Unremarkable (Anything But) (10 page)

“
I’m sure they are long gone by now.”

Eyes narrowing, he slowly walked toward Ryder. “You know…I saw her. Honor. Just a glimpse, but I know it was her.” His head tilted. “Did she do this to you?”

His stomach got queasy as he locked gazes with Zach. “I never saw Honor.”

“
You know she escaped, right?”

“
Escaped? She’s dead.” His throat tried to close on the word.

“
Nah.” Zach shook his head, grinning. “Not anymore she isn’t.”

“
What are you—”

“
Don’t any of you know how to shut up ever?” Tim snapped. “You’re talking about stuff you’re not even supposed to know about. Let’s head back. There’s nothing here.”

Ryder’s head swam as they trekked their way through the underpasses. He had a GPS on him, somewhere. And Honor…what had Zach meant with that comment? Resolution that he had to go back formed in him, solidified. It was his best choice. Even Honor had known that. He rubbed his forehead as they walked, wondering how she’d gone from the girl of the man who’d killed his father to the girl he wanted to prove himself to. 

“Nice friend you got.”

Natasha stiffened in front of him, but kept moving, because she didn’t have a choice. If she didn’t walk, she got carried, something Christian had already warned her of. She’d believed him, walking even faster than she had been before she’d stopped all together with the declaration that she wasn’t going anywhere with them. Her light brown head of hair with the short, choppy hairstyle didn’t even reach his chest, the slimness of her body impossible to associate with the strength he’d seen the results of firsthand. She was like a mini-machine. She’d taken down two men twice her size. Grudging respect for her bloomed within him, and that angered him. In turn he mocked her. He knew what he was doing, he knew it was wrong, and he kept doing it.

“Weren’t you two buddies? You and Ryder? UDK chums and all that? It’s gotta hurt, seeing how much you
don’t
mean to him. But Honor, he was pretty worried about her, wasn’t he?” Christian didn’t know why he continued to rile her, but his mouth kept spouting off, no matter how many dirty looks Juli sent his way as they journeyed through the underpasses.

He remembered her at school—a semi-loner and yet she thought she was better than him. Always with a snarky comment, a dirty look, following Ryder around like a puppy, like he was a god, and he’d barely looked at her then or just now. He hadn’t tried to free her, and he hadn’t even spoken to her. It must chafe to realize the people you wanted to belong to didn’t want you as much as you wanted them. Christian felt empathy for her, and he hated that he did. He didn’t want to feel anything for Natasha Becwar except loathing.

“Christian,” Juli quietly admonished.

“
What?
” he got out through gritted teeth.

“
Focus on what we’re supposed to be doing, which is to get out of here in one piece, instead of picking on the hostage.”

“
You sound like my mother.”

“
Maybe you’ll listen then,” she muttered, putting distance between her and Christian.

Only he didn’t. On and on Christian tormented her, not even really knowing why. And when she tripped and fell, he instinctively moved to help her up, but stopped himself at the last second. Natasha landed hard on her side—luckily in a dry spot, unable to catch herself with her tied hands. Her cheek hit the rock ground, scraping it raw, and his stomach dipped. She didn’t make a sound, looking small and helpless lying there, but also proud, always with that upward tilt to her chin.

Jax turned, glowering at Christian, and quickly hauled her to her feet. “Great role model you’re being for the younger UDs. You're acting exactly like what the UDKs accuse us of being—a monster.”

He was right, which just made Christian even angrier. “Don’t worry about me.”

“I’m not. I’m worried about the rest of us.”

The sun and fresh air called to Christian from the opening above their heads, and he turned his attention to that instead of Jax’s words. They’d almost made it. A ramshackle house tucked away deep in the woods of Iowa, surrounded by trees, was their destination. Angela Norris, one of the newer UDs to join their forces, had mentioned it, said it belonged to her family, that no one used it anymore, and was safe. He didn’t know about that, but what choice did they have?

It took hours to reach it, most of that time spent making sure they weren’t noticed as they made their way along the outskirts of Hempshire, Iowa, ducking behind buildings, sprinting when they were in clear view of any who glanced their way. The city was large and busy enough that they most likely went through undetected. The air was thick with heat and gnats, the sun scorching as it tried to burn their unburnable flesh.

At some point Christian realized Natasha’s breathing was ragged, that once in a while she swayed as she marched. She had to be tired, thirsty, and probably hungry. Never once did she complain, or say anything at all. Why didn’t she say anything?

