“Handcuffs?”
“Men,” Jason said, no hint of condescension accenting his tone.
Oh, duh. “Two guards, the General, a woman who’s like Ben, and another man I don’t know. And they have Camille with them. She’s been beaten. And Mase is restrained like me. Oh, and Gabe was upstairs, but I warned him already.”
The General turned his attention to Dr. Wesley, who was still sitting at her desk. “I sincerely hope you had nothing to do with this, Anna.” With his statement came the realization that Camille had managed to hold at least a few things back. Maybe more than a few. There was still hope, and where there was hope, there was still the possibility that things might work out.
“No,” she said calmly, and when the Truth Guard nodded, confirming Dr. Wesley’s truthfulness, I knew the doctor was using her nulling Ability to prevent the other woman from feeling her lie.
“Okay,” Jason said. “Sit tight for now. We’ll be there sometime this evening. If you haven’t found a way out by midnight, I’m nulling everyone in the whole fucking state and coming in.”
“Jason, don’t! It’s too dangerous!”
“If you’re not out by midnight…”
“Sir,” the other man, the one I’d yet to identify, blurted. “Someone’s using an Ability, a really powerful one.”
“I’m using my Ability, Gregory, to augment yours as usual,” Dr. Wesley said.
The man shook his head. “There’s another.”
“Knock the telepath out,” the General said quietly. “We can’t have her calling for help from God knows where.”
“Jason, I—”
Pain. Blackness. Nothing.
27
ZOE
MARCH 22, 1AE
I stood by the dusty, cobweb-infested window in my room. The inky sky steadily brightened over the jagged tops of the Rockies as dawn neared, and from the sound of it, everyone was still asleep downstairs. Is Jake down there? It was strange not waking up beside him. I’ve succeeded in pushing him away.
I peered down at the street of dilapidated buildings stretching out on either side of the house. It was like I was living in an alternate dimension where everything was slightly off. I felt like my life had become a giant pinball machine, and around every corner there was another obstacle waiting to bounce me around. The world ends—ricochet to the right; get Dani back—launch upward; Dani’s abducted—recoil to the left; learn how to fight—win more time; a Crazy jumps out—bounce to the right; find out Mom didn’t die in a car accident—roll down to the bottom; another Crazy jumps out—careen to the left; fall in love with Jake—double points; Becca shows up—drain ball.
Becca’s vision—the bottomless pit of dead, discarded Re-gens—had been replaying in my mind since I’d inadvertently witnessed it a few days before. I hadn’t told Jake about it; there hadn’t been a decent time. I wasn’t sure he needed to know, not if we were planning on breaking her out of the Colony anyway, changing her fate. For Jake’s sake, I hoped Dani had been somewhat successful in finding her, in somehow convincing Becca to come with us. But I knew that was a long shot; Becca didn’t want to leave the Colony, and I knew Dani wasn’t willing to risk her own life in order to convince Becca we could protect her.
I sat down on the edge of the bed, the morning chill biting at my ears and nose and fingers. I ignored it and lowered my eyes to my hands. My skin was darker, tanned from spending so much time in the sun, and my nails were short, uneven, and dirty.
I shook my head at the implausible direction my life had gone—that all of our lives had gone—and I glanced over at the picture on the vanity. It was the one Dani had brought from my childhood bedroom, a photo of us sitting on the edge of the deck, her telling me a secret. I’d been arguing with Jason, and she’d come over to console me. To distract me, she’d admitted to having a crush on the new boy in school—Mark, or Mike, or something like that. As always, I’d felt better having her there. Only she could make me laugh and feel like a normal kid.
A few days later, Dad had developed a roll of film—all pictures of his woodwork to add to his portfolio. Like me, he’d been surprised to find the photo of Dani and me mixed in the stack, and as I’d stood there, my teenage self in complete shock, I’d put two and two together: Jason had taken the picture. Even though he’d said I was a burden and that he wished I would just go away, he’d cared enough to snap the photo of us.
I’d snatched the glossy picture out of the stack in my dad’s hands and run up to my room to frame it. I’d been happy my brother had made the effort to do something nice for me.
