“Who the fuck is Trent?” Eli asks.
“Hannah’s husband.”
They give me blank stares, and I sigh.
“When Noah was chasing me, I had to hike through mountains. I was all turned around. I found a cabin, and there was a family there. They helped me. He helped me.”
“So why is he here then?” Eli asks. “And with the way he’s strolling around, working for Holsen?”
“Because I’m waiting for you guys,” a deep gruff voice speaks.
Eli swears and turns around. The guys all jump in front of me, blocking Trent from my view.
“Relax. I see Ada has found some protective companions. Good.”
“What are you doing here?” I ask, trying to wedge between the guys, but they aren’t budging. “Where is Hannah? Do you work for Holsen?” Annoyed that the guys aren’t giving me space, I elbow DJ and Eli hard until I’m able to slip between them.
Trent stands a few yards away with a blank expression. When he spots me, his expression softens and shoulders relax. “I’m glad you’re okay. Otherwise, Hannah will kill me.”
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I used old connections to get here.” He looks over the guys slowly, weighing their strengths and weakness. “Hannah was adamant that I help you, and Matteo was ready to come if I didn’t.”
“Where are they? Are they okay?” The idea of them being in the city sends panic through me.
When Trent notices my deep concern for his family, he shares a rare smile. “We took your advice soon after you left. They’re with my two childhood friends. They’ll take care of them until I get back.
“Do you really work for Holsen?” Colton speaks up.
“No. I used to work for Noah. I haven’t for years. When I learned Noah was the one hunting you, I figured it was time to get in touch with him.”
The guys shift, paranoia inching them closer together to block Trent from me.
Trent’s lip twitches. “I haven’t had this much fun in years. I forgot how much I enjoyed working out in the field.”
My eyes widen. “Are you going to turn me in?”
He snorts. “And have Hannah murder me, fuck no. I’m here to help you get in. You’re looking for your father, right?” At my nod, he continues. “As far as I know, he’s in the tunnels. I wasn’t able to get closer. But I can get you guys closer.”
“What is your deal?” Jackson asks in a dark and dangerous tone. “Why are you helping us?”
Trent’s expression hardens. “I don’t answer to you, boy, so don’t push me. My wife likes Ada, so I’m here to keep my wife happy. Do not mistake that as anything else.” His eyes flicker to me. “Let’s go.”
I go to move forward, more than happy to trust Trent. Colton grabs my arm and stops me.
“Before we do anything that puts my family at risk, I want to know, what is your gift?”
A frustrated sound comes from Trent. “Not your business.”
“It is if we accept your help,” Colton argues.
“Then don’t accept. I don’t care.”
The two of them glare at each other, neither willing to bend. “But you care about what your wife thinks,” I say.
Trent’s eye twitches and he runs a hand through his hair. After contemplating something, he sighs. “The best way to describe my gift is the ability to disconnect people.”
Frowning, I asked, “What?”
“What makes a body run?” he asks me.
“Oxygen,” Colton says.
“Be more specific. Go further than that.” The dryness in Trent’s voice is almost comical.
“Oxygen goes into the bloodstream,” I answer, wondering where he’s going with this. “So blood, and the veins transport it to the different organs, and then the organs are able to work how they need to work.”
“Close enough. I can disrupt the flow with a touch.”
“You kill people with a touch?” I ask, voice rising.
“Not necessarily until they die. I have more control than that. I can touch you, and make it so your leg no longer works. Or you stop thinking. Or your fingers don’t move. I can make it so you’ll be considered paraplegic. And if I want, I can just kill you. I put a block on your body between what you want to do and what your body does.” He shrugs. “I disconnect you.”
“Holy fuck.” Eli gapes at him.
“I’ll lead you down. I’ll go first and disconnect the people. They’ll look like they’re in a slight daze and won’t realize you’re even there. It’s only temporary. After an hour, it’ll wear off as their body works through what is essentially a reboot. We’ll find your dad that way.”
