Hidden Impact

by Piper J. Drake

  Maylin tried to squirm away, but Jewel nudged her harder.

  “Ah. Don’t move. I’ve got a point here and I’m going to take my sweet time getting to it. You don’t give up and I like that too, but now’s not the time to get all uppity.” Jewel spit to one side.

  Better than on her. Maylin was grateful for small blessings.

  “You know the problem with the kind of life we lead?” Jewel continued. “We’re not patient. And if we happen to fall in love, the people we fall in love with aren’t either. It’s not a common enough virtue. There’s too many other priorities out there. And we find ourselves having to choose. But you. You kept your focus through this and you’re loyal to a fault. You belong with them, with him.”

  How...? Maylin opened her mouth to ask but Jewel hushed her.

  “Nope. Don’t want to hear you talk. You might be headstrong enough to be good for him. Maybe. If you don’t get yourself killed first.” Jewel’s gun hand steadied and the musing expression wiped away from her face until there was nothing at all. “Me and him, we butt heads, but in a bad way. You, you’re better for him, and I’d have to scratch out my eyes not to see it. The problem with the both of you is tunnel vision. You only see what’s in front of you. It’s too simple. You want to do real good? Learn to notice the other things.”

  Fear pinned Maylin down as she stared back up at death. Not too melodramatic, not when Jewel looked as cold-blooded as she did. The word was meant for Jewel when she looked like this. Then Maylin couldn’t look at her face anymore, not when she could only stare at the woman’s finger as it tightened on the trigger.

  Another loud click.

  “Good. Don’t ever close your eyes when there’s a chance to get away. I like that about you.” Jewel stepped away from her. “You keep that stubborn streak and stay with him. Give him what he deserves.” She turned then and disappeared down the corridor, past the kitchen and right into Gabe’s room.

  Maylin wanted to have the courage to go after her, see where she was going. But her practical mind told her it’d be stupid. And the part of her that was truthful admitted she was too frightened to do it. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Because twice there, she’d thought she was about to die.

  People came in the front door then and crowded around her. Caleb was there, and others, moving to secure the building and asking her if she was hurt. She was in shock, they were telling her. And yes, she was. But she was busy remembering what Jewel had said. Because it was important.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “She’s waking up.”

  “Come see me when you’re done here.”

  “Roger that.”

  The voices echoed inside her head, low rumbles at different pitches. She struggled to wake faster, working to draw in more air and shrug off the heavy sleep. She wanted to hear one of those voices more. Wanted to talk. There was something important she had to tell it. Him.

  Gabe.

  “Easy there.” His voice flowed over her, his tone gentle tinged with worry.

  He shouldn’t worry.

  “Ah, but I do.” His lips brushed hers. Perhaps she’d spoken aloud. Or he’d gotten to the point where he could read her mind.

  “I’d rather keep speaking out loud. Where’s An-mei?” Her throat constricted at the end and she coughed once, twice. A previously faint ache in her skull quickly escalated into a painful throb.

  “Nearby, but let’s get some water in you first.” Gabe sounded amenable.

  Suspicious, she cracked open her eyes. There he was, leaning over her, hale and whole and not a dream. And he was holding a glass of water.

  She let her heavy eyelids fall, and she sighed as relief flowed through her. This had turned out much better than she’d been thinking it might not too long ago, however long that was. In any number of scenarios she’d thought it’d be her standing at the bedside with a glass of water and Gabe in the hospital bed.

  “Want help sitting up?” The note of worry in his words had gotten stronger.

  Careful of the throbbing headache, she nodded slightly.

  There was the sound of a click and the bed started to adjust, the top half elevating gradually until she was in a sitting position.

  She opened her eyes again and he stood there grinning, all sorts of proud of himself for having pushed a button. Smiling, she reached out and ran her fingertips over the button controls so she could do it herself later. If it was that easy, there was no reason she couldn’t do it on her own.

  He handed her the water, holding the glass until she had her hands wrapped around it. She took a sip, then another, and her throat eased from its dried-up and scratchy state.

  “I’ve only been gone forty-eight hours, but you managed to get yourself knocked in the head again since I left.” He reached out and touched her forehead. There was a tender spot, probably a decent-sized lump. “Did Jewel hit you?”

  “No.” Maylin leaned her head into his touch and he curved his hand over her cheek. “My head hit the floor when she tripped me is all. Actually, she could have done a lot worse to me.”

  His brows drew together in a scowl. “Could have. This was bad enough.”

  “I really need to learn to defend myself more effectively.” Guilt warred with a pang of sadness. “Here you are freshly back from a dangerous mission and I—”

  “Need to rest and heal.” Gabe interrupted her, pressing his thumb over her lips.

  Irritated, she caught the tip of his thumb between her teeth.

  Heat kindled in his eyes and she blushed in response, releasing his thumb.

  Gabe chuckled. “Don’t tempt me. That wouldn’t be rest. What I could do, if you’re feeling up to it now, is take you to see your sister.”

  She startled to scramble out from under the light covers.

  “Easy, easy.” Gabe’s arms wrapped around her. “You’re going to tip right off this bed.”

