Haunted (State v. Sefore) (15 page)

Chapter Eighteen

P
anic crawled up
Maddison’s throat. “Noah!” She tapped his shoulders with the heels of her hands.

Nothing. He had to be all right. He just had to be. She scanned his face for eye movement underneath his closed lids. For facial twitches. For any sign of life.

“Wake up, Noah, please.” She leaned over to listen for breath and take a pulse. Relief flooded her when she found both.

“Maddison?” His breath floated across her cheek.

She shot up and grabbed one of his hands in her own. His beautiful eyes blinked open, shut, open and took a moment to focus.

“Are you okay?”
Really? That’s what you ask him? Idiot.

His eyes locked on hers, and his grip tightened. “What are you doing here?”

“Later. Anything broken?” She looked him over once more. He did not seem placated. She didn’t care. “Any floaters in your vision? Do you have feeling in your extremities?”

“I’ll live.”

Relief filled every pore. She wanted to laugh, cry, and, most of all, kiss him.

So she did.

When she leaned back a moment later, his free hand touched her cheek before brushing her hair behind her ear. The surprise and joy in his eyes made her want to dip down again, but he needed to be checked out.

“You didn’t answer my question.” His fingers trailed along her jaw.

“Can you sit up?”

He rolled his eyes but complied. Putting one hand on the ground to brace himself, he sat up with a pained groan. She shifted to put an arm around his back for support and waited for his breathing to settle back into a normal rhythm. “Do you think you can stand and walk? Or do you want me to have them bring one of the gurneys?”

His gaze flew to hers; something determined and fearful lay in his eyes. “I’m walking to my car.”

“You were knocked unconscious.” The instinctual response came out sounding hysterical, so she cleared her throat. “Which we can talk about later, because I’m not buying your ‘Daniel isn’t a threat to me’ philosophy at the moment. You need to be examined. No more male stubbornness.”

“I’m not being stubborn.” He scanned the surroundings, including the remaining onlookers who hadn’t moved a step. “They’ll want to do an MRI. The results would be problematic.” His eyes drilled into hers.

“Because of who you are?” she whispered. How would an x-ray highlight the differences between a liquidator and a CNA?

He nodded.

She added this question to the list she would ask later and took a deep breath. Refusing treatment really wasn’t in his best interest. “You could have internal injuries. Please let someone look at you.”

“I’ll be fine if you help me to my car. I promise.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.” Standing, she held out her hands to help him up. He ignored them, pushing off the ground with both hands. He swayed, and she stepped over, sliding an arm around his waist.

He squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”

“You’re sure you can make it across the lot? I could bring the car over.”

He shook his head. “You’re not in the system. I can make it, I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” The words slipped out of her mouth, catching her off guard, but she didn’t regret voicing them.

He smiled, catching the openness in her tone. “You do that.”

They shuffled their way forward, the silent crowd parting for them. She wanted to shout at them to go away. The gaping onlookers. Wanting to take in the drama of watching one man beat another to death. Even now, they kept their places. Like someone had scripted this 3-D event for their entertainment. She glared at them all, forcing each one to break her gaze in embarrassment.

Noah squeezed her arm, his face still pale and strained. “Don’t be too hard on them. Most of them are in shock.”

“Shut up.”

He chuckled but didn’t say anything else. That laugh released a little tension in her spine. The rushing adrenaline of the last twenty minutes began to drain away, leaving an exhausted numbness in its place. The image of him striding into the crowd remained imprinted on her brain.

The little voice inside her shouted the obvious differences between him and Daniel, between him and any other liquidator she’d met. Noah didn’t fit the stereotype—he turned it inside out. She let the knowledge fill every part of her and embraced it.

When they reached the car, she led him around to the passenger side, waiting while he deactivated the locks. She opened the door and helped him ease down into the seat. He slid the seat back as far as it would go and swung his legs in, sweat running down his brow. She ran around the car, settling herself in the driver’s seat as he opened the glove compartment.

“Would you close your door?” He pulled a small case from underneath the owner’s manual.

She complied. “What’s in the box?”

