Collide (23 page)

I weigh each option. Kill Maya now and risk getting captured or go along with her scheme and still get captured.

Lose-lose.

“Your mom’s here, Dakota. She’s alive for now. I can’t say how long that will last, though.”

I slap Maya. The force of the effort enflames my shoulder and I scream. Maya grinds her teeth, her balled fists straining at her sides. She wipes a small trickle of blood from her mouth. Totally worth the agony now radiating through me.

“Like it or not,” Maya says, glaring at me. “I’m your best chance at saving what’s left of your family. We both know I’m right.”

A moment passes. I don’t want to accept the truth.

“Well?” she asks.

“Fine. I’m in.”

“Dakota—” David aims the gun toward Maya’s temple.

“She’s right, David. We need her.” I shift my attention from David to Maya. “Try anything stupid and we’ll kill you without hesitation.”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

You can’t be serious
, David says in my head.
She’s trying to trap us.

Probably. But if Mom is alive, I have to help her.

If she’s dead?

Then LeMercier will have two deaths to pay for
.

A slight smile cracks through Maya’s expression, confirmation that she’s heard the entire conversation.

“You’re not a killer, Dakota.” David says.

I am today.

I always have been.

“READY?” MAYA ASKS AS THE SKY MORPHS INTO DEEPER SHADES OF PURPLE AND NAVY
.

David shoves the gun into his jacket pocket but keeps it aimed squarely at Maya.

“Your weapon won’t help you against him,” she says.

“Maybe, but it will definitely help me against you. Don’t try anything. Take us in and let us deal with LeMercier. Nothing else.”

Maya bristles with his words. “Come on.” She guides us toward the rear entrance of the main house.

Maya pushes me into the lead position, guiding David and me through the field and to the solid metal door. She stares at the security camera, pulls a magnetic card from her pocket and slides it through the reader. The door unlocks with a heavy click and in moments we’re inside.

The air is stale and oppressive, like everything about this place. Cement walls form a narrow hallway that leads to a single metal staircase.

“This way,” she says as she leads David and me into the heart of the building.

The stairs are steeper than I expect and my muscles tire quickly. We climb four floors before Maya motions for us to stop. “Here,” she says.

My heart thrums hard against my chest. I center my thoughts and reach beyond the heavy cement walls which surround me. Images bloom across my vision. Four men grouped in pairs patrol an intricate series of hallways out of place in this style of house. Each man is well armed, with two visible guns and who knows how many hidden weapons.

My stomach drops. This really is a trap.

The hallways are lined with several doors, each closed. Except for one at the end of the corridor directly in front of us.

LeMercier’s office.

I remember every detail of that room: the view of the gardens from the arched windows behind his desk, the smell of maple that permeates the room, the adjoining lab.

It’s where most of my training happened. The one place I wish I couldn’t remember.

“It’s time.” Maya shoves us into the hallway.

She urges us forward to the office. None of the patrols approach. Not a mistake, I’m sure.

“Sir, Dakota and David, as promised,” Maya says as she pushes us hard through the door. Her face tells me to relax and go along with her charade.

The adrenaline pulsating through me and my pulse roaring through my ears says something different.

The office is lighter than I remember, the small windows having been replaced with larger walls of glass. The other walls are painted white, the furniture, modern. The office reeks of money and I can’t help but wonder who funds the Order now. A glass partition reveals the new lab fitted with several individual cubicles and a large open area. I take in every part of the room, calculating my escape route.

Dr. LeMercier stands, his face relaxed. “Thank you, Maya, for bringing
her
home.”

I stiffen as his voice turns my skin to gooseflesh. David reaches for my hand, his other hand fingering the Glock.

“You do love your toys, don’t you Samurai?” LeMercier flashes a cold smile. “You always have.”

David stiffens and shifts, his attention divided between Maya and the doctor.

“And Dakota, it is truly good to see you again. I hope you aren’t too broken, what with the loss of your brother and your parents.”

I taste his sarcasm in the air and take a step forward, stopped by Maya’s hand.
He’s baiting you
, she whispers through my thoughts.
Don’t react. Not yet.

My pulse pounds even louder, my senses heightened. Every cell urges me to strike. “What do you want with us?” I ask through gritted teeth.

Dr. LeMercier stands and circles his desk. His moves are smooth and calculated, a predator sizing up its prey. “I want nothing from them.” He nods toward David and Maya. “They are nothing more than a means to my end. But you, you are the reason I rebuilt this place.

“Me?” My skin tingles with my need to strike.

“Yes. I have great plans for you, Assassin.”

“Don’t call her that,” David spits. “She’s not a killer.”

“Isn’t she though? I’m certain Maya holds a different opinion.”

Maya clenches her jaw.

“What is he talking about?” I know better than to believe anything Maya or LeMercier say, but this is different somehow.

“Maya has experienced the effectiveness of your kills first hand. You both have.”

“Don’t listen to him,” David says.

The air crackles with energy.

