“Are you okay?” Worry creased his brow.
“Yeah, I...” I shook my head. “Never mind that. You were saying our guys would be monitoring Lily’s building, right?”
Blake nodded.
“Good. I don’t want to go anywhere near that building until we have a proper plan. I’m going to check out some maps of the city and see if there are any photographs of that building.”
“You do that.” A ghost of a smile traced Blake’s lips. “We should go now. We’ve been here long enough.” He turned into a shimmering cloud, and I let my air take over me, too. As we rose into the air, any concern or question I might have had vanished, and I felt free and happy without a plan.
Chapter 2
“It’s time. She’s alone,” Cin said as soon as he entered the room, his big green eyes meeting mine. I took a deep breath and glanced at Blake, who was watching me carefully.
“Okay, let’s do this.” My shoulders were tight, my limbs shaky, but I steeled myself because I knew I’d rather risk my own life than put Blake or anyone else in danger. And that would certainly happen if we just stormed the building, tried to break inside, or got in a fight with the guards. I didn’t have any weapons on me, but I couldn’t exactly go into one of the best-kept buildings armed to the teeth. Besides, I was supposed to be a mind-controlled agent who’d luckily managed to escape her captors. The only thing I had with me was a flash drive, and it was safely hidden in my boot.
“Remember,” Blake said, placing his hands on my face. “Just go along with whatever story she tells you. You’re confused and you don’t know what happened. Tell her your head hurts.” He lowered his lips to mine for a moment and then rested his forehead against mine. “If she mentions you have parents or siblings, just find a way to convince her not to call them, like we practiced. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
“You can do this, baby. I believe in you.” He let go of me, his lips spreading into a smile.
As I staggered out of the room, my heart drumming in my chest, I prayed I wouldn’t mess this up. I wouldn’t be able to stand disappointing my wonderful boyfriend.
As I materialized not far from Lily’s building, all the fear and doubts left me, and I squared my shoulders, feeling as if this were something I’d done countless times before. But as I found myself in front of the building, something at the back of my mind screamed at me to stop, take a better look, and remember something. I just wasn’t sure what I was supposed to remember. Maybe I’d had a dream about being an agent and my subconscious was reminding me of it, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
As I made a step toward the front door, two guards raised their rifles and pointed them at me, their eyes wary. I raised my hands in the air, breathing heavily. “Please don’t hurt me. I need... I need help.” I stumbled forward, and one of the guards caught me, while the other brought his hand to his earpiece.
I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but after a while, his eyes focused on me. “Understood,” he said to someone on the other end of the line and lowered his hand. “Get her inside,” he said to the other guard who had a firm grip on my waist. I let him carry most of my weight as I dragged my feet. We entered the lobby, and for some reason, a plastic pot with a small tree in the corner of the room looked familiar. I’d seen it somewhere before. I was sure of it, which didn’t make much sense at all. My attention was drawn to the woman with long dark hair. She was dressed in a black suit and was running toward me.
“Moira!” she said, her eyes scanning me up and down. “Are you okay?”
“I... I’ll be fine.” I let the guard lower me on the blue couch and I pretended to be hyperventilating, my eyes narrowing in confusion. “Lily?”
“Yes, I’m right here.” She knelt on the floor in front of me, placing her hand on my cheek. Her dark eyes were full of worry, her brows drawn together. It looked like Blake had really managed to get her to believe she cared about me. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
“I... I don’t think so. I was just...” I stammered, licking my dry lips. “Can I get a glass of water?”
“Yes, of course.” Lily immediately got to her feet and looked at one of the guards. “Go.” He nodded and strode down a hallway.
“I should call your parents. They’re worried sick. They thought you were with that group of elementals who attacked an hour ago, so they went there. I should...” Lily said, but I placed my hand on her arm. My parents were dead, so I had no idea who she was talking about, but if she believed I had parents, I had to play along.
“No, please. Don’t call them,” I said, tugging on her sleeve.
Her eyebrows went up slightly. “Why not? They’ve been dying to see you... All these months...”
“No!” I said more forcefully, my chin trembling. “You can’t call them! The elementals who kidnapped me... They... They did something to me and I... I escaped, but they could be after me. I don’t want my parents to come here if those elementals can find me...” Tears started to fill my eyes. “Please!”
“Shh, it’s okay. I won’t call anyone.” Lily actually pulled me into her arms and looked at the guards. “Make sure no one enters the building. Watch all the entrances for possible suspects.”
The guards all nodded and went away. Good. I needed to be alone with Lily. But the guard who’d gone for the water was coming back, so I relaxed in Lily’s embrace and waited.
“Thanks,” I said as the guard handed me the water.
Lily pulled away. “Go help the others. We’re safe here.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” the guard said and trudged off.
I took a refreshing gulp of the liquid and placed the glass on a small wooden table that was next to the couch. “I’m so glad to see you again.”
“I’m glad to see you, too. Where have you been? Who took you?” She leaned forward, curiosity flashing in her eyes.
“I don’t know. Some elementals. A black-haired girl. She...” I squeezed my eyes shut and grimaced as if I were fighting off a bad migraine. “I can’t remember! I can’t...!”
