by Cynthia Eden
But Wyman was glaring at him with fury. “You were the threat. You brought her into the open.” His breath choked out. “You made it so he found her, you—”
“It’s all on me.” Again, he lurched forward. “Fine. What the hell ever. Tell me what he is. Tell me how to stop him. Because I know you did something to him. You and your damn enhancements. He tossed Flynn like the super soldier was a rag doll.”
Flynn coughed from his position near the window. “And I’m not exactly easy to toss.”
Jay didn’t look away from Wyman. “What did you do to Lucas Tate?”
“He volunteered.” Wyman swallowed. A trembling hand swept over his jaw. “Early experiment, okay? Nothing like Lazarus. He can’t come back from the dead. He’s just…” He exhaled. Wheezed. “There was another doctor, okay? Before I met the ever so promising Elizabeth Parker.”
A growl came from a watchful Sawyer.
Wyman didn’t glance his way. “Dr. Gail found out that we could improve the human body in certain ways. Make muscles stronger. Reflexes sharper. Of course, I was interested to see this type of development in the field—”
“Let me guess,” Sawyer cut in. “There were side effects.”
Wyman’s gaze fell to the bed. “Yes. Adrenaline was key in this experiment. Soldiers perform better when they have maximum levels of adrenaline in their systems, but too much of Dr. Gail’s formula—too much adrenaline—led to permanent effects. Uncontrollable effects. The experiment had to be terminated.”
“You mean the subjects had to be terminated,” Jay fired back, reading between the lines.
Wyman sighed. “They killed without remorse. When a frenzy hit them, they went wild. Like the berserkers of the old days. Dr. Gail even called them her Norsemen. In a battle, the men instantly became better warriors. They didn’t feel any pain inflicted on them, and their strength increased to stunning levels. But while their strength increased, their…their ability to distinguish between friend and foe—that vanished.”
Flynn swore. “You already had one clusterfuck of an experiment, and you still went ahead with Lazarus after that?”
“My job was to create the perfect soldier. I was doing my job.” Wyman’s thin shoulders straightened. “And I learned from my mistakes. I kept the Lazarus subjects isolated so that they could be tested. I didn’t let them into the general population, and I didn’t—”
“You fucked up again,” Sawyer snarled at him. “Then you tried to clean up your mess by killing us. Only this time, you’d made soldiers who couldn’t be killed.”
Wyman didn’t speak.
Jay would make the guy talk. “Why didn’t you kill Lucas?”
Wyman flinched at the name.
“He killed Willow.” Jay was certain of this. “He killed the only person you claim to care about in this world. And knowing you, I just don’t get it. Why wouldn’t you have destroyed him right away? Torn the bastard apart?”
“You think I didn’t try?” Wyman rasped. “You think I didn’t send every man I had after him? That I didn’t even send Lazarus subjects after him?”
“He’s still breathing, so I don’t know what the hell to think.” He’d shot the bastard, and the guy had still come after him.
Wyman shook his head. “He’s just a hard bastard to kill, okay? Best soldier I ever met.” He jerked his head toward Sawyer. “Even better than you. With the Norse enhancement, the bastard could almost smell danger coming. He’s killed everyone that I sent after him.”
“But he can die,” Jay pushed.
“If you can get close enough. That’s the trick.” Another wheeze. “Getting close.”
“I hit him in the chest.” Jay replayed the scene in his mind. Analyzed. Considered. “Bulletproof vest.” Had to be. If the guy wasn’t Lazarus, then he didn’t get to magically rise again. He must have been wearing a vest. As Jay thought about the scene, he didn’t remember seeing any blood on Lucas. “I’ll be more careful next time. I’ll just pretend he’s Lazarus, and I’ll shoot the guy in the head.”
