Renegade's Run

by Brenna Lyons

  “Good afternoon. I take it government work doesn’t agree with you, Katie?”

  She sucked in her breath, her eyes flying open. “Mac? What—”

  “Which agency?”

  “Dammit, Mac. They’ll kill you.”

  “Don’t sweat it. They didn’t see me. Some government goons sacked Sarah’s place and left with a bag of her stuff. Be straight with me. Who are we dealing with?”

  “We aren’t dealing with anyone, Mac. You can’t get in the middle of this.”

  “Unless you give me a good goddamn reason to stay clear, I’ll be a lot further involved very shortly. I have plate numbers, photographs—”

  “Mac!”

  “Answers,” he ordered.

  “It’s a joint expedition. It’s big.”

  “Spearheaded by?”

  “Mac, they have Sarah.”

  “Spearheaded by? There is only one way to keep me out of this.”

  “You only need one guess.”

  Mac grumbled a series of curses. “That’s what I figured.”

  “You have your answer, Mac. You need to back off.”

  “I’m covering your butt.”

  “How?”

  “Sarah has officially been listed as a missing person. The information I got today will be filed but oddly passed over in the investigation until it needs to be investigated. Am I understood?”

  Katie stifled a sob. “Mac, I—Thank you.”

  “It’s okay. If you need anything, you call me. How bad is it?”

  “I hate it, but—”

  “She’s your baby girl. We’ll get her back.”

  “Thanks, Mac.”

  “That’s what grandpas are for. The DoPT took on the wrong family.”

  *

  Sarah relaxed her shield. It had been another long day, but Baker was still trying to put her at ease. A sea bag of her most comfortable clothes, loose-fitting clothes that would fit longer over the baby, had been delivered to her room that afternoon. Jonas’ Tshirts had been brought, too. At least shirts wouldn’t be a problem for this pregnancy.

  She had been so excited, she’d contacted Steven to celebrate freedom from the coveralls. Even as Sarah reached out to him, she had blushed at how childish she was being, but it turned out that Steven had been hoping to hear from her. He told Sarah to ask for a standard pouch and went back to his duties with a touch on her mind and a promise of a surprise to come that evening.

  Bill had radioed her request out and did her one better. Her pouch had been delivered along with a miniature fridge full of fruit, milk, juice, Baggies of cheese cubes, and assorted snacks. He had smiled at her shock. His comment that no one wanted the Mom lacking in food had sobered her, but not for long.

  Sarah curled in bed, wearing one of the long nightshirts she hadn’t worn since Jonas came into her life more than two and a half months earlier. Had she spent an entire night alone in all that time? Not from the first night he made love to her until the DoPT kidnapped her, she realized. Sarah missed sleeping with Jonas, and she missed making love to him. She imagined his hands on her, his kiss—

  A touch brushed over her mind, and Sarah startled. It wasn’t Steven. She started to slam her shield up when she heard him.

  “It’s me, Sarah. Please don’t.”

  Sarah barely breathed. “Jonas?” How could he do this?

  “It’s me. Steven is linking for me.”

  She nodded then remembered that Jonas wasn’t with her as Steven wasn’t with her. “Why?”

  “I had to touch you again, even if it was like this.”

  Sarah felt his hesitation, his uncertainty. She brushed her mind over his, a light caress to let him know she needed it as much as he did. Sarah closed her eyes, as his groan rumbled through her consciousness.

  “I’ll get you out of this, Sarah. I’m so sorry.”

  “I know.”

  “I would have told you I was Alpha One. I didn’t want to admit it, but I would have told you.”

  She hesitated. Would it be better for him to know or not? “I know.”

  “What was that? Would it be better for me to know what?” An edge of something between panic and anger flavored the feed.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to. Sarah, I’m not Steven. I’m—”

  “Stronger. I know.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “You’re top rated. You have been since you were fourteen, but Baker refused to tell you. I think he was afraid to tell you.”

  “I was Alpha One all those years?”

  “Yes. No! You’re number one everywhere. You’re top rated in the world.”

