Avenged (The Altered Series) (12 page)

She didn’t allow the impulse to master her, though. For one thing, she was severely outnumbered. In this closed room, she would have no chance of launching a successful offensive.

Most important, Nick would come to her rescue. As she met his eyes, it was there, the fierce protectiveness on his face. His huge body was tight, waiting.

If he stepped in, he would expose his talent to these people. Then, if they didn’t win the fight—and she had to assume they might not—they would take him away from her.

She couldn’t allow that to happen. She didn’t have much in this piece of hell, but she had Nick. She wouldn’t let them ruin that. So, she restrained herself.

As Ahmed stumbled to his feet, she braced herself, though. She might not want to start the fight, but she wouldn’t hesitate to defend herself, either.

She’d come a long way.

“Stop.” Fields’s voice cut in to the melee as hands circled her forearms and Jeremy’s fingers rested on his tranquilizer gun. “That’s enough.”

Mr. Ahmed recovered. He brushed at his jacket and straightened it, shifting the way his tie sat at his throat, and pulling at his sleeves. He stretched his neck, breathing deeply and forcing his mind to calm.

“Indeed, doctor. Indeed.” He and his assistant exchanged glares, but when Ahmed faced them again, he was composed. “That is sufficient, Dr. Fields. I will take the girl, the soldiers we’ve spoken of, and the drug. I will move the money tonight. The funds will be available tomorrow. We will arrange a transfer for tomorrow night, at dusk.”

Wait. The girl? Her? Fields was selling her to this predator?

She met Nick’s gaze, blood rushing in her ears, her heart speeding. They were going to send her away from him.

He stared at her.
No. He can’t have her. She stays with me
.

“Splendid.” It didn’t take mindreading to see Fields’s glee. “We will make arrangements.”

The group—Fields, Ahmed, his assistant, and the two guards—left the conference room the way they came, still discussing their sale, without any comment to the rest of them, as if they’d been dismissed or were just below their notice.

Jeremy nodded to the other four soldiers. She and Nick were pulled to their feet and yanked toward the door.

“Oh, thought I should mention,” Jeremy added as they started into the hall. “I had a nice conversation with your friend Kenny, Nick.” He opened and closed his fist, stretching his fingers. Kitty noticed the bruising on a few of the knuckles. “Him and your pal Brian, both… I figured you hadn’t come alone. It only took me a few days to figure out who you brought with you. It’s done.”

Blood roared in Kitty’s ears as their hope of escape evaporated. They’d lost Kenny. Their plans for rescue were gone.

As the disappointment crushed her, she gritted her teeth. The anger boiled up, pressed out her despair, and tightened her resolve.

They didn’t have Kenny, but they had themselves. It would have to be enough. Because she wasn’t going with Ahmed, or whatever his real name was. No way.

This was their chance. They were out of their cell. They needed to move.

In the corridor, she reached out to Nick.
Freeze them. Freeze them now. Now, now, now.

She and Nick were suddenly standing in the middle of five statues.

Chapter Thirteen

A moment after Nick froze the soldiers, he was frozen himself.

Except while he allowed the five of them to breathe, whoever was holding him wasn’t as generous. His lungs tightened, sending dread lacing through him.

Next to him, Kitty had stilled as well.

One of the guards was a mover, then, like him.

He’d known there was a chance. A very good chance, actually. He’d been trying to formulate another plan, something that might neutralize a mover. But when Kitty told him to freeze them, he’d
needed
to follow her orders. The thoughts that she placed in his head, they were almost impossible to defy.

Now, they were frozen. He wouldn’t be able to go much longer without air.

The moment panic began to lick at his gut, though, he was free.

Beside him, Kitty could move as well. She swept forward, undoing one of the soldier’s belts.

A bad time to be undressing people. “Kit? What are you doing?”

“You can’t use your power if your eyes are closed, right?” She wrapped the belt around the man’s eyes and cinched it tight. “This is our mover. So, I’m taking his power from him.” When she finished, her forehead relaxed. “There.”

“How’d you do that?” Nick asked. “How’d you get him to let us go?”

“I told him to stop.” She shrugged. “We can’t go back to the cell. Not after that…” Her eyes fanned the door to the conference room. “We need to get out of here. Get help.” She was on to the next thing as if nothing had happened.

He could only stare at her. A moment ago, he’d been about to pass out. Now he wasn’t. She told him to stop, she said. Sometimes he forgot how powerful she was. To control how others thought, to know their intentions… She would know when people were lying. She would know their secrets, if they were careless enough to think them around her.

He wasn’t sure she even knew how dangerous she was.

That kind of power in the wrong hands would be lethal. Nick could see why her talent was the one that captivated Ahmed.

Ahmed. That was a piece of work. Arrogant, zealous… He wanted Kitty? He’d need to go through him first.

There wasn’t time to think on this. They were exposed here. They needed to move.

He spun their options in his head and scanned the hall, trying to think. There were a few doors farther down before it dead-ended. “We need to leave them somewhere.” He nodded to the soldiers. “I can’t hold them forever. Besides, someone will notice.”

