by Cynthia Eden
The burn hit Jay again. High on his shoulder, driving him back. The gun fell from his fingers. He tried to hold Reva, tried to stay upright. “Willow!”
Lucas had her. Jay could see it. Lucas slammed Willow into the wall. “Get the fuck…” Jay staggered forward, still holding Reva, but she was a dead weight in his arms. “Away…from h-her!”
But instead of getting away, Lucas shoved the gun to Willow’s head. Right to her temple. “I know what she is,” Lucas bellowed. His stare was on Willow, not Jay. “And if you think I won’t pull this trigger, you’re wrong.” He leaned forward. Pressed his forehead to hers. “Killed you once, baby. And I’ll do it again.”
Jay stilled. Reva wasn’t making a sound. He could feel his own blood soaking his clothes.
Flynn was lying in a heap. Jay’s guards had scattered. Those who were still alive, anyway. He couldn’t see West. Didn’t know where his brother was. He has to be okay. He wasn’t in the SUV or the limo. He wasn’t.
“We’re going to walk away. You’re going to stand right there and watch us.” Lucas jerked Willow forward. Whipped her around in a lightning fast move so that she was against his chest, she faced Jay, and Lucas had one arm wrapped around her throat.
His other hand held a gun. And the gun was pressed hard to her temple.
“Willow was never yours,” Lucas snarled at him. “She’ll never be—”
“Really?” Jay shouted back at him. He wanted that gun away from Willow’s temple. If it moved, just for a moment, Willow would have her chance. She could break free. “Could’ve fooled me. Especially when she was coming beneath me—”
Lucas roared. The gun flew away from Willow’s temple. Aimed at Jay.
Run, Willow. Now is your chance. You can run—
“No!” Willow screamed.
The bullet was already firing. Jay didn’t have the same reflexes that the super soldiers did. He couldn’t dodge a fucking bullet. Couldn’t jump to the side.
But he seemed to be watching the scene in slow motion.
Willow shoved at Lucas’s hand. She didn’t run. She fought him.
The bullet was coming at Jay. He turned, twisting even as his gaze stayed on Willow. He cradled Reva in his arms and—
The bullet hit him in the back.
Willow was screaming. He thought it was his name.
Run, Willow…
He hit the ground.
Fucking run.
Chapter Sixteen
The motel room’s floor was covered by threadbare carpet. Willow glanced up, expecting to see thin cracks along the surface of the ceiling.
But there were no cracks above her, just yellowed paint.
“Sorry I had to dose you.”
His voice. Lucas.
She sat up—slowly, clumsily—as she became aware of a deep lethargy that filled her body.
“When Maverick hit the ground, you started fighting me too much. The tranq was the best option.”
Her hands were secured behind her back. She yanked, thinking she could just snap what felt like handcuffs—
“Yeah, that’s not going to work. They’re made of a special, reinforced metal. Designed to be Lazarus proof.” Lucas sat in a wooden chair, just a few feet away from her. He’d flipped the chair around so that he straddled it, and his fingers draped over the back as he studied her. “I’ll give you two guesses as to who the SOB is who designed those cuffs.”
She sat up, slowly. The lethargy seemed to weigh down her limbs. “Where…Jay…”
He laughed. “Right. Bingo. Jay. Jay Maverick designed the cuffs. Just like he designed all of the containment cells that held the Lazarus subjects. Just like he funneled a truck load of cash into the program.” His laughter faded. His eyes gleamed. “He was behind it all, Willow. Every single moment. And you still let him touch you?”
Goosebumps were on her skin. “You…” Her tongue was thick in her mouth. “Shot Jay.”
“A couple of times.” He nodded. “Let’s just hope he isn’t enhanced and the jackass does us the courtesy of dying.”
“No!”
His features hardened. “Willow, don’t piss me off.” He stood, kicking away the chair.
She struggled to stand, too, but her knees wouldn’t hold her. She fell back to the floor.