“Why is he so locked on Willow?” Flynn asked, finally stepping forward. “If he killed her before, why come after her again?” “Because he didn’t mean to kill her.” Wyman’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “He was in one of his rages. Freaking berserker rage. She wanted to get away from him. She didn’t love him—she knew he was dangerous. But he wasn’t letting go.” His face hardened. “I’d hid her. Gave her a new place to stay. I thought she was safe, but he was obsessed. His mind was messed up. He couldn’t let her go. And if she wasn’t going to stay with him—”
“Then no one else was going to have her.” Jay could taste rage. “Heard that twisted shit story before. Every abuser likes to sing the same song.” And Willow was with that piece of trash right then. What was he doing to her?
I’m sorry, Willow. I’m going to find you. I’m coming. Wait for me.
“He tranqed her at the scene,” Sawyer noted, voice emotionless. “That’s what West told me.”
Jay flinched.
“That’s how he got her out of there. So the guy must have gotten access to some of the Lazarus material you used on us. A regular drug wouldn’t have worked on Willow.”
“More secrets?” Flynn all but shouted at Wyman. “Stop holding back!”
Damn straight. “This is Willow,” Jay said. “She’s—”
Everything.
“I think…” Wyman’s voice was weaker. “I think Lucas is the one who destroyed the lab in North Carolina. Willow just got away before he could get to her.”
“You think?” Jay’s brows rose. “Or you know?”
One shoulder lifted. “I saw the video. It was him.”
Secrets. Wyman, you are going to choke on them.
“He took…some vials. The tranqs. And…the Lazarus serum.”
Jay’s heartbeat drummed in his ears. “What is he going to do with the serum?” But a dark fear was growing in him.
“Use it on himself!” Flynn answered before Wyman could speak.
Wyman shook his head. His gaze was on Jay.
Jay’s mind was spinning as he sorted through the possibilities. “If he was going to use it on himself, he would have done it by now.”
“Are we sure he hasn’t?” Sawyer pushed.
“How many vials of the formula did he take?” Jay tried to keep his voice steady.
“Just one,” Wyman replied.
Because one was all he’d need. Hell. “He’s going to use it on her.”
Flynn grabbed his shoulder and spun Jay around. “Jump to freaking conclusions much? Why the hell would he want—”
“Because it wipes the memories away. I’ve read the research on the formula. I funded the program, remember? That means I had access to every single piece of research data. If he gives her the formula, then she’s going to forget everything that’s happened. She’ll wake up again, memories of me gone. Memories of Wyman gone.”
“I always feared…he’d try something like this. That he’d make her believe she wanted to be with him again.” Wyman’s breath seemed to rattle in his lungs. “When she woke in North Carolina, I was so happy, so damn happy to have my girl back, but she didn’t know anyone. Didn’t know who to trust.”
The pieces were clicking in Jay’s mind. He pulled from Flynn. Faced Wyman once more. “And that’s why you put a trigger in her head. That bloom shit.”
Grimly, Wyman nodded. “I needed something in her core, a way for her to understand that danger was near. I had the shrinks there work with her again and again.” He stiffened as he stared at Jay’s face. “You think I liked doing that? I was trying to protect her! Her memories were gone! I had to do something—anything—to try and keep her safe. I knew he could get to her. He’d spin stories about them loving each other. About her wanting to be with him. But he wouldn’t tell her that he took a knife to my baby, and he stabbed her twenty times.”
Jay’s vision went absolutely black.
“So many wounds. So much blood.” Wym
an’s eyes squeezed shut. “I saw plenty of men and women die in my life, but Willow—she was my daughter. I used every connection I had, everything I owned to get her back.”
“She doesn’t have scars,” Jay said, his voice thick. Little more than a growl. “If your story is true—”
“If? If?” And for just a moment, Wyman didn’t look so weak. His shoulders snapped up. His voice hardened. “I wasn’t going to have her seeing the mess he’d made of her body. You have no idea just how many government projects I controlled. Getting her to live was step one. Healing her skin was step two, and trust me, the surgeries were one hell of a lot easier than step one.” Red spots of color rose on his cheeks. “I made deals with every person I could find. When she got out of that lab, I worked with people I hated to find her. But she was my priority. Always has been. Nothing else can matter.”
