The Anomaly Trilogy Boxed Set

by Hackett, Anna

  After a quick shower, she dragged on her shirt and shorts and went looking for him. She knew him well enough to know exactly where he was. Leaving the cottage, she followed the path up to the lab. Night had fallen and the stars were a bright sprinkle in the sky. The moon was full enough to cast a bright light over Haven. She paused at one spot that was a good vantage point for a large portion of the island.

  The perfect crescent of white-sand beach reflected the light. Cate was surprised to find she wanted to swim there. Maybe she could convince Gage to skinny dip with her. A smile on her face, she studied the lights dotted amongst the trees. One house was perched high on the tallest hill. Walls of glass that faced the ocean would offer a wonderful view.

  The houses weren’t too close together, either, so she guessed the anomalies here had some space and privacy, but community and support when they needed it. And despite Leven’s man breaching the island, she knew it didn’t happen often. Callahan appeared to live to make sure the people here were safe.

  It seemed like a good place to call home.

  Feeling a little unsettled, she wandered into the lab. She found Gage, once again in his lab coat, bent over a keyboard. Images filled the large screen and every few seconds he stopped to stare at them then tap something into the computer. He was completely oblivious to her presence, so she took the time to look at him.

  Solid. That was the first word that came to mind. Strong as granite. That raw-boned face and rangy body were a temptation she didn’t want to ignore.

  She moved closer, noting the serious look on his face. His brows were drawn together in a fierce scowl. Then she noticed he’d only dressed in his shorts. The lab coat was pulled on over a bare chest.

  She felt a rush of desire. Moving behind him, she slid her arms around him. “You, Dr. Walker, are one prime hunk.”

  He started under her touch but then leaned into her. His hands squeezed hers. “You should be sleeping.”

  Cate slid her hands under the coat, over hard pecs. “Come back to bed?”

  “I want to.” He kept one of her hands tucked in his and with the other, pulled a stool closer. “But I need to talk with you first.”

  She let him guide her to the chair. She didn’t like the look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

  “I kept thinking about the test earlier. I’d made a recording and I emailed it to a friend I trust in Berlin. I asked him to translate it.”

  She brushed her hair off her forehead, suddenly feeling cold. “I still don’t understand how I can speak a language I don’t know.”

  He swiveled the computer screen and pressed a button. “Watch.”

  A recording of her lying on the bed filled the screen. As she watched, she saw her body bow back and then heard the words spilling out of her. She pressed an unsteady hand to the base of her throat. “I can’t explain it.”

  Gage looked grim as he stopped the playback. “You’re talking about tests on human subjects. Limbs being severed. People kept in tanks of freezing water. People being cut open and experimented on.”

  She swallowed. “What I saw in Leven’s labs.”

  Gage shook his head, his mouth tight. “I don’t think so.”

  She frowned. “What else could it be?”

  “You’re reciting the information as though you’re running the experiments. Using scientific terms.”

  Cate pressed a hand to her stomach.

  Gage continued, “Earlier you mentioned a substance they were testing.”

  “Right. Polygel or something like that.”

  “It’s called Polygal. It was developed by the Nazis during the Second World War. It was made from beet and apple pectin and supposed to speed up clotting so their soldiers had a better chance of surviving certain wounds.”

  “I don’t understand. What does this have to do with Leven?”

  “The Nazis tested Polygal on concentration camp inmates. The man in charge was a Dr. Sigmund Rascher. He injected the inmates then amputated their limbs.”

  Bile was a sharp, stinging taste in her throat. Those poor people. “Leven’s recreating the Nazi experiments.”

  “No. Polygal doesn’t work. It never worked. You also mentioned low temperature experiments. The Nazis conducted them, trying to find ways to help their pilots survive if they crashed in the North Sea.”

  Cate brushed a shaking hand up her now-cold arm. “I don’t understand, Gage.”

  “You said your grandmother was German and a soul stealer.”

  “Yes.” The muscles in Cate’s stomach tightened until they hurt.

  “What do you know about her parents? Your great-grandparents.”

