Beauty Loves the Beast

by Robyn Peterman

  “Leave stuff out much?” Carter questioned, getting out of his car and looking around the lot.

  “Yep,” I replied, hightailing it after him as I had no freaking intention of getting left behind.

  Quickly and quietly, he jimmied the lock of a black SUV and hotwired the car. Tossing our bags into the backseat, he went around the back of the truck, took down the license number and tucked the paper into my hand.

  I had no clue what he was doing. Sean said he was different. I was different. Different didn’t bother me, but this was bizarre.

  “Umm, why did you give me this?” I asked, hopping into the front seat and strapping on my seat belt.

  “You tell me the rest of the story and I tell you why I gave that to you,” he replied easily, taking his burner smartphone and plugging it into the charger.

  “I really don’t want to be dropped off on the side of the road,” I said. “I was thinking I would share the rest when you couldn’t get rid of me so easily.”

  “Stop thinking. It’s overrated. Start talking or I will drop you off,” he said with a lopsided grin that made my heart skip a beat.

  I was pretty sure he was joking about dropping me off, but the rest of it was no joke.

  Shit.

  “I have proof of what they’re doing—to me, to others. I hacked in and it’s far more fucked up than I ever could have imagined. They killed about forty new agents during the experiments and plan on recruiting new ones.”

  “Where’s the proof?” he asked, pulling out of the garage and out of yet another random small town.

  “Sean has it. I have it. Plus, I saved it on a shitload of jump drives.”

  “Smart and pretty,” he muttered with a grin.

  “Don’t forget crazy,” I said, feeling warm inside that he’d called me pretty. I might be pretty on the outside, but that was simply luck of the draw. On the inside, I was broken and ugly, but letting myself pretend for a brief moment that I was a normal girl felt so good I almost cried.

  “And crazy,” he agreed with a chuckle. “Get your computer. I need you to hack into a little something.”

  “Don’t have internet,” I said, leaning into the backseat and grabbing my laptop. “Maybe we can go to a library or something if you need me to hack.”

  “Not wearing a shirt here,” he said, as if I needed to be reminded of the distracting fact. “Don’t think that’s gonna fly in a library. As soon as my phone charges, we’ll have internet.”

  “Hmm,” I said with a giggle. “Smart and pretty. You’re Beauty and I’m the Beast.”

  His glance over at me was sharp and it startled me. His demeanor had turned on a dime.

  “What did Sean tell you?” he questioned.

  “Not following.”

  “About me.”

  “Not a lot,” I admitted. “He said you were damaged by what you’d been through, but he would trust you with his life. Always. He said you would help me… and…”

  “And?”

  “And that I might end up helping you,” I replied quietly. “But I didn’t. I hurt you.”

  His hands gripped the steering wheel lightly and he didn’t seem bothered at all by what I’d just said. I could only assume that he still didn’t believe me and had no clue how much I might have damaged him.

  “Let’s chat about that,” he said as if we were simply discussing the weather. “You bit me with your… fangs… and I passed out for three days?”

  “I know it sounds like some really stinky B-movie plot, but yes,” I said with a wince. “Do you still feel weird?”

  “You like that word,” he observed.

  “It’s accurate,” I replied.

  “I feel fine,” Carter said as he maneuvered the vehicle onto the highway and glanced over. “What do you think happened? And while you figure out what half-truth to placate me with, put the license plate number into the computer and find the name and address of the owner.”

  “The owner of the car we just stole?”

  “Yep. Need to send unmarked bills to replace the vehicle we borrowed.”

  “You mean stole,” I corrected him while falling a little more for the man with every new thing I learned.

  “Semantics. I don’t steal.”

  “Got it,” I said with a laugh.

  We rode in silence while I found the owner and the address. Also, just to be ahead of the game, I researched the make and model of the car to get the value. I took a bit more time than necessary to avoid the conversation that needed to be dealt with. Because I was terrific at avoidance, I pulled up a site that I’d missed desperately during my year in hell.

