“I’ll help. If you can carry the boxes. Can I pull closer?” He glanced through the dense shrubs toward her deserted bar.
“Yeah. Get him in the truck.” She moved so Matt could help Theo into the truck.
She felt his suspicion as he drove behind a blind that looked so much like real trees not even a bird would figure it out. The bar was on the right, a dim light showing from the back-basement window. That had to be covered a.s.a.p.
“Nice ride.” Matt stopped beside her ’69 Firebird and cut the engine.
“Thanks. She belonged to my father.” Too bad she’d have to leave the car behind when she took Theo across the border.
Theo rolled his head and smiled up at her. He held out his arm for the shot. Jillian stuck him, injecting the liquid. Theo’s thoughts entered her mind, and she shook her head. Allowing Matt into their world wouldn’t change anything, despite what Theo was thinking. Besides, she needed Matt’s help right now. Nothing more.
Matt propped her brother against his side after he got him out of the truck. When he motioned, Jillian shoved the case of antidote under his free arm. She grabbed the bag containing the vodka and then picked up the other box. Theo groaned, twitching as the antidote battled the poisons in his system. He had to be downstairs and in restraints before he went ballistic like last time.
“Has he been poisoned before?” Matt asked as Theo gripped his arm, twisting Matt’s shirt.
“This is his third time. He watches me, and forgets . . .” She turned away.
“Forgets what?” Matt dragged Theo into the service elevator as soon as the doors opened.
“Nothing. Never mind.” She pressed the button to take them to the basement, ignoring the questions in his eyes.
Theo thrashed between Matt and the side of the elevator. His eyes rolled back into his head and drool covered his shirt. Matt pinned him to the wall and braced his body against Theo’s as the elevator bounced and landed.
Stunned faces turned as they exited the elevator. Jillian shook her head as Matt struggled to get Theo to the room where she’d motioned. She hoped the others would understand Theo’s situation and not start asking why she’d brought a stranger here. She had a lot of explaining to do later—once Theo was back. She fastened the restraint around Theo’s wrist and tightened it enough that he couldn’t get out.
“What were you saying?” Matt asked, checking Theo’s vital signs.
“Nothing. There were some problems with the safe food list.” She turned her head.
“What kind of problems?” He turned her chin, so she had no choice but to meet his eyes.
Jillian sighed. She might as well be honest. Maybe the truth would help to convince him the information she’d just given him wasn’t a lie.
“Theo watches me. I don’t know if you noticed, but he’s a serum baby. He’s the sweetest kid, but I can’t make him understand I’m immune.”
Matt blinked, but that was the only indication that what she said shocked him. “You’re immune?”
She nodded.
“That’s freaking awesome.” He smiled, and her knees threatened to give out.
“You can’t tell anyone.” If her secret got out, she was worse than dead. “I mean, if anyone finds out, I will hunt you down and cut out your liver. I’m not kidding.”
“No duh. They’d only lock you up and experiment on you.” He checked Theo’s eyes. “He’s a lot bigger than the other serum babies I’ve seen. A lot.”
“Mom only had one dose of the stuff. He’s mild. Theo’s a sweet kid. He tries to do everything right, but he’s a little clumsy. He won’t listen to anyone but me, and half the time I wonder about that.”
“How have you managed to keep him off the radar?” Matt motioned to Theo.
“It hasn’t been easy. That he’s a lot bigger than other serum babies helps. Our parents did a good job hiding him.”
“Where are your parents now?” Matt adjusted the strap on Theo’s left arm.
“Dead. Dad died after the first immunization.” She laughed, a harsh sound even to her own ears. “Who would have thought his daughter would end up immune to poisons?”
“Every kind of poison?”
Jillian smiled. “As far as I can tell. Viruses and bacteria, too. I spent quite a bit of time experimenting. I’ve ingested more stuff than you can imagine and haven’t found anything that even gives me a stomachache. And inhaled, and been injected with, and every way you can poison someone. In college, I drank two gallons of vodka in less than two hours and didn’t even catch a buzz.” She shouldn’t be proud of that, but she almost couldn’t help it.
