“We’re heading to the lowest part of our bunker,” Tobey said. “We keep all experiments as far away from the outside world as possible. We wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“That’s good.”
He motioned for me to enter first. We were in what looked to be a gym. There were two basketball hoops mounted on opposite sides and bleachers tucked into the walls. Charles leaned against blue wall padding with his hands in his pockets. His jeans were ripped right down the center, exposing boxers. I tried not to look.
“You made it here alive.” He walked over, patting me on the head. “That’s good.”
“Keep your hands to yourself, you perv.”
“Why do you keep calling me that? Just because I’m affectionate?”
“Affectionate? Really, that’s what you call affection?”
“Enough flirting,” Tobey said. He led me across the gymnasium.
“I wasn’t flirting with him.”
Tobey laughed, shaking his head. “I wasn’t born yesterday. You think he’s hot. I can tell.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yeah, you do. Whenever you see him your eyes light up. This is surprising since he’s the one who kidnapped and frightened you.”
“I don’t like him.”
“Never said you liked him. You think he’s hot. Admit it.”
“No, I don’t.”
Tobey grinned, showing teeth. “Okay, he’s ugly and all those muscles, that sly grin—it does nothing for you.”
“That’s not funny.”
“It’s a perfectly natural feeling. You don’t have to be afraid of it. I think Ally is hot.”
“What’s it matter to you whether or not I find him attractive? And, I don’t want to hear about who you think looks good, either. That’s so not a topic of interest, okay?”
“Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“No, now stop.”
“If you’re not uncomfortable then why should I stop?”
“I thought you were supposed to be my captor. What sort of kidnappers are you? I never heard of the victim being quizzed and questioned as if they were the predator’s best friend.”
“You’re not my best friend, Lisa. I just like knowing what’s going on inside that head of yours.”
“Well, stop.”
“Just answer one thing.”
“What?” Tobey made my blood boil.
“You think Charles is hot, right?”
I let out an exasperated groan. “Are you kidding me?”
“C’mon, I told you who I thought looked good. It’s only fair.”
“I don’t want to talk to you about this or anything but business. We’re not friends. Do you understand that? We can never have a friendly relationship. You locked me in a cell, had Charles and Kimi take me from my friends and are threatening to hand me over to that psycho, Dr. John. You’ve kinda burned every bridge you have with me.”
“I didn’t do anything except try to examine you and make sure you were healthy. I can’t help it if Dr. John asked Charles to kidnap you. It’s not my fault.”
“You’re a manipulative freak of nature.” If only Tobey understood that I wasn’t going to back down to him or anyone, especially not to Dr. John. The second I found the opportunity to escape—I was gone.
“You’re very hostile.”
“I have every reason to be.”
“If this was a normal hostage situation, that mouth of yours would’ve been the death of you.”
“Not if I was needed alive.”
“Is that why you’re acting out? Do you think Dr. John needs you?”
“He isn’t sure yet. I figured that out right away in the examination room. If he wanted me dead, I’d be dead. There’s something different about me. I can feel it. He knows it and wants to make sure first. Then, he’ll decide my death.”
“You’re not as flaky as I thought.” Tobey’s eyes landed on mine. They bore through me. “Just remember, no one is indispensable to Dr. John. You may have his curiosity peaked but with the snap of his fingers, he could have you executed.”
“When do I get to meet this jerk?”
Tobey narrowed his eyes. “Tomorrow afternoon. He’s made a special appointment just for you.”
My heart raced. What had I just done? I knew I’d said I wanted to meet face to face with this creepy doctor, but in all reality—the very idea petrified me.
“Your training today will determine his decision on what will happen to you. So, can you please focus on what I teach you? I know you think I’m evil but I really want you to pass these tests so I can approve your release. I don’t want you to meet Dr. John.”
“Then let’s get this over with.” I stomped ahead.
Tobey chuckled. “Where are you going, Lisa?”
“To train,” I answered.
“We’re here. This is the training room.”
