by Victoria Sue
“I changed the year before. It was just Gran and me, but we were okay. She took me out of school right away, and I was homeschooled, which I didn’t mind at all.” Jamie smiled briefly. “Gran loved sports, especially horse racing. She would watch it every day if she could, but the cable got turned off. She loved the horses, but the betting didn’t love her.”
Vance smiled sympathetically.
“Anyway, she had a small pension from my granddad, and she’d just gotten paid. We were walking down Main Street, and there was a sports bar I knew she sometimes went in. She’d sit outside when I was with her, and this barman would take her bets. I think he did it for a few people. It wasn’t legal, but….” Jamie shrugged. “I never got involved, but I was bored, and we were watching on the big screen. She asked me to pick a horse, which she’d never done before, and so I did and it won. She was real happy and asked me for another.” Jamie swallowed, and Vance somehow knew what was going to come next. “There were thirteen races at three different tracks, and I told her the winner of each one.”
All the boys stayed silent.
“She was thrilled and made a fuss over me. The barman heard her, and I guess he told someone. We were jumped by two guys with a knife just as we got to her apartment, and they stabbed her. I lost it and screamed so loud a patrol car was called, and the guys ran off.”
“But that wasn’t your fault,” Vance insisted, and Jamie shook his head.
“If I’d been clever, I wouldn’t have picked all the winners. It was my fault she was killed.”
Jamie reminded him of Talon. Their stories weren’t that much different. “How did you get here, though?”
“The cop told me to let go of my gran. Said she was dead. I was crying and holding her, and he tried to pull me off her. I broke his arm.”
Vance studied Jamie. He didn’t seem especially strong, but then, to be honest, he looked like he didn’t eat properly. “Is strength an ability?”
Jamie shook his head. “Not normally. I have no idea what happened, but they said I was dangerous, and I’ve been here ever since.”
“Jamie?” They all looked up at the guard who stood there smirking. He addressed Lawrence and Kit. “You two get your books. Mrs. Comey will be here soon. Jamie, you’re wanted in the clinic.”
Vance glanced at Jamie, hearing the hitch in his breathing. “But sir….” Jamie visibly trembled. “That was yesterday.”
The guard nodded. “Yes, but you’re needed again today.”
Jamie paled. “But Officer Graves—”
The guard unhooked his Taser. “You arguing with me, boy?”
“No,” Jamie said in defeat, and with a last desperate look at Vance, stood up. Vance also stood, not liking what he was seeing one little bit, and Graves immediately gripped his weapon.
“Sit down.”
Vance hesitated, and in a second, the other guard from the podium had noticed and stood up.
“Connelly, back away.”
Vance gritted his teeth but did as he was told. He needed to speak to someone and fast.
“Good boy.” Graves smirked and holstered his Taser. He bent and grabbed Jamie hard on the arm, and Jamie winced. “Don’t make friends with him, Jamie. He’s bad news. A cop that sold out to drugs. Doesn’t deserve the badge he wore, and just goes to show enhanced are nothing but troublemakers.”
Jamie shot Vance a miserable look, and his shoulders slumped in defeat.
Vance hadn’t cried since he was a child, but he could have happily sat down and bawled.
“Connelly?” It was the same male guard who had brought him in yesterday. Vance looked over at him. “You are allowed a visitor. He’s waiting for you in Interview Three. If you would follow me?”
Vance’s heart leaped. Maybe it was one of the team or even Sam? He eagerly stood while his wrists and ankles were cuffed, and then he was taken into a different room and saw his brother.
“I have to stay on this side of the table, and I’m not allowed to have physical contact.” The words tumbled out of Daniel’s mouth. He glanced over at the guard, who stood with his arms folded, listening to every word. “We are organizing a lawyer, and when that happens tomorrow, you get privacy, but not with me, I’m afraid.”
Vance nodded immediately, understanding he couldn’t say anything he desperately needed to and neither could Daniel.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I woke with a bit of a headache, but no other aftereffects.”
