Erased (16 page)

“So, where should we start?” Uncle Will asked.

“Start with telling me what the hell is going on. Do you work for the Branch?”

Dani sat on the edge of the desk and stretched her legs out in front of her. “You might as well tell her, Uncle Will.”

Will gave Dani a look that I couldn’t see. When he turned again, to me, his expression was impassive. “I don’t
work
for the Branch. I created it.”

I let my arms drop to my sides. “You what?”

“Which makes us princesses of the castle,” Dani said, but she almost sounded sad, more like she thought it a curse than anything else.

My ears rung with the words. How could my own family have
created this nightmare? How could Riley and Connor not be the worst of it?

“But your men have shot at me. I’ve almost died multiple times.”

Will held up his hand. “Your life was never in danger. I made sure my men knew that. And if I hear otherwise, those agents will be dealt with accordingly.”

I shook my head. “I can’t be a part of this place. I care about the boys. And I want to be left alone.”

Will shook his head. “I can’t allow that. I’m sorry.”

“I made a deal,” Dani said. She rose to her feet and came over to me. Her eyes were watery. I held my breath as I waited to hear what deal she’d made. “Everything I do, everything I’ve always done, is for you.” She pressed her lips together, inhaled through her nose, her shoulders rising an inch, like she was bracing herself for my reaction. “You and me, our freedom, in exchange for the boys.”

Dread scuttled down my spine and a hollow pit opened in my gut. “No.” I shook my head. “No.”

She tilted her head aside. “I’ve already made the deal, bird.”

My teeth ground together and I tightened my hands into fists. “We still have the files Sam took years ago, with the kill sheets and the lab logs and—”

Will cut me off. “I know, which is why you’re here.”

“What do you—” Realization swept in. They were going to use me as a bargaining chip against Sam, to make him give up the files.

And he might just do it.

But there was no way Will was going to let the boys and me go. Our freedom wasn’t a price he was willing to pay in exchange for the files.

I turned to Dani. “I’ll never forgive you for this. I won’t.” My hands tightened into fists. “I will hunt you down until you are dead, and you’ll stay dead this time.”

The door burst open behind me. An agent marched in, a rifle slung over his back. Behind him was a second man, a face I knew. Greg.

“Greg,” I said, hesitating. “It’s Anna. Are you…” I wanted to say,
Are you in there?
But that seemed a silly thing to say.

“Don’t bother,” Dani said. “He’s been activated, and he’ll stay that way until he’s fulfilled his mission.”

I licked my lips. “Which is?”

“To kill Sam, Nick, and Cas,” Will answered as he opened an unmarked door in the far wall. “Call me when they arrive,” he said.

Greg and the other agent hooked their arms beneath mine and hauled me off my feet. I kicked, flailed. “No! Greg! Please listen to me.”

“This will all be over soon,” Dani promised. She sniffed, wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “By this time tomorrow, you won’t remember a thing. It’ll be like we’ve never even been separated.”

The two men carried me out the door. I kicked the agent on my left, then Greg on my right, but I couldn’t get enough momentum to do any damage.

We went down a hallway where I was eventually tossed into a tiny room. The door was shut and a lock slid into place. I pounded on it for as long as I could, until I was exhausted and my hands were numb.

I slumped on the bed shoved into the corner and cried until I fell asleep.

I WAS NUDGED AWAKE SOME TIME
later. Still groggy, eyes heavy, I had a hard time seeing who it was at first. I sat up. Scrubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked again.

Riley.

“Morning,” he said. “We have a job for you.” He waved his fingers, and two new agents came into the room.

“What kind of job?” I asked.

No one answered.

I was dragged from my room. Riley led us down the hallway. I hadn’t eaten in what felt like forever, which left me too exhausted to fight. And judging by the thickness of my tongue, the dryness of my mouth, I was bordering on dehydration.

After several more twists and turns, Riley finally stopped at a
steel door, unlocked it with a key card, and let it swing open. The room was gray brick, the floor the same. There was one metal folding chair in the center.

