Chapter Eight
Luke’s feet ate up the pavement as he ran through the streets of Cancun. As he plunged deeper into the heart of the city, the alleys and pathways became seedier. Trash littered the sidewalks, and the haze of poverty lingered over the people he passed.
A year ago, he wouldn’t have considered running in a place like this. Now he knew he was the most dangerous thing here.
Frequently, he pulled the disposable phone from his pocket, checking the signal. When he finally had a respectable number of bars, he slowed his pace. He walked in circles, catching his breath. When his gasps became less labored, he dialed out.
There were a series of clicks and buzzes before his call connected.
“Hello?”
Luke smiled. “Hi, Blue. It’s me, Luke.” She’d sent him an email a couple months ago, giving him a phone number to call, if he ever wanted to contact her. The email had been short and terse, full of her admonishments without saying a word. He knew she didn’t understand why he’d had to leave them behind in San Antonio. She was still pissed about it, he was sure. But even though he wasn’t ready to explain it all, he was glad she’d reached out anyway.
“Luke!” He could almost feel her relief across the line. “My God, it’s good to hear from you. Are you okay?” A shout in the background. Seth. They were both there. They were okay.
“I’m fine. So is Jack.” He smiled, genuinely happy to hear her voice. He’d always liked Blue. He leaned on the side of a rundown building to stretch his calf. “We’re in Cancun. How are you?”
“Christ, Luke. Three months and ‘how are you?’ is the best you can manage?”
He chuckled. Same old Blue. “I know. I should have called sooner. Things are…complicated.”
“No shit, Luke.”
He sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. Parker Sinclair found us. You remember Parker, right?”
“Of course.” She paused. “He found you?”
“Yes. He’s been staying with us.”
“He has?”
“He’s like Kitty…and like you.”
The phone muffled, and he heard her mumble something to Seth. She must have been filling him in. “Both? That’s not possible. Is it?”
“I’ve been reading up about the drug. Parker had a lot of research about it. He spent time with Fields, Blue. He knows about Solvimine.” Luke brushed his sweaty hair off his forehead before putting his free hand on his hip and staring at the sky. “I know a lot about it, too.”
There was silence. “What do you know?”
“There’s no cure, Blue.” He exhaled. “There’s no going back.”
He could hear Seth in the background, his voice full of concern even if Luke couldn’t make out the exact words. “You’re sure?”
“I’m almost positive. The only option is if they create something with the opposite effect that would close brain pathways.” He shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s dangerous to even consider. How would they know which pathways? What sort of damage would that do?” It seemed insurmountable.
“Fields has turned more people,” she said softly. The effects of her words were like a cymbal crash in his skull. “Soldiers, employed by Goldstone. He turned them, at least five, but we think more.”
“How do you know?”
“Nick. He went to get Kitty. Seth and I…we aren’t exactly welcome with the military.” When she didn’t expound, Luke figured there was a story there. He’d have to find out some time.
“Anyway, Nick went in with some other special ops guys. Apparently, he escaped with her, but the soldiers found them. Because they’re like us.” Her voice lowered. “They didn’t have a chance.”
“So Nick is with Kitty? They’re with Goldstone?”
“Yes.” She paused. “We’re leaving in the morning. To go to the Army, to offer our services.”
Luke swallowed hard. They were going to help, and he was here, in Cancun, pretending to be on vacation when he knew he should be with them.
“You should come with us,” she offered, as if she knew what he was thinking. “We’re going to meet Major Martins at Fort Bragg. You and Jack…you should come.”
“It’s complicated, Blue.”
“I know, Luke. But we could use your help. Kitty could use your help. And, if Fields is changing people, making more like us…well, I don’t know what is going to happen.”
“Yeah,” he allowed. “I’ll talk to Jack. See what I can do.”
“You do that. I’ll have this phone. Call us.”
“Okay. I will.”
“And Luke?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.” Only Blue knew how to make a worried reminder into a demand. “And come. If you can.”
“I will.” He disconnected the call and stared at the phone. He was sure she had no idea how hard what she was asking would be.
