by Nina Croft
As she approached the unconscious man, he slowly raised his head. His eyes glittered silver behind his swollen lids, filled with a dark malevolence that sent ice trickling through her veins. She licked her dry lips and cleared her throat. “He’s already awake,” she said, backing off.
“He’s a tough fucking bastard.” Silas sighed.
She had an idea that he was as eager for this to end as she was, but his loyalty to Luther was firm.
As she turned away, the comm unit on her wrist beeped. She glanced down. The caller ID was unknown, but she swiped her finger to accept.
“Dr. Yang?”
Dear lord, it was Destiny. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Said a silent prayer to a god she didn’t believe in. Everyone in the room had gone still, all attention focused on her. Including Milo and she avoided his glittering stare. “Destiny, where are you?”
“Is Milo alive?”
Her glance flickered to the bound man. He was leaning forward in the chair listening. “He’s alive.”
“I want proof.”
Kinross strode across and grabbed her wrist, spoke into the comm unit. “Come back right now, and he might just live. Stay away, and he’s dead before the day is out.”
“I want proof.”
He gritted his teeth, then dropped her wrist and waved his hand toward Milo. “Give it to her.”
She crossed the room and held the comm unit in front of his face.
“Destiny?”
“Milo? Are you all right? Have they hurt you? Sorry, stupid question, but I’m going to get you out of there.”
He cleared his throat then spat blood onto Elvira’s boots. “Destiny. This is an order. Do not fucking give yourself up.”
“You don’t give me orders.”
“You can’t trust them. I’m not worth it. Stay the fuck away.”
Kinross made a cutting motion with his hand, and Elvira spoke into the comm unit. “Come home, Destiny. I love you. Just come home.”
Milo made a snorting sound and cast her a burning look of such utter contempt that she took an instinctive step back.
“I want to speak to Mr. Kinross,” Destiny said.
Luther moved closer. “Yes,” he snapped.
“Here’s how it’s going to work, Mr. Kinross.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
“There are two ways of seeing: with the body and with the soul. The body’s sight can sometimes forget, but the soul remembers forever.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
“You know he’s going to be super pissed,” Dylan said.
Destiny wrapped her arms around her waist. The night was warm, but she shivered.
“And there’s a good chance he’s not going to cooperate once he realizes you’re staying behind.”
She’d been staring into the shadowy forest, but now she turned to look at him and frowned. He leaned against the trunk of a tallish tree, but the set of his shoulders was tense, and his hands fisted at the side. Not a happy wolf. “It’s your job to get him away from here,” she said.
She’d always known she was going back. At the start, she’d believed that it would be a conscious decision; she would go back because she wanted to. Because it was the right thing to do, the honorable thing to do. For the good of humanity.
They had tortured Milo.
There was no good in that. She hadn’t realized she had the capacity for hate, but she hated this Luther Kinross with every cell in her body. And Silas, who she’d thought was so nice. She was clearly a crap judge of character. And Dr. Yang. That hurt the most. Dr. Yang had said she loved her, but Destiny knew the words were just smoke. Insubstantial. Dr. Yang had never loved her.
All the same, she would go with them, because they hadn’t been able to come up with a way to get Milo back safe and for her to keep her freedom.
She didn’t think they would harm her. After all, she was important. She could hear the sarcasm even in her thoughts.
There was also another thing to consider. She might hate a few people right now, but she couldn’t bear the thought that Rico would set off a nuclear bomb that would destroy the whole planet. There were innocent people here. Thousands of them. Children and babies. And while he might not love her, she thought Milo, and even Dylan, had come to care for her a little. If they left her behind, then they might think twice about blowing her up. There were alternatives. Rico had sent all the information he could find on nuclear bombs and Destiny was sure they could be disarmed permanently. Except, she wouldn’t be there. So she had highlighted the relevant bits for Dylan.
But maybe she was just hunting for silver linings; Milo probably wouldn’t think twice about nuking her.
Who knew? She might survive this and one day…
Best not to think of the future. Just get through the next few hours.
“They’re here,” Dylan said, straightening from where he leaned against the tree and coming to stand at her shoulder. “Are you ready?”
She couldn’t hear anything, but she supposed that he had better hearing than her. She swallowed then nodded and slipped her hand into her jacket pocket, wrapping her fingers around the cool metal of the grenade.
Where were they?
It was another minute before she heard them, the sound of a group crashing through the undergrowth. Then she caught the flicker of light through the trees. Dylan edged closer. He touched her arm. “Thank you,” he said. “If we can get you back, we will.”
She forced a smile, her eyes pricking, but she was aware he had bigger responsibilities than her. He’d told her a little about his pack through the hours they had waited for this meeting. How fabulous to be part of something like that. Though she suspected she had spent too much time alone to ever be truly comfortable in a group. She was more of a loner. Like Milo.
After what seemed like an age, they appeared. She held herself very still. Dr Yang was leading the way, Silas beside her. And behind them, two men in green jumpsuits half carried, half dragged an unconscious figure between them.
