Leaning in, I tilt the ring just so, abruptly straightening back up and almost dropping the thing when it registers what I’m staring at. Blood. There’s a splatter of blood caked to the inside of the band, dried into the grooves of the endearment engraved there.
It might just be dirt.
But it’s not. I know it’s not.
Worse than finding Mr. Wilson passed away in his sleep, or some other such reason for an elderly person to perish, I’m one hundred percent certain what’s actually happened is tremendously more abhorrent.
Mr. Wilson has become a victim of Atlas. They have him. There’s no doubt in my mind. This changes our timetable exponentially.
◆◆◆
Pacing the floor back and forth, over and over, I impatiently wait for Cade to resurface. It doesn’t take this long to get a person home, but maybe something came up. So I wait. And I pace.
Old Man Wilson’s ring is clutched in my hand so tightly, I can feel the imprint of it making a lasting mark in my palm. I don’t care.
If Nyler has Mr. Wilson, we can’t wait any longer. I need Luca here, and I need Cade back, and for all of this to be settled so we can get the damn show on the road. Mr. Wilson doesn’t deserve what I know Atlas is going to throw at him — none of them do. If I was dead-set on taking down Atlas before, then his abduction is only fueling my rage at the leaders of The Compound.
Old Man Wilson is exactly that — old. He won’t survive even the minimal first rounds of the torture the prisoners down in Nyler’s lab are forced to endure. Hell, just being put into that situation in the first place could cause his ailing heart to give up and stop pumping.
He can’t be dead. I have to be able to save him. He won’t be another Gladys.
Faint sounds of feet shuffling outside my room have me rushing to fling open the door. Cade shifts back, clearly startled at my abrupt appearance before him. He doesn’t speak, just peruses the anguish and determination written over ever surface of my face.
“Tell me.” He inches past, not giving me much space. “You’ve got that look about you that says you’ve found something.”
Wincing, not wanting this discovery to be seen as a anything other than the tragedy it is, I produce the ring for him to see. I’ve been clutching it so tightly there’s a perfectly round purple indent just beneath it.
“What’s that?” Cade looks at it curiously, as if trying to figure out how it fits into the puzzle that has become life as of late.
“It belonged to a man I used to care for, Mr. Wilson.” I turn it just so and hold it up before him so he can see what I have, “That there? It’s blood. I know it.”
When he doesn’t immediately respond, anxiousness fills me. I know I’m right about this.
He reaches out, but instead of taking the ring from me to look it over as I expected he would, he folds my fingers around the piece of jewelry, pushing my hand down between us and holding it. “I agree, it looks like blood. Why is that significant to this moment?”
“Because he would never take it off willingly!” I’m adamant - I need the light bulb to flicker for him too so I know I’m not being hysterical. “The only time I ever saw him remove it was to meticulously clean the thing. This ring means more to him than eating.”
Cade gives me a calculating look. “You said he’s older…. How old?”
He gets it. He sees where this conversation is leading. “Old enough to become one of Nyler’s victims.”
Sadness overtakes him and he releases my hand, allowing my arm to rest at my side once more. I’m still clutching the thing close — I refuse to lose it. I need to give it back. “And you’ve not seen him recently?”
Shaking my head, I sigh at the reality of the moment. “No one has. He was one of my regulars that I used to bring medicine to, but when The Incubator put her foot down….” I trail off, letting him fill in the rest on his own.
“What’s the time frame for when we think he was taken?” Straight down to it. I love that.
“A week, give or take a few days.”
He processes this, mulling over the information. “Luca on his way?”
Ah. “Far as I know, yes. I asked him to meet us here.”
He grunts in acceptance. “Better hide the evidence until everything is hashed out then.” He moves about the room, picking up anything that could incriminate us in a coup against Nyler and Atlas. “Just in case.”
I don’t try to stop him, he has a point, so I go over and help stash it all away for later.
