“No, but I did,” I supply. “Last night in the garden right before Scruff freaked out, I told him Doc H had a theory about frequency. I guess the big bad didn’t want us proving that theory.”
I wait for Luke or Dom to call me an idiot again, but I get off lightly.
“So, it killed two birds with one stone. Not only by taking Amy did it stop the testing, but it also knows we’ll go after Sam to get Amy back. It’s luring us into its trap.” Luke runs a hand over the back of his neck. He glances back at the doc. “What’s your frequency theory, doc?”
“Ah, yes. I have a hypothesis that our alien friends have evolved to hear and communicate at very low frequencies, much like whales. It’s a proven fact that the noise from mid to high-frequency sonar systems, used by the military, shipping, and research vessels can cause whales to become totally disoriented and to swim into the wrong areas, even leading to beaching. The whistle story confirms I may be on the right track. We need to figure out the leeches hearing threshold and work from that. If they can’t hear the frequency, then it won’t affect them, but if I’m correct, assaulting the leeches with the correct frequency may be disabling to them. Cause wide-spread confusion or even paralysis, enough so to keep them from being a viable threat to us.”
Luke stares at the doc like he’s grown two heads. “Jesus, doc. If that’s the case, we could practically walk straight into this warehouse and take out the super mind with no confrontation whatsoever.”
“Exactly. We’d need to find the correct frequency and decibels required. Since we no longer have the girl to test, I suggest we go straight for the jugular and wake up the more difficult test subject. If the theory is correct, then we have all the necessary equipment here to build the ultrasonic weapon we need.”
The doc’s mumbo jumbo is confusing as hell, but one thing catches my attention. Another test subject?
Doc H coughs at the mass of questioning looks coming from us.
Doc Roger breaks the awkward silence. “Now’s not the time to keep secrets, Jules. Spill it.”
The white-haired doc purses his lips. “We may have lied to you when we said our hybrid died. It’s still very much alive and as nasty as ever.”
“Jesus,” I mutter as I run a hand over my head in frustration. “Maybe that’s something we should have known about?”
Kasina stares at me unapologetically. “Maybe. But be that as it may, we now have a test subject vital to this theory.”
“But Sam didn’t detect it. He can always feel when one is around.” I direct my question to Doc H, but it’s Kasina who answers me again.
“We keep it sedated. It was becoming very volatile. Without it being awake, Sam couldn’t detect the connection, even with being this close to it.”
Doc H glances around the room wearily, expecting a backlash from this confession I’m sure. Instead, Luke grins for the first time since the shit hit the fan this morning.
“You’re telling me you have a hybrid we can test this theory on, and the big bad doesn’t know about it? Brilliant.”
Doc H nods.
“But once you wake it up, won’t it be able to connect to the super mind?” My head starts hurting from all the varying aspects of this whole plan, competing with my guilt and fear. I’m a fucking mess.
Doc Roger answers this one. “The lab being encased in metal coated glass and steel and reinforced concrete distorts their communication. Kind of like a Faraday cage. We can only send and receive radio transmissions from outside the lab. That’s probably why its brethren have never come for it all this time. It can’t communicate with them to let them know its here.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Luke asks. “Time is of the essence. Let’s get this show on the road.” He switches his attention to the bald army guy. “Barclay have your men managed to recharge the battery for our truck?”
“Done. They’re en route back to the truck as we speak. It should arrive here shortly.”
The mood in the room shifts a little. With the doc’s theory comes a degree of hope. But my mood is still as desolate as ever as questions ricochet in my head, ripping me apart.
What about Sam and Amy? What happens to them? Did Sam take his sister to it? To that thing? What if Doc H’s theory doesn’t work? What if it takes too long, and we’re too late to save them? So many questions. I feel like I’m losing my mind.
I push the questions to the back of my head and lock them down. I can’t think that way. Not now. I need to focus on the task at hand. Help get this plan in motion, otherwise I’ll completely and utterly lose my shit.
