Mateo yanked me backward with him as he scrambled away from Luke, using me as a shield. The fierce look on Luke’s face made me wonder if he would shoot right through me in an attempt to kill Mateo.
“You stupid little shit,” Luke snarled. “After all we did for you, getting you out of that prison, this is how you repay us?”
“You didn’t do nada for me!” Mateo retorted. “Nada! I knew if I could fool the empath, I could fool the others. And it worked like a charm!” He sniggered. “I fooled you, sucker!” His face changed again, morphing into the old man.
Luke flinched, his eyes filling with shock, though the expression on his face remained the same. I didn’t know how he could keep his composure and appear so emotionless like that all the time. If I hadn’t seen his eyes, I would think he didn’t have any emotions at all. But I did see his eyes, and I knew he was beyond stunned. Like me.
“Let her go,” Ryan repeated, his gaze returning to Mateo. “She has nothing to do with any of this.”
Mateo let out another evil cackle, his face morphing back to himself again. “You’re the one who got her involved. Couldn’t keep your hands to yourself, could you? Or should I say ‘hand’?” He chortled. “It looks like neither one of you won the bet. I got the girl. I get to fuck her first. Stay back!” he warned. “I’m taking her and I’m leaving.”
My heart stopped. No. I couldn’t let Mateo take me away from Ryan. He would hurt me. Probably kill me.
My gaze landed on Ryan’s. There was definite worry in his eyes. Fear.
“Let. Her. Go.”
Mateo began backing toward the door with me, bending down and keeping me in front of him so they couldn’t shoot him.
“You’re a dead motherfucker,” Luke threatened.
Ryan’s gaze turned to stone. “Do you really think you’re going to get away with this? Not only will you have me and Luke hunting you,” he pointed out, his voice colder than I’d ever heard it. “But all the other dregs, too. I would suggest you let Liz go right now.”
Ryan’s gaze softened as he looked into my eyes. “Be strong, Liz,” he murmured. “Be brave. Whatever happens, don’t let him beat you down.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. I didn’t want to be strong or brave. I just wanted Mateo to let me go. I just wanted to run into Ryan’s arms and have him hold me tightly.
Mateo yanked me out the door with him.
Luke and Ryan thundered after us, following us down the sidewalk. Mateo paused at Luke’s black Porsche. He must have stolen Luke’s keys somehow. Keeping his gun pointed at me, Mateo ordered me to get behind the wheel. I didn’t dare argue. Not with that gun in my face.
Mateo slipped into the passenger’s seat, keeping his gun pointed at my head the entire time.
I glanced into Ryan’s eyes one last time before I slowly backed out of the parking lot, my body shaking.
Mateo sneered at Ryan and Luke, then rolled down his window and sent them a wave. “Bye, amigos!” In a swift move, he turned the gun away from me and fired at them.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
I screamed as Ryan and Luke both dived to the ground and rolled out of the way. They didn’t fire back, but I don’t know if it was because they couldn’t without running the risk of accidentally hitting me, or if they’d been shot and were unable to shoot back.
My chest squeezed. My breath hitched.
Mateo shoved the gun against the side of my head again.
“Drive, bitch.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ryan
Liz was now a captive of a madman. A freak who could change his face, his body. Who could turn into anyone. Even The General. What the fuck was that all about?
My heart pinched. Oh Liz, I’m so fucking sorry.
Luke and I raced back in the motel room. Together, we gathered up everything—my clothes and toiletries, the medical bag, the duffle bag full of weapons, Liz’s purse and phone—and carried it out to the car, tossing it all in the back seat. I stuffed my feet in my shoes, snatched up my prosthetic, then grabbed my key fob, while Luke ran to his own room to get his things. We probably wouldn’t be coming back here, so it was best to clear everything out now.
Luke was back moments later, tossing his bag in back with everything else. I handed him my key fob, letting him know I wanted him to drive.
We were going to catch that prick and kill him. We never should have trusted Mateo in the first place.
