“Christine Anderson?” My eyes snapped to his, my back straightening. That woman had been at least partially responsible for my kidnapping, for Josh nearly dying, and she was definitely involved in all this. But she hadn’t been seen or heard from since that day.
“Yeah. In one of the cells. And she’s not shy about talking. She’s a little delusional about her political prospects after all this, but it seems she was working with Davis early on—until he decided she was a liability and locked her up.”
“But she’s talking?” It was the first time in hours I’d seen a hint of a smile on Josh’s face. The hope in his eyes gave me hope.
“She won’t shut up.” Tyler smiled. “She confirmed Variant Valor orchestrated the invasion at Bradford Hills Institute, manipulating the Human Empowerment Network to cause a distraction so they could kidnap Vitals. How they’ve been transporting them and where to. She’s also saying some interesting things about how Variant Valor began—how deeply Damari is involved. There’s a long way to go to corroborate her stories but—”
Another gut-wrenching scream, barely recognizable as human, came from Charlie’s room. Tyler reached for the gun at his hip, but we all just flinched.
I squeezed Josh’s hand again, gritting my teeth. Alec dropped his head back into his hands, and Ethan growled—a sound between pain and frustration.
Josh held his other hand out to Tyler, gesturing for him to lower the gun. “It’s the pain from changing the dressings.”
“Fuck,” Tyler breathed, threading a hand through his hair. “Can’t they give him some painkillers or something?”
“They’ve given him as much as they can,” I explained. “This is one of the most painful things a person can experience. The dressings are often put on wet and pulled off dry to tear away dead tissue. There’s only so much morphine can do.”
My brain was in that weird state where it started firing related yet unhelpful facts and statistics in moments of high stress. Apparently, I was now comfortable enough with my Bond to spew this information out loud instead of just going over it in my mind, despite them all watching me with horrified expressions. “Burns are categorized by thickness. Charlie’s burns are bad but not full thickness, which means the nerve endings weren’t destroyed completely, which means he can still feel it all. Yeah. It fucking hurts.”
Alec growled, throwing his hands in front of him as if he could physically throw off the discomfort he was in, and leaned heavily back in his chair. He started rubbing his thighs, then sat up again. His eyebrows were threaded together, the scar in the right one puckering.
Out of all of us, Alec had the most experience with pain, yet he seemed to be struggling the most with listening to Charlie go through it. But he wasn’t leaving.
“Has anyone called in a healer?” Tyler asked in the next break between screams.
“Uncle Henry did,” Ethan said to his shoes. “But they’re coming from Egypt, and it’s going to be a while. They can’t just not change Charlie’s dressings.”
Healing abilities were extremely rare—rarer even than the four unique abilities my guys had. There were only a couple of dozen healers in the world, and half of them could only handle minor injuries. The more powerful ones—the ones with Vitals—were in high demand.
“I’m sure this is the best thing for him, then.” Tyler frowned.
“I think we all just feel helpless.” Josh nailed it. All four of my guys were proactive, and I hated having a problem I couldn’t solve. Sitting in a waiting room, listening to someone scream in pain only feet away—it was beyond frustrating.
But maybe there was something we could try.
Chewing my bottom lip, I extracted my hand from Josh’s iron grip and stood, taking the three steps necessary to move in front of Alec.
He saw what I was planning written all over my features. His face fell, worry and disappointment replacing the frustration. “I can’t,” he whispered, narrowing his eyes at me.
“So you have thought about it?”
“Of course I’ve thought about it,” he huffed, throwing his arms up and letting them flow back down to his knees. “But now is not the time to test it.”
“Why not? What’s the worst that could happen?”
He stood, his hands in fists, but I didn’t step back, so we ended up chest to chest. “Are you fucking serious? I could make it worse.”
“You won’t.” I had to look up to meet his icy stare, but I held it, refusing to back down.