“Maya?” I stare at her, willing her to fill in the missing pieces of my memories. Faint pictures of a stone-lined cell, an older man with ebony skin, fill my thoughts.

Maya’s body stiffens. Her eyes fill with tears. She swallows hard.

“You didn’t think she would actually bring you here to
help
you, do you? I ordered her to find you, commanded her to bring
my
Assassin home.” LeMercier pins me with his glare.

“Stop calling me that. I’ll never kill for you.”

“You already have. Several times, in fact.” His words steal the air from my lungs. “It seems only right that I give Maya the same opportunity.”

“You want her to kill for you?”

“I want her to kill for you.”

The air grows thick with anticipation as I attempt to understand the meaning of his threat. David squeezes my fingers before releasing my hand. Maya stands, her eyes fixated on LeMercier. A lone tear escapes her eyes and rolls down her cheek.

“Oh, but forgive me, that’s a conversation for another day.” LeMercier leans against his desk. “You came here thinking you’d get answers if I’m not mistaken. Let’s start with your first question. Who killed Josh?”

“I already know you’re behind his death.” My fury is barely contained and the items on the doctor’s desk begin to shake.

“But I was not the one who committed the act. I did not doom him to his fate.”

I look at Maya. “What’s he talking about?” I ask, already knowing the answer. “Maya?”

The entire room begins to shake with my rage.

“She proved her loyalty to the Order with his death. Guaranteed your capture.”

My rage breaks free and I launch myself at Maya, sending us both to the ground.

“Dakota,” David yells as he pulls his gun free from his pocket. He fires at LeMercier.

With a wave of the doctor’s hands, the bullets stop in mid-air and fall with a hollow clink.

Chaos explodes around me as my fists begin pounding Maya’s face in rapid succession. My shoulder screams for me to stop before adrenaline kicks in and my rage breaks free.

Maya pushes at me, blocks, claws at my skin. Digging her nails into my flesh, she throws me from her. I scramble to my knees ready to knock her to the ground again. Before I can attack, she sends me sailing into the cement wall.

David yells.

LeMercier pins him where he stands, his expression unchanging. “Now, now, Samurai. I will not have you interfere with her training again.” LeMercier waves a hand, sealing David’s mouth shut.

Maya slams me against another wall. Pain shoots through every cell as the wind leaves my lungs in a rush. I push myself up to my knees, wipe the blood from my mouth, and focus.

“You can stop her at any time, Assassin. You’re stronger than she will ever be.” LeMercier’s words seep under my skin, commanding me to strike. “I feel your power surging through your veins. Seize it. Make her pay for what she’s done to your family.”

The air grows hotter, thinner, explosive. Maya’s anger rolls from her in waves. She faces me and raises her hands, every feature marred with rage.

“No,” I yell, sending Maya backwards.

Dakota, don’t
. David’s voice fills my mind and I hesitate for a moment.

“Maya killed Mari. Did she tell you that Assassin? She watched her die and enjoyed every moment. But not nearly as much as she enjoyed your brother’s death. His was sweet to her, delicious.”

I stand, my anguish aflame. My hands turn, spinning a small cyclone to life.

“Kill her, Assassin. Unleash your vengeance for everything she’s done to you.”

David twists against unseen ropes.
Don’t do it
, he silently screams.
Stop. Don’t let them win
.

Maya’s mind collides with mine as the cyclone is unleashed. The air rushes from my lungs with a whoosh. Papers fly in all directions.

Maya rams into my body, her attacks no longer limited to her psychic abilities. She wraps her hands around my throat. I push into her thoughts, extracting the most violent memories I can find, the most torturous.

Jealousy.

Loneliness.

Abandonment.

Self-loathing.

The emotions blanket her thoughts and weaken her grasp. Without hesitation, I swing my arms around and over hers, forcing her to release the strangle-hold on my neck. I gasp, step back.

Maya recovers and swings, hitting nothing but air.

I spin from her attack and launch my own. Sweeping her legs out from under her, I grab her by the neck and shove her against the lab wall, pinning her. My fingers tighten. Maya hunches her shoulders and my grasp weakens.

“You’ll pay for Josh,” I say, my rage mirrored by her own.

“That’s right, Assassin. Remember your training. Wield your fury.” LeMercier cheers me on, coaxing my victory.

My emotions detach, the hot anguish replaced by cold fury. I think of only one mission.

Kill Maya.

“Dakota, no!” David says as he breaks free from LeMercier’s telekinetic hold. He yanks his body loose and shoves the doctor onto his desk.

Shots ring out around me as the office floods with guards. Chaos reigns.

My hand tightens around Maya’s neck. Her face reddens and I know her end grows near. “This is for Josh,” I say at the same time that David yells my name.

Maya squirms beneath my grasp. I swallow hard. Just a few more moments . . .

“No Dakota! Stop.”

My fingers loosen slightly.

“Josh wouldn’t want this. Neither would your mom.”

I fixate on his words. Maya breaks free and runs from the room as I turn to David.

And my world goes black.