by Wendi Wilson
My dejection at our lack of answers must’ve sounded in my voice, because Beckett squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll figure this out, Savanna.”
The sound of a car pulling up in the driveway caught my attention. I stood and walked to the window, seeing my mom’s car roll to a stop. The passenger door swung open and my dad climbed out, his movements rushed and jerky.
“My parents are here,” I said, turning to face the boys.
They stood and walked with me to the front door. I swung it open and waited just inside the entrance for them to come to me. No way was I going to have this confrontation outside where Dr. Patton had cameras installed. In fact, I’d have to take them up to the one of the boys’ rooms. That was the only place we would be guaranteed privacy.
At least, until Dr. Patton saw them on his surveillance feed and came rushing home.
“Savanna, are you okay?” Mom asked as she crushed me in a hug.
I shushed her and motioned for her and Dad to follow me. They seemed to get the hint. We ascended the stairs behind the boys in total silence. All six of us crowded into Beckett’s room before anyone spoke.
“Daddy,” I said, rushing into his arms. I hugged him tight for a moment before releasing him and hugging Mom again.
She embraced me for a moment before gently pushing me back to an arm’s length so she could look at my face. “How did this happen?” she asked.
My face heated with shame. “Dr. Patton injected me with something on Thursday,” I admitted. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry.”
Her face screwed up with anger, but it wasn’t directed at me. “What did that bastard give you?” she demanded.
“I don’t know,” I said. “He told me it was the same injection he gave you when you were pregnant.” I looked away from her, down at my hands as I wrung them. “The same injection he gave me as a child.”
“What?” my father roared.
“What do you mean?” Mom asked, her voice frantic. “We never agreed to any injections.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Mom. He said he gave me the injections without your knowledge but didn’t explain any further. He had to be lying, because I have all these powers now. Super hearing. The ability to persuade anyone, not just other Alts. And look at my eyes.”
My parents leaned in and simultaneously gasped. I blinked a few times and they retreated back to their previous positions, incredulous looks plastered to their faces.
“My baby,” Mom mumbled, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.
Dad wrapped his arm around her, whispering into her ear. Calming words, assuring her I would be okay. That we’d figure it all out. Life would go back to normal. Other vocalizations of his wishful thinking.
Mom nodded and he released her. She looked at me, a determined look replacing the previous one of helplessness. Crossing her arms over her chest, she made the proclamation that changed everything.
“We have no choice,” she said. “We run.”
“But—”
“No buts, Savanna. Say goodbye. We’re leaving, going somewhere where no one will ever find us.”
“Angela, think about this,” Dad said, but she just shook her head.
“They’ll come for her, Roman. The government, the scientists…they’ll take her from us and we’ll be lucky if we ever see her again. We have to hide.”
I felt the boys come closer, closing ranks around me as they often did when they went into protective mode. Their presence gave me strength. I propped my fists on my hips.
“No,” I said.
“Savanna, do not argue with me. Let’s go.”
“I’m not leaving them, Mom,” I said.
“Savanna—”
She made to grab my arm, but I jerked away. In that exact moment, I made a choice. I didn’t know if it was the right one, but it was the only one I felt I could make. Before I could think about it too much, I opened my mouth and spoke from my gut.
“Stop,” I said, making my parents freeze. “You will go home. You don’t know where I am and you’re not worried about me. You know I’m in safe hands and that’s all that matters. You won’t look for me.”
My voice cracked on that last bit. My eyes flooded as my parents turned without so much as a goodbye and left the room, heading down the stairs. Three sets of arms wound around me as guilty tears streamed down my face.
I let them hold me, and I cried until the tears ran out.
Chapter Twenty-Two
We all slept together that night, crowded into Beckett’s bed. I needed them, and that’s all that mattered. They would have slept in a dumpster for me. At least, that’s what Jett said when I tried to give them an out, saying they’d be more comfortable in their own beds.
Even though I was certain Dr. Patton would come running home as soon as he saw the footage, he never showed. As we ventured downstairs, we looked around, but were unable to find even the slightest hint that he’d been there at all. We were still alone in the house.
“I don’t get it,” I said, sitting at the kitchen bar while Beckett cooked me breakfast. “I was sure he’d see the footage and come demand more tests. Or, at least run home when he saw my parents on his surveillance video. He’d want to know why they left without me, right?”
“I don’t know, Savanna,” Jett said, taking the stool on my right. “Do you want to contact him? Try to find out what was in that shot that changed you so much?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t want to see him or speak to him. Besides, he would probably be as evasive as always.”
Wyatt sat on my left. “I’m sorry all this is happening to you, Savanna. I feel like we’ve turned your life upside down. You’d be better off if you never met us.”
“No,” I said, angling toward him. “Don’t say that. Never say that. I’d still be what I am if you weren’t here. Your uncle would have approached my family with or without you and I would be testing my abilities on some other Alts. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you three in my life. I need you.” I looked at Beckett, who’d turned his back to the stove to look at me. “I want you beside me.” I looked at Jett. “I love you. All of you.”