  His disbelief washed over her. She felt his struggle to make sense of what she’d told him.

  “See what I meant?” she asked.

  “I’ll get you out of this. I promise I will.”

  “Jonas, Baker—”

  His mind soothed hers. “Shhh. I know. Please, don’t say it. I won’t let him take the baby.” Jonas struggled with himself silently.

  “Jonas?”

  “I want so much. This is the wrong time to ask, but I have to know if there’s any hope for us.”

  Sarah found forming the words impossible. She touched his mind again. “How much more do you want, Jonas? Have you decided yet?”

  “I told you, I want forever. I meant it. I want you and our baby.” He hesitated. “Please tell me you’re willing to have the baby. I know what it means, Sarah. I’d do anything to make—”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?” he asked.

  “I’ll have the baby. We’ll work this out. Some things are non-negotiable.”

  “Like?”

  “You tell the DoPT where to stuff it, and we live in Pittsburgh.”

  His laughter echoed in her mind. Sarah gasped at the touch on her abdomen, knowing it was psi induced. He caressed her body, heating her blood.

  “Marry me, and you have your wish. I already quit DoPT.”

  “They didn’t accept it,” she complained. Sarah groaned as his touch made delicious little circles on her body. She missed this.

  “It’s recorded. The receipt of file is recorded. The clock is ticking. Say you’ll marry me.”

  “Get me out of here and to a JP.”

  His touch moved to her mouth, the sensation of fingers tracing her lips.

  “Jonas—” If he could do this, he could—

  “Not this time, Sarah. Steven is linked to me.”

  Sarah blushed. Steven could hear and feel everything. She felt her brother’s amusement at her mortification in the background.

  Jonas demanded her attention again, his touch on her cheek. “I promise to learn to do this on my own. Now that I’ve seen how Steven does it, I think I can mimic it. Would you like that?”

  “Yes. I would.”

  The next touch on her lips felt like his lips. “I’d like it, too. Take care. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Jonas.”

  Chapter Nine

  July 7th

  Sarah smiled as she handed the ball back to the child who had lost it. The little girl smiled shyly as she scampered away, and Sarah felt a pang for her. She couldn’t be more than six. Sarah wondered how hard the counselors and social workers had tried to keep her with her family before they sent her to Clinton.

  Most of the children out right now were under the age of ten. Only a few of the two dozen or so in the play area were teenagers. Sarah learned that most of the teens preferred the rec room, library or gym at lunchtime, taking their outside time before dinner, before the area was off-limits to everyone but staff and Sarah. Only the “malcontents” came out here with the little ones at lunch break.

  Sarah sank onto one of the benches, laying her head back and closing her eyes to drink in the sunshine. A shadow fell over her, and she smiled. It would be Bill with her lunch tray. As long as she ate a generic-looking cold lunch, Sarah was permitted to eat outside. For the summer months, sandwiches, f
ruit, cheese cubes, and veggies with dip were Sarah’s preferred foods anyway.

  “So what is it today?” she asked.

  “Ask your servant, not me,” a young male voice drawled.

  Sarah opened her eyes, shading them against the sunlight and making a mental note to ask for sunglasses when Bill got back. She took in the boy standing over her. His red hair half-covered stormy, gray eyes. Sarah guessed him to be about seventeen. If he was eighteen, he could sign himself out. If he were a prisoner, he wouldn’t be allowed with the children. His face was set in a scowl, and his arms were locked over his navy-clad chest.

  When Sarah didn’t answer, he reached a hand down and flipped the edge of the cuff she made in one of Jonas’ oversized shirts that came in the sea bag. “What makes you so special?” he demanded.

  “I’m not student, staff, or prisoner. I just got landed here, so I wear what I choose.”

  “What are you then? Some DoPT geek on R and R?”

  Sarah cracked a smile. “Hardly.” She flicked her eyes to the two other teens edging up behind him. Where were all the keepers? There was always supposed to be one or two in the play area. Maybe there was an emergency somewhere else.

