“They are, but they don’t know who you are. Give them a minute to assess the situation.” Denver looked far more alert than I expected, but he was nervous. That in itself made me nervous.
“Would you like me to hold her?” Maverick made his way over to Quinn’s side.
“No thank you. I have her.” Quinn glanced over at me, and I tried to send her a look to apology if my earlier appraisal insulted her. I was worried about her. That was all.
We waited for someone to come over, and after a few minutes a figure appeared. I expected weapons. I expected men in uniform. What we got was something entirely different.
“Hello, Ramona.” Denver nodded to an older woman who hobbled over to us with the help of a cane.
She smiled broadly as she reached our small circle. “Denver, I see you brought some new friends.”
“Yes. I assured them they would all be safe here.” He hugged her in a familiar way.
“Of course.” She stepped back from the embrace and looked over all of us. She nodded before walking straight toward Quinn.
Quinn froze, and panic marred her face.
“No reason to worry, child. I only wanted to introduce myself to you and your daughter first.” Ramona touched Quinn’s arm. “My name is Ramona, and I can assure you that you and your companions will be safe here.”
Quinn visibly relaxed. “I’m Quinn, and this is Bailey. My sister Kayla is over there.” She nodded toward me.
Ramona looked me over and smiled. “Ah yes, I see the resemblance.”
“And this is Addison.” Denver pointed to where she stood with her arms crossed over her chest. She’d seemed pretty relaxed in the van, but now she was uptight. I didn’t blame her.
Ramona smiled and walked over to her. “Hello, Addison. Thank you for joining us.”
I wondered why she skipped over me and went right to Addison. Maybe she noticed her nervousness.
“Thank you for having us.” Addison crossed her legs at the ankles.
“You don’t have to be nervous here. You’re safe.” Ramona’s voice was tired yet soothing. She had the voice of a storyteller, and I wondered if we’d get to hear her tell us any stories while we were there. It was rare to meet anyone over seventy. Life expectancy had fallen over the last several decades.
“The more you tell us that, the more worried I become.” Addison brushed some of her dark hair off her shoulder. “If it’s safe you shouldn’t need to tell us.”
“Fair enough.” Ramona nodded.
Denver exchanged an unreadable glance with Ramona. “Where’s Jeeves?”
“He’s down by the lake.” Ramona pointed down the steep grass hill.
“There’s a lake here?” Maverick asked looking in the direction Ramona pointed.
“Yes.” She nodded. “It’s safe for swimming. The pool is empty, and we will not be filling that up.”
“Lake? Pool?” Denver wasn’t exaggerating about this place. There must have been far more of it than we’d seen already.
“There is so much more to show you.” Ramona smiled warmly. “Come, come. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
“Breakfast.” Quinn closed her eyes for a moment. “Sounds good.”
“Maybe you’ll eat here?” Maverick asked with what appeared to be genuine concern. I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed her physical condition.
Quinn frowned. “You can’t blame me for choosing not to eat when I was a prisoner. It was hard to have an appetite when I needed to constantly worry about Bailey.”
“You won’t have to worry here.” Ramona either forgot or chose to ignore Addison’s earlier protest. I agreed with her. There was something unnerving about being told not to worry. It reminded me of the fairy tales with the witch in the woods or something. But Denver had helped us so far—at least I thought he had.
Mason seemed to sense my unease and wrapped his arm around me. “I will protect you all.”
“I can take care of myself and them.”
“But I can help too. You can never have too much protection.” He smiled.
“You’re trying really hard to avoid angering me.”
“I like you better when you aren’t mad at me.” His tone was unexpectedly playful.
“I like myself better that way too.”
Maverick was still right by Quinn’s side. I didn’t know the doctor well, but based on our conversation back at Central, I knew he cared for her—had it been just a few nights? My sense of time was all over the place.
“You need to try to stay calm for their sake.” He didn’t need to say who he meant.
“I know.” I watched as Quinn tentatively set Bailey down on the ground.
“But it’s okay if inside you don’t want to be calm.”
“Who are you, and what did you do with my Mason?” I looked up at him.
“Your Mason?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.” I felt a moment of doubt. Was that the wrong thing to say?
“You’ve never said that before.” He smiled. “I like it.”
“I’ve heard you call me your Kayla.”
“I have, and to be perfectly honest, I know I always will.” He wrapped his hand around mine.
Nineteen
Maverick
It had been months since I’d been outside. Maybe even years. Time inside Central seemed to move in a way that was impossible to record. The lack of windows and the complete restriction against leaving the building made the days blur together. The restriction was predicated on the fear that one of us might be kidnapped in an attempt for someone to extract the information from us. The reality was the powers that be were afraid of us selling the information to the highest bidder.
I hadn’t been worried about the former, and I wouldn’t have done the latter, but if I had ever left the confines of the building and slipped through the barbed wire, I’m not quite sure if I would have ever gone back. There is something about a taste of freedom—even a freedom you didn’t realize you’d been craving- that is impossible to let go of.