“Relax,” Lily said reassuringly. “It’ll all come to you eventually. Don’t worry. All that matters now is that you’re safe.”
“Am I?” I looked at her with tearful eyes and then glanced toward the door. “What if they find me? What if they come here? I can’t...”
“No one is going to come here.”
“But you don’t understand! Those elementals... They’re powerful. Your guards won’t stop them. No one will!” I kept glancing at the door, chewing on my lip. I needed her to take me somewhere I’d be really safe, like her private office. Surely, she wouldn’t let me have a panic attack in her lobby.
“Can you walk? I’ll take you upstairs. No one can use elements there. It’ll be perfectly safe,” she said softly as if she were talking to a small child.
I bobbed my head fast enough to make myself dizzy. “Yeah... I want... I want to get out of here.”
“Come on.” She helped me get to my feet, and we plodded toward the elevator.
“Noah will be really happy to hear you’re back,” she said, and I frowned. Who the hell was Noah?
“I can’t wait to see everyone once this whole thing is over,” I said, wondering why Blake hadn’t told me what exactly Lily knew or thought she knew about me. But I supposed there hadn’t been enough time, so he’d just made her think I was friends with some of her friends.
“You will, but how did you know to come here?” Lily asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
“I remembered...” I stared at the dark blue tiled floor.
“You remembered what exactly?” There was an edge to Lily’s voice that made me look up at her.
“I don’t know. This place?” I blinked at my surroundings, rubbing my neck. The elevator opened and we stepped inside.
“But you’ve never been here before,” she said. “We moved our headquarters to this building two months ago.”
“Oh.” I swallowed, my hands clammy. “B
ut some of this looks so familiar...”
“We brought a few things with us, of course,” Lily said. “It’s not all new. That still doesn’t explain how you knew exactly where to find me. Did those elementals let you know about this place?”
I covered my mouth with my hand, my eyes wide. “Oh my God! I don’t know how I got here! It’s a trap! You have to stay away from me! They must have done something to me!”
“Don’t worry about that,” Lily said confidently. “I’m prepared for everything.”
That almost made me raise my eyebrows, but Blake’s and my plan was going as expected. I just didn’t know for how long I could play Lily’s poor confused agent. All I wanted was to get the list and stop staring the enemy in the face. What would Lily do to me if she knew who I really was? A shiver ran down my spine. What if Blake was wrong? What if his mind control hadn’t worked at all, and I was trying to con a con artist? What if I’d walked straight into a trap?
As we emerged from the elevator and made our way down the hallway, a frown line creased my brow. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe.” Lily offered me a small smile. I chewed on the insides of my mouth, trying to reach out with my element, but I couldn’t even feel it. Shit. I really couldn’t use my elements in here.
I wanted to punch the smile off Lily’s face. Maybe she was only pretending she cared about me, and all she was planning to do was torture me for information about my supposed kidnappers, or maybe even kill me for betraying her. What did I know about what someone like her did with agents who went AWOL for a few months?
But Blake was confident that I could do this, and he’d never risk my life. No, I had to stop overthinking things. Lily’s best men were out there trying to take out Blake and the others. I could fight off a few people. I might not be able to use my elements, but neither were they. My heart still skipped a beat when we stopped in front of a big glass door with a warning sign on it.
Chapter 3
It was a lab. She had brought me to her lab. Great. I tried very hard to keep the disappointment off my face. Her hand was almost completely covering the keypad as she punched in the code, and I tapped my foot against the floor. The door finally clicked open and she pushed at it, letting me pass. I braced myself in case she planned to attack me from behind, or just slam the door and lock me inside, but that didn’t happen. Instead, I walked into a big room filled with computers, medical and scientific equipment, and rows of shelves. The lab almost reminded me of... I blinked.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked, placing her hand on my shoulder and making me jump.
“Yeah, I was just...” I couldn’t even remember what I’d been thinking. God, I was getting a bit too much into my role. “Sorry, being in a lab brings back some... unpleasant memories.”
“No one will hurt you in our lab, you know that, right?” Lily grabbed a tablet off the table. Two women and one man emerged from behind the shelves, and they were all dressed in light blue scrubs.
“Hey,” the woman with curly dark brown hair said, waving at me, her dark eyes friendly and inviting.
“What’s going on?” the man asked, scratching his short black hair, his green eyes wide.
The redhead just eyed me for a moment, her hands in her pockets, as she leaned on one of the tables.
“Tainted elementals wreaking havoc, as usual. Nothing to worry about.” Lily waved her hand.
I ground my teeth together. She was blaming us for the whole mess when she was the one helping the government to track us all down, and she didn’t even seem to realize why we were lashing out and trying to protect ourselves. Or maybe she just didn’t want to, because she probably quite liked her job. Years ago, she’d been one of those who were hunted down like animals, and now she had to be enjoying the power of doing it to someone else.
“Who’s she?” The redhead nodded toward me.
“Oh, this is Moira,” Lily said. “Moira, meet Rosalie, Jim, and Harper.”
“What’s she doing here?” Rosalie asked, staring at her nails and looking bored.