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do, Alec.” I placed my hands on his chest. “I’ve never met anyone with more control in all aspects of his life than you. You have more control of your ability than anyone I know. I don’t for a second doubt that you’ll be able to hold back that part of it. It’s second nature to you. The worst that could happen is nothing.”
He was breathing hard, his eyes searching mine.
“You can do this, man.” Josh’s voice was steady.
“What makes you think it’s even possible?” Alec kept his gaze trained on me.
“Logic.” I moved my hands to his shoulders. “With my Light, Tyler can tell not only that someone is lying but what they’re lying about. With my Light, Josh can not only levitate a few books in his room but hold up an entire floor of a building, make himself fly. With my Light, Ethan can not only set fires but put them out. Alec, he can put out fires he didn’t start. There’s no reason you couldn’t take away pain you didn’t inflict.”
“I’ve been waiting for a good time to raise this, Alec.” Tyler sighed. “But she’s right. The research supports it, study after study showing that with access to a Vital, the ability can be used far beyond what—”
Charlie screamed again, cutting Tyler off. Ethan stood and placed a big hand over mine on Alec’s shoulder.
“Alec, please try.” His voice was hoarse, tears threatening to spill over. I wanted to take him into my arms and comfort him, but in that moment, Alec needed me more.
“You can do this.” I injected as much confidence and intensity into the statement as I could.
Alec wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me to him so tightly my feet almost lifted off the ground. I circled my arms around his neck and held on. I would hold on for as long as he needed, prove to him I was there—that I was in this with him.
He’d told me hours before I wasn’t alone, that I didn’t need to do everything myself. Now it was my turn to show him the same thing.
“I’m so fucking scared, Evie,” he whispered into my dirty hair, too low for the others to hear.
“I know, but I’ll be there with you. You’re not alone.” He released me, and I pulled back to look at him. “You can do this, Alec. I know you can.”
He took a deep breath, rubbed his hands over his cropped hair, and nodded.
I didn’t wait for him to change his mind. I grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the screams.
Inside the room, three nurses hovered over Charlie, moving quickly but efficiently, piles of bloody bandages in a heap next to the bed.
Olivia sat next to Charlie’s head, holding his unburned hand, tears streaking her cheeks even as she murmured soothing things into her son’s ear. In the opposite corner, Henry cradled Dot with one arm, her face turned into his chest.
“Stop!” I may have yelled a little too loudly, but I didn’t want to waste another second.
“You not permitted to be here,” one of the nurses said sternly in heavily accented English, pointing harshly to the door.
“We’re family.” Alec stepped in front of me, his voice hard and even despite the level of emotion it had trembled with only moments before. Charlie needed him to be strong. “And we can help.”
He stepped forward and explained his ability to the nurses.
“I don’t know about this.” Olivia stood, her brows creased, one hand still on Charlie’s forehead. “What if you just hurt him more?”
“We should let him try, Mom!” Dot piped
up, her hoarse voice breaking on every second word.
Everyone started talking over each other, arguing for or against the plan, while the nurses continued to try to get us to leave.
I kept my eyes trained on Charlie. He was breathing hard, his teeth gritted, his eyes drooping, but he was meeting my gaze. After a few moments, he nodded and squeezed his mother’s hand, cutting off whatever it was she’d been saying.
She looked down at him, and the whole room quieted.
“I want to try,” Charlie breathed, his voice weak and strained.
Olivia closed her eyes, pushing more tears down her cheeks, and took a deep breath. Then she nodded, kissed Charlie tenderly on the forehead, and went to stand with the rest of her family.
Alec and I took her place. He rubbed his palms on his pants, blowing out a breath—the first signs of nervousness he’d shown since we’d walked into the room.
Charlie lifted his hand in invitation, and Alec took it. I threaded my fingers through Alec’s other hand and waited for him to take the lead.
“Just give me a little to start with,” Alec murmured, and I obeyed, letting the warm, tingly feeling in our hands take over. I released just a little Light, then shut it down and waited.
Alec closed his eyes, a look of intense concentration on his face. He bent over Charlie, gripping his hand just a little tighter.