  The warmth of his embrace seeped through the thin fabric of the hospital gown and through her skin. He held her for a long moment, whispering endearments into her hair, then he adjusted his hold to scoop her up in his arms.

  “I can walk!” She didn’t wiggle, though. He had to have been hurt back there on the mission. She’d seen the vehicle flip over. “You should not be carrying me.”

  He grunted. “I can handle getting you into a wheelchair. Safer than letting you hop out of that hospital bed and try to run around with a mild concussion.”

  Well, even without a mild concussion she was clumsy enough that she probably would have tripped herself up somehow and fallen out of the bed.

  There was indeed a wheelchair nearby, and he placed her gently into the seat. He also got a light robe from a nearby hook on the wall and helped her slip it on.

  She tipped her head to look up at him. “How do I look?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Beautiful.”

  She batted at his hand on the arm of her wheelchair. “Presentable? I need to know if I look presentable. I don’t want An-mei worried about me after everything she’s been through.”

  “Can barely see the lump with your hair down.” He leaned in and kissed her for good measure. “And you make the robes here look surprisingly presentable. Ready?”

  “Ready.”

  He wheeled her out of the curtained area and out of the larger infirmary into the hallway. It wasn’t far, and he turned her wheelchair in to a much smaller room with only two beds, separated by curtains. As he brought them to a stop at the far set of curtains, Maylin reached out and twitched the edge of one aside. “Mèi mèi?”

  A form stirred under the blankets on the bed. “Jiě jiě?”

  Tears welled up and burned her dry eyes at the sound of her little sister’s voice. Groggy, hesitant, but it was An-mei. Swallowing to ease the constriction in her throat, Maylin
tugged at the curtain to open it more.

  Her little sister was sitting up in bed, green eyes blinking away tears.

  Without being asked, Gabe pushed her wheelchair forward until she was within reach and leaned forward to lock the wheels. Maylin surged out of the chair and stumbled forward, wrapping her little sister in a careful hug.

  An-mei’s arms tightened around her in return. “You found me. You found me. You found me.”

  “We did.” Maylin kissed her sister’s hair and rubbed her back, surprised at how thin she had become. She didn’t want to ask what had happened to her in captivity. Not yet. “Do you think you could eat something?”

  An-mei made a choking sound, somewhere between crying and laughing. “It is so good to hear you ask.”

  Maylin released her from the hug and drew back to look her over. “We should both have something to eat, and I’m guessing there are medications they’d like us to take too.”

  Shadows darkened An-mei’s gaze and her slender shoulders stiffened under Maylin’s hands.

  “You’re safe here.” Maylin wasn’t sure how to give her sister the reassurance she’d need. “These are the people who helped me find you, got you out.”

  Giving her sister time, Maylin shifted to sit on the edge of the bed and turned to hold out a hand for Gabe.

  Gabe took a step forward and placed his hand in hers. His grip was firm, steadying, and he rubbed his thumb over her fingers comfortingly.

  “This is Gabriel Diaz of the Centurion Corporation.” Maylin figured now was as good a time as any for formal introductions. “He led the fire team that went in to save you.”

  Recognition replaced the shadows in An-mei’s eyes. “You were there. You came and got me out.”

  Gabe nodded. “This is real. This isn’t a new way of trying to trick you into doing their work for them. This is really your sister and you are really out of that place.”

  An-mei balled her hands into fists, the sheets caught up in her grip. “They drugged me, had an actress come in trying to pretend to be my sister. But I knew it wasn’t her. Knew it.”

  Maylin reached out hesitantly, unsure if her touch was welcome despite the initial hug. “How did you know? How do I help you now?”

  A tired smile appeared on her tear-streaked face. “Their imposter always asked me to take medicine and never, ever mentioned I should have something to eat, until I stopped eating because I realized they were drugging my food.”

  Maylin bit her lip. This was probably the least of the things they’d done to her.

  “There could be addiction to deal with,” Gabe said quietly. “Can we take some blood samples? Our medical team has the resources to do a full workup and find out what’s currently in your system.”

  An-mei considered for a long moment, then nodded.

  Gabe gave Maylin’s hand a squeeze then released it. He took out a smartphone and showed it to both of them before he slipped it into Maylin’s robe pocket. “I’ll go let our medics know and leave you two alone to talk for a while. I’m just a phone call away.”

  An-mei had been keeping her attention on Gabe from the moment she recognized him. When he left, she watched him go. Then she finally looked at Maylin.

  Maylin had no idea how to prove to her sister she was who she was. All she could think of to do was wait, patiently, and meet An-mei’s searching gaze with as open a return gaze as possible.

  “I’m so afraid this is another one of their tricks. Their mind games to get me to do the research they wanted,” An-mei whispered.

  Maylin ached for her. “No one here is going to ask you to do anything. You’re safe.”

  An-mei licked her lips and swallowed. “Can we go outside?”

  “I think so.” Maylin blinked and glanced back at the wheelchair. “I’m pretty sure I can walk, whether he thinks I should or not. Do you think you can? If you do, let’s find a robe for you and make a break for it. It’s all green and wooded outside. Nice for a walk. I know where there’s a decent kitchen and I can make you some congee. Easy on your stomach.”