We hang around the observatory for the next couple of hours. The noon-day meal comes and goes with no knock at the door. I’m beginning to wonder if Luca played me when I once again hear the heavy shuffle of boots out in the hall.
We both stop, waiting — listening for any additional treads. When we hear none, Cade gives me a look to let me know he’s ready. So am I. I wait for Luca to knock just to be sure, but almost immediately open the door when his pattern sounds, quickly ushering him inside.
“You’re late.” I glare at his stiff back as he faces off with Cade in the center of the room.
He doesn’t look my way when he grunts out a not at all sincere, “Sorry. Got caught up.”
Cade and him are in some kind of macho stare off, and it’s getting on my damned nerves. “Dudes, this isn’t about you. Drop the shit. Luca, take a seat.”
He huffs, but does as asked.
“She told you where we’re coming from?” Cade asks, tone deeper than usual, if that’s possible. It’s not funny - it’s not! - but I can’t help the small giggle that escapes at their posturing. The mirthful outburst is light and airy, but also filled with derision.
Both men turn to look at me, one dark and one light, but both with equal questioning expressions. “What’s funny?” Luca’s the one to ask. Cade just stares, I think he’s already guessed.
“Nothing should be at the moment, but I’m getting a kick out of the two of you having a fucking pissing contest when so much else is going on right now.”
They sit back, creating distance between their strained bodies. I know neither of them are ‘feeling the love’ right now, but we really don’t have the time for games. “I need to know something, and then we can get to it.” Directing my gaze to Luca, I plead with my eyes for him to be honest with me. “Does Nyler have Mr. Wilson? The old man who lived alone in building four?”
Luca breaks eye contact, and I know I’m right. “Old coots been there four days. He’s a talkative one. I didn’t know Nyler had selected him for the last wave of subjects, I swear.”
I believe him. Doesn’t at all change the fact this shit is fucked up.
◆◆◆
Convincing Luca to join us in taking down Atlas - or at least robbing them of their test subjects - isn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. None of it has been. He’s caved almost immediately at every request I’ve given…. He’d been so adamant before about me leaving with him, never quite addressing where Cade would be in that time, that it makes my suspicions of his sincerity grow out of control when he acquiesces without so much as a ‘but’ thrown in somewhere.
Luca’s all for Cade heading our escapade, and that I understand. Typical guy, he thinks if Cade is out of the way, I’ll go running to him.
As much as I don’t like to admit it, he isn’t entirely wrong. I wouldn’t run straight into his arms for sex, no. But despite my trying to flush them down the drain, my feeling of connection with Luca has never faded out.
He makes me angry, yes. He’s selfish, arrogant and lacks courage where I need him to have it most. Hell, he’s not even freaking available! But something in me sees past all that to the affection starved man beneath.
Don’t ask me how. I truly don’t know.
Cade has, so far, refrained from making any threats to Luca about me and my safety, but that hasn’t stopped him from giving him a death stare any time Luca’s gaze lasts on me for too long.
Earlier, Luca had been brazen enough to give me the
full once over. It’d set Cade off like none other, but he didn’t allow Luca to see his frustration. I saw, and felt fucking guilty for it.
“Look…. It seems like the two of you are of the belief that you’ll get in and out without a hitch. Taking dozens of people with you as you leave.” Luca’s wearing a groove into the concrete across the room, much like I was earlier today, as he thinks through everything we’ve said. “It won’t happen like that though. There’s the codes for one - which I still don’t know how you got past the first go round - then there’s the failsafe he’s injected into their bloodstream.”
Cade holds up a hand, “What do you mean?”
Removing his attention from my face, where it’s been locked for most of his pacing, Luca focuses on Cade. “They have geo-trackers embedded in their skin that will relay their location back to Robert if they ever manage to leave the lab. It’s a measure he made sure to insist on with Atlas, on the chance any of the Subjects survive the transmutation process.”
That’s a giant butthole of a monkey wrench. “How does it work?”
