“He got it?” Carson asked.
“I did,” Nick said. “A mud puddle. Got it.”
“Then Nick should come with me,” I said. “He’s the receiver; he can tell us if you need us.”
“That just leaves Whitney alone with Brandon and Mace is running around. Not enough protection. No, you and I are ready to do this. Let’s just get it done. You felt her a little bit. It’ll have to be good enough.”
I sighed. He was right. Enough sitting around and talking about things. It was time for some action. Carson and I had made ourselves look like we were Controlled. It was time to do what we’d set out to do and use the disguise. We’d find John, locate the exit, figure out what was going on with Dante, and then come for the others. It was a lot to manage but so be it. These were times of crisis, they called for action.
“All right, Carson, let’s go.”
Carson used to be somewhat of a follower in our little group, but lately I thought he might challenge John or me for leadership. This didn’t surprise me at all. I’d always known under it all Carson was a pretty tough, alpha personality.
We walked in silence down the hallway and snuck into a small room to wait for the next group of Controlled to march through. It didn’t take long. Carson nodded at me. I had one moment to worry that we’d made a terrible mistake before the time of doubt passed without speaking a word.
We stepped into the group.
It was strangely familiar to walk with these people who didn’t control their own bodies. Their movements were different. Halting, sometimes slow, and despite the fact it made me want to throw something in anger, I found my muscles remembered how to do this well. I’d been these people.
A memory struck me hard. I rarely thought about that first moment. The one when I’d come back to consciousness after being… this… for real for however long that was. I wasn’t even really sure. What year was it today? Did it matter anymore? Time only mattered if you had a future to focus on. Even with Whit in our life, I wasn’t sure what would happen. There was only today.
But then…
Then it had been terror. Lightning illuminated the sky as thunder banged over and over in the distance. Rain poured on my head, and I stood in a group of people like this looking around in utter terror. The only memory I had was the last one I’d had, my death. The illness. How awful all of that was.
Where was I? What was happening?
In present day, my heart rate kicked up at the thoughts. I’d run. Just taken off, not making a sound, not wanting any of them to hear me or see me. Had any of my friends been there? Had we been in that group together or were they elsewhere, being controlled by Dex to do other things? We’d never know. There were such things as unanswerable questions when it came to this stuff.
Carson’s hand shot out, and for a brief second, he squeezed my arm.
I nodded at him.
It was good to have friends when you were having a freak out.
Amazingly good.
32
John
I came to gradually. First, Dante’s voice filtered into my brain. Then came the monotonous and incessant beeping of a heart monitor.
I wasn’t home.
I sat up at once and landed hard on the floor. Dante was there immediately, grabbing my arm and helping me up. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I answered.
“John. Good of you to join us. Your skills are needed.” Dr. Karlton gave me a cold grin. “I’m going to ask you to give a few directions. It will be much appreciated.”
I was sure my face gave away what I thought of his request. “Polite decline.”
Dante’s grip on my arm tightened, almost like a warning, but he didn’t say a thing.
“I figured as much,” he said and shrugged.
Well, that had gone easier than I thought it would. “What do you want with Dante?” I asked.
“Dante is always so insightful. I couldn’t complete this work without him.”
I hazarded a glance at my friend, who stared at Karlton with unabashed hatred. “He wants to force a circuit,” he told me.
“That doesn’t work,” I said. “People need a relationship.”
“Like the one between Dexter and his father?” Karlton asked. “Or the one between Dexter and those strangers? See my dilemma? How is it that Dexter can create a circuit with strangers, while everyone else has to have some kind of relationship? Take my friend Peter here.” He trailed his fingers down the arm of an unconscious man strapped to a table. The way he did it made my skin crawl. There was something almost…paternal in the way he gazed at him. “He’s hooked into a circuit with his brother and a woman he hates.”
“What does this have to do with me?” I asked, because though I was a smart guy, I didn’t understand what he was getting at.
Karlton laughed. He stared at Dante, ignoring me completely. “Tell him to help me.”
