Lucas shot her a wary look. “It just sounds too easy. There’s no way we can just waltz in like that. They know we have you, Mari, yet they’re still trying to bring us into a confrontation. They have something we don’t know about.”
“He’s right.” Aaron seemed on the verge of panic. “You think they won’t have thought of this already? They’ve planned this far, you know damn well they’ll figure out a way to separate us.”
Mari’s jaw clenched. “Then I freeze regardless. Just trust me. Even if it’s just me, I can take them out as long as I’m fully charged.” She gave Duncan a smile.
He didn’t return it. “I have a couple of guns. Get packed. We leave in half an hour.”
Chapter Twelve
Emma carefully rolled up another sketch she’d done while staying at the cabin in between sleep and training sessions. She slipped it into a side pouch in her duffle bag, which held the few items she had bought or acquired since the Boston attack. Turning, she leaned over the room’s desk for one of the remaining drawings, trying to ignore the emotions that threatened to spill out of her eyes. I had no idea Shawn was going to kiss me. It wasn’t my damned fault. And I pushed him away! How could Isaac act like such a fucking child? This is stupid as all hell.
Picking up the closest sketch, one of Laska, she stared at it, brow furrowing when her eyes caught a mistake between the dog’s eye and ear.
Part of her yearned to go to Isaac, ignore the tension and fear building as the rest of the group packed to leave for Nevada. Worry clawed at her, and it was all she could muster to stay in the room she shared with him, putting away her final belongings, stuffing them in on top of his. He’ll talk to me eventually. But then what? We talk things over in front of everyone else, while we drive to certain death? A fierce anxiety leapt forth, and her hands hesitated to roll up the sketch.
Breathing in deeply, she collected the rest of their things, zipped up her bag, and shouldered the strap.
A soft knock sounded at the door. Blinking, she narrowed her eyes. “What?”
The handle turned, and Shawn stepped inside. “I’m so sorry,” he said before she could speak. His voice was quiet. “I caused this.”
“Yes, you did. But I’m to blame as well.”
Silence. Emma hefted her bag and looked at the floor.
“There’s a lot of tension going on right now. In all of us.”
She barked out a laugh. “No shit.”
“I don’t want to come between you two. I just...I don’t know what came over me.”
Emma looked up at him, wincing at his injuries. Blood had dried from his lower lip, which had split but already closed. His left eye was half-swollen, and a dark bruise stretched along his jaw. “Your face.”
Shawn grinned. “It’s nothing. I’ll be fine and healed in an hour or so.”
“Why’d you let him do that? Why didn’t you stop him?”
He shrugged and leaned against the doorframe. “He deserved to let out a little frustration.”
“On your face?”
“Like I said, it was my fault anyway.”
“Right. Healthy way to solve things.”
“Look, Emma.” He shifted, clearly uncomfortable. “I wanted to apologize. I don’t know why I did what I did.”
“Of course you do.” She tilted her head, a deep sadness weighing on her soul. “You care about me because I tell you to. And it works because of my Evo power. That’s all. So technically, it’s my fault.”
“Stop blaming yourself for everything. Talk about unhealthy.”
Her jaw clenched. “Easy for you to say. You’re invincible.”
“I just got the shit beat out of me.”
Emma laughed and glanced up at him. “Yeah, you did. Told you not to underestimate Isaac.”
Shaking his head and grinning, Shawn straightened. “That you did.” He glanced down at her bag, catching sight of the rolled-up sketches. “What are those?”
“Oh. It’s nothing. Just drawings I do here and there.”
He reached forward, looking at her with questioning eyes. She shrugged and let him pull the closest paper from her bag. His eyes widened as he unrolled the drawing of Laska.
“Holy crap. This isn’t nothing, Emma. This is amazing. Look at the detail.” He brought the sketch closer to his face, nose nearly touching the paper. “I didn’t realize you were so talented.”
A blush warmed her cheeks. Because I kept that part of my life a secret while I seduced you. “Guess it never really came up.”