I smiled at the memory.
Cooper stirred from sleeping on the floor on my side of the bed, yawning as he stretched before curling back up into an oversized ball of fluffy fur to resume his slumber. I figured Jake had sent him into the room at some point during the night. My chest tightened and my eyes burned at the thoughtful gesture.
I tried unsuccessfully to reduce our relationship to physical attraction. We don’t really know each other. I told myself we were just shells of who we’d once been, and therefore, there could be no depth or true connection between us. But in my heart, I knew I was wrong. Our old selves didn’t matter—we weren’t them anymore and never would be again. What mattered was that Jake had saved my life, that he’d been making it his mission to protect me ever since. He clearly cared about me. The hurt in his eyes every time I pushed him away mattered to me. How despondent I would be if he left me…mattered. My chest ached when I tried to diminish our relationship to something less than it was.
Then why’d I put so much effort into distancing myself? I could have been savoring our time together. Why’d I work so hard to make everything harder than it already was?
As if she was sitting on the edge of the bed beside me, her head resting on my shoulder and her wild hair tickling the side of my face while she patiently waited for me to gather my always-churning thoughts, I could almost hear what Dani would say to me, her words honest and her voice kind. “You’re scared, Zo. You’ve always been afraid you’ll lose me, and you did…and now you’re afraid you’ll lose Jake. I know you think you’re protecting yourself, but you’re not. You’re only hurting yourself. You can’t keep pushing people away.”
A despondent, hysterical laugh escaped from my throat, and I threw myself back on the bed. I’m losing my mind.
Taking a deep breath to steady my trembling chin, I rubbed my hands over my face in an attempt to scrub away the mounting pressure behind my eyes. Jake was right, too; I wasn’t like Jason. I couldn’t keep pushing everything beneath the surface and expect to remain in control.
I couldn’t be who I once was, the guarded, almost friendless starving artist. Too much had transpired between Jake and me to simply push it all away and hope for the best, and realizing that made my heart swell with a sense of urgency. I needed him. I wanted him. Now.
Not bothering to take the time to change, I pulled combat boots on over my sweatpants, leaving the laces untied, and hurried out the door. I left Cooper to resume his morning slumber and hoped I didn’t trip on my shoelaces as I rushed down the stairs.
I half expected to see Jake lounging in a chair beside the fireplace, but nobody was sitting by the dying fire. Tavis and Sam were sleeping on their pallets on the floor, and Sanchez and Harper were asleep in the opposite corner of the parlor. I didn’t see Jake anywhere.
I tiptoed to the front door, careful not to let it creak too loudly as I opened it, and stepped out into the pale light of the early morning. Easing the door to a close, I strode toward the weathered stable across the dirt road. Shadow and Wings were among the horses out in the attached pasture, grazing on dewy grass. They raised their heads, only partially acknowledging me before refocusing their attention on their morning meal.
I’d had my hair in a ponytail, but it suddenly felt too tight. Anxiously, I pulled the rubber band out, and my scalp sang in relief as my hair fell from its snare.
Jake wasn’t outside by the hors
es, or in the wagon area attached to the paddocks, but I heard a dull thud inside the stable, and then another. Assuming it was him, I meandered inside. A violet hue saturated the stable’s interior, and I inhaled the comforting scents of leather and alfalfa. I heard another thud. The noise was coming from the tack room a few doors down from the stable entrance, so I headed toward it.
Leaning through the doorway, I peered inside. Jake was sitting with his back to me on the edge of an old, wooden bench that ran through the center of the room. His long sleeves were pushed up, his elbows were resting on his knees, and his face was lowered into his hands.
I opened my mind to his, trying to gauge his mood. When I felt his overwhelming frustration and sadness, my eyes pricked with tears.
“Hey,” I squeaked and cleared my throat.
Surprised, Jake lifted his head, confusion and concern warring on his rugged features.
“I’ve been looking for you,” I said as my eyes took in every inch of him. His scruff was thicker than usual, and his hair was disheveled, like he’d been running his fingers through it over and over again. He looked exhausted, and I wondered if he hadn’t slept all night.