Sawyer cleared his throat. “Yes, um, this is very interesting, but I think you’re all overlooking one important point.”
Jay’s gaze swung to him.
“The formula only works on the dead. Willow isn’t dead, so the grand plan won’t work. It won’t—”
“He’s going to kill her.” Jay’s voice was flat. Cold. Totally at odds with the hell-hot fury inside of him. “Then Lucas will give her the formula.”
“He can’t do that! For her to truly die, he’d need to put a bullet in her brain. Even with the serum, how does he know she’d come back from that? He doesn’t have the medical training necessary to bring her back. He doesn’t understand the preservation process!” Sawyer argued. “He can’t—”
“Then he’ll get someone who can.” Shit. Shit.
Sawyer’s eyes widened. “No.”
Yes. There was only one person in the area who knew how to administer the Lazarus formula. Only one person who could bring Willow back.
Elizabeth Parker.
“He’s not touching Elizabeth,” Sawyer vowed. His face was mean, dangerous. His whole body actually seemed to expand with his fury.
Elizabeth was in the hospital. She was close by.
“Don’t even think it.” Now Sawyer was standing toe-to-toe with Jay. “You aren’t using her as bait. That shit-show routine didn’t work with Willow. And I’m not risking the woman I love.”
They should be clear on one thing. “Elizabeth is my friend. I wouldn’t put her in jeopardy.” He held Sawyer’s glittering gaze. “But I will do everything possible to protect the woman that I love.”
Wyman sucked in a sharp breath. “Willow—”
His head turned. Jay inclined his head toward the man who’d been—still was—his enemy. “I’m getting her away from him.” No matter what he had to do or who had to die.
Chapter Seventeen
The needle shoved into Willow’s neck. A hard jab, and then she felt ice snaking through her veins.
“Just have to keep you under control.” Lucas leaned forward and brushed a kiss over her cheek. “But after you get the Lazarus formula, everything will be okay again. No more tranqs, no more road blocks. No more bastards in our way.” Another kiss. “Just you and me. The way it always should have been.”
Her legs gave way. But he caught her. Carried her to the bed. He put her down on the sagging mattress. Sat beside her. His hands caged her body, resting on either side of her as he leaned forward.
The ice had spread through her body. She wanted to punch him. Wanted to rage and attack, but she couldn’t.
“That tranq could take down five elephants.” He brushed her hair away from Willow’s forehead. “It can take you down, too.”
Her eyelids were trying to sag shut. She forced them open. Her cuffed hands were lodged behind her back.
He gazed at her tenderly. “I have missed you.” His head cocked. “And you missed me. You love me, Willow. Always have.”
No.
“Wyman introduced us, did you know that? He wanted someone strong for you. Someone who could protect you from all of the enemies that he had in the world.” His eyes crinkled at the corners, as if he were remembering. Enjoying the memory. “The first time I saw you, I knew you were going to be mine.”
Jay. She focused on him. Focused wildly and completely. Jay. Other Lazarus subjects could communicate telepathically, so maybe she could reach him. Maybe she could do more than just show fears to people. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could get into Jay’s head.
“You wanted me, too. God, I loved fucking you.”
Jay. Jay, I need you.
“You don’t remember what it was like, but you will, you’ll remember—”
“Jay,” she gasped out his name, forcing it past a thick tongue and lips that felt numb.
Lucas’s smile slipped. The crinkles vanished near his eyes. “You fucked him.”
Jay!
He grabbed her jaw, clamping down with fingers that bruised. “You’ll forget him. Forget every second with him.”
She didn’t want to forget. She always wanted to remember him. He’d made her feel whole. Good. Special.
He’d made her…love.
I love you, Jay. I should have said something, but I was afraid. So afraid. She was tired of the fear, tired of—
“You bitch,” Lucas snarled. “You loved him?”
Had she spoken out loud? Had she—
He yanked her head to the side, and the last thing she heard was the snap of bones.
***
“You really think he’s going to come after Elizabeth?” Flynn demanded. They were in the hospital corridor. Sawyer had stormed away, probably to go and make sure that Elizabeth was safe.