“Look at that. Just...wow. Wow.” He pulled another drawing from her bag, unrolling it faster than the last one. His eyes hardened, and he frowned. “Who’s this? He looks familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve seen him.”
Staring down at the drawing, Emma felt her stomach flip, and she swallowed. “That’s the prick that tried to rape me before Boston.” She reached forward and pulled it from his grasp. The paper was smooth beneath her fingers. Staring at Charlie’s eyes, she felt her throat close as a flood of memories slammed into her. The feel of the man’s hands on her, rough and unwanted. Pain when her back collided with a wall. Dumpsters in the yellow light of a single bulb. How the ground felt as he tore off her sweater, eyes hungry. Her cheeks warmed, and she swallowed, ignoring her heart thumping in her chest. “I know, it’s fucked up to draw, but it’s my release. My way of getting the pain out.” She started to roll it back up, but Shawn stopped her, fingers touching the back of her hand.
“Don’t. Let me see it again.”
“Uh...okay.” Emma released the drawing let him study it.
“What was the name he gave? In the bar?”
“Charlie. Why?”
Shawn’s face went slack. “Ah, shit.” He turned and hurried out of the room.
“Hey!” Emma followed him down the hallway, nearly colliding with Mari, who shot her a glare before disappearing into the kitchen, her own bag draped over a shoulder. “Shawn, dammit! What’s wrong? Will you talk to me?”
Instead of replying, he slammed out of the front door and ran up to the van where Duncan was loading three rifles and two pistols into the back. He frowned when he saw them approaching, his whole body tense.
“Is this the Charlie you’ve been talking about since your encounter in Brazil with Larissa? The one who has your wife, who’s teamed up with Jax?” Shawn shoved Emma’s drawing forward.
Duncan stared at the paper. “I haven’t seen him since he was eleven but...yes. Same eyes, same jaw.” He looked up. “What is this?”
Emma’s heart was racing. “That’s...that’s the man I told you attacked me. Before Shawn and the others saved Isaac and me from Jaxon.” Realization hit her hard. “It’s the same...oh, goddammit...” Reaching out, she grabbed the sketch from Shawn’s hand and tore it in half. The ripping sound shot through her ears, and she did it again, and again, until the drawing was nothing more than small pieces of paper. Her vision blurred. She crumpled it up into a tight ball and threw it to the ground.
Shawn rested a hand on her shoulder, calming her anger.
“He was stalking you.” Duncan stared at the paper in the grass. “Following you. Part of his ability is being able to sense others with powers. We were using him in case another Synth got out of hand or ran off. Charlie was supposed to be the one to track them down and subdue them.”
“Fine job he did stopping Jaxon,” Emma snapped. She ran a hand over her face and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry...”
Duncan shook his head. “No need to be. Tell me again what he said to you that night.”
“I don’t remember, not enough to be of help. Only that he—” She closed her eyes.
“What?” Shawn’s hand pulled her around to face him. “What is it?”
“He was using my power against me. I didn’t know it at the time, didn’t know about my own ability. I didn’t know...” She looked at Duncan. “You said he could mimic others’ powers. He was...” She grimaced and looked at the ground. “Trying to make me l
et him...”
Shawn cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry, Emma.” Duncan stepped on the destroyed drawing, flattening the ball.
“And now I have to face him again.” She suppressed a shudder, remembering his cold, dark green eyes and how they had bored into her.
“So let’s fuck him up.” Isaac stepped up on her left, surprising her. Emma stared at him until she couldn’t hold herself back, and she reached for him. He pulled her into a tight hug, one hand tangled in her hair. He kissed the side of her head.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled into his neck.
“Seriously?” Mari’s voice cut into Emma. “Do we have time for this crap?”
Duncan sighed. “We do need to leave. Where’s Lucas?”
Emma pulled away, glancing around. Aaron and Mari had arrived at the side door of the white van, tossing in bags of food and bottles of water. Isaac said nothing, but glared hard at Shawn, who scratched the back of his head and wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Lucas jogged up to them, a backpack thrown over one shoulder. “We ready?”
