Razor's Edge (22 page)

Remembering the ibuprofen he'd asked for at the front desk, he dug the packet out of his pocket and set it on her bedside table.

The water turned off. He checked his e-mail on his phone, trying not to think of her naked, rubbing lotion into her skin or doing whatever it was she did to make herself so soft.

Karen had sent him pictures from Millie's party. The little moppet was grinning, her mouth covered in blue frosting from her first birthday cake.

He wished like hell that his little brother and father had been there to see the family's newest addition turn one.

Tanner tried to swallow back his grief, but sometimes it was harder than others. He should have been there in Brody's place. Not that he could ever take the place of a real father in Millie's life, but he'd sincerely intended to be the best uncle any kid had ever had.

And yet he'd missed the big day.

Maybe Reid was right. Maybe he never would be able to balance his work and his family. It had been easy when he'd been in the army. He was either at home, one hundred percent invested in being with his family, or he was at work, one hundred percent focused on the job. Splitting his attention was something he'd never done before. What if he couldn't?

Roxanne came out of the bathroom, a cloud of steam trailing behind her. She was dressed in a sloppy T-shirt that fell to midthigh. He couldn't tell if she had shorts on under that shirt, and he wasn't sure which option to root for.

She'd dried her hair and wore it in two low pigtails, which he found adorable. Her skin was rosy from the hot water, and without her makeup and fancy clothes, she looked vulnerable.

Tanner found himself heading toward her before he thought better of it. He stopped in his tracks. If he touched her again, he might forget his good intentions.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “There's some ibuprofen for you if you want it. Or I could run to get you something else.”

“Thanks, that's perfect.”

“You should try to get some sleep.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I saw a vending machine at the corner. I'm going to get something to eat. Want anything?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I think I've risked my life enough tonight. But I wouldn't mind some water.”

He nodded and left the room. The night air was warm. Bugs swarmed around the lights leading down the building. He stopped and listened, but he heard nothing more than the songs of crickets and the hum of the vending machines.

He stood outside the door, breathing fresh air and trying to focus. He could almost feel Roxanne at his back, her presence calling to him. Never before had a woman had quite such a strong effect on him, and as far as he was concerned, it was a case of shitty timing.

If he lost this job, there weren't exactly a whole ton of other opportunities out there—at least not ones that paid as well as the Edge did. Helping his family crawl their way out of debt would go a long way toward Karen and the kids getting their lives back on track. And getting Reid to cut him a break.

They'd never gotten along well, but there had been a time when they could sit in the same room and not be uncomfortable. Mom picked up on every little expression and prolonged silence. She always knew when they were at odds, and right now, with her dealing with the death of a husband and a son all at once, she deserved not to have her two living sons at each other's throats.

Tanner had to find a way to make things right with Reid, and the only thing he could think to do was to make him proud on the job. That, at least, was something he knew how to do.

He squared his shoulders, feeling renewed purpose. He was going to help Roxanne find Jake and get him home safe and sound, because if he didn't, he knew she wouldn't stop looking for her friend. And that could very well get her killed.

Once that was done and Roxanne was back at home, he was going to make it his personal quest in life to find those responsible for the death and pain that had been caused and make sure they met justice head-on.

 

 

Jake woke at the sound of his door opening. He'd been waiting for it, ready to pretend he was asleep like a good little drugged-up boy.

He didn't want to give away what he and Moss had done—plugging the tubes—knowing they would need that element of surprise when they finally did break out of this place.

He kept his breathing steady and even, his eyes relaxed and mostly closed. He watched through the narrow slit, gathering information he could use to help them escape so he could warn Rox.

A man in a white lab coat wheeled a small cart through the door, its wheels squeaking as it moved. A battery-operated desk lamp glowed atop the cart, but Jake couldn't see what else the cart held.

Even though he and Moss had never discussed any plan, he must have come to the same conclusion Jake had—that they didn't want to show their cards yet—and was playing possum.

The lab tech went to Jake's bed first. He knotted a thick rubber tube around Jake's biceps and drew blood. Next, he jabbed Jake again; only this time, it was to give him something that burned going in.

Almost instantly, Jake's head began to spin and a boiling wave of nausea hit him. He swallowed, trying not to throw up and give himself away.

The tech propped Jake on his side by shoving his pillow behind him to keep him from rolling over. At least if he puked now, he wouldn't choke on it.

Sweat broke out along his forehead, and a buzzing filled his ears. Time seemed to stretch out as the tech went through the same routine with Moss.

Finally, the squeak of metal wheels began again, and the tech left, shutting the door behind him.

Moss bolted to the toilet, retching. The sound made Jake's stomach heave, but Jake made it only as far as the trash can.

After the worst had passed, Jake sat back on his heels and looked at Moss. He was sweating and shaking so hard, Jake could see it with only the minimal light from under the door brightening their room.

They shared a look of suffering but didn't say a word. No one could know they were awake and coherent, or they might figure out that they'd plugged the nozzles that piped gas into the room.

Jake quietly knotted the trash bag to contain the stench of bile, then rinsed his mouth before stumbling to Moss's side.

“Cover me,” he whispered as quietly as he could.

Moss shook his head furiously, mouthing the word
no
.

Jake couldn't argue with him. He had to find Jordyn and convince her to help them get out of this place.

He put his hand on Moss's shoulder, hoping it would reassure him. Jake couldn't just sit here and do nothing. They had to find a means of escape, and Jordyn was their best hope.

