Lie Close to Me

by Cynthia Eden

  Elizabeth turned to fully face her. “It wasn’t me.”

  She wanted to believe the other woman. “You made all the Lazarus subjects—”

  “I made the formula. Wyman took it from me. He used it on others without their permission. I want to make things right. I want to help the men and women who’ve been hurt.” Elizabeth swallowed. “I would do anything to make it up to them. To give them back the lives they lost.”

  A lump rose in Luna’s throat but she choked it back down. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  A furrow appeared between Elizabeth’s brows. “What?

  “You doing anything.” Luna shook her head. “I’m just one big experiment, right? To Henry. To you. To everyone.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “No, that’s not what I meant.”

  “Out.” Maddox ordered, as he moved protectively in front of Luna. “Now.”

  They went out. Maddox shut the door behind them. Fury was stamped on his face. “We listened to what they had to say. Now I think we need to get the hell out of here.”

  ***

  Flynn and Jay remained in the hospital corridor. A private hospital that they’d cleared out because Jay had more money than God.

  Elizabeth and Sawyer stepped into the elevator, and she waited until the doors closed, waited until the elevator was descending, before she turned to her lover and whispered, “It’s her.”

  Sawyer’s brows rose. “What about her?”

  “You told me…you heard Maddox say that she was a healer. That if someone else had been injured, Luna could easily fix the person’s wounds.”

  He nodded.

  Her hands were shaking with excitement. “She fixed him.”

  “I’m not following, babe.”

  “She fixed him. I mean, all the Lazarus subjects have different psychic gifts, so why not the ability to heal? And the memory loss is a physical issue. A difference in the brain. She’d just need to focus on the injury, then she could repair the damage and—”

  “Slow down.” He caught her shaking hands. “You’re saying Maddox has his memories because Luna healed his mind?”

  It was sure what she suspected. “Yes.” And if Luna could give Maddox his memories back, then maybe she could give memories back to all of the super soldiers.

  Sawyer blinked. Once. Twice. “Shit. That’s why that other bastard was after her. The guy at the wreck—he wanted her. He didn’t care if Maddox lived or died. He was only interested in Luna.”

  “If all of the Lazarus subjects got their memories back, it would completely change the program.” She knew Wyman had liked the fact that the soldiers lost their memories. The bastard thought the loss made them easier to handle. But when those men and women remembered their families, their lovers…They won’t be controlled any longer.

  “There are people who’d want her dead because of what she can do.” Sawyer’s expression had tightened.

  “And Lazarus subjects who’d fight like hell to get her for the same reason,” Elizabeth whispered.

  The elevator dinged. Bottom floor. They’d planned to send Jett upstairs, thinking he might reassure Maddox and Luna. But… “He’s going to run with her,” Elizabeth predicted. “I saw Maddox.” You didn’t have to be a shrink to figure out that man’s priorities. “He’s not going to let anyone use Luna. He’s going to make a break at the first opportunity.”

  Sawyer’s jaw locked even as he nodded. The doors opened. She stepped forward.

  “We can’t let her go, Elizabeth.”

  She’d feared he would say that.

  “If she can do that, if she can give us our lives back…” Sawyer raked a hand over his face. “How the hell are we supposed to let her just walk away?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Luna stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in jeans, a dark sweater, and a shiny pair of white sneakers. Her hair fell over her shoulders.

  He walked toward her. Lifted her right hand. Ripped off the damn hospital tag on her wrist. He tossed it into the garbage can. “We’re leaving.”

  “Maddox, I can help them.”

  “They want to use you.” And he was afraid of just how they’d do that. “I don’t know who our enemies are. I don’t know who I can trust. When it comes to your life, I can’t make a mistake.” His fingers twined with hers. “I won’t.” Didn’t she realize how important she was to him? Nothing, no one was more important. Never would be.

  She’d owned his heart since she was fourteen years old. She’d own it until he left the earth.

  “Maddox, do you remember volunteering for Project Lazarus?”

