She moved to the door on the other side of the room. “Quickly.”
Nicolas understood what she wanted. He opened the second door. The hallway had to lead to an exit.
A thought hit her. She rushed to the fridge where the serum was kept, jerked the door open, and dropped one of the vials into the pocket of her robe.
“Come,” she said to Nicolas, her breath quickening in fear.
They moved into the dimly lit corridor. She checked that the second door shut securely behind them before she faced Nicolas.
“Can you take us outside?”
He nodded. “Outsidejh.”
“We have to get the baby,” Kat said, praying Thomas was still close.
Nicolas gave a small cry. “Diesj. Kat and Nicolasjh die.”
“No.” She shook him gently. “We’ll live. Where is the baby?” When he didn’t answer, Kat said, “The baby needs his mommy.”
“Mommyshj.”
“Yes,” Kat said. “Quickly. We have to move.”
Nicolas squeezed past her, leading the way. Several doors with plaques stating Lab and a number lined both sides of the corridor.
“Wait,” she said, grabbing his arm. “Your formula for the serum and the dosage—where is it?”
Nicolas’s good eye lit up in alarm. He limped faster to a door marked number four and pushed it open. It looked like a control room. Wall monitors showed the interior and exterior of the building. The cameras. A tray on the desk with a USB key inside was marked as backup. She grabbed the key and slipped it into her other pocket while Nicolas removed the black book he always carried with him during the examinations from a drawer. Clutching the book to his chest, he turned back to face her.
“Is that it?” Kat asked.
He nodded.
“The baby,” she said, ushering him toward the door.
She cringed at the sound of a gunfight, but forced herself to remain calm. They carried on down the hallway until they’d almost reached the end. Nicolas stopped in front of a door with no lab number and pointed at it.
“Babyjh.”
Kat touched the knob. She sighed with relief when the door wasn’t locked. Her heart thudded with anticipation as she pushed it open. A young girl sat in a chair next to a crib, clutching a baby wrapped in a yellow blanket to her chest. The only other furniture was a change table with drawers.
Thomas.
Nicolas grabbed the belt of her robe when she entered, shooting a frightened look over his shoulder.
The girl stared at them with wide eyes and wet cheeks. “Who are you?”
“We’re under attack,” Kat said.
“I know that,” the girl bit out.
“Give me the baby. We have to go.”
“I have instructions—”
“Do you want to die?” Kat asked.
The girl didn’t resist as Kat reached for her baby. She wrapped her hands around his small body and pulled him to her chest. For the first time, she stared down at her baby’s face. His eyes were open, still an undefined blue. She saw Lann in every part of his perfect features. His nose was straight, and his lips full. She pushed the baby’s hat away with trembling fingers. His head was covered with soft, blond hair. He lifted a small hand in the air. When she offered her finger, he gripped it tightly. He was perfect. Tears of joy rolled over her cheeks.
“Thomas,” she whispered. “Welcome to the world.”
Nicolas’s frantic voice pulled her from her moment. “Gosj.”
Kat looked up. The girl was already gone.
“Go,” Kat repeated, indicating for Nicolas to lead the way.
At the door, they stopped in their tracks. Adam was blocking the exit, a gun in his hand.
Chapter 20
“Adam,” Kat gasped, “let us go.”
The look in his eyes frightened her. It was one of hopelessness. Kat and Nicolas retreated into the room as Adam stepped forward.
“What’s happening?” Kat asked. “Who’s attacking us?”
Nicolas made keening sounds. He scurried back, but tripped over the chair and sprawled out on the floor, the book falling from his hands and sliding under the change table.
“Let him go,” Kat said.
Nicolas got to his feet with much difficulty.
Adam regarded Nicolas dispassionately. “Go.”
Nicolas looked at Kat.
“Go,” she urged. “Go, Nicolas.” When he didn’t move, she gave him a gentle push. “Go quickly.”
He limped to the door, glancing back at her before disappearing around the frame.