Nodding, Duncan slid into the driver’s seat without a word. His usually kind eyes were hard, his jaw set in a clench.
Emma squeezed Isaac’s hand, and then they hopped into the back seats of the van, adrenaline spiking, thoughts turned to the inevitable battle they were about to drive into.
—-
Jaxon fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. He watched Charlie throw another punch, and Michael's head snapped back, ponytail fluttering.
“What other Evos does Vance have?”
Michael laughed and spit a mouthful of blood onto the concrete floor. He said nothing.
Smiling, Jaxon leaned forward, the urge to use his telekinesis nearly overwhelming. Three wraiths he had summoned hovered nearby. He’d called them partially to scare Michael but also as a safety; Jaxon had commanded them to tear Michael to shreds as slowly as possible should he try to use his ability on either man.
Another punch, this time to the stomach, doubled Michael over. Charlie chuckled and grabbed him by the shirt, bringing them nearly nose to nose. “Tell me, you piece of shit.”
“Hit him harder.” Jaxon shuffled his feet, glaring at Michael and flexing his hands into fists. “Right in the—”
-I bless the raiiiiins down in Aaaaafricaaaa.-
“Knock it the fuck off!” Jaxon growled, slapping the side of his head with one hand.
Charlie glanced over his shoulder, irritation written all over his face. “The hell do you mean? This was your genius idea to—” Michael’s knee came up and connected with his groin. Charlie’s eyes widened, and he let out a grunt, dropping the other man and lowering to one knee.
Michael wasted no time. He lunged forward, wrapping his hands around Charlie’s throat, knocking him onto his back.
“Gee, thanks so much, Dad.” Jaxon drew in a deep breath and let it out through his nose. He watched the men before him struggle for a few seconds.
-Sorry. I’ve grown tired of trying to convince you to man the fuck up and stop hurting people.-
Reaching out with his mind, Jaxon snatched Michael and pulled him off of his associate. Charlie gasped and curled halfway into a ball on his side, an accusing look in his glare. Ignoring him, Jaxon slammed Michael against the far wall. “Not cool, man. Not cool.” He crossed his arms.
-Ask him if he likes the band Toto.-
“Do you like the band Toto?”
Michael stared at him. “...What?”
-Holy shit. I didn’t think you’d actually do it.-
Jaxon shrugged. “If you can’t beat ‘em...”
“The fuck is happening?”
-Ooh, tell him “I almost wore the same pants.”-
“I almost wore the same pants.”
Michael’s eyes snapped from him to the wraiths hovering nearby and back to Charlie, who was climbing to his feet.
-Okay, now say, “The earth started to shake, there was a tremendous roar. Iced tea from the ground to the heavens it soared.”-
“The earth started to shake...wait, what?”
-Oh, God, you’ve never heard of Tiger Clutch? The greatest band on the planet? I really did fail you as a father.-
“Look, I never—”
Charlie grabbed Jaxon in a rough grasp and pushed him away from Michael. Jaxon released his mind’s grip on the cowering man and instead reached out for Charlie’s spine.
“Don’t do that again,” Jaxon snarled. He immediately stumbled and was pushed through the door of the room they had been holding Michael in. The wraiths let out a wail in unison, swirling around to face the confrontation.
Slamming the door on phantoms and Michael, locking them in together, Charlie shoved Jaxon again. His eyes were wild, and he showed no indication of Jaxon’s hold on his life.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?” Spit flew from Charlie’s lips. He raised his hands to assault Jaxon again but instead froze.
Squeezing harder with his mind, Jaxon snarled. “I told you. Don’t fucking touch me.”
“Let me go.”
“No. I think I’ll kill you instead.”
“And risk losing against the Synths?” Charlie grimaced. “Their time stopper will ensure they slaughter you before you even—”
“I don’t care.”
“Let me go.”
-Kill him, Jax.-
“Shut up.”
Charlie’s body went limp as Jaxon’s hold dissipated. He rested his hands on his thighs, not tearing his gaze away.
