by Cynthia Eden
“Maddox was the immediate threat to you. I needed to take him down so that you’d be safe. I was afraid he’d try to take you away from me. I couldn’t let that happen.” His smile was gone. He took a step toward her. “I do not want to hurt you. I know Maddox may have fed you a different story about me, but I assure you, I am not a threat.”
“Says the man who just had his men shoot Maddox over and over again.”
Henry’s face tensed. “Stop healing him. Now.”
Her breath sawed from her lungs. “Or you’ll shoot me, too?” She kept her hand on Maddox’s chest.
A long sigh came from Henry. “If necessary, I will have to tranq you, but that isn’t what I want.”
From where she was crouching, it sure seemed to be what he wanted. All of those men still had their weapons pointed at her.
“He’s brainwashed you. Only to be expected, really, since you had no memories to go on. But Maddox has been a threat to you for a very long time.” Henry took another careful step toward her. “It’s my fault. I didn’t realize…I didn’t know that the two of you had been connected before Lazarus.”
Wait, what?
Maddox let out a low groan.
“We’ll just tranq him again,” Henry told her flatly. “It must be done for transport—and for your protection.”
Her temples were pounding. “Maddox knew me before Lazarus?”
“Um, he didn’t tell you that, did he?”
“He wouldn’t know!” She threw back. “All of our memories are gone!” Anger beat in her. “Because of you!”
“Don’t blame me,” Henry fired right back. “You’re the one who volunteered.” His hand lifted. The men behind him seemed to tense. “I’m sorry, but if you won’t listen to reason, I’ll have to tranq you, too. It’s necessary until you can calm down and talk rationally with me.”
Reason? “Reason my ass,” Luna snarled, and she lunged up.
The tranqs hit her, slamming into her chest, knocking her back. She’d expected the tranqs to burn, but they didn’t. They felt like chunks of ice in her chest, and the cold slithered through her body.
Her knees gave way, and Luna crumpled, landing next to Maddox. As she fell, she saw his eyes open. His stare locked on her, and his lips parted.
“Maddox is back!” Henry yelled. “Subdue him, now! Andreas, get your ass over here!”
Andreas…that name was familiar…had Maddox or Jett mentioned him? Wait, yes, Jett had…part of their team…
Luna heard the sound of gunfire.
But she couldn’t see anything. Her eyes had sagged shut, and the cold consumed her completely.
***
Her breath left her in a whoosh, and Luna jerked upright, sitting on the narrow cot as awareness flooded back to her. Her heart raced, and her gaze jumped frantically around the small room.
Stone walls on three sides…a mirrored wall right in front of her. One-way mirror. Because if she squinted just right, Luna could see through the glass. She could see a long, stretching corridor beyond her room.
Beyond her cell.
She jumped to her feet. Then Luna realized that her clothes were different. She wore jogging pants and a t-shirt. Her feet were bare. Frantic, she did a sweep of the room again. There was a dresser to her right. A desk to her left. A pile of books. Some clothes were discarded near a basket.
She whirled around and saw a small video camera positioned in the upper corner of her cell. A red light glowed from the bottom of that camera. “Where is Maddox?” Luna snarled.
Then she charged for the door. The only door in the damn room. There were no windows, just the one door that was located in the middle of all that stone. A big, metal door. And, of course, when she grabbed the handle, the door didn’t open. She yanked it hard, pulling with all of her strength, but the door didn’t budge. A scream broke from her as she turned her attention to the damn mirror. Her fists pounded against it. She’d break the glass. She’d get out of there. She’d—
“You’re going to hurt yourself, Luna.” A voice drifted down to her from speakers that she hadn’t even noticed, not until that moment.
She pounded harder on the glass.
“It won’t break.” She knew the nasally voice—Henry Danwith’s voice. The voice of the bastard who’d let those shooters fire at her. “There is no use trying to shatter the glass.”
She spun to face a speaker positioned near the top of the right wall—and Luna spied the second camera right next to it. She knew he was watching her. “You locked me up.”