He laughed. “So much for that Lazarus strength, huh? Doesn’t do jack when you’ve got those drugs in your system.” He crouched before her. “Didn’t Wyman ever pump your veins full of the tranq? Didn’t he experiment to see what it would do to you?”
Her lips clamped together.
“No, of course, he didn’t. Because you were his precious daughter. He’d never hurt you. So the experiments were reserved for everyone else. He tested them, he hurt them, so he could keep his girl safe.”
“I don’t…know what you’re talking about!”
Lucas snapped his fingers together. “Right. The amnesia. Unfortunate side effect. That’s Wyman, though, he never talks about the side effects.” He brought his hand to his lips and lifted his index finger. As if he were telling her a secret. “He only tells you the good parts. Like he tells you that you’ll get stronger. That you’ll be faster. That you’ll be an even better soldier.”
“You’re…Lazarus?”
“Nah. I don’t rise from the dead.”
But he’d been shot. She’d seen—
He yanked open his shirt, sending buttons flying. “Bullet proof vest, sweetheart. If you remembered me, if you remembered us, you’d know I never go into any situation unprepared.” He took off the vest, tossing it across the room. He rubbed his hands over his chest, and she saw the faint, red marks that had been left behind. The vest had saved his ass.
His hand lifted toward her.
Willow flinched.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You held a gun to my head,” Willow gritted out.
“That was the only way I could get Maverick to back off. The guy is obsessed with you. Has been since the first time he saw you.” He paused. “And you don’t remember that first time. You think you met him after the lab. Oh, sweetheart, the guy has mind fucked you.”
Jay isn’t dead. I’ll get back to him. I’ll—
“He was in that North Carolina lab. Don’t you get that? He was there. He would come to assess the progress of the test subjects. He’d watch them. He’d watch you. And the guy, soon he didn’t just want to watch. He wanted you.”
“Stop it.” He was lying. His heartbeat was slow and steady, his gaze never wavered, he wasn’t sweating, but he was lying. He had to be lying.
“Wyman wasn’t going to let you go. You’re the only thing that old bastard cares about in this world. So since Wyman wouldn’t turn you over, Jay took you.”
“No!” Her temples were throbbing. Did he think she was a fool?
“He arranged for the explosions at the lab. He wanted the place destroyed so you could go free. Maverick planned to get you right away, but you slipped past him.” His head sagged forward. “You slipped past both of us,” he muttered.
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear anymore.” She needed her strength back. How long would the tranq be in her system?
His head snapped up. “You think I like this confession? You think I like admitting I worked with Maverick? He came to me. Got his brother West to do his dirty work, the way he always does. I agreed to light that lab up—only after I learned about you.” And now he reached out his hand and trailed his fingers over her cheek.
She heaved away from him.
“I lost you once. I thought you were dead. When I found out about the lab, about Lazarus, God, I would have done anything to get you out of there.” His mouth hardened. “Even make a deal with the devil himself—Jay Maverick.”
Hate and fury twisted inside of her. “You didn’t lose me. You killed me, you bastard!”
He blinked. Once, twice. “No.”
“Yes! In a motel room—just like this one! You stabbed me, and I bled out. I was on the floor, a
nd I was dying, and you left me because I said it was over and—”
He yanked Willow to her feet. His hands jerked up her shirt.
“No! Stop! No!” Willow screamed.
“If you were stabbed, where are the scars?” His hands were on her mid-riff. “You would have scars, sweetheart, don’t you see that? Lazarus subjects can heal from just about anything, but you—if you were really stabbed by me before you were given the formula, you’d have scars.”
Her breath heaved in and out.
“Wyman Wright did this.” Rage ignited in his eyes. “He always did things to your head. Didn’t want you trusting anyone. Didn’t want you leaving him. He programmed your mind, Willow. When you were in that lab, he created reality for you. He never wanted you to come back to me. He made false memories. He knew if I ever got close…you and I—we’d vanish. Because I can’t, I won’t lose you again.”
“Stop.” Her voice was too soft.