Dylan stiffened beside her and she could sense the menace pulsing from his body. She stared at Milo, hunting for some sign of life. Fear flashed through her, and she took an involuntary step forward. Dylan stopped her with a hand on her arm. “He’s alive,” he said. “Just unconscious. Maybe it’s better this way.”
But she’d wanted to say goodbye.
The guards released their hold and Milo collapsed to the forest floor, face down. Both guards drew their weapons and aimed them at her and Dylan.
“Take them both,” Silas said. “You two—hands in the air.”
Destiny searched his face for some sign of the friendly man she had met only days ago, but his expression was blank. This was the final betrayal. They couldn’t even keep to their word. The proof that they had no honor. Hatred coiled tighter inside her.
She turned her attention to Dr. Yang. “You promised you would let them go.”
Dr. Yang gave a helpless shrug. “It’s not up to me, Destiny. I’m sorry. But they’ll be all right.”
She cast the other woman a look of disbelief. “You tortured him.”
Dr. Yang turned away. No help there. Not even a protestation of love. But in a way, she knew Dr. Yang had done this for love. Just not love of Destiny.
“Hands up,” Silas said again.
She glanced at Dylan. He smiled. “Time to do your thing, Destiny.”
She tightened her hand around the grenade as she slipped it from her pocket and pulled the pin, keeping it in place with her finger. She held her hand up in front of her, saw the moment Silas recognized what she held in her fist.
“You won’t do it,” he said. “We’ll all die. Including your friends.”
She studied him; he stood on the balls of his feet, ready to jump for her if she showed any si
gn of weakness. “They’ll likely die anyway. I saw what you did to Milo.” She kept her voice firm, although she was shaking inside. If she couldn’t pull this off, then Milo would die and likely Dylan as well. She turned to Dr. Yang, stared into her dark eyes. “Sometimes you have to be willing to make sacrifices for the ones you love. I’ll do it.”
Dr. Yang stared back at her, then gave a small nod. “She will. Let them go. It’s Destiny we need.”
For a moment Destiny thought Silas would ignore the order, then he also gave a nod. “Stand down,” he murmured to the two guards and they lowered their weapons.
Some of the tension oozed out of her, but she held herself upright, her gaze never wavering. She had to stay strong for a few more minutes to give Dylan time to get Milo away.
The guards holstered their weapons and Dylan left her side and crossed the clearing to where Milo lay unmoving. He hunkered down and then reached out with his hand and checked his pulse. He looked up at Destiny and nodded. She tightened her lips as her eyes pricked. If he was alive and safe, she could put up with anything.
“Tell him…” She shook her head. What was she supposed to say? She forced a smile. “Tell him good luck. And you, too.”
“Stay strong, Destiny.” But she didn’t feel strong. She felt weak and pathetic. She watched as Dylan hauled Milo over his shoulder and disappeared into the forest without looking back.
She locked gazes with Silas, lifting the grenade a little higher. “Don’t move,” she said.
They needed five minutes to get away. Five times sixty seconds. She counted in her head.
Were they safe?
Somewhere deep in the forest, a wolf howled. That was the signal they’d agreed upon. Once he had Milo to safety.
Silas glanced up at the sound, his eyes narrowing on her. She kept her expression blank as she dropped her arm to her side, then slid the pin into the grenade. Silas approached her, held out his hand, and she placed the grenade gently in it. “You’ve changed,” he said, searching her face.
“I know.” She’d been so naive that day when she had met Silas—sure that the world was a decent place, full of decent people. So happy just to be out in the sunshine. It might have been better if she’d never left the cell, not gone with Milo that night, then she would never have known this terrible sense of loss.
“Turn around.”
She turned and he patted her down, found her ereader in her back pocket and handed it to Dr. Yang.
“Hold out your arms,” he said.
She clamped her lips together to stop the wobble and he fastened silver cuffs onto her wrists.
“Is that necessary?” Dr. Yang asked.
“Yes,” he replied, not even looking at the other woman. “Come on, let’s get the hell away from here. I don’t trust those bastards.”
“I gave him enough tranquilizer to drug a horse,” Dr. Yang said. “He won’t be waking up any time soon.”
“I’ll still be happier back at headquarters. Move.” He waved a hand in the direction they had arrived from, and Destiny gave one last glance where Dylan and Milo had disappeared and started walking.
Dr. Yang fell in beside her. Destiny stared ahead.
“You’ve done the right thing, Destiny,” Dr. Yang said.
“Have I?” Actually, they’d done the only thing they could think of to get Milo free. If she could have found another way then she wouldn’t have come back. She’d seen what these people—including Dr. Yang—were like, the measures they would go to get what they wanted. They weren’t moral people. Suddenly she needed to know. “Why?” she asked, turning sideways so she could see the other woman’s face. “Why do you want me back? Who am I? Why am I so important?”
Dr. Yang’s face took on the closed expression Destiny knew so well. “You’ll know everything soon,” she said. “You must be patient just a little while longer.”