“A gym?”
“Yes, a gym.”
“What are we going to do in here?”
“I’m going to go into the protected area. You’ll hear my voice through the sound system. Charles will stay here with you and help demonstrate what we need you to do.”
“Why?”
“We like to keep you in a controlled environment. Some of the training techniques have a tendency to make some lose control. Charles is good at containing those who need help.”
“Where’s this protected room?”
Tobey disappeared through a metal door. I surveyed my surroundings. Up above us, there was a sound booth. He smiled at me, sitting. “Okay, first I want to see you generate sparks.”
“Every time I do that, bad storms affect other areas. I’m not going to do it, not even for a training test.”
“Why do you have to be difficult?” Charles said. “I swear all you do is fight, fight, fight.”
“Good, it’s about time someone stood up to you.”
“I’m not the one you need to resist. Actually, I’m kinda on the irresistible side, if you know what I mean.”
I glowered at him.
“What, no response? Have I left you speechless?”
“I’m not causing harm to anyone else.” Not only did I not want to cause another natural disaster, Anna had told me not to generate sparks of any kind. She said to do the opposite. Think about and desire what I wished to happen. Was there a side effect to this sort of thing? If causing storms made bigger storms, what effects would my desires have?
“Lisa,” Tobey spoke into a microphone. “Just do the test. No storms will be created.”
“I’ve seen the storms. I’m not doing it. You can forget it. I know how to create sparks. What’s the next test?”
“Do the experiment.” Charles punched my shoulder. I stumbled.
“What’d you do that for?”
“You hit me all the time, why shouldn’t I give it back?” Charles’ grin spread from ear to ear. “Tobey says you think I’m hot.”
“Don’t listen to Tobey. He’s not a very good listener. I never said you were hot.”
“No, but you think it.” Charles wrapped his arms around me. “You’re trembling right now because you want me.”
“Get away!” I jerked out of his embrace. My fingers threatened to spark. Was that his plan? Were they trying to make me create sparks? Maybe the “training” program was a test of my self-control. That’s why Anna asked me to not use my energy.
“Sparks, Lisa,” Tobey repeated.
Charles sighed. “Everybody thinks I’m hot. Look at me. I’m a freakin’ stallion.”
“Just a few sparks ignited, that’s all we need to see.”
“Teach me something I don’t know!” I challenged. “You’re not going to make me lose my cool. I’m smarter than that.” I turned to Charles. “I never realized you thought of yourself as a farm animal.”
Tobey’s microphone screeched.
“Farm animal?!” Charles exclaimed. “Cute. See, your frustration and red, blushing cheeks tell me a lot about your
true feelings. Compared to Alex and his lanky body, I’m a stud. Admit it, Lisa.”
“I’m not blushing.”
“No? Your blood pressure is rising and you’re red as a tomato.”
“Can we get back to the training session?” Tobey grumbled. “Lisa, instead of sparks, show me funnel clouds.”
“I know how to do that, too.”
“Lightning.”
“Been there, done that.”
“Lisa!”
“Tobey! Teach me something new.”
Anna had said I should think in my mind, desire, that Francisco turn invisible. Why would she want that? It would be good if he could escape. Dr. John wanted him dead. Who did things like that? So how did I do this desire thing? Could I wish away my longing for Alex? Was that why I didn’t yearn for his touch anymore? Or was Anna right about him being sick? If I desired Francisco invisible, Dr. John would surely put me to death.
My head spun.
“Lisa, focus,” Charles said. “You’ll need to perform some kind of power so that it can be analyzed. Just do something, anything.”
Make Francisco invisible. Make Francisco invisible.
“What are you doing with your eyes?” Tobey asked.
Charles laughed. “She’s holding back a fart.”
“I am not!” I smacked him.
“See, I knew you couldn’t keep your hands off me.”
“You’re easy to avoid, trust me.”
“So far, you’ve done a splendid job of it, darling.”
“Don’t darling me.”
“You’re a spitfire.”
