by Alisha Rai
“That’s…that’s insane.”
“Things happened to you guys at Raven, right? Things that changed who you were from when you went underground. I mean, maybe it’s a different group from the people you once knew. Or maybe it’s not them at all.”
A small comfort. “What, exactly, were they testing?”
“I’m not sure what their end goal was, but I think it had something to do with combining Shadows and humans.”
“You mean, combining and controlling the effect of the virus on humans?” Even as he said the words, the light bulb went off. “Erik’s silver hair and eyes…”
“Erik called himself their greatest accomplishment. The doctors weren’t happy about losing him, so I believe that he meant something to their project. His hair was as dark as mine once. And he’s stronger than what he was. Shadows aren’t super strong, but you know they’re pretty tough. And fast. Phew, he’s really fast.” She made a face. “He has to drink blood too. I guess it’s one of the trade-offs for the abilities he has.”
“Jesus. This is unheard of. I need to get this info back to Gabriel as soon as possible. Until we know more, we definitely can’t risk sending any men out to that mountain.” He looked up at Jules sharply. “Why Canada? Why didn’t you come to us?” To me.
“It…seemed like the best thing to do. They could have been following us.”
He supposed it was possible that Jules had decided driving north was the best way to lose a tail. But she’d known he was following her too, and he couldn’t believe she’d decided to make it hard on him. Not when she’d gone through all that trouble to leave him the trail of paper. He wanted to pursue this, but there were other, more pertinent questions to be asked.
“Did you check for any kind of bugs on you?”
“Yeah. Well, Erik said he had something implanted in his hip, and so did Carrie. He suspected it was a bug of some kind and removed it after we drove around a little. I didn’t have one. I wasn’t even there for a full day, so I guess it makes sense that I didn’t get tagged.”
“He’s wearing some sort of collar…”
“I couldn’t find the key, and we had to jet. It’s not like mine. It’s an electroshock collar. He said they used it to control him and that they didn’t usually have trackers embedded in them.”
James had no vast experience with these devices, but he’d studied them and others when creating the Compound surveillance collars. He’d thought they were an inhumane way of controlling prisoners back in the day, and nothing had changed. A device in the wrong person’s hand could lead to a lot of pain. “As far as I know, those weren’t engineered with a GPS, but it wouldn’t be unheard of to modify something like that.” He might be able to do it in a few days. Kev would be able to hack one inside of an hour.
“Shit. I was banking that it was safe.”
Without a key, it would be next to impossible to get an electroshock off. They had been engineered to withstand a lot of tampering. “I can take a look at it,” he offered. “But I don’t have a frequency detector on me. We may have to assume he’s being tracked.” He hated being the cause of her anxiety.
“If they were keeping tabs on us, they would have found us by now.”
He recognized her words for the plea for reassurance that they were. That was why, despite the newfound urgency screaming at him to bundle her up and take her to a safe place, preferably far away from the collared hybrid, he agreed. “Probably. We’ll be cautious, of course, but you have a good point.” He looked down at the feverish teen. “Will she be like Erik? A hybrid?”
“I don’t know. She was bitten when I tried to rescue her. Erik guessed that it somehow accelerated whatever she’d been shot up with, sped up the effects of the Illness. The poor kid’s been in a coma almost since we broke out and escaped. As of right now, she’s human, but…” Jules shrugged, getting up to place the empty gel packet on the end table.
God, they’d walked all that way, from the broken-down van, with a comatose adolescent? That was more than amazing. “How is she holding up now?”
“Same. I suppose she could still turn or die. Until she recovers, we won’t really know what has happened to her. We’re lucky to have found this shelter. All the moving about couldn’t have been good for her.” Her lower lip trembled for a brief moment, but she steadied it. Jules pulled out her penknife and painstakingly crushed two pills into a cup before filling it with water from a pitcher. She sat down again, her gaze on Carrie, and began the process of getting the liquid into the teen’s mouth.
Some liquid dribbled out of the girl’s open lips, but most of it appeared to go down her throat.
Please don’t die. He hadn’t met the girl, but he hated to think of how much pain Jules would be in to lose another person she’d fought so hard for. There was nothing Jules hated more than being late.
James was no doctor, but he was fairly certain trekking through a wasteland was not the best treatment for the Illness. In fact, the girl’s sickness would make it difficult to head out of here immediately, as he’d initially planned. He and Jules could switch off driving so they didn’t need to stop, but as Jules had already so aptly demonstrated, it was quite possible for a car to fail.
She’d given him the bare bones of the story, but his job had been and was all about processing what people said—and what they didn’t say as well. He leaned in closer and picked up the girl’s arm to give himself something to do. Her pulse was weak, but at least it was there. “Okay. Now I want you to go back through this story and tell me what you’re leaving out.”
Jules pulled back, physically and emotionally. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re not telling me something.”
“I’ve told you everything that happened.”
There. There was a tiny waver in her voice. “The facts, sure. But you’re hiding something…” He narrowed his eyes. “Tell me.”
