now.” The compress that had been on her eyes was removed, and she was relieved to see that things were coming more into focus. She blinked a few times and could see the world around her.

  She was in some kind of bedroom. Her assessment of the quad outside looking like a college campus was matched inside the room. It screamed dormitory and was maybe twelve by nineteen feet. If the size said college, the furniture was all institution.

  The bed she lay on was white, with an itchy black blanket and one pillow. The bed had been made, hospital corners and all. There was one desk in the corner, one fake wooden bookshelf and one small window that had a dark shade pulled so she couldn’t see outside.

  The whole place smelled like cigarettes and unwashed gym socks. She was also pretty sure she picked up the distinctive smell of marijuana wafting through the room.

  The man who stood in front of her was somewhere around thirty years of age. Dark-haired and brown-eyed, he had a thin build. He wore black pants and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his shoulders. His arms were muscular, like he lifted things other than weights in a gym on a regular basis. However, his most striking attribute was the five piercings that adorned his face.

  One metal rod found its home in his left eyebrow. A dark black hook protruded from his mouth, and a ring of gold dangled from his
right nostril. His right eyebrow had two piercings, one that looked like a skull-and-crossbones ring and another that looked like a gold wedding ring that had been altered to hang from his eyebrow.

  The woman who had been holding the compress on her eyes was small, dark and delicate-looking. So skinny, Addison was sure she’d blow over in a good gust of wind. Her hair was a golden blonde.

  Also in the room were, to her distress, Tara and Holland, who stood in front of five other men who were far enough away that she couldn’t quite see them clearly.

  She blinked twice more before leveling her gaze on Holland.

  “What did you do to me?”

  “I knocked you out, and that shouldn’t have happened.”

  “What did it do exactly?”

  “Knocked you out for three hours. It was just supposed to be a touch of unconsciousness—ten minutes or so—but you never woke up.” Holland looked sheepish. He ran his hand through his one strip of hair. Had he said hours? Where the hell was Spencer? Seeds of doubt planted themselves in her brain, and she chewed on her lower lip. Had she been wrong about him? Was it possible he’d abandoned her to these people?

  Holland spoke again. “Please don’t take it out on everyone else that I screwed up. Please don’t have Wade Corporation hurt everyone here.”

  “She’s not going to be hurting anyone, Holland. We’re going to kill her first.” Every time Tara opened her mouth, she said or did something that made Addison hate her even more.

  “We’re not going to kill anyone.” The pierced man whirled on Tara for a moment before he looked back at Addison. “I’m Jack and this is Marisa. You know Holland and the loudmouthed Tara over there. Behind them are Tom, Ben, Greg, Andy and Russell. We’ve all been worried about you, and now that we’ve found out that you’re Addison Wade, I guess it would be fair to say that we’re terrified of you.”

  Addison heard voices in the room next door. Female, from the way they sounded, and she wondered if they were the ones who had actually come to Safe Dawn to have sex with Conditioned men. She’d like to see those women. What was it about them that evidently made them think it was okay to pay money to come to an institution? People here could kill you with a thought, and they wanted to engage in sexual activities with them? Was she a prude and she didn’t even know it?