Sanctuary's Aggression Complete Collection Box Set: A Post-apocalyptic Survival Thriller Series

by Maira Dawn

"You? Why Atlantians?"

  "He said humans would misuse it."

  Vincent stared to the floor. "That is probably true. Problem is, I don't have the cure to give Nick."

  Ian's eyes widened. "You must. Check the cooler Devon brought in."

  Vincent rushed to the back room and opened it. Nothing. He checked the sample refrigerator and yelled into the other room, "Have you seen it? What did it look like?"

  "I've only seen it once. A small, clear seven-sided cylinder with amber liquid."

  "It's not here."

  Ian roared as he pulled at his bonds. "No! This can't all be for nothing!"

  Vince came back to the main lab. "I can talk to my brother. He can get whatever he needs ready. Can someone get the cure?"

  "We don't even know where it is!"

  "It's at the History Museum. It has to be. There's a hidden lab there too. Go to the basement, walk to the other end of the storage. There is a secret door beside a huge stuffed buffalo. Go in guns, or whatever you have, blazing. They won't expect that. There's some security, but not a lot."

  Vincent whipped his phone out of his pocket and pushed a few buttons. "It's unlocked. My brother's name is Nick Hartman. Stay in touch with him using this." He looked from Ian to the cell phone with doubt. "Do you know how to use—"

  "Of course, I do. I am not an imbecile."

  "Okay, okay, I didn't know. Didn't know if you were familiar with it, not that you weren't intelligent." Vince straightened and tucked his shaking hands in his folded arms. "I'm going to do this. After everything I've done, I'm going to make it right."

  Ian agreed, "You will. I have the utmost confidence in you."

  The two men nodded at each other.

  As Vince turned for the door, Ian said, "I wish you an easy death."

  "As do I, brother, as do I."

  Thirty-Two

  Deadly

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Sonora tiptoed down the hallway, startling when a door closed, and shoes squeaked toward her against the tile floor. Quickly, she searched for a door to duck into. She'd already evaded someone else by hiding in an empty office, but when she twisted the handle on the nearest room this time, it was locked.

  The slap of shoes quickened. Sonora hurried toward another door.

  Vincent rounded the corner, windmilling and back-peddling when he almost ran into her. He scowled at her over his white surgical mask. "What the—? What are you doing here? Devon will be furious."

  She stammered and looked around like she was lost.

  Vincent shook his head and lost his frown. Fear now covered his features. "Look, you need to get out of here. There's some very dangerous stuff back there. Deadly. Go back. Run."

  His wide berth puzzled Sonora, and he threw her a glance over his shoulder as he quickly moved down the hall. "Run!" he ordered her.

  Sonora trembled at his order. She wanted to; she really did. Clearly, the man was alarmed about something.

  But Ian was here. She knew it, and she wasn't going to leave until she found him.

  Sonora squared her shoulders and continued down the hallway the direction Vincent had come. She moved as quietly as possible. Maybe Ian was the 'dangerous stuff' the assistant had meant. Under the right circumstances, she was sure he could be dangerous.

  Even as Vincent and his squealing shoes faded, Sonora's ears still amplified every sound. Each ping of the air system and creak of the building made her wonder if someone waited behind the next wall to jump at her.

  She tried to further quiet the tap, tap, tap of her own shoes echoing through the hall. Fear caused her breathing to shallow, and soon, she strained to hear over her own gasping breaths.

  A loud shuddering bang from the ventilation system caused Sonora to jump and put her hand to her heart. She chided herself while rubbing the ache her fear had left behind.

  Sonora saw a faint light ahead. She hauled in a deep breath as she questioned the sanity of what she was doing.

  Reaching the lit window, she grasped the edge and peeked in. This room was still used. It was filled with equipment.

  She pushed at the door, and it moved a few inches. There was no stir in the room. She opened it further and slipped through the slim opening, shutting it behind her

  It was a long room, and she stood at one end. To her left was a desk, and to her right was a long line of caged lab animals. Sonora peeked into the pens. Mice, rabbits, snakes, lizards, even a small bird or two. The cages started out small and grew in size.