Jay shook his head. “I think that’s a strong freaking option, but I’m not going to wait around for him to show up.” Because every second that passed, that was a second that Willow lost. “Where’s Reva?” After he’d woken up from surgery, he’d learned that Reva had survived, too.
“Two rooms down. She’s—”
He was already rushing away. Guards were in front of her room, but Jay hurried past them. He threw open the door and found Reva lying in bed. Her face was devoid of makeup. She looked younger and more fragile than he’d ever seen her.
And West was at her side.
What? The actual fuck? This is where his brother had gone?
West glanced up at him. “Tell him, Reva.”
“I-I called him.” Her breath stuttered out. She winced, as if in pain, and her hand flew to her side. “To let Lucas know that you were going to be at Wander, I called him. His number is on my phone—”
West threw the phone at him.
Hell, yes. Jay’s fingers locked around the device.
“I’m figuring you can work your magic with that. You can find him.” West nodded toward Jay. “You can get Willow back.”
“Damn straight I can.”
***
“Willow? Willow?” Lucas yanked back his hand. She wasn’t moving. Wasn’t breathing.
Her head lay limply, and he knew he’d killed her.
His breath sawed in and out of his lungs. His fingers shook.
She’ll come back. She’ll come back. It will be different this time.
He just had to wait. If he waited long enough, she’d come back.
His phone rang. He ignored the peals and vibration. Stared at Willow. “I was just so fucking mad,” he whispered. “You don’t love him. It’s me. Always me.” And to hear those words come from her beautiful lips…
She’d ripped him wide open.
The phone stopped ringing.
He had to get Elizabeth Parker. He’d snatch her. Kill the fools in his way. Then she’d help him administer the formula. When he was done with Elizabeth, he’d end her, too.
Then it would just be him and Willow. A fresh start. She’d never talk of loving anyone else. She’d belong to him, always.
His phone started ringing again. He grabbed the phone, ready to toss it against the wall. He’d given the number to Benjamin Larson, when he’d been trying to get close to that bastard, but no one else sho
uld—
Reva.
Her number was on the screen. Only Reva was dead. He’d killed her. Hadn’t he? His finger swiped over the screen. “Who the hell—”
“Deal’s…off,” Reva gasped out.
“What are you talking about?” His gaze was on Willow. She still wasn’t moving. How long would it take her to come back? She would come back.
“Not working w-with you…”
“Sweetheart, didn’t you get a clue when I put a bullet in you? I’m not paying you a dime.” How had she survived? She’d been a limp rag doll the last time he’d seen her. When she’d been in Jay Maverick’s arms—
Jay. “Tell me he’s dead,” Lucas barked.
Silence.
“Tell me he’s dead!” Now he was yelling and Lucas didn’t care.
“He’s not…” Her voice was lower. “He’s…coming for you.”
He threw the phone against the wall. It hit with a clatter. Impossible. He’d been careful when he left with Willow. No one had followed him. Jay couldn’t track him down that fast.
He went to the bed, scooped up Willow. Just in case, he was getting them the hell out of there. Jay might triangulate the cell signal from the call Lucas had just taken and find them—eventually—but they would be long gone before then.
He slipped the cuffs off Willow’s wrists. If anyone was in the parking lot, he’d just say that Willow had drank too much. That she was sleeping it off. The cuffs would attract attention. He didn’t want attention.
He wanted to get away. To plan.
“We’re going, Willow.” He kissed her cheek even as he opened the door. She was in his arms. Cradled carefully. He edged outside, his gaze still on her. “He won’t find you—”
“Guess again,” Jay Maverick drawled. And the bastard was right there. Standing just a few feet away. “Your dumb ass was hiding less than ten minutes from the hospital. Of course, I found you. I had you long before Reva made the call. She was just the distraction while I got close. I hear getting close to you is the trick, you see.”
No, no—
“I can do anything with tech. Things the government doesn’t even know.” Jay smiled. “I had you, and—”