  “Then what are you doing here?”

  “The same thing you are. Waiting for the day that they open the front door for me.” She sobered. That day might come faster for the boy than it would for her.

  “Then go. I hear you get everything you want.”

  “Not everything. Not nearly everything.”

  “Show me what you can do. Show me what makes you so special.”

  It was a challenge, and Sarah knew it. He was the leader of this little group, maybe even a hotshot on campus in talent. But, what was she supposed to do about it? Hide behind her shield?

  Sarah smiled and fortified her shield. “What’s your name?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why do you want to know that?”

  “What?” she taunted. “You let them turn you into one of them? Are you afraid to use people’s names?” She put her hand out for him to shake. “I’m Sarah.”

  He hesitated. Sarah could feel his confusion, as his shield faltered. On one hand, he didn’t like her insinuating he was becoming a DoPT clone. On the other, he wasn’t proving his place as the best on the block if she refused to fight him.

  His anger spiked and his shield came up. He brushed her hand away and sent a spike at her shield. He was strong, but he wasn’t as strong as Steven and Alex were. It didn’t even take her full power to make him recoil a step in surprise.

  “Now, was that nice?” she chided him gently. Sarah brought her hand back up. “I’m Sarah, and I’d like to keep this civil. Shake my hand and tell me your name. That way, we’re friends, and no one gets hurt. Right?”

  He looked at her hand warily, and his jaw tightened. Sarah stood and adopted a relaxed fight stance. It might come to that, and she wasn’t going to meet him at a disadvantage.

  His face darkened. The next spike was stronger. Sarah gasped as she snapped all her power into rebuffing him. Her hand fisted as the exertion sent a ripple of pain coursing along her mind. Sarah wished she could bind him somehow, but that was offensive talent that she didn’t have.

  The boy reeled back as if she’d struck him, his eyes glazed and his mouth slightly agape. The two teens behind him backed off, one with her hands up in a calming gesture. The boy swung his head around as if looking for aid, and Sarah could feel his fury at their retreat.

  “Tell me your name and end this. I don’t have to be your enemy.”

  He pushed his hand through his hair, revealing a deep scar on his temple as he studied her. “Why?” he asked quietly.

  “It’s the civilized thing to do.”

  “Are you always civilized?”

  Sarah laughed. “Hardly, but I do try. I am when I can be.”

  He charged at her, and Sarah sucked in her breath. Thank goodness for Grandpa Marcus and Mac. Thank goodness that all my blue-shirt Uncles believed in a woman being prepared to defend herself. Sarah planted a fist up into his jaw and swept his feet from under him.

  He landed hard and Sarah retreated to a spot closer to the building. He didn’t stay down long, and when he came up, she could tell he was far from finished. Sarah prepared for his next run. She’d have to go for the solar plexus or the groin, and she’d have to hit it hard and solid. He started his run with a bellow of pure rage.

  At the last moment, Sarah found herself swept to the side, wrapped in a man’s arm. She looked over her shoulder at Bill as the stun-spray came up. Sarah shouted her protest and turned back to the boy as he crumpled. She elbowed Bill in the chest. He dropped her, huffing out his breath in surprise.

  Sarah knelt next to the boy, meeting his wide eyes. She could feel his panic clearly now that he couldn’t shield. She took his hand, raising it so he could see her holding it. “I know. They’ve done it to me, too. Just look at my eyes, and we’ll count it down. Five minutes. Just five. I know it feels longer.”

  Bill tried to pull her back then moved his arms to block her next blow. “Back off, Sarah. They have to take him to iso.” There was no anger in his voice, just a plea for her compliance.

  The boy’s fear fueled her resolve.

  “Or what? You’ll put me in there, too? I have news for you, buddy. You’ll have to do it.”

  “Sarah, it’s not me. It’s the rules.”

  “You make these kids hate you but want them not to rebel? Dream on.”

  “You want him to hurt you? We have to make the punishment harsh, or he will.”