At first, I thought he was talking to Dante, but then he looked at me and I knew. “Tell Dante—to help you.” He was insane.
“Yes,” he answered. “Do it now.”
“No,” I replied and chuckled. “You can’t possibly think I’ll help you.”
He sighed. “Everything the hard way.” Whirling away from us, he picked up a nearby walkie talkie I hadn’t noticed. “Yes. I need you.”
No one answered. Was that because he wanted to surprise Dante and me? Catch us off-guard? Whatever he had planned, it wouldn’t work. No one would make me do what I didn’t want to do.
The door opened. “Shit.” The words escaped me before I could stop them.
“Hello, John.” Whitney’s brother didn’t look well. His skin hung off his bones like there was no elasticity left to it. He’d died as a teenager, but he looked like an old man now. His hair was thin and his eyes had a milky yellow cast. “I don’t look that bad.”
“You do, actually,” I answered.
Dexter bared his teeth at me before lunging toward me. Arm out, Dante stopped him before he could touch me. “This is all your fault,” he spat at Dante. He glared at me. “You and my bitch sister. I’m losing my people. They’re pairing off, leaving gaping holes that hurt. I can’t heal. I can’t—” His hands clenched at his side. “You’re going to help me.”
This was getting ridiculous. “I’m not. In fact, you’ll be lucky if I don’t order you to impale yourself on something. I don’t tell people to do things simply because my enemies tell me to.”
I shot a questioning glance at Dante, and he shook his head. My genius friend had absolutely no idea what was going on either.
“I do have control of my people here. And Mace is right outside of my sister’s door. I could order him in to hurt her right this second.”
My heart jolted. Still, it wasn’t enough to do what he wanted. “She is surrounded by support. We’d all die for her. Mace can do his worst.”
I wished I was there right now. Why had I gone looking for food? I could have waited. I just wanted to get Whitney something she liked to eat so she’d start to feel better. Food used to do that for me when I lived. Or the first time I lived. Whatever.
“Can you be sure? Can you be sure that she has enough people with her?”
I got to my feet. “Can you be sure I won’t tell you to swallow your own fucking tongue so you never speak again?”
Unexpected consequences. What would happen if I did that? If Dex couldn’t lead, who would take over? Someone worse? I just couldn’t see all the possible outcomes. But they didn’t have to understand that.
Dante did. And he understood I’d do it if they left me with no other choice.
The door flew open, and much to my surprise, Isaiah and Carson stood there. Isaiah had death in his glare. I knew that from years of dealing with him when he was pissed as hell.
“Are they threatening Whitney?” He practically snarled.
They were and what was worse was my proclamation that she had enough protection was now not so true. Were Nick and Brandon enough of a force against Mace?
>
“Isaiah…”
I didn’t know what I would have said, exactly. Dante must have seen what was going to happen before I did. He shouted out a no just as electricity seemed to explode into the room. A bolt of lightning had no business striking in the middle of a building, but that was just what happened. It was Isaiah’s lightning, and like his fury, it had no bounds.
The jolt sent me flying backward into the wall, and as my ears rang I closed myself off from Whitney’s circuit. Hopefully, Dante had thought to do the same. I struggled to catch my breath, glaring at Isaiah as he did. Carson’s eyes were wide. The two of them were conveniently outside of the blast radius.
“A little fucking warning next time.”
“No…” Dante grabbed his head. “No. No. No.”
The miserable doctor who had done this to all of us struggled to his feet. I supposed it was too much to ask that he actually die. He didn’t look Controlled either.
The fucker.
Dante’s eyes were huge. “Something happened. I was closing the circuit. Protecting her. And the jolt… Can you feel it?”
He stared at me. Did I feel what? I struggled to my feet, turning to stare at Isaiah and Carson. Did they know what he meant?
“Dante?” Carson’s voice quivered. “There’s another in our circuit… there’s someone else.”