  From the far end of the room, she heard a low sound, something like sawing. Sonora stepped lightly to avoid the clamoring frightened animals. Running a light hand down a countertop stacked with every kind of science equipment, her fingers skimmed over something metal. A taser. She snatched her hand back and frowned. Poor animals.

  A metal table stood in the center of the room, like the kind used in a morgue. Sonora shuddered.

  At the dark end of the room were the largest pens. One held a sleeping chimp.

  The other—a man?

  Sonora's eyes narrowed. The sawing noise came from that cage. She watched, her mind refusing to make sense of what she saw. But there was no mistaking the faint shimmer of the tattoo running over the back of his shoulder even in this low light.

  Sonora's heart fell.

  Ian!

  Her hands flew to her mouth. Her beautiful man tied to a cage like an animal. Tears flooded her eyes.

  Ian stilled as her empathy wash over him. His grip on the scalpel tightened. So preoccupied with his escape, he hadn't sensed her approach.

  Ian groaned and hung his head. No! Not his Beloved! This place had already taken so much from him. Not her too. "Edinara, I told you to run. Hours ago, I told you to go."

  Sonora gasped and rushed to him, falling to her knees beside the cage. "I could never leave you!"

  Ian's heart swelled with her words. He reached an arm through the bars, holding her the best he could. Sonora threaded her arms through the metal and grabbing him and putting her head to his. Her warm tears rolled from her face to his.

  "Don't yell at me for being here," she said softly, then kissed his cheek. "Don't ever, ever yell at me for coming for you.”

  No doubt, her bare skin had already touched the serum still drenching the floor. It was probably too late, but if there were any chance at all, he had to try. "My heart, there is danger here. A virus is in this room and in me. It is designed to kill Atlantians and will almost certainly kill humans. You need to leave."

  "I will not. I came to find you, and I have. The last thing I'm going to do is leave without you."

  "You could die. I won't have it."

  "You are in a cage! Tied up like a—like a—I don't know what. And skinny, so skinny," she said, her expression sad as she ran her hand over the bones in his back. "I won't have that."

  Sonora sniffed, wiped at her tears, and sighed. "Besides, it sounds like I'm infected already. Now, let me help you. Please."

  Ian laid his forehead against the bars. What Sunny said was true. He gave her a sad smile. "At least we will spend our last moments together."

  She put a hand on each side of his face. "Stop it. This is not my last moment. Start sawing those things again. I'll look for another knife."

  "Some people would consider it romantic we have this time together."

  Sonora banged cupboards open and shut until she found what she was searching for. She held a knife up in triumph. "It's not. It's stupid! It's stupid to think like that. We aren't dead till we're dead."

  Ian raised an eyebrow at her and grinned. "That's my girl! You have kept me sustained these long dark days, Jata Ara."

  A teardrop splashed the floor. "I'm sorry." Sunny returned to her knees and started to work on one of the bands holding Ian. "I'm so, so sorry." A sob escaped her. "I didn't—still don't understand this connection thing. I should have found you sooner."

  Her connection was puny, but this was not the time to tell her. "You did well."

  S
onora shook her head. "I did not. I disappointed you already. Horribly. I've been a terrible Intended, and I suspect will be just as bad of a wife."

  His wife. She said she would be his. Happiness blazed through him. They had to survive—somehow—if only long enough to speak the vows uniting them.

  Ian reached a hand to the back of her neck and pulled her to him. He kissed her forehead. "And I will cherish every day of our horrible life."

  Sonora half sobbed, and half laughed. "You're an idiot."

  He chuckled. "Probably."

  They burst through two of the restraints, leaving two more. When Sunny moved to the next one, Ian stopped her. "Let me try to break them."

  It took more effort than he wanted to admit. Even though his beloved's eyes were round with the showy display of strength, Ian shook his head as he gasped from the effort. He was little more than a babe in arms.