The guys all share a look before nodding.
“I’m in,” I say and move toward him. Colton and Jackson try to box me in, but I step up next to Trent and give them a warning glare. If they want this relationship to work, they need to allow me to make decisions, and I trust Trent. There is something about his family that makes it easy to trust him. He’d never do anything to put them at risk and that means keeping me safe too for some reason.
31
Trent leads us into the building and then down into the basement.
“Why are we going this way?” Colton asks.
“A couple of years ago, one of the walls in the basement caved in. Turns out it covered the entrance into a small tunnel that will go into the larger one.”
The basement is cluttered with storage boxes. Trent weaves through everything with ease, following a narrow path toward the corner. He stops in front of an old painting that takes up a big chunk of the wall.
“This point forward, you’ll need to be quiet,” he warns us. “The acoustics in the tunnels are really good. For a time, they used to play music down here. It’s been upgraded since Holsen completely closed it down from the public. There are rooms down here now.”
Eli shifts closer and frowns. “Those weren’t on the blueprints.”
“Of course not. Remember, be quiet and wait for my cue. I’ll disconnect the guards and then you can follow through. They know me so their guard will be down.”
Before he can take off on us, I reach out and touch his bicep lightly to get his attention. Once I have it, I ask, “They’ll know you helped us.”
Trent shakes his head. “A convenient byproduct of disconnecting someone is they end up losing their memory. They won’t know I was here. Now stay back. It takes a moment for my gift to work. It isn’t instantaneous.”
His confidence is contagious, so I nod, letting him lead the way. We stay close to him, but far enough away to stay out of sight if he comes across a guard. The tunnels are wide and tall, easy to move around in. I overlap my vision with what I see and know it matches. The brick walls, the possibility for the deep shadows if the light source is gone. I glance at the ground and realize it’s brick too. I never noticed that in the dream realm.
Pillars placed around the tunnel help hold up the foundation. We come up to our first door on the right. A huge metal door. I shudder and only Jackson’s supportive hand on my lower back keeps me moving. Trent goes up to the door and stares at it for a moment with a contemplative look. Eli moves next to him and puts his ear to the door. After a few seconds of listening, he stands and shakes his head.
We move on.
Our first guard appears not long after that. With Eli’s ears, we’re able to hide along the wall behind the archway and within the shadows just as he comes into view. Jackson and DJ are on my side while Colton and Eli push up against the wall on the other side of the tunnel. My heart thuds painfully and I pray this guy has no heightened senses. He’d be able to hear my shallow breaths and the way my shaking body rubs up against the brick wall.
“What are you doing down here, Paige?” a gravelly voice asks.
“I’m off, so I figured I’d use the chance to check this out.” Trent’s voice is nonchalant, almost friendly as he speaks.
The guard snorts. “Not much down here except death.”
; Trent’s footsteps move further away as he closes in on the guard. I press my lips together, not wanting to give myself away. My eyes meet with Colton’s on the other side of the tunnel. There’s strength in his eyes, a belief that everything is going to be okay. I hold onto that, needing it. My heart rate slows down.
“You better leave. Holsen is around, and he isn’t tolerant of anyone being where they shouldn’t. He’s paranoid as fuck for some reason.” The guard chuckles. “Other than—”
The abrupt stop of his voice throws me off. Eli’s head tilts to the side before he nods and we step out of our hiding spots. Trent stands in front of a man slightly shorter than him with massive shoulders straining under a gray T-shirt. His lips are pursed, his mouth still holding onto the word he was about to say until he was disconnected, as Trent calls it.
As I approach, I shiver, expecting him to move at any second, for his head to turn and his eyes to meet mine. He doesn’t do anything.
He looks completely frozen, not even breathing.
DJ pokes at him when we move closer and frowns.
“He’ll live?” DJ asks, sounding unsure.
