Alpha

by Jus Accardo

  I went to the window and peeled back the curtains. Dylan was just outside the door, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. He did this when I frustrated him—which was at least ten times a day. It was the one small pleasure I was able to squeeze from the current situation.

  He was so focused on his irritation that he didn’t notice the man approaching from the far side of the building. Tall, with a five o’clock shadow and a wicked gleam in his eyes, the man was dressed in a dark purple suit and walked with a kind of confidence you didn’t see often.

  “Yancy.” I threw myself at the door, fumbled with the knob, and propelled myself outside just in time to see someone else round the corner of the building not far behind him. Several others, actually. Cade and Noah and their friends, and…

  …G.

  Maybe I should have been shocked, but I wasn’t. It was the first time I’d seen him in almost a month, but I knew he’d come for me. There was never a sliver of doubt in my mind.

  Our eyes met, and my heart waged war with my brain. We outnumbered Yancy, so logic said that I could simply step back, wait for him to take out Dylan, then let the rest of them take him down. In the short time we’d been together, I’d seen G in action, and he was brutal, full of raw strength and graceful power that I was confident could hold its own against the most formidable enemies. Unfortunately, Yancy wasn’t just formidable—he was lethal, with moves like an otherworldly cat. The rumor was that Cora had altered him somehow. Made him stronger, faster, smarter… In some ways, I was more afraid of him than her. The fact that Dylan and I had avoided him this long was nothing short of a miracle.

  G must have realized the impossibility of the predicament at the same time I did. He was even better acquainted with Yancy than I was, Cora having used the bastard to try and break him. He pulled up short and thrust his hands out on either side to keep the others back. Eyes locked on mine, his lips parted just a hair, and rage flashed across his features. We were so close…

  One second passed.

  Then two.

  “Go!” he roared. Dylan’s head snapped up and he noticed Yancy—and G. Yancy let out a string of curses and dove for us. I grabbed my captor’s arm as G charged our common enemy, and a second later, they both disappeared.

  Chapter Two

  G

  So close.

  We’d been so damn close. Again.

  “You okay?” Kori was at my back, but I didn’t turn around. Instead, I focused on breathing. In—out—in—out—in—out—counting each breath as I went until I reached forty. It didn’t do much to calm my nerves, but it did keep me from whirling around and snapping her neck like a damn twig.

  She meant well. They all did. At least, I assumed they did. Sometimes I wondered about Noah. Cade was obviously uncomfortable around me, but Noah… That guy hated me. I saw it in his eyes every time he looked at me, like he was mentally cataloging all the ways he could think of to skin me alive. Not that I really blamed him. If I were in his position, I would feel the same way. I had, after all, killed his sister.

  At least, another version of me had.

  “Yancy’s closing in.” Noah folded his arms and grunted.

  Yeah. He was. I’d sprinted for the bastard to give Sera the opportunity to get away. I never got the chance to tackle him, unfortunately. The instant they disappeared, Yancy sidestepped me and skipped out as well.

  Cade came up beside me and shook his head. I didn’t necessarily like the guy, but he was a solider through and through, and I respected that. His eyes flickered to Ashlyn, Noah’s girl, then back to me as Kori came and slipped her hand into his. “You’re sure you don’t know anything else that might help?”

  I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek. If they asked me one more time, there was a good chance I’d start swinging. Then again, there was a good chance I’d do it anyway. They’d messed me up at Infinity. Force-fed me drugs and tortured me in ways I couldn’t have even imagined. I wasn’t right in the head anymore.

  “I can only tell you what Cora’s people did to me—and even that’s hazy in places,” I said. “I have no idea why she’s obsessed with getting Ashlyn and Sera back.” While not technically a lie, I wasn’t telling them the whole truth. As far as I was concerned, the whole truth didn’t matter. Not right now. It would. Eventually. But right now, the only thing that mattered was finding Sera and dealing with Cora once and for all.

