“No.”
“You know he’s changing. His hair. His ability to control electronics. You’ve seen it. I’ve seen it. But there’s more, Amanda. Those artifacts he got from the bank, the ones Claude left for him? They’re ruining his mind. I have him contained, but he’s getting worse fast. He needs his mother now.”
“You—” Her voice gave out and she had to try again. “You’re lying. Put him on the phone.”
“And give him access to my communications? No thank you, dear.”
Amanda’s brain refused to place thoughts in any coherent order. She needed to think, needed to know how much of Bledsoe’s speech was true, but she couldn’t drive away the image of Winston using that artifact to shoot a man. What had she been thinking, drawing him into this? He was too young, too unprepared.
As if hearing her thoughts, Bledsoe said, “You gave him a gray T-shirt and dark gray jacket, but he swapped that out for a black shirt and cap.” The man paused for a moment, then added, “Amanda, he told me the two of you agreed to meet at Council Crest. I could have had a team take you in any time, but I wanted you to come to me willingly.”
Something about his last words sent a shiver up Amanda’s back.
“What happens if I come in?” she asked.
She could hear the smile in his voice. “We’ll all sit down and talk. First things first, of course. You need to get through to Winston and make him calm down before he really hurts someone, including himself.”
“How do I know you won’t just imprison us? How do I know you won’t—” She paused, not wanting to put any ideas in his head, but this was too obvious for him to miss. “—you won’t take the Alpha Machine and use it for your own ends?”
Again, a chuckle. “Amanda, if I promised to hand it to the president or melt it into scrap, would you believe me?”
Of course not. They were at a stalemate.
“I know I have to earn your trust, Amanda. And I will. The first step in doing that is to help you bring Winston back from the edge before it’s too late.”
She dug the knuckles of her fist into her lap, torn with indecision. Unable to speak, she took in a long, shuddering breath and glanced up the hill of Council Crest, where Winston should have been.
A splash of yellow she hadn’t noticed before caught her eye. Written in capital letters in fat, yellow brush strokes across the facing side of the far curb were the words AMANDA SAY YES.
Amanda’s eyes grew wide. Could it be?
“Amanda, are you there?” asked Bledsoe.
How long had it been since Claude had left her a gift or a note of any kind? Two years? Three? She had missed his random appearances in her life. Without them, it was too easy to feel that he’d forgotten about her and that the husband she’d once briefly had was lost to her forever, even when their son had befriended him.
If Claude had left her this note, knowing she would be exactly here, driven to speaking with Bledsoe by her desperation, then perhaps he knew more things that she didn’t. Just maybe, he knew where each fork in the road she now stood before ended. She had trusted him with her life in Area X. She had stood by their plans for raising Winston and keeping him safe. She would not doubt or second-guess her husband now.
“Amanda?” repeated Bledsoe.
She read the letters from the curb, written by Claude’s hand. “Yes.” Amanda took a deep breath and felt relief at how much steadier she sounded. “It seems you’ve left me no choice, Devlin. Where do you want me to go?”
To Be Continued...
What? You thought the danger would be over? Hardly! To find out what happens to Winston and Shade next, grab your copy of Winston Chase and the Theta Factor (Winston Chase #2) RIGHT NOW!
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Winston Chase and the Alpha Machine Page 31