“The reason I don’t have to be checked out.” He deactivated the lock on the case as well and opened the lid to reveal a large syringe, several vials of clear liquid, and packets of alcohol swabs.

She cocked an eyebrow. “So it’s a magical healing potion, is it?”

“Something like that.” He lifted up his shirt and cleaned a small area on his abdomen. With precision, he slid one of the vials into the syringe then passed off the case with his free hand. He plunged the syringe into the disinfected area and emptied it. Inhaling a long breath, he pulled it out and looked over at her. “How much do you know about the physical enhancement program?”

She stared at him. “Only the rumors.”

“They probably aren’t rumors. We’re chosen for being smart and strong, the top tenth of a percentile in both physical ability and mental processing, but to further the propaganda and maintain control, candidates undergo a steroid and DNA-based regimen. It’s designed to heighten abilities and enhance strength to the cellular level. We are stronger and faster than anyone else. Our senses are perfected as well.”

Memories flashed through her. “That’s how you took John Henderson down so quickly. And your ability to balance all those dishes while clearing the table. I’ve been so jealous of that.”

He chuckled.

“What else?”

His eyes lit with boyish excitement. “I can pinpoint your vanilla perfume from thirty feet away and lift two hundred fifty pounds without breaking a sweat.”

Two hundred and fifty pounds? Her hearing must be malfunctioning. “Serious?”

He nodded.

“Well, I’m drafting you to carry the Christmas boxes down from the attic then.” Again, the words escaped without being checked, and she opened her mouth to correct them. Shut it. She did want him, alive and well, to be a part of Christmas this year. Why deny it?

“You’re taking this well. You name the day, and I’ll move anything you want me to.”

Reaching over to take his hand in hers, she returned his smile. “The thirteenth. Jakob’s birthday is the twelfth, and we’ve always waited until the day after to put up the tree, decorations, and stuff. That falls on Friday this year.”

“Done,” he said with a nod. The color returned to his face as they spoke, the sweat gone from his forehead.

“So.” She tapped their hands on the box still sitting in her lap. “What does your super strength have to do with this?”

“It’s an experimental regenerative drug. It boosts the immune system and speeds tissue repair.”

Her mouth gaped open; she stared down at the closed box. “It
is
a healing serum.”

“It speeds the natural process up. I’ll still be bruised and sore but not for as long.” Noah sat up in his seat, stretched, and twisted, wincing for a millisecond. “It helps he didn’t break any bones.”

He couldn’t be serious. “You say that like he did you a favor. He still knocked you unconscious. I thought you said he wasn’t a physical threat.”

“He wasn’t … isn’t, I’m not sure.” He frowned. His forehead creased. “Can we talk about this somewhere else? I don’t want any company.”

She looked in the rearview. A couple of stragglers still stood at the corner between the employee lot and the ER entrance. “We’ll go to my house. Jakob’s there, but Taylor’s working today.” She adjusted the seat and mirrors so she could see. “Okay?”

“Perfect. That’ll give you and Jakob the chance to ask whatever you want.” He leaned his head against the headrest and closed his eyes. “It’ll be nice to be honest with someone besides Daniel for once.”

He sounded worn down, discouraged. It must be exhausting to have to keep parts of yourself secret. To carry that burden. An image of Josh’s blistered flesh flashed through her mind. The Elite wrecked more than she’d known.

“We’re still going to talk about how you got involved.”

She rolled her eyes. “When we get to the house. Wanna start the car?”

*

Jakob pointed a thumb toward the kitchen. “You sure you don’t want an ice pack for your jaw?”

Noah shook his head. Pain exploded and radiated down his neck.
Don’t cringe
. He took a deep breath. “Couldn’t talk with it.” He shifted on the couch, one hand against his ribs while the other readjusted the pillow he leaned against.

From her spot beside him on the couch, Maddison raised an eyebrow. “You could use it and some rest. You’ve already lectured me on getting involved. We can talk about Daniel later.”

“I wouldn’t rest, just lie here and try to figure out Daniel’s motivation. I might as well talk it out with you guys.” His initial surprise and anger at Daniel swinging him into the wall had receded. Leaving in its wake a nagging concern. What didn’t he know? Why the sudden shift in Daniel’s boundaries? “Something else has to be going on. Something I haven’t pieced together yet.”