…
“Keep your elbows in, Kitty,” Nick reminded her again. “The weight should be on the outside of your feet. Not your toes. Remember, half of a battle is psychological. You need to look confident and be ready.”
She nodded, but her jaw tightened. She readjusted her stance, her face a mask of determination.
He moved his arm, as if he was going to punch her. She dodged it even before he moved, then her palm shot up, in a perfectly placed face attack. She kept her elbow high, though, and moved through to what would have been a perfect elbow to nose connection, if she’d intended to hurt him.
“Good.” He straightened. “Much better.”
She beamed in response to his praise, and he smiled back at her, though he knew it might seem wooden.
They’d been at this all day. He’d shot off his cot when the slider at the bottom of their door had opened and two meal trays were slid inside. The movement had stirred pain in every bruise and cut he had. Talk about rude awakening.
Not that he’d been sleeping long. He’d had the hardest time falling asleep. Not only did his face and his ribs hurt, but it was difficult to relax with Kitty breathing across the room. When he did finally sleep, it had been light, fitful.
Now, he’d spent the day answering her questions. He’d focused on self-defense, on personal safety. She’d continued to direct their conversations to what he considered to be combat inquiries. It was different. In combat, personal safety was second to meeting an objective, while in self-defense, personal safety was the objective.
He wanted her to focus on her safety. If there was danger, he wanted her to think about getting away, not engaging. Yet, they kept coming back to combat strategies. It was maddening.
“Remember. You’re not big.”
She tilted her head, grinning at him. “I’m not? You don’t say.”
He ignored her snark. “One punch from a bigger guy will do serious damage, if not destroy you. So you have to make your blows count, and then get away.”
“Right. Vicious.”
“Not just vicious. Dirty. There is no fair fight if someone is trying to hurt you. There’s only survival.”
“Right.” She nodded solemnly. “Do or do not. There is no try,” she said in her best Yoda voice.
He glared at her. “You think this is a joke.” Her smile fell at his snapped reprimand. He should have apologized, but he was exhausted and stressed out, aroused and stir-crazy. After hours of being at this, of being so close to her, wanting to touch her…he lost his cool.
“You cannot get cocky, do you understand me? The guys who are chasing you are bigger than you. They are trying to contain you, to bring you in, but they’re trained to kill. Faced with one of them, you should haul ass. Run as fast as you can.” He ran his hand over his hair and then along his jaw. Even imagining her running for her life sat like a rock in his stomach. “I don’t know if I should even be teaching you this. At least if you’re afraid, you’ll try to get away. I’m afraid of what sort of foolish shit you’ll do if you get overly confident.”
She put her hands on her hips. The color lifted in her cheeks, and her eyes narrowed. Every muscle in her body was tense. He’d never seen her angry, but he imagined this might be it. “You think I’m an idiot.”
Good Lord. That’s not what he said. Hadn’t she been listening? “Absolutely not.”
“You do.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You said I’d act foolishly, that I’d do something irrational. That I won’t make good decisions. That I’d be an idiot.”
“I never said you don’t make good decisions.”How did she get that out of what he said?
“I’ve never been able to make my own decisions. My parents didn’t let me, and after that I was changed, and I trusted Jeremy and got sent here. So, I might not be good at it.” She swallowed hard. “But I want to be able to make my own decisions. You don’t think I know that I’m small? You don’t think I know that I don’t have much of a chance against those bigger, stronger guys?” She snorted with a half laugh. “I’m a smart girl, Nick. I get it. But I’m sick of being a victim. I’m sick of lying down and letting everyone take advantage of me. When we figure out how to get out of here, I want to be ready. I want to be strong.”
“You don’t think you’re strong?” It was as if she didn’t see herself at all. “You hear people’s thoughts. You listen to everyone’s messed-up baggage, and you haven’t lost your mind. I can barely deal with my own hang-ups, let alone everyone else’s. In spite of that, you still manage to care about people. Like me. You don’t even like me, and yet you watched over me while I was tranked, worrying that I was dead. And that mountain lion. You didn’t want me to hurt her. You see the horrible stuff in everyone, and yet you still think there’s enough in us to protect. That’s the strongest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”
“You think I’m strong.” Shock colored her voice.