The kitchen fell silent, but Beckett smiled at me before turning to dish up my eggs and bacon. His eyes looked a little glassy as he placed the plate in front of me with a flourish. “Your breakfast, milady,” he said, inclining his head.
“Thank you,” I said, smiling at his antics.
Wyatt huffed. “Stop it, Beck. I’m the one who makes her laugh, remember?”
A laugh burst from my lips at the whining tone in his voice. He smiled and winked, and the tension inside me uncoiled a bit. Jett reached around behind me and swatted Wyatt on the back of the head, which made Wyatt grunt and swear. I smiled, taking a bite of my delicious breakfast. The boys were doing their best to make everything feel normal. For me.
After breakfast, Jett asked for my house key, saying he’d go to my house and pack some clothes and essentials for me. I knew my parents would be at work, not at home worrying over me thanks to my persuasion, so I handed over my keys. As I heard the engine of the truck fade away into the distance, I turned to Wyatt and Beckett.
“I want to search your uncle’s office,” I said.
“But, we already looked. There’s nothing,” Beckett said.
“That was weeks ago,” I said. “And I can’t sit here and do nothing.”
“What if he catches us?” Wyatt asked.
“Who cares?” I said, throwing my hands into the air. “My secret is out. The only leverage he holds over me now is to hand me over to the government. But that would mean he’d lose me, too.” I shook my head. “No, he’s not going to do that. He has plans for me. And I want to know what they are.”
I didn’t mention the threat Dr. Patton made to send the boys away. I’d learned a lot about them in our time together, and if there was anything I knew for a fact, it was that they’d let no one stand between us. No one.
I le
d the way to the office, swinging open the door which was, thankfully, unlocked. There was no way to tell if Dr. Patton had cameras hidden inside, so I knew we needed to hurry. I ran behind the desk and motioned the boys toward the filing cabinet.
I jerked open the top drawer and rifled through it, finding nothing but office supplies. I took a deep breath and slowed my movements. If there were surveillance cameras, surely Dr. Patton would have busted Jett and Beckett when they searched the office before. I lowered myself into his chair and pulled open the second drawer.
The only thing inside was a manila folder. I pulled it out and set it on the desk before gently opening the front cover. Inside were several sheets of printed paper. I picked up the first sheet and started to read.
“Hey I found something,” I said, waving the boys over. “Listen to this. Subject A-one-two-eight, injected January thirteenth. Reduced susceptibility within forty-eight hours. Complete immunity by hour fifty-seven.” I paused and looked up at Wyatt and Beckett. “What does this mean?”
“I don’t know,” Wyatt said, looking at his brother. “You’re the smart one, Beck. What do you think?”
Beckett’s brow furrowed as he took the paper from me, his eyes scanning it. His eyes widened before settling back on me. “Immunity,” he said, placing the paper on the desk and pointing at the word. “He has to be talking about persuasion, right? We’re coming across all the people who are possibly immune to it, and now his paperwork talks about immunity? It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“He’s injecting people with something to make them immune to Alts,” I said, my mind whirling. “Why would he do that?”
“He’s a Purist,” Beckett said. “His main agenda is to rid the world of our kind. If he can make the human population immune to persuasion, they could do anything and we wouldn’t be able to stop them.”
“Maybe he just wants to make everyone immune so Alts don’t pose a threat,” Wyatt offered. “If we can’t persuade anyone, then we’re no longer a danger to them, right?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Beck’s right. You weren’t there, at their church service. Your uncle had them basically frothing at the mouth with talk of punishing the offspring of the wicked,” I said, motioning between us to indicate that we were those offspring. “Those people don’t want a peaceful ending. They want to annihilate us.”
“But how do you factor in?” Beckett asked.
“I don’t know, but he did call me the savior,” I said. “The fact that I can now persuade both Alts and norms has to factor into it. Right?”
They nodded in agreement. I looked down and scanned the other papers in the folder. There were ten sheets, with ten subjects listed on each one. They were all much the same. The subject number, the amount of time for decreased susceptibility, the amount of time for total immunity.
“A hundred people,” I mumbled, looking back up at the boys for a brief moment before neatly stacking the papers back in the folder and sliding it into the desk drawer.
All three of our heads swiveled toward the door as we heard footsteps coming from the porch. The front door opened and closed, and Jett’s voice called out to let us know he was back. I heaved a sigh of relief and stood, walking out of the office and meeting Jett in the hall.
I took the bag from him and turned back to Wyatt and Beckett. “You guys tell him what we found. I am going to take a bath.”
Without waiting for a response, I headed up the stairs. I needed some time alone to think. Or sulk. Or both.
If our theory was correct, I was the key to helping the Purist movement rid the world of Alts. And somehow, some way, we needed to figure out how to stop them.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I think we should go back to school tomorrow,” I said without preamble as I joined the boys in Jett’s room an hour later.
Three sets of eyes swiveled toward me and widened, roving down my body and back up again, stopping at my chest. Looking down, I realized that my wet hair had made my white shirt pretty much transparent. I quickly crossed my arms over my chest and cleared my throat.