  Dammit. “No.” He led her into the hallway. Jay and Flynn were there, leaning against a nearby wall, and when they saw Maddox and Luna, the two men stiffened.

  Maddox leveled a hard glare at them. “You don’t want to get in my way.”

  Flynn raked his gaze over Maddox. “You need to calm down.”

  “No, I need you to back the hell off.”

  Flynn took a step toward him, but Jay shoved his hand against Flynn’s chest. “Sawyer is downstairs. Let’s just all ride the elevator down together, okay? Everyone breathe.”

  Breathing wasn’t a problem for Maddox. Stopping himself from kicking their asses was harder. They loaded into the elevator.

  He could knock these two out right now.

  “Don’t.” Luna squeezed his hand.

  He sucked in a hard breath. For her. For her.

  “I’m in love with a woman named Willow,” Jay suddenly announced as the elevator descended. “In some ways, she reminds me a lot of you, Luna.”

  Maddox moved closer to Luna. “She’s not your Willow.”

  “No, of course not.” Jay shook his head. “I love Willow, and I want to help her. Her past is gone, her father is dying, and I just want to make things a little better for her.”

  The elevator dinged.

  “Good luck with that,” Maddox muttered as he pulled Luna from the elevator.

  “Maddox…” She frowned at him.

  “Baby, your heart has always been too soft.” It’s why you fell for that bastard Adam. And he knew now, knew with absolute certainty since his memories were back…Luna hadn’t been betraying her country. She hadn’t been working with Adam to steal secrets. That just wasn’t who Luna was. Luna had always been good and kind. So intelligent. So caring. Too caring.

  That’s why I have to get her out of here.

  They hurried down the hallway. The place was freaking deserted. They rounded a corner, and bam—there was Sawyer. Elizabeth. Jett.

  A wide smile crossed Jett’s face when he saw Luna. “Hell, yes!” He hurried to her. Yanked her into a big hug. “They said you were all right, but I wanted to see you with my own eyes.”

  Luna squeezed him back. “I’m okay.”

  Jett let her go, and then he turned, positioning his body subtly closer to Maddox. “What exactly is the plan?”

  “To get the hell out of here,” Maddox answered.

  But Sawyer shook his head. “No.” His hands were loose at his sides. Flynn immediately moved into position near him. Everyone is picking a side.

  Sawyer’s gaze slid to Luna. “You do it, don’t you? You give the memories back. That’s how your boyfriend there can remember his whole life. You did that for him.”

  Luna opened her mouth—

  “Get the fuck out of our way,” Maddox directed, voice flat and cold. “I won’t ask twice.”

  Sawyer gave him a grim smile. “Doesn’t sound like you’re asking right now.”

  “He’s not,” Jett fired back as he stiffened his spine. “Maddox is telling you, move.”

  Sawyer slanted a quick glance at him. “And here I thought we were all getting along.”

  “You said you were going to help me and my friends. You’re Lazarus like us, so I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. But my loyalties will always lie with Luna and Maddox. I won’t screw up with them again.” His smile was as grim as Sawyer’s. “So do
what the man says. Get the fuck out of the way. If you don’t, you won’t like what happens next.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that,” Sawyer tossed back. “Don’t be—”

  “Just let them go, Sawyer,” Elizabeth said, her voice sharp and high.

  He whirled toward her. “What?”

  Anguish showed on her face. “I know you want the past back. Don’t you understand how much I want to give it to you? But we can’t make her help us. We can’t make them do anything. If we do that, God, aren’t we just like the Lazarus bastards who kept you locked up for so long? Who took away your choices?” She came to him, put her palms against his cheeks. “It’s not right. It’s not who we are. They aren’t dangerous. Aren’t psychotic. And they just want to disappear.”

  Sawyer held her gaze.

  Tears filled Elizabeth’s eyes. “I’m so sorry. I will keep working. I can find a way to do this. If she healed his brain, see, it’s physical. It’s science. I can do science. And I won’t give up. I swear, I won’t ever give up. I’ll give your memory back. I’ll get Flynn’s back. I’ll get—”

  “Stop.” Luna’s voice was calm when Elizabeth’s had been too high.