“He made memories in your head. I never hurt you. I wouldn’t.” His hands were still on her mid-riff. Warm. Strong.
Familiar.
Not Jay. He’s not Jay!
Fear and fury were tangling inside of her, and they were growing worse with every moment that passed.
“You don’t have full memories of the so-called attack, do you, my Willow? Because it didn’t happen. You can’t trust your mind. Wyman made that happen. He destroyed who you’d been. He took you from me.” Pain flashed now, showing clearly on Lucas’s face. “I love you so much. And you loved me. Wyman broke us apart.”
“He…” The memories are real. They had to be real, didn’t they? Her gaze fell. Jay. I need Jay.
“Willow. Willow, look at me.”
Her angry gaze flew up, but he was staring at her tenderly. “It’s going to be all right. We’ll find our way back to each other.”
No.
“Wyman did this to you. Maverick did this. They tried to take you away, but I didn’t give up. I won’t ever give up on you.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “Did you kill Jay?”
“I sure as hell hope so.”
***
“Get the fuck…” Jay growled, “out of my way.”
But West just shook his head. “Get the fuck,” he growled right back, “into that bed. And stay there. Your dumb ass was shot three times!”
And he’d been stitched up. The bullets hadn’t hit anything vital, thank Christ. He was weak, he was on drugs, and he was getting out of that hospital. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Good. Then get into the bed—”
“But I will lay your ass out.” Flat. “Willow needs me. I’m getting to her.” Because that bastard Lucas had taken her. Jay had been lying on the ground, bleeding, and the guy had roared away with Willow. West had given chase, he’d shot at the vehicle, but Lucas had still escaped.
“He drugged her,” West said.
Like that reminder was going to help? West had already told him that before—
“Drugging her means he wanted her alive. Willow is still alive. You have to heal. You get better and then—”
He shoved West.
West didn’t shove back. “You’re freaking hurt!” West yelled at him. “Are you trying to tear your stitches open? Are you trying—”
“I love her!” Jay roared at him. “Everything is tearing open right now! I’m losing my freaking mind. Willow is out there somewhere, with the piece of shit who killed her before. And you’re telling me to get in bed? To sleep this crap off? No. No.” He shook his head. “I’m finding Willow. Even if I have to rip apart this world to do it.”
A knock sounded at the door. A second later, the door was swinging open. Sawyer coughed into his hand. “I, um, think you should hear a few things. Before you go ripping apart worlds and what not.”
Did he look like he was in the mood for more bullshit?
“Wyman,” Sawyer added. “He wants to talk to you.” Without another word, Sawyer left the room.
Jay surged forward. Once more, West got in his path.
“I know, okay?” West snapped. “I know you love her. But I love your sorry ass. You’re my family, and I’m not going to lose you. That bastard nearly took out a whole block with his explosives. He doesn’t care about innocent casualties. I lost two men. Two men. He killed them, and I had to be the one to explain to their wives that they wouldn’t ever be coming home.” His jaw hardened. “I’m not going to step aside while you walk into a showdown with him. He took out a freaking super soldier. Tossed Flynn like it was nothing. You love her, and that’s great. But I’ll be damned if I let you die for her.”
“West…”
“She can come back from the grave. You can’t.”
He felt like he was already in the grave. Knowing that Willow was out there with Lucas, that he could be hurting her was his living hell. “I said I’d keep her safe.” His voice was rougher as his shoulders sagged. “I promised her that. She’d been hurt so much. I just—why couldn’t I keep my promise to her?”
“Because we didn’t know who we were up against.” West nodded. “Time for Wyman to tell us everything. Then we’ll figure this out. You always figure things out, man. Ever since we were kids. We can do this. But you’re not doing it alone.”
He wasn’t alone. He’d never been alone, not since he’d gone into that foster home and seen a boy his age waiting for him. A boy in too-big clothes, a boy with rage in his eyes, and a boy who’d been his brother from then on.
Jay’s hand locked around West’s shoulder.
“Are you calm now?” West demanded.
“No.” He wouldn’t lie to West.
