“You must have been so sad and alone,” she says.
“Yeah. But I had Dax. He saved me before the bad men could kill me too. He’s my family now, and so are the Professor, Olivia and Jenica.”
“That mean girl with the robot face?”
I laugh through my tears and ruffle Agata’s blonde curls. “Jenica is not mean. She’s just a little too serious sometimes. But, you know what? I can tell she really likes you.”
Agata seems to think about this for a minute before answering.
“I like her too, I think,” she says. “I definitely like you. And that Dax boy is scary and big, but if he saved your life then I like him too.”
“Good.”
“Blythe?”
“Yes?”
“Can Gage and me be a part of your family now, too?”
I look up to find that Gage has come to a sitting position on the bed. He stares at me over Agata’s head, his face carved in anguish over my story. I wonder if he knows that when it comes to me, this is only the tip of the iceberg. My life, my emotions, my personality…all are epically screwed up and I’m nowhere near as sweet or as perfect as this little girl asking to become part of my family.
“I don’t know, honey. I think that’s up to your Uncle.”
His hand slips into mine on the bed, white fingers intertwining with dark. His lips curve into a half smile and my heart does a back flip in my chest.
“Uncle Gage wants that,” he says softly. “More than anything.”
“Good,” says Agata as she stands and adjusts the hem of her shirt. “Then we can help the Professor with his mission.”
Gage frowns. “How did you know about that, little girl?”
She folds her arms over her chest and gives him a look that screams, ‘get real’. “Grownups say a lot when they think kids aren’t listening. I know what the Professor needs me to do to help those people. I want to do it.”
Without giving either of us a chance to reply, she turns on her heels and leaves the room with a swish of her pigtails. I raise my eyebrows at Gage.
“She’s got spirit, I’ll give her that. Wonder where she gets that from.”
Gage laughs. “You haven’t met my sister yet.”
He’s suddenly serious and bringing my hand—still clutched in his—up to his lips. “Thank you,” he says. “For telling me that.”
I snatch my hand from his and stand with a grin. “I wasn’t telling you, I was telling Agata.”
Epilogue (Dax)
Dax Janner and Yasmine Zambrano
Memphis, Tenessee
August 16, 4010
9:55 p.m.
She doesn’t see me watching her. She doesn’t know that I am always watching because I can’t take my eyes off of her. If Blythe knew how beautiful she was, how much I adored her, or how long I’ve been waiting for her to return my feelings…
Shit.
We are on a mission now, and I shouldn’t be thinking about Blythe. I shouldn’t be thinking about walking in on her and that prick kissing, or his hands where mine should have been. Even now, the thought makes me long for five minutes alone in a small room with the arrogant jackass.
Maybe later.
Right now, on board the Neville I hovercraft, Jenica and Blythe are waiting for Yasmine and me to stage the diversion that’s going to clear an opening for them to swoop in and rescue the other Memphis refugees. Jenica’s intel showed at least one hundred of them still living underground, unable to come or go because of the steady and vigilant presence of the Enforcers waiting for us to show up. I am watching the screen of my comm. device, which keeps me in touch with the other members of my team—team Alpha—and also lets me monitor the movements and progress of team Bravo, who are on board the Neville II and waiting for the changing of the guard shift at Stonehead to strike in five minutes.. We don’t make a move until they do, as the attacks must be coordinated. We know that our only chance at getting this right will be if everything is as perfectly timed as it should be. At ten p.m. on the dot, the real fun will begin. At ten p.m., as the guards switch out for the night, little Agata will use her EMP signal to cut the power, including the guards’ weapons. Despite the fact that I hate Gage with a passion, I can’t deny that his niece is useful; I guess we owe him for allowing us to bring her on this mission. As a way to repay my debt I decide not to smash his face in for kissing Blythe.
This time.
I gaze up at the Neville I, taking one last look at Blythe and Jenica where they sit, waiting for us to do our part. The other eight members of our team are waiting in the back of the craft. I feel Yasmine shift beside me and know she’s as restless as I am to get going. My gaze lingers on Blythe for a fraction of a second longer than necessary before I return my gaze to the comm. device and note the time.
9:58.
I can hear Jenica’s voice through the speaker. “Bravo team is in position. Standby for EMP in two minutes.”
I look at Yasmine and find her staring at me, her gaze wide and knowing. She’s an attractive girl, a tall and willowy thing, with plump lips and almond shaped eyes. Her Kevlar skin is cocoa colored and smooth, hinting not a bit at the toughness I know it possesses.
“You love her, don’t you.”
It’s not so much a question as it is a statement. There is no inflection in her voice to tell me what she is thinking or why she would say such a thing. Of course I love Blythe; I found her, beaten half to death by M.P.s and sobbing her heart out over her dead family. I killed the men who hurt her, stole her family away. I took her family’s place—me and Dog—and became her world. So, do I love her?
Hell yes, I love her.
I nod, once, the only thing she’s going to get out of me on the subject. She nods as if satisfied with my answer.
“I can see why you would,” she says softly. “She doesn’t know what she has, though,” she says.
After that, she goes silent, leaving me to wonder what the hell she meant by that. I’ll never understand women and their hints and ever-changing moods. I’m a man with basic needs: food, water, scratch, fuck. You have to tell me things outright and in plain English or I’m liable to miss them completely. Deciding to try to decipher Yasmine’s hieroglyphics when I’ve got more time, I turn my attention back to the comm. device, grateful that she decides not to elaborate right now. Not like we have the time to worry about all of that.
It is now 10:00 p.m. on the dot and at Stonehead Prison in Washington D.C., everything has just gone pitch black. I exchange one last look with Yasmine and we step out from our hiding place in the bushes.
To be continued…
About The Author
Ever since she first read books like Chronicles of Narnia or Goosebumps, Alicia has been a lover of mind-bending fiction. Wherever imagination takes her, she is more than happy to call that place her home. The mother of two and wife to an Army sergeant loves chocolate, coffee, and of course good books. When not writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, shopping for shoes and fabulous jewelry, or spending time with her loving family.
Alicia can be found on the web at any of the following links:
www.fantasybyalicia.com
www.facebook.com/fantasybyalicia
www.goodreads.com/alicia_michaels
Follow her at Twitter: @fantasybyalicia
Also by Alicia Michaels…
Daughter of the Red Dawn
The Lost Kingdom of Fallada Book #1
Coming Soon…
Titanium
The Bionics Series Part #2
Child of the Sacred Earth
The Lost Kingdom of Fallada Book #2
2013
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The Bionics (The Bionics Series Part 1) Page 7