“Excellent. Yeah, you should definitely keep that to yourself.”
“I do. The question is, will you?”
“Scout’s honor.” He put his hand over his heart.
“Oh, come on. You were never a Boy Scout.” She tried not to get sucked in by his charm.
“Was too. I made Eagle. My Eagle project was a plan to cross into Midland. I passed with flying colors because it was information everyone wanted to know.”
She laughed, despite Theo’s quiet moans. Sirens sounded in the distance. She glanced at Matt, unsure.
“Do you have a radio?” he asked.
“Yeah. We keep it turned off since the news does nothing for morale. Come on.” She opened the door and motioned for Beth to come over.
When the girl finally shuffled over, Jillian put her hand on her shoulder. “Can you watch Theo until I come back? I have to check something real fast. He’s okay, just don’t untie him until I say so. It’s really important. Can you do that for me?”
Beth nodded vigorously. “Yeah. Can do.”
She danced into the room singing a theme song from an old kids’ show, adding Theo’s name instead of the main characters.
When the door closed partway behind the girl, Jillian went over to Beth’s mother, Rachel. “Can you please check her every so often? I’m not sure how long this will take.”
The woman gave a blank nod and moved a chair to near the half-open door, motioning for Beth’s twin to follow. They’d had three affected children, Beth, her twin, and another child. She’d gotten pregnant too soon after having the twins, and the injections had done far more damage to her third child. He’d died at birth. His lungs never developed, and the bones he did have were too weak to ever support weight. Beth’s mother had never recovered from the trauma, and though she made all the right motions, she was vacant.
“Can you please cover the window in the sleeping quarters? I guess we didn’t notice because we usually have the light off,” she said to Beth’s father, Greg.
“No problem. What’s up with the sirens?” Greg asked, grabbing a cardboard box.
“We’re finding out. I’ll let you know.” She nodded and pointed for Matt to precede her into the next room.
“They aren’t questioning you about me being here?” Matt grabbed an old radio with dual-cassette players from the shelf.
“Because you helped Theo. Trust me, they’ll make sure they know everything.” She sat on a chair from the antique green and yellow Formica table as Matt tuned to the only available radio station.
“A brutal murder in the bathhouse of the old exit nine rest stop is under investigation. The victim has not yet been identified. A vehicle was seen leaving the scene, heading toward Foster City. For your safety, all citizens are required to stay indoors until the criminal or criminals are apprehended. The area’s being searched. The perpetrators are expected to be in custody before dawn. Any person discovered traveling during a safety time will be arrested for questioning. This is for your own protection.”
Matt flipped off the radio. “Pissflaps. I told you I felt something in the trees.”
“Do you think they’re really searching the area?” She wished she could see outside, but to do that she’d have to go through the main room.
“I’m sure of it. Do we have anything to worry about because of the vehicles?”
“I don’t t
hink so. They’re hidden from all sides.” She retraced her earlier steps, relaxing when she vividly remembered pulling the screen closed.
“What if they drive into your setup?” He didn’t appear to believe her, and she figured he’d give up his own life to keep his precious truck safe.
“They won’t. It would be too much work.”
He nodded. “I heard somewhere that you were arrested for treason. How’d you escape?” His grin weakened her knees. It was a good thing she was sitting.
She looked away. She’d already revealed too much. There was no one she’d trust with that information.
“Doesn’t matter. What are you going to do?” She expected him to leave anyway, but she hoped he wasn’t that stupid.
“Don’t know.” He checked his watch. “I’m supposed to meet someone in Foster City. I doubt they’ll show.”
“You’d be foolish to try to get there.” The rumble of passing vehicles sounded from the main road. She waited. When the engine noise faded, she turned to him. “You’re welcome to stay here until it’s safe to travel. We have enough to share.”
