“I love you.”
“God, babe… I love you so much. I can’t imagine doing this without you.” He glanced around the room. “Lots of memories here in such a short period of time.”
“Yeah.” She rose to her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
“I’m going to make one more round and make sure we have everything of ours and…umm…Quinn’s.”
“Thank you.”
Jake smiled, then walked around the room. Josie refocused on all the paintings, being careful not to harm a single one, easing them into the box. She wiped the tears away that started trickling down her cheeks. Her hand went to her throat, rubbing the diamond, leaving Josie to feel like Quinn was standing beside her.
Staring down at the mat, Gunther’s hands rested firmly on his hips. He felt as if he would be leaving Quinn behind, but he had no choice. He knelt and folded the quilts, leaving them in a neat stack.
“Is that all you’re going to do, or are you going to help me. You know, I’m kind of busy. Taking care of three kids and a fussy baby, pregnant, trying to pack all our belongings…”
Gunther curled his lips into his mouth and stood, knees cracking. He glanced at Cora, drawing in a deep breath. “I, alone, didn’t make that happen. You were there just as much as I was.”
“Correction. I was there much more than you were.”
“I’ve apologized. What more do you want from me?”
She pointed a finger at him. “Don’t! You know exactly what it is I want.”
He realized the kids were staring at them. Even Grey had quieted down. “Let’s do this another time. Show me what you need help with.”
“I can handle it,” she snapped, then turned to walk away.
Gunther grabbed her arm, a harsh shiver wracking Cora’s body. He spun her around. “Stop being obstinate.”
Tears formed in her eyes, making her struggle to hold back everything she was feeling and wanting to say. Cora feared the unknown. In addition, there were just so many obscurities lingering.
“I’ve asked you not to touch me.”
Dropping his hand to his side, he had to look away because the pain in her eyes felt like a knife twisting in his gut. Without another word, he walked past her, picked up Grey, and began packing more of their items.
I stood in our doorway, bags slung over my shoulders, looking back at our room. It was bizarre having such an emotional attachment to the place. A lot happened there, and just walking away from it-
“Henry?”
“Yeah?”
“What about the graves?” Elaina asked, stepping into my line of sight.
“We’ll come back and visit.”
“I feel like we’re leaving them behind. I imagine they’ll move the bodies if they want to continue to use this as a school.”
“I know. If we’re able to get back to New York, maybe we can have them exhumed and rebury them before anything happens.”
“Maybe.” She reached out and touched the stubble on my cheek. “I can see the worry in your eyes, lover.”
“That noticeable, yeah?” She nodded. “It’s just the fact that we don’t have a choice, along with no evidence of there actually being a camp. And I can’t have you out on the road right now. We have to follow along. I’m just afraid all of us will be in jeopardy. With so much at stake, I’m stressed, love.”
The gentle smile lifting her lips and the lovely glow about her face warmed me. She placed her hand on my cheek. “I have a good feeling about this. If we can get back to my parents’ house-”
“We need proper ID to show addresses.”
Her face dropped. “So I can’t have their house?”
“I don’t know… I don’t know, love. We’ll get there one way or another.” I let out a sigh and glanced around again. “So much has happened in this room.”
A little devious grin lifted her lips. “A lot of great sex.”
“Absolutely.” I chuckled and looked down at Elaina’s swollen belly. “God, I hope this is the right decision. I just want safety for us.”
“I trust you. And if things go wrong, I trust you will take care of us.”
“Thank you for believing in me when I don’t even believe in myself. I worry they’ll find out about us.”
“We have no choice but to take the risk. We’ll do whatever we can to keep your secret safe. Let’s take a step in the direction of a real home.”
Somehow, she made me feel better about our predicament.
After dropping Elaina off in the cafeteria, I packed up the weapons, evenly distributing everything between both Gunther’s and my trunk. As I pushed them out of the room, I saw my mum’s door was open a crack. I left the trunks in the middle of the hall and leaned into her room. She was gazing out the window with her arms crossed, rubbing them as if she were trying to stay warm.
Stepping in, I asked, “You chilled, Mum? Can I get you something?”
She turned around and smiled. “I’m fine, son. Thank you.”
“Do you need any help packing?”
She shook her head. “No. I only have a few things.” She picked up a bag, so I reached out and took it from her. “My son, the gentleman.”
I shrugged. “Well, you know… What can I say?” The corner of my mouth lifted into a half-smirk.
She stared at me for a moment. “I’m having trouble reading you.”
“Yeah? Elaina said she could see worry in my eyes.”
“Yes, but you’ve got this.”
Did I have control of the situation? Nope. No way. No how. Fuck me. I wanted them to believe I could make the right choices. The whispers of doubt were always so loud and clear. Someone had to believe in me.
I cleared my throat. “How about we get out of here? Maybe we’ll be able to get back to New York and you can finally have a proper home.”
“I would love to have that with you.”
“Me, too. Let’s go get Elaina.”
When Elaina, my mum, and I made it outside, there were already people being loaded into the trucks.
Elaina touched my arm. “I’m going to go see the graves really quick.”
