Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga) (10 page)

When Corinne awoke she was in a small room. She was lying on a cot, facing the wall. When she sat up, she could make out a small sink and toilet and a narrow door with a tiny window at the top. She felt as if she was in prison, and her head ached fiercely. She wondered if somehow she had gotten drunk without remembering it, and then she recalled the prick of a needle. Her first thought was of Aaron. She could only hope that he was okay.

She stood up from the bed, still woozy from the drugs her body had been pumped with. Carefully, she approached the door. Before she could pound on it, the door swung open. She nearly fell into Conner's arms as he stepped inside.

A light flicked on, obviously controlled by someone outside of the room, as Conner guided Corinne back to her bed.

“Take it easy now.” He soothed as the door slammed shut behind him. “I understand that you are confused.”

Corinne sat down on the bed only because she was too dizzy to stand. “Why have you done this?” She asked weakly.

“You are too important not to contain.” He said coolly, as if she were a project, not a person.

“You have to let me go.” Corinne insisted.

Conner stood with a pitying smile. He shook his head as he spoke.

“Corinne, this is your home now. You will not be leaving.” With that he turned toward the door. When the lock released, he was able to step through it. Corinne could only stare after him as he closed the door, and she heard the lock click shut.

She sank back against the cot as she gave in to the notion that she could do nothing while her mind was spinning.

Daniel had arrived at Corinne's apartment to find the door left wide open and the living room in disarray. He knew that she and Aaron had been taken, though perhaps it had all been a set up in the first place. He had not heard Aaron protesting, only Corinne. Perhaps Aaron's visit had just been a ploy to get Corinne vulnerable.

There was no time to wonder. Daniel began dialing every number in his phone. He had favors he could call in, and this was the time to do so.

In the end he was able to get a partial warrant to search the main offices of Conner's company. He would not be able to search in areas that Conner would not agree to, but at least he would be able to get inside of the building.

He waited outside of the building all night until the first employee arrived. Immediately he served the employee the warrant. He was flanked by two other officers, and now with their hands on their guns, and their expressions stony, they let the employee know that he had no choice but to let them in.

When he did as he was instructed to do, Daniel and the two officers found themselves in a nearly empty building. Conner came out to greet them with a tense smile.

“Officers, I am not sure what this is all about.” He eyed Daniel with animosity.

“I am here to find Corinne.” Daniel said sternly. He had to be careful how he spoke in front of the other officers, as they would be duty bound to report any misconduct.

“I am sorry but you must be confused.” Conner chuckled lightly. “Corinne is not here.”

Daniel slipped his hand into the waistband of his pants and grasped the butt of his gun as he glared threateningly at Conner.

“You bring me Corinne, or I swear I will take apart this whole building and find every dirty little secret you are hiding here.” The two other officers had their hands on their weapons as well, but they glanced warily at Daniel.

“The warrant states you may only search the main offices and areas I permit.” Conner pointed out.

Daniel suddenly drew his weapon and aimed it right between Conner's eyes.

“Do you think I give a damn about what a warrant says?” He shouted into the man's face as he froze beneath the threat of the weapon.

The two officers hesitantly drew their weapons to back up the detective, but both knew that they were violating the warrant by using undue force. Daniel was relieved that they chose to back him up instead of pointing their guns at him, but he knew there would be serious consequences for his actions. Those consequences would be nothing compared to potentially losing Corinne to this man.

“You have three seconds to get her in front of me or I pull the trigger.” He cocked the gun and released the safety, and began to count in a clear firm voice.

“One,” Conner shuddered as the gun moved closer to his forehead. The two other officers glanced at each other as they wondered what to do. They could not let Daniel murder the man, and yet he was the senior officer, and they knew that he did not act irrationally.

“Two.” Daniel said through gritted teeth.

Conner nodded quickly. “Okay, okay, I'll get her, just put the gun down.”

Daniel shook his head. “Not until she is in front of me, you only have one number left, are you going to waste it playing games with me?”

“No!” Conner said desperately. He called out to the air in front of him, knowing that their activity was being monitored. “Bring Corinne!”

The elevator doors opened and Patrick led Corinne toward Daniel. Daniel did not move his eyes from Conner, nor did he lower his weapon.

“Corinne, go with the officers.” He said in a commanding tone. Corinne was shocked by the situation, but she could not simply go with the police officers. She knew that if she left now, she would never see Aaron or Lisa again.

“Daniel, Aaron and Lisa are being held against their will. I can't leave without them.”

Conner gasped at her words and glanced in her direction.

Daniel shoved his gun in Conner's face to get his attention. “Don't you even look at her.” He hissed as he pointed the gun first at Conner, then at Patrick. One of the officers moved forward and restrained and searched Patrick.

“Aaron and Lisa.” Daniel said sternly. “Release them, and we will leave. If I have to go find them, I will make sure every last detail of your research gets to the media.” He paused as Conner's face drained of all color. “Understand?”