He studied her long enough for her palms to grow sweaty. His visual inquiry liquefied certain parts of her that had spent far too long in seclusion. Brushing it away, she straightened under his scrutiny and met his eyes.
~ ~ ~
Matt knew he should say the hell with this dark, cramped basement and get on the road to meet his next contact. He needed to at least see the trees. Down here he was likely to suffocate, not only because he was cut off from the outside, but being this close to Jillian was bad for his resolve to stay away from women involved in the resistance.
If he hadn’t foolishly given Jillian the vodka, he wouldn’t have to make a special trip to meet Simmons to replace his number one bartering tool before heading into Foster City. Now he had to choose between losing out on a chance for information, or spending the next several hours in close quarters with Jillian and her group of survivors. He telepathically connected with Luke, giving him the information on Olivia’s parents and updating him on his current situation. At least Luke and Olivia would be able to come up with a plan while Matt was stuck here.
A high-pitched squeal came from the trees outside. They warned of the danger, the strangers nearby. Matt pressed his fingers to his temples to ease the sting as cool hands were placed over his. He met Jillian’s eyes and did his best to ignore the hitch in his stomach.
She was beautiful, tough, and had the most excellent ass he’d ever seen. It was hard enough keeping thoughts of her naked out of his head. Her tough-chick act was just that, he was sure. There was no way she was as unforgiving and mean as everyone said, or she wouldn’t be squatting here and in charge of these people. She intrigued him, and that scared him on a level that defied logic. With her hands on him, he couldn’t even think straight.
She stared up at him, the sarcasm gone as movement from behind her caught his attention.
“Theo’s awake and asking for you.” Rachel tapped Jillian’s shoulder. Beth stood behind her, her beaming face forcing a smile from Matt though he only wanted to scowl.
Jillian didn’t look at him, but he followed anyway. He wanted to know how Jillian came to be responsible for this group. Matt didn’t know how many serum babies he’d helped place with caring families after finding them in the woods or wandering on the highways. It was a sad, horrible situation that should have never happened.
Theo smiled widely when he saw his sister. Then he saw Matt. He quirked his head to the side and studied him while Jillian released his restraints. He hugged his sister before jumping down from the table and zeroing in on Matt.
“Who are you?” Theo poked him in the chest, convincing Matt he had no idea how strong he was.
“Matt.” He was sure he was about to get decked. When Theo shook his hands wildly, Matt relaxed a fraction.
“Your heart is good. You like Jillie. I know these things.” Theo grinned, rocking on the balls of his feet.
Matt glanced at Jillian for an explanation.
“He can read people. He knows if someone is genuine, like empathy, but not.” She held something back, but Matt didn’t press. “He likes you. You’re lucky.”
Before Matt could ask why he was lucky, a loud crack vibrated the floor above them.
Chapter 7
Matt rushed up the stairs, followed by Theo, before Jillian could do anything to stop her brother. Matt might not appreciate the potential burden of Theo. She closed her eyes and focused on the activity above, trying to determine if the crashing noise was the authorities checking the old bar, or if something else had happened.
Nothing came to her, and when Matt called down that all was well, she let out a sigh of relief before jogging up the stairs. A giant old tree had crashed through the plate glass window and taken out several of the high tables. She hated the compromised integrity of the building, but they’d have to leave things to avoid revealing their hiding place.
“Why did that happen?” She studied the tree.
“You wouldn’t believe me,” Matt said, his hand on the bark. He went to the opening in the wall and stared out.
“Theo, go down and tell everyone things are fine. Stay with them. Beth’s going to be scared. Okay?” She patted her brother’s arm.
“Theo can do that. Come back soon.” He sloppily kissed her cheek.
As soon as he was gone, Jillian shoved against Matt’s back. “Try me. What happened?”
“The trees sense danger is coming our way. They are sympathetic to your situation here and know this will help.”
She put a hand on her heart. “Oh. That’s amazing. Can you thank them? I’m in awe.”
