Deceived

by Heather Sunseri

  Dr. Howard coughed. He was losing a lot of blood.

  I continued my assessment of his injury. I had healed a few physical injuries in my time, but this one was bad. Bree’s father had been shot in the back, but the wound was open on his chest, the bullet having traveled all the way through. The damage was extensive, including a nick to his heart. I could have really used Jack for this.

  Jonas! Bree was screaming in my head. Are you all right?

  I’m fine. Give me a minute. I shut her out of my mind. I didn’t want her seeing her father like this.

  I began by mending the injury to Dr. Howard’s heart, then I closed the wounds on his chest and his back. By the time I was done, my heart was racing and my shirt was drenched with sweat. And when I then realized that Dr. Howard wasn’t breathing, I went into full panic mode. After several deep breaths to calm myself, I rose up on my knees and began compressions to his chest.

  “Don’t you die on me!” I shouted. Bree was going to have to deal with the fact that her mother was as crazy as mine, but I was now convinced that Dr. Howard was one of the good guys—just a good guy who had trusted the wrong people. And I wouldn’t let her father die before she learned the truth about him.

  I pushed hard on his chest. Over and over and over.

  At least thirty compressions later, he coughed and gasped. He lifted his hands and felt his chest. Blood was everywhere, but the wound was gone.

  He looked up at me. “You healed me?”

  I nodded. “Now, come on. Your daughter needs us.” I stood, and helped Dr. Howard to his feet. I mentally sought out Bree’s mind, and realized she was very close. But before we could even leave the room, Mrs. Howard appeared in the doorway in front of us, blocking the path to Bree.

  “You’re not going anywhere.” She pointed a gun at Dr. Howard.

  Dr. Howard held his hands to his sides. “You don’t want to do this, Bethany.”

  I couldn’t remember ever knowing Mrs. Howard’s first name.

  “You don’t think so?” Mrs. Howard laughed. “I’m pretty sure you’re wrong.”

  “The lab is surrounded. It’s over.”

  Surely Dr. Howard had understood that the IIA was no longer here to help him?

  “It will never be over. You and I both know that. Our entire lives have orbited around this ridiculous laboratory and what Briana would become.”

  “That isn’t true.”

  “It is true! And you took the one thing that meant anything to me!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Boone. You took Boone from me. He was the only child I was to have.”

  Confused, I entered Mrs. Howard’s mind and searched her thoughts—the things she wasn’t saying. And I discovered that Boone was actually their biological child, implanted at the same time Bree was cloned from Mr. Howard’s late sister.

  “You had Briana,” Mr. Howard said.

  Mrs. Howard laughed darkly. “Briana was never mine. She was Sandra’s creation—her property. We always knew Sandra would come for Briana eventually, or you would use her in your own work inside this laboratory.”

  It was starting to make sense—why Mrs. Howard was so cold toward Bree—and my heart broke for my beautiful redhead.

  “This is why you gave Sandra Boone’s DNA?”

  “I knew you never would.”

  “He was our son, Bethany. And he died. I didn’t want him replicated inside some laboratory.” He took a few steps closer to her. “You framed our daughter for murder.”

  “She was never my daughter!” Tears formed in her eyes. Her shoulders slumped forward. “Oh, Bart. I’ve done so many horrible things. I grieved Boone for so long. You had your work to throw yourself into, but I had nothing. That’s why I met with Sandra. She needed my help. And I was so intrigued by what she suggested. It was finally a way I could be involved in your world. I thought it would bring us closer together.” She fell to her knees. “I’ve ruined everything.”

  Dr. Howard knelt in front of her. He took the gun from her, then looked up at me.

  After a loud noise on the other side of the laboratory door, it opened, and in walked one IIA agent.

  No, not an IIA agent.

  Dr. Jeremy Porter.

  I was staring at a distorted mirror image of myself, dressed like the rest of the agents, in combat gear. And he pointed a gun straight at me. “Hello, son.”