She moved to get up from the bed, but he reached out, quick as a snake, and grabbed hold of her arm. “You will tell me, Jules.”
Surprise was transparent in her widened eyes as she studied his hand on her. He knew he wasn’t hurting her, but he made sure his grip was strong enough that she wouldn’t be able to run away. He wasn’t about to go chasing her again.
“I thought you were such a nice guy.”
Was nice a euphemism for a weakling? After everything he’d been bleating to her without being aware of it during his ride out, he wouldn’t be surprised if she thought that. “I am a nice guy. That doesn’t make me a pushover.”
“It would make things easier if you were,” she muttered.
“Easier, but not enjoyable for either of us.” James stroked his thumb over the soft skin of her arm. “Tell me, and maybe I won’t give you a very loud lecture on all the reasons you should have contacted me before you chased a girl, got kidnapped and thrown in a cage.” His jaw clenched as he thought about the huge danger she had put herself in. “Even though I want to yell at you.”
“I know.”
“It’s really hard for me to not yell at you.” His voice went hoarse. There’s a sick girl in here. You can’t yell.
“I appreciate your restraint. I do.” She patted his arm.
He realized his grip had gotten tighter, and he released it immediately, drawing his hand back. Lines of tension had appeared around her mouth.
“Jules? You okay?”
She shook her head. Folded her arms over her chest, closing herself off. “No, I don’t think I am.”
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Still haven’t filled him in, Jules? My, my. So much for all your faith.”
The hybrid’s voice came from behind him, and James stood up from the bed slowly, his fingers itching to draw his weapon.
He didn’t, but he kept his hand on the butt of his gun as he faced the door to the bedroom. “We weren’t introduced,” James said. “I’m James.”
The other man grunted. “I know who you are.”
>
“And I know who you are.”
They eyed each other.
In the periphery of his vision, he could see Jules coming around the bed. Another woman might have been wringing her hands. Jules looked pissed. “Don’t you dare fight again. Not in here. I won’t have you disturbing Carrie.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Erik said. “I have no problems with your lover boy, if he has no problems with me.”
James had lots of problems with the other man, but he couldn’t even begin to articulate them. His automatic dislike was unusual for him. Generally, James liked most people unless they proved him wrong. Clearly, he was still jealous of Erik Jafari. Or rather, still jealous of any residual emotion Jules seemed to feel for her old friend.
James wondered if acknowledging his feelings might make them easier to bear.
No.
The tension mounted as they stared at each other. Jules broke it with a sharp clap of her hands. “Did you find any game?”
Erik darted a glance at her. “Yes. A rabbit.”
“Excellent. Carrie could use some broth, and I’m starving.”
“I have not skinned it. It’s on the back porch.”
Like a small child, James fervently wished he could show up this bastard in the skinning department. But the suburb he’d grown up in hadn’t been teeming with wild game. He’d read a couple of books about camping, and that was the closest he’d ever gotten to living off the land. Still, he would volunteer. If you can remove a car from a mud puddle with a couple of tree branches, you can skin an animal. Probably. “I could do it.”
“You can skin game?” Jules asked. Her skepticism stung his pride, fair that it was.
“I’ve never done it before, but I’m a fast learner.”
She gave a small smile. “I’ve got this one.” Jules looked between them. “You can come outside with me, though.”
Since his urge was to get away from the hybrid, he did the exact opposite. Aversion therapy.
Besides, he hated to leave the girl alone with the man, until he got to know him better. Call him crazy, but getting attacked by someone really put a damper on his trusting abilities.
“I’ll stay,” he said, all brave and unconcerned.
Jules glanced between them again, obviously sensing the mutual dislike in the air. “Um, okay. But I swear to God, one of you tries to incite the other, it’s not a rabbit I’ll be skinning.”
The credible threat hanging, she stalked past Erik.
The staring contest was getting old, James decided, just as Erik spoke into the charged silence. “I’m not armed, but perhaps you would feel more comfortable holding that gun instead of caressing it.”
James deliberately took his hand away from the butt of the weapon. “I think I handled you quite well without a gun outside.”
“You weren’t completely puny,” the other man conceded. He moved into the room. They were both careful to keep their fronts facing each other.
“I enjoyed the hospitality of a number of men like you.” Erik sneered. “Employed by a group out to save the world. Or rather, to save the world you want to save.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” James replied, as calmly as he could. “Jules told me a little about the men holding you. We are nothing like that.”
“So you say.”
“It’s the truth.”
Erik only shook his head and walked around the opposite side of the bed. He didn’t sit down next to Carrie or fuss over her, but James noticed his hand imperceptibly brush against the girl’s.
Their eyes met. “I don’t like you standing so close to Carrie.” Erik showed his teeth, a flash of fang. “Step away from the bed.”
James frowned. “I don’t hurt young women. Forget the fact that she’s sick.”
“Whatever. Step. Away.”
James wouldn’t argue with a loaded gun, and the anger coiling the other man was exactly that—a primed weapon. He took a solid step back, watching some of the protective defensiveness dissipate from Erik’s stance. Suspicion was a two-way street.
