by Patti Larsen
She was crazy to begin with.
Reid sobs over Leila’s body. If only he had acted sooner, she would be alive and well. It’s all his fault.
He glances to the side, sees something blinking. Unhooks a GPS tracker from one of the soldier’s belts. Only one light blinks. His.
Reid shoves it in his pocket and lifts Leila’s dead body into his arms. He carries her to the door, using his new strength to wrench it from its hinges. He carries her out into the night, the cool air ruffling her pale, blonde hair. Reid lays her out on a patch of grass, stroking the silken strands out of her face. She is so beautiful and peaceful in death.
Reid decides then and there, when he finds the others and tells them what he knows, he’ll do the right thing and join her.
He will bury her here, just up the bank a ways, in the edge of the trees. She’d like that, he’s sure. It takes him a long time before he’s able to bring himself to leave her but he finally manages it. Reid moves to rise, to find the perfect place to lay her to rest, when a breath of air slides past her lips.
He waits, not breathing himself, hoping beyond hope. But she is still again. Just the last of her leaving him forever.
No. There. Again. Her chest rises. Falls. She chokes suddenly, rolling toward him, fluid gushing from her mouth to wet the ground beneath her.
Reid rubs her back, strokes her hair, his vision wavering behind a veil of constantly flowing tears. Alive. She is alive.
Leila collapses back again, her glorious eyes opening, meeting his. What little color she has returns to her cheeks, her pink lips widening into a smile.
“Reid,” she whispers. “I love you.”
He is hugging her and laughing as her fingers slide into his hair.
“Leila,” he says, finally able to tell her, knowing now, at last, no matter what, they have each other and everything is going to be okay. “I love you too.”
***
Chapter Twenty Three
One month later
Reid breathes deeply of the pine-scented air, looking out over the narrow valley below where a sparkling river runs. His morning jog did little to settle his mind. In fact, it’s almost made it worse.
His thoughts have been driving him relentlessly, not letting him rest, forcing him from his bed and onto the trail to pound away his unease through the soles of his sneakers. But with every passing mile, he knows more clearly this isn’t over.
Not yet.
He and Leila found the others easily enough, using the stolen GPS and a black SUV to take them to where their friends huddled and waited.
Drew’s hug was the hardest but his smile was the happiest, especially when he stepped aside and let Reid see who was waiting for him. Reid fell to his knees at Minnie’s side, accepted her face washing, the enthusiasm of her greeting.
“We managed to scrape up some dust,” Drew had said. “After the battle was over. Gave her just enough to heal her. We were sure the doctor would come for us. But she never did.”
Reid and Leila exchanged a look. “And she won’t,” Leila had said. “Ever again.”
Reid turns from the memory of their reunion and the gorgeous view and starts running again. But the past won’t leave him alone.
Syracuse’s house was abandoned, his dead body and that of two of his guards all that remained of the man. Between Drew and Sarah, they had managed to locate and strip Syracuse’s money into dummy accounts. Who knew the tiny girl was a hacker?
“Someone else was in here before us,” she had told Reid. “One of the offshores is empty.”
Reid is sure he knows who has that money. Her face haunts him, is part of the reason he is forced to run and run when it’s not necessary to run anymore, to try to escape the inevitable. But after three days with it he knows it’s time he acts. So he can finally rest.
And she’s not the only one he has to deal with. The whole pack had returned to the factory. They had searched for Dr. Lund’s notes, not expecting to find anything, rewarded with a steel strongbox hidden in the metal room at the top of the building.
Reid remembers avoiding the dust that was Joel and handing it to Drew. “If this is the stuff she used on him, we’re in trouble.”
“But if it’s hers,” Leila had countered, “we’ll all take it.”
Naturally it was Milo who had grabbed the first dose and helped himself. He twisted and writhed, his face contorting. And then he laughed and punched the horrified Drew in the shoulder.
“You got to try this stuff,” he said.
Reid finds himself laughing at the memory into the moist morning air. It’s July at last, the heat of summer making the days hot and lazy, just cool enough as the sun comes up for a good run. He knows Drew will torture Milo for that cruel joke for a long time.
How long, Reid doesn’t know. Dr. Lund said something about immortality, but Reid knows better than to believe the rantings of a crazy woman. And he was able to kill her, wasn’t he? He figures they’ll find out eventually. Still, he made sure Minnie had a dose of her own, just in case.
Last on their list had been a place to hide. Turns out Marcus had that one covered already. His mother owned a piece of woodland property, miles and miles of undeveloped land, with a string of run-down cabins on it.
“Used to come here when I was a kid,” he had whispered to Reid as the SUV crested the last rutted and hilly road, the hand full of weathered cottages laid out before them. “With Dad dead, I own it, I guess.”
Reid is happy to be here. It feels more natural to him now, to be in the forest. He’s been to the small town at the end of the road once since they arrived, to use a computer in a local café. But the sensation of being indoors, surrounded by buildings, makes his flesh creep. Even sleeping indoors is hard, but he knows he needs to get used to that. At least, he will when winter comes.