The tires on my new car screeched as Luke backed up, then slammed on the brakes, turning the wheel and then pausing at the edge of the parking lot, waiting for a break in the flow of traffic so we could ease out onto the street. Lawton was a decent-sized town at just under a hundred thousand people. It wasn’t as big as Augusta or Atlanta, but it was much larger than Eatonton.
I quickly attached my prosthetic, then leaned in the back to pull several weapons out of the bag. Turning back around, I set the guns in my lap and clicked my seatbelt in place.
Silence stretched.
“Do you see him anywhere?” Luke growled out, his voice laced with fury. “I can’t see that fucker.”
I glanced around, looking up and down the road, but Luke’s Porsche was nowhere to be seen. Noah had suggested we all put GPS trackers on our vehicles before we’d left Georgia, so if one of us somehow became separated from the group, and something terrible happened, then we might able to find each other. But we’d all been so anxious to leave Georgia, and we’d all figured that we’d be safer once out of Georgia, that none of us had actually gotten around to installing any trackers on our cars. In hindsight, I wish we’d taken time to do that. It certainly would have made finding Luke’s car—finding Liz—easier right now.
It was early afternoon, the traffic steady, but not heavy. Mateo could easily hide in the flow. We would have to keep our eyes open to spot him. Where was that little prick?
“Just drive,” I suggested. “We might get lucky and come upon him at a light somewhere.”
I now understood what it meant to have a true weakness, other than my dreg partner. I now understood what all the other dregs had gone through when their women were in danger. Because I was going through it for myself right now. Except Liz wasn’t even my woman. Though I felt like she was. I wanted her to be mine.
I tried not to think about what Mateo might do to her if we couldn’t find them and get her back.
I couldn’t even think about that right now. It would make me crazy with worry.
Luke pulled out into traffic, and we headed down the road. I turned my head and studied him. I now knew his secret. I knew what he’d been keeping from me. In a way, I understood why he hadn’t told me. But I also felt betrayed, too. He should have trusted me with the truth. I was his brother. His best friend. His dreg partner. He knew I would never tell anyone else.
Luke sent me a dark look, then glanced back at the road. “Spill it,” he ground out. “What do you want to know?”
I turned away, helping him look for Mateo, but seeing no sign of the Porsche.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were an empath?” I asked quietly. It all made sense to me now. The way he always kept his distance from people. The way he always tried so hard to remain emotionless, no matter the situation. The way he always had to act like a hard ass.
Because he was an empath, and empathy could make him weak. And he didn’t want anyone to know. Being an empath allowed him feel other people’s emotions, not just mine. No wonder he made such a great interrogator. He knew what everyone was feeling at all times. I could only imagine the kind of hell he must go through, having to experience the swirl of so many different energies around him on a constant basis. How the hell did he even survive such a condition?
“Why do you think I didn’t tell you? I didn’t want you to know. It’s fucking embarrassing. Now you think I’m a freak.”
I snorted and shook my head. “You don’t think I feel like a freak? Seriously, dude. Giving off a sexual pheromone isn’t exactly something I’m
proud of. I hate the fucking thing. Having to deal with women rubbing themselves all over me...”
He choked out a laugh. “You know how many guys would love to have women flinging themselves at them? Most guys would think you’re lucky.”
Sure. Whatever.
Though I’d never read Luke’s recruit file, if I had read it, would I already know the truth? Did his Company file mention that he was able to feel other people’s emotions?
Had Noah read Luke’s file? He certainly had access to it. Did Noah know Luke’s truth?
“Does Noah know?” I couldn’t resist asking.
Luke shook his head. “No. None of the dregs do.”
Noah probably hadn’t read any of our files, then. He must have just printed them out for us, letting us keep our privacy.
“Did The General know?”
Luke nodded. “He was the one who told me what it was. I didn’t want anyone else to know about it, and he agreed. He said it was a good secret to keep. That it would be easier for me to infiltrate groups, get information, and conduct successful interrogations if no one knew.”
