by Jaime Rush
“We got her drunk, by accident,” Lulu offered, taking in the stranger with interest. “Who are you?”
Olivia waved toward him with a floppy arm. “This is my”—what was he?—“friend, Nicholas. And this is my mother’s family.”
Lulu tugged her T-shirt down over her jeans. “You didn’t tell us you had a friend coming.” She held out her hand. “I’m Lulu, Olivia’s aunt.”
He shook her hand but his gaze was on Olivia. She gave him a subtle nod as he turned to meet the others. “I’m taking Olivia back to her motel.”
Fanny said, “But we still got a lot of catching up to do. Join us.”
Nicholas was already holding out his hand to her, and Olivia clutched it. He pulled her to her feet, even as the three of them pushed in closer and objected. She had been listening to them for hours, and their voices, their stories, and their accusations about her father pounded into her head as hard as the headache. Even now the women held on to her arms as though they were going to engage in a tug-of-war with Nicholas.
“We’ve hardly gotten a chance to get to know her yet,” Fanny said.
Nicholas pulled her out of their grasp and against his chest, his arm around her collarbone. “She’s had enough for now.” His voice, deep and strong, carried authority. “She’ll come back when she’s ready.” He steered her to the door.
She waved. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Wait,” he said. “Can I see a picture of your mother?”
Olivia led him to a shelving unit and pointed to several of the pictures.
“Yes, you definitely look like her.” He nodded and led her out the front door.
She saw his car parked behind hers in the drive. “I can drive back to the motel. I’m not woozy anymore, just tired. Overwhelmed. Brain boggled. But not drunk. I think I ate a whole package of crackers.”
He studied her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Besides, if I leave my car here, I’ll have to come back for it.”
“Understood. I’ll follow you.”
The dim coolness of the motel room was welcoming, though she could still smell the smoke on her. She turned to him. “Thank you for coming. But how did you know I needed—you remote-viewed me, didn’t you?”
He nodded, no regret on his face. “I saw you lying on the couch looking as though you’d passed out.”
“I fell asleep.” She covered her mouth. “At least I didn’t get sick. They were happy to see me but unloaded years of both anger at my father and history on me at once. They think my father killed my mother. And the worst part is, I couldn’t say he wasn’t that kind of person.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
She said, “I think they’re good people who have had all these emotions and questions stuffed inside for so long. But I need a breather before I go back.” She gave him a wry smile. “You were right; it was too much.” Fatigue permeated her voice. “I’m not ready to rush out to California and see my cousin.”
Nicholas led her to the bed, then curled up behind her spoon style. Just comfort. “Sleep for a while. Then you’re coming with me for a few days.”
She nodded, too tired even to be annoyed that he was taking control. For the moment, that was okay. She had nowhere to go.
Just before she drifted off to sleep, he said, “I hope you like camping in the woods.”
Richard Wallace grabbed hold of the black mouse with his gloved hand. He tried to be gentle…as gentle as one could be whilst inserting a needle into its body. He set the mouse down, and it scrambled toward its den.
“Sorry, fellow.”
He froze as a spidery sensation crawled over him. He looked around the white glare of his lab but saw nothing. He knew better than to discount it.
He picked up his satellite phone and made a call. “I need you here. We may have trouble.”
CHAPTER 33
Gerard Darkwell stepped out of the hotel where Nicholas Braden had spent the night and slid on his sunglasses. The room was empty, but he was getting closer to finding him, and with him, Olivia. Though Sayre hadn’t seen a woman with Nicholas last night when he’d possessed him in his sleep, Gerard knew she must be with him.
The small town wasn’t far from Spartan, West Virginia. He had an idea why they were in the area. He drove to the horrid place where his wife had come from, the past she had hidden from him until it was too late. He hoped to catch Olivia there, and he hoped she’d never go there. When he got out, he leveled a hard glare at the children to keep them away from his car. The alarm chirped.
He knocked on the door, and the woman he remembered being Mary’s sister answered. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open. The stench of bacon and cigarettes assailed him.
“I want to know if you’ve had any visitors lately.” No need for pleasantries. These people disgusted him, and they weren’t fond of him, either.
“Did Olivia come ba—?” Mary’s mother came out of the hallway and stopped dead when she saw him.
“That answers my question, thank you. How long ago did she leave?”
Both sister and mother clamped their mouths shut. He glanced at his watch. It couldn’t have been very long. That Olivia had come here boded very badly for her state of mind. He had to get her back into his hold. These women were standing in his way.
He gripped the sister’s bony shoulder. “How long?”
She buckled, but he kept a hold on her. “’Bout an hour ago.”
“Was she with a young man with dark hair?”
“Get your hand off her! Tommy!” The mother tried to pry his hand away.
“Answer the question, and I’ll let go.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” the sister said, hatred in her eyes.
He let go and gave her his most pleasant smile. “Thank you for your assistance.”
The father came barreling out of the house a minute later, but Gerard was already locked in his car. His crazy accusations were lost as Gerard turned up the opera music and backed out of the drive.
He made a call to Fonda. “Find Olivia.”