“If you can’t fucking concentrate enough to interrogate someone, I don’t need you in the room with me. Got it?” Charlie straightened and rubbed the back of his neck where Jaxon’s invisible grip had been.
“I’m bored. And my dad won’t shut up.”
“All the more reason to keep you away from hostages we need alive right now.”
“Are you kidding me? You need me.”
“I don’t. Vance’s blood works against all powers of the mind, including Michael’s. True, your wraiths help up the scare factor, but let’s face it. Would they really have killed him if he had turned us on each other?”
“How should I know? I’ve never died before, asshole.”
-Oh, lucky you.-
Gritting his teeth, Jaxon let out a wordless cry. “If I could turn my dad off, I would, but I can’t, okay? How would you like it if someone kept talking and singing and yelling at you every waking moment of your life?”
Charlie stared at him. “It can’t seriously be that difficult to ignore him. You’re just batshit crazy.”
Jaxon released a shockwave from his core. It slammed into Charlie, knocking him back along with anything nearby that wasn’t bolted down. Stalking forward, he used his mind to fling him into the air and against the ceiling tiles. Dust and debris rained down to the floor, but he held Charlie up nearly twelve feet above him. “Now what? If I let you go, what is your shitty power going to do to save you? What is the blood from Vance you have smeared on your skin going to do to help you survive? Nothing. You’ll fall, you’ll be hurt, might even break a few vital bones, and then you’ll be nothing but bait for the Synths.”
Charlie struggled, fingers clawing at the ceiling for something to hold onto.
“But no,” Jaxon snarled. “I need you, apparently. Just realize that even if you think you might not need me, I can still kill you in a heartbeat.” He lowered Charlie slowly, taking his time until the man’s feet finally found purchase on the concrete floor.
“I told you.” Charlie’s breath wheezed in and out of his nose from the scare. “Batshit crazy.”
Jaxon grinned. “Good thing we’re on the same side, huh?”
—-
Shawn clenched his teeth as Duncan’s van rumbled to a stop on the shoulder of a desolate road. Silence reigned the moment the engine was cut. “We ready to do this?”
“Let me freeze.” Mari eyed the woods nearby with caution. “We can at least get to the lab unharmed tha
t way.”
Duncan shook his head. “We need you fully charged.”
Grinning, she said, “Like a battery.”
“That’s exactly what they want. To have you drained. If you freeze now, Aaron won’t be able to hear them, and we’ll waste your power.”
Shawn nodded, still keeping an eye on their surroundings, looking for sudden movement. “He’s right.”
“So, then what?” Emma leaned forward. “Just walk right in? Pray Jaxon doesn’t snap our necks where we stand?”
“Nice input,” Mari said softly. “Way to contribute.”
“Look, can you for once—”
Mari turned on her. “What’s that? Were you going to command me to do something? Kill myself? Turn on my family? Stay the fuck out of this!”
Emma threw up her hands from the back seat, frowning and glancing between Isaac and Shawn.
“Whoa.” Duncan put a hand on Mari’s arm. “The last thing we need right now is to turn on each other. We’re in this together. Now act like it.”
Scowling, Mari glared at Emma.
“I can’t hear anyone other than us.” Aaron was running two fingers along his facial scar, eyes distant.
“You can’t hear everything, Aaron.” Duncan slouched in the driver’s seat. “Back at the lab you were clocked at a quarter-mile, a little more on good days. Your training might have increased how far you can hear, but it can’t be that much more.” He stared forward. “We have to do it. We have to just walk in. They have Claire. That much we know is true. I spoke to her.”
Lucas pushed his sleeves up, exposing his forearms. “So we go in and face Shawn’s brother and Charlie at the same time. Two Jaxons.”
Shawn sighed. “We have to face them eventually. Right? Now that we know they’ve teamed up, we know that they’re coming for us. If we run now, we’re just prolonging the inevitable and ensuring the little Synth kids are killed along with his wife.” He gestured at Duncan. “If we don’t end it here, now, Jaxon and Charlie will be free to destroy whole cities. If we run now, we fuck over the whole world.”
Grim Vengeance Page 14