“She’s been mind-controlled by one or more tainted elementals. We need to figure out the extent of damage done to her mind and make sure everything’s okay with her,” Lily said, putting down the tablet.
“Harper should do it,” Rosalie immediately said, pushing herself off the table and disappearing behind the shelves.
“Yeah, I guess I can.” Harper shrugged.
“Um, guys, I don’t really have time for a medical exam. Those elementals could come here and hurt all of you. I don’t even know what I could do, so maybe it’s best I go somewhere else.” Like Lily’s totally safe office, for example.
“No one can come in here. And if any elementals do it, they won’t be able to use their elements. We don’t even have windows. Trust me, they won’t find you here,” Jim said, the corners of his lips quirking up.
“Harper,” Lily said. “Get Moira ready for the test.”
My head shot up. “What test?”
“You’ve been taken by the enemy. You understand we have to take precautions. We don’t know how you escaped or why those elementals let you go,” Lily said.
“Right.” My whole body stiffened, and my mouth was suddenly dry. If I refused to do the test, they’d realize something was wrong, and I couldn’t let that happen. Since I couldn’t use my elements in here, I needed time to come up with a plan to take out Lily and the others. It was very unlikely Lily would take me to her office on her own.
I made my way around the lab, inspecting the shelves for things I could use as a weapon. It was unfortunate that because of the stupid blocker Blake hadn’t managed to see in Lily’s mind what was inside the building. Speaking of the blocker... I bit the inside of my cheek. No, if I asked Lily about it now, she could become suspicious and think I’d been sent to steal or disable the thing.
I could see multiple bracelets on her arm when the sleeve of her suit lifted, but I didn’t know which one could be the blocker. Hell, maybe the blocker was built into her mind like... I frowned. Blockers had been placed into someone’s spine, or at least that was what I thought, but... I couldn’t recall where I’d seen it or how I knew about it. Maybe the bracelets on Lily’s arm were just regular jewelry created to fool her enemies into thinking that she was wearing some kind of protection. The bracelets were similar to element-blocking bracelets, but she was a magic disease carrier, so she didn’t really need those.
“Can you please come here, Moira?” Harper asked, tapping a chair next to her, and I grudgingly stepped toward it. The chair reminded me of a dentist’s chair, but there were too many colorful wires connected to it that led to the computers. Luckily, this chair didn’t seem to be intended for torture, because there were no straps or anything to tie me down to it. I looked around for a weapon, but I didn’t see anything. Shit. Settling myself in the chair, I eyed Harper, who had a friendly expression on her face.
“Don’t worry. This won’t hurt,” she said, rolling up my sleeves.
“Wait,” I said, sitting up a little. “What exactly are you planning to do to me? I mean, I know I should trust you, but I just... After what happened, I don’t think I can... Just tell me what you’re going to do so I don’t freak out, okay?” I forced myself to smile.
Harper glanced at Lily. And when I turned my head toward Lily too, I saw her face was expressionless.
“First we’re going to check your vitals, and this computer,” Harper pointed at one of the computers, “will assure us that you aren’t injured. We can’t really check your mind, but we can test your elements.”
“Test my elements?” My brow furrowed. “But this place blocks elements.”
“Sort of. It blocks you from using them. When we connect this device to you, it’ll be able to read the levels of the elemental energy inside of you,” Harper said, picking up small black pads.
“And how exactly will my energy levels help you with anything?” Seriously, blocked elements shouldn’t even have hi
gh energy levels, so what on earth was she talking about?
Harper’s smile faltered for a second. “We need to make sure your elements are still intact.” There was a strange quiver in her voice.
She was lying to me. She was fucking lying. Jim and Rosalie chose that very moment to reappear, and they both sat at the table across the room. There was no way I could take out all four of them. God, what the hell had Blake been thinking when he came up with this plan? I should have never listened to him. “Okay,” I finally said.
Harper fastened the pads to my arms, and even slid some of them under my shirt, attaching them to my stomach. The pads were cold and they tickled, but I gritted my teeth, determined not to show discomfort. When the device started to beep, Lily approached until she was looming over me.
“We’re going to ask you a few questions,” she said, and my heart skipped a beat, which showed as a jumpy line on the computer screen.
Fuck. They’d connected me to a lie detector, hadn’t they? Brilliant.
“Just relax. No one’s going to hurt you. We just have to make sure you’re still you,” Lily said.
“That’s a terrible idea.” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you realize that if someone had mind-controlled me, then I’d believe whatever they wanted me to. I wouldn’t be lying.”
“We’re aware of that,” Lily said. “We’ll ask you some questions about things we know are true about you and then maybe about some other things that might prove useful to us.”
“Okay.” I didn’t like the sound of that, but I did my best to relax. Rosalie and Jim got to their feet and came closer to the computer, as if they were intrigued by what they could see on the screen.
“Do you know where...” Lily leaned forward, and I used the opportunity to kick out my leg and knock her onto her back. She clearly hadn’t expected that because she remained on the ground, clutching her stomach. In one move, I ripped the pads and wires off me, tossing them at Harper, who raised her hands up and stumbled back in an attempt to shield her face.
Captive (Tainted Elements, Book 4) Page 2