“You have the whole of the TPD protesting,” Daniel said.
Vance did a double take. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that half the cops in Tampa are making it known exactly what they think of you being taken down by ENu. Carmichael has been suspended.”
Suspended? “But—” Fuck, he was just going to say it wasn’t real. “Really?” He smiled a little.
“How’s the team?” Vance asked when he really wanted to ask if Sam had mentioned him at all. Daniel glanced down briefly, and every hair on the back of his neck rose. “What is it?”
“We’re all doing our level best to help.”
Vance frowned. What sort of nonanswer was that?
“Five minutes,” the guard said loudly and pointedly.
Daniel glared. “Dad got a judge to allow special visiting privileges because of how you were taken, but I’ve literally got five minutes to make sure you’re okay. We wondered if you knew anyone in here.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say “Talon might,” but he needed to be cleverer. Vance shook his head. “No, all I’ve seen are some teenagers and some guards. There’s a Dr. Benson who’s really bad with a needle, but no, I’ve never met anyone before.”
Daniel hesitated, obviously trying to work out if Vance was telling him something important.
“How’s Mom?”
“Worried sick,” Daniel said with feeling.
“And Sam?” Vance couldn’t hold the question in any longer.
“No.” Worry flashed through Daniel’s eyes.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Vance leaned nearer.
“Time’s up.” The guard stepped forward.
“Don’t leave me hanging, Daniel.” Something was wrong. “Where is he?”
“We think he’s gone back to Baton Rouge.”
“You have to leave, sir,” the guard insisted, and Daniel stood up and was herded out of the room. Vance barely listened to his orders. We think? Daniel had said they thought Sam had gone to Baton Rouge, not that they knew he had. What did that mean?
Chapter Fifteen
DANIEL WAS practically man-handled out of the room, and he was furious. “Get your hands off me,” he yelled, thirty seconds away from throwing a punch.
“Sir?”
Daniel was distracted by the smooth tone long enough to take a breath and realize losing his temper was the very last thing that would help Vance. He took another breath while he eyed the man who had spoken and was turned toward the guard, his hands full of notes. He obviously needed the door next to them opened. Daniel did a double take as the man glanced at him and smiled politely. Enhanced? But he wasn’t a prisoner. He had scrubs on, and besides, he looked about the same age as his dad, and that made him too old to be in here. Daniel watched as the guard let the man through a door and then turned to him.
“I’m sorry, sir, I really am. But it would be my job if I let you stay, and I can’t afford that.”
Daniel hesitated a fraction, then smiled, apologized himself, and let the guard show him to the gate. “Thank you—”
“Eduardez,” the guard supplied and locked the door behind Daniel.
“How is he?” Talon asked Daniel as he got in Talon’s truck. Daniel swallowed the last of his anger away, surprised he didn’t want to put his fist through something.
Daniel shook his head. “I don’t know how he isn’t climbing the walls.” He was mildly surprised to see Eli sitting in the back.
“Did he recognize anyone?” Eli asked.
“No, but Vance couldn’t give me details because we didn’t have privacy.”
“Did he say anything?” Talon asked.
Daniel thought about the conversation. “He asked me about Sam, and I didn’t know what to say. Have you found him?”
“Have we, fuck,” Eli snapped. “As if we didn’t have enough to worry about.”
Daniel gaped a little. In all the months he had known Eli, that was easily the most he had ever heard him say in one go.
“And Buchanan hasn’t seen him,” confirmed Talon. “His car is still in the parking lot near his apartment, and his cell phone is turned off. Gregory is mobilizing people as we speak.”
Daniel considered this. More because he needed something to take his mind off Vance. He didn’t think much of Sam, to be honest, but then he was looking at him in the light of someone with the power to hurt his little brother. “Do you think he’s gone off-grid to find Jaylen?” Sawyer and Adam relayed they had stopped by when they couldn’t get him on the phone to see if he was okay, but they just reported the apartment was locked up normally and no signs of a struggle. There were also no signs he had been there last night, though. No dishes, and the bed looked pristine.