Amy gave the excuse of doing some girl shopping to head out by herself. She knew Lucas would be furious when she returned, and she wasn’t about to do so until she had something of value.
Not that he hasn’t hidden things from me.
Her chest was tight as she continued her drive. Galesville, where Wallace’s supposed research facility was located, was about thirty minutes from the tomb.
She called Nicholas. “It’s Amy. Everything all right?”
“So far. But I’m glad you called. We figured out what Fonda’s ability is. She can project her consciousness to other places. She looks like a ghost.”
“Astral projection?”
“I guess. So if you see a young woman who’s there but not there, you’re busted.”
“Good to know. I need to tell you something, too. When Sayre is coming in, you’ll feel a cold prick at the back of your neck. At least that’s what Lucas felt when he came in the night we were with Robbins. I’m not sure if you’ll feel it when he comes in while you’re asleep, though.”
“Damn, this stuff is crazy.”
“I know. But there are only two Offspring on their side now. Dangerous ones, perhaps, but only two.”
“Amy, what’s going on with this Wallace thing?”
“I’m going to find out what’s in our bodies. I’m sorry I lied to you, but I didn’t want to put you in the middle. I’ve got to go. Be careful.”
“You, too.”
She signed off, made a quick call to Petra’s phone to pass on Nicholas’s information, and concentrated on her driving as she reached Galesville. The roads Nicholas had seen were in the rural area, and she nearly missed the turnoff. Several minutes later she came up on a gravel road leading into the woods with no signs or mailbox.
Once she pulled down the drive she saw the NO TRESPASSING sign hanging from the chain going across the road. Posted to a nearby tree was the sign BIOLO
GICAL RESEARCH AREA, PRIVATE PROPERTY, NO TRESPASSING. She got out and walked up to the chain. It was triple locked, with a ditch cut down the sides of the road to discourage anyone from driving around it.
Something in the thick pine forest caught her eye. It was shiny, about three feet high, but she couldn’t tell what it was. She stepped over the chain. The woods were filled with sound: birds, the rustle of a breeze through the trees, and the crunch of gravel as she walked down the road. Oh, and her heartbeat crashing against her ribs.
Down the rabbit hole I go…again.
And again, for Lucas. For all of them.
Scattered all over the property were more of those shiny things. She walked through the grass to inspect one. It looked like a yard ornament, made of copper and crystals, in the shape of a butterfly. A man who had pretty ornaments all over couldn’t be so bad. Right?
A scream made her jerk her head around. It sounded like a woman, but not quite. She shivered. She’d come to a stop, and every muscle in her body strained to turn around and run back to her car.
Keep going.
She heard another sound: footsteps. She swiveled around. Nothing.
An arm jerked her against a hard, male body. Where had he come from? She’d just checked all around and seen no one. But he was real. She struggled to see her captor, but he wasn’t budging.
From behind and above her, he said, “Gotcha, mate.”
“Did you say something about camping in the woods, or was I dreaming?”
Olivia threw her toiletries into the little bag and walked to the door of the motel room. She felt wretched, even with a shower and the two bottles of water Nicholas had forced her to drink when she’d woken up. No matter what, she felt better now that she was with him.
“You weren’t dreaming,” he said, hoisting her bag. “You can’t take all this stuff into the woods. Just the basics.”
“How long are we going to stay there?”
He opened the door and nodded for her to precede him. “Maybe a night or two. If Fonda or Sayre sees us, there won’t be any landmarks for them to find us by when we’re in the woods. I don’t know exactly what Sayre can do, but Darkwell said I was the only one who could pinpoint a location without using a landmark.”
Just as she was about to step outside, she caught sight of her father’s car. She pushed back, knocking into Nicholas and closing the door. “My father’s here!” She stepped to the curtain and peered out. “His car is slowing down. Do you think he saw me?”
He came up behind her. “No. He’d be slamming into the parking lot. He’s curious about something.”
“My grandfather’s car. You don’t see a lot of Cadillacs around here.”
The black Mercedes cruised into the parking lot, and the driver’s window slid down as it pulled up behind the Cadillac. His eyebrows furrowed as he no doubt saw the distinctive MRS. MAJOR plate. He pulled into the parking space next to it and hurried to the office, cell phone to his ear.
“He’s alone,” she said. “But probably calling for backup.”
“We’ve got to make a run for it.”
“My father’s inside. Let’s go!”
They slid out and, ducking down, ran toward the Camry. She got into the passenger side and lay down.
Nicholas pulled out of the lot, watching the rearview mirror. “He’s walking out of the office with a short guy, heading to our room.”
Tremors shook her body. “We almost got caught. What would he have done?”
He looked over at her. “He would have taken you back to the estate. Once he has you back, he’ll keep you there.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
He flashed her a doubtful look.
“And what about you?” she asked.
“He would have killed me.”
He stomped on the gas pedal as soon as they were out of sight of the motel.
She sat up and put her hand on his arm. “If I’m going to put you in danger, please don’t take me along.”
He glanced at her. “Livvie, if he gets the chance, he’ll kill me either way. You being with me, well, that only pisses him off more.”
