Project: Killer (Project Series Book 1) (13 page)

Spots formed before my eyes as my legs started to grow weak. The dart they shot me with was starting to take effect. Stomping sounded behind us, and I knew it was too early to give up. We had to keep moving.

“We are almost free,” I called out to her, jogging from the building into a nearby bush. The place was surrounded by forest giving us one option. Turning around would send me back toward the building, and going straight would send me into the city where they expected me to go.

Maggie was weightless against my shoulder as I slipped her off for a moment, taking a second to breathe. I gripped her by the cheeks, bringing her face to my own.

“They got me with a dart. I have to get you somewhere safe before it takes me out.” She nodded at me in reply, her face covered in a mask of sweat, and she looked as if she were ready to vomit. I understood what she was feeling all too well.

Wrapping an arm around my waist, she steadied me. We hobbled to what I assumed was the east, but I was unsure. The dart they had gotten me with was certainly taking effect. My eyes started to drift closed, my steps off kilter.

“Killer,” she whispered into my ear. My eyes drifted closed again, and then popped open right away. There was a plane close by. Maybe the brotherhood had finally found us. Happiness radiated through me from the idea of getting Maggie to safety and everything being okay.

“Where are you going?” Maggie asked. I was following the sound of the plane, not allowing the one chance at escape to get away from us.

“We need to run.” I barely got the words out before I heard footsteps surrounding us. Energy filled the air like a dart leaving its chamber zipped through the air. My mind was disoriented, my movements sluggish, I could feel the prick as another dart of L1 pierced my skin. I turned around, pushing Maggie out of the way, ready to charge and attack whoever had followed us. Her body hit the ground hard, the breath pushing from her chest as I slammed my hand into her back.

“Surrender now, Killer.” It was the dickhead from earlier. He was here, outside the facility with us. Did he really think I would just fall to my knees and surrender? Especially with Maggie here. She was my one reason to get out of this.

“Not going to happen. Why don’t you surrender? Then I don’t have to break every bone in your fucking body,” I replied, full of anger.

But even as the rage coursed through me, I felt the double dose of the L1 surging through my bloodstream at a rapid pace. There was a dull ache forming in my body as I fought against the drugs to stay awake.

Must. Protect. Maggie.

I needed to do something and do something fast before the darkness pulled me under. I wouldn’t risk being taken back to that place again or worse, something happening to Maggie.

It was then I decided if I snapped his neck within the next five seconds, we could still make it to safety. Then my eyes landed on Maggie. Though my vision was blurring and everything surrounding me was becoming one big haze, I noticed she had gotten to her feet and was making her way toward him. In her hands was a large branch big enough to be used as a weapon but small enough for her to pick up. Not wanting to bring any attention to her, I engaged the dickhead. With his focus solely on me, she was able to walk right behind him without him even realizing it.

“You decide yet? If you want to live or die? Because if you walk away right now, then you live and if not, then… I will show you why they call me Killer.” Before I could get another word out, Maggie was raising the tree branch above her head and bringing it down at an angle, the branch hitting him right along the back of the neck.

Adoration filled my body with the courage Maggie had just shown. She had risked her life for me. I watched as his body hit the ground like a dead weight as Maggie continued to bring the tree branch down against his head. Blood splattered across her face and chest as she brought the branch down again and again. Pain, fear, and anger in every lash against the man’s body, a loud crack filled the air as the man’s head caved in. Yet, she refused to stop, her eyes filled with rage. There was eeriness in her eyes and the way her hands gripped the thick branch in her hands. Brain matter coated her just as the blood had, but she continued to strike him until her arms grew tired. I could see the tears in her eyes, the sadness filling her.

Guilt instantly seized me. I should have stopped her. I should have screamed her name and told her enough, but I didn’t.

Why?

I didn’t because it sparked something within me. Looking at her covered in a human’s blood lit a fire inside of me. I wanted to fuck her, push my hard cock into her while she squeezed me with her tight cunt. But more than that, I wanted her to unleash that same beast on me. I wanted her fingernails digging into my skin until I bled. I wanted her teeth marks all over me as she broke my skin. I wanted her, hard and fast. Dirty, defiled and deflowered.

This woman, the one who had just killed someone, was connected to the killer inside of me, just as Maggie and Diesel were connected. This woman was mine. My beast.

“Maggie. Let’s go.” My voice was gruff as I watched her drop the branch beside his lifeless body. She looked up at me slowly, and I could see something in her eyes. I could see the animal inside of her fighting to get out. She had reminded me of myself before I found her. Caged, afraid, uncertain of what was going to occur.

It was growing dark so there was a chance we could stay hidden until morning if we found a safe place as refuge through the night, but we needed to get going. Since they had already sent one man out, and he hadn’t returned, the corporation had to have other men out on foot searching the woods for not only him, but us as well.