Silence stretched while I contemplated that, and we both looked up and down the street, watching for any sign of Luke’s Porsche.
“So The General must have told Mateo, or Mateo somehow found out.”
Luke’s jaw clenched. “Yeah. Not sure how he found out.”
That bastard.
Mateo had simply vanished with Liz. My worry intensified. Where were they?
“Does it hurt?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Luke grunted, sending me another glare. “What do you think? I can’t go anywhere or be around anyone without feeling their energy. I’ve learned to adapt, to harden myself and block people’s emotions, but it’s not easy. Some things I can’t help but feel, no matter how cold I try to be.”
I nodded in understanding. “I still wish you’d told me, man. I’m your partner.”
Another silence stretched. Then he let out a long sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
Luke turned right at the next light and slowly drove down the next street. We both kept our eyes open, watching for a sign of his Porsche.
“So when you described your dreg talent to people, saying you can read their vibe, feel their honesty or deceit by watching their body language, listening to their words, and gauging whether or not they are being honest that way, were you telling the truth?”
Luke’s jaw clenched. He heaved out a sigh. “It’s partly true. I can read vibes, and I do study body language, but it’s mostly people’s emotions I pick up that make it easy for me to read them.”
“And the mind control?” I asked. “When you said you send out a ‘feeler’ that’s like a truth serum that probes into their minds and sends back either an honest or a dishonest vibe, is that the truth? Or can you really read people’s minds?”
Silence.
He let out another long sigh, lifting a hand to rake it through his hair in obvious frustration. “Yes. Sometimes I can read minds. With certain people.”
“Certain people…like me?”
He turned to meet my gaze. “Yeah. When you’re close, like now, I can. But if we’re separated by a distance of more than say, ten or fifteen feet, then I can’t.”
Shit. No wonder he knew me so well. He could read my fucking mind. I really didn’t have any secrets from him.
“How long have you been able to do that?”
He turned back to the road. “Ever since I discovered my dreg talent. And for the record,” he added quickly, “I didn’t tell you I could read your mind because I didn’t want to freak you out. I don’t like invading people’s privacy. If your thoughts are too intimate or too disturbing, I back away to give you privacy.”
I heaved out a sigh of my own. I could understand that. “Did I ever have any thoughts that…upset you? Did I ever think anything bad about you?” There had been plenty of times when he’d pissed me off and I’d thought him an asshole.
He snorted. “Fuck, no. I deserved every name you ever called me in your head, or said out loud. Your thoughts are pretty tame compared to some of the people I encounter.”
Silence stretched for several minutes as we continued through the city, searching for Luke’s car. The shock of Luke’s secret still hadn’t fully worn off. I couldn’t believe my dreg partner was an empath. He really could read people’s minds. He knew me so well, he probably knew me better than I knew myself.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Truly, I am. You’re not mad at me?”
“Nah.” I wasn’t upset with him. He was Luke. My brother. My best friend. “I don’t think I could ever be mad at you, not after all we’ve been through together.”
He breathed in deeply, slowly exhaling. “Thanks for understanding.”
I cleared my throat, then I asked the question I knew he wouldn’t want to answer.
“How did Mateo get away from you?”
Another long sigh. “I was in the shower, and the little shit shoved both nightstands in front of the bathroom door, stacking them on top of each other. I had to push them out of the way to get out of the bathroom.”
I shook my head in disgust. “He’s been waiting all this time for you to let your guard down so he could attack. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you while you were in the shower.”
Luke scowled. “That little fucker isn’t brave enough to try to kill me. That’s why he went for you first. He knew you had a weakness—Liz. He knew if he failed, he could take her as a hostage. He figured he’d take you out before I escaped.” He let out an angry growl. “He’s scared of us. He knows he can’t take us down on his own. That’s why he stole Liz. He needs her as a hostage. He knew it was the only way to keep us from killing him.”
Mateo had gotten the best of me. He’d stolen Liz. And when I found that little prick, I was killing him.