“I’m not going to let you antagonize me.”
“Are you going to fry me?”
“No.”
“I’m stronger than you. Didn’t you learn that when I captured you. You’ll never be able to overpower me. No one can.”
“Are you sure about that, Charles?”
He shrugged. “Time will tell.”
“It sure will.”
Kimi entered through the metal door. She cleared her throat. Her hair was loose, falling around her face. She had sparkling eyes and wore a sly grin. “My mother invited a very special guest to see you, Lisa.”
“A guest?” I perked up. “Is it Alex? Is he okay?” Had Alex come for me? My heart fluttered. He did care! Why’d I stress over some chick he’s not with now? I smiled, imagining the way it would be when he entered the gym.
Alex would be holding a rose and kneel before me. Marry me, he’d say. I’d fall in his arms and shout yes, I thought you’d never ask!
Frank stepped inside the gymnasium.
Every fiber of my being trembled, heating me up inside. How dare he show his face! I banished him from Lynn. He cheated on Ally with Donna, broke Ally’s heart. Then, he did the worst possible thing. He raped my wonderful mother. Frank destroyed her—crushed her—turned her into a lunatic for years. Amber was such a wonderful person and my dad Jimmy, too. They didn’t abort me or give me up for adoption. Instead, they raised me, and Jimmy feels as if I’m his. I’m his daughter.
Tears poured down my cheeks. Frank was my father by default. I should’ve been Jimmy’s child. I wanted to be Jimmy’s. I loved my dad. Frank deserved to be locked away for life.
“What are you doing here?” I yelled. My fingers trembled.
“Anna said you wanted to see me.” Frank answered. His hair was filled with patches of white hairs. “I thought maybe you’d forgiven me and wanted me to come home.”
“Home?! You’re not forgiven and you can’t come back.”
“Lisa, what’s going on?” Tobey asked. “Is everything okay down there? Who’s that man with you? I didn’t authorize any outsiders. Charles, contain him.”
“Kimi sent him.”
Tobey nodded.
How could Anna do this? What sort of game was she playing with me? Why would she tell me not to use my energy and then put the one thing I couldn’t handle, right before me?
“Did I do something wrong?” Kimi asked. Her eyes danced. She knew exactly what she’d done. She was wicked.
All I wanted to do was kill Frank, send a bolt of lightning straight through his heart, watch his body turn to black soot. Then suck him up in a vacuum and toss him away with the trash.
Anna’s voice echoed in my head. She told me not to use my powers in the training room, only my desires. Could I kill Frank with my mind? A sick feeling overwhelmed me. Sure, I wanted to kill him, but to actually do it…could I?
Make Francisco invisible. Make Francisco invisible.
“Lisa, can’t you forgive me? I’ve lost everything,” Frank said. “My home, my longevity and even my daughter.”
“I will never be your daughter!” I shot back. He needed to die; right then and there. “Jimmy’s my dad—not you.”
“Careful,” Charles whispered.
He was dead-on. I didn’t have the right to kill Frank—no matter how much I felt he deserved it. I wasn’t God. Anna was correct, too. Dr. John didn’t have the authority to kill Francisco.
Make Francisco invisible. Make Francisco invisible. Please Francisco, become invisible.
I clasped my hands together. Frank stepped forward, his palm outstretched, smiling. “Forgive me. I’m alone, miserable.”
“Good.”
“Lisa, please.”
Didn’t he realize what I was capable of? Frank was thickheaded.
“You look just like me.”
“I hate the way I look! Go away!”
Frank’s fingers grazed my shoulder. “You’re my flesh and blood. That has to account for something.”
His touch sickened me. Images of my mother passed out in her room with empty bottles of vodka flooded my mind. Amber cried, wouldn’t hug me, couldn’t face me or tell me she loved me. I felt like an outcast. Jimmy was the only good part of my childhood. He sat up late with me, reading stories and playing dolls and even having tea parties with me. When my parents separated, my whole world collapsed. Being stuck with a nonexistent mother was as bad as if I were actually alone.