“More,” he whispered, and I gave him more—the same amount as before. As I was about to stop the flow, he spoke again. “Keep going. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
I let a steady, controlled stream of Light course through my hand and into his, briefly marveling at how effortless it was. The closer I got to my Bond—not just physically but on all levels—the easier it was to not only control the Light but understand it. Knowing exactly how much I needed to transfer and when and who needed it most was becoming second nature.
“OK.” Alec squeezed my hand but didn’t let go. I cut the flow.
For a few moments, everyone held their breath, the whirs and beeps of the machines in the room the only things penetrating the silence.
Then, Charlie sighed. Olivia sprang forward, looking poised to tackle the Master of Pain himself to the ground, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw the look of serenity on Charlie’s face.
Pride swelled in my chest, as if I’d just done the impossible and not Alec. I grinned, rejoicing in the little twitch of his lips that indicated he was pleased too.
“How does that feel, Charlie?” Alec spoke low, caressing his cousin’s hand with his thumb. Charlie loosened his grip, but Alec was holding firm.
“Like . . . nothing.”
Finally, the smile broke out on Alec’s face.
“Not like a pleasant sensation or anything, just . . . nothing.” Wonder filled Charlie’s voice, and his eyes closed; his body visibly relaxed. “The pain is just gone.”
“You think you can keep it going?” one of the nurses recovered enough from her shock to ask.
Alec and I both nodded, and they sprang back to work.
We didn’t speak, but we worked perfectly together—me pushing more Light at him as soon as I registered he needed it, him focusing fully on keeping the pain at bay.
The process wasn’t flawless. A few times Alec’s hold on the pain slipped, or I didn’t push more Light in time, and Charlie would wince or cry out. But we quickly adjusted, and the nurses worked fast. They soon finished changing the dressings, and as they cleaned up, Alec finally released Charlie’s hand. He was asleep.
Olivia pulled Alec down into a hug.
His face froze in an expression of shock. As much as people avoided him because of his ability, Alec had pushed people away too. It may have come as a surprise to him that his aunt was hugging him, but it was not a surprise to me. His family loved him.
Dot wrapped her delicate arms around his waist straight after, holding on to him for a long time, then turned and hugged me too. Over her shoulder, I watched Henry pull Alec in for a third hug, relief palpable in his red-rimmed eyes.
As we stepped back into the hallway, the others looked up expectantly.
“Well?” Ethan asked, his hands on his hips.
Instead of answering, Alec swept me up in his arms and kissed me. His arms banded tight around my back, he lifted me off the ground, and I twined my legs around his waist.
Kissing Alec was always intense, usually a surprise, and never failed to satisfy. This was no different, yet it had a new energy to it. He kissed me deeply, his tongue massaging mine in steady movements, his arms pressing me against his chest. I enthusiastically returned the embrace, still riding the high of what we’d been able to do for Charlie.
The kiss was everything it always was with him—all-consuming, making the rest of the world fall away—but it held none of the reluctance or restraint I’d felt from him in the past.
I felt giddy. Horny but giddy.
My surge of lust had me forgetting where we were, and I rolled my hips against the steadily growing bulge in Alec’s pants. He had the presence of mind to break the kiss.
He pressed his forehead to mine and smiled in a way I’d only seen a handful of times—wide and genuine, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling with happiness. “Thank you.” His warm breath washed over my face.
“What for? You did all the work.” I chuckled as he set me back down.
He held my gaze, his eyes boring into mine with so much emotion, so much hope.
I had a feeling he wasn’t thanking me for helping him take Charlie’s pain away; he was thanking me for making him see it was possible. For showing him he was more than a monster, that he could use his ability for positive things.
“You’re welcome.” I smiled, hoping the look in my eyes conveyed my understanding.
“So it went well, then?” Josh chuckled.
“Knew you could do it.” Tyler looked smug as Alec and I finally separated.