Silence settled between us, a deep understanding of one another radiating between us. She walked over to me, gripping my hand in her bloodstained one and nodded. I can only imagine what she was feeling. The kind of fury coursing through her, the need for blood, for revenge, the all-consuming rage.

I didn’t get long to think on that though because, the next second, we were running through the woods. The air pushed against us, the coolness of the night air hitting my skin, caused a coldness to sweep through me.

Our feet beat against the wooded ground, large branches, and roots threatening to take us under as we ran. I could feel my body growing heavy, my eyes were closing, my legs unable to move another step. I was praying to God something would show up out of thin air. I scanned the wooded area, my eyes snagging on something red in the distance. I forced my eyes to open more, zoning in on what looked like a small cabin. It was hidden behind a mass of trees. A small piece of siding could be seen just barely. I gripped Maggie’s hand harder as we grew closer to the cabin. My mind and body were on high alert. At this point, anything good could be a trap. After all, this cabin seemed to come out of nowhere.

“I don’t know if we should go in there…” Maggie hesitated, fear written all over her face. I couldn’t blame her for being scared. I didn’t know if we would be able to fight off any more men. My body was about to give into the drugs, and she was about to be alone.

“Come on. I got you. Be strong.” I encouraged her, as I pushed the foliage away with my hand finding the wooden door to open it. With one small push against the wood, we were inside.

Agony filled my veins. I had fought against the drugs for too long, and now they were attacking my body. I fell to the floor weakly, my hands gripping my head as the pounding inside of it caused my brain to swell. I wanted to scream, but couldn’t. My throat was swelling, my mind escaping me.

“Killer…” I could hear Maggie scream. There wasn’t anything I could do though. I was useless. I was gone.

maggie

Panic gripped me.
Killer was lifeless on the floor, his body unmoving. No matter how many times I had screamed for him to come back to me, he didn’t.

“I can’t do this alone,” I cried out, my fists beating against his chest. Had I killed that man for nothing? Pain formed within my body. That wasn’t me. I wasn’t a murderer. Shame and hate for myself replaced my fears. What had I done?

My body ached as I heaved against the floor, my knees cracking hard against the wood. I had never wanted to cry so much in my life. Everything was a lie. I was on the verge of losing Killer, and I had killed someone. I took their life from them. Forced air from their lungs. This wasn’t me.

My gazed landed on my hands. Blood coated them.

No. I didn’t do it.

I rubbed my hands together trying to rid my skin of the man’s blood. Fear consumed me as I scrubbed harder. I could feel the shell that protected me crumbling to the ground. Who was this person who did this?

Pain ripped through my hands, but I couldn’t stop. I wanted the blood gone.

“Make it stop.” My voice was weak as I cradled my head in my hands. I squeezed my eyes closed, tension filling my body.

What’s wrong with me? I could feel something inside of me ripping. Something inside of me was clawing its way out, attempting to make itself known.

“STOP!!” I screamed, unable to hold the pain in anymore. My fingernails dug into my scalp wanting to rip the affliction from my body. My head began to throb, like a bolt of lightning something ram shacked its way through my skin. The blood, give me more. I need more.

“LEAVE ME ALONE, plea… please.” I cried out as I threw myself backward trying to resist the urge. My body hit the wooden floor of the cabin before bowing upward in an excruciating jerk. I squeezed my eyes tight as I was thrown into an alternative world full of memories that I had no recollection of…

“She’s sicker than we initially thought. They’re saying the tumor is inoperable.”

It can’t be. Memories flickered through my mind. Riding my bike for the first time. My first haircut, the first time my mother held me. Tears lingered within her eyes. Why was she crying?

“Margaret, do you want to do the surgery with the meds or do you just want her to die?” Was that my father’s voice?

The pain had to be causing hallucinations. There was no way any of these things were true.

“You’re different, Maggie. But with that difference will come the ability to do great things for others. You were made to do good. You’re an angel. My angel.” I could feel my mother’s words in my hair, her breath upon my face.

“It’s a lie.” My voice echoed inside my head. My throat throbbed from my raw screams, my insides churned, and I could feel the vomit rising in my stomach.

“Hang on, my sweet Maggie. Hang on.” I could feel the prick of a needle enter my skin.

It’s not real. It’s not real.

My nails dug into my skin as blood seeped from the wounds.

“Because she is sick, the L1 will fight off the cancer in her blood, but, as a result, it will also alter her cells. This is a special dose of L1 made specifically for her type of cancer. Once her body has accepted the medicine, the changes will begin. After Stage 3 of her change, we will wipe her memory of her ever being sick and being administered this drug… but, in return, we need something from you.” I could hear the cold tone evident in his voice as he strapped me down to a small hospital bed.

“Anything. Anything. Just make my baby better.” My mother’s voice shook with every word.