It was also a waste of energy and resources. He needed information, and here was a ready source to tap. “I really am no danger to you or anyone here. Jules trusts me.”
“She trusted the man who left me to die in a cage. Forgive me if I question her judgment. Besides, I am not sure she trusts you completely. I do not believe she has told you everything.”
Oof, that smarted. “Do you know what she’s hiding from me?”
Erik’s finger smoothed over Carrie’s elbow. “Yes. I’ve been with her over the past couple of days.”
Another jealous pinch. Plus anger at the unsaid remainder of that sentence: unlike you. He tried to tell himself not to get defensive, but that was about as effective as telling a porcupine not to bristle. “I came after her as soon as I figured out something was amiss.”
“Ah, but you missed a lot of things. For example, you were not here yesterday when I found her hiding from predators under the body of the Shadow she killed, were you?”
His chest hurt. “What?”
“I ran ahead to find shelter. She was alone when one attacked. She took care of matters, as always, but not without some trouble.”
If he let it, the guilt of what she’d gone through would overpower him. Never again. She’ll never go through something like that alone, ever again.
“I guess that is the problem with backup that is so far away, yes? By the time it arrives, the damage is already done.” Erik shrugged.
No one knew better than him how difficult it was to overcome trauma. “Are you talking about you or her?”
“Both, I suppose. We are remarkably similar, Jules and I. Always have been. That is why our friendship was so instantaneous.” Erik cast him a mocking glance. “Since we first met. Which was, I believe, before you two did. Would have to be, since I understand you really only met this morning.”
James crossed over to a chair and sat down, facing the other man across the bed. “I’m not quite sure why you’re trying to make me jealous. It won’t work. I know there’s nothing between you.” I’m jealous enough, even knowing that. You don’t have to try to do anything.
Erik mirrored his pose, taking a seat in a chair closer to Carrie. “You are correct. I have no ties to anyone.”
James wanted to take the guy at face value, but he’d always been regrettably good at reading people. They sat in silence for a while, and from the way Erik watched the girl, he knew some sort of deep emotion bubbled below the surface.
If there was anything James understood, it was caring for and worrying about a woman. He took a deep breath. “I could look at your collar. I’m no expert, but I know a fair bit about tech. I probably can’t get it off without any tools, but I can see if it was modified for GPS.”
The hybrid’s eyes grew even colder. “No. Thank you. I do not want anyone near my neck.”
Empathy dissipating, his temper flared. “You would endanger these women instead?”
“I am not endangering them.”
“If you’re carrying something that will lead your captors to their doorstep, you’re endangering them.”
The other man looked away, but not before James caught a glimpse of guilt on the otherwise impassive face. James wasn’t telling Erik anything new.
“I could not leave Jules when she was sick to look after Carrie.”
“She’s not sick any longer. And I’m here.”
“So you’re telling me to leave?”
“Either that or swallow your pride and let me look at your fucking collar.” He would have yelled it, but he didn’t want to disturb Carrie.
The hybrid’s chest jerked. James half-expected the other man to launch across the bed and attack him for his impertinence, and he braced himself.
Instead, Erik slowly inclined his head. “Fine. But try not to touch my skin. I cannot tolerate another man touching me. I may…react.”
That was not comforting
.
Still, James approached the hybrid. As he came closer, Erik’s hands clenched on the armrests of the chair. He lowered his head farther, so James could see the lock on the back of the collar.
James made sure his hands were very delicate as he touched the lock. Since that would have been the easiest place to make a modification, he concentrated his attention there.
There were no marks or other evidence of tampering. He examined it as closely as he could, wishing he could figure out a way to take the thing off. The collar was loose enough around Erik’s massive neck that he could probably examine the inside of it by touch, if nothing else. “I’m going to see if I can slide my finger under it, so don’t freak out.”
He waited for the hybrid’s nod, and lifted the collar up so he could get one finger under it.
Muscles bunched, shifted, and Erik’s head whipped up. James barely managed to snatch his hand away. The other man’s sharp teeth closed on air.
“What the fuck?”
Erik blinked, the mindless rage fueling him dissipating. “I…I did not mean to do that.”
“I told you I was going to touch you.”
“I know. I’m sorry. When you lifted it up, it put pressure on my throat. I was not prepared and I reacted.”
His heart thundered. “Will you be prepared if I do it again?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can you try?”
Confusion crossed Erik’s face. “You would put yourself in danger solely to look at this collar?”
“I would put myself in danger so I could protect Jules,” he said grimly.
“That is… That is quite honorable of you.”
He had no idea if Erik was ridiculing him or praising him. However, the other man put his head down and grabbed hold of the chair again. “I will do my best not to attack you.”
Not comforting at all. James lifted the collar even more carefully this time and swept the inside of it, unable to find any signs of modifications. It was impossible to keep from touching Erik, and by the time he had finished examining the whole collar, the other man was rigid, his hair damp with sweat.