Chapter Eighteen
I stare out the window as a light rain patters on the glass, and water streams off into long rivulets. I follow one with my fingertip until it drops out of sight. It disappears, just like Sam and Amy. I sigh as I pull myself away from the window and start pacing the room again. I want to scream. Punch the shit out of something. Anything to ease this damn ache in my chest.
I stride back and forth in the empty room, my mind firing on all cylinders. The storage room is filled with chairs and old lab equipment and enough dust to choke a horse, but it’s quiet. A place to get away from everyone. Just what I need. I’m well aware I’m unraveling at the seams.
My mood shifts with every step I take. Anger. Disbelief. Fear. Grief. It all jolts through me, boiling into one unstable cesspool of emotion.
How had I failed so badly again? How had I not seen this coming? Amy was in danger, and I just let her slip through my fingers. Sam took her right out from under my nose. Then there’s Sam. He wasn’t infected. He was so sure he was disconnected from the hive. So sure he was able to resist them. He was a fool. So was I. Wanting him to be the old Sam so badly clouded my judgement. I should have seen through it. Even the damn dog had known something was wrong.
“Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!”
I tear at my hair as the screams rip at my throat. I hate this. This waiting. This not knowing. This feeling of total helplessness. We need to move out already. To be on the road and going after Sam and Amy. But we had to wait. Wait for the docs to come up with some sort of… what had he called it? Ultrasonic weapon. Wait for him to test it on the damn hybrid. And what if it doesn’t work? What if this whole idea of his is utter and complete nonsense? Where would that leave us? Up shit creek without a paddle, that’s where we’ll be. Waging a war with half a dozen against hundreds of leeches, hybrids, and the super mind. A suicide mission.
“I figured that was your elegant speech I heard echoing down the hall.” Luke slips into the room on silent feet, and I whirl in fright.
“Shit, Whitman.” I glower at him. “You trying to give me a heart attack?”
He shoves his hands in his jeans’ pockets as he stares across the room at me. “Sorry, thought you heard me coming.” His dark eyes are filled with worry. “You okay?”
I run a hand over the shaved side of my head. It’s prickly and rough. Just like me at the moment. “Do I look okay?”
“No. You look like you could use a friend.”
My grin is void of humor. “Well, then I guess I’m shit out of luck since the only two I have are missing right now and possibly dead.”
“They’re not dead. Sam is the super mind’s lackey. He needs him alive. Amy too. It knows we’ll come after the girl. If it wanted her dead, it would have had Sam do it here.”
I take a deep breath. Luke’s right.
“And as for having no friends, that’s not true and you know it. You still have us.”
“Us?” I snort. “As in the crew? As in Robyn and Dom who can’t stand my guts, and Gordo, Mike, and Badger who most likely blame me for all this since I convinced you all to let Sam stay? Yeah, I don’t think ‘friend’ is the word they associate with me right now. Not to mention you…” I drop my gaze from his as I start pacing again.
“What about me?” Luke’s tone is questioning.
I throw my hands up in the air. “Never mind. Nothing. I’m not even sure what I meant by that.”
Before I know it, he’s across the room and in front of me. I halt abruptly, almost slamming my chin into his chest. His fingers grab my chin before I can step away, forcing my face up, so my eyes connect with his.
“You don’t think I consider you a friend?”
Our faces are close. So close I can smell his familiar scent and see the fine, blond whiskers covering his square jaw and the top of his lip. It takes all my willpower not to reach up and touch those lips.
“How could you?” I whisper. “You’re a good man, Luke, and I’ve hurt you so much. I’ve lied to you. I’ve turned my back on you. I treated you horribly. How can you even stand to be in the same room as me? I can’t even stand to be in the same room as me.”
He raises a blond brow as the right corner of his mouth lifts. “Some days it’s an effort; I’m not gonna lie. You don’t make it easy for people to like you. But what you seem to forget, Emma Bixby, is that I know you better than you know yourself at times. I know that behind that foul mouth and harsh exterior beats a heart of gold. Beyond the brashness and snark is a woman who loves fully and completely. A woman who’s not afraid to do what it takes to protect those she loves. A woman who is loyal, passionate, and fearless. Someone I’m proud to call my friend.”