An invisible band tightened around my heart. I did this to him.
Jake sat on the bench, appraising my face. The corners of his eyes wrinkled as he squinted, but he didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry,” I rasped. Unable to watch the increasing uncertainty in his eyes, the uncertainty I’d caused, I looked at the saddles on the racks and at the blankets hanging on the walls. I looked anywhere but at him. “I know I’ve been—”
A tennis ball dropped to the ground as Jake shot to his feet, surprising me, and he took a step toward me. “Do you love me?”
My eyes widened and my skin heated. “Um—”
“Do you love me?” he repeated. The fierceness in his eyes and tense set of his jaw startled me.
Do I love Jake? I took a hesitant step inside the room. “I…yes.” The moment I said it, any remaining doubt in my mind cleared. I was certain that things between us could—no, would—work out. I took another step closer to him.
Jake seemed taken aback by my admission, but only for a split second. He strode toward me, confident and determined, and I could feel the flurry of his unusually impulsive emotions swirling around me: need—anticipation—excitement. They were like smoke invading my senses, making me feel feverish with desire.
His eyes were keen and wild with growing impatience as he moved closer, his gaze shifting from my mouth to my eyes and back. Without ceremony, his rock-hard body forced me backward and pinned me against a saddle blanket hanging on the wall.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” he growled.
Before I could respond, he was tugging off my sweatshirt with one hand and gripping my waist with the other. His mouth covered mine with a frenzied yearning. My boots and sweats were gone within seconds, and I was left to stand in my black boy shorts and tank top, and Jake in his jeans and untied boots.
I jumped into his arms, my legs coiling around his hips, tightening to bring him closer. His mouth was rough and urgent against mine, pulling my bottom lip between his teeth. His hands caught in my hair, and my body arched against his. I gasped for air and licked my lips as he nipped and kissed the sensitive flesh beneath my jaw.
Moaning, I tilted my head to the side, providing ample skin for him to ravage with his mouth. Everything about him was lust and desire, and the acuteness of what he was feeling devastated my composure, making me feel nothing but need—his need and mine. I needed his hands and lips on every inch of my body. I needed him to take me until I had nothing left to give. I could barely breathe…I didn’t want to breathe…I just wanted him.
Craving more than Jake’s mouth, I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into him to steady myself as I lowered my legs to the ground. My nails raked over his shoulders and down his back as they skimmed toward his pants. I unzipped his jeans, letting them fall to his ankles, and grabbed on to his butt. The muscles flexed against my hand. He fumbled with his boots and kicked off his pants, while I shed my tank top and underwear. When I looked at him, he was completely naked.
Jake’s hands were on me again, all over my body. I quaked under the power of his fingertips as they moved up my arms and over my shoulders to my back. He pressed harder into me, making my breasts ache and my body burn with an invisible fire. I could feel his arousal against my abdomen, and I gasped.
He tightened his greedy hands around my waist, but took a step back, his possessive eyes raking down the pale peaks and valleys of my trembling body. An unruly hunger possessed him as he examined every visible inch of me.
Unable to tolerate any distance between us, I pulled him closer. My arms wound around his neck, and I stole another taste of his deliciously curious tongue. I shuddered.
He gripped my loose tresses once more, pulling my head back against the wall with an arousing jerk. His urgency only spurred my own desire, and my insides warmed and clenched in excitement as I thought of really being with him. Finally. Pure bliss escaped from my lips in the form of another breathy moan, and my fingernails dug into his back.
Jake growled as his teeth grazed the top of my shoulder. One of his hands dropped to my lower back and continued downward, tracing the curve of my butt…my thigh…and finally the crook of my leg. He lifted my knee and was inside me with a single, possessive surge. He was raw, unrestrained power. I craved more of it…more of him. My heart raced with the thrill and astonishment that we were finally together—no thoughts, no words, just his flesh against mine.