  She shrugged. “She didn’t talk of them much. They were killed by the Nazis when she was little. She was adopted by another family and they immigrated to Australia.”

  Gage lifted a pen, staring at it like it held the meaning of life.

  She pressed a hand to his arm. “Tell me.”

  “The memories of these experiments aren’t yours.”

  She blinked slowly, trying to piece everything together. Nothing he said made sense. “What do you mean?”

  His hands cupped her shoulders, smoothing over her chilled skin. “Have you heard of genetic memory?”

  “You’re talking about instincts? Like baby sea turtles knowing to head to the ocean when they hatch.”

  “Sort of. Instinct is the inclination of a living organism toward a particular behavior. Most people believe genetic memory is a memory present at birth that exists in the absence of experience. It’s incorporated into the genome over long spans of time.”

  She watched him. “You don’t believe it?

  “I do. But some radical scientists believe there’s another type of genetic memory. One that’s more exact. Where specific memories of an individual can be passed onto a child.”

  Unbelievable. Her brain churned, putting it all together. “You’re saying I have memories of the Nazi experiments passed on by an ancestor?”

  “I believe you’re a descendant of Dr. Sigmund Rascher.”

  She stood so quickly she knocked the stool over. She backed away from him. “No.”

  “I think you have his knowledge of all his experiments. Including how to turn a human into an anomaly.”

  Cate shook her head. She felt like the floor was undulating beneath her. She grabbed the edge of a bench. She couldn’t have evil encoded in her DNA. “This is crazy.”

  “Leven’s looking for a way to create anomalies. That’s what he wants from you.”

  She turned away. Wanted to run and never stop.

  “We don’t know how Rascher did it. All we know is that prior to the war, there were very few anomalies. After the war, there were thousands.”

  Frozen, Cate slowly turned around. “Leven wants me so he can create his own private army of anomalies.”

  Gage nodded. “An army he doesn’t need to beat, torture and chain to do his bidding. He doesn’t want your abilities, Cate. He wants your inherited memories. Memories encoded in your blood.”

  On shaky legs she made her way back to the stool and dropped down. “I’m descended from a madman. A man who killed thousands.”

  Gage dropped down in front of her. “You’re you. Nothing like Rascher.”

  “I’ll never escape Leven.” Horrifed realization flooded through her. “How can I get rid of memories in my very blood and bone?” She wrapped her arms around herself.

  Gage shook her lightly. “We’ll find a way. Together.”

  She knew he meant it. That he wouldn’t stop trying to find a way. But this could be a problem even the brilliant Dr. Walker couldn’t solve.

  She let him pull her into his arms. He was so warm but even with his arms around her, she was still cold. Felt like he was slipping away from her.

  Leven would never stop coming. Staying here would put Haven and its residents in danger. Gage in danger. She gripped him hard, pressing her face into his neck to hide her tears.

  The only way she could t
hink of to hide the dangerous knowledge in her was if she was dead.

  ***

  Gage sat in Cal’s office, tapping one foot against the floor. Cal sat behind his desk, hands steepled and face grim. Mara stood behind him, anger simmering in her green eyes.

  “How to make anomalies is locked in Cate’s head?” Cal’s frowned deepened. “Jesus.”

  Gage saw Cate flinch. The move so tiny the others hadn’t noticed. She stood at the open French doors leading onto the deck, her shoulders hunched. But Gage didn’t think she was looking at the magnificent view.

  “But Leven doesn’t have a way to access them, right?” Mara asked.

  “Not yet.” Gage didn’t take his eyes off Cate.

  The memory of their stolen hours together felt like a lifetime ago. God, it had felt so right to hold her in his arms. She fit there like she’d been designed for him.

  Guilt still chewed on Gage. She was still vulnerable, tough, but still fragile. He shouldn’t ever have touched her. He shouldn’t be thinking of how much he wanted to make love to her again.

  But he felt like she was slipping away from him. Even with her in the room, it was like she was a hundred kilometers away.