  “Ava,” Noah said. He stalked past Cade and positioned himself in front of me, so close that I could smell the burger he’d crammed down his throat as we skipped from the last world. “Her name isn’t Sera, it’s Ava. Kinda think we’ve been through this before. And we know what her deal with Ash is. It’s the rest that’s foggy.”

  I leaned forward, stopping when our faces were inches apart. My fists curled tight, and a familiar feeling washed over me. A total body itch, like there were a trillion tiny bugs stomping around beneath my skin, just out of reach. How many nights had Cora pushed me to the brink just so that I’d chase that itch? She’d done unthinkable things to get me to scratch. So that I’d let go… I hadn’t then, and I had no intention of giving in now—no matter how tempting it might be. With a deep breath, I said, “Ava is the ghost you’re chasing. I’m looking for Sera.”

  Noah’s eyes narrowed, and his lips twisted into a scowl. “They’re the same—”

  Ash wedged herself between us. Cade could usually rein the guy in, but when it came to me, that didn’t always work. They had to bring out the big—or little when you thought about it—guns. She rested a hand against his chest and nudged him back a few inches. “Better things to do than argue over something so petty. Agreed?”

  Noah hesitated, then nodded once. Their eyes met, and the rigid set of his shoulders relaxed just a little. The anger in his expression didn’t dissipate completely, but it did calm to a light simmer. “Agreed.”

  I didn’t say anything, just gave a short nod of my own. The memories I had of my time at Infinity were excruciating in their detail. Smells, tastes, sensations… I remembered, and I hated. Cora had remarked once that my temper was a side effect of the formula she’d given me. She had no idea how wrong she was—especially when I listened to the stories about Cade’s brother, the other version of me. The kind of darkness that lived in him lived in me as well. It had been there long before Cora came into my life.

  “I think we should move forward with the plan.” Cade came around to stand beside Noah—probably to make sure we didn’t go for each other’s throats. Kori followed, but she didn’t look thrilled. She exchanged a worried glance with Ash. Cade pretended not to see it, but I knew he had. He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer, then glanced in my direction. “You good?”

  I nodded again, even though it wasn’t true. Since my first moments with these people, I’d been fighting an increasingly hard war. Every time someone said something I didn’t like, each time they planned a move I didn’t agree with, I inched closer and closer to that edge Cora had tried so hard to shove me over. It wasn’t their fault. They were solid people trying to do something good. Trying to look out for the ones they loved. They were trying to help me. I respected that and, deep down, hated myself for the unprovoked animosity I felt toward them. But each day that passed, the anger grew hotter. I was living with this nuclear core inside me, and all it would take was just the right kind of push and I’d destroy everything in sight.

  They’d gotten a small glimpse. I’d let my control slip twice so far. No one had gotten hurt. Not badly, at least. Cade, who seemed like the leader and peacekeeper of the group, had intervened in time. He’d gotten a fat lip and a few bruises for his trouble, and my guilt had been festering ever since.

  “I’m not sure we should move on the plan so soon.” Kori dislodged herself from Cade and kept looking between him and Noah—who was technically her brother. “Splitting up might not be the best idea right now. We have a better shot at finding them if we work together.”

  Cade had been pushi
ng his plan for more than two weeks now. Personally, I didn’t care one way or the other, but Kori had been doing her best to stall.

  Noah snorted. “Are you nervous about splitting up, or are you freaking out about seeing her?”

  Kori shifted from one foot to the other, head down. Cade wanted to split up. Since they now had more freedom in their movements—before landing on Ashlyn’s Earth, they were forced to skip when Dylan did—he’d proposed a side trip for everyone other than us. Cora Anderson was after Sera. Something to do with what she’d done to her during our time at Infinity, but she was also after Ash. She was the key to getting some nefarious project off the ground and rolling full speed ahead. I didn’t know the details. Didn’t care.

  I had one goal and one goal alone.

  Find Sera.