33
Whitney
The jolt hit me hard enough for me to bite my tongue. I was still in bed, which was good because my head slammed into the pillow. Blood filled my mouth, and I gagged then swallowed.
“What…” Nick’s voice was hoarse, so he cleared his throat and started again. “Are you okay?”
He was talking to me. I wanted to reassure him, yes, I’m fine. But a sudden drain of energy made it impossible for me to speak. I could almost see the life flowing out of me. It was going to someone. I shut my eyes, who needed me? Who had been injured to the degree they needed that much healing? I tried to identify the links, but it wasn’t like it was with Nick. Nick felt each of us individually, while I just had a sense of completeness.
And I didn’t have that now. Instead, our circuit was overloaded, but somehow empty. It was as if we were a bucket with a hole and no matter how much water we poured into it, everything streamed out.
My head pounded. Fuck. This wasn’t good. I had been getting better. Something stumbled outside, tumbling into my door with a thump. “It could be them,” I said. “Nick, what’s happening?”
He’d fallen into a chair and held his head. His eyes were shut in concentration, and his lips were moving. Isaiah. Carson… He was identifying them. Dante. John. He opened his eyes, staring at Brandon before his forehead creased in confusion. “Too many.”
“What do you mean?” Brandon looked sick. His skin had paled to a sallow yellow.
“Do you feel it?” Nick turned his attention to me. “In the circuit. There are too many of us.”
I shook my head. I didn’t. I felt empty. My pulse thudded at my temples, and I reached up to my face.
“Brandon. Close the circuit.”
That must have been why Brandon appeared so ill. “I’m trying,” he said, through clenched teeth. “But it’s like someone is holding it open. I’m pushing, but I can’t get it.”
“Brandon.” I didn’t like the way my voice sounded. It was too weak. If he couldn’t close the circuit, I had to help him. It hadn’t worked in the past, but I was willing to try again. Shutting my eyes, I imagined an open door between all of us. Our energy was the wind, as strong as a hurricane. I imagined Brandon, and pictured myself beside him, adding my weight to the door.
But I was a paper doll, and all that happened was I was whisked away.
I opened my eyes in time to see the door open and a figure fall through. The wide shoulders, thick neck, and ash blonde hair was too familiar.
Mace.
Nick and Brandon moved fast, which was impressive because they looked as bad as I felt. Frustration filled me. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t help.
I expected to see dead eyes as Mace straightened. Before, he’d shown no awareness, just the blank stare of a Controlled. Now I saw hate. Anger.
But more than seeing it? I felt it. And I knew. I knew what was killing me. He was killing us all.
Somehow, someway, Mace was part of us.
“Well… isn’t this fun?” Mace snarled as he stared at all of us.
I couldn’t respond to him, couldn’t think. How had this happened? Why was Mace with us? I could see him as clearly as I could all the others. Brandon. Nick. Carson. Isaiah. Dante. John. And Mace. No. I did not consent to this. I hadn’t agreed. We’d had a moment, all of us, where we’d become this circuit and not one of us invited Mace into our family.
Anger made me stronger, not weaker, and that was unusual. Maybe that came from Mace, but I was suddenly in his face. “Get out. You’re not entitled to be here.”
“Look, you little bitch. I don’t know what’s happening here either, but I suddenly feel fantastic.” He cracked his neck as if to demonstrate. “One second I’m listening to your brother whine and now I’ve got you. I think I prefer it here. My mind is back. How is this working? Don’t answer. I’ll figure it out. I owe you one, you stupid cunt. Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did.”
Nick was on him fast as Brandon took me into his arms. I’d never seen Nick violent, not unless we were fighting Controlled after us, but as he pounded on Mace’s face, I couldn’t say I minded the sight of him losing control.
Then the pain hit me.
“Nick.” Brandon shouted. “Stop. Stop. It’s hurting her.”
I could barely register the words. Yes, it fucking hurt me. I groaned as Nick dropped Mace and ran over to me. “Fuck me. I’m sorry, Whit. I’m so sorry.”