Matt nodded as he held on to both sides of the wall, and peered outside. His shirt stretched across his back, pulling up slightly and revealing the fit of his jeans. Jillian stared, shoving her hands into her pockets at the urge to run her hands over his back.
She finally put the idea away and went through the door to check the outside of the building. The window had been covered, the cardboard as aged as the rest of the windows. There was an abandoned car in the parking lot. All four tires were flat and a heavy layer of debris covered the top. She’d originally thought the car would add to the abandoned feel of the bar. Now she wondered.
There wasn’t anything she could do about it now. She went inside, leaving the back door partially open and laying down an illusion of desolation and abandonment. That, and the open door, might help convince the patrols there was no one here. Maybe.
Matt hadn’t moved.
“Go down. Now. They’re coming.” His voice filled her though he hadn’t spoken out loud.
Confused and slightly freaked out, she looked at him as he pointed to the stairs. He followed, closing the door partway as the patrol stopped and doors slammed. She stayed low, trying to see around him to project more of the sense of desolation to the men now peering in the broken front window. Thankfully she was practiced in keeping an illusion in place while doing a million different things, or it might not have held.
“This place is pathetic. Only fools would squat in here,” one of the men said as he crunched through the glass that had sprayed onto the sidewalk out front.
“There are fools everywhere. We must check every place. No matter how dumpy. You know that.” He moved to the front door, his hand on the knob.
Jillian tried to convince him they’d already seen the inside, but Matt’s breath on the back of her neck distracted her. She tried again, resisting the urge to rest against him in the comfort of human touch. She wasn’t sure how she managed, or if Matt had something to do with it, but the second man called the area clear.
She held her breath as they walked away and got into the car. She didn’t relax until the tail lights faded from view. Matt touched her shoulder, static arcing through her already heightened awareness. She turned and stared into his eyes as he brushed the hair from her face.
Instead of kissing her, he wrapped her in a hu
g. Jillian accepted his warmth and the comfort in his touch, but she didn’t have time for this. She couldn’t get caught up for even one night when so many depended on her.
Still, doing something for herself hadn’t happened in such a long time. She forgot they were standing on the stairs, her dependents within earshot. She wanted to crawl inside Matt Jamison’s skin and find peace.
Theo’s heavy footfalls on the bottom step broke them apart like teenagers caught necking in the school hall. “Sissy, what’s taking so long? Did the bad men leave?”
He knew they had. Otherwise he wouldn’t have yelled. Chances were he was getting a kick out of being proven right that Matt liked her. Not that she believed he did, except for maybe a quick piece of ass in between interviewing informants.
She probably would have given it to him, too. Wanted to give it to him still. Lord knew Matt was something to behold. Big hands, long fingers, well-muscled, and with that shaggy hair her fingers itched to touch. He was like a buffet of sexual possibilities. And she was starving.
~ ~ ~
Olivia set her water glass on the table with a sigh. She didn’t want to go through with the only logical plan she’d been able to come up with. But what choice did she have?
Dan wanted her to ransom herself for her parents, and he knew she’d do it. She’d be stupid to. Especially since she already knew what he wanted from her, but her family’s fate would be much worse than what Dan proposed for her. She had no choice but to gain their freedom and then take hers back.
Luke would have a cow. Especially since he’d agreed to help her save her family. She wasn’t sure if he really meant that, or if it was some kind of thanks-for-the-sex type agreement. She wasn’t sure she wanted or needed his help. Now that she knew where they were, all she had to do was come up with a way to get inside. Plus, she’d walk away from the best thing that had ever happened to her, regardless of it being a temporary high in a psychotic world.
It would be better to head out while things were going so well, rather than wait until the fascination waned, and he remembered how much he hated her firestarting. She wasn’t stupid enough to believe in forever. While Luke had given her back the missing pieces of herself, she didn’t hold any ideals their story would end with magic and roses. Life just didn’t work like that anymore. Maybe it never truly had.
Into the Fire Page 9