Reid finally comes to a halt not far from the cottages, hearing soft whuffs of greeting. He ordered Minnie to stay behind this morning and she sits there, all forlorn, waiting for him. Reid laughs and slaps his thighs with his hands. The happy lab comes running.
They collapse together under a spreading maple. Minnie rests her head in his lap, her brown eyes so intelligent he’s sure she’s as changed as he is. He sees Leila duck out of the cabin they share. She is a pale angel in the morning light, her smile brighter even than the sun. Her white shorts show of the bit of a tan she’s managed to get. His love for her is like a physical thing, reaching out with real longing. She waves at him, a spatula in her hand. He catches a whiff of pancakes and grins at her. Waves back. She blows him a kiss before ducking back inside.
Breakfast. Then maybe a swim. They have found a private part of the lake where the water is warm and the cove is secluded. His heart rate elevates just thinking about it. And her. The way her soft skin feels under the silky water…
“How was it?” Drew settles next to them, offering Minnie a pat. Reid jumps and spins, defenses ready. He didn’t notice his friend’s approach, too wrapped up in the girl he loves. He settles again, wondering if that’s a good sign or not.
Minnie swipes Drew’s hand with her tongue before returning all of her attention to Reid.
“Fine.” Reid shrugs. “Not doing the job.”
Drew laughs. “Remember what I said? That if we got out of that mess I’d never run another step?”
Reid nods as Drew stretches out with a happy sigh.
“Yup. I meant it. You’re nuts, my friend.”
Reid tosses a handful of grass in Drew’s face. “Maybe, genius.”
Drew sits up, making a face, but doesn’t protest. “Doesn’t take a genius to see something’s eating at you, Reid.” His eyes drift to Minnie. “You’ve been pretty distant. Even Leila mentioned it. And you two have been locked at the hip since you found us.”
Reid blushes. “Shut up.”
Drew laughs, but sobers quickly. “Milo tested the GPS. The overload we did worked. The chips aren’t active anymore.” Another brilliant idea by his very smart friend
. Drew managed to short out the trackers with his very own electromagnetic pulse, rigged with some supplies from a local hardware store and the battery of the SUV.
“That’s great.” Reid sighs. Distracted, his hand stops stroking Minnie. She shoves her wet nose under his fingers as a prompt.
“You’re still thinking about Lucy.” Drew’s voice is very soft, as if he doesn’t want to bring it up. But they both know Reid hates having her hang over him.
“Not just her. General Aberdeen.” Reid waves to Sarah and Nishka as they head out of one of the cabins, dressed in bathing suits and flip-flops. Sarah waves back, even as Kieran trails along behind them, a big grin on his face. Milo and Cole take up the rear, jostling each other with familiar good nature.
“It made sense he’d find us eventually.” Drew warned Reid ages ago setting up shop on Marcus’s family land would lead the general right to them. It was Drew’s idea to torch the factory when they left even though they all knew it wouldn’t fool everyone.
“Interesting visit though.” Reid gets up, brushes the dead leaves from the back of his pants, mind on the morning a lot like this one when a black SUV wound its way up through the forest and to their front door. Reid, with Marcus close on his right side and Drew on his left, watched them come.
The rest of the pack were already gone. The surveillance cameras Drew and Milo installed made sure they had lots of warning.
Aberdeen had been in street clothes. Got out of the truck slowly, hands where everyone could see them. So did the two men with him.
No back up. Unless they were invisible. Reid agreed to hear what the man had to say.
In the breezy, rustic kitchen of the largest cabin, Aberdeen restored Reid’s faith in the world by telling him the truth.
“Not here to bring you in,” Aberdeen said to him, green eyes smiling now. “Far as my superiors know, you’re all toasted marshmallows in that pretty fire you set.”
“What do you want?” There was always a price.
“The odd job done here and there.” The general shrugged his wide shoulders. “Truth is, Reid, I retired. Not right what they did to you kids. Couldn’t stand thinking no one was looking out for you.”
Marcus’s snort was loud. “We don’t need a daddy.”
Aberdeen nodded, his chair creaking as he did. “I know, son,” he said with such gentleness Reid thought of his own father. “But maybe you could use a friend.”
Reid shakes himself out of the past. He still hasn’t used the coded email to give Aberdeen and his friends an answer. It seems too personal a thing to share over the Internet. Besides, if he is to trust the former general, Reid needs to look him in the eye when he gives his reply.
Whatever that reply is going to be.
“You want some company?” Drew squints up at him, the sunlight filtering over Reid’s shoulder, lighting his friend’s face. He looks so different, so far from the chubby, braces- and glasses-wearing kid he met not so long ago. But Drew feels the same, and that’s enough for Reid.
“No thanks.” Reid smiles at his friend, just happy to have made a decision. “I only have these two things left, to keep us safe. Then I’ll be back.”
“You’re finally accepting it then, huh?” Drew grins. “Fearless leader.”
Reid reaches out and very gently cuffs Drew on the back of the head.
“Second,” he says. “Take care of them while I’m gone.”
Reid walks away, mind on his breakfast and the swim to come after with Minnie trailing along behind him.
He pauses, refocused. Looks down at her. Smiles. Turns to Drew.