  Maddox immediately pulled her closer. “Baby?”

  She smiled at him, making his heart ache. “They’re not bad.”

  But that didn’t mean they were good, either.

  “You always protect me, don’t you?” Her head tilted as she studied him. “In all those memories you’ve got, are you protecting me in most of them?”

  When they’d first gone sailing, she’d slipped off the edge of the boat and fallen into the water. She hadn’t been wearing a life vest, and he’d nearly lost his shit. He’d jumped in after her, held her so tightly.

  Sworn that he’d never let her go.

  When they’d been walking home one night in high school, a drunk driver had come barreling down the road. The car had been coming right at them. He’d grabbed Luna, roaring for her, and he’d tumbled them both off the road—

  “See?” Her smile stretched. “I kind of think it’s just what you do. Like you’re some kind of programmed protector. But I don’t think I need protecting, not from them.”

  He wanted to protect her from the whole freaking world.

  Luna turned to face Sawyer and Elizabeth. “I gave Maddox back his memories.”

  “Fuck me.” Flynn took a step back.

  “No, thanks,” Luna immediately replied. She waved her hand toward Jett. “And I was able to restore some memories for Jett, too.”

  Jett gave a jerky nod. “She did.”

  Luna licked her lips. “I heal. That’s what I do. We all have our gifts, don’t we? Mine is healing. I can heal wounds fast…”

  “Your neck healed at a phenomenal rate,” Elizabeth mused. “It’s something in you, isn’t it? An accelerated healing rate that is stronger than anything I’ve ever seen before.”

  “I can’t heal myself completely.” Now Luna sounded sad. Maddox hated her pain. “If I could, I’d make sure that each time I died, I didn’t wake up as a blank slate.” She shivered. “Because that is the worst nightmare I have. A nightmare that has come true over and over. Waking up. Not knowing who I am. Where I am. If I could stop that, I would.” Her shoulders lifted, fell. “I can’t change that.” Her gaze darted around their group. “But I can give memories back to you all. And I will.”

  “Thank you,” Elizabeth whispered.

  “We can help you, too,” Jay added quickly as he hurried forward. “Money is no fucking object, and I mean that. I can give you all any houses you want, as much cash as you want. New identities. I can help you to disappear and escape from the bastards who were after you before.”

  “When I was in the lab, Adam told me that Sam was his partner. Sam—he was the bastard who slit my throat. The one Flynn killed.”

  Maddox wished he’d been the one to kill the bastard.

  “There was a doctor working with Sam and Adam, but I don’t know who she is. I got the feeling that Adam was the one in charge of their group. He seemed to be the one with the master plan.”

  “And what in the hell happened to Adam, exactly?” Flynn groused.

  Luna raised her chin. “I happened to him. I killed Adam after he set bombs all over our facility. He’s gone.”

  Maddox wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. So he did. With Luna snug against him, he added, “Adam’s dead, and so is Henry Danwith.”

  “Danwith?” Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed. “I know that name. I even studied with him in med school. Henry is an expert on genetics and—”

  “He was an expert,” Maddox corrected. “He’s dead.”

  Luna shivered, and his hold tightened on her.

  “He’ll never hurt you again,” Maddox promised on their link.

  Jett started to pace. “The guy was the lead lab coat at our facility, and from what I glimpsed when I went back to the scene, the people on his team were already lost without him.”

  Maddox would love for their enemies to be history, but he wasn’t ready to let down his guard just yet. Not when Luna’s life was on the line.

  “The female doctor is still missing,” Luna said. She pressed her body to his. “The one who was doing experiments on me. But I don’t remember anything about her. And I have no idea what she did to me.”

  Elizabeth’s gaze swept over her. “I can find out.”

  Maddox didn’t like where this was going.

  “Let me examine you.” Elizabeth squared her shoulders “If I examine you, I can find out what she was doing—or trying to do.”

  Luna glanced up at Maddox.

