by J. A. Dennam
“Learn what?”
Blood began to ooze out of the corner of Sophie’s mouth. “Not to lose her focus again.”
And now Rena thinks Ty is at fault, Melanie thought with alarm.
“Frost,” Sophie breathed. “She knows him. He can help them. Please.”
But there was something more important that needed to be handled first. Melanie took the woman by the collar and shook her. “Where can I find Derek’s medication?”
She smiled slightly. “He won’t be needing it now.”
“Where is it?”
The woman coughed out her last breath. With a sob, Melanie left her on the floor and crawled right back to Derek’s side, begged him to open his eyes.
“Is that the capsule?” Ty asked.
“Yes, it is. See, baby? Sophie had the real one in her pocket.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Derek whispered, his words barely discernable. “Sophie’s... dead.”
Melanie refused to cave to her tears again. He needed to see hope, and dammit, that’s what she’d give him. “Yes. Sophie is dead, but she wasn’t your only option. Some guy named Frost can help. That’s who we need to find. Sophie said Rena knows him.”
But he failed to answer her this time.
“Hey!” Her hands cupped his face. “Remember what I said to you? The only way you’ll make it up to me is by never dying again! And you won’t! Not this time!”
“Mel.”
But she ignored Ty and hovered over Derek, refusing to back off.
Ty gave her a look. “I got this,” he said, jerking his chin to the exit. “Go meet the others. Do what you need to do for DJ and then meet us at the hospital.”
“I don’t want to leave him, Ty,” she said brokenly.
“I’ll take care of him. He’ll be okay. But you have other responsibilities.”
“They said he’d be okay last time.”
“And he was. Wasn’t he?”
Ty was right. Derek had survived his last dance with death, they just didn’t know it. And now she needed to keep the faith that he’d survive this one, too.
Her fingers threaded through Derek’s spiky hair and fisted. His eyes were closed. He was still. She bent and kissed him soundly. “Hang tough for me, baby,” she said fiercely. “I love you!”
____________
By the time the man in the bed stirred behind her, Melanie had already found what she needed. The ID badge and password Rena had acquired were highly effective in accessing the medical ward database. Mac was on the road with DJ awaiting further instruction. Her plan was to leave that building armed with the necessary tools to save both her son and his father.
And to never return again.
“What are you doing?” Rafferty said roughly. Sunset orange sliced through the half open curtain of the private room he’d been transferred to.
“Getting access to Derek’s medication,” she answered distractedly as she hovered over the stationary laptop with her back to him.
“You can’t access his medical records,” he blustered. “It’s impossible.”
“I didn’t. I accessed yours with Sophie’s ID and password.” While the man lay speechless, she continued. “Nexifen. That’s the drug. I knew I’d remember it if I saw it.”
“What makes you think that would be in my file?”
She gave him a sultry look that reeked of hatred. “One thing I’ve learned from my experiences is how to read men.” Her attention returned to the computer screen and she sent her fake orders to move the entire supply out of the pharmacy. “When you described Hard Ball in detail I suspected Sophie had you by the testicles at some point.”
“You’re walking on dangerous ground, sweetheart,” Rafferty rumbled, throwing the covers aside. “I may be half blind but I can still make you die.” He stumbled as soon as his feet hit the floor.
Melanie bounded out of her chair, hatred oozing from every pore. “Not much of a ghost anymore, are you?”
“I was the first,” he rasped as he found his balance. “I was the best. And you’re just some blond bimbo in a picture I blew my load on a few times. Certainly not worthy of that uniform you’re wearing.”
Two steps and the IV pole began to follow him. He looked down at his hand and tore the line out. His squared chin jutted out in anger as he focused on her once more. “Take it off.”
“The hell I will.”
“Or I’ll do it for you.”
Melanie came at him first, rage giving her the only weapon she needed. With the grace of a soccer player, she sent her knee so deeply into Rafferty’s groin the man lost his voice. Air hissed through clenched teeth on his way down to the floor and his sun-kissed complexion took on a purple hue.