  “What are you doing?” Carter asked, glancing over. “I thought you were an expert hacker. Shouldn’t take you this long.”

  “Umm, it didn’t,” I replied sheepishly. “I’ve had the info for twenty minutes. I was just…”

  “Just?”

  Inhaling through my nose and letting the air escape in a huff, I let my chin drop to my chest. “I was playing Soda Candy Crush,” I whispered.

  “Repeat.”

  “I. Was. Playing. Soda. Candy. Crush. And it’s kind of devastating. I was up to level nineteen hundred before I was turned into a freak of nature and now I have to start over. It’s all kinds of sucky. I mean, I know how to cheat to get more lives, but that only works on a phone and my burners are flip phones—totally prehistoric. So now I have to wait to get more lives because I can’t have a credit card online because it’s fucking traceable. I spent months on end trying to imagine the damned game in my head to stay sane. Do you feel me?” I asked, and then purposely banged my head on the passenger window.

  What in the ever-loving hell was wrong with me? I had crazed government scientists after me, I’d killed men in black today, and I might have turned my deadly knight in shining armor into an animal like me. Now I was bitching about a mindless video game? Stupid. Stupid.

  “I feel you,” Carter replied quietly. “And you really need to stop banging your head on things—gonna give yourself a concussion.”

  “You get it?”

  “I get it. The Sound of Music saved me more times than I can count,” he replied, keeping his eyes on the highway. “Weird, huh?”

  My giggle startled me and made him grin. He did get me, and I got him. I had no clue if I was going to end up dead or alive. But I was going to enjoy this bizarre and strangely beautiful time in my life however long it lasted.

  5

  Carter

  In the space of a few hours, I felt more comfortable with Georgia than any other person I’d met in my entire life. Of course, it shouldn’t surprise me that the person was right out of her mind. Someone as damaged as I was would never be attracted to a woman who was sane. And a woman who was sane would never be attracted to me.

  Georgia from Georgia was not sane, and for the moment, that suited me just fine.

  There was no future for us, but there was now. Right now we were alive. That could change in a heartbeat.

  “So what did they do to you to make you an animal?” I asked, keeping my eyes glued to the road.

  “You believe me now?” she asked.

  “I believe you believe it.”

  Her sigh made my chest tighten. I actually found myself wanting to believe her absurd story just to make her feel better, but it was too far fetched and I wasn’t good at faking polite behavior. Georgia put her laptop on the floor and pulled her legs to her chest. Rolling up the sleeve of her t-shirt, she moved her arm next to the steering wheel and held her breath.

  Thin, still pink scars covered the skin. Silvery-white older scars were mixed in, making her arm look like a macabre jigsaw puzzle. My sharp intake of breath made her jerk her arm away in shame. I knew she thought I was repulsed by what I saw, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.

  I was simply too furious to speak. However, my silence was being misconstrued and that was unacceptable.

  “Is your whole body like that?” I asked through clenched teeth.
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br />   Keeping my eyes on the road to give her some space and to protect her from the rage burning in my eyes, I waited until she was ready to speak. I gripped the steering wheel tight and kept my foot on the accelerator. What I really wanted to do was pull over and take the damaged woman into my arms. However, I wasn’t the one to save her. I could make sure she was safe, but I was more broken than she was. I would only destroy what might be left of her.

  “Yes, mostly my arms and back. They gave me injections, and then slit my skin and used something topical,” she replied tonelessly. “I’m a hideous beast.”

  Done. I was done. It wasn’t a brilliant move to pull over, but we were traveling past wooded areas—plenty of cover. Turning the wheel sharply to the right, I eased the car off the road and pulled into a grove of thick pine.

  Leaving the ignition on, I gathered my thoughts and tried to tamp down my anger.

  “You are not a beast,” I said slowly, trying to find words she would believe.