Dusk was approaching as the end of the wooded area between the house and city came to be. About two hundred yards ahead stood a gray, two-story, debilitated house with chipped paint, broken windows, and a sunken in roof.

“
Home sweet home,” Christian muttered.

Juli glanced at him. “It’s better than the sludge and rats of the tunnels.”

He inclined his head, but said nothing.

The group of UD fugitives stood in a row, gazing at what was to be their makeshift home, at least temporarily. The silence was heavy with doubts. He could feel it wrapping around them in an invisible vice. There was desolation in the stance of every one of them, other than Natasha. She wasn’t smart enough to know when it was time to give up. Of course, neither was he. That house symbolized them and what their future held. All their dreams, all their hopes, everything they’d ever wanted—gone—and in its place, that rundown house. Christian straightened his shoulders, refusing to accept that as truth. 

“Who goes first?” Jax asked cheerfully, casting his eyes about.

Christian put the palm of his hand on his back and shoved. “You.”

Catching himself, he muttered, “Thanks a lot.”

“
We’ll go together. Check the place out. How long has it been uninhabited, Angela?”

Angela was twenty-five years old, but looked closer to fifteen. Her diminutive height and weight plus waist-length red hair and freckles helped add to that miscalculation.

She chewed on her lower lip as she moved closer to Christian. “I don’t know. We haven’t been to it since I was thirteen and as far as I know our family was the only one that used it, although our relatives were welcome to it.”

“
Why did your family let it go defunct?” Jax asked; his eyes locked on Angela, as they characteristically were.

She glanced at him and away. “My mom and dad died in a car accident when I was fourteen. My older brother wasn’t interested in the upkeep and this is the result.”

No one said much after that, because what could they say?

Christian and Jax strode toward the structure, the others hanging back. He glanced at the older man as they walked. “We don’t know what will become of us days, even hours, from now.”

Jax’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

“
It’s not a good idea to form feelings for the other UDs.”

“
Why are you telling me this?”

“
I don’t want anyone to get hurt any more than is necessary.”

“
No, you don’t want anyone messing up your plans.”

“
My plans? I thought my plans were the same as yours?”

“
So did I. Now, I’m not so sure.”

“
I have only ever been honest about my intentions, and they haven’t changed.” Almost to the house, Christian put a hand out to halt Jax’s progress. “Stop the organization. That’s it. Simple. Don’t complicate what doesn’t need to be.”

Jax finally looked at him. In his eyes were pain, longing, and anger so intense Christian had to look away. No one should witness emotions that strong. They were private.

“You know what I think? I think, if we don’t know what’s going to happen to us from one day to the next, then we
should
do what we can to make them the happiest we possibly can.” He brushed past Christian and up the unsteady porch steps.

He shifted his jaw back and forth, watching as Jax disappeared through the doorway of the house. He was wrong. Caring about people was ignorant and stupid. In the end, they always left, whether they wanted to or not. His parents, his brother and sister; they were all gone. Even Honor, someone he hadn’t really known, but had wanted to—she was out of reach as well. That’s what happened. Why set yourself up for loss when there was already plenty of it to go around?

“
Who was that girl? Honor
or whatever her name was?” Dominic asked; his movements quiet enough that the normal person wouldn’t have heard him approach. He hopped down from the side of the porch and moved to stand beside Christian.

He straightened from the column he was leaning against, his eyes never leaving the woods in front of the house. They were taking turns keeping sentinel. He took the first four-hour shift. Dusk was gone and their part of the world was blanketed in blackness.

“Honor Rochester. She’s a UDK.” The silence drew out until Christian glanced at him. “What is it?”

“
Where’s she from? I mean, you know her, right?”

“
Yes. I went to school with her.” That seemed like a lifetime ago. “Where are you going with this?”

“
So she’s from Wisconsin? And she was in the tunnels, running from something.” When he didn’t say anything, Dominic continued, “Remember the conversation Jax and I were having earlier? I think it was about her. Or it could be about her, only it doesn’t make sense.”

“
Where are you going with this?” he repeated.

“
The information passed on from our source was that someone escaped from a Wisconsin facility. But you said she’s a UDK. So it couldn’t have been her, right? Only, like I said, she was running from something.” Dominic shook his head. “Never mind. It couldn’t have been her. But, I mean, did you notice her eyes?”