  “What if she’s disappointed?” Kori lifted her head. “What if she’s angry that you brought another me? She might think you’re trying to replace her daughter…”

  Where Kori was from, her mother had died, but where Cade and Noah were from, Cora was alive—and not a sadistic bitch—and Kori was the one who had died. If you asked me, the whole thing was too much of a drama-fest, but Cade thought it’d be good for both of them. His idea was to have Noah bring her—which I think had more to do with Noah’s growing animosity toward me, or more specifically, my face—and Ash. Supposedly they’d be safe on their world and out of evil Cora’s reach.

  He grasped her hands and smiled. “Cora will be overjoyed to meet you. I promise.”

  She hesitated for another moment, then nodded.

  “Good.” Cade grabbed Noah’s shoulder and gave him a shake. “Spend a few days, then come find us—but be careful and keep your eyes open. I still say Dylan will circle back home again now that he’s got Ava. And remember, Cora can track Ash, so keep your eyes open.”

  Kori’s face paled. “Good? Go? As in right now?”

  He steered her off to the side, and the two of them talked quietly for a moment while Noah pulled Ash close and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him, resting her head against his chest, and shivered just a little. In response, he tugged at his jacket and tucked it around so that it enveloped them both.

  I looked away, remembering the promises I’d made to Sera…

  …

  “What’s the first thing you plan on doing when we get out of here?”

  “Food. Obviously.” I kicked my feet over the edge of the cot and went to sit on the floor against the wall closest to her cell. We were next to each other, yet far enough away that we couldn’t see each other or touch. “What about you?”

  “The hottest shower I can find.”

  I’d never seen this girl. I had no idea what she looked like. Yet the thought of her naked in the shower sent a spike of warmth through me. “Yeah. That’d be a close second on my list.”

  “My second would be to spend the day with you.”

  “Me? You don’t think you’ll have gotten enough of me by the time we leave this place in the dust?”

  She snickered. It was a soft sound that reminded me of a blanket I’d had once. Weird, but true. That blanket was the one thing in the world that brought me peace. It gave me comfort. That blanket was mine.

  “You’d like to think so, but get used to it, G. It’s you and me. Against this place and against the world.”

  Screw the food and shower. Screw an entire day. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t have given to spend even an hour with this girl. To see her smile and watch her move. To feel her hand in mine… “You’ll have your shower, Sera. And that day. I promise, if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make it all happen.”

  “I know you will.”

  …

  When Cade and Kori returned, there was an odd sort of resolution in her eyes. She faced him, and he touched her cheek. They stayed like that for a moment, just looking at each other. It was ridiculous, but I was jealous. Of such a stupid, simple little thing. “I’ll be fine. I swear.”

  Kori rolled her eyes. “I’d feel more confident about that statement if we stuck together. Maybe Noah and Ash could go. I’d stay with—”

  He took her hand and placed it on his chest, over his heart. “I need you to stay with Noah. If I’m not around, God knows what stupid shit he’ll get into.”

  “You better make sure nothing happens to G.” Her gaze flickered to me for a half second, then she took Noah’s hand. His chip, the small device buried beneath the skin allowing us to travel between dimensions, had been damaged last month, so he needed to rely on contact from one of us to skip. “Or you.”

  Ash positioned herself on Noah’s other side, threading her fingers through his. A moment later, they were gone, leaving Cade and me alone in the dark outside the hotel Sera and Dylan had fled.

  “I think this will work better. It was easier when we first started out,” Cade said. He pulled his jacket tighter and thrust both hands into its pockets. “It was just Noah and me. Two people chasing someone down are a hell of a lot less conspicuous than five.”

  “Makes sense,” I said. We’d lost them a few times because Dylan had seen us coming. At one point I contemplated going it alone. They were more invested in bringing down Dylan than finding Sera. I felt like to them she would just be a convenient side benefit of getting what they were after.

  But I didn’t know jack about the guy, despite being his double. Cade and Noah’s insight had proven useful on multiple occasions. I’d give it a little more time before I cut and run. “So, what now?”

  Cade started walking, and I followed. “Yancy almost had them this time, so I don’t want to wait too long, but I think we need to let Dylan breathe a bit. If I’ve been keeping track correctly, their skip timer just recharged. Maybe—”

  I grabbed his arm and jerked him to a stop. “Let him breathe?”