“Even Nicolas is taken with you,” Adam said, pointing the gun at Kat.
“He’s lonely. He just needed a friend,” she said, fear gripping her. “Adam, we have to go.”
“What makes you think I’m letting you go?”
“I don’t. I was just pushing my luck.”
“I can see why he loves you,” he said.
Thomas started crying. She clutched her precious baby tightly to her chest. “What?”
The gunshots echoing around them were becoming louder.
“Dréan,” he said. “I can see why he loves you.”
“Why are you saying this?”
His tone was level. “We’re not getting out of here alive.”
Panic crept into her voice. “What are you talking about?”
“The exits are blocked. We’re trapped. I’ve got to destroy the building.”
The truth hit her like a punch in the gut. He was going to blow up the lab to destroy the evidence, the experiment, and the cure.
“You let Nicolas go,” she said, breathless.
“He’s a freak. They won’t touch him. They’ll think he’s useless.”
Rocking Thomas to soothe him, she said, “Don’t do this.”
“I’m sorry, Kat.” He sounded genuinely regretful. “I don’t have a choice. If I don’t, what they’ll find here will compromise Godfrey.”
“You don’t owe him your life.”
“I owe him much more than my life.”
“You’re his son. No father wants his son dead.”
“You don’t understand half of it. Nicolas is his son, not me.”
Kat took a step back, shaking her head. “You call him Father.”
“I’m his stepson.” He paused, his mind seemingly wandering to some place in the past. “When he married my mother, he took me in and raised me as one of his own. I was the instrument Nicolas couldn’t be.” He laughed softly. “Nicolas had the brains, the genius, but not the disposition to become the son Godfrey wanted. He needed me to run his operations and become the killer Nicolas couldn’t be.” He snorted. “Nicolas couldn’t hurt a fly.”
“Please, you don’t have to kill us. We can make it. We can get out.”
He fixed his attention back on her. “I can’t. I’ve failed him. This operation will make him vulnerable if it’s blown open.” His smile was ironic. “Besides, I’ve let him down in the worst possible way.”
“You haven’t let him down.” She’d say anything to sway him. “You’re under attack.”
“I disobeyed his orders. He told me to deliver you back to your husband, but, you see, I decided to keep you.”
Kat swallowed the bile that pushed up in her throat. “You don’t mean that. It’s only a day after the birth.” She looked at him pointedly. “You waited for me to regain my strength. You were always going to return me.”
He clicked his tongue. “Both of us know that’s not true.”
The shots were louder now. Voices came from the hallway.
Tears she couldn’t hold back streamed down her face. “Please, Adam. There’s still time. We can get out.”
“I do like you begging, but I can’t indulge you.” He took a small device from his pocket. It looked too much like a detonator. “I’m enjoying your anguish. You know how much your pain pleases me. You’ve never looked more beautiful than in the face of death. Not even in the pain of birth.”
He slid
a thumb over the red button on the black piece of plastic.
“Adam, no!”
His expression told her the truth. Her begging wasn’t going to stop him. He enjoyed it. He loved seeing her fear. With much difficulty, she ceased her crying and drew in a ragged breath.
Lifting her chin, she adopted a stern tone. “You’re right. I don’t want to suffer any longer. I don’t want a cruel destiny for my child. Death is an easy option. To live while always looking over my shoulder will be too hard.” She kissed Thomas’s forehead, praying. “Just do it.”
Turmoil played in his eyes as he brushed his thumb backward and forward over the button. Footsteps sounded in the hallway. She held her breath as she kept her gaze trained on the button that meant the difference between life and death.
Something like surprise swept over Adam’s features as he faced whatever realization he came to. His lips parted as if he’d received a revelation.
The footsteps were upon them now. She watched in horror as he paused his thumb above the button. Thomas’s crying mingled with the loud thumping of her heart and the voice that shouted for Adam to drop his weapon.