  She shook her head and put her slim hand on my arm. The feel of her skin on mine calmed my seething rage.

  “I am,” she whispered. “I’m broken and that’s just the way it is. I’m sorry I’m disgusting to you, but it’s okay. I’m disgusting to myself, too. Please don’t feel bad.”

  Turning to face her, I grabbed her hand as she tried to pull it away. Easing the sleeve back up, I examined the marks, and then raised her arm to my lips. Gently kissing the thin, angry lines on her skin, I felt her tremble and heard her start to cry.

  “Please don’t,” she whispered through her tears.

  “Am I hurting you?” I asked, still holding tight to her arm.

  She shook her head and closed her eyes. “No. Not physically.”

  “You are not a beast,” I repeated. “You’re a beautiful woman.”

  “Not even close. I’m barely human,” she muttered almost inaudibly. “You don’t know me.”

  “I know pain and I know torture when I see it,” I replied. “I know bravery and I know desperation.”

  Georgia said nothing. It was clear she didn’t believe me, but the words had been spoken. I was many bad things, but I wasn’t a liar. She might not know that yet, but in time—if we had time—she would. I wasn’t sure why I cared, but dissecting my feelings would be a waste of minutes.

  The ringing of a phone from her bag snapped both of us back into the moment.

  “Who the hell is that?” I asked, realizing I was too comfortable with a woman who possibly had more baggage than she’d let on. However, my instincts were still fine with all of the craziness.

  “Has to be Sean,” she said, reaching into her duffle. “He’s the only one with the number.”

  “Put him on speaker.”

  She nodded and followed my command. This would be interesting—or at least telling.

  “Sean,” she said as she laid the phone on the dash.

  “Georgia,” his gruff voice came through the line. “And Beauty.”

  “I don’t go by that name anymore,” I snapped as I felt Georgia’s gaze fly to my face.

  “You never did,” Sean said with a chuckle. “Never stopped any of us from calling you by it. How are you, boy? Been a long time.”

  “If you’re calling to shoot the shit, I’m a little busy right now,” I replied with a small smile pulling at my lips.

  “I don’t shoot the shit, boy,” he said. “Never have. Never will. You okay, Georgia?”

  “Define okay,” she said with a small giggle.

  “Well, you’re alive and so is Beauty, so I’m guessing that will do for now. You two need to stay deep. You’ve got a fiery hell storm on your asses.”

  “Wanna be more specific?” Georgia asked, checking her weapons and loading her guns.

  “Apparently the men in black you two popped off earlier were wearing body cams. Got excellent footage of the two of you leaving the scene. For two people who don’t exist on any government roster, you’re real damned popular right now.”

  “And you know this, how?” I asked through clenched teeth as I pulled the car back onto the road and floored it.

  We were about an hour from where we were headed and needed to get there quickly. If what Sean said was true—and I was sure it was—the CIA fuckers would start closing roads all over Georgia and the surrounding states.

  Sean simply laughed at my question. I knew it was a ridiculous question. The man had skills that were fucking magical. His hacking ability and connections were what the CIA and FBI could only dream of having. It was clear he’d viewed the footage—in the end, it was irrelevant how. If he’d seen it, many more had as well.

  “As I was saying,” Sean went on, ignoring my question. “I’d suggest you hightail it somewhere safe. You want some addresses?”

  “The house you sent Georgia to was supposed to be safe. It wasn’t,” I said, trying to keep my foot from pressing the pedal all the way to the floor. The last thing we needed was to get pulled over by some local cop for speeding.

  “Yeah, that surprised me,” Sean admitted, sounding perplexed. “Were you tailed, Georgia?”

  She shrugged and then remembered Sean couldn’t see her. “I don’t think so, but that’s not my specialty. I was pretty scattered after I bit Carter and he passed out. He’s kind of heavy to drag. If I was being followed I wasn’t aware of it. Sorry.”

  “Apologies are for pussies—it is what it is. Just have to keep moving until we can figure this shit out,” Sean said, and then paused. “You bit Beauty?”