“Sorry about Liz,” Luke went on quietly. “We’ll get her back, man.”
Another moment of silence stretched while we both watched for a sign of Luke’s Porsche.
“He can change his appearance,” I murmured. “Make himself look like anyone he wants. That’s freaky. I thought he really was The General there for a moment.”
Luke nodded. “Me, too. I about had a fucking heart attack.”
Yeah. Me, too.
“How do you think he keeps his emotions from being detected? How does he hide his feelings from you? How did he manage to fool you?”
Luke scrunched his face. “At first, I thought he didn’t have emotions. But back there at the motel when he was dragging Liz out the door, I felt his fear. So that tells me he just knows how to mask his emotions really well. He’s taught himself how to hide them. If we manage to scare the living bejesus out of him, I don’t think he’ll be able to hide his emotions. I guarantee he’ll talk if we push him hard enough. We can torture the little shit and make him tell us things about The Company and Ellington’s plans. He might even know where Ellington is.”
Yeah. I turned away, scanning the area for any sign of Liz. Where was she? Where had Mateo taken her? They couldn’t have gotten too far away.
“You think he’s working alone, or for Ellington?”
“He’s got to be working for Ellington,” Luke surmised. “He’s not brave enough to take us on by himself. Ellington probably promised him a reward of some kind if he killed us.”
Luke tensed, lifting an arm to point ahead.
“There’s my car.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Liz
My hands shook as I followed Mateo’s instructions, driving where he indicated.
Left here. Right there. Stop in the alleyway. Go forward again. Turn right. Then left. Drive to the end of the street. Make another left. Turn right again. Stop. Turn left.
It was cold and sunny today. Only around thirty degrees. Traffic was steady, but not too heavy. Because of the cold, pedestrians were few and far between. I vowed if I saw a cop car, I’d st
art driving erratically or doing something to get the cop’s attention. If I noticed a pedestrian who looked like he or she might be willing to help me, I wouldn’t hesitate to catch their eye.
“We need to trade cars,” Mateo muttered, though I don’t think he was talking to me. I think he was just thinking out loud. “They’ll be looking for this one.”
His eyes were wild as he glanced around. “There!” He pointed at an indistinct gray sedan that a woman was exciting at the curb up ahead. “That’s our new ride.”
Keeping his gun pointed at me, he ordered, “Stop the car and get out. We’re trading vehicles.”
I didn’t know how many bullets he had left, but I was going to assume he had at least one, and I wasn’t about to get shot.
I pulled up behind the gray sedan. We exited the vehicle and Mateo urged me forward with the gun pointed at me the entire way. As soon as we reached the woman, who was now bent over pulling something out of the backseat, Mateo grabbed her and yanked her away from the car.
“Give me your keys,” he shouted, glancing around to make sure we didn’t have an audience.
The terrified woman tossed her keys at him and stepped back.
“Get in!” Mateo ordered me. “You’re driving.”
I glanced at the terrified woman, then back at Mateo.
“Get in the car now!” he shouted, “or she dies!” He pointed the gun at the woman’s head.
She cowered, lowering her head, and let out a sob.
I couldn’t let this woman die because of me.
I got in the car.
Mateo tossed the woman the keys to Luke’s Porsche. “Trade ya,” he said with a snicker. “You get a Porsche now.”
The stunned woman stared at the key fob in her hand while we drove off.
“Head to Oklahoma City,” Mateo ordered. “We’re collecting Ryan’s mommy. The more leverage I have, the better.”
Oh God. The last thing I wanted to do was endanger Glenda. I would have to find a way to escape. Or wound or kill Mateo on my own. I couldn’t let him hurt Glenda. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I knew I was partly to blame since I’d called Ellington and told him where to find Ryan. It was my fault those soldiers had shown up at the inn and tried to kill Ryan and Luke. Though Mateo had already been with Ryan and Luke at the time, it was apparent now that he wasn’t their friend. The evil glint in Mateo’s black eyes indicated he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt or kill me if I didn’t do what he ordered.
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