“Might have to remove a couple of those next,” she purred, squatting beside him. “And unless you can get more Nexifen now that I’ve cleared out the existing supply...” The fear of God was in his eyes when they connected with hers. She forced a smile. “You’re what we call fucked.”
“You... bitch.”
“So, you’re going to call this ghost, River, and tell him to back off my son.” She handed him the cellphone she’d taken from his rolling table.
“I can’t. He’s gone dark.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“No communications until the job is done.”
“Then you better find a way. You’re up to a six-hour regimen and your next dose is due in thirty minutes. Think you can handle a dry spell, Rafferty?”
“You can’t... take it all.”
“Derek needs it. You’ll just have to suffer. Maybe even kill yourself.”
“Your boyfriend is dead. They just carried him out of that lab in a body bag.”
His comment produced the desired effect. Melanie felt the blood drain from her face, even though she knew he was bluffing.
Rafferty wiped the sweat from his brow and glowered riotously. “Did you really think we’d let him live?”
Her heartbeat faltered once again. “You don’t know anything.”
“Unfortunately,” Rafferty contradicted, “he managed to take Sophie with him. But she’s finally where she always wanted to be. Tied to her pet forever. I warned her he’d kill her some day.”
Tension built in her sternum. Melanie got to her feet, glared at him with uncertainty. “Derek didn’t kill her. Rena did.”
Something in his countenance changed. Very carefully, he sat up. “She wouldn’t dare. Sophie was the only one who...”
“Sophie gambled with Rena’s sanity and lost, which means you are now on borrowed time. How much of it is up to you. Because if my son is harmed in any way... you’re going down next in a very excruciating manner.”
“I have more Nexifen. You can’t control it all.”
“But I can control you.”
“How will you manage that, little girl?”
“Same way you controlled Derek. Lock you up in a cell while you slowly go out of your mind.”
Perfect teeth flashed for an instant. “You and what army?”
A deep-timbered voice answered from behind. “No army. Just me.”
Melanie looked up and addressed the man Rafferty had failed to notice until now. The reason she’d never been in danger since shutting herself in his hospital room. The reason she found the strength to retaliate on her own. “Rafferty, I’d like you to meet Austin. My son’s uncle.”
Austin took three beefy steps until he was finally in view of Rafferty’s hampered peripheral vision. The injured man’s gaze started from the tip of his big boots and slowly travelled upward, all six-foot five-inches of him.
“I believe there’s a road trip in your near future,” Austin rumbled, unfolding his massive arms, giving his knuckles a stretch.
Chapter 21
“You can’t do this to me!” Rafferty’s futile edict ended in a “whoof” as he landed hard in the truck’s back seat, unable to catch himself with hands tightly bound behind his back. When he recovered, he wheezed out another plea. “I need t
o be in that medical ward!”
Melanie was in full combat mode as she slipped behind the wheel. “You like to play with lives, Rafferty. Think of my son as your lifeline.”
“I won’t be able to do you much good without my dose.”
Austin blocked the man in and took up the rest of the back seat. He rattled a plastic cup they’d acquired from the medication cart. “Then you better hurry, because there are all kinds of pills in here you need. You’ll get one at a time if you cooperate.”
Danny entered the front passenger seat with a smile on her face. She held up a large white bottle. “At least two months worth. That should buy Derek plenty of time.”
Because he’s still alive, Melanie repeated to herself with a set jaw.
Rafferty whistled low. “Who’s this ill-informed little vision?”
Austin glowered. “She’s my wife, you mouthy prick.”
Danny looked between the two men. “What does he mean by that? Ill-informed about what?”
“Wow,” Rafferty murmured, studying Danny’s features with keen interest. “You look very much like him. His sister, maybe?”
“Shut up, Rafferty.”
Danny’s breathing picked up as she caught Austin’s wary look. “Tell me.”