She could be so dense sometimes, especially for someone who could hear everything. He snorted, flopping down on the cot. “Hell yeah. There are other ways to be strong besides having huge muscles.” He stared at his hands. “Like my mom. She had breast cancer, was diagnosed when I was fourteen. She had six kids, from age six to me, and we were terrified. Even my youngest sister knew what cancer was. My mom, she’s the rock in our family. We revolve around her. Even when she was sick and probably frightened, she refused to give up.” Thoughts of his mom always made him smile. “I hope I’m as strong as her someday.”
He hadn’t been home in nine long months. He should have gone back. He’d had leave from the army, but it had been expensive to fly from San Antonio to New York, and he’d been trying to save money. He should have spent the money on the plane ticket, no matter how strapped it made him. Who knew when he’d get back to them again?
He had to figure out how to get Kitty and himself out. The longer they were here, the more airtight the security measures to keep them would become. They had to solve this fast. But he’d spent all morning running scenarios. So far he’d found nothing.
“Your mom had breast cancer?” Her eyes widened, infinitely soft and worried. “Is she…okay?” She joined him, sinking down on the cot, her body turned to face him.
She had been angry at him a moment ago, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. Her ability to open her heart…it was not common, and he found it irresistible.
He nodded. “She had a hard fight. Lost her hair. Got really sick. I’ve never seen someone fight anything with as much determination and strength as my mom.”
She reached out to him, her hand covering his. Against his skin, her fingers were pale and thin. She squeezed. “She sounds amazing. Maybe you’ll introduce me some day.”
“I would love to. And she would love you.” He knew that with absolute certainty. He’d never met anyone who was a better judge of character than his mom. His mother would see exactly what was inside of Kitty.
Before Nick could react, Kitty leaned forward and folded him into her arms. She wasn’t much to hold, especially because he was so big, but it was a huge hug.
Kitty poured her entire self into her hugs.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her against him. But even as he was enjoying having her in his arms, he knew that on her end, this was only a friendly hug, meant to soothe him. While he appreciated the comfort she offered, it was tangled up with how much he was starting to want her. Her comfort, her smile, her fears, her strength, and her body.
So while she was offering him her friendship, he wanted to climb inside her.
That thought made him stand up.
Hurt flashed through her eyes. That made him feel even worse.
This had to stop.
“Christ, Kitty, I’m sorry. What can I do here? This is confusing.” He paced in front of her. “Listen, you hugged me because you think we’re friends and in your mind you’re comforting a friend.”
She stiffened. “You don’t want us to be friends?” If he thought she looked hurt before, the pain that passed over her face destroyed him.
“Oh God. Yes. I do want us to be friends.” He sat back down next to her and pulled her hands into his. “I want us to be friends. But when you’re this close, I also want to hold you. Not like a hug, but really hold you.” He paused to let that imagery roll through their heads, of her in his arms, their bodies pressed together, his mouth on her face…on all of her. A blush stained her cheeks. She got it, then. “I want to kiss your smiles and your frowns. It ate me up inside, thinking of you trapped by Goldstone alone, but this…whatever is going on here…is more than that.”
Her eyes widened, and he probably should have stopped but he figured it was best to get it out. Making an ass of himself was obviously one of his latent talents.
“I’ll be whatever you want me to be. But please…” He squeezed her fingers. “Please don’t hug me like we’re only buddies, or like I’m your brother. Because you need to know that while you’re doing that, I’m sitting here wanting you.” He made himself let go of her hand.
She stared at him, her eyes wide and fathomless. God, did she ever not look good? Not to him, anyway, it seemed.
He was an asshole, unloading on her. How he felt was his problem. He needed to get a grip.
“Listen. I’m sorry. That’s not fair. Please forgive me. This is hard.” He waited for her to nod before he continued, scooting over a foot or so for some much-needed distance.
Finally, he inhaled a calming breath. “I’ll help you do whatever you want. I’ll teach you whatever you want. You’re right. If you want to learn how to defend yourself, you should have that chance. God knows, we’re in enough danger.” He ran his hand over his hair. “Promise me one thing, though, please.”