His words sent a chill spiking through her. “I think I know what the Rogues feel like. Maybe a little, anyway. Being chased, hiding…hunted. So in a way, I am one of them. Whether I like it or not.”
CHAPTER 34
Sayre’s phone rang. He was lounging on the couch watching Judge Judy. He waited for the fourth ring before answering. “’Lo, Pete’s Pizza, where our sausages are the longest and spiciest.”
Silence for a moment. “Sayre?”
“Yes, sir.” Man had no sense of humor.
“Keep working on finding Braden. We were close, but he was already gone.”
“That early? Man, the guy must’a been up at the crack of dawn.”
Darkwell had tasked him with finding Braden, who, as it turned out, was the son of a bitch who’d broken up his little date with Olivia. He’d gotten into Braden’s dreams and had the guy walk outside and identify the motel. He might have had the guy do himself in if Darkwell hadn’t told him to hold off for now. Darkwell gave him free rein on these Rogue people, but most of them were in a protected place. Lucas, though, he could get into because of their twin connection, or that was Sayre’s best guess. Unfortunately, his girlfriend woke him up before he could finish his task. Lucas was going to have to take her out first, then blow away the rest of them.
“I want you to find him again tonight. He’ll be with a woman. Don’t hurt her.”
Don’t hurt the woman. Hm, intriguing. “And Braden?”
“I’ll take care of him myself.”
He hung up without so much as a bye or thank-you or howdy do. Fine manners for a guy who lived in a big house.
Now if Sayre only knew what was really going on. He figured Olivia had snitched on him because the guard checked to make sure he was in residence. Darkwell must think it was Lucas who attacked her. Sayre couldn’t wait to see if the woman with Braden was Olivia.
Amy’s heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst out of her chest. The man, whose iron-hard arms wrapped around her, actually lifted her off the ground. Her feet kicked at his shins but didn’t budge her captor.
He leaned close to her ear. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“My name is Amy Shane. I’m an offspring of the people in an experiment Richard Wallace headed up twenty-five years ago, and I have some questions for him.”
The man said, “Did you hear that?…All right, will find out and advise.”
Another man stepped out from the cover of woods, a rifle aimed in their direction. He was tall and wiry, with a prominent Adam’s apple. Maybe it was his longish, wavy brown hair, but he reminded her of a British rock and roller. And, most shockingly, he had the Offspring glow. It was jagged, matching his dark, fierce expression as he approached.
“You armed?”
“No.” Coming in armed didn’t seem like a good idea. Not that it would have done her a lot of good, as it turned out.
The man holding her, who felt as big as Eric, set her down. “No fast moves. Lachlan’s been practicing his shot since he was five.”
He patted her down while Lachlan held the rifle on her. He wore a headpiece like the cell phones that reminded her of Star Trek. He said, “She’s not armed.”
“But are you alone?” said the man behind her. He stepped around and took a good look at her.
“Yes.”
Her captor was as big as Eric and just as muscular. He was probably six-two, with a boyish face and a Cupid’s bow mouth. He also had an Offspring glow.
“We’re bringing her in,” he said.
He clamped his hand on her arm and led her down the road.
She tugged to free herself. “There’s no need to manhandle me.”
His mouth quirked, but he didn’t release her.
They came around a corner and upon an earthen-colored wall with an ornate gate in the center. Beyond were a lush garden,
then the house. Copper scrollwork, now turned verde, adorned the top of the wall. The gate opened as they approached, and she saw a camera pointing at them.
This garden was different than anything else she’d seen. Mixed among the flowers were oddly shaped and colored specimens that were neatly labeled with scientific names. A network of copper webbing covered the courtyard like a dome, and the roof as well. They followed a curving path to a stained-glass door, and the walls on either side were glass.
A man was waiting for them: Richard Wallace with…an Offspring glow? But he couldn’t be an Offspring. She stared at his calm halo of colors.
Richard’s light green eyes were sharp with both interest and a hint of wariness. His hair was short and bright white. He tucked his earpiece into his lab coat pocket. “Amy Shane, daughter of Henry Shane?”
Hearing her dad’s name from this man’s lips shot anger through her. “Well, at least you remember your victims’ names.”
His white eyebrows rose, and he almost looked amused. “You’ve come to accuse me?” He had a languorous, almost theatrical way of speaking. “Well, I suppose I was, in part, to blame. But I was a victim as much as anyone else. Magnus, you can release her.”
Yeah, like she was going to believe he was a victim. The guy holding on to her finally released her. She crossed her arms in front of her. “I’ve come to find out what you put in our parents that made them crazy. Because it’s in us, too.”
He smiled. “Funny you should come here. I was about to go looking for you. All of you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve been working on the antidote.”
Could it be that easy? No, nothing was that easy.
He stepped aside, gesturing for her to go in. She did, taking in the narrow hallway that stretched left and right, with an exterior wall comprised mostly of glass that looked out into yet another courtyard. A black pond was the centerpiece, with junglelike growth around it.
He led her to the right, where a small sitting area was intimately lit by small, silver lights that dangled from long cords. He pressed his hands together and bowed toward her, then gestured for her to take a seat. “May I get you something? I have lychee tea shipped in from China. Or perhaps a soda?”