She gritted her teeth and stopped walking. “Why do I have to be patient? Why not now? Why can’t you tell me now?”
Dr. Yang’s mouth tightened, but then Silas poked her from behind. She turned around and snarled.
He grinned at her. “You’ve definitely changed. I like it.”
She didn’t care whether he liked it or not. He was the enemy. He’d tortured Milo. She hated him.
She swung back around and marched on. She could sense Dr. Yang beside her; the other woman wasn’t happy. That was hardly Destiny’s fault. If she didn’t know the doctor better she would have said she felt guilty and maybe she did. She should feel guilty.
No one spoke again as they walked. They came out of the forest and she looked around. She couldn’t believe how much the place had changed in the days she’d been gone. A new road cut a swath through the dock and beyond to the bulk of the Trakis Four and beside it, the blackened shape of the burned-out shuttle.
They walked along the road, past a new building. Under floodlights people still worked on the walls. She looked closer and saw that they were children. The first she had ever seen. Working under the supervision of more soldiers in green jumpsuits.
A brave new world.
She turned and looked at Silas with accusing eyes. “They’re children,” she said. “How could you?”
Something flickered in his eyes. Maybe he wasn’t entirely happy with this, either. But not enough to do anything about it. In some ways that made him even worse. “Move.”
This time she didn’t take Silas’s hand as she stepped into the boat. It would have been awkward anyway with the cuffs. She jumped lightly in and moved to the side, then stared straight ahead as they sped across the water. It was a beautiful night, starlight reflecting on dark water. How was Milo? Had he woken up yet? Was he just a little bit upset that she wasn’t there? Part of her hoped so. But another part wanted him to be happy.
Soldiers stood to attention at the front of the building. That was new. Maybe Kinross had some unhappy residents in his new colony. As they climbed the stairs, she glanced up. A figure stood in the window above her. She couldn’t make out the details; the room was dark behind him. Was this Luther Kinross?
Then they were entering the building. Her heart sank as they headed across the hallway to the doorway that led down to the underground. Her eyes pricked, but she blinked away the tears.
The walls seemed to close in on her. But she kept her head held high. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. They put her in the same cell.
She stood in the center of the room while Silas unfastened the cuffs. She just had to hold it together until they were gone.
Finally, they turned away, but at the last moment, Dr. Yang came back and pressed the ereader into Destiny’s hands. “I’m sorry.”
Then she was gone, and the door clicked shut behind them. And Destiny was alone.
I have a role to play. I’m special. Important.
I’m not a prisoner. They’re just keeping me safe.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Hatred is blind; rage carries you away; and he who pours out vengeance runs the risk of tasting a bitter draught.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
Everything hurt.
Milo wasn’t sure he wanted to actually wake up. At the same time, he had this nagging feeling that there was something important he needed to do.
He pried his eyes open and tried to work out—without actually moving anything—where he was. Nope. No clue. He closed them again.
“Wakey, wakey,” an annoyingly cheerful voice said. “I’ve checked you over, and while you look like shit, there’s nothing seriously wrong with you.”
Somehow, he doubted that was true. He distinctly remembered the crack of breaking bones. And his hand was one throbbing lump of pain.
“Well, apart from a couple of broken ribs, a broken nose, and three snapped fingers. But you’ll recover.”
“Pis
s off,” he murmured. He exhaled, opened his eyes, and tried to sit up. The first attempt was a total failure, his body just didn’t respond to the commands of his brain. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to turn his head in the direction of the voice. Dylan was seated on a chair beside the bed. “Fuck.”
“Welcome back,” Dylan said with a grin. “I thought we’d lost you there. And that would have been a real pity, considering.”
He thought about asking “considering what?” But maybe he didn’t want to know. Then he thought about sitting up and decided he didn’t want to attempt it again just yet. Because he’d hate to look like a complete wimp in front of Dylan.
“Destiny?”
“At a guess, back in her old quarters underneath Camelot.”
“Fuck.” He might as well have told the fuckers where she was and saved himself a hell of a lot of pain.
“Aw, it was sweet really. She cares about you, and I’m betting that doesn’t happen a lot.”
“We have to get her back.”
“No. We don’t have to do anything. But if you’re nice to me, then I might help you get her back anyway. Because I like her.” He rubbed his chin as if contemplating what to say next. “But perhaps you should consider the idea that she’s safer where she is. She’s obviously important to them. She might be better off there.”
“Why?”
Dylan frowned. “Why what?”
“Why is she important to them? We still have no clue, and I don’t fucking like it.”
“How bad can it be?”
The truth was he had no idea. But he imagined pretty bad. They were evil people. He wouldn’t leave her with them. “She saved my life. We get her back.”
Dylan pursed his lips and then nodded. “Okay. We get her back. But right now, you need to heal, or you’ll be no good to anyone.”
“My wand?”
“Lost. Actually, I presume Kinross has it. But hopefully, he won’t have a clue what to do with it.”