  He fished the keys from the floor and stuck one in the lock, trying to ignore how they rattled in his shaky hands. Sunny moved to help him, but he stopped her. This was something he needed to do himself.

  Ian shoved the cage door open and crawled out, pushing himself up on unsteady legs. He held onto the bars one last time to keep himself upright.

  "Are you okay?" Sunny's expression turned to worry as she moved beside him and tried to support him.

  "Yes. Give me a moment." His drug-addled brain seemed as unsteady as his feet. "Exercise has been limited." He hadn't moved more than a few feet, including the walk to the metal table or the shower, since he'd arrived. Definitely, nothing that would prepare him for escape.

  Sonora stared up at him. "Ian, are you… drugged?"

  "The drugs were not a choice."

  "No. Of course not. It's just—are you able to do this? Get out of here? Or should we find a place to hide?"

  Ian looked down at her with a stern expression. "Make no mistake. We are leaving here. Now, get the cell phone sitting on the floor of that." He waved at the cage.

  Sonora looked in the barred enclosure and saw the cellphone on the far side. She threw a puzzled look at Ian. Where in the world had he gotten a phone? She bent and stepped across the lip of his prison to retrieve it.

  Once inside, she froze. Even she had to crouch. She couldn't imagine spending one day here, let alone weeks, and she was so much smaller than him. Her gaze swept Ian's body. He had scars now, not as many as her grandfather, but a lot. What had they done to him?

  "Ian," Sonora asked, glancing at him, "how long were you in here?"

  "Come out of there now. It hurts to see you in there. We must go." He pulled her arm as he eyed the window to the hallway. "And get the taser off the countertop."

  Sonora stopped in her tracks. "I'm not touching that."

  He threw her a grave look. "Get it, woman."

  "Why do we need it?"

  "Because we don't trust anyone here. Not anyone at all. Do you understand?"

  Sonora nodded. Her hand hovered over it for a minute, then she grabbed it. She handed it to Ian and moved under his arm to help him.

  Ian hugged Sunny to his side. To hold her again was something he had despaired of, and now she was here. It reinforced how empty he had been without her.

  "Beloved." Ian's gaze revealed how his heart warmed. "It is a supreme joy to have you by my side."

  Sonora beamed up at him. "It is a supreme joy to be here." She laid her head on his chest for a moment. "Now, let's get out of this place.”

  Thirty-Three

  Escape

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Ian and Sonora hurried down the hallway as fast as they could, given Ian’s weakened condition. He questioned the reality of everything he saw. It all seemed surreal. He had hoped movement would lessen the hold the drugs had over him. It appeared to do the opposite. Was Sunny really here, helping him escape? Or as this simply another imagined fantasy?

  He tightened his arm around her until she protested. Real then.

  Ian broke out into a sweat. They needed to move faster. Devon could be back at any time, calling his thugs to muscle him back into the cage. If the scientist found him this far from the lab, his suffering would be… He groaned and shuddered.

  Sunny looked up at him, worry in her eyes. “Are you okay?” Her words echoed down the long corridor. She looked around and lowered her voice. “Am I doing something wrong?”

  Talking brought him back to reality like a splash of cold water. “I am fine. But please, continue to speak with me.” Ian glanced at the bare hallway walls and empty offices. “Where are we going?”

  “This is the way I came,” Sonora whispered. “There is a hidden door up here, leading to the common areas near the entrance of the Marine Center. If we get through that, we will be safe. There’s a lot of people out there. No one can hurt you there. Grandpa’s in the car, waiting.”

  Ian nodded and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. He wasn’t far from the sea and safety. Anticipation welled up.

  Sonora pointed. “It’s just up ahead, around that corner.”

  That was good because his strength continued to fade. Ian’s muscles seemed to leak power rather than propel him forward, and he drifted in and out of a gray world. Soon he would be on the floor, unconscious.

  He looked down at his little woman. She would never be able to help him up.

  Ian kissed the top of her head, admiring the set of her jaw. He grinned. She was determined. If resolve could get him off the floor, she would manage it.