  He forced his gaze to Cal. “Eventually Leven will find a way. He has some good scientists working for him—”

  Cate spun. “Don’t call those Frankensteins good.”

  Damn. Bad choice of words. “They might be morally corrupted, but they’re geniuses. Experts in their field. It’s only a matter of time before they discover a way to access genetic memories.” When she turned away again, he looked at Cal and Mara.

  “Can you do it?” Cal asked. “Can you access the memory?”

  Gage opened his mouth but Cate surged forward.

  “No.” She stormed out onto the deck.

  With a grim look at the others, Gage followed her outside. The sun was high in the sky, the morning already turning hot and humid.

  Cate stood at the railing, her hands gripping the wood until her knuckles turned white.

  “Talk to me.” He wrapped his arms around her. Needed to hold her.

  She pulled away, a knife to his heart.

  “No one should have the knowledge.” The wind whipped at the blunt edges of her hair. “Not Leven, not Callahan…not you.”

  “Okay.”

  A crease marred her forehead. “It’s that easy for you? Knowledge you spent a chunk of your life working to uncover and you’d just let it go?”

  He cupped her jaw. So soft for someone so strong. “I want you to be happy. For some reason, that’s become more vital than a lot of stuff I thought was important.”

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever be happy.”

  Her words caused an ache under his heart. The time he’d spent loving her, discovering her body and what pleasured her had been some of the happiest moments of his life. He’d hoped she’d felt the same way.

  “If you still want to go home, if that’s what would make things right for you, we’ll make it happen.” It’d shatter him to watch her walk away, but he wanted to see her smile, see her eyes alight with pleasure, not mired in misery.

  She ran a hand through her hair and exhaled. “Can you delete these memories from my head?”

  “I need to do more research. Run some tests.” God, he wished he could give her the answer she wanted.

  She searched his face. “That’s a no. Gage, we both know nothing will deter Leven. He’s driven to create his army…driven by the dark things that have rotted him inside.” Her gaze drifted out to the ocean. “I have to leave.”

  Gage grabbed her arms. “We’ll find a way. Stay here, I’ll protect you.”

  Her lips trembled. “Stay hidden? Trapped?”

  Just as she’d been when Leven had taken her.

  No, damn it, it wasn’t the same. Frustration was a fist to Gage’s gut. But he knew it was no way to live. “If it means you survive, yes. It’s not so bad here…”

  “He’s already penetrated the island’s security once.” When she shivered, Gage knew she was thinking of the man she’d killed. “Leven will do it again. People will get hurt, killed. Maybe Mara or Bay Archer. The kids?” She lifted a hand to his face, tracing down his cheek. “I have to go.”

  Everything in him rebelled. “No.”

  “Listen. I’ve been thinking about it all morning. I need to go where no one knows where I am.”

  That included him. “No.” He shook her lightly, desperate for her to listen to him.

  A sob caught in her chest and she pressed her face to his shirt. “You’ve made me feel so protected. Your belief in me gave me the courage to believe in myself.”

  Her lips pressed to his in a kiss that was pure goodbye. She was pulling away from him, turning to mist in his hands.

  When she spoke again her voice was soft. “I wouldn’t survive if you were hurt because of me. I’d go on a soul stealing rampage that would kill so many.”

  “I won’t let you go. I know I can find a way to mask your genetic memory. I just need time.”

  A sad smile. She squeezed his hand. “That’s the one thing I don’t have. I wish we were back at your cottage.” Her voice turned husky. “Just the two of us. With all the time in the world to explore, taste, touch.”

  Even with all the emotion churning in him, desire shot through it. “Cate.” One word filled with everything he felt.

  She pressed a finger to his lips. “I wish we could explore what’s between us—”

  Gage blinked.

  He was alone on the deck. Just the sound of the birds in the trees.

  He spun. Where had Cate gone? He felt a little dizzy. Had he been dreaming?

  But he still felt the slight tingle of her touch on his lips, the taste of her in his mouth. Disorientation gave way to gut-churning dread.