“Only for your safety. I know how confused you are right now, and I needed you to wake in a safe space.”
Bullshit. “I don’t feel safe. I feel like your prisoner.” Termination. Oh, God, was he about to kill her? She had to get out of there. Had to find Maddox, had to—
“Luna.” Henry sighed her name. “I am not your enemy.”
Again…bullshit. “If that’s true, then get in here and talk with me face-to-face.”
Silence. The red dot kept glowing on the camera. She whirled back to the glass. Drove her fists into it as hard as she could. Again and again and—
She saw him. Henry Danwith appeared in the long corridor beyond the glass. He wore a white lab coat that fluttered around him almost like a cape. Luna stilled as he approached. She saw his eyes narrow on her. An armed guard was right behind him. Henry paused at her door, typed in some kind of code, and then he walked inside.
She was on him before he’d even cleared the threshold. Luna grabbed him, spun him back against the mirror, and shoved her hands under his throat. The guard’s footsteps rushed toward her.
“Drop your gun,” Luna snapped at the guard, not taking her gaze off Henry. “Or I’ll break his neck.”
Henry’s gaze jerked to the guard. “D-don’t…” Henry wheezed.
Luna laughed, and it was a cold sound. “You think I won’t snap your neck before that guy can get to me? You need to think—”
The guard grabbed her. He yanked her back in a movement that was too fast for a normal human, and now he held her against him, held her with a strength that was greater than her own.
Henry sucked in a breath. “Th-thank you, Andreas…”
Andreas. That name again. Luna stopped struggling, for the moment. “You’re one of us,” she accused the guard.
Henry had braced his hand against the mirror. “Yes.” He was breathing easier. She’d barely choked him, but the drama queen was acting like she’d shown him death’s door. “Andreas is Lazarus.”
Andreas released her. Immediately, she spun and faced him. Tall, muscled, with curly black hair and bright blue eyes. “Way to be a sell-out,” she muttered to him.
His lips thinned. “You don’t understand.”
“Jett said you were on our team.” Her heart was still racing, and she knew Andreas had to hear its wild beat. She could certainly hear his low, steady heartbeat. “He never mentioned you were muscle for this jackass.” She jerked her head toward Henry.
“Maddox didn’t mention a lot to you.” Andreas held her angry stare. “Maybe you should calm down and listen to what the jackass has to say.”
Or maybe she should plan an escape attempt right the hell then.
“Luna.” Henry drew out her name, long and winding.
She huffed out a breath and positioned her body so that she could easily see both him and Andreas. She knew Andreas was the bigger threat.
“Maddox has deceived you.” Henry delivered this line with a sad air.
“Really?” She let her brows rise. “So you didn’t send him to find me? You didn’t send him and Jett to hunt me—”
“Originally, yes, I did.” Henry’s cheeks flushed. “But then I did some digging, and I realized that Maddox Kane is the greatest danger to you.”
He was trying to mess with her head. Not working.
“I think his memories are coming back,” Henry added, watching her carefully.
Her hands knotted. “Good for him.”
“Perhaps, but bad for you.”
“Are you threatening me?” Luna demanded, rising on the balls of her feet.
Beside her, she felt Andreas tense.
But Henry gave a hard, negative shake of his head. “No, no, Luna, I’m trying to warn you. Maddox isn’t the man you think he is. Hell, we were all misled by him. He was such a decorated soldier. A former Ranger with a success rate that you wouldn’t believe. He seemed to be the perfect candidate for the program. But we missed his…problem.”
Uh, huh. “What problem would that be?”
Henry licked his lips. “You.”
He was lying to her. Manipulating her. Why?
“You and Maddox were killed together.”
What? Her face seemed to turn icy, then burn red hot.
“You two were shot. Luckily, our operatives were close by, so we were able to get to you and institute the Lazarus preservation process before your bodies—”
She held up one fisted hand. “Who shot us?”
Henry took a step toward her. “We believe it was your ex.”