  The tension melted out of An-mei and she lay back against the raised back of her hospital bed. “It is you. Food is the way you heal everything.”

  Relief filtered through Maylin with her little sister’s acceptance. “The right food can make anything better.”

  An-mei sighed. “Next time, you go to China and I’ll stay home. They had I don’t know how many kinds of dumplings you’d want to try.”

  “Okay.” Maylin huffed out a laugh. “I think we’ve both had a lot of adventure lately, though. Maybe hold off on any more continent-hopping until we’ve had a chance to catch our breath.”

  “You’re going to be right here with me, for the next few days?” An-mei’s voice got small and timid again. “The medics said I should stay at least that long and that there’d be people to talk to about what happened to me. What happens next.”

  “I’ll be here as long as you need me.” Maylin gave her a smile. “I promise.”

  “What about your catering company?” Her sister bit her lip.

  Maylin took a deep breath. Of course her sister would think about it. It was the reason Maylin hadn’t been with her in China in the first place. “Well, I’ve taken a leave of absence and they can do without me a while longer. So you have my undivided attention.”

  Her sister didn’t answer, but the next question hung in the air between them. This one, too, was a familiar one. But for how long?

  “And we’re less than an hour out of Seattle, so if there’s any dire emergency, we could both drive in for the day, if you feel up to it—probably with an escort. But overall, I’ve realized I need to restructure the way I’ve been managing the company anyway. I’ll adjust my work schedule accordingly so we can stay here as long as you need.”

  Maylin paused. Considering. “An-mei. You mean everything to me. Whatever the next steps are, I’ll adjust to what you need. Don’t worry about the catering company.”

  An-mei reached out to her then, her fingertips touching the back of Maylin’s hand in a brief moment of contact. “I don’t want you to give up the catering company.”

  “I would, if you needed me.” Maylin was absolutely sincere on this point.

  “And that’s all I needed to hear. It means a lot.” An-mei smiled. “ But I don’t want you to actually do it. There’s a lot of next steps after this and it’d be more than enough if you were there with me.”

  Maylin smiled in return. “I will be. Huān yíng huí jiā. Welcome home, mèi mèi.”

  An-mei laughed, finally sounding more like the little sister Maylin knew. “So I think there’s a robe on the wall over there. If you can grab it, we can make a break for it, and you can tell me how you met that incredibly hot man and what’s going on between the two of you while we find ourselves some food.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “How’s the family reunion going?” Harte leaned against the far wall of the hallway, out of range but near enough by for his presence to be a sort of brotherly comfort to Gabe. Hard to explain, but there it was.

  Gabe had retreated to the hallway to give the sisters space. Left alone, Gabe had to admit he’d probably be slamming his fists into the wall until something broke. Didn’t matter if it was the wall or his knuckles.

  Truth be told, the walls had survived a lot of Centurions so it’d probably be his knuckles.

  “Fine. More than fine.” Seeing the damage in An-mei’s eyes, knowing from experience what that meant and how much therapy the girl would probably need before she could sleep through a night or take a bite of food without wondering if it was drugged, had been the final straw to ignite his temper in a slow-burning rage. It’d already been prepped and ready when he’d gotten a good look at the lump on Maylin’s head after her encounter with Jewel.

&nbs
p; “Those two have each other back. It’s just going to take a metric shit-ton of time for them to recover. No thanks to Jewel and Edict and fucking Phoenix Biotech.” Gabe finished on a growl and clamped his mouth shut, grinding his teeth.

  “From what Maylin told us and what she will undoubtedly repeat to you, Jewel could have done a lot worse. I’m thinking there’s more going on there.”

  Gabe spit out a low curse, careful to keep his voice down. Just in case Maylin woke up. Or her sister, who was in the hospital bed next to her. “I’ve got no fucks to give about Jewel’s reasons for stabbing us in the back.”

  “Or shooting you in the back, as the case may be.”

  Gabe waved a hand, dismissing the interjection. “She made her choice and joined Edict. Not a whole lot in the world to excuse it.”

  Harte stepped away from the wall. “See. She knows that. I’m thinking she might’ve even been okay with never telling us her reasons, either. But things are changing pretty rapidly and what we saw at that location was a lot more than one little biotech company could’ve funded on its own.”

  Now might not be the best time to be thinking of a bigger picture. But it was Harte’s job and Gabe might be damned for slowing down, but part of what he did best was finding the puzzle pieces for Harte to put together. So he let himself pace, but his mind tracked back to the things he’d seen. Things the cameras might not’ve caught.

  “Their training was standard, not the higher level we’re used to seeing from Edict or similar teams. The contingent guarding that facility was complacent and used to being there.”

  Harte nodded. “They had an evacuation plan, but they moved a lot of equipment before they decommissioned the facility.”

  “If you want to call blowing the place up decommissioning.” Gabe snorted. “It might’ve been Jewel’s work, though. The explosions were controlled, kept perimeter damage to a minimum.”