“When she hits adulthood, and her cells hit a certain percentage of development, you need to bring her back here. Maggie is the chosen one. She will remove any threats without a second thought. She will kill in order to protect. Without the proper training, she could be a danger to society, her friends and family, even herself.”

“What does that make her? Is she ever going to be normal? Will she lead a normal life?” I could hear the panic rising in my mother’s voice.

“It makes her a member of the project society. It makes her a killer. When the time comes, she will no longer be your child. She will be trained to be an outlaw, a scoundrel. Logged as experiment 0001 and known as Project: Rogue.”

To be continued….

in PROJECT: Rogue

The Project Series – Book 2

~~~

ALSO COMING SOON

INJUSTICE

A Kingpin Love Affair – Book 4

Continue reading for a

Sneak Peek of
Injustice

Prologue

The floor was
cold beneath my hands. A blind fold covered my eyes, never allowing a sliver of light to break through. Oh, how I craved light, sun, warmth. I could hear someone next to me sobbing quietly. I had been just like her mere weeks ago. Now I was nothing but the shell of a person. Beaten, battered, and betrayed by my own family. Sold into the sex ring.

I knew what would come of me—nothing. I would be used for everything they could use me for, and then, when the time came, they would discard me like yesterday’s trash.

“Tony says we need to move them the fuck out.” A man’s voice I knew all too well echoed through the room. I had no idea where we were, what was going on, or who it was that had me. I had been drugged, blindfolded, and forced to sit bound this entire time. I had come to terms with the life I would be given.

“All right, man. You take the left side, I’ll take the right side.” A shudder worked its way through my body. I wasn’t ready to be touched. I never would be. Maybe they would consider me crazy and just kill me outright.

“Let’s go, princess.” There was a tug on my arm that forced me to stand. My muscles protested, and my body threatened to collapse to the floor. When was the last time I had eaten something? Drank water? I could feel my mind closing in on itself.

The hand on my arm tightened in warning. Pain was about to come. “I said to fucking move.” Rancid breath encompassed my senses as I felt him right next to my ear. Forcing myself to stand and walk, I followed behind him as he tugged me along. I could hear others moving around and wondered how many of us there truly were? What were they going to do with us?

“Now, you’re going to go through this door and be a good little girl. No kicking, punching, screaming, or trying to escape. Do you understand me?” His voice promised horrible things, and I knew if I tried to escape, I wouldn’t like what would happen.

I nodded my head, unable to answer him because of the gag in my mouth. I could feel tears sliding down my face but felt no emotion. Was there a way to shut it off? To make all the hurt go away?

With a shove, I  was pushed through a door, my feet catching on what I assumed to be the door jam. I stood there unmoving for no more than a second before I marched forward. I wasn’t sure where I was, or what was happening. I felt as if I were floating through time, waiting for my moment to come.

“Over here, princess,” one of them whispered. I hated that they called me princess—or anything for that matter. My steps flauntered, as I tried to figure out where the voice came from.

“Two men coming in from the right stairwell,” one of the men whispered. I could barely hear him and suddenly wondered if this was some sick, twisted game, if someone else was going to come and take us.

“Get over here, princess.” I could hear the aggravated anger in his voice. I stood there frozen in time as I heard a door being kicking in. I wondered where the man who had pushed me through the door had gone. Why wasn’t he leading me to where I was supposed to go.

“You cannot let them find her, Xavier,” someone said. I floundered around. Blackness was all that surrounded me. I could hear voices… My mind was moving a million miles a minute.

“Princess, get over here, or I’ll be forced to put a bullet in your head.” I swiveled around in the darkness, trying to figure out where they were. Unable to answer them, I could hear the barrel of the gun loading.

“She’s valuable goods, X.” A muffled cry sounded off in the distance. If I were being honest, I would say I wanted whomever it was coming to find me. Maybe those other people were the lesser of two evils.

“I got this, man. Boss will just have to deal with it.” I heard the bullet before I felt it. Pain seared through my body as a burning radiated through my arm.

“You missed, fucker.” A voice sounded in my mind but nothing mattered but the pain. My body fell to the floor limply. Was I going to die? After all I had fought for, was this going to be the end of it?

“FBI. Come out with your hands up.” FBI? I wanted to scream out, to tell them I was here, but I couldn’t. Between the pain in my arm and the gag in my mouth, I couldn’t form words if I wanted to...

Feet shuffled across the floor. I was on the verge of passing out. The smell of iron filled the air. Was I going to die? Inside, I was screaming… begging and pleading for someone to save me.

“It’s okay…” I heard someone against my ear say. In an instant, the gag was being untied and the bag removed from my face. Bright lights flooded my eyes, and then darkness took over.

I was safe. I was being taken somewhere. I would be okay. I had to be. Right?