He wipes at the tears gathering in the corner of my eyes.
“I know you’re scared right now for Amy and Sam. So am I. I’m scared for all of us. We have no idea what we’re walking into or if any of us will make it back out alive. I’ve been thinking about that. A lot. And I’ve concluded that life is way too short. That’s why I came looking for you. I just want you to know in case something does happen to us, you made me happy in our time together, and I don’t regret a single moment of it.”
The tiny laugh drops from my lips as I put a little distance between us, so I can look him in the eye. “You know, you really do need to work on your pep talks. There is such a thing as too much honesty.”
He shrugs. “I’m a simple guy, Bix. I believe in being honest and upfront. I’ve never hidden that from you. Or my feelings.”
The intensity of his chocolate-brown eyes as they devour my face heightens every single one of my senses. Every hair stands on end. Every nerve ending quivers as he runs his fingers down my cheek and collarbone. I lick my lips and clear my throat, swallowing hard. My heart hammers in my chest, and I’m sure he knows by the way my pulse throbs in my neck.
“No matter what’s happened or what may happen, my feelings haven’t changed, Bix. I want you to know that. I care about you. I have for a long time. Don’t ask me why. You’re about as lovable as a fucking hornet. But little by little I saw the real you, and it reeled me in, hook, line, and sinker.” He runs his two thumbs along my cheeks, over my lips, and my knees go weak. All I want to do is lose myself in the love I see shining in his eyes. Fall into his arms and let him hold me and tell me everything is going to be okay. He makes me feel safe. He makes me feel at peace. But it’s all an illusion. Those two things don’t exist anymore. Instead, I grab his two hands, stopping his perusal of my face and break the beauty of the moment.
“You shouldn’t,” I whisper.
“I shouldn’t what?”
I swallow again, trying to stop the tears blocking my throat. “You shouldn’t care about me. I’m a fucking jinx. A bad omen. Anyone who’s ever cared about me, well, bad things happen to them. My mom. Liv. Coop. Amy. Sam. I think it’s the universe’s way of telling me I’m no good. That I’m rotten. That I don’t deserve anyone’s concern. And you sure as hell deserve better than me.” Just not Robyn.
I keep that last thought to myself. I don’t want to mention her name.
He sighs, his warm breath tickling my cheek. “Bix, you need to let go of this self-hatred. And fuck the universe. It doesn’t know you like I do. I love—”
“Don’t.” I press a finger against his lips, even though my heart feels like it’s about to burst. “Don’t say it. It’s bad luck. I don’t want anything to happen to you, too, by saying that.”
His eyes reflect his confusion. “Too?”
I flush under his gaze. I didn’t mean to reveal that, but I explain anyway. “Sam. Just before the super mind took him over, he… he did the same thing. Revealed his heart. Told me how he felt. Then he became one of them. I told you. I’m a curse to anyone who cares about me.”
“And I told you before, I’m not Sam. And I don’t believe in curses. Besides, we’re already destined to fight a super alien and its army. A fight we probably won’t survive. The universe can’t throw much more shit our way, can it?”
My tiny laugh is tinged with hysteria. This is so not the right time for this conversation. Sam and Amy missing. A super mind and its army waiting to tear us to shreds and take over the earth. Yet being in Luke’s arms feels right. Like it’s where I’m supposed to be at this exact moment in time.
“I. Love. You.” He glances up at the ceiling. “And up yours, universe.”
This is the Luke I remember. The one who’s honest. Open. Warm. Funny. The one who broke through my walls and made me care.
I don’t say anything, but maybe Luke sees it in my eyes. He sucks in a deep breath before his head dips toward mine. The moment our lips touch it’s like a spark igniting a powder keg. My skin sizzles. My stomach folds in on itself. My heart feels like it doubles in size. But still I can’t bring myself to say those same words back.