Ethan clapped a hand on Alec’s shoulder and beamed, making his dimples appear.
But before we could explain to them exactly what happened, a doctor in scrubs came rushing down the hallway, one of the nurses from Charlie’s room right behind him.
“Oh, shit.” I pressed myself closer to Alec.
“Are you the man with the pain ability?” he demanded.
Alec nodded. “I am.”
Without hesitation, the man held his hand out for Alec to shake, and after a pause, Alec took it.
My face nearly split open, I was smiling so wide. Someone casually touching Alec was an insignificant, everyday thing, but I knew how much it meant to him.
“Can you do it again? I have more burn victims than this facility is equipped to handle, and it would go much faster if patients weren’t in pain.” The doctor’s face was wild with desperation and hope.
Alec looked at me, raising his brows.
“I’m up for it if you are.” I shrugged. I was spent—absolutely exhausted, dirty, and sore in places I didn’t want to think about, but I’d managed to have a nap on the plane, and I’d been sitting in the waiting room for hours letting the Light replenish. If there was anything we could do to help some of these people, I was on board.
“Lead the way, doctor.” Alec’s chest puffed out just a fraction as he threaded his fingers through mine and followed the doctor down the hall.
Tyler followed after us, heading for the exit. “I’ll go try to deal with the press.”
“I’ll check in with Aunt Olivia.” Ethan was already halfway through the door to Charlie’s room.
“I’ll get us all some food and coffee.” Josh gathered his jacket from the plastic chair.
“Espresso!” I yelled over my shoulder. “Latte if you can get it.”
He flashed me a grin and shook his head.
We all did better when we felt as though we had something to do—some way to contribute.
We had no idea if Lucian would make it through the night, Davis had escaped, Zara very likely had a dangerous new ability, and once again people had
been maimed and killed. As soon as details made it to the public, I had no doubt tensions between Variants and humans would turn nuclear. We had one hell of a clusterfuck to deal with.
But in that moment, rushing down the hospital hallway hand in hand with Alec, at least I could take comfort in the fact that we would deal with it together. I finally felt as if I was part of my own Bond, and I knew they’d have my back no matter what.
Epilogue
“G’day, love. You right?” The trucker was about as cliché as you could imagine, standing between his rig and the back wall of the rest stop—potbelly, wifebeater, dirty red cap half covering his weathered, frowning face.
But what choice did Zara have? “Yeah, just tired.”
“Strewth! American.” He smiled, showing crooked teeth, but it seemed genuine. “Backpacker?”
Why did Australians insist on shortening everything? What was wrong with full sentences? She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and made herself stand up taller. “Yeah. Trying to get to Melbourne. Can I get a lift?”
“It’s your lucky day!” The trucker pulled his shorts up, puffing his chest out. “Heading right through the city on me way to Geelong. Just gotta take a piss. Head off in fifteen.”
He didn’t wait for a response, walking around the block of toilets and leaving Zara alone in front of the semi-trailers. She let herself slump forward again, giving in to the shake in her arms.
She was somewhere just past Sydney. The couple in the minivan had dropped her off at the truck stop; they were heading into the center, and Zara needed to keep moving south.
It was a long way to Melbourne. Hopefully the trucker wouldn’t want to do it in one long drive. Even though he didn’t make the best first impression, she still didn’t want to kill him. And she wasn’t sure she could stay in control for that long.
She could feel the electricity now. It was always there, under her skin. Writhing, straining, demanding to be released. As if it knew it didn’t belong there—that it wasn’t Zara’s to command.
Davis had a fucking contingency plan for everything, and it was almost laughable how easy it had been for them to slip away in Thailand. They’d been hiding out on a remote property in northern Australia, in another underground lab, as his scientists continued their work. But as Davis’s plans moved forward, he had less and less interest in Zara and helping her bring her new ability under control. He’d all but given up trying to figure out why it was so unsettled—despite the fact she’d accidentally killed one of his men.
Vital Found (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 2) Page 39