  Dr. Howard looked from Jeremy to me.

  “I don’t believe it,” Mrs. Howard said. She stepped around me. “Thank goodness you’re here.”

  “Don’t thank me,” Jeremy said. “You’ve made a mess of things, Bethany.”

  “I did what you asked. I’ve got—”

  Jeremy lifted his gun and shot Mrs. Howard in the forehead. I stepped back, stunned. Dr. Howard gasped. And when Jeremy turned his gun on me, I closed my eyes.

  chapter thirty-three

  Briana

  One hundred percent of my attention was focused on the Addison clone’s tumor. The mass crowded the opening to a chamber of her heart, hampering the flow of blood and starving her body of replenishing oxygen. Now she was having trouble breathing.

  I kneeled above her, concentrating on the area around the tumor and what it was attached to. I began channeling all the information I had learned from my classes. From Wellington, Lexi, Jack, Jonas, and even from Seth. I’d never had the confidence to use my healing ability, but Seth assured me that if I would only focus my energy, I, too, could heal.

  I gently pried back the tumor, slowly detaching it from the vessels around the heart. The process was equal parts difficult and exhausting, requiring the most delicate force possible to wrest the tumor from its hold without damaging the surrounding heart tissue. One false move would cause a massive rupture that not even Lexi Matthews could fix. The pressure of having this precious young life hanging on a tightrope was overwhelming, but I forced myself to push the doubt, anxiety, and pressure aside and concentrate on saving the little girl.

  I had no idea how many minutes passed. I only knew that I had managed to detach the tumor. But this clone’s life still hung on by a thread, and the pain, nausea, and dizziness I was suffering threatened to end the process before I could finish.

  chapter thirty-four

  Jonas

  As I opened my eyes and stared at my clone daddy, I immediately began controlling Dr. Howard’s mind. Get out of here. Find Agent Buroker and bring him here. He turned and silently slipped out of the room.

  I was taking a huge risk, but I figured if Agent Buroker and his team intended to kill me, they would have done so when they first saw me. And I didn’t think the IIA meant Dr. Howard any harm. If anything, they were here to collect any information they could find about cloned humans. If the IIA took us into custody, I’d worry about that later; right, now, my only goal was to keep me and Bree alive.

  “Where is the healing oracle?” Jeremy asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I let my thumb graze the pocket where the oracle was stuffed.

  “You and your friends are a nuisance,” Jeremy said. “I should kill you and your little girlfriend right now. The IIA should have taken all of you out the first opportunity they got. But someone continues to make sure you live.”

  I cocked my head. I had no idea what he meant by that. We continued to make sure we lived. The idea that we had some guardian angel out there was ludicrous.

  Though, as I stared at Jeremy’s gun pointed directly at my chest, I wished I did have a guardian angel. Mostly, I prayed for someone to save Bree.

  “Why do you want the healing oracle?” I asked.

  “The same thing Sandra wanted when she created trackers with healing capabilities. The same thing we wanted when we created the original seven clones. The power to end all suffering. It’s a gold mine.”

  I glanced down at a dead Bethany Howard. “Is that what you doctors think you do each time you come up with some new way to heal the world’s diseases? No matter wh
o you hurt along the way?”

  Jeremy also looked at Mrs. Howard. “Collateral damage. She got sloppy. Got police involved, and people who don’t belong in this world started asking questions.” He adjusted his grip and aimed the gun at my head. “Give me the oracle, Jonas. If you don’t have it, I know your girlfriend does. Produce it on the count of three, or die.”

  I stretched my fingers out, then curled them into fists.

  “One.”

  I lifted my hand and started to reach into my pocket. I had no desire to hand this oracle over. And there was no guarantee that he wasn’t going to kill me anyway if I did.

  “Two.”

  I wanted to tell Bree goodbye, but it was better this way. Addison, if you can hear me, save Bree and get out of here.

  “Three.”

  The gunshot echoed in my ears.

  I stopped breathing.