  “He can stay with you every moment,” Elizabeth was quick to reassure her. “But we should do a thorough exam. I mean…this mystery doctor seems to have gone to extensive trouble to get you.”

  Luna’s attention shifted to Sawyer and Flynn. “Before the exam…do you want me to give you some memories?”

  Longing flashed on Flynn’s face. Maddox could see the emotion so clearly.

  But Flynn shook his head. “Get yourself checked out first.” His voice was gruff. “I’ve been waiting this long. I can wait longer.”

  Sawyer nodded. “Let Elizabeth do her tests.” He caught Elizabeth’s hand. Brought her fingers to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I want my past fucking back, but at least I’ve got my present. And it’s a damn good present.”

  Maddox’s gaze slid down to Luna. He had his past. He had his present. And he wanted his future—a future with Luna. A future where they weren’t hunted. Where they were free. Where they could be happy.

  And that future was close. So fucking close.

  His fingers skimmed down Luna’s silken cheek.

  So close that he could touch it.

  ***

  “Before we begin the tests…” Elizabeth cleared her throat. “I need to ask…because there will be things we can’t do. Like, um X-rays. We can’t do them if you’re…”

  Luna frowned at her. They’d gone into an exam room. Just the two of them but she knew Maddox would be in soon, too. He’d promised to come right in. He’d just stayed behind to speak with Sawyer for a moment.

  “Is there any chance that you’re pregnant?” Elizabeth asked.

  Luna felt her cheeks ice. “I’m a dead woman. A dead woman walking. How the hell could I give birth to a child?”

  “You were dead,” Elizabeth corrected her quickly. “But your heart beats now. You breathe. Luna, you are quite alive. And you can have kids. You can have any life that you want.”

  Her chest burned. Any life?

  A life with Maddox?

  “Is there any chance you’re pregnant?” Elizabeth asked again, her voice so very careful.

  Luna’s hand slid to her stomach. “It would be very, very early.” Far too early to tell, surely? But… “We didn’t use anything.”

  Elizabeth nodded briskly. “Just in case, I will take every precaution.”

  Luna’s hand
was still on her stomach.

  “Every precaution,” Elizabeth promised.

  ***

  He needed to be in the exam room with Luna. And he would be in there, but first…

  Maddox stared at Sawyer. “You knew Adam—or freaking Four. Whatever you want to call him.”

  Sawyer nodded. “He was part of my team. I…didn’t realize how dangerous he was.” His jaw hardened. “But this isn’t the first time I’ve been misled.”

  “He got a job as a guard at our facility.” Jett’s hands had fisted at his sides. “How the hell did he even find the place? How would he have known about it?”

  Sawyer glanced over at Jay.

  Jay rubbed his nose. “Maybe Adam stole some intel from the Arizona lab before it blew. Or maybe…hell, maybe this mystery doctor that we keep hearing about? Maybe she’s the one who told him. We assumed that all of the people in the Arizona lab died when it blew to hell and back.”

  “Wyman didn’t die,” Flynn cut in, coming closer. “If that bastard faked his death, others could have done the same.”

  Sawyer nodded. “So maybe Four—Adam—found out from a doctor there. Someone who has been helping him.” But he still hesitated. “Emotional connections cause memory triggers for some of us. If Adam…if he had some kind of connection—”

  Now Maddox was the one to explain, “Luna told me…Adam said he could find other Lazarus subjects. He could home in on them, like they were flashing beacons at him.” He rolled one shoulder in a shrug. “That explains how he found a partner to help him and how he found our facility.” How he found Luna. But how the hell had that Sam bastard found him and Luna on that godforsaken road? Maddox felt as if he was missing something.

  Sawyer seemed to hesitate. “We’re absolutely sure he’s dead? Because with a talent like that, he could be very, very dangerous…to us all.”

  Flynn nodded. “And Four—I mean, Adam—he was always a damn good tracker.”

  Jett’s thumb jerked toward Maddox. “No one is better at tracking and hunting than Maddox.”