As he pulled back to look at me, his body gleaming and straining in the dim sunlight leaking through the wall, his overwhelming desire for me became my complete undoing. I gripped his shoulders harder to steady myself and cried out. The tension in my body melted into a warm, tingling pleasure that filled every part of me. My senses winked in and out of focus, confused between his feelings and my own. Comfort—passion—relief—love—they all washed over me in a chaotic rush. I’d never felt so uninhibited or intoxicated; every kiss, every needy touch was more abandoned than the last, and I never wanted it to end.
But it had to end.
When it did, Jake’s unwavering hold was the only thing preventing me from collapsing to the floor. “Promise me,” he whispered into my ear through heaving breaths, his chest slick against mine.
I nodded, unable to form coherent words, and reached for his face. I pulled his mouth to mine, stealing one more deep kiss. “I’m so sorry,” I breathed against his lips, trying not to sob. “I’m so sorry.”
His eyes held mine, their savagery softening. Gentleness replaced his urgency as he brought his hand up to cup my cheek. He placed his lips against my forehead and moved down to the tip of my nose before he settled a tender kiss against my mouth. “I’m sorry too.”
We stayed in each other’s arms for what felt like only moments, but eventually, I noticed the sun shining brightly through the open doorway of the tack room, and I could hear the others hustling around in the house.
I was about to suggest that we head inside when I heard the front door to the house fling open. “Zoe!” my brother roared. “Where the fuck are you?”
I gave Jake an apologetic groan and wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, wishing I could have just one uninterrupted day with him.
“Damn it, Zoe! Dani’s in trouble!”
Dani? I could hear Jason walking away from the stable, and I hurried for my clothes. Oh, shit.
28
DANI
MARCH 22, 1AE
Pain was the first thing I noticed when I came to. It lanced the back of my skull, making me feel dizzy before I even opened my eyes. My head was drooping, my chin resting against my chest, and I seemed to be sitting up. Yes, I confirmed after assessing the rest of my body, I’m definitely sitting up…but I can’t move my arms or legs.
I tugged both of my arms backward, but something cold and hard was clamped around my wris
ts, immobilizing me. All I received for my effort was a pulse of pain in the back of my head from the jarring motion. I groaned. My poor brain had been taking a lot of damage lately…I was hoping none of it ended up being permanent.
“She’s waking up,” an unfamiliar female voice said softly. “Tell the General.”
Slowly, I cracked my eyes open and raised my head. Mase was the first thing I saw, the only thing I saw for several long seconds. He was hanging by his wrists, a thick metal chain stretched taut between him and the ceiling, and his feet were barely touching the ground. He was standing on his tiptoes, probably to alleviate some of the strain the metal cuffs placed on his wrists and shoulders. The top of his fatigues had been stripped off, leaving him in only a gray t-shirt and camouflage pants. His massive arm muscles twitched with the effort to maintain his position as his eyes tracked something else in the room. Based on the soft sounds of footsteps, he was watching whoever was moving around behind me. The woman who spoke?
“Mase,” I whispered, and his eyes snapped to mine. Why hasn’t he broken free? I was certain he was strong enough. “You okay?”
His face softened a little, and he nodded.
“Oh, MA-one is doing just fine, aren’t ya, big guy?” It was the unfamiliar female voice again, only this time it carried a sadistic edge. She laughed, low and throaty. “For now, at least.”
Ignoring the pain as best I could—which really wasn’t all that much—I turned my head to catch sight of the woman behind my chair. She moved too quickly, and all I saw were the wispy ends of her long, golden blonde hair. She doesn’t want me to see her…fine. I scanned the rest of my surroundings instead. I wasn’t overly excited by what I found.
I was in a concrete room—the walls, floor, ceiling, and even my chair were all formed of concrete. Comfy, I thought sarcastically. I guessed the room was larger than the average bedroom, maybe twenty feet on either side, with me in the center and Mase several feet away in front of me. Above us, florescent lights flickered and buzzed, washing out everything in the room. The space had the feeling of a bunker or a basement…or a dungeon. Oh come on, who even has dungeons these days? Unfortunately, part of my mind answered, General Herodson.
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