Rafferty answered for her. “Your brother is dead. Shot in the chest.”
Melanie refused to play the game. “He’s lying. Derek will live.”
“So...” Danny’s terrified gaze went to her for confirmation. “He really was shot?”
“Yes, but he’ll live.”
Rafferty barked out a laugh that begged to differ. “Already confirmed dead. It was all over the wireless channels.”
Austin grabbed him by the front of his flimsy hospital gown. “Shut up!”
Rafferty relaxed beneath the death grip. “You heard it, too.” When his prediction earned no response, he shrugged, looked out the window. “He was warned he wouldn’t last. Didn’t even make it twenty-four hours.”
Both women carefully watched Austin’s reaction.
The man’s fierce countenance cracked as he finally looked at Melanie. “DJ is in danger, remember?”
“No.” Danny’s tanned complexion went white. “He can’t be.”
Austin leaned toward her. “Danny...”
“No!”
But Melanie didn’t trust it. Derek was still alive. She inserted the key into the ignition and the engine came to life. “Austin is right,” she said firmly. “We need to focus on DJ.” As she steered out of the storage facility’s parking lot, she punched some numbers into the cell phone Ty had provided them.
“Yeah,” Ty answered, his voice suspiciously tired.
“What’s his status?” Melanie asked.
“Don’t worry about him. Focus on DJ.”
“I am focused on DJ, Ty. Just tell me.”
The silence delivered the hardest few seconds of Melanie’s entire life. All eyes were on her as she waited for a response.
Finally... “I’m sorry, Mel.”
Her hand tightened on the wheel as everything else she clung to slipped away. The light turned green. She put the phone down beside her and shifted gears. He’s still alive.
Danny released a loud sob and began to climb over the seat with Rafferty in her crosshairs, but Austin kept her back with his forearm.
“Danny, don’t start,” he pleaded softly. “We need him.”
“We had him back, Austin!” she raged. “He was real and this man took him from us AGAIN!”
Melanie just drove, guided the truck onto the Interstate, headed south putting the setting sun on their right. When her eyes overflowed, she wiped the tears away and kept driving. He’s alive.
“Can you see?” Austin asked her from the back seat.
“Yes, I’m fine.” The lie sat heavily on her tongue. She was far from fine. But it wasn’t because Derek was dead, it was because Danny was suffering from the belief that he was.
Austin wasn’t fooled. “Because we all need to step up and finish what IGP started. We can’t let them beat him, and they won’t as long we take up where he left off.”
“Such a great motivational speech,” Rafferty murmured. “I’d applaud if I could.”
Melanie decided that as soon as DJ was safe and Derek was home again, the man would suffer multiple trips to hell and back for every miserable moment Derek spent in captivity. She set her sights on him in the rearview mirror and grabbed onto Danny’s hand. The woman was doing her best to reign in her emotions.
“Have you dug your balls out of your sternum yet, Rafferty?” Melanie signaled, merged into the fast lane.
“They’ve descended just fine, thanks, Ms. Parker.”
“Good. Because Danny needs a fair crack at them next.”
Danny squeezed her hand as she searched her face, but Melanie continued to watch the road.
Austin’s phone signaled an incoming text. “Mac is on his way with DJ. We’ll be with them shortly.”
“Which may be the last time you see that little boy alive,” Rafferty provided.
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you if you give me my dose.”
“You’ll get it when River is unsuccessful,” Austin countered with his imposing scowl.
“My symptoms won’t start for another hour. For all I know, River will have me back at IGP headquarters by then.”
Austin reached past the man, threatened to pull the door handle out from under him. “If anxiety keeps you motivated, I’ll provide you with all you need.”
“You won’t throw me out,” Rafferty dared. “You need me.”
“But I can shave a little off the top.”
He released a heavy sigh and rested his head back against the seat. “It’s an old ghost trick. River’s lying low, monitoring your movements. When you meet up, he’ll kill two birds with one stone. Or, in your case, five birds. No witnesses.”