“Maybe I will take someone with me after all,” he says.
Minnie’s tail wags in answer.
***
Chapter Twenty Four
General Compton Aberdeen slides himself into the driver’s seat of his black sedan and backs out of his driveway. The girls have the second car, off to some concert or another. Jenna and Alison make his heart ache with love for them and the need to keep them safe. Especially after what he’s witnessed.
Even the thought of his daughters being subjected to that sick experiment is enough for him to break into a cold sweat.
He shakes it off yet again, though that doesn’t seem to last very long. His memory keeps taking him back to the warehouse, the dust. The videos he forced himself to watch, recordings of the transformations, made by Dr. Lund. He wishes he didn’t have to go there again and again, but everything is still so fresh in his mind.
Aberdeen draws a breath, hands gripping the steering wheel as if the physical contact can shake him out of that horrible loop. Besides, he needs to haul ass. He’s late picking up Margaret at book club and knows she’ll give him hell for the smell of cigar smoke on his breath.
He just can’t seem to give them up.
Red brightness flickers in his eyes from the taillights of the car up ahead, distorted by the sheath of fat drops that start to fall. Within moments, it’s pouring.
It reminds him of that boy and his friends. Along with the endless rewind of the horrors he witnessed, those kids are on his mind all the time these days. Out there in the wilderness. Not that they are helpless or anything. He’s seen what they can do first hand. Respects their abilities and fears them, yes. But he worries about them more.
No matter what happens, he’s sworn an oath to himself. To keep them safe, no matter what they decide.
The foster kid in him will stand for nothing else.
He’s so absorbed in his thoughts it takes his old battle senses a moment to realize he’s not alone. A shadow lurks in his back seat. His heart leaps and flutters, his mind going to the nitro pills in his pocket and his last heart attack.
“Hello, General.”
Aberdeen relaxes a little. “Hello, Reid.”
There is a second shadow. This one lunges forward and presses a cold, wet nose to his cheek.
“Good dog,” Aberdeen says. Waits a moment. The light up ahead turns red. He hits the brakes, comes to a gliding halt as the rain intensifies, fogging the windows and filling the car with the pounding sound of falling water.
“I take it you’ve made a decision?” He can’t stand the quiet any longer.
“I have.” The boy is very still, unnaturally so. Aberdeen has a fleeting moment of fear. It would only take Reid a moment.
Aberdeen forces himself to stay calm as Reid leans forward. There is just enough light for one sea green eye to fix on and hold him in the rear-view mirror.
“We decide what jobs we accept.” Reid speaks in a rush as though he only now made his choice. “And if we suspect anything, anything at all, we’re out.”
Aberdeen nods. “As I offered.” He had. “And only for matters of the greatest need.”
“But we decide that need.” Reid sighs softly. “We’re in. And Aberdeen. Thank you.”
He doesn’t get a chance to reply. The back door swings open. The rushing rain is so loud it almost masks Reid’s parting words. Almost.
“You have a beautiful family.”
The boy is gone, his dog too, into the night. The light turns green ahead, but it takes Aberdeen a moment to realize it and hit the gas.
His heart is pounding again. He gets the double meaning in Reid’s final statement. Knows his envy. Felt it himself when he was in foster care, wishing for a happy home, a family who loved him.
But, more importantly, he understands the warning.
He won’t let them down.
***
Lucy staggers her way through another day. She hates Florida, the Keys especially, the constant heat, the humidity. But the guy she tried to buy a fake passport from ripped her off and left her here with nothing.
Sure, she’s got some money left. But until she can come up with another way to escape the US, she’ll never stop looking over her shoulder.
The drinking seemed natural at first, a way to celebrate her victory. Her freedom. But it’s only been a week and already she’s having a hard time getting through
the day without some alcohol in her system.
It dulls everything, better than shopping or the brief encounters with the few guys she’s allowed near her. She’ll take it.
Her favorite bartender is working at her favorite beach bar. He keeps her going until after dark, one drink after another. She’s starting to suspect the bastard is cheating her, watering her drinks. She should be totally out of it by now.
Her skin tingles, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She turns, almost falls from her stool in her drunken imbalance, looks around. It feels like someone is staring at her. But there is no one. Not watching her anyway. Just a tall guy with dark hair walking away. And his black lab.
Her stomach tightens around the vodka and mix. He looks familiar somehow. Enough that it drives her to her feet, to slap some bills on the counter. She sways there for a moment, a delicate belch escaping.
Can’t be. He’s dead. And she’s wasted.
Lucy stumbles along on her high heels, finally pausing to pull them off, humming a little tune to herself. Maybe she’ll pour herself a real drink when she gets back to her room. Perfect.
The door wavers before her, the key shaking so much in her hand she can’t find the lock. There are two of them for so long it’s a battle until her vision finally cooperates.
“There,” she says happily to the night air. “I knew you could do it.”
No one answers. Lucy shrugs her shoulders and goes inside.
The light switch is less of a challenge but it still takes her three tries to find it. Her heels are dropped in a clattering heap by the door as she weaves her way to the kitchen counter of the small rental and bangs open the cupboard door.