  “You think I’d ever let him touch me? You think I haven’t been trained well enough to take down an untrained teenager? Remember what company I keep. I have taken them all down, Bill. All of them,” she growled meaningfully. “I could have stopped this kid cold at half his age, and you know it. You think what I’d already done to him coupled with the next move I had planned wouldn’t have been lesson enough for him?”

  Bill leaned until he was nose to nose with her over the boy’s body. “We have to enforce the rules.”

  “Try it, and all hell will break loose. You have my word on that.”

  They stared at each other without moving a muscle. Sarah lost track of time. She resisted the urge to glance at the other keepers standing behind Bill. This was between the two of them. The other keepers weren’t her concern.

  Bill dropped his voice to a whisper. “He’ll hurt you again, if you let him. He won’t fear what will happen.”

  “And giving him triple time in iso will make him hate me worse. It won’t teach him anything. Trust me. You think I’m afraid to go back in?” Sarah feigned indifference, though her heart was pounding at the bluff.

  “Do you have any concept of what you’re doing?”

  “Yes. You know who I trained with. With their worst years behind me, what can you possibly challenge me with that’s worse?”

  He kept his position, locked on her eyes, as if he was trying to talk her into letting the boy go. As the minutes passed, the color rose in Bill’s cheeks.

  Sarah gasped as the boy tightened his grip on her hand. She met his soft gray eyes and felt his internal struggle against the drug in his system.

  “Jeremy,” he groaned. “Jeremy Flynn.”

  She chuckled and nodded her head. “Glad to meet you, Jeremy. If you’re civil, I think we can get these guys to back off. Are you ready to be civil? This is your chance.”

  Jeremy managed a shaky nod. A tear tracked down his cheek. “Thanks—Sarah.”

  She squeezed his hand. “You are your own keeper. Never forget that.”

  *

  Bill guided Sarah back to her room with a hand on the small of her back. She held herself stiff and straight as a queen. Bill had no doubts that she allowed him to touch her, that any time he’d touched her she’d allowed it. Sarah could have stopped him at any time.

  He pushed her door open, and she went to the bed, curling her legs under her as she sat. Sarah didn�
��t look at him. She hadn’t said a word to him since Flynn started coming out of it. After that, all of her attention was on making sure the boy was going to be all right.

  Bill sighed, unsure of where to start. “I’ll get you a new tray,” he offered.

  “Don’t bother. I’ll snag some fruit and cheese from the fridge.”

  He nodded. “I have to change. I’ll get Patterson—”

  “No. Just lock it down for a while. I’ll be fine.”

  Bill hesitated. The milk and juice drying on his clothing was uncomfortable, but he couldn’t leave it like this. “You scared the hell out of me.”

  “I know. I’m not that rusty.”

  “When I felt you strike—Damn, that tray flew.”

  Sarah looked at him in confusion. “Shield. I don’t have offensive—”

  “Bullshit! I don’t know what that was. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, but it was high powered. It had to be an active class, or I wouldn’t see it.”

  “Someone else must have—”

  He scowled at her. “You think I’m incompetent? No one else in here has that kind of firepower.”

  “No. I’m sure you’re not incompetent, but I think something short-circuited. I’m a keeper and barely that.”

  Bill sank into the chair and rubbed a hand over his mouth. She seemed sincere. “You really don’t know what you’re doing, do you?”

  “Seeing as how I’m biting back the urge to insist that I don’t do anything, I’d say the answer to that question is no.”

  “Do yourself a favor and don’t mention this to anyone.”

  “Everyone here except you thinks I’m a powerhouse renegade.”

  “Everyone but Baker and anyone reporting to him.”

  She bit her lip. “Good point.”

  “So, let’s keep this one between us.” Completely between us. This one is too dangerous to leave unshielded for Griffin. Though, Griffin would love it if Bill found a way to let him know.

  “Might as well, since I’m clueless.”

  Bill nodded. He rose to leave. “Sarah, what you did for Flynn—”

  “Jeremy.”

  “What you did for Jeremy was a good thing.”

  “Thanks, Bill.”