  But when I felt no pain, I gasped for air and stared into Dr. Jeremy Porter’s eyes—eyes very much like my own. He fell against me, like Dr. Howard had earlier. I caught him in my arms and lowered him to the ground.

  In the doorway were Agent Buroker and Dr. Howard. Agent Buroker’s gun was still pointed at Jeremy, smoke rising from its barrel.

  I looked up at him and tried to assess his intentions. He slowly lowered his gun, then knelt beside Jeremy and felt his pulse.

  “Still alive,” he confirmed.

  I stood and backed away slowly. The motion didn’t go unnoticed by Agent Buroker, who also stood and holstered his gun.

  “Dr. Porter said he wanted to help us bring the original clones in,” Agent Buroker said. “We hoped to learn from you. Not all agents mean the clones harm.”

  Dr. Howard stepped to me, grasped my arm. “Go. Get my daughter.” He leaned in and whispered. “Do what you need to do to disappear. I’ll deal with the IIA.”

  I nodded, and after a final glance at Jeremy, Bree’s mother, then Agent Buroker, I turned and bolted, ignoring Agent Buroker’s protests.

  I followed my sense of Bree’s mind until I found her kneeling above a child with a shaved head. Bree’s eyes were closed, and she swayed. She looked to be in the midst of healing the clone, and I didn’t want to startle her, so I skirted the bed searching for a way to help her.

  I slipped inside her mind. And what I saw there nearly took me to my knees.

  Red, you have to stop! You’re going to kill yourself!

  chapter thirty-five

  Briana

  Jonas was inside my head. Red, please stop.

  Bile rose in my throat at the enormity of what I was doing, but I swallowed it back down, knowing the job wasn’t complete. I can’t. I have to finish. Pain radiated behind my eyes and pulsated through every nerve ending in my brain.

  The feeling of Jonas’s hand on mine relaxed me slightly, but I continued to concentrate on dissolving the tumor. It was working. The tumor was going away.

  Joy filled my heart, but I couldn’t relax. Not yet.

  Red, Jonas pleaded with me. Stop.

  I blocked him out.

  Once I was sure the tumor was gone from the clone’s body, I directed my attention to the infection. Using my mind, I massaged the girl’s heart and pumped blood through her body, filtering out all of the harmful bacteria through her liver and kidneys. I could actually see it happening—the bad bacteria that was making the little girl sick vanished as it passed through her circulatory system. I couldn’t explain how I saw it, much like I couldn’t explain Seth’s sinus infection. Only that I’d known he’d had one.

  When I was sure the infection was purged, I opened my eyes and placed a hand on the little girl’s cheek. It was cool and clammy. Perspiration beaded along her forehead. Her fever had broken. Her infection was gone.

  In front of me, on the other side of the bed, Jonas stood. His lips lifted slightly at the corners, but it contradicted the sadness in his eyes. “You did it, Red. Her tumor is gone. Along with her infection.”

  “How did you get in here?” I tried to smile, but everything hurt—my head, my ears, the muscles in my face and neck.

  “Your father helped. But then I found your mind and followed those sexy red hot neurons.” He smiled weakly. He was keeping something from me. “We need to go.” He held out a hand.

  “But what about the other clone?”

  Jonas frowned, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Then he lowered his head and stepped to the side.

  Behind him, the other bed came into view. It was covered with a white sheet. It had been pulled up over the boy’s head.

  “No!” I whimpered. I jumped to my feet. A rush of dizziness threw me off balance, and pain followed it with a vengeance. “I was too late,” I said. My voice sounded like it was coming from the other end of a tunnel.

  “Red?”

  I stared into his amber eyes. He went in and out of focus. I swayed. A fire exploded through my head. My hands flew to my temples, and I let out a scream that echoed between my ears. My legs gave out, and I collapsed. The last thing I saw was Jonas’s wide eyes as he screamed my name and reached for me.

  chapter thirty-six

  Jonas

  The flight to Palmyra was long. I paced inside the cabin of the plane Dr. Howard had chartered. Addison attempted to get inside my head and calm me, but not even Addison could break through my mental anguish. Bree had yet to regain consciousness, and I couldn’t find anything wrong with her. After carrying her aboard the aircraft, I had secured her across three seats in the front of the plane and covered her with a blanket.