  Sonora flashed him an irritated look. “Stop that. We are running for our lives. Now is not the time to go all go0gly-eyed.”

  “You are a stern woman.”

  “You are a high man.”

  “Thank you.”

  Sonora rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t mean what you apparently think it does. Now concentrate.”

  Ian chuckled. “Yes, my lady.”

  “Your father was here.”

  Ian felt a bolt of shock go through him. Though he knew his father had been on land at some point, he couldn’t remember him ever doing so. “Here? He was here?”

  “Yes, looking for you. I thought you were still in Atlantis until he showed up here.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “When he saw you were kidnapped, he went back for reinforcements. But I couldn’t wait.”

  “Foolish woman.” Ian patted her head with both affection and worry. “This could have all been done for you. Your life is in danger now. The virus.”

  “I sensed your sorrow and despair. I couldn’t let you spend one more second like that. I just couldn’t.” Sonora pulled him closer. “But Jorah should be back soon. He said he is bringing all the power of Atlantis with him.”

  Ian stopped and pulled back from Sunny, looking at her. “Father said that? Those exact words.”

  Sonora nodded.

  “Come. We must meet Father’s army.” His eyes narrowed. “Those evildoers will not know what hit them.”

  Something in the back of Ian’s fuzzy mind picked at him, but he was distracted by the news of his father. The small buzz roared a full warning, but it was too late. They turned the corner.

  And were face to face with Devon.

  Thirty-Four

  Revelation

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Relief poured through Sonora. “Oh, Uncle Devon! Thank goodness. We need help.” She waved him closer with her one free hand.

  Devon paled. “I’ve tried to keep you and your sister away from this.”

  Sonora’s attention was on Ian as she tightened her hold on him when he swayed on his feet. “Uncle Devon. Help me. He’s going to fall.”

  Her uncle patted his pockets and darted a glance up the corridor toward the lab. “This is a nightmare.”

  Ian stiffened, his muscles like iron. The grip he had on Sonora’s shoulder began to sting. “Yes, it is, Uncle. Someone has been… hurting Ian. We need to get him out of here!”

  “You are a monster,” Ian growled at Devon, lurching to
ward him. “With my bare hands, I will end your life!”

  Sonora’s eyes widened as she clung to him. It was the drugs talking. “Ian! This is my uncle.”

  “I know well who he is. He is my torturer.”

  Sonora glanced up at Ian. “Love, the drugs are confusing you. He’s going to help us leave.” Sonora took a step and tugged on Ian, but he didn’t budge. She rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like she could drag him down the hallway.

  Devon flashed a look from his niece to Ian. “You can have your freedom. I will make sure no one ever touches you again. Just go. Do you understand?”

  Ian’s face twisted. “I wish to see your broken carcass underneath my feet.”

  “Ian!” Sonora absent-mindedly scolded him as she worked at getting him to move one foot in front of the other in the right direction. It was slow going.

  Ian ignored Sonora, his fiery eyes intent on Devon. “I would never leave her in your care.”

  Devon puffed out his chest. “I have always taken care of her, of them, all of them. The others wanted them, but I stopped it. Nothing will ever harm her.”

  “So, you save your evil experiments for the rest of us?”

  Eyes narrowing, Devon spit his words. “She is not one of you!”

  Sonora blinked. The men’s angry words braking through her concentration

  She looked at her uncle, a man she’d cared about her entire life. She knew everything about him, didn’t she?

  Instead of being a support for Ian, Sonora now clung to him. Her hand moved to his back, accidentally landing on one of his many scars. Could her uncle be the monster who did this?

  Numb, her voice trembling, she asked, “Uncle?” Even to herself, Sonora sounded like a lost, scared child. “Uncle Devon?”

  Devon closed his eyes, wincing. He stepped toward Sonora, but Ian jerked her back. “Sunny,” Devon pleaded, “you’re like a daughter to me. You have to understand, little niece, they aren’t like us. They aren’t human. Surely, you can see that. It’s no different than the experiments I do on the mice or the lizards. They don’t feel like we do. I have the scientific data to back it up.”