He slipped out of the room on bare feet. Wearing only a T-shirt and boxers, he felt naked. He was used to having plenty of protective gear strapped to his body when he went on a mission, but he'd fight naked if that was what it took to get the fuck out of here.

Jake followed the hall, keeping careful watch behind him for the lab tech with the cart. Cameras silently watched his progress, but he prayed that no one was monitoring them at this hour. Eventually, there would be hell to pay for what he was doing, but there was no help for it. If the cost of freedom was another trip to the white room, so be it. He'd find a way to survive.

His stomach rebelled at the thought, but he swallowed down his fear and kept moving.

On silent feet, he made his way toward what he suspected was the section that housed the personal quarters for the staff. He'd spent days trying to map out the place in his head, but there were simply too many areas he'd never been allowed to wander. The one thing he could tell was that rather than a block of space carved out of the earth, they'd dug tunnels that branched off in several directions.

If he'd been designing the facility, he would have put all the eggheads' barracks together so that they could talk shop and be safely away from the soldiers. He also would have put them near the labs and away from that torture room so their rest wasn't interrupted by inconvenient screams.

After a couple of wrong turns, he came to a hallway lined with doors. Nameplates had been slid into aluminum holders, identifying who was inside.

It was neat, functional, and efficient—just like so many of the scientists he'd met here. He bet they never thought that one of the lab rats would be able to slip out at night and go exploring when they were supposed to be fast asleep.

The next nameplate read J. STYNGER. Jackpot.

He turned the handle, hoping to get lucky and find the door unlocked. It wasn't. Of course.

Jake knocked softly. He wasn't sure she'd hear it over the pounding of his heart, but he didn't dare make any more noise.

A bubble of tinted plastic hung from the ceiling at the end of the hall. There was a camera inside, and he was sure he could feel it watching his every move.

Behind the door, he heard a shuffling sound, then the click of a lock sliding free. The door opened a couple of inches.

Jake didn't wait to give her the chance to slam it shut and raise the alarm. He pushed the door open, taking control of her body as he moved forward. She was too shocked to fight him.

He pinned Jordyn's wrists behind her back with one hand and covered her mouth with the other. He kicked the door shut behind him and said in a low voice, “I'm not going to hurt you.”

Her pale green eyes were wide with fear, telling him she didn't believe him.

Jake couldn't let himself care about that right now, so he steeled himself and used his body to walk her backward until they were in her bathroom.

He let go of her wrists long enough to turn on the faucet. “Is there a camera in here?” he asked her.

Her mouth moved against his palm as she shook her head.

“Are you going to scream?”

Again, she shook her head.

Jake moved his hand, but kept it close in case she was lying. He'd pinned her hips against the sink with his, preventing her from slipping away.

“I'm sorry,” she told him. “I know she's your friend, but I couldn't let Mother do that to you. I had to tell her what she wanted to hear.”

“You shouldn't have caved. I'm tough enough to take a little pain.”

Jordyn paled until her already-pale skin went nearly transparent. He could see her veins below the surface, pounding in time with her frantic heartbeat. “You don't know her. You don't know what she would have done. I do.”

Jake wasn't going to argue with her about the past. He didn't have time. They needed a plan. “I have to get out of here. Find Rox and warn her.”

“I already did.”

“What?”

“I used your code and sent her a message. I'm sure she'll think it's you.”

“How do you know about the code?”

“The letter you wrote her—the one I mailed with the journal. You wrote it in that code. It wasn't hard to figure out.”

Considering he'd been ten when he and Rox had created it, that wasn't hard to believe. “What did you tell her?”

“To burn everything. That people were coming for her.”

Jake prayed that was enough to do the job, but knowing Rox, it would only make her more curious. Still, Jordyn had tried, and that was worth something. “Thank you.”

Her pale eyes slid to the floor, and she shifted uncomfortably at his gratitude. “I wish I could have done more. She's still in danger. Mother won't stop until she gets what she wants, and if your friend burned the journal as I directed her to, Mother may never believe it's really gone.”

“We need to get out of here. Now. Tonight. We'll get help and shut this place down, freeing everyone.”

“I can't. I don't like what Mother does, but she has no choice. The end is coming, and we have to be ready.”

Jake was stunned silent for a moment. “The end? What are you talking about?”

“The end of the world. The big war.” Her statement was casual, as if everyone knew about it.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

She frowned at him as if he were the one not making sense. “They didn't tell you, did they?”

“Who didn't tell me what?”

“The government tries to hide it, but they know the end is coming. That's why we're down here, working so hard every day. If we don't have an army ready, the rest of the world will kill us all. We have to be ready to fight. We can't let all those people be killed.”

Things were starting to make a bit more sense now. Jordyn didn't seem the kind of person to ignore the suffering and violation of rights going on around her—unless she thought she had no choice.

“Is that what your mother told you?”

“Yes. Her ways are cruel sometimes, but she's doing what must be done.”

“She's lying to you. She's doing these things because she's a heartless bitch.”

Jordyn flinched as if he'd hit her.

Jake lowered his voice, searching for patience. If he could convince Jordyn that she was being fed a load of bullshit, she'd help him escape. He knew she would. “Listen. I'm sure the things she's told you are scary as hell, but they're lies. Have your friends ever talked about the end of the world like it's a foregone conclusion?”

“My friends are all down here, working with me and trying to save humanity.”

Great. This entire facility was filled with nut-jobs. “What about when you were a kid? Did your teachers ever talk about it?”

“Mother was my teacher.”

Of course she was. Nothing like brainwashing a kid from the crib to get her to believe you.