“All right, love. I’ll be there in a moment.”
After watching her walk off, I headed to the truck. I nodded to the soldier standing guard and passed my trunk, then our bags and linens up to the next soldier, keeping my pack on.
“Any weapons to declare?” he asked.
We stared at one another for a moment. “The trunk. Then I have my Sig and a knife on me.”
“You will need to be unarmed.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “I’d feel more comfortable if I could keep at least my handgun and my knife on me. I’ll let you take the trunk and hold it until we leave.”
“I’m sorry, sir. Weapons are not allowed on civilians.”
The comment made me want to show him just how much of a civilian he was. Indignant, I asked, “What if we get attacked? How will I protect my family?”
“You will have to trust us with that task.”
With a shake of my head, I glanced to my left at my mum. She pulled me aside. “Son, this is no longer your fight. It’s on them.”
“I can’t… I can’t stand by knowing I’m unarmed. I’m probably a better shot than most of their trained marksmen.”
“I don’t doubt that and I have seen what you can do, but you’re going to have to relinquish some control in order for this to happen. Think of it as protecting us by allowing-”
I held up my hand. “Mum, you don’t understand. I need a controlled environment or I’ll tweak.”
“Listen to me… I trust you. Elaina trusts you. We know if anything were to happen, you would do everything in your power in order to keep us safe. You’re a quick thinker, strong, and capable of fighting hand-to-hand combat.” She leaned in close. “You could disable and unarm any one of those soldiers before they even knew what was happening.”
That was the absolute truth, but it didn’t make me feel any better. I
sighed. “Shit. I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I, but you have this handled.”
I reached behind myself and pulled my Sig out, then unloaded it. Reaching up my shirt, I grabbed my knife, handing both to the officer.
“Thank you, sir. Open your trunk and put them in. We will keep your weapons safe and secure until you are able to leave.”
After getting everything situated, I turned to my mum again. She had a smile plastered on her face. “What?” I asked.
“You… I am so proud of you.” Although she sounded strong and firm, she had tears in her eyes.
“Thanks, Mum. That means a lot.”
The emotions raced through me, seeing her feel so much pride. Smiling, she grabbed my arm. “Come on. Let’s go have a quick chat.”
We walked to the back corner of the school so I could keep an eye on Elaina. She touched the crosses, and the worry grew in my chest. “Mum, what if this is a bad decision? What if they know or find out about us? What if this is…some sort of ploy or trap or something? What if I’m endangering everyone, including my unborn?”
“Henry, you are doing the best you can in our predicament. I know you’ll do your best to protect us.” She placed her palm on my cheek, wiping away the tears. “You have to trust yourself.”
“That’s half the problem. I don’t. I never know when my demons will be ready for another round of ‘Hey, let’s fuck with Henry’. I hate walking into a situation blind and unprepared.” I shook my head. “Elaina said she trusted me to do well by her and the baby.”
“As do I, and I believe the rest of this community does, as well. You need to have faith. It’s time for us to move forward and get Elaina the proper medical care she needs.”
“I’m scared.” I reached up to my face, wiping at the tears.
“It’s okay to be scared. That’s what makes you stronger.” She wrapped her arms around me and held me until I calmed down.
Gunther came up to us, Grey propped on his shoulder. “We’re ready to roll.”
“Thanks. I need to get Elaina.” I nodded my head toward the grave.
“I should take Grey over there to say goodbye.”
“I’ll go with. Would you like to come, Mum?”
“I would.”
I took her hand and we walked over. Standing behind Elaina, I wrapped my arms around her. She drew her hands up, placing them on my arms. “How are you doing, my love?”
“I’m sad.”
“I know. I am, too.”
Gunther set Grey down, holding his hand as he wobbled up to Quinn’s cross and touched the lettering. “That’s your mummy, Grey bear. She says hi to you every day from heaven.” Gunther pointed to the sky. Grey mimicked Gunther’s movement, looking up and pointing his finger. Elaina put her hand over her mouth as she watched. “That’s right. She’s up there watching you and loves you so much. Do you know who else loves you? You have a baby sister in heaven, too.” Grey squealed. “A sissy just like Kate and Callie. Know who else loves you?”
“Da-da!” Grey yelled.
“Yes, I do!” Gunther picked him up and knelt in front of the cross. “Now say goodbye to mummy and sissy’s cross. We’ll see it again someday.”
Grey waved at the cross and whispered, “Bye-Bye.” His soft voice nearly shattered all of us.
“Henry, do you want to go see Sophie’s?” Elaina asked. I shook my head. “You sure? I don’t want you to regret it.”
“I have plenty of regrets and, I assure you, this won’t be one of them. Are you ready?” She nodded.
The anger I felt toward Sophie may have not been justified, but I was still hurt beyond measure from her lies and betrayal of my trust.
We turned around. Sergeant Cane was standing at the corner of the school, drying his face. “You folks ready to head out?”
“Yeah. We just needed a minute to say goodbye to our loved ones,” I said and took Elaina’s hand in mine, walking at her slow pace.
“I understand. I lost my family, too.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mum said.
We made our way to the trucks. “Thank you. I had a three-year-old who was my life. Died clutched in her mother’s arms. I couldn’t get to them in time.” He cleared his throat and waved us to the trucks. “All right. Hop in and we’ll take off.”
Once everyone was loaded in, the trucks turned around and we headed away from the school. I watched as it became smaller and smaller, then disappeared. From that moment forward, I knew the life we had settled into would change tremendously.
Chapter 22
-East End of London-
Erik placed Roger’s laptop on the bench as he sat in the lab. Even though Drew’s and the recruits’ signals remained stagnant, he was still leery about Roger’s whereabouts. He turned and focused into the lenses of the microscope.
“Bloody hell,” Tess whispered from across the lab.
“Did you find something?” Erik asked, looking at the strands under the lenses.
“I think so. The antiserum seems to be working!”
Erik looked up. Just before he turned to Tess, he noticed Luke’s and Gunther’s dots moving west at a steady pace.
“They’re moving,” he whispered. “They are moving, Tess!”
“Huh?” She stood and went to Erik.
“Luke and Gunther,” he said, pointing to the screen.
She rested her palms on the bench top and watched the dots come to a stop. She grabbed a pen and a notepad, jotting down the coordinates. “I’m going to check these and see what is around there.”
Tess jogged to the desk in Erik’s office, which was a small room located inside the lab. The computer was set up to be able to access all government documentation from the UK and the US. As per Roger’s orders, Kellan had hacked into the systems so he could keep an eye on their back and forth chatter. Roger wanted to be ready if they became suspicious of his actions.
After plugging in the coordinates, Tess tapped her fingers on the blotter, impatiently waiting for the results. Erik joined her. “Camp North in North Carolina,” Tess said. “It’s a military camp for survivors.”
“Suffering hell,” Erik muttered, stopping to look at the computer screen.
Tess pulled up the documents. “Okay… It states they’re gathering reconnaissance, then checking addresses to see if the survivors’ previous residences are viable.”
“Right.” Erik grabbed the stack of folders from the desk and sifted through them.
“What are you looking for?”
“Luke’s address. If they’re checking for viable addresses, I have a feeling they’ll be transporting people back to their homes. They won’t want permanent camps set up, or people milling around areas they are cleaning up.” At the very end of Luke’s folder was a sticky note with an address written in Kellan’s writing. “This had to be where Kellan went in the beginning when Luke didn’t comply. Plug this address into their databases.”
After a few taps on the keyboard, Tess said, “Cooper.”
Erik looked at the note again. “Elaina Cooper’s parents. There’s a small notation next to her name…” He pulled it closer to his tired eyes. “The fiancée. Verified by Sophie Jackson. I bet they’ll head there if they can. I need to get a hold of Xander Meade. New York has been online for months.”
“Who’s that?”
“An associate of mine from New York. He has done some work for the program and I need to see if I can get his help.”
“Does he live here?”
“Yes. He was given ample warning.”
“I see,” Tess said, nodding.
Eric dropped into a chair next to the desk and dialed Xander’s number. After one ring, he answered. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Mr. Lab Rat himself.”
The gruff New York accent always made Erik nervous, but he worked hard not to show it. “Xander, I need your services.”
“Hmm… Not sure why I would want to help you again. I’ve seen what you’ve done. I’ve lost m
ore than I care to think about.”
“This is for something good. I’ll make it worth your while. It will be a long-term job which will pay more than ever before.”
“You’re speaking my language…”
“I need you to keep tabs on someone in the States. I have a feeling he will be moving north soon.”
“Keep talking.”
“Can we meet? We can go over the files together, working out what we need to do.”
“Suppose we could. If I agree to do the job, I want fifty in US dollars upfront.”
“Consider it done.”
“Café down the street from the facility. Be there at eight tomorrow morning.”
When the call disconnected, Erik looked at his phone and shook his head. He sat back for a moment.
“And?” Tess asked.
“I’m going to go meet with Xander at the café in the morning.”
Bracing her small frame on the desktop with her elbow, she rested her chin in her palm. “And if you don’t come back?”
“He’s not that bad. He’s much less harmful than he acts. Let’s check your findings.”
Erik rose from the chair and headed out of his office and straight to her bench. After he focused on the sample, he sat straight.
“I added the antiserum to the sample and the more I did, the more they shut down,” Tess explained.
“Amazing,” he whispered. He gazed up at Tess. “Thank you. This may make everything right. We have more samples like these?”
“Ten, but we have three more bags of blood.”
“Tomorrow, run a repeat on those, then clean half of them. I want to know with absolute certainty that this process will work. If we have a failure at all, we will need to adjust and repeat until it’s acceptable. Since our supplies are limited, we have to be careful, and I’ll need to make sure we have enough antiserum for multiple courses.”
“On it.”
“If things go well, we can take blood from Luke prior to treatment and use the virus in his to develop more.”
“Perfect!”
Erik took one last peek into the microscope before standing. “I’m going gather what I need for my meeting with Xander in the morning. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Blind Faith (Shattered Lives, Book Four) Page 20