The agents dragged me inside, and it wasn’t until I was past the door that I realized the room wasn’t empty.

Sam was chained to the ceiling at the far end, his arms held above his head, shackles tight around his wrists. When he saw me, the chains rattled as every muscle in his body tensed. He was shirtless, barefoot, in nothing but black pants.

Bruises peppered his torso, his arms, his face. A gash on his cheek was crusted over with blood.

They were going to torture him in front of me, weren’t they? Get me to give up the files. Or maybe the flash drive.

I was worried it would work, too. I was worried I wouldn’t put up a fight at all and Sam would know how much of a coward I was.

The agents pushed me into the metal folding chair. My hands were cuffed behind the back, my legs tied to the chair’s legs. The whole time, I didn’t take my eyes off Sam and he didn’t take his eyes off me.

We could get through this. Couldn’t we?

I’m sorry
, I mouthed.

This was my fault.

Because I’d doubted him.

Because I’d believed all the wrong things and all the wrong people.

I tried to prepare myself for whatever was about to happen. Tried telling myself Sam was strong, that he could get through a lot of pain, that he wouldn’t want me to give in so easily.

I can do this
, I thought.

And that’s when the first blow came.

It was a straight shot of a tightened fist aimed expertly at my jaw.

My chair teetered back on its legs. My teeth slammed together and the pain throbbed down to the roots, through my bones.

It wasn’t Sam they were torturing. It was me.

Another blow to the ribs. Another to the stomach. Something cracked. Chains rattled. I couldn’t see straight. Blood filled my mouth.

A boot to the head. My chair tipped over sideways, and my swollen cheek pressed against the ice-cold concrete floor.

“Stop!” Sam said. His chains rattled again. “Please.”

“I need the location of the files,” Riley said. “Every single copy. Any preplanned media spread, I want details on those, too.”

Sam didn’t say anything at first. My chair was righted. I blinked back the tears in my eyes and managed to see Sam’s face through the grimy haze.

Don’t do it
, I thought.

An arm snaked around my neck. A blade was pressed into my throat.

“Come on, Sam,” Riley said, “or she bleeds out in front of you.”

I didn’t think they’d do it. Did Sam know that my uncle was the one who ran the Branch? Riley wouldn’t kill me, would he?

The blade cut into my skin, slowly, carefully.

I cried out. A trail of blood ran down my neck.

“Okay.” Sam struggled against his cuffs. His teeth were clenched so tight, I worried they’d break. “I’ll give you whatever you want.”

“Good,” Riley said behind me. “Good.”

And then I was dragged from the room.

I passed out not long after I left Sam and woke sometime later with a cold rag on my face. I shrank away when I saw it was Dani who was cleaning my wounds. “Hey,” she said. “You’re okay. I’m just cleaning you up.”

I was back in my little cell, lying flat on my bed. “I’m sorry,” Dani said.

“Don’t touch me.” I slapped her hand away.

She frowned. “It wasn’t my idea, torturing you. Riley is… well… you know how Riley is.”

Everything hurt. My head was pounding. My teeth felt crooked, as if they’d been smashed together with that kick to the face. There was something wet sliding down my nose. Dani wiped it away, and the rag came back covered in blood.

“Nothing is broken,” she said. “I had you checked.”

“Wow. Thanks for that.”

She sighed. “I really am sorry.”

“You keep saying that.”

“And it’ll never be enough.”

“I want Sam,” I said, my voice cracking, revealing all the fear I was trying to keep locked away. Was he dead already? Had Riley let Greg finish his mission?

Dani reached over and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “You can’t have him, bird.”

The door opened again and Dani stepped back. Greg and his partner tugged me off the bed.

“Careful with her,” Dani warned.

This time, I didn’t fight.

I was taken to a different room where two white-coated technicians readied an array of machines. Wires and electrodes were splayed out on two stainless steel trays, and I was thrust into the cushy leather chair in the middle of them. Greg tightened a strap around my upper body, locking me in place. He wasn’t acknowledging me, or speaking at all, so that gave me some hope. He hadn’t completed his mission yet, otherwise he would be back to normal.