“He will. We have about an hour now, so let’s get moving.” With that, he turns and walks away. We all stare at the guard as we walk by. Disconnected. I still don’t understand it, don’t understand how he’s not dead, and it’s eerie leaving him like that. Like he should be aware, but according to Trent, he isn’t.
Trent’s gift is scary.
Three. That’s how many more times we meet a guard and Trent disconnects them. It doesn’t get any easier. After this, I’ll need to go to the doctor’s and have a physical with all the stress I’ve been taking on. We don’t say anything, just walk and hide, inching our way toward the brewery, checking any doors we come across.
All the rooms have been empty so far and I’m thankful Eli just needs to listen to tell if someone is inside. All he’s been able to pick up are rats behind the door. After a hand signal from Trent, we stop at a corner and let him go ahead.
“Paige, what the fuck are you doing down here,” a hard voice asks.
Colton’s hand finds mine and gives it a squeeze as we listen.
“Curious,” is all Trent replies.
“Well, take that fucking curiosity and get out of here. Holsen is in there.” A new voice.
My breath freezes. Holsen is right there. Just around the corner.
“I didn’t know there were rooms down here,” Trent says, voice even as he moves further away from us. I want to look and leave at the same time. But my dad is near. He has to be. I grip Colton’s hand harder, too hard, but Colton doesn’t seem to care, and instead flashes me a comforting smile.
Another hand on my back reminds me that the others are here too. They all have my back and they aren’t going anywhere. That scares and comforts me. While I’m starting to believe we’ll be okay, I’m still not sure. After spending so much time with them in close quarters, learning about them, witnessing their attentiveness not just to me, but to each other, their deaths would destroy me.
And if Dr. Deas is right about our connection, it just might destroy all of us.
I’m tempted to drag them out of there, to forget this whole thing. The only thing rooting me to the spot is my dad. I can’t leave him like this. It’s his soul, not just his body. They’re hurting him. I want him laid to rest and with Mom. He deserves to be with Mom.
Tears pool in my eyes, and I have to blink them away. DJ’s arms wrap around my waist and pull me into his chest. I bite the inside of my cheek hard, trying to control the grief surging through me. Grief sucks. It has a way of sneaking up on you in the most inconvenient moments.
Using my free hand, I cover my mouth and nose, muffling any noises I may make. I take the grief and swallow it.
Not now.
Not now.
Not. Now.
Slowly, I push it deep down. Two years without being able to even face my father’s death. I’m ready to grieve, but not now. Not until he’s laid to rest and with Mom. The burning in the corner of my eyes disappears, the lump in my throat slips away, and that hollow place in my chest stops pulsing, reminding me it’s still there. I’m able to bury it all down.
When I pull away from DJ, I give him a shaky smile. He reaches up and cups my face, his eyes taking in every aspect of my face. Again, I try to smile and he shakes his head, clearly telling me to stop. The smile slips away.
DJ leans forward and places two soft kisses on me, one above each brow. He pulls away just as the two guards fall silent.
Eli and Jackson are staring at me with concern. Colton’s eyes are on me, but his eyes are distant as he focuses on Trent. With a nod, he steps around the corner. DJ nudges me forward and we follow behind.
Trent is standing between two men. One is tall and lanky, with a full beard, and light eyes. The other is frozen with a scowling expression on pale skin, his dark hair pulled back in a ponytail to accentuate razor-sharp cheekbones.
Once we join him, Trent lifts his finger to his mouth, reminding us not to make a single noise. He points at the door and then at Eli.
Eli and Colton both step forward and press their ears against the door. If there was a clock in the tunnels, now would be the moment we could hear it. Instead, I get to listen to my heart beat inside my chest as I hold my breath.
Colton lifts up his hands and holds up six fingers.
Six versus six.
Numbers wise it’s fair. But I’m not a fighter, so really, it’s five versus six.
Eli lifts up one finger and gives us a thumbs up, and then holds up five and draws a line across his neck.
I want to smile at their charades. Despite the silliness, it does its job and we get the message loud and clear. One of them is my dad, the other five are enemies.