Conner was able to do a lot of things, but compelling a bullet not to shatter his skull and kill him was not one of them. If he had been prepared for the invasion he could have prevented it, but he had been too distracted by what was happening with Aaron and Corinne to pay attention to his instincts.

“Fine.” He said shakily. “But you can only take them if they claim they are being held against their will.”

He summoned Aaron and Lisa, and the elevator doors opened a second time. This time Gavin was with them, holding one of their arms in each of his hands. Aaron looked wildly from Daniel and his weapon to Corinne, who tried to reassure him with a smile.

Lisa was terrified as she saw Conner held at gunpoint.

“What's happening?” She asked as panic rose within her.

“Just tell these officers that you are being held against your will, and we can all go home.” Corinne explained as calmly as she could.

Aaron glanced at Lisa who shook her head firmly. “No Aaron, don't.” She pleaded. Conner was all she had ever known and she was not ready to walk away from him.

“Lisa, he is only using us.” Aaron attempted to convince her.

Lisa was not one for emotions, but she found herself overwhelmed by fear.

“Be brave.” Aaron begged as he looked deeply into her eyes. “Just tell the truth.”

Lisa drew a long slow breath. Even just a day without Aaron had been torture for her. If she had to be away from him permanently, she did not think that she could survive it.

“Please,” Aaron said one more time. “Be brave for me.”

“Yes, I am being held against my will.” Lisa finally said.

Conner was so furious that he wished he could lash out at the two for betraying him in such a way. With a gun still pointed at his head he knew he had to control his temper. Gavin reluctantly released them; he did not want to end up in handcuffs as Patrick had.

When Lisa and Aaron joined Corinne they were led away by the other officers along with Patrick and Gavin for questioning, leaving Daniel and Conner alone in the barren hallway.

“Are you going to shoot me now?” Conner asked as he leaned his forehead forward against the barrel of the gun. “You might as well.”

Daniel slowly lowered his weapon. He glared fiercely at the man.

“This is over!” He growled. “Do not come near Corinne, Aaron or Lisa again.”

As Daniel began to back away, Conner was swept up into a maniacal laugh.

“No, it has just begun.” He promised Daniel as the man left the building.

Conner disappeared inside the elevator, and as he slumped against the wall of it, he could not stop the laughter that coursed through him.

Once outside in the sunlight Daniel could see Corinne, Aaron and Lisa gathered together. He was glad that he had finally been able to rescue Corinne, but he had no idea what to do with the two he had rescued along with her.

When he reached their side Corinne leaned up and kissed his cheek gently.

“My hero.” She murmured just beside his ear. Daniel narrowed his eyes as he looked down into hers, but he could not hide a smile of relief that she was safe.

“Maybe next time you'll listen to me?” He asked hopefully as the makeshift family piled into his car.

“Doubtful!” Corinne replied with a lopsided grin. “But you can always dream.”

Daniel sighed and shook his head as he slid into the driver's seat. Though he knew he should be happy, he could not shake a nagging sense of dread as Conner's words repeated in his mind.

“It has just begun.”

It took a week or two for Aaron and Lisa to get settled into Corinne's small apartment. Although Daniel offered, no one volunteered to stay at his house. When Aaron and Corinne were alone they spent a lot of time discussing their abilities. Corinne explained how her intuition had skyrocketed, and that each day brought a new skill that she did not understand.

Aaron detailed his experiences with his excessive strength and how it had taken quite a bit of practice and discipline to be able to accomplish everyday tasks without destroying things.

Lisa shied away from discussing her ability, but Aaron mentioned it frequently. Lisa had the ability to heal.

Late one evening the three were gathered together in Corinne's living room. Lisa was sprawled out across the floor with a notebook. Aaron was seated on a small ottoman, his elbows resting on his knees, and his dark emerald gaze focused on his twin sister. Corinne was stretched out on her couch, her head propped up with a pillow, her blonde curls spilling over her face as she continued their conversation.

“All I am saying is that if we have these skills, why should we have to hide them?” She still had not confided the truth to Daniel and she knew that it was putting a strain on their already tumultuous relationship.

Aaron clenched his jaw as he shook his head. “Corinne it is not like being a genius or something, if anyone finds out what we can do, we'll be studied. Ripped apart like lab rats.”

“No one rips apart lab rats.” Lisa pointed out indifferently. “They are carefully dissected and examined.”

Aaron rolled his eyes and shot a brief grimace of annoyance at Lisa. “Okay, well I don't know about you Lisa, but I am not interested in being dissected.”

Lisa's lips perked up at the corners, as if she found the thought rather interesting.

“It's important that we keep it a secret.” Aaron said sternly. “Only because it will alert everyone to our presence.”

Corinne nodded mildly but she remained conflicted. Her new abilities had certainly changed her life, and in many ways she saw them as a burden to carry. However, in the past she had never had any talent to speak of, no special skill that she admired within herself.