“I haven’t a clue.”
So helpful.
“Okay….” My mind whirls with possibilities. One look from Cade though and I’ve got it. “If they’re enabled now, is there a way to disable them?”
Luca stills. “I would think there has to be, but I’m not adept at that type of hacking.” So self-depreciating.
Is this Luca talking right now, or some changeling? Such creatures existed in the books I used to love reading Before…. Could be a thing.
“Don’t worry, you don’t need to be.” I smirk, thanking all that’s right in the world that Kenji happens to be on this Compound with us, too.
Luca sees my smile, but misinterprets the cause, grinning back at me with a glint of heat in his eyes.
Nope. Nuh-uh. Cool your jets, horn dog.
Cade and I agreed to keep Kenji and the team off Luca’s radar, just in case he isn’t as trustworthy as he’s making himself out to be. Call them the ace up our sleeve, if you will.
“You good with computers, Saed? I never took you for a techy.” Ouch.
“You can say that.” It’s all I offer. Letting him believe it’s me will keep him from sniffing around for someone else.
Running a hand through his dark hair, Cade shoots me a silent message to change the topic. Sir, yes, sir.
“How are you going to sneak away from Morgan to help us with this? Isn’t she pretty much Nyler’s watchdog?” I’m annoyed I even have to ask, but the question is a valid one. “What does she do around here anyway?” Nope, I’m not jealous at all — merely curious.
“Her sole purpose at The Compound is to keep blondie here wrapped around her little finger and blissfully zoned out.” Cade’s words are dipped in sheer bitterness, and I jerk back at the derision in them. My sweet agent isn’t usually so judgmental with anyone but Luca. He must not like the girl at all, if he’s willing to smack talk her in front of us both. Does he know her? No, he would have mentioned it.
“Is that true?” I direct the question to Luca, daring him to deny it.
“Yes and no.” He’s not the least bit chagrined by the statement. That tells me, despite the fact he may not have initially wanted Morgan in his life and in his bed, he’s come to enjoy the diversion that is her body.
I want to puke.
Logically, I know these men have been with other people… We’re adults. I get that. I’m with Cade — why do I have to keep reminding myself of that? But to have it thrown in my face is like a giant bitch-slap from the universe. At least if he begrudged the situation, I could find it in me to forgive him for being in love with me while sleeping with someone else.
Shits twisted like the branches of a corkscrew willow. Fuck me.
“Why no?” Cade’s quick to inquire.
“She has another task as well, but it’s unimportant to this moment.” Who is he to judge what we need to know and what we don’t?
Just let it go.
Whatever. Letting the subject drop, I move on to more pressing things. “Are you sure you’re up for taking down Price?” He’s only Asshole in my head. It seems too immature to call him that aloud right now, for the two of them to hear. We’d discussed this option early on in the conversation, but I need to be positive he’ll handle it.
“It’ll be easy.”
Cade gives him a hard look at the eagerness behind those words. “No killing if we can avoid it,” he iterates.
“Of course not,” Luca scoffs. “I’ll slip him a sedative from Nance’s secret stash and call it good.”
We discuss what type he’ll use, and I tell him the dosage that’s safe for a man Asshole’s size. Trucking along, we cover entry into the lab. Our safest bet is to storm the hellhole while Atlas is hosting a secret fancy dinner event. It’s some kind of celebration for their high-ranking members, being held in a building on the far side of campus that Cade and I previously thought to be non-functioning.
Luca divulges that Nyler no longer lives in Dorm 2 with the rest of Atlas’ elite. Apparently, not long after marrying The Incubator, he moved them to one of the frat houses just beyond the quad. Still inside The Compound's secure area, but far enough away that they won’t be bothered as they ‘learn to be a family’. Bullshit, if you ask me. It just gives Nyler more of an opportunity to hide his comings and goings.