“Didn’t think so.” West measured him. “But you’re not running out like a drunk cowboy.”
“Not until we talk to Wyman.” Then there would be no promises.
Wyman will know his weakness. Wyman always knows weaknesses.
And once Jay learned what would take down that bastard Lucas…game the fuck on.
***
“Deep inside, you must have known that Jay was a threat to you.” Lucas was still in front of her. Her knees were weak, and his grip was the only thing that kept her upright. “I bet you had flashes, didn’t you? I’ve heard the Lazarus subjects can sometimes see the danger coming. Did you see him attacking you? Lying to you? Did you see the threat coming?”
“I saw…” Keep Lucas talking. Figure this out. “I had a dream…where I killed him.”
His shoulders relaxed. “Because you knew he was a threat.”
Because she’d been the threat.
“You don’t believe me.” His breath exhaled on a rough sigh. “What did I expect? I mean, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They took you from me. Tore away your memories. Brainwashed you when you tried to fight back.” His gaze swept over her face. “Wyman never wanted us to be together. He knew I was going to take you away, and if I did, the bastard would never get his hands on you again.”
“He…my father…”
“He killed your real father. Did he tell you that part? I bet he didn’t. They were partners, back in the day, but Wyman killed your father on a mission. Friendly fire, if you believe that.” His mocking laughter said he didn’t. “And Wyman took you. Separated you from the rest of the world. You were never allowed any freedom. When I found you, hell, you were like Rapunzel. The princess who’d been locked away in a tower that he made.”
“I’m no princess.” And he was no prince.
Lucas pulled her closer. “I won’t give up on you. We’re together again. We’re going to stay together. One day, you’ll love me again.”
“You going to keep me cuffed until then? Cuffs and tranqs—they don’t exactly shout love.” She could feel her strength coming back. Her voice wasn’t as slurred or as weak. She just needed a little more time.
Lucas smiled at her. The smile chilled her to the core. “I have something better.” He inhaled. “God, I missed your scent. I missed your body. I missed you.”
And he
scared her. “What is your something better?”
“The Lazarus formula, of course.”
That made no sense to her.
“Before I blew that lab—your prison—to hell and back, I helped myself to a few supplies. I’ve got the Lazarus serum. I’ll give it to you, and it will be a reset.”
“That’s not how the formula works.”
“That’s how it will work. I’ll give you the formula, you’ll come back stronger, better, and your mind—all of those false memories that Maverick and Wyman tried to give you will be gone. You’ll be a blank slate.”
And the fear Willow felt got worse. Because if what he was saying was true…if he gave her that formula, and she woke up with no memories at all…
Will I believe him then? Will I believe a man who says he’s my lover? That I love him? He could make up some story about her being in an accident, he could feed her any lie he wanted, and she’d—
Believe him?
“Now you’re figuring it out.” Lucas nodded, as if he approved. “You’re realizing how vulnerable you’ve been all along. You had to buy the stories that Maverick and Wyman told you, but, sweetheart, they were lies. They were always lying. You were mine. I was yours. You love me. They kept us apart, but it won’t happen any longer. We’re together, and we’re going to stay that way.”
Why hadn’t he already given her the formula? Why hadn’t he given it to her when she’d been unconscious?
“There’s just one small problem.” His lips curved down. “I think that, for the formula to work, you’re going to have to die first.”
***
“You look like hell,” Wyman muttered as he glared at Jay.
Jay glared right back. “Thanks, asshole. So do you.” Wyman was paler than the sheets around him, black shadows lined his eyes, and twice as many machines were now surrounding the bastard as they had been before.
Wyman grunted. His eyes were slits. “You let him take Willow.”
“I’ll get her back,” Jay promised.
“How?” Wyman shook his head. “He’s stronger than you, faster, he’s—”
“Not fucking smarter.” Jay heaved forward. Walking was hard, standing was hard, but he ignored the pain. Nothing mattered but getting Willow. “Tell me what I’m facing. If I don’t go in blind, I can stop him. I can save her.”