Adam gave her a little smile. He opened his palm and released the detonator, projecting it her way through the air. She lifted her hand in reflex and caught the device in mid-air. She didn’t dare breathe. She didn’t move, taking care not to close her palm around the button. Adam spun around to face his fate. Two shots went off. Adam fell to his knees, exposing his opponent. Richardson. Gideon clutched his stomach, blood pumping through his fingers. Her breath came in gulps as she stared at the two men. Adam had fallen face-down. He wasn’t moving. Richardson slowly sank to his knees. Men moved into the room around them, guns trained everywhere. She still held the detonator in the air. As life pumped back into her limbs, she realized the weapons were meant for her.
“Don’t shoot.” Richardson coughed. “She’s the victim.”
A man reached for her. “It’s all right. Give it to me.”
She looked from the detonator in her hand to the man facing her.
“We’re FBI,” he said. “We’re here to help you.”
“Stay away from me or I’ll blow the building,” she said in a calm voice.
She didn’t know who to trust any longer.
Richardson laughed, but his effort turned into a gargle. He forced the words from his lips. “Always feisty.”
“I’m going to step outside,” she said, “and you’re letting me go.” Nobody moved as she went for the door. “Help him,” she said, motioning at Richardson.
He shook his head. “I’m dead. You won.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t want—”
“Go,” Richardson said, falling onto his side.
“Help him,” Kat said again.
She glanced over her shoulder to ensure the hallway was clear, and stepped into it. When she looked back at Richardson, his body had gone very still. Thomas was crying louder, the sound deafening.
“You,” she said to the man closest to Richardson, “move the change table.”
The man gave her a puzzled look.
“Do it,” she said.
He stepped over Richardson, and put his shoulder to the table to push it aside.
“Pick up the book and leave it on the floor, here.” She pointed a few meters away from her.
When the man had done as she’d asked, she said, “Get back, all of you.”
She waved the detonator until the men followed her command. Going down on her haunches with Thomas carefully balanced in one arm, she kept her eyes trained on them while snatching the book. She straightened with the book in one hand and the detonator in the other, making sure not to drop her baby.
“Stay where you are.” She held the detonator in the air as she made her way down the hallway, praying she’d find an exit.
“We’re not here to harm you,” another man said.
She ignored him and continued her retreat until she reached the door at the end of the hallway. The lock was broken. She kicked the door open. At least five men stood at the exit, pointing their weapons in her face.
“Don’t shoot!” the man from down the hallway shouted. “She’s got a detonator. If it hits the ground, the whole building will blow.”
The men stepped aside and let her into the night. Freedom.
“Go back inside and stay there,” she said.
“Lady,” one of them said, “I know you’re frightened, but we can help you.”
“Sorry.” She shook her head. “I just don’t know who to trust anymore.”
“Do what she says,” the voice called from inside.
The men filed into the building, their faces tight. She did a quick scan of the area. There could be more of them hiding out, but it was a chance she had to take. She didn’t know where to run. It didn’t matter, as long as she could get away. She threw herself into the darkness, painfully aware that Thomas’s wailing was giving away her escape route. There was no time to stop and soothe him. She had to get away first, far enough, and find some place to hide.
The heat was intolerable. Sweat trickled down her spine. The onslaught of it was almost too much, but she forced her body forward, over a lawn, faintly aware of branches scratching her legs and pebbles digging into her feet. Daring a glance over her shoulder, she saw men running from the building. They were going to come after her. They might even try to shoot her if she was too far for the detonator to activate the blast.
“Shh,” she said, hugging Thomas close, crying, praying, and running.
In the distance, she could make out trees. A forest. Easier to hide. Just a little bit farther. She stopped to push the book into her pocket to have a better hold on Thomas. Almost there. She nearly tripped when she started running again, but managed to regain her balance, and was saying another prayer when arms wrapped around her waist, brutally stopping her progress. The air was knocked from her lungs. Going down, she instinctively braced Thomas with her arms, but her body didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she was swept up into a strong pair of arms, a familiar smell of citrus and cinnamon penetrating her senses.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he said.