A technician shoved a rubber guard into my mouth.

Dani came over and nudged my chin up with her index finger, forcing me to look at her. “It’ll be over soon.” She leaned in, her hair swinging off her shoulders. “I love you,” she whispered, then kissed my forehead, just as I wound my fingers in her hair and gave it a hard tug.

CAUGHT OFF GUARD, DANI DIDN’T FIGHT
back right away.

I bucked up, slamming a knee into her head. Once, twice. She staggered. The technicians pressed themselves into the corner. The other agent started for me. I lashed out at the last second, tripping him with a foot. He pitched forward into my lap, and I snagged the knife from his gear belt.

Dani punched me. The chair rocked to the side.

It wasn’t bolted down.

She punched me again, and I aided the momentum, pushing with my feet so that I rocked to the right and tipped over.

“Sedate her,” she said, and the technicians sprang to life.

I sawed at the strap on my right arm, the one hidden from view.

I could hear the shuffle of the agent’s boots, but couldn’t see him yet around the base of the chair.

Hurry. Damn it.

I nicked myself with the knife, and sharp pain burned from the wound.

The agent wrapped his hands around my arm and lifted me upright just as the strap frayed on its last threads and finally came loose. I swung with everything I had and landed a solid punch to the man’s face. He fell back and whacked his head on the metal base of a medical machine.

Greg came for me next. I dug the toes of my boots into the floor and thrust forward with the knife, stabbing him in the chest.

The blond technician gasped and scrambled for the door, her coworker right behind.

Greg dropped at my feet.

Dani and I stared at each other.

“What do you plan to do, Anna?” she asked. “Kill me? You won’t make it out of here, not without help. And then what? Rescue the boys? They’re just boys!” She edged closer. “We are
blood
. Sisters.”

“I don’t even know you!” I shouted.

She shrank back. The look on her face, of pure heart-wrenching sadness, softened my resolve.

To her, I was the little sister who needed to be saved. A child, still. Someone bargained for, not
with
.

But to me, she was just a stranger, and I suspected that hurt worse than any physical blow.

She gritted her teeth. “I can’t lose you again. I just can’t.” She pulled a gun from beneath her sweater and pointed it at me. “Drop the knife.”

I stalled to weigh my options.

“Drop the knife!”

I did. It clattered on the floor.

Dani eased toward me. “If there were a way for me to make you remember,” she started, “I’d do it. It would be so much easier. Trust me. You would see…”

“What?” I raised my arms, annoyed. “What would I see?”

“That our parents were shitty parents. That
I
was the one who took care of you. That everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you!”

“Like give away the boys? I don’t want that. They deserve their freedom more than any of us.”

She laughed. “Oh, because Sam is so innocent?”

“He didn’t kill our parents, did he? For all I know, you were the one who killed them.”

“No.” She shook her head for emphasis. “We lied to protect you.”

I snorted. “I’m sure.”

“I lied about something else, too. I
was
there that night, the night our parents died.”

I tilted my head, caught off guard. “You were?”

“But I wasn’t the one who killed our parents. It was you.”

I FROWNED. “YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE
that? I was just a kid. I loved them.”

“You’ve been having flashbacks, haven’t you? To that night? Sam said you were. And your flashbacks have been more debilitating than Nick’s and Cas’s, haven’t they? More severe? It’s because you’ve gone through more memory alterations than the others.”

I faltered. “You mean, at the farmhouse?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Before then. When you were younger.”

I snorted. “You’re trying to tell me our parents didn’t notice their daughter coming home with no memories?”

“The Branch had just developed the ability to wipe memories and
plant whatever they wanted in the voids. You were the first to receive them. And more than once.”

A lump wedged itself in the center of my throat, and no amount of swallowing seemed to dislodge it. Because I worried she was telling the truth.

“Why would they do that?” I asked.

“I think you already know the answer.”

The flashback I’d had a few days ago came back to me. In it, Dani had asked if our dad had hit me. She’d instantly gone on alert.