Fear forms a lump inside my throat, and I force a swallow around it as Eli and Jackson crowd the door. DJ pulls me away while Trent and Colton prepare to go through after the two of them. Eli reaches for the bar and goes to move it but stops right away and frowns.
I realize why. It’ll be loud. They’ll hear us coming before we can even get the door open.
Colton’s mouth moves, forming words. Apparently, Eli can read lips, because he nods in understanding. Jackson reaches in his pocket and pulls out a small black ball. My gaze hones in on it before looking up at Jackson.
Please tell me that isn’t a grenade.
Jackson grins at my puzzled and slightly horrified gaze. Narrowing my eyes, I give him a look, hopefully strong enough so he knows I’m against the idea.
He flashes his teeth in a cruel smile and shakes his head. When he nods back at the door, I pay attention. Determination is set in Eli’s expression as he grabs the sliding bar, and everything moves faster than I can keep up with.
In a span of a breath, the door is thrown open, and the ball Jackson holds is flying through the air. Eli has the door partially closed, and a flash of white light outlines the door for a moment. Yelling erupts behind the door and when Eli has the door opened enough, Jackson dives inside.
The air shimmers as energy is thrown around.
Eli dives into the room, along with Trent and Colton.
I meet DJ’s eyes, understanding passing between us.
There’s a good chance that my visions can still come true. One of my guys can still die. Or we all could. Or just me.
DJ shakes his head and grabs my hand, taking the lead as we go into the room and into the chaos.
32
I’ve never been in a fight before, not like this. It’s more like a brawl. Or maybe a battle. I don’t know. All I know is that it’s deadly and every move matters.
DJ stays at my side, pulling me away from everyone as we get our bearings. Colton is going head to head with a guard. Fire is thrown at him, and he uses a gust of wind to stop it. The guard scowls at him and I realize it’s a fight against the elements when the guard uses a gust of air to push Colton back.
A loud thud draws my attent
ion to Jackson currently pushing off a wall to charge against another guard. Eli is with him and the two of them are trying to wrestle the guard down, but while he’s on the thinner side, apparently he has the strength to rival Eli’s.
“I knew you’d show up,” a smooth voice says, and despite all the chaos, I hear it clearly enough. Trent and Noah are fighting, attacking and defending as one of them tries to get the upper hand. Behind them stands Holsen.
I’ve seen pictures of the man. He’s handsome, charismatic, and has a way with his words to draw people to his side. If someone was ever going to take over the world, it’d be Holsen. How else is someone able to attract the gifted to work for him when he’s only a human? His voice matches him: smooth, cultured, and full of confidence.
DJ steps in front of me as my gaze finds a smaller man next to Holsen. He’s older, with graying hair and gnarled limbs. He’s covered in dark gray, tattered cloaks, and exhaustion is set in the deep lines on his face. There is no doubt he’s there because Holsen is forcing him to be. Since the video, there’s a new bruise wrapping around his right eye and a bandage over the other.
Behind them is a huddled figure, covered in a thick, bloodstained blanket.
Dad.
My heart breaks at the figure, the way it’s curled into itself, hiding from everything.
He should be dead. He needs to be dead.
Unable to help myself, I step around DJ and toward the body. DJ reaches for me, but Jackson is thrown again and smashes against him. The two of them go down in a mess of limbs. I pause, about to go over to help them when Noah appears before me.
My mouth pops open, unsure of how he did it. I back away, and he slips between me and the two guys. Fear slams into me. He goes to grab me, but Trent is there, throwing a punch.
Noah’s head snaps back, and he staggers. Once his senses are back, he’s glaring hard, blood dripping down his nose.
“Why can’t you just stay down?” he growls out and the two of them are fighting again.
Trent’s movements are lagging, and I notice the side of his gray T-shirt is dark with blood. He’s hurt.
Fate Foretold (Gifted Anomalies Book 1) Page 21