  Addison was in the back of the plane with the clone children we had saved from Building B, including the sick clone Bree had healed and Rai, who had regained consciousness only to be sedated and restrained until Lexi’s mother could get control of the trackers—something she was currently working on. Addison assured me she could control Rai’s mind and actions when he woke. Against my better judgment, I believed her.

  Fully recovered from the gunshot wound, Dr. Howard had called in his security guards and team of attorneys to explain to the IIA agents that they had been called to his property because he was certain his wife was participating in nefarious activities inside Building B, and he suspected that she was responsible for Vance Carrington’s death.

  Mrs. Howard was now dead, and there was no real proof that she had killed Vance or experimented on clones. And since a member of Dr. Buroker’s team had shot and killed Dr. Howard’s wife and one of his employees without cause, Dr. Howard asked the IIA to collect Jeremy Porter, who was in critical condition from a gunshot to the back, and kindly get off his property.

  The IIA, of course, hoped to gain control of clones in the process, but thanks to Addison, all traces of cloned humans had been erased by the time the agents had secured the rest of the lab and worked their way deep into the BSL-4 area. Agent Buroker was beyond disappointed.

  And while we all waited for a chartered bus to take us to the airport, Addison and I had found the control room inside Building B where Mrs. Howard had manipulated those with trackers. We gave Kyle and Lexi’s mom, Alyson Roslin, full access to take the trackers over and disable them, which left Dr. Howard’s security team to deal with many confused lab workers.

  Now I paced inside the plane, every few minutes slipping inside Bree’s mind to make sure her neurons were firing normally and her blood was flowing. And just to talk to her.

  “How’s she doing?” Dr. Howard asked, having made his way to the front of the plane.

  I looked down at Bree. Her face was pale—everything except her rosy lips, like a ginger version of Snow White. “No change. She’s breathing. Her pulse is normal.”

  “Jonas, I want to thank you for saving my life.”

  I nodded.

  “And for being there for my daughter. I honestly had no idea my wife had turned Building B into a human cloning experiment. If I had known she’d been in touch with Sandra… Well, I should have known she was up to something. I had given her full rein to do whatever she w
anted inside that building. She’d been depressed, and I simply didn’t think she could do that much harm.” He sat in a seat across the aisle from his daughter and leaned his head back. “She was a drunk. At least that was what she had led me to believe. Every night, she was drinking heavily. So when she asked if she could use my empty building, I thought, ‘Why not?’ If it got her to focus on something other than drinking… or if it made her happy again…”

  “So you had no idea she’d been in contact with Sandra?”

  “No. None.” He stared up at me. Two lines formed between his brows. “I hid our daughter from Sandra Whitmeyer. For good reason. When she turned eighteen and graduated Wellington, I was hoping she would come to work for me. I wanted her to see that she could do something positive with her knowledge and special abilities.”

  “What about the healing oracle you created? What were you planning to do with that?”

  “I only created one. Lora and Vance were helping me. They were two of the most intelligent medical engineers I had ever come across. I trusted the wrong people, obviously.” He hung his head. “But I hoped to recreate the ability to heal inside a removable device. I knew Sandra was working on something similar; I knew she was trying to put that knowledge inside a tracker. But she wanted to take control of people’s minds—to create a class of healers that she could then sell like slave labor. Much like my wife, apparently.”

  “Are you trying to say you didn’t want the same thing? Why else create something like that?”

  “Oracles are not trackers. For one thing, they’re removable. They were only supposed to help the brain process certain knowledge. Like helping a child with dyslexia. The healing oracle was my own little experiment. It’s brand new. I didn’t really know what I’d end up doing with it.”