“I just don't think it's something to be ashamed of.” Corinne said in a whispered voice.

Aaron leaned forward, his expression hardened and his steady gaze sunk deeply into Corinne's. “Is that why you haven't told Daniel yet?” His words sent a shudder down Corinne's spine.

Her eyes closed swiftly and she could not muster a reply. The truth was, she was terrified of what Daniel would think, despite how much she had come to trust him. She could feel Aaron's gaze lingering on her, she knew that he was expecting a response. Instead she turned away from him before opening her eyes again. It seemed to her as if a part of her would always be forced to be alone, it was how she was brought into the world, and she assumed, it would be how she left it.

The backs of his eyelids were like movie theater screens as the images of losing Aaron and Lisa replayed over and over again. His chest tightened with fury as he slumped in his office chair and gazed through the darkness that surrounded him at the half-open door. He expected Aaron to poke his head inside at any moment, even though he knew he was gone.

He had made a grave mistake by seeking out Corinne. If he had only let her go, let the mystical quality of her existence fade from his mind, then he would never have lost the two most important research projects of his life. He had been greedy. He wanted Corinne to complete his collection. He had wanted to study her and finally satisfy his curiosity about how living unsheltered had impacted the skills she had been biologically engineered to have.

He lifted a small glass from his desk and swirled the potent liquid within it, before pressing the cool surface of it to his lips and drinking deeply of the intoxicating fluid. It burned his throat as he swallowed it, but it was a subtle reminder that he was indeed still alive.

All of this had started because of one woman. Not Corinne, no she was just an after affect of the original betrayal.

Bethany.

Bethany so young and innocent. Blonde and gorgeous, but without the sense to steer herself clear of the pitfalls in life. She had been so eager to help at first. She had worshiped Conner and the work that he did. She felt as if his research would singlehandedly change the lives of children suffering from genetic disease, and to her, she could think of nothing more important than that. When he asked of her, the ultimate sacrifice, she had not even thought twice about it.

“I am honored.” She had said with tears in her eyes. She had no idea that several other women were being honored as well, or what the true purpose of his request was. He had known for some time that Bethany was the perfect source to utilize. It was the only reason he had kept her close and subtly fed her obsession with him by offering her praise and affection that he did not truly feel.

When she became pregnant she willingly followed his instructions and attended all of the therapies and appointments he asked her to. She was the perfect host for the children he was creating. At least, she was until she discovered what was really happening behind the scenes.

She was full term and experiencing some unusual pains. She was alone in her apartment and was growing more and more uncomfortable. She could tell that something was terribly wrong. She tried calling Conner, but he did not answer. He had told her explicitly not to go to a hospital or any other doctor.

Alone and suffering, Bethany was afraid that if she did not take action soon she would not be capable of driving. She drove herself all the way to the clinic Conner was operating out of. It was late and she was not sure that he would even be there. She held her stomach as waves of pain passed through it, and limped toward the front door. She reached up to open it but before she could, it swung hard out at her. A red-faced woman was cursing over her shoulder as she left the building.

“You are a sick man!” She screamed at Conner as he hurried out after her. When the irate woman noticed Bethany with her pregnant belly, she focused her fury on her.

“How could you do this?!” She jabbed her finger toward Bethany's belly. “How could you let him harvest your children?”

Bethany was startled by the woman's words, but she was in too much pain to wonder what she meant.

“Quiet now, Alice.” He commanded as he signaled for the two men that followed him out of the building, to escort the angry woman to her car. As she was being led away, her legs buckled and she cradled her arm across her stomach as a wail of anguish poured forth from between her lips.

The two men had to adjust their grasp on Alice to keep her from falling, and literally dragged her toward her car.

“He is an evil man!” She screamed back over her shoulder as Conner tried to tend to Bethany.

“What's wrong?” He asked as he saw the pain in her expression.

The woman's wail had cut through the cloud of pain that had formed around Bethany's mind. It was as if the woman's scream was a secret primal language that all women shared when their young were threatened or harmed.

“What happened to her?” Bethany whispered as Conner forcefully led her inside. Bethany glanced back over her shoulder just in time to catch a final glimpse of Alice being pushed into the back seat of her car. Her wild eyes sought out Bethany's and the instant they found them they widened, revealing the sheer terror within.

“Are they going to hurt her?” Bethany asked nervously as Conner pushed the door closed behind her.

“No, no, of course not.” Conner said and offered her a charming smile. “They are going to get her the help that she needs.” He led Bethany to one of the exam rooms and helped her on to the table. As he examined her, the memory of Alice's eyes kept returning to Bethany's mind. Even as Conner reassured her that the babies were okay, and that the pain she was experiencing was simply the prelude to labor, she did not feel any better. For so long she had been so convinced by Conner's saint like persona. Charm could be faked, but the emotion shown in Alice's eyes could not.