  Her blush of embarrassment was so alluring, I turned away. Save her and leave her. That was the only thing I could do to keep her truly safe.

  “Umm… yes,” she whispered. “We were, well… It was my fault. I’m worried about it—terrified actually. He was out for three days. Do you think…?”

  Sean was silent while he digested this new wrinkle. He was a man of few words, but a few words would be helpful at the moment. The puzzle was still missing too many pieces for my liking. Was he being careful with her sanity? Did he buy the animal thing? Did he think it was PTSD as well?

  Damn it, it would have been far better to have had a private conversation with him.

  “Beauty, have you sprouted fangs?” Sean asked without a hint of humor in his voice.

  “Are you fucking serious?”

  “As a heart attack,” he replied without missing a beat.

  I was struck dumb. Had everyone lost their fucking minds or was Georgia really an animal?

  “No,” she answered for me. “He hasn’t.”

  “Georgia, did you go animal when the men in black came?” Sean pressed.

  She too was now silent, and she stared at me.

  “Did I lose you?” Sean asked.

  Pulling herself together, Georgia found her voice. “I didn’t. And I don’t know why.”

  “Interesting,” Sean said. “Is it because you felt safe with Beauty or have you lost the ability?”

  “I don’t know,” she whispered, confused.

  Confused was mild for what I was experiencing at the moment. I felt like I was living in some fucked-up alternate universe where everyone was in on the joke except me.

  “Beauty, are you headed where I think you’re headed?”

  “Depends on what’s in your head, old man,” I said. “But most likely, yes.”

  “Fine. Have your blood and Georgia’s blood tested and get back to me with the report. It will tell us… well, not real sure what it will tell us, but I can check it against what I have.”

  I couldn’t look at her. I had too many questions and I wasn’t feeling polite. Had she turned me into an animal? Honestly, how much different would I be from the animal I already was? My humanity was lost years ago.

  “So you believe her? You believe she turns into a fucking panther?” I asked Sean. I heard Georgia’s swift intake of breath and watched as she turned her head to stare out the window.

  “I do. I saw it.” Sean’s voice was clipped and his displeasure with me
was clear. “However, I understand it’s hard to fathom. I’d heard whispers of the program for years, just never knew if it was true.”

  “And it is?” I asked, still trying to wrap my mind around something so fucked up. I mean, I’d seen fucked up, but this was a new level.

  “It is,” Georgia said before Sean had time to confirm.

  Taking my eyes off the road for a brief moment, I stared at her. She was pale and resigned and I hated myself for pressing the issue. But I was who I was and changing wasn’t an option. Facts and orders I understood. Blind faith? Not so much.

  “Fine,” I said, turning my focus back to the road. “Can you get us out of the country? New identities? No traces?”

  “Give me forty-eight hours. Sit tight and I’ll try to make it happen,” Sean said. “And just so you know, there’s a shoot-to-kill order on you and a capture-alive order on Georgia.”

  “Forty-eight hours,” I repeated so he knew I was on the same page. The rest of it didn’t surprise me at all.

  “Forty-eight hours,” Georgia whispered to Sean. “Thank you.”

  Glancing over at her, I was again struck by her beauty. But more than that, I was amazed that she was still a functioning human being if all this was true. It was going to be an interesting two days—very interesting.

  6

  Georgia

  “Just drop me somewhere and leave. For real,” I said, hoping my voice sounded stronger than I felt inside. I’d created a clusterfuck for Carter and it made me hate myself more than I already did. “It’s me they want. Not you. If I’d known it would go down like this, I never would have gotten you involved.”

  “Little too late for that,” Carter said, expertly navigating the winding back roads we were traveling.

  We’d hit North Carolina about thirty minutes ago. Carter was driving fast.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said, picking at my fingernails and trying not to cry. “I swear to God I didn’t think I was going to get a government bounty put on your head.”