He only paused a heartbeat before he continued. “Promise me that you won’t take unnecessary risks with yourself. I’m not teaching you this stuff so you can go on some suicide mission.”
Her lips thinned, but he lifted his hand. “Listen. You’re the most selfless person I think I’ve ever met. You’ll put yourself out there for anyone. Promise you won’t use this stuff to risk yourself for anyone. Use it to protect you. You’re as important as anyone else you’d be guarding.”
Kitty continued to scowl for another moment before her face relaxed. Then she nodded. He exhaled. If she promised, then she would keep it, he hoped. He didn’t believe for a moment she wouldn’t do what she thought was right, but he’d asked. He only hoped she’d never be in that sort of situation.
He’d have to do his best to make sure she wasn’t.
“And Nick?” She gazed up at him, her eyes beseeching. “I do like you.” She hurried on. “You said that I didn’t even like you but I helped you. I don’t know what I feel, honestly.” She offered him a smile that broke his heart. “But I do know that I like you. You make it hard not to.”
He tried to lighten the mood, shrugging, brushing off his sleeve. “I’ve been told I’m pretty amazing.”
She rolled her eyes, but the tension seemed to be broken and he was thankful.
“Want to keep going?” he offered. “Or you have other plans?”
“I’ll check my schedule.” She glanced at the ceiling for a moment. “Nope, I’m free. Let’s go.”
She moved back into her fight stance, but the click of the door lock interrupted them.
Laundry? He raised his eyes in question. Adrenaline spiked through him. This was only the second day, and Kitty had said that laundry came every other day.
She shrugged, straightening her outfit.
As we discussed?
She nodded.
While Kitty was convinced learning to fight was the key, Nick was sure the answer to their escape was the laundry. If they could overpower the men who came for their laundry, they might have a chance to get out of this room. Then he had no idea what would happen.
They decided she would try to use her power to confuse them, planting thoughts, while he studied their workflow.
She worried about drawing too much attention to herself, though. After what happened with the orderly, she needed to be careful. So, they agreed she would try, but not take any chances.
His heart kicked up. Though he’d convinced her it wasn’t too dangerous, he didn’t delude himself. If Fields figured out what she could do…
Three guards stepped in. Two were unfamiliar, but one…
Kenny.
I know him. He’s one of Martins’ men. Keep the others busy. Hope exploded in him, filling his chest. If he could connect with Kenny, maybe they really did have a chance.
Kitty nodded. She skirted between Kenny and the other two guards, steering them away from Nick. “You need the sheets, too?” he heard her ask innocently.
“What do you have for me?” Nick asked Kenny under his breath when they both leaned over to gather the old clothes across the room.
“We took the drug,” Kenny said without preamble. “Brian and I made it. Aiden didn’t.”
Nick nodded, to show he understood. He felt a pang of loss for Aiden, though he’d only met him once.
“Fields is trying to sell the drug. Things are locked down. No phones, nothing. Security is tight.”
“Selling to the Army?”
“No. Private parties.”
Private parties. That wasn’t good. The drug on the black market? It was disastrous. “Can you help me?”
“I’ll have more.” He ducked his head. “Next time.”
Nick nodded again. “Thanks.”
Kenny’s mouth thinned. “Take care,” he muttered as he stood, gathering the linens.
Across the room, one of the guards was grumbling. “Told you it was here the whole time.” He waved the second jumpsuit. “You must be blind.”
Kitty raised her hands in an exaggerated shrug. “How about that?”
She joined him as they watched the three guards file out. When they were gone, she asked, “Well?”
“He says the security is really tight.” He glanced down at her, meeting her eyes. “Because Fields is trying to sell the drug.”
“The Army?”
“No,” he answered. “On the black market.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Just no. That can’t happen. Anyone could get it then, right?”
He nodded. “Kenny’s changed. He’s going to see if he can help us. Next time he’s back.” Saying the words filled him with optimism. They had a chance, a real chance now. Thank God.
“Two days?”
“He didn’t say.” Nick buried his hands in his pockets, hating how out of his control everything was.
“We’ll keep practicing. We’ll be ready.” She looked grim.
Staring at the locked door, he prayed it would be enough.
They were running out of time.