“What do you mean?” Jakob leaned forward in his chair.

“It doesn’t make sense. He loves to make my life miserable, but he’s never done more than throw a punch at me. I mean, we fought growing up and he’d overpower me, put me in my place.” He tapped a finger on his leg. “But not this, and he’s never physically fought me over a punishment before.” He wanted to stand and pace, but even the thought exhausted him.

“Do you think it’s because you provoked him in front of so many people? That he just lost it?” Jakob asked.

Noah ran a hand over his face. “No, he was in complete control.”

“Which makes it worse.” Maddison’s face bloomed with color.

“No, he aimed like he wanted to cause minimal damage. And he was moving slower than normal as well, we both were.”

“This is minimal damage?” She crossed her arms across her chest.

“He could have killed me. He’s been taught all of the ways to do it, in three moves or less. I’m just as strong, but he knew I didn’t consider him a lethal threat and that I couldn’t use my enhanced senses. If he’d wanted to cause permanent damage, he would’ve.”

So, why? Was it payback for his loyalty to Maddison? That didn’t seem right, but what other reason would Daniel have for provoking a fight with him?

“That’s more than necessary,” Maddison said. “I know he’s your brother, but I think you need to start considering he’s lethal, even to you.”

“There’s something else. I know it.”

Jakob clapped his hands together and swiveled to lock eyes with Noah. “Does he know the specifics of your mission? Could this be related somehow?”

“Maybe? But I don’t know how.”

“What exactly is your mission?”

Telling them meant sharing his deadline, something he didn’t want anyone to know, but he’d promised not to lie. He stared over at the vidwall’s right hand corner, making sure they’d disconnected it, for the fifth time.

“Coastal South East has a resistance, a volatile one, that got the attention of the Council. It started out with computer hacks and some vandalism, but they’ve escalated. They bombed their last target. I was sent in to find and infiltrate them before February seventeenth.”

“They’ve hurt people?”

“What happens February seventeenth?” Jakob’s question overlapped with Maddison’s disbelieving one.

Noah gave Maddison his full attention. “Yes. I’ve seen the reports.”

She shook her head, trying to come to grips with the idea he guessed. “What happens in February?” Her repetition was a whisper.

Deep breath. “RL McCray wants me to liquidate everyone involved or he’ll liquidate me.”

“What?!” Jakob shot to his feet.

“Noah!”

“Well, I’m not going to do it.”

Maddison grabbed his hand. “No. I … know. But you can’t …”

Jakob paced. “So what is your plan then?” The tension in the room was palpable.

“I knew my days were numbered even before this.” He squeezed Maddison’s hand. “They haven’t been happy with my approach from day one. The mission only gave me an exact date to plan for. If I’d outright refused, McCray would’ve initiated plan B. It would’ve been a blood bath.” Recognizable dead bodies piled up in his head. He pushed the thought away. Not helpful. “So I’ve been working to clear as many people as possible. I might not be able to save everyone, but I can make sure no one innocent gets liquidated.”

Jakob stopped pacing. “And you?”

He met the teenager’s gaze straight on. “McCray was very clear, Jakob.”

Maddison tugged on his hand. Hard. “Noah.”

He huffed. “I don’t want to die, okay? But the only way McCray is going to let me live is if I liquidate everyone involved with the resistance. And I’m not, I won’t do that.”

Their faces fell. Jakob sank back into his chair.

Maddison twirled a strand of hair, pulled it tight. “Think outside the box. Not probable, but possible. Just for a minute.”

He sighed. “I’ve done all this. Over and over again.”

Her gaze hardened. “What’s the most likely scenario that includes you being alive on February eighteenth?”

“If,” he stressed the word. “I could find them, I might be able to punish and scare the lower ranks into giving up and keeping quiet. I’d have to build an airtight case proving to the Council and McCray that the people who built the bombs and started the fire were the only ones involved. If I could do that, they might let me live.”

Maddison’s face lit up.

“But.”

The light went out.

“I’d have to liquidate the people I took to McCray. I don’t know that …”