Instead, I focus on the moment. The feel of his lips on mine. The way my skin quivers at his touch. It makes me forget. I want to forget. I don’t want to think about the shit world we live in. About how those I love are in so much danger. About how most of us will probably not make it back alive. I know it’s selfish and self-centered, but I don’t care. Right at this point in time, I want to lose myself in the oblivion of satisfaction, and Luke is the one to deliver it.
Luke goes with my response. He grabs my ass, lifting me, and I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me to the dusty desk. Plunking my butt down hard, he nestles between my thighs and grinds against me, causing everything below my waist to short circuit and send me over the edge. I gasp in pleasure as his tongue strokes mine with the promise of more to come. I know if I wasn’t already sitting, my knees would be too damn weak to keep me from sinking to the floor.
He tears his mouth away from mine, and I moan in pleasure as he drops tiny kisses over my cheek, my earlobe, down my neck. Goosebumps erupt as a shiver jolts down my spine.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispers, the bulge pressing between my legs tells me he’s not lying.
“Then fucking show me how much,” I whisper back, reaching between us to unbutton my pants.
“Luke? Bix?” The muffled voice echoes down the corridor outside our little sanctuary, and I know who it is without a doubt. Gordon.
“Are you kidding me?” Luke growls, pressing his forehead to mine, both of us breathing heavily with arousal.
“Don’t answer. Maybe he’ll go away.”
“It’s Gordo. He won’t give up until he finds us. You know that.” He shifts away from me, and a whine of protest falls from my lips. I reach out to pull him back. No. He can’t leave me hanging like this. He grabs my hand and kisses my knuckle.
“We can’t. Not with him out there prowling. I swear to god that little dipshit has cockblocker radar.”
My grunt of laughter is mixed with disappointment. Luke zips his hoodie and pulls it down to cover the bulge in his jeans and leans back against the desk, arms crossed.
“In here,” he answers to Gordo’s second round of bellowing. Footsteps echo down the corridor moments before the door swings open, and a red head comes into view.
“What the hell you guys doing down here in the basement?”
Luke cocks a brow. “Would you believe trying to get a little privacy?”
“Why?” Gordo glances back and forth between our flushed faces. Understanding sets in, and he turns the same color as his hair. “Oh, geez. Sorry, dudes. Didn’t mean to inter
rupt, but Doc H sent me to find you guys. He’s ready to test the hybrid with his frequency theory. I figured you guys would want to be there for that.”
I leap from the desk, putting my need for Luke on the back burner. “Damn right we do. Lead the way, kid.”
They had moved the hybrid since our last visit here. The thing has been upgraded to an isolation room with a viewing window and all. The room is sturdy and solid. The fiberglass window has steel moldings reinforcing the glass at every junction. They aren’t taking any chances.
Through the window, I see the hybrid lying unresponsive on its steel bed, straps hanging loose at its arms and feet, and an IV drip at its head. It appears smaller than I remember. Emaciated. Like it’s shriveling up from its captivity. I almost feel sorry for it.
All three docs await us, plus the rest of our crew. Barclay and two of his men are also there, something akin to freaking elephant guns attached to their shoulders. The sight of the weapons makes me feel better than just depending on the glass to keep us separate from the hybrid.
Robyn looks up from her study of her nails at our entrance. “Nice of you two to join us.”
Her eyes examine me like she’s looking for evidence of what we were up to. I wonder if my lips look as swollen as they feel? Like I’ve been thoroughly kissed to hell and back. I think they do because her eyes fill with a mixture of anger and jealousy before turning away. I fight to keep the tiny grin off my face. God, I’m such a petty person. Luke doesn’t seem to notice at all as he joins Doc H at the equipment laden table underneath the window.
“Update us, doc.”
Doc H nods, getting down to business. “Okay. We’ve stopped the subjects drip and loosened its restraints. It should wake up soon.” He must sense how we all tense. “No need to worry. It can’t escape the room.”
Hmmm. Really. So why the need for restraints in the first place? I edge a little closer to Barclay.
“Nice gun,” I mutter, and he shoots me a grin of agreement.
Strain of Vengeance (Bixby Series Book 3) Page 18