Now, armed with the knowledge of what laid outside and the life possibly within my reach, I knew I would never go back. I also was even more determined than ever to discover what had transpired against me while I was inside. I hadn’t undergone the same treatment as the women there, but I was certain there were things done to me I had no clue about. It went beyond my memories, and I was convinced it had started at my birth, if not before.
As I gazed up at the blue sky and down at the green grass below my boots, I wondered, not for the first time since leaving Central, what would’ve happened to me had I never meant Quinn. She was the catalyst of all of this for me. She was the reason I saw a need for change and stopped blindly following orders. I wanted to believe something else could have broken the spell, that I could have been strong enough to leave without her, but I doubted it. It was Quinn’s courage, her determination, and her bright expressive eyes that broke me out of my daze and made me question my identity and role at Central. I didn’t believe in fate, but I did believe I’d needed to meet her. And now that we were outside Central, I had to stick to my promise and ensure their safety.
We’d needed to leave, but part of me worried we’d jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. We had no idea where we really were, or who these people were. Inside I was panicking, but I refused to show that on the outside. I didn’t want to worry Quinn more than she was already. She had been through so much, yet she was still doing what she had to for her daughter. Which is why I would do what I had to for both of them.
“What kind of housing would your group prefer?” Ramona asked Quinn the question before turning to Addison. “I presume you really are all together and didn’t just happen to arrive here at the same time thanks to sharing a ride.”
I snapped out of my internal musings and thought over Ramona’s words. There was something humorous about her words, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I tried to hide it, but I was tired enough that it was louder than I would have lik
ed.
“I wouldn’t have expected you’d be the one with the sense of humor.” Ramona grinned.
I shrugged, pulling myself together. “What can I say?”
Quinn raised her chin. “I don’t know what our options are, but Bailey and I need to stay with Kayla. I refuse to accept any setup that does not allow for that.”
“And I will be staying with them.” Mason chimed in.
“So will I,” I quickly added. I hadn’t really thought before I said it, but there’s no way I was letting Quinn and Bailey out of my sight until I knew I could trust these people—which might never happen.
“Addison stays with us too.” Kayla nodded at Addison.
Addison smiled. “Thank you, Kayla.”
“Of course, why wouldn’t you stay with us?”
“I guess that just leaves me.” Denver said with an unreadable expression. He was harder to read than almost anyone I’d ever met.
“Oh.” Addison’s face reddened. “Of course you are welcome to stay with us too, but I guess we assumed you had your own place to stay here.”
Denver shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I stay here and there. Like I said I don’t stay here long because you never know who’s going to need me out there.”
Ramona waited a moment for Denver’s words to settle in. “We have an empty cabin that will fit you all. Can the child sleep in a regular bed?”
“Yes,” Quinn nodded. “She may be sleeping with me at first.”
“Very well.” Ramona smiled. “I will leave that up to you.” Then she turned. “Denver, please find Jeeves and the others and have them prepare the cabin.”
“Aye, aye.” He saluted with his hand and headed down the grass hill.
Ramona pointed at me. “While they prepare the cabin, the two of us need to speak.”
“You need to speak with me?” I put a hand to my chest.
“Yes, I need to speak with you.” She eyed me as if I was crazy for questioning her.
I debated what to do before landing on a decision. “Mason and Kayla, will you stay with Quinn?”
“Of course,” they said simultaneous, both giving me similar expressions to Ramona—in other words looking at me like I was crazy.
“You know I won’t be letting Quinn or Bailey out of my sight.” Kayla picked up Bailey. Bailey squealed in delight.
I didn’t want to walk off with Ramona, but if there was anything I could learn, I had to do it. We needed any and all information we could get, even if I had no clue why she was signaling me out. I turned to Ramona. “I assume this won’t take long?”
“No.” She leaned heavily on her cane. “It won’t. Walk with me.”
I had a moment of doubt as she started away from the group, but putting off this talk wasn’t going to help anyone. I would keep it to a few minutes and get back to Quinn’s side.
Instead of walking down the hill as Denver had done, Ramona walked across the grassy field and between two of the cabins. I walked at her side, glancing back at the group a few times. Before long they were out of view. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” Ramona continued to hobble along.
I was growing tired of being told that, but I saw no reason to argue. I’d already made the decision to follow her. I couldn’t just turn back.
A few minutes later we reached the end of the overgrown field and stopped in front of what appeared to be an outdoor theater.
She sat down on a bench that overlooked the lake. “This, my friend, is the old amphitheater.”
“They put on plays here?” I tried to imagine a time when anyone had the luxury of doing something like that.
She nodded. “Yes. Quite a nice view of the lake, isn’t it?”
“Very nice.” The water was calm, and every so often a bird flew over.
“I will cut to the chase, as I know you were eager to return to your friends.” She set her cane down on the bench beside her. She patted the open spot on her other side. “Please sit down.”
I listened, settling in after leaving some space between us.