“I’d suggest our cell, but that’s a long walk. Someone will notice them drifting along.” She shook her head.

“No. We’ll need to put them somewhere here.” He opened the nearest door. A closet. Nope, too small. The next door was an office—that of someone fairly important, if the large space and upscale interior were an indicator. This would do.

He floated the five of them into the room, closing the door behind them. He inspected the doorknob. It locked from the inside. That wouldn’t work. “I’ll lose hold on them when I can’t see them anymore. We’ll need something to block the door.” He tallied the room, looking for a barricade. “Empty their pockets.”

Kitty nodded. She fished out cell phones and a walkie-talkie. She went to the desk and yanked the phone from its jack. She opened the window, a utility window, not big enough for a person to fit through, and tossed the contents outside. “There. That should slow these guys down.”

“Grab the chair,” he said. “We’ll use it to block the door in the hall. It’s not perfect but it’ll buy us some time.” It was a swivel chair. He ripped the wheel apparatus off the bottom of it. “There. Now it can’t move.”

She studied them, her mouth thinning. “We need to take one with us.”

“What?” He shook his head. “Why?”

“We aren’t going to be able to fight our way out. At least, not from here. Goldstone might not be here, but there are still too many people, and we have no idea where the exits are. But if we have one of them, we’ll be able to move around easier. Find an exit.”

He didn’t like this. There was too much room for error. Too little control over the circumstances. “I can break down the walls. I watched Blue do it.”

“Don’t you think it would be easier if we could leave without breaking things?” She inhaled. “I’ll convince him he wants to help us.”

He narrowed his eyes. He’d watched her tell people what to do. This sounded way past that. “You’ve never controlled a person that long before.”

“No. I’ve done one thought at a time. But it’s our best chance. It’s much less dangerous than trying to fight this many of them by ourselves.” She picked up the chair. “And it needs to be Jeremy.”

“Why?”If he never saw his old roommate again, it would be too soon.

“He was the one in charge. It won’t make sense if it’s one of the others.”

He didn’t like this one bit. Too many variables. But she was right—if they fought, things became more dangerous. “Fine. Let’s go.”

She pulled the chair to the door. She glanced out, probably to check if it was empty, before she waved him to follow her. In the hall, she handed him the chair. Then, she inhaled and closed her eyes. A long second ticked by, too long in his estimation, considering they were out in the open, completely exposed. “You can let Jeremy go.”

“Are you sure?” He’d rather not. She’d never done something like this. How did they know she could do it? If she couldn’t, how was he going to protect her and still hold the other four off?

“Now, Nick.” Her jaw firmed as she stared at the bastard.

Tensing, in case this didn’t work, he dropped Jeremy. True to her word, she made Jeremy walk toward them, subdued.

“The door, Nick.” She didn’t look at him, her eyes focused on Jeremy.

He closed the door and wedged the chair under it. Inside, the trapped guards began shouting, calling out. “We need to move fast.”

“Lead us to the front door. Lead us to the front door,” she recited.

“I’ll lead you to the front door,” Jeremy repeated. He sounded brainwashed. It creeped Nick out.

Like a zombie, Jeremy started off down the corridor. Kitty followed him, her face tight in concentration.

God, he hoped this worked. He fell in line behind Kitty, trying to look like the bad guys looked when they were caught in movies.

From the outside, they looked authentic enough. He and Kitty still had zip-ties at their wrists, and they followed along behind Jeremy in their jumpsuits, like obedient prisoners. But if anyone looked too long, they might wonder why only one guard was escorting them. Nick hoped they passed the quick glance test.

He wished they’d move faster, though. Jeremy trudged along, much slower than he normally walked. Nick wondered how much he was fighting Kitty.

A pair of guards turned the corner in front of them. As they passed, one of them—a guy Nick recognized from when he and Kitty were recaptured at the creek—glared at Jeremy. “Yo, Rickles. Their cell is that way, you tool.”

“They are being moved,” Jeremy responded. His voice was monotone. It sounded off to Nick’s ears. He held his breath.

“They are?” The guy dropped his eyebrows. “Under whose authority?”

“Fields.” Jeremy reached into his pocket, without stopping, and offered the walkie-talkie that Kitty must have left there. “Check.”

The defensiveness, the hint of the chip on Jeremy’s shoulder…that had been perfect. Nick didn’t know if Kitty had done that herself or if that had been Jeremy’s attitude coming through, but either way, it worked. The other man waved Jeremy off.

“It’s fine. I don’t have time to check up on you.” He spat, and his friend laughed. As they continued down the hall, Nick listened. “Asshole.”

Jeremy had made a name for himself here, too.

They wound their way through the labyrinth of hallways in the building. It wasn’t as densely populated as he’d expected. Not as busy as the original compound, anyway. They passed a few more guards dressed in combat gear, as well as two men and a woman dressed in white jackets. Jeremy led them past a bank of laboratories and a row of mostly empty offices. The place had a packed up feel about it, like his temporary military apartments right before he moved.

A place this size should have more people. Fields must really be on the outs with Goldstone.

Kitty had been right. There was no way they would have found their way out of here on their own. He wasn’t going to ask her how she was guiding them, though, because her entire body was tight and a bead of sweat had formed at her temple.