Talon nodded and pulled into traffic.
“What about contacting the DEA in Baton Rouge?”
“We have,” Talon confirmed. “I spoke to Eddie Ramirez, who worked with Sam. He said Sam hasn’t been in touch, but to keep him informed.”
“And the rest, Talon,” Eli interrupted.
Daniel arched an eyebrow. “What?”
Talon grunted. “He said he wasn’t surprised Sam had disappeared without telling anyone. Said he liked working on his own.”
“And that he was surprised he had joined us because he’s not what Ramirez would call a ‘team player,’” Eli fumed.
“He’s not the only one,” Daniel shot back pointedly before he had the chance to question why he should be rushing to Sam’s defense. Eli glared at him. “I worked with the DEA a ton of times. The very nature of what they do often means they’re flying solo. Just because he hasn’t involved you doesn’t mean he’s not trying to help.”
“Then why hasn’t he answered the phone?” Eli shot back.
Daniel stared at the sullen young man. For an enhanced he was small, maybe even slightly shorter than his own five eleven, and definitely slimmer. He barely knew anything about Eli. He knew he could control fire, didn’t seem to have any family, and seemed to be angry all the time, which had to be exhausting. His mom liked Eli, but that was probably because she saw someone who needed mothering.
“If he has gone off-grid, we will deal with that when we find him, but as of now and until we hear anything to the contrary, he is officially missing.” Talon spoke calmly, but Daniel wouldn’t be surprised if the steering wheel crumpled under the death grip Talon had on it.
“Does Sam have any contacts in Tampa we could reach out to? I agree we shouldn’t just make assumptions,” Daniel admitted grudgingly. Even if he was prepared to dislike the man because he wasn’t returning Vance’s feelings, that didn’t make him incompetent.
Eli made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat.
“Eric’s picking your mom and dad up at the airport anytime now,” Talon said, and Daniel quickly pulled out his cell phone. He’d handed it over when he went through security but hadn’t even glanced at it when he had it returned. He groaned. Seven missed calls. He dialed his mom’s phone, knowing she would be climbing the walls, and it was answered on the second ring.
“Daniel? Did you see him?”
He winced at the tears in her voice. “Yes, he’s okay. I didn’t get long with him, but he’s fine.”
“Fine?” Connie nearly shrieked. “He’s in prison. How can you say he’s fine?”
“He’s doing his job,” Daniel said simply, and his mom was silent for a few seconds.
“Then just be safe,” she said with a sigh and hung up.
Talon’s phone rang before any of them had a chance to comment, and Finn’s voice came through loud and clear. “I just spoke to Gregory, and he’s arranged for us to have some privacy at the Winter Park Police Station, which is barely thirty minutes from the prison, and we’re on our way. He said Talon can bring you two. Anthony even said it was a good idea because the field office here is swarming with cops, and he wants you all somewhere low-key. I’m sending the GPS coordinates to you now.”
Daniel looked at Talon, who immediately signaled to turn around. “Okay, we’re on our way.”
“Why does Gregory want us somewhere low-key?” Eli asked.
They could hear the pride in Finn’s voice. “Because the field office is surrounded by at least one hundred protesting cops. Even the sergeants are there and not trying to discipline anyone. Bay News 9, Fox, and the locals have all got reporters here.”
Daniel gaped and glanced at Eli. His face mirrored Daniel’s own shock.
“ENu have been told to stay at home. Carmichael is suspended indefinitely. They are thinking this has backfired badly, and despite us needing any information we can get, I think they are going to have to get Vance a court date quickly. Not that anyone’s admitting where he is, but it doesn’t take rocket science, and someone will talk eventually.”
“But Vance is enhanced,” Eli protested. “Since when—”
“And he is personal friends with a lot of them,” Finn interrupted. “How many times has he mentioned going into their precincts? Plus, Jacob and Chris, to say nothing of the lieutenant.”