Make Francisco invisible. Make Francisco invisible.
“Lisa,” Frank whispered. “I’m a new man.”
I shoved his hand away. “Get out of here.”
His eyes widened. “I’m your father.”
“And I’m your worst nightmare.”
“I’m a dead man, an aging bag of bones. Have pity for me. Can’t you be forgiving? Alex never stopped me from coming to C I N. He’s the leader.”
“I’m the leader now.” Had I really said that? Did I feel as if I were in charge? Alex did let me do whatever I wished. If I chose to change a rule, no matter who protested, he gave me my way. If I was so annoying, why’d he do that? Why didn’t he ever tell me he wasn’t in love with me? I hated to admit it, but I missed him. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into his arms. I needed Alex. Maybe I didn’t yearn for him like in the past, but my heart missed him; him. It was his smile, his sarcasm, him.
“Who is this guy?” Tobey burst through the metal door. His fists clenched. “Who are you?”
“I’m Lisa’s father,” Frank answered.
“Why’s she look petrified then?” Tobey asked him. “She’s ready to cry. What’d you do to her?”
“I’m her father,” Frank said. “I’m her dad.”
“No you’re not! I screamed. “Get away from me. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” I squatted, holding my ears. “Make him disappear. Make him disappear.”
“Stop it,” Tobey ordered. He grabbed me by the arms, hoisting me up. “Look at me, Lisa.”
I couldn’t. My body trembled. Currents surged through me. All I wanted was to evaporate. Francisco. He needed to disappear. “Make him disappear. Make him disappear,” I said, sobbing in Tobey’s shirt. He was warm and his touch gentle. His arms embraced me.
“It’s okay. Charles is escorting that man out of here.” Tobey ran his fingers through my hair, his breath against my skin.
“Lisa!” Frank called.
He struggled against Charles. “Tell them who I am! Tell them, Lisa! Do you know what they’ll do to me? Please, tell them who I am! I beg you.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Tobey said. “You’re safe now. That man can’t hurt you. I’m here.” His fingers ran down my back. “I’m here, Lisa.”
I sobbed, squeezing Tobey as hard as I could. He flinched, tightening his grip. “It hurts so much,” I mumbled. “I just want to die.”
“Don’t say that.” Tobey held my face. “Look at me, Lisa.”
“I can’t.”
“You need to look at me.”
He lifted me by the chin. His deep eyes connected with mine. His lip ring twitched. Was he nervous? “I won’t let you die,” Tobey said. “I see why Alex picked you.”
Alex.
I recoiled, pushing against Tobey’s chest. “I want to go home. I miss Alex, okay. I need him. He needs me. Maybe he doesn’t love me like Amie but I’m who he’s with now, not her. If he wanted to be with Amie, he’d be with her.”
Tobey shook his head. He frowned, forcing me back into his arms. He faced me, his nose touching mine. “Lisa,” he spoke softly. “Don’t be mad at what I’m about to tell you.”
“I don’t want to hear what you’re about to say.” I struggled. “Don’t say it.”
“I have to. If I didn’t it would only make me a jerk. Later, you’d hate me.”
“I hate you already,” I cried, caving into him. I did hate him. More than I understood. Yet, his touch warmed my soul. It wasn’t the same as with Alex. Alex’s touch was intense, keeping me on edge. Tobey calmed me, softened me somehow.
“You want to hate me, but you don’t.”
“I do,” I said. He wiped the tears from my eyes. “I do.”
“You hate me?” His eyes peered into mine. “I don’t hate you.”
“You’re a jerk; a manipulative creep who’s using me as a lab rat.”
“You’re more than a lab rat.”
“You’re not funny.”
“I know, it’s sad, huh? Charles is funny. I’m too serious for my own good. I don’t even know how to have fun.”
“You don’t. It’s all business with you.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Everything about you bugs me.”
“Why?”
The C I N Series Bundled Page 28