Jeremy is there though, so the information Luca provides is vital to me. I’m going to have to find a way to collect him from their new house without anyone noticing — and figure out where they’ve stashed his meds. I’m sure Nance hasn’t let something as precious as Insulin out of her sight.
That begs the question, “Where is Nurse Nance staying?” My words interrupt the conversation Luca and Cade are having about gear they’ll need for the raid.
Luca tilts his head to the side, like he can’t figure out why I’d want to know. “You want extra sedatives or something?”
Has he forgotten my little brother is sick?? That he could die if he doesn’t have his medication?
My regard for him dwindles into a pit of nothingness. My high school-like crush, the fluttering connection, or simply infatuation of his sexiness - whatever you want to call it - grows less and less with each day he shows me the man beneath his well-crafted mask.
Does the minute good, the love he professes and the time he spent helping me through my Father’s death months ago, overshadow the person he’s proving himself to be? I don’t know.
If he doesn’t remember about Jer, I’m not going to be the one to clue him in. When I don’t say anything, he responds anyway. “She’s in a faculty house next door to Robert and your mom. It’s gray with tattered siding, but she thinks it’s her palace. Doesn’t let anybody but Price and Robert inside.”
Lovely.
“Thank you.”
He nods, going back to the conversation I’d gotten in the middle of.
I tune them out while they chat, thinking about getting to see Jer again after so long. Will he be upset with me for not coming around? He wasn’t awake the day Prudence banned me from his presence, and he’s only a little boy. He may blame me for leaving him with her.
I hope not.
I want so badly to just go over there right now and yank him from her viselike tentacles — but I know that’s selfish of me, and would likely confuse the fuck out of him.
Not to mention Ainsley. I haven’t decided what to do about my little sister yet.
No, I don’t know her, haven’t had the opportunity to teach her I’m someone good in her life, but I can’t just leave her here. Can I?
She’s the youngest person at The Compound right now. That, to me, says she’s someone important. Infants are rare — I’m sure they’ll keep a close eye on her. If nothing else, she’s potential for the human population to grow once again, when she’s older. Sick, but true.
Tired of thinking of all the ‘what ifs’, I get back to planning with the men. It’s going to be a long afternoon
.
CHAPTER 24
By the time we have things organized the best we’re able with Luca, dinner has long passed. Luca leaves for the lab around eleven, saying he needs to feed the prisoners and Zerks and check in on a few things. Grab the sedatives from Nance to knock out Price and all that.
We’re going to hit the lab in three weeks. That’s how long Luca thinks it will take to gather everything we’ll need. And unbeknown to him, will give Cade’s team the chance to make the trek here from their safe house — sneaking around Zerk hordes takes time and effort…. I just hope in that time, no one else dies.
I hate this. All of it. I can’t wait for it to be finished.
Cade comes over to me, brow creased in concern at my worn-out appearance. The bags under my eyes have grown their own bag-children in the last twenty-four hours, I know. I can feel them, the ugly purple bastards. It’s been a long time since I allowed myself to relax — sleep deeply. He can see the strain, and I’m glad I don’t have to hide part of myself from him. I let him absorb it all, the beauty and the ugliness that is my existence. He doesn’t turn away.
Cupping my face, making me feel small, he leans down and brushes a kiss across my lips. “Sleep now, or after?” He asks cryptically.
My nose crinkles in confusion. “After what?”
Chuckling, he traces his hands down my arms, curving back up and under them to grab hold of my waist. “After I have you writhing and screaming beneath me.”
Mouth rounding out in a silent ‘o’ a slow grin makes its way across my face. Cade wants a repeat.
Is it wrong I’m not in the mood for slow and sweet? I think on it for a minute before shaking my head at myself. No, I don’t believe so.
I need to forget for a little while what we’re about to throw ourselves into. I tell him as much. And maybe he does too, because his reply is instant. “Then let’s forget together.”
Atlas (Apocalyptic Cries Book 1) Page 23