“Cops are very loyal, and while no one would side with him on a drug charge, the way he was arrested stinks,” Daniel agreed. He wasn’t surprised they heard the Connelly name and ignored the scar.
“Any news on Aaron, Finn?” Daniel interrupted.
“No,” Finn sighed. “No one has seen him at all. T?” Finn hesitated. He knew he was on speaker.
“We’ll find him.” Talon’s voice was rough and low. “And we’ll be there soon.”
Daniel took a breath and, still twisted around, met Eli’s gaze. The love had been apparent in Talon’s voice, as had the need for comfort in Finn’s, and suddenly Daniel wanted something like that. But what kept him silent wasn’t the want in his own, but the raw hunger in Eli’s. Someone else wanted to be loved more than he did. Eli was usually so closed off, Daniel was taken aback at the stark desperation and longing that flashed over Eli’s face and resonated with something in Daniel. Then just as quickly, as if he seemed to realize what he was doing, Eli turned to stare out of the window.
Daniel had to fight the desire to move, talk, anything, because with a sick feeling, he knew where he had seen that same look of helplessness. Most of the images he had seen at work simply showed terror on the faces of the children, but some—and those were the real reason he couldn’t bear to look anymore—showed futility in the hollowed-out gazes of little children who didn’t expect adults to save them.
And somehow a younger Eli had been that child, alone and no longer waiting for a rescue that would never come.
THEY WERE all mostly silent for the rest of the journey. Talon slowed, moving between parked cars as he approached the small office, and Daniel nodded in gratitude at the cop who waved them through. They all climbed out and showed their IDs to the desk sergeant, who buzzed them in. Finn, Gael, and Jake all looked up as they walked in, and Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw Jacob. Jacob pulled him in for a hug. “Please tell me you’ve spoken to Mom.”
Daniel nodded. “He’s okay and he’s doing his job. I’m more concerned about Sam, to be honest.”
“So am I,” Finn said, hugging Talon. “I just don’t buy him going without saying something to someone.”
“I don’t know,” Jake argued. “He’s used to working undercover and often alone.”
“I can see him going without telling us,” Gael conceded, “but once he was there, he would check in, surely?”
“I think so,” Talon agreed.
“
And Vance is okay after the sedation?” Gael asked, concern furrowing his brows.
Daniel nodded. “He’s okay. It was awkward because we couldn’t talk in private.”
“Dad, Chris, and Eric have gone to the field office,” Jacob said, “to try and talk to the other sergeants and Gregory. Did Finn tell you what’s happening?”
Daniel nodded. “I’m not surprised, though. I think all the cops who know Vance are really angry with the ENu. The whole force seems split. The ones who know him are disgusted with the way he was treated, and the others who don’t want to be associated with what might be a dirty cop are all keeping their heads down.”
“And I think this is going to have a bigger effect,” Finn added, stepping out of Talon’s embrace but staying close. “The cops are saying unless big changes are made, they won’t refer to ENu, which basically leaves them all sitting on their thumbs.”
“Vance would be thrilled if he was responsible for either changing or getting rid of ENu altogether,” Daniel said.
“Mom sent supplies,” Jacob said ruefully and unpacked a cooler.
Everyone ate quickly.
“The frustrating thing is I have no idea if any of the guards are sympathetic. The one I saw was a possibility, but I don’t know for sure. I should have known not to expect to have privacy.” Daniel shook his head in annoyance. Family visits were always supervised. He knew better.
“He didn’t say anything?” Finn asked.
“No, he just asked after Sam and complained some doctor had been useless at taking his blood.”
Jacob chuckled. “Sounds about right.” But Talon tilted his head.
“He’s had blood tests?”
“I guess they had to be sure he was okay after ENu pumped all that shit into him.”
“What exactly did he say?” Talon asked again, and Daniel thought.
“I asked him if he’d seen anyone he knew, which was a really desperate way of me fishing for information. He said no and that all he’d seen was a Dr. Benson and that he was really bad with a needle.”