He hated standing next to her, unable to help. He stepped closer, determined to be ready, if she needed him.

Finally, after the longest walk of his life, they reached the front desk, where two guards sat in front of a metal detector and a double set of glass doors. They relaxed. One even leaned back with his feet propped up on the desk, his hands behind his head.

“Prisoners for transport.” Again, Jeremy’s voice sounded strange to Nick’s ears. He hoped no one else knew Jeremy well enough to recognize how weird he was acting.

“What?” The closest guard sat up from where he’d been lounging and opened a binder in front of him. “The prisoners aren’t authorized for transport. Who sent you up here?”

The other guard leaned closer, studying them, his gaze becoming suspicious. Kitty’s eyes closed, and she gritted her teeth. Jeremy’s face contorted, as if he was trying to move his mouth but his lips were stuck closed.

Then, Kitty cried out, her hands covering her ears.

Jeremy was free, and she crumbled to her knees.

His heart in his throat, Nick sprang forward to keep Kitty falling to the ground and froze Jeremy and the two guards at the same time.

He’d become a damn multitasker.

They were at the door. He’d take it from here.

With a quick thought, he ripped the zip-ties from their wrists. No need to keep up the pretense of being tied any longer. He cradled Kitty against him. Her breathing was heavy, like she’d run a long way.

“Oh my.” She sighed. “That was difficult.” She sounded exhausted, and his concern ratcheted up 100 percent.

“You did a good job.” Grimly, he scanned the room. They needed to get out of here. Fast. How?

Kitty pushed away from him and shrugged off his hands when he tried to help. She wobbled on her feet before she steadied herself, then she stumbled to the door and attempted to open it. “They’re locked,” she gasped. “Any release button that you see?”

He hopped the desk, pushing the guard in his way to the side. The guy tumbled over, like a domino. Nick leaned over, running his fingers under the desk. There, under the rim of the desk, was a red button. “You think this red button is the door?”

Kitty paused, listening. “No. Alarm.”

“Good to know.” He continued traveling his fingers along. “Any of them thinking about the door?” Someone had to give them something.

She glared at them all. “It’s there.” She pointed to the wall. “The door release is there.”

“Got it.” He triggered the door, hopping back over the desk as Kitty opened it. “Thanks,” he offered to the frozen guards.

Cold air burst in. They must still be in the north. He backed through the door, keeping his gaze on the three frozen men in the makeshift lobby. “They’re going to fall as soon as I can’t see them.”

“We need to hurry.”

Nick couldn’t agree more. In his periphery, he scanned the gravel parking spaces. There was a sedan, a Hummer, and a truck. To the side, a helicopter rested on a solo helicopter pad. There was a garage to the far side as well. He didn’t think it was empty.

“Let’s go.” He waited for the door to latch closed, then he busted the lock, forcing it in with a heave of his mind. Hopefully that would jam the door, buy them a minute. Any minute counted.

He gathered Kitty to his side. She leaned heavy into him. Then, he dropped the men inside. As fast as he could, he ran with her to the Hummer. Kitty stumbled around to the passenger side as he yanked on the door handle. Predictably, it was locked. A siren began to wail from the building behind them.

Nick rammed his elbow into the glass window. The thick jumpsuit protected his skin. The window shattered inward, exploding on the driver’s seat, and the car alarm sounded. Reaching inside, he unlocked the door and threw it open. Skidding across the seat, he unlocked Kitty’s side before reaching under the wheel.

“They’re coming. I can hear them.” She crawled into the passenger side, slamming the door behind her.

He ignored her panic, yanking wires and ducking to see them.

“I’m jacking the car. The helicopter would be the best. But I don’t know how to fly one of those.” He found the wires he needed. The alarm turned off, and the truck roared to life. “So this will have to do.”

“Wait.” She put her hand on his arm. “What about the cars? The helicopter? They’ll be after us.”

“Oh. Right.” This would be easier if they weren’t followed, wouldn’t it? “What should I do?”

Kitty shrugged. “Make it so they can’t move?”

“Right.” He nodded. Make it so they can’t move. Sounded simple enough.

He opened the door and stalked around the Hummer. He stretched his neck from side to side. In front of him, alarms blared inside the compound. Red and blue lights flashed on the corners of the place, illuminating the sky. It must be dusk. The light faded into the west.

Distant shouting floated in the air between siren blasts. They would be out, soon. Following them. After them.

Not this time. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Kitty again. Not now that he could do these things.

His resolve hardening, he focused on the sedan first. With a quick thought, the tires blew out. A moment later, the truck’s tires followed suit. For good measure, he ripped the steering wheels off. There.

His eyes moved to the helicopter. A bit more difficult, but he concentrated hard, blocking out the noise around him, only seeing the bird.

The rotors bent. He’d hoped to rip the blades off, but even with a lot of effort, he could only manage to tilt them downward, so they created a cage around the cockpit. He nodded. It would have to do.

Now, the hangar. He guessed that there were troop transports in there, enough to move a lot of men. Maybe even something smaller. Something that would be faster, that would catch up to them.