I grabbed onto his chest, gripping his shirt with my shaking hands. “It’s okay.”
“No matter how crazy he makes us, we cannot hurt him until we get him unlinked.” Brandon was out of breath. “Trust me. I want to kill him.”
The door flung open and everyone was there. Dante. Carson. Isaiah. John. A bunch of people I didn’t recognize, and Dr. Karlton, the man who had tortured me. They were all talking, and as my head cleared, I tried to make sense of it.
Dr. Karlton had manipulated us. He’d done something awful, and he was practically giddy with excitement.
I met Isaiah’s gaze. He looked tortured. Somehow, he blamed himself for it. Dante wouldn’t meet my gaze and that told me that he also saw himself playing a role in this.
I didn’t care who had done what. We needed to know how to undo it.
“Mace.” I got to my feet. “Let me be clear. You won’t be staying in this circuit with us. I will somehow survive killing you while you are linked to me before I ever let you in this group. Ever.”
He crossed his arms, a smirk on his face. Through our connection, I could feel him. It was horrible. Every terrible, sick thing he wanted to do to me was as clear as if it played on a movie screen.
“You motherfucker. Stop thinking about her.” Nick lunged toward him again, but Dante stopped him.
“Use your head,” he growled.
“What did you do?” Nick countered. “You fought to keep her alive, only to give her to this guy?”
Mace chuckled. “I think this is the most hilarious fucking thing. You kill me, and now I’m killing you.”
It felt like all the blood rushed from my head, and I swayed. Brandon’s arms tightened around me. “It’s okay.”
“If you kill her,” Dante said. “You kill yourself.”
“Worth it.” Mace uncrossed his arms, approaching Dante like he was spoiling for a fight. They were well matched in height and breadth, but Mace had never seen my guy in battle. I had. If they threw down, he’d see just how ruthless Dante could be.
And all of us would suffer from it.
“So how does this work?” Mace asked. “I feel you there, but there’s no whining. No control. You can’t control me at all.” He
leered. “Can you?”
I couldn’t. But then, I’d never wanted to control anyone. Until now. I wanted to tell him to throw himself out the window.
“She can’t, but I can.” John joined the face-off, creating a trifecta of guys on the edge.
“I wonder something else…” Mace backed away from John and Dante. They watched him. Uneasiness built in my stomach. He was going to do something. I could feel it.
He got to the door, turned around and seemed to study it.
“Stop him!” Carson yelled, but it was too late.
Mace reared back and drove his head into the metal doorframe. Then it was lights out.
34
Carson
Too late. Too late. I should have recognized the building anxiety as a sign of what was coming. But I was too overwhelmed. Mace was here, in our heads, part of our link, and it had somehow made everything darker. It was as if the clean energy that existed between us had become tainted.
Whitney dropped like a stone in Brandon’s arms while blood seeped from Mace’s head. The son of a bitch was still more dead than alive. He may not have even had a heartbeat yet.
“Dante.” Brandon pinned our friend with a stare.
“Right,” he said and grabbed Mace’s arm. The big man tried to dig in his heels, but Dante’s strength overwhelmed him. In a matter of seconds, he was gone, dragged down the hall. I heard him yelling, swearing at Dante and laughing about Whitney. And then there was silence.
“Well.” Dr. Karlton rubbed his hands against his pants like he had sweaty palms. “Thank you, Isaiah, for your help. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you all again soon.” He glanced at Whitney. “She should be fine. I have a feeling Dante sedated Mace…”
“Enough.” Brandon shouted with Whit in his arms. “We’re out of here. John, I don’t care what might happen. I want every door open and no one in our way. Dante, you have Mace. Carson help him if he needs it.”
I nodded. I was glad that Brandon had taken control and the others must have been fine with it, too. John rushed ahead, and I got to Dante as Brandon took her out the door. Mace was in a heap at his feet, a syringe Dante hadn’t bothered to remove sticking out of his arm
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