Lann. She was dreaming. Maybe she was dead.
The man who held her and Thomas ran for the forest. Behind the shelter of the trees, they stopped. Only then did she dare to look up into his face. A sob escaped her throat. Lann was staring down at her, his yellow gaze frantic, happy, and concerned. She burrowed her face in his neck.
“It’s all right, krasavitsa. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head and gently pried her fingers open, taking the detonator. “Take this,” he said to someone. “Deactivate it.”
“Got it. Move. I’ll cover your back.”
Maya?
She lifted her gaze. Maya had quietly appeared, her beautiful features visible in the moonlight. Like Lann, she was dressed in combat gear. With Kat and Thomas in his arms, Lann moved deeper into the forest until they reached a clearing where a helicopter waited. He lifted them inside before he followed. He crouched in the open door, his body tense and his weapon raised, until Maya’s dark figure appeared like a shadow. When she was safely inside, he said, “Bono, go!”
The blades spun to life, and a moment later, they lifted into the air. Lann and Maya scanned the ground from both doors, their weapons aimed and ready. Only when they were safely off the ground did they take their seats.
Lann’s gaze burned on Kat before he fixed it on Thomas. Emotions played over his features. He handed his weapon to Maya and reached for Kat, pulling her and Thomas into his lap. For the remainder of the flight, he cradled them in his arms, not saying a word. Kat nestled against him, allowing his heat to wrap around her and make her feel safe. Thomas settled when she offered him her breast, drinking greedily. She glanced up at her husband. Lann regarded them with an expression of possessiveness and tenderness. Her heart felt like bursting from the enormity of her relief.
He planted a kiss on th
e crown of her head. “We’re going home.”
They landed thirty minutes later on an airstrip. Lann carefully put Kat on her feet.
“Where are we?” she asked
“Costa Rica,” he said. “The heli is too small to take us all the way home. Fuel won’t last. We’ll take a private jet from here.”
Maya and Bono threw open the doors of the hangar. Kat clutched Thomas to her chest as Maya ushered her inside while Lann guarded the area, from time to time glancing at the screen of his smartwatch.
They boarded the private jet quietly and secured their safety belts.
Lann touched his earpiece. “Joss? We’re ready. Do we have permission to cross the air space?” He waited, then said, “Got that, Bono? We’re ready to go.”
A few minutes later, they were in the air again. Kat had stretched her safety belt over herself and Thomas, who was sleeping now. She still couldn’t believe she was holding her baby in her arms, that she was alive, and with Lann. The adrenalin that had flooded her body started to wear off, leaving her feeling drained and weak. She leaned her head back against the seat, staring at Lann who sat opposite her. She couldn’t stop looking at him. She needed to remind herself he was real.
Once they’d reached their flight altitude, Lann got up and removed a bag from the overhead compartment.
“I brought you clothes,” he said, leaving the bag at her feet. “I don’t want anything that belonged to them to touch your skin.”
She nodded her thanks. “What about the lab?”
“I’m leaving that to Richardson’s men to take apart,” Lann said. “It should give them a lot against Godfrey, hopefully bringing them, and us, closer to finding the bastard.”
“Richardson?”
“He took a fatal shot. Wouldn’t have made it.”
“How do you know?”
“The cameras. Maya broke into their feed from our satellite.”
“How did you find me?”
“We tracked Richardson. He must’ve had doubts about Vanessa, and started to follow her. She threw him off, but she wasn’t careful enough when she came here. She left in too much of a hurry. I knew something had happened when Vanessa left Santiago so quickly with Richardson hot on her trail. It could only mean that something had gone wrong, or that Thomas had been born.” His eyes darkened. “Richardson followed Vanessa, and he led us to you.”
Aeromancist (SECOND EDITION): Art of Air (7 Forbidden Arts Book 3) Page 26