  He raced inside. Mara was perched on the arm of Cal’s chair, their heads close together. They both looked up.

  “She’s gone.” Panic licked his insides.

  Mara stood. “She needs time, Gage, it’s a lot to—”

  He shook his head. “No. She was in front of me, touching me, then the next instant she was gone.”

  Cal surged to his feet. “Fuck. Leven’s here and he’s got a fucking time thief.”

  Leven had Cate. The words reverberated in Gage’s head.

  The phone on Cal’s desk rang. He snatched it up. Cursed. Then he looked at Gage. “The time thief we brought in last week—”

  “The girl?”

  Cal gave a terse nod. “She was a plant. She works for Leven. She killed three members of the security team and shut down part of the island security.”

  Gage closed his eyes. Leven had Cate again. The bastard would torture her, chain her, cut her open if he thought it would get him the information he wanted.

  Mara pressed a hand to Gage’s arm. “We’ll find her.”

  He nodded. Heard Cal on the phone barking orders for a team to sweep the island.

  “They can’t have gone far. A time thief can’t steal time indefinitely.”

  No, but Gage was all too aware that they could steal it long enough to carry one small woman off the island.

  They’d find her. He had to believe that.

  Because he’d only just realized she was a part of him. A part he couldn’t live without.

  Chapter Nine

  Gage ran through the trees.

  Cal and Mara were on one side of him, Bay and Sean Archer on the other. Haven’s security team—a mix of anomalies and humans—followed behind them.

  His mind whirled like a chaotic storm but he forced himself to stay focused. All he thought of was Cate.

  He prayed they reached her in time. If Leven forced her to kill again…

  Gage was deathly afraid it would break her. For good.

  Suddenly black-clad figures poured out of the trees ahead. Gunfire ripped across the clearing.

  “Down.” Mara pushed Gage to the ground.

  Damn it. Bullets hit the dirt beside
them and they scrambled for cover behind nearby trees.

  “Leven’s brought a whole little army,” Mara bit out.

  Gage peeked around the tree. He had to fight the urge to jump up and run. He wanted Cate, he didn’t want to be pinned here like this. The Haven team had taken cover where they could, many returning fire. “This is a ploy to slow us down.”

  “Yep.” Cal appeared, like a shadow. “We aren’t going to let Leven destroy our home or take Cate.” Cal shoved a handgun into Gage’s hand. “I know you were trained how to use this.”

  Gage nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  Cal gave Mara a quick kiss then moved along the line talking to his team. “Give me cover fire. Once I attack, all anomalies move forward. Humans, stay back, guns up.”

  He rose and strode forward toward Leven’s men.

  Jesus, he looked like some dark, avenging god. Gage shook his head and gave him cover fire. Nearby, Sean and Bay Archer trained their weapons on the enemy below. Both had deadly aim.

  Cal moved closer to Leven’s men, raising his hands to his temples. Then he stopped, his stance wide.

  One by one they started falling, writhing on the ground. Their screams of pain echoed around them. Gage’s chest hitched. It had been a while since he’d seen the power his friend wielded, and Gage was horrified and awed at the sight. It was power Gage had given him.

  Beside him, Mara and Bay jumped up and raced down the slope, followed by other time thieves, mind raiders and soul stealers. Those of Leven’s men too far from Cal’s mental blast raced forward to meet them.

  But the gifts of Haven’s anomalies—ones they had often cursed and hated—were too strong. Gage watched Mara raid a man’s mind, his weapon dropping to the ground as he fell to his knees, his face and mind blank. Cal was still using his deadly skills to subdue the last of the attackers.

  Gage blinked a few times, feeling as though his eyes were playing tricks on him. More of Leven’s army lay on the ground, disarmed and shackled. He realized the Haven time thieves had used their abilities to take down more of the men.

  He blinked again and saw some of Leven’s men free and some of Haven’s anomalies lying still. Damn it. Time thieves fighting time thieves.

  The doctor in him wanted to run over to the wounded. He watched Sean start toward the group, his rifle held high, shooting as he went. Gage stood, ready to follow.