Impatient with his continued procrastination at stating the obvious, he snapped, “Notice
what
about them?”

Dominic shifted his weight, hesitating.

“Would you just spit whatever it is out and save me the drama?”

“
They almost looked like they glowed, just a little. But they’re blue, so…” He shrugged. “It must have been a trick of the light. No one else noticed it. I must be wrong.”

Dominic went back into the house, leaving him alone once more. Long after he was gone, Christian stared at the same point he had during the conversation, but the tree in the distance offered no answers. Anyway, it was obvious he already had his answers. The most obvious being Honor Rochester, a UDK, was on the run. That had to mean something significant.

What was she running from? Regret that he hadn’t been more forceful about her accompanying them swept through him. Whatever importance she had or information she might know could help him immensely. He had a feeling she was the answer to a lot of things. If they were to cross paths again, he wouldn’t let her go so easily. Maybe Dominic was wrong, but if he was right, Honor was number one on his persons of interest list.

He’d always thought her unique, intriguing, and for a small span of time, he’d even wondered what it would be like to date someone like her. But that was pre-UD—that was before any hope of a normal, fulfilling life was snatched away and a poor excuse of an existence was given to him instead. It was laughable how naïve he’d been, all the dreams he’d had were nothing more than a distant, fading memory.

This is your life now. Deal with it.

At the end of the shift change, Christian paused just inside the door, his eyes taking in the scene. The room was dark, only the moon projecting through the dusty windows offering any kind of light. The wood floor creaked as he shifted his weight; his head lowered as he looked from one UD to the next. They were sitting in a makeshift circle in the middle of the barren room, talking. There was a kinship to the group that he’d never paid attention to before. He felt uncomfortable for witnessing it and even a little bit regretful for not being a part of it. Though he’d formed the allegiance among them, he was more the intruder than anyone else. He was the one that didn’t belong.

Natasha sat away from them, her back to the wall, wrists bound together before her. Her head drooped, the weight of it and the draw of sleep apparently too great. Still she fought, her eyes locked with his, the intensity of the brown orbs too big for one so small. She was another one who didn’t belong, but her incompatibility was more obvious—she was the only one in the vicinity fully alive.

“
Which of your parents gave it to you?”

The question was asked of Juli. Her eyes shifted to Christian and away. “I was adopted, so I don’t know. I was seventeen when they came for me. I was leaving work, it was dark. I don’t think anyone even knew. My parents think I ran away. After I went through the change, I couldn’t go back to them, to that life. I let them continue to think that I ran away. I haven’t contacted them since. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I don’t want them to know about this life, about any of it.”

A UD being adopted by a normal human being with no knowledge of what they were raising—Christian hadn’t thought such a thing was possible.

“
Juli.” Words stopped, bodies stiffened, eyes turned his way. It was always that way when he drew attention to himself. “I need to speak to you.”

“
Sure.” She disentangled her limbs and met him at the door.

He inclined his head toward outside and she followed him.

“What is it?”

“
The UDK—”

“
Natasha.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah. Her.”

“You can say her name, you know.” Juli crossed her arms, meeting his gaze. “We’re supposed to be better than them. We deserve to be called by our names and so do they. Right?”

“
Has she eaten or drank anything since we got here?”

“
You’re asking that
now
…four hours after we’ve been here? Little late, don’t you think?”

“
Has she or not?”

“
She was offered. She refused.”

Instant fire blazed through his veins, scorching him internally as he strode into the house and right for Natasha. Her chin lifted as he loomed over her. Without thinking about what he was doing, Christian leaned down, grabbed the front of her shirt, and hauled her to her feet, her face inches from his.

“You refused to eat or drink.
Why?
” he bit out.

“
This isn’t the way—” Jax started, but a look from Christian cut him off.

“
Answer me!”

Natasha clenched her jaw, but remained silent.

He stared down at her for a long time, wondering at the ferocity of her soul. There was a reason she was always combative, even when she didn’t have to be. “Are you hoping to die? Is that your plan?”

“
Let her go, Christian.” Juli put a hand on his tense bicep and he shook her off, his eyes never leaving the UDK’s.

“
When she answers—then I’ll let her go.” Her throat bobbed against his knuckles as she swallowed and Christian’s eyes were drawn to the pulse at her neck. It was rapidly fluttering, belying her stoic stance.