VOLITION (Perception Trilogy, book 2) (23 page)

“So, if you’re here for me, why’d you bring them?”

“The girls?” he hedged. “I kind of had to.”

I had a feeling he wasn’t being completely forthcoming.

“Are you and Brody still…together?” he asked.

“I don’t remember you being so bold.”

“You don’t? That’s exactly how I remember myself.” He took a
step forward and I froze.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to try to kiss you
again.” He pulled out the other stool. “Tonight.”

I needed to change the subject or go. Taylor’s presence sucked
all the oxygen out of the room. The kitchen was tiny, and leaving meant I’d
have to squeeze past him.

“If it’s not for the money, then what? There are lots of other
girls around, less complicated than me. I’m on the run, if you haven’t figured
that out. Not exactly settled down girlfriend material.”

“I’m like you, Zoe. I’m a GAP.”

“What?” That was the last thing I’d expected to come from his
mouth. “How…I mean, the commune…”

“I wasn’t born on the commune. My parents were GAP supporters.
They had the procedure done on me before they died. Before Hannah and I were
adopted by the Galloways.”

My heart fluttered at the news. Taylor stretched his hand out
to me. I could make out the faint white scar in the dim light.

“They removed my chip. Just like someone removed yours.”

“Noah.”

“Noah removed your chip? And you let him?”

I shifted uncomfortably. “I wasn’t really involved in the
decision.”

“He took it out against your
will
?”

I nodded. “It was the only way he could get me away from my
grandfather.”

“Why would he want to steal you away from your grandfather?”

“You do realize we’re talking about the maniac currently
running our country, don’t you?”

“Point taken.”

“Is Hannah a GAP, too?”

Taylor shook his head. “No. Our parents died before she could
get the procedure.”

“So you and I are GAPs,” I said, still stunned by this
revelation.

Taylor reached for my hand and softly stroked my scar. His
touch sizzled and my body tingled, burned. I felt I might spontaneously combust
right in front of him. I breathed deeply and pulled my hand away. I couldn’t
let him get to me again.

“There are lots of other GAP girls,” I said, my voice sounding
very hoarse.

“You’re the only one I know.”

“I should go.” I stood, hoping he’d let me by.

He didn’t move. I had to shimmy past him like I was trying to
get out of a movie theatre row. His knees brushed against my thighs. Air
vanished from my lungs. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and wet
his lips with his tongue.

My knees weakened and I lost my balance, forcing me to grab his
arm to prevent a very humiliating and compromising tumble into his lap. His
bicep flexed under my fingers.

I choked and made a mad dash for the door, not looking back
until I made it to Mary’s bedroom. I slipped under my covers in the darkness
and caught my breath.

I let out a soft groan. Taylor Blake was determined to make
life hard for me. I hoped Noah and I would survive it.

Chapter
32

I awoke in the morning to a quiet room and a headache. I was
late to get to sleep the night before, no thanks to Taylor Blake, and now I’d
overslept. All the other bunks were empty. I gingerly pulled myself out of bed
and shuffled to the bathroom. The living area was eerily quiet considering how
many people were in the place. I hoped Taylor and the girls weren’t with the
authorities reporting my whereabouts.

I had to trust what Taylor had said, even if the whole concept
of trusting him was foolhardy.

A quick peek in the kitchen proved that it was empty. I wanted
to check on Noah. I moved quietly to the door so I wouldn’t wake him if he were
sleeping. It was cracked open. Enough for me to hear that he had a visitor. It
was Mary’s voice.

“Thanks for telling me the truth,” she said. “Though it’s hard
to get used to calling you Noah, now.”

“I’ll still answer to Jude.” Noah sounded a little stronger. I
was relieved.

“It’s only because of you, you know,” Mary continued, “that I’m
not turning her in.”

My throat grew instantly dry. I pressed into the door a little
closer.

“What about Jabez?”

“I can control him, at least for a little while. But you gotta
understand what a million dollars would do for us.”

“We’re a team, Mary. We got into this mess together. I could
never abandon her or betray her.”

“Are you sure? What is she to you now? You said you weren’t a
couple?”

“We’re not. But I’m still responsible for her. The only way I’d
send her back to her family is if she wanted to go. They’d steal every memory
since her brother’s death.”

My heart stopped. Noah had told her everything. I’d felt so
exposed.

And a burden to Noah. He
wanted
me to go back to Sol
City.

I peeked in, needing to see his face. Did he mean it? All I
could see was Mary’s back.

“Okay. I’ll do this for you,” she said. Then she bent down and
kissed him. I think he kissed her back.

A wave of blackness surged my vision and then I felt myself
fall.

I was lying on the couch with no recollection as to how I’d
gotten there. My vision blurred before clearing into an image of Noah’s beat-up
face.

“Hey,” I heard him say.

My lips and mouth were dry, but I mustered a response. “What
happened?”

“You fainted.”

I was stunned. I’d never fainted in my whole life.

I sat and Noah handed me a glass of water. That was when I
noticed everyone else in the room. Mary and Jabez. Hannah and Rebecca.

Taylor.

“I’m not a zoo display,” I said. I turned to Noah. “What are
you doing out of bed?”

“I’m stiff but nothing’s broken. I have to keep moving if I
want to recover.”

The memory of the conversation I’d heard between Noah and Mary
flashed across my mind. Then I remembered the kiss and I gasped.

“Zoe?” Noah said, concern etched on his face.

“I’m fine. What is everyone staring at?” I refused to look at
him. “Just leave me alone.”

“It’s not like we have anywhere else we can go,” Noah said to
me. “It’s freezing outside. This is the only warm room besides the gym.”

“Is that what happened to your face?” Taylor asked, smirking.
“You fell in the gym?”

Mary proceeded to tell him about the fight club. “If you plan
on staying here—” she waved a hand to Rebecca and Hannah, “—with them, you might
want to train, too. Everyone has to pay their way, and you could make good
money if you win. Just ask Noah.”

“If I win?” Taylor laughed.

“You look strong.” Mary’s eyes moved up and down Taylor’s body
in a way that would’ve made me blush. “With some instruction you could fight
and win.”

Taylor had grown up working on the farm and he had a physical
physique to prove it.

“And get this pretty face smashed in like his?” Taylor shook
his head. “No, thanks. I’ll find another way to contribute.”

We all stared at him and I wondered who’d get to the
authorities first, Taylor or Mary.

Taylor’s eyes met mine. “Not like that. You’re safe with me.” He
grinned and Noah coughed.

Noah moved close and whispered in my ear, “We have to leave.
Tomorrow.”

I nodded subtly. Noah
was
loyal. He was bound and
determined to stick this out with me, no matter how he felt about Mary. No
matter how he no longer felt about me.

I couldn’t stand being the object of everyone’s attention. I
had to ask Noah to move so I could get up. I felt fine now—nothing a piece of
toast and a coffee wouldn’t cure.

I went to the kitchen, and everyone left me alone. