The Other Morgan (Parallel Series, Book 5)

by Christine Kersey

  I shook my head. “I can’t just hide for the rest of my life. That’s no way to live. I don’t want Amy to have to live that way.” I swallowed the guilt that thickened my throat. “Amy was getting really upset, crying all the time, saying how much she wanted to go home. I knew I had to do something.” My gaze skittered away from Nick’s as my lies deepened. “Falcon knew someone he trusted implicitly, and made arrangements for Amy to stay there.” I forced my eyes to meet Nick’s. “Falcon wants to fight too. He agrees with me that things need to change. I . . . I told him about you and how committed you are to this fight. He convinced me to bring him here. To help.”

  The lying made me uncomfortable—a bad sign of things to come—and I grasped onto a truth. “Did you see the video we put out last night?”

  Nick nodded.

  “That was Falcon’s idea.” My face brightened. “He’s good with computers.” I watched Nick’s face and tried to prepare myself to hear his accusation that I was lying.

  “You’ve done well, Morgan,” he said instead, then he stood. “Why don’t you rest in your room while I have a chat with this Falcon.

  A tentative smile lifted my lips. He believed me. I nodded, then stood. “He’s a good person.” I laughed. “Don’t be too hard on him.”

  Nick smiled, but made no such promise.

  I left his office, heading straight to the room I’d shared with Amy. After closing the door behind me, I sank onto the bed, exhausted by all that had happened that day. As much as I wanted to shower then go to bed, I was anxious about how Falcon’s interview with Nick would go.

  Would our stories gel? Would Nick believe him? Or would Falcon confess our real plans, getting us both kicked out—which would lead to facing the consequences of failure?

  Rigid with worry, I sat on the bed and waited. When a knock sounded on the door a while later, a small cry burst from my mouth, then I hurried to the door to find Nick and Falcon standing on the threshold.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  One look at their faces, and I could tell their conversation had gone well.

  “I just wanted to let you know that Falcon will be staying in the room across from yours, Morgan.” Nick smiled. “If you wouldn’t mind, please show him around, and then make yourselves at home.”

  I thought about Scott, one of Nick’s men—the one who’d tried to help Amy and me after the fiasco on Saturday. “Is Scott okay? Amy and I saw him get captured.”

  Grimness replaced the open smile on Nick’s face. “I haven’t heard from him.” Nick placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s nothing short of a miracle that you and Amy weren’t captured too.”

  A shiver of dread cascaded over me as I nodded. “I know.” What he didn’t know was that we had been captured. Not by regular Enforcers, but by Secretary Hart.

  Nick took his hand from my shoulder and glanced at Falcon before looking at me. “I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”

  “Thank you for letting us be here, Nick.” My words were heartfelt, which only intensified the shame I felt at knowing I was planning on betraying him.

  “Yes,” Falcon said. “I truly appreciate it, sir.”

  Nick nodded, then strode away.

  My eyes met Falcon’s and he grinned. I was just as happy we’d passed the first test—I just wasn’t eager to go beyond that. Not if it meant helping Secretary Hart. “So,” I said, “let me give you the tour.”

  “Okay.”

  I showed him around and a short time later we ended up in the living room where we sat on the couch.

  “What should we do now?” Falcon asked in a quiet voice.

  I knew what he was asking—what should we do to begin our mission. “So you’ve decided to help me?”

  He sighed. “I just want to get this over with.”

  I did too, but I wasn’t in a hurry to betray Nick. “I don’t know. I guess I can talk to Nick and see what’s going on.”

  The rest of the evening Nick was busy, so it wasn’t until the next day after breakfast that I had a chance to talk to him alone.

  “How’s your friend settling in?” Nick asked as I sat across from him in his office. Falcon was in his room, waiting for me to finish my meeting with Nick.

  “Just fine.” I chewed on the inside of my lip as I tried to decide how to get some information. “I was wondering what’s been happening since Saturday. You said you were using me and that news conference as a distraction. Were you able to complete whatever it was you wanted to do?” I smiled, trying to show that I was just curious.

  “I’m sorry things went south on you so quickly,” he said, then he smiled. “To answer your question, yes, I was able to do what I’d planned.”

  “Well, that’s good at least.” And I meant it. Even though I was being forced to tell Secretary Hart what Nick was up to, at least Nick was getting the things done that he wanted to. “Now that it’s over with, will you tell me what you were doing?”

  Nick laughed. “You’re persistent, Morgan. I’ll give you that.” He pursed his lips. “You’ll find out some of it soon enough, so I suppose I can tell you the pertinent parts.”

  Pleased that he was going to tell me, I waited for him to share his secrets.

  “You remember how Morgan said that the power bars were laced with drugs? Drugs that control behavior, as well as drugs that make the power bars addictive?”

  Remembering the snippet of video where DM said she’d collected samples of the power bars, I nodded.

  “Recently I’d heard rumors that the government was gearing up to sell them on the open market,” he said. “They want to replace the power bars that are available now—the one’s that you’re familiar with—with these new ones.”

  Drug-laced power bars? For everyone? The idea horrified me.

  “If the public learns about this,” Nick said, “I believe that will be the tipping point.” He smiled. “On Saturday, I was after proof.”

  This changed everything. How could I possibly help Secretary Hart when he was surely involved in such a deceitful and menacing plan? To use hidden drugs to control the entire population? That was much worse than abusing people in F.A.T. centers—which was bad enough. But everyone? I couldn’t help with that, which is exactly what I’d be doing if I told Hart that Nick knew about his plan and was trying to stop it.

  What will happen if I tell Hart that Nick is on to him? I pondered the question for a moment, but it didn’t take long to come up with an answer.

  He would stop him, that’s what. And if Hart stops Nick, then the power bars will be released to the public and everyone will start eating them before they know what’s really in them. And then everyone will be easier to control.

  My mouth fell open as a new realization hit me.

  Everyone includes my own family. My little brothers. Everyone.

  It would be a disaster.

  “Did you get what you needed?” My voice was soft as the atrocity of this new development settled over me.

  Nick smiled grimly. “Yes.”

  “Sir,” a voice called from the doorway.

  I turned to see Paul, the man who’d been in charge on Saturday.

  Nick looked up. “What is it?”

  Paul glanced at me, then met Nick’s gaze. “Sir, we have a problem.”

  Nick smiled at me. “We’ll talk about this later.”

  “Okay.” I stood and left the room, then walked towards Falcon’s bedroom in a daze. We have to help Nick. I didn’t even question it as I knocked on Falcon’s door.

  A moment later Falcon stood before me. “Hey, Raven.” His crystal blue eyes sparkled as he gazed at me.

  “Hey.”

  “So, what did Nick have to say?”

  Nick’s revelations came rushing back to me, and I gently pushed Falcon into his room and closed his door. “We need to talk.”

  “Okay.” He smiled as he sat on his bed.

  I stood in front of him as I told him what Nick had told me, then I sat beside him as I waited for him
to process the information.

  “Wait,” he said. “Do you think my . . .” His voice dropped to a whisper. “My father is involved with this?” His voice rose in pitch. “Involved in drugging kids?” He turned away from me as he shook his head, then met my gaze. “I don’t know if I believe that.”

  “Why is that so unbelievable? You heard him say that if I fail he’d be willing to . . .” I swallowed, my mouth dry. “To kill me.”

  “Look. I know I said I hate him . . .” He stared at his lap. “And I kind of do . . .” His gaze came back to my face. “But he is my father.” Falcon laughed, the sound strained. “The more I think about it, the more I think he was just saying that to scare me.” His eyebrows bunched. “To scare us.”

  “Well, it worked.” I bit my lip, and my voice fell to a whisper. “Do you really think he was pretending?” Oh, how I hoped he was, but I feared he was completely serious.

  The muscles in Falcon’s jaw tightened. “To be honest, Raven, I’m not sure.”

  “What are we going to do? If he finds out that Nick is on to him . . .”

  Falcon stood and faced me. “You’re assuming he’s involved.”

  “Maybe I can find out. I mean, I can ask Nick.”

  Falcon nodded, a spark of hope in his eyes. “Yeah, do that.”

  “Regardless, we can’t tell your father that Nick knows about the power bars.”

  A knock on the door interrupted our conversation. Falcon opened the door to find Nick standing in the hall, clearly upset.

  “I’d like to talk to both of you in my office.” His gaze went from Falcon’s face to mine. “Right now.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  A moment later Falcon and I sat across from Nick.

  Does he know why we’re here? Is that the problem Paul came to talk to him about earlier?But how would he know? My heart pounded as I prepared myself for the accusations—accusations that were true.

  Nick stared at us, his gaze going between us, then he stopped on Falcon. “What is your relationship to Secretary Russell Hart?”

  I gasped, which drew Nick’s gaze to me. He narrowed his eyes, like he knew I was hiding something, then focused on Falcon.

  “Uh . . .” Falcon looked at me, but I had no idea what to say. His gaze swung back to Nick. “He . . . well, uh . . . he’s my . . . my father.”

  Nick’s eyes seemed to burn with fury as he turned his attention to me, and his voice became deceptively soft. “Were you aware of this?”

  My mind careened wildly from one story to another. No, I had no idea. Yes, and Secretary Hart is an evil, evil man.

  “Morgan?” Nick said, his eyes narrowed.

  My shoulders slumped as I knew I had to tell the truth. All of it. “Not at first.”

  Nick’s mouth tightened into a scowl. “When did you find out? And why did you bring him—” He pointed to Falcon. “Here?”

  The hurt and disappointment on Nick’s face did me in, and I burst into tears. “I had to do it.” My words came out between sobs. “He has Amy.”

  “What?”

  Taking several deep breaths to get myself under control, I gathered my thoughts, and then I told him everything—how I’d met Falcon, how I’d discovered that Falcon’s father was Secretary Hart, how Hart had discovered Amy and me hiding in the closet just the day before, and how I’d made a deal with Hart for the sake of protecting Amy—not to mention keeping myself out of Holly’s hands.

  “It’s not Falcon’s fault,” I said. “He wasn’t even there when I agreed to . . . well, to betray you.” As I recalled sitting with Secretary Hart in Falcon’s apartment, my voice began to shake. “I didn’t see any other choice. He’s the head of the Enforcers. He’d caught me. What was I supposed to do?”

  I implored him with my eyes. “I couldn’t let him send me to Holly. I’m not like her, Nick. You said it yourself.” My gaze fell to my lap. “I’m not strong like her.” I knew Nick understood I meant Duplicate Morgan.

  “Would you excuse us, Falcon?” Nick said.

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Nick escorted him to the hallway, then called out to Paul, who arrived in seconds. “Keep an eye on him for me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  A moment later Nick and I were alone in his office, the door closed.

  “I don’t know if I can express to you just how disappointed I am,” he said.

  Fresh tears filled my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Nick.”

  He gazed at me steadily, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

  Desperate to convince him that I wasn’t as horrible as he must think, I said, “As soon as you told me about the power bars being sold to the public, I decided I wouldn’t tell him. I can’t be the reason everyone ends up eating those power bars.”

  He held up his hand. “I can’t believe you even considered putting my operation in jeopardy, Morgan. Put the safety of everyone at risk.”

  Shame burned hot in my gut, and I stared at my lap, disgusted with my cowardice.

  “Morgan.”

  I lifted my head and met his gaze, my eyes wet with tears.

  “What you agreed to was very wrong, although I do understand why you did it.”

  “You do?” Maybe he didn’t hate me as much as I was beginning to hate myself.

  He frowned, then nodded. “But that doesn’t make it okay.”

  “She never would have done it, would she?” I asked.

  Leaning forward, he rested his arms on the top of his desk. “Look, you and I both know that you’re not her. Nevertheless, in the short time I’ve known you I’ve come to believe that you are very much like her.” A gentle smile lifted his lips. “You just haven’t been tested to the extent that she was.”

  It felt so good to talk to someone—the only person alive—who knew the truth about me. This secret gave us a kind of bond that I hadn’t recognized before. How could I have thought—even for a second—that I could betray Nick? Peace and calm settled over me and I knew I’d done the right thing when I’d told him the truth. “Do you really think I could be like her? Brave and strong?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  Ashamed at what I’d agreed to, and wanting to make amends, I knew what I had to do. Even though I’d done all within my power to avoid it, I knew it was the right thing to do, and I was ready to do the right thing. “Nick?”

  He watched me expectantly.

  “I’m . . . I’m ready for you to turn me in now.” Fear in my future made my throat ache.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I can’t do what I promised Secretary Hart, so I’m going to have to face the consequences.” My mind filled with images of me writhing on the floor as Holly pressed the button on her torture device, and the blood drained from my face.

  Nick smiled, which made me feel even worse. He’s happy that I’m going to suffer now. But that’s okay, because I deserve it.

  “See what I mean?” he said. “You are brave.”

  I was glad he thought so. Knowing he believed in my bravery might make my punishment easier to bear. I smiled sadly, then nodded. “What about Falcon?” I asked. “What are you going to do to him?”

  “What do you think I should?”

  “This wasn’t his fault. He only wanted to help me.” I thought about the way I’d practically demanded that Hart send Falcon with me. “It was my idea that he come here.”

  “But he agreed. He didn’t have to do that. He could have refused.” Nick smiled grimly. “Then again, I suppose he’d want to help his father.”

  My head swung from side to side. “No. Falcon hates his father.”

  “How can you be sure of that? How do you know Falcon’s not just playing you? Pretending to hate his father so that you’ll confide in him?”

  I didn’t like the idea that Falcon had lied to me, but I didn’t believe he had. “I just know.” I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter now anyway. I mean, since I’ll be . . . leaving.”

  “Leaving?” Nick asked. “Whe
re are you going?”

  Confused, I stared at him.

  His mouth turned down in a frown. “Morgan, do you really think I’d voluntarily turn you over to the Enforcers?”

  Relieved beyond belief, I smiled. Then a thought occurred to me which wiped the smile off of my face. “What about Secretary Hart? He’ll know I’m not keeping up my end of the deal. And he has Amy.”

  “How will he know that? Are you going to tell him?”

  I held very still. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that we can work with this, maybe even use it to our advantage.” A warm smile curved his mouth. “All is not lost, Morgan.”

  Fresh hope blossomed inside me and I wanted to throw my arms around him. Then I remembered the other part of the deal Hart had made with me—the part I liked. If I did what he asked, he’d announce that Enforcer Hansen’s death was an accident, then he’d call off the search for me and I’d be able to be with my family and live in peace.

  That would never happen now. Everything was lost.

  “What’s wrong, Morgan?”

  I told him, then waited for him to nod in agreement.

  Instead, he smiled. “Don’t lose hope. Perhaps when people see the corruption at the top, and when they realize that it was you who saved them from being drugged, they’ll rally around you.”

  “Do you really think that could happen? I mean, they think I killed an Enforcer.”

  “I don’t know what the future holds. All I know is that we have to expose those at the top to show what they’re really up to.”

  “Did that boy—you know, Billy? Did he say anything to you about killing Enforcer Hansen?” Maybe if I knew what had actually happened, I could defend myself against the accusations.

  Nick shook his head. “No, he didn’t say a word.” He looked thoughtful. “But why would he? I mean, what if he’d failed in his attempt to cross over into that other world? If he was involved in Hansen’s death, it would have been unwise to admit it. Even to me.”