“You have no idea who you are.” Her words were brash—and unapologetic.
“Do you know?” I threw a question back, hoping I’d learn something.
She laughed a dry, low laugh. “No honey. The only one who truly knows that is you.”
“But you just said—”
“I know what I just said,” She interrupted. “I know what I said, and I stand by it. You have no idea who you really are, but the only way you’re going to find out is by finding yourself.”
“I hope you’re not implying I need to go somewhere else in search of these answers.” Leaving Quinn and Bailey wasn’t an option.
“No.” She shook her head. “Not yet. You’ll have a choice of whether to leave later, but for now you’re right where you’re supposed to be.”
“I’m supposed to be here?” I still wasn’t entirely sure where here was, but it was worth asking.
“Yes. She and the child need you. Do you know who the father is?” she asked.
“How do you know I’m not the father?” I tried to keep my expression neutral.
“Because I don’t believe you’d all be here if you were.”
She was right of course. “I don’t know who the father is exactly, but he is dead.” I would take Quinn and Kayla’s word on that.
“That is what I assumed. And it is why you are here with them. Something had to make you leave.”
“Make me leave?” I thought over her words. “You know…”
“That you worked at Central?” She leaned toward me. “Of course I do. I don’t need to see a white lab coat to recognize one of you. You scream of a man who’s had his memories suppressed, who is tasting freedom for the first time and doesn’t quite know what to do with it. A man who is questioning his moral beliefs.”
“It sounds like you know a lot about Central.” I searched her eyes for more details. Was I supposed to read more into her words?
She kicked around some dirt with her sandal. I had never seen anyone wearing open toed shoes. Boots and dress shoes were the only options I had ever seen. We fell into a silence, and I decided to use it as an opportunity to change the subject.
“Denver says this place used to be a camp for children?”
She nodded. “Yes for many years.”
“How long have you been here?”
“For a long time now. Most of us here have been here for years. We get newcomers every so often, and every so often someone leaves, but otherwise not much changes here.”
“What is this place now exactly?” I chose my words carefully. “What kind of community is it?” Community is the word Denver had used.
“Home.” She picked up her cane and rose to her feet. “At least a version of home. It’s as close to a real one that exists anymore in this country.”
“You think homes exist in other countries?” From what I’d been told, the whole world was facing the same challenges we were. It was the reason we’d sealed off our borders early on in an attempt to stop the spread.
“You have a lot to learn, but you don’t need to learn it all now.” She started down the rows of benches.
I followed closely behind. “Why did you need to speak with me alone? Surely the motivation couldn’t have been to simply tell me I don’t really know who I am.”
“It was to make sure you understood your duty.” She stopped walking and turned to face me.
“My duty? You mean to protect Quinn and Bailey?”
“That as well as to figure out your past. Until you do, you are dangerous to all of us.”
“Just me?” I tried to stomp down my anger at her insinuation that I was a danger. “What about Denver? Mason? Are they dangerous too?”
“You are all dangerous. I’m dangerous. It is impossible to truly know anybody. That’s the way it’s always been. Nothing has really changed in regards to that.”
“What are we supposed to do here?”
; “First you need to remember how to live. That little girl needs to learn how to live; she has never experienced any taste of freedom.”
“Neither have any of us.” I knew Quinn and Kayla hadn’t. I at least remembered none. Mason maybe in theory, but I got the sense Addison may have had a worse experience than any of us. I knew nothing about her, only that she came in with Denver and she cared for Kayla. I didn’t need to know more unless she wanted me to.
“Very true statement.” Ramona started walking again.
I wanted to go back, but I still had questions. “Who is Denver? Is he really Denver? Why did everyone in Central think he was a Dr. Nevers?”
“That is for Denver to tell you himself.”
“So his real name is Denver?” I asked for clarification.
“Is there such a thing as a real name? Are they not just a temporary way to identify us? Like numbers?” She whirled around again to look at me.
“I never liked to use the numbers…” I explained myself on that matter yet again.
She smiled warmly. “I know.”
“I don’t really care what anyone thinks of me as long as you don’t try to keep me from Quinn. I need to protect both of them.”
“You will.” Ramona put a hand on my shoulder. “This isn’t going to be easy for either of them. It may be easier for the child as she’s so young I can’t be sure what she remembers. You have to trust me enough if you want to protect them. I can help you.”
“I don’t know if I’m capable of trusting anyone.” I wasn’t sure what made it impossible for me to hold back with Ramona. I told her the truth, whether I wanted to or not.
“Yes you can. You are here. You have already taken the greatest chance of your life. By your confusion and the confusion of your traveling companions, I will assume Denver did not tell you where he was taking you.”
“All we knew was we were leaving Central.”
“And you are out of Central, are you not?” Her hand remained on my shoulder.
“Yes.” I glanced back out at the lake. “We are.”
“Denver stuck to his word. He earned as much of your trust as possible. I already told you it’s impossible to completely trust anyone beyond ourselves.”
Cornered (The Corded Saga #2) Page 12