Melanie spoke over her shoulder. “Text Mac. Tell him we’re changing our rendezvous point to my granddad’s favorite place. He’ll know where that is.”
“Speaking in code won’t work,” Rafferty provided with a smirk. “River will still be able to track you.”
“How?” Austin asked.
Rafferty indicated the cup in his hand. “At least give me something for my pain.”
Austin sifted through the meds. “Here’s something with codeine. Want it?”
Rafferty jerked his chin toward the driver. “It’s her.”
“What about her?”
“She has a tracking device in her thigh.”
Melanie just drove and allowed him to talk.
“We inserted it a few weeks ago in case Bennett tried to defect during his mission.” Rafferty watched her in the rearview mirror. His smile was mean. “It was me. I was in your bedroom. I implanted it, and then I licked your pussy and you enjoyed it.”
Austin backhanded him in the face. Rafferty recovered by the window for a few seconds and then began to pant before he said, “Don’t tell me you’ve never tried to hit that.”
Another smack filled the cab with a yowl of pain.
“He’s playing mind games with us,” Melanie said. “Wants us to get careless.”
“I know,” Austin retorted with barely suppressed rage. “Just giving him something for his pain.”
He rolled down the window, chucked the pill.
“Wait!” There was panic in Rafferty’s voice, mixed with the bravado. “Hey, I was kidding, come on.”
Danny cleaned up her face as best she could, sniffed loudly. “Shouldn’t we stop?”
Melanie continued to drive. “Stop for what?”
“What if he’s telling the truth? We can’t lead this ghost to DJ.”
“We won’t.”
Rafferty piped in from the back. “She thinks I’m lying. Which I might be, but can you really take that chance?”
Should she divulge that the device had already been removed? Suspicion arose from the simple fact he was being so helpful, so
Melanie decided to remain silent for now. See what came next besides his obvious attempt to slow them down.
“If you don’t want to stop, I know how to neutralize it without breaking the skin,” Rafferty said, effectively dangling the carrot.
“How?” Austin barked, waving his hand in front of the man’s face to break his focus from Danny.
But Rafferty continued to stare at her profile. “Suck on it really hard. The hematoma confuses things for a few days.”
Melanie’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Better do it before it’s too late,” he urged. Danny finally exchanged looks with the man, hers hateful and swollen from grief, his seductive. Challenging. He leaned forward. “Spread her legs. Put your lips. On her thigh. And suck it.”
“He’s lying,” Melanie sneered as she signaled to make the next exit.
Rafferty relaxed against the backrest. “I am. I just wanted to see if she’d do it.”
There was a sudden flurry of activity behind them and before the women could react, Rafferty was out cold.
“You just played right into his hands, Austin,” Melanie said woodenly while she turned left onto a small, two-lane country road.
Austin worked the ache from his fist. “We can’t trust a word that leaves his mouth, anyway, but are you positive he’s lying?”
“Not about the tracking device, no.”
“Then, maybe we should stop somewhere. Try to get rid of it somehow before we go any further.”
Memories assailed her brain and the darkness within her grew. She firmed her chin, straightened her spine. He’s still alive. “Derek already did it for me.”
Chapter 22
“This is your granddad’s favorite place?”
“Shut up, Rafferty.”
As the foursome piled onto the sidewalk, Melanie ignored the man. Left him up to Austin so she’d refrain from shoving something long and pointy through his ear canal.
She looked right. Two elders took up a bench beneath the post office awning, enjoying the cool air of dusk. One of them waved. She looked left. Three cars sat in front of the well-lit cafe; a crowd for the small, dying town her grandfather lived in.
Melanie normally loved visiting this place. The green welcome sign claimed a population of one hundred six. The mortar above the corner bank bore the date 1872. Most windows along the rows of false-front buildings were boarded up and the six-room school at the end of the main drag had been closed many years ago.