What? Luna sucked in a shocked breath.
“He’d been selling government secrets. The agents in charge knew the traitor was in Maddox’s unit, and Maddox was tasked with unmasking the guy. Maddox found him, all right. The traitor was another ranger named Adam Brock.”
The name meant nothing to her.
“Maddox was supposed to bring the traitor in, but instead, Adam wound up dead. Maddox was dead. And so were you.”
Her breath was coming a little too fast. “Is this Adam…Lazarus?”
“No.” Henry shook his head. “The guy was a traitor to his country. You think we’d want him enhanced?”
She had no idea what Henry wanted.
“But, once you were here at the facility, I noticed the way Maddox acted around you. At first, the shrinks and I—we thought it was a good thing. I mean, especially considering your issues.”
Her issues. “You mean my repeated memory loss.”
“Exactly.” He smiled at her as if he were pleased she’d been the one to put that on the table. Saved him some awkwardness. “Losing your memory every time you die is very hard—hell, it’s extremely difficult to retrain you, to explain Lazarus protocol, to get you up to speed with a team—”
“I’m so sorry to inconvenience you,” she cut in, her words dripping with ice.
“Yes, well, you can’t help it.”
Andreas was quiet beside her.
Henry cleared his throat. “Maddox seemed to steady you. So we started bringing him in after all of your risings.”
Jesus—how many times had she died?
“But we noticed he seemed to be growing too attached to you, and that set off alarm bells for us.”
Us. Him. The shrinks.
Henry licked his lips. “So we did some digging. And things weren’t quite as black and white as we’d originally been led to believe.”
She glanced toward the door. It had shut behind Andreas.
“Maddox wanted you.”
Her gaze flew back to Henry.
“It seems that he and Adam actually fought about you, several times. You’d all grown up together, something I did not realize, and Maddox…” Henry’s cheeks stained. “From the accounts we received, he’d become quite jealous and possessive where you were concerned. When you ended your engagement to Adam—”
She’d been engaged? To the man who’d shot her? To the traitor? No way. No. Way.
“Well, it was only after your engagement ended that the suspicions started to fall on Adam Brock. Suspicions that were first reported by Maddox.”
She didn’t like where this was going. Actually, she didn’t like anything that was happening. “What are you saying? That Maddox was lying about the guy?”
Henry’s stare didn’t waver. “I’m saying I’ve seen Maddox in action. I’ve supervised him for the last few months. When Maddox wants something badly enough, then nothing will stand in his way.” A pause. “He wants you, more than I think he’s ever wanted anything.”
She pulled in a deep breath. Tried to think.
“His memories are coming back. He remembers you. He remembers losing you to someone else. And Maddox will go to any extreme to make sure that doesn’t happen again.” Henry’s hands shoved into the pockets of his lab coat. “Yes, Maddox is the best hunter we have, so when you went missing, he was sent to find you. Sent with Jett. Jett had orders to keep a close watch on Maddox. But Maddox went off mission operative. He was going to take you away. He had no plans to ever bring you back to this facility.”
No plans to bring her back to her cell. She focused carefully, picking up Henry’s heartbeat. Listening to his breathing. Catching the scent of his sweat.
“I am sorry,” Henry told her, face haggard. “I’m in charge of this facility, but I didn’t realize just how much the past would matter. As a result of this situation, I will be changing experimental protocols. I’ll require a full history of all potential Lazarus test subjects. The past was supposed to be gone, but for Maddox, it isn’t. I will not make this mistake again.” His shoulders straightened. “I won’t allow him to be a threat to you. Maddox is going to be transferred to another Lazarus group. You won’t see him again.”
She didn’t let any expression cross her face.
Henry wasn’t done talking. “I think…I believe he was the reason you fled before, and I didn’t even realize it. You’d expressed some hesitation about going in to the field with him again, and I should have listened to you. I won’t be making that mistake again.”
The guy seemed so sincere. Saying he was going to keep her safe. Apologizing. But she didn’t like him. And she damn well didn’t trust him. “Am I free to go?”