  He regarded me with something like the pity I saw in Kori’s eyes. “He won’t hurt her, G.” Same song, another day—but I still wasn’t convinced.

  People were seven different kinds of messed up—myself included. Dylan included. There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t lose his shit. That she wouldn’t be a target for his rage. And aside from that, knowing what I did about Sera, she was probably ready to crawl out of her own skin by now. She might not realize where it was coming from, or even understand it completely, but being trapped, being forced to stay with Dylan, would freak her out on an almost inhumane level…

  “He needs to think we’ve backed off a bit. Or, at the very least, slowed down. Otherwise he’ll keep skipping and we’ll never catch him. We can land anywhere from one foot away from them to half a mile. That—”

  “Yeah. I get it.” And I did. Mostly. But there was a small part of me, the bits and pieces created when Cora screwed with my head, that wanted nothing more than blood. That part didn’t care about Cade and his mission for vengeance, or even about Sera. It fed on an anger festering inside, one rooted deeper than anyone realized. I’d resisted it for the most part, but I didn’t know how much longer I could hold out. “So then, like I said, what’s next?”

  “I guess we should find a place to crash, then skip out in the morning. That should give Dylan a false sense of security. You okay with that?”

  “Sure. As long as Yancy doesn’t get to them first.” We had a history, Cora’s personal psycho and me. A violent and bloody history. Not long ago, during one of our last encounters, I’d promised him he’d pay for every bruise, every ache he’d ever inflicted. He’d laughed—and why shouldn’t he? I was a rat in a cage at the time. No more a danger to him than a simple cold. But now that I was out, now that he was hunting Sera, all bets were off. The promise I’d made him was fresh on my mind.

  “He won’t. We’ll get to her first.” Cade frowned and lifted his head, but he didn’t look directly at me.

  He never did.

  …

  We hadn’t spoken much after checking into the hotel. Cade offered to grab something for me when he went in search of food, but as usual I declin
ed. While things weren’t as tense as they were with Noah, he didn’t like me, either. Every once in a while, when he thought I didn’t notice, I’d catch him scowling at me, the venom he normally buried so deep exposed and raw. I got it, though. I wore the face of the guy who killed his girl. Brother or not, that leaves a mark. I didn’t blame him. I didn’t like it, but I didn’t blame him.

  I was wide awake when he returned, but I didn’t roll over. Still, he knew.

  “Sure you don’t want anything to eat? I brought back extra.” The paper bags crackled as he set them down. “In case you’d changed your mind.”

  I surrendered the illusion and sat upright. “I’m fine.”

  “When was the last time you ate?” He dipped his hand into the first sack and pulled out what looked like a sandwich. It had an odd smell, like a mix between tuna and egg. It turned my stomach, while at the same time making my mouth water.

  The truth was, I couldn’t be sure. It must have been yesterday. Right? Maybe I’d eaten something the day before? Sometimes my mind raced so fast that I lost track of the basic things. Eating, sleeping… I was used to going without. Sometimes, as punishment, Cora would let me sit for days with a heaping plate of food set on the other side of the bars, just out of reach.

  Cade pulled off a chunk of his sandwich and popped it into his mouth, then leaned across and set the other on the end of my bed. “You’re no good to her if you starve yourself.”

  His point was logical. Logical, I could do. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to grab the food. Sometimes, for a change of pace, Cora would wait days to bring food. Then, when she did, it would make me violently ill. Spoiled, lightly poisoned—I had no idea what she’d done to it.

  “Shit,” Cade said. He held out the sandwich and twisted his lips in disgust. “I grabbed the wrong one. This has mayo. Mind if I swap ’em?”

  A part of me knew why he’d swapped the food. Condiments had nothing to do with it. I’d made my distrust of them—of everyone—crystal clear. Still, in the deepest recesses of my mind, I was grateful, and the second he drew his hand away, I was on it.