Beckett blushed, mumbling out an apology. Wyatt grinned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively, making me snort. Jett just coughed and waved me inside, saying, “Why on earth would you want to go back there now?”
I stopped in front of the bed where the three of them sat, lined up along the edge. “Because at least one person at that school is a test subject of your uncle’s. They shot the video at Lizzie’s party and the one of me persuading Paul and Alec. We’re never gonna figure out who it is if we don’t go back.”
“Savanna, you can’t go back. What if someone identifies you to the news stations? The school will be the first place the reporters go when they don’t find you at home.”
“No one has come forward yet,” I reasoned, “or the news anchors would be on air telling the world. Plus the video was from the side, and my hair was covering that side of my face. No one could prove it was me.”
“What about Alec and Paul?” Jett asked. “They could have told the whole school by now that you persuaded them to kiss Jonas’s ass.”
“They can’t prove it,” I said.
“Savanna, don’t be naïve,” he shot back. “A video of a blonde persuading an entire room of people coupled with two football players telling everyone you persuaded them? It’s like a gold mine for the gossip mills.”
“I don’t care,” I said. “Let them talk.”
“What if they’re talking to the police? Or the FBI?”
“Jett,” I said, moving to stand directly in front of him, “I know you’re worried.” I took his hand in mine. “But I have to do something. I can’t just hide here forever. Your uncle will come home eventually. We need to figure this out so we can stop him before this thing goes too far.”
I looked over at Wyatt and Beckett, who both seemed more inclined to agree with me. I got an encouraging smile from Wyatt and a nod from Beckett, so I jerked my head toward the door, wordlessly asking for some time alone with their brother. Taking the hint, they both stood.
Beckett kissed me on the cheek and whispered, “I love you,” in my ear.
Wyatt pressed his palm against my cheek, turned my head and pecked me on the lips. Giving me a wink, he walked out behind Beckett and closed the door gently behind him. I stared at the closed door for a moment, listening to their footsteps fade as they moved across the hall and down the staircase.
I turned back to Jett, who was watching me with one brow arched. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I braced first one knee, then the other on the bed on either side of his hips. His arms went around my hips to keep me from slipping off as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“You’re not going to try to seduce me into giving you your way, are you?”
My own eyes narrowed as my temper flared. I didn’t move from his lap, but I snarled, “I don’t need you to give me my way, Jett Patton. I make my own decisions.”
“Sorry,” he said, color riding high on his cheeks, “that didn’t come out right. I just meant…ugh, never mind.”
I smiled, my anger leaving me as I watched him try to backpedal. The feel of his body against mine, his arms locked around me, made me feel so many emotions, there was no room to hold onto any irritation. I felt like teasing him, so I wiggled a little and said, “I’ll forgive you, for a price.”
“Name your price,” he said, his face earnest.
“Hmm,” I said, looking up at the ceiling like I was thinking hard, trying to come up with something. It was all an act. I knew what I wanted. I met his eyes again and said, “I’ll forgive you for a kiss.”
I barely got the last word out before his lips were on mine, his tongue exploring my mouth with wild abandon. Nothing drove me to such heights as when he seemed to lose control like that. Jett. Mister cool, calm and collected. Wild with passion. There was nothing like it.
Caught up in the frenzy, I pressed against him, leaving no space between us. His mouth left mine, bla
zing a trail down my neck, and every worry that plagued me flew from my head. Nothing remained but Jett, his mouth, his hard chest pressing against mine. Heat swirled through my body, making me squirm to get even closer.
Jett’s hands slipped under my t-shirt, lightly stroking up and down my back. His hands on my bare skin caused sparks of electricity to zip through me and, without thinking about it, I leaned away from him and whipped the shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor.
I watched his face as he looked at me, bare to his gaze for the first time. He sucked his lower lip into his mouth as his eyes made their way back up to mine. The silver rings around his irises seemed to glow with intensity. I held his gaze for a moment longer before leaning forward to press my lips against his.
I kissed him with every ounce of passion I had in me, showing him how much I loved him without words. I trailed my lips along his jawline and he tilted his head up to give me better access. My mouth made its way to his ear, where I whispered three little words that would change me, change us, forever.
“I want you.”
He pulled back, searching my eyes for the truth. “Savanna,” he said, his voice low, “are you sure?”
I nodded, unable to speak.
“Have you…ever…”
I shook my head when his words trailed off. I knew what he was asking me. He wanted to know if I’d gone that far with either of his brothers. I’d never even kissed anyone before them.
“Savanna, I don’t know. The circumstances…you’re stressed out and vulnerable.”
“Please, Jett.” I knew I sounded pathetic, begging, but I didn’t care. “I need you.”
“You have me, baby,” he said, hugging me close.
It wasn’t enough. I wanted more. Needed it. I was tired of waiting. I had no idea what the future held and I didn’t want to waste a minute of the present.
I grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled up. He lifted his arms and let me take it off, and I tossed it away. I pressed against him, and the skin to skin contact stoked the fire in me to new heights.