Henry blinked.
“If you’re just trying to help me, then when you leave this room, will the door stay open?”
His gaze darted to the door. She heard the acceleration of his heartbeat.
“Not yet,” Henry told her. “I’m sorry, but there are tests that must be done. You ran away from the facility, but something happened to you out there. If Maddox’s story is to be believed, you were experimented on in some sort of hospital. Your captors came after you when you escaped—”
“All of that happened. You can believe that story, one hundred percent.”
A quick nod from Henry. “Right. Right. Of course. But…we have to find out what was done to you. We’ll need to examine you thoroughly.”
She didn’t like the sound of that.
“After the examination, we’ll reevaluate.” His gaze cut to Andreas. “I think we’re done for now. We’ll come back after we’ve handled Maddox.”
That was something else she didn’t like the sound of…Just how was Henry going to handle Maddox?
Henry turned for the door. Andreas shadowed his movements. Protecting him?
“Termination,” Luna tossed out that word.
And she was rewarded by the fast jerk of Henry’s heartbeat.
“You aren’t planning to terminate Maddox, are you?” Luna asked.
“Of course not.” She couldn’t see Henry’s face. “He’s my best hunter.” The door opened. Henry filed out. Andreas started to follow him—
Luna leapt forward. She grabbed his arm. “Why are you helping him?”
Andreas looked down at her hand, then back at her face.
“Why?” She fired that fast, hard thought right at him.
“Because things aren’t what they seem.” His answer, one delivered straight in her mind.
Then he was gone. The door clanged shut, and Luna was trapped in her cell. Her chest ached as she made her way back to her bed. More like a cot, really.
Henry’s words spun in her mind. And she tried to figure out what had been real, what had been lies, and what in the hell she could to do next. And all the while, two words seemed to replay in her head.
Trust me. Maddox’s order to her, right before things had gone to hell.
&nb
sp; Her hands wrapped around her stomach. She tried to still her racing thoughts and reach out to him. He was still in the facility, at least, for the moment he was. He had to be close by. “Maddox? Maddox, are you there?”
Henry wanted her to fear him. Henry wanted her to turn on Maddox.
Henry wanted her to believe that Maddox was a monster.
But she wouldn’t.
“Are you there?” Luna asked again.
***
He recognized the fucking cell.
Maddox paced the confines of his cell like a caged tiger. Rage pounded at him. He’d woken on the floor, probably in the same spot the guards had dumped his ass. They’d dragged him back to the facility, locked him up, and taken Luna.
Hell, no.
He heard footsteps approaching. Could tell by the slightly uneven gait that it was that dick Henry. But he wasn’t alone.
Andreas.
Shit.
Why was the Greek working with him? But the fact that he was—well, that was trouble.
The door opened a few moments later. Maddox didn’t attack, not yet. But every single part of him wanted to leap forward.
Plan. Control the fury. Hold on. Do it for Luna.
Henry peered at him as if Maddox was a bug under a microscope. “You recovered from the tranq dosage very quickly.” His lips pressed together. “Too quickly.”
“I’m a fast healer.”
“Especially when Luna aids you. We had to dose her just to get her to take her hand off you.”
You sonofabitch. I’m going to rip you apart.
Henry waited, expectant, as if he thought Maddox would do something.
So Maddox didn’t do a damn thing.
Henry’s eyelids flickered. “Aren’t you going to ask where she is?”
“She’s here. In the facility.” He shrugged. “Probably on the level above me, if you put Luna back in her old cell.”
Andreas glanced up, a slight movement of his gaze that was telling.
“What do you remember?” Henry asked.
Maddox scratched his chin. “Let’s see…you and your men shot me. Five, six times? Even though I was out on the mission you’d assigned.” Now his stare cut to Andreas. “Even though we were on the same team.” He knew Andreas had been responsible for cloaking the movements of the humans. If Andreas hadn’t helped them, Maddox would have heard the bastards coming from miles away.