He hadn’t, though. Had he? I’d said no.

But even if he had, that didn’t explain why I would have killed him and our mother.

“I don’t believe you,” I said.

“I didn’t expect you would.”

Someone grabbed me from behind. Two hands on my left arm. Two hands on my right. The lab techs. They swung me around, dragging me toward the chair. I wrenched my right arm out of the woman’s grip and socked her with my elbow. Blood spurted out her nose, and she slammed into the wall.

The man was harder to slip. Once he saw his partner go down, he tightened his hold, bracing his feet. So I punched him in the face and followed it with an elbow to the same spot. His eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the ground.

I scooped up the knife and turned just in time to see the stainless
steel medical tray whack me across the head. I stumbled. The coppery taste of blood ran down my throat.

Dani swung the tray again, but I ducked and thrust upward with the knife. Dani collapsed in my arms. I stumbled back from her weight.

She coughed, and her lips came away red. “Bird,” she said, “it wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

I’d kept it together this whole time. Kept the tears down. The emotion locked in a place I didn’t want to touch. But it all came pouring out at once.

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean…” I sputtered.

Dani’s legs buckled, and I eased her to the floor. The knife was lodged somewhere between her sternum and stomach. Her sweater was heavy and wet with blood.

“I’m sorry,” I said, pushing the hair from her face. “I’ll get someone. Someone can help you.”

She wrapped her tiny hand around my wrist. “No.” Her breath scraped down her throat. It sounded alien, unnatural. “You’re all I have left.…” Tears streamed down her face. “I’ve lived my entire life trying to protect you.” She laughed, and it quickly turned into long, racking coughs. “You clearly don’t need me anymore.”

I took her face in my hands and forced her to look at me. Her eyes lost focus. It was like she was looking straight through me.

“We can fix this. Tell me where the boys are. Where would they take them?”

She shook her head.

“Please.” Desperate, I threw in one more promise. “We can run together. All of us.”

“Even Nick?” She smiled. “I made you that same promise once, and that’s what you asked for. You asked for him to come with us.”

She shuddered. “There was always something about him. You should know that. That’s why you did it, I think. To protect him.” She laughed, but there was no humor in her tone. “The first time you went through a memory alteration, I got called away at the last second, and Nick was there when you woke. He was always there, every time after that.”

“Dani, please—”

“You know how they say a baby bird shouldn’t be handled by humans too soon after birth for fear of the bird becoming attached to the human?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of that.”

“I always told Sam that’s what happened with you and Nick. The first time your memories were tampered with, it was like you were reborn, and Nick was the first person you saw. Sam thought I was crazy, but…” She closed her eyes and several tears ran down her cheeks. “I should have been there when you woke up. I never should
have left you alone with Mom and Dad to begin with. I should have been with you every second of every single day.”

I grabbed her shoulders. “None of that matters to me now. Just tell me where the boys are. Please?”

She opened her eyes and finally looked at me. “I can’t. Uncle Will won’t come after you if he has the boys. You should go. But there is…”

The tendons in her neck went rigid as she struggled for another breath.

I shook her. “Dani?”

Nothing. No response. Her eyes were vacant, unblinking, and the room took on an eerie stillness.

“Dani!” She was limp weight in my hands, and her head flopped to the side.

“Where are they?” I screamed.

Only the echo of my voice bouncing off the walls answered back.

I shakily rose to my feet. One of the techs stirred.

I had to get out of here before they woke up. I was exhausted and bruised and broken. I didn’t know how much fight I had left in me.

Probably not enough.

I spied the agent’s gun on the floor near his body. I scooped it up, checked the clip.

I had just started for the door when it burst open and agents flooded the room.

Suddenly I was surrounded, with a dozen guns trained on me.

“Put the gun on the floor,” Riley said from the center of the pack. I eased the gun down. “Thank you,” he said. “Now shoot her.”

Someone pulled the trigger, and a dart hit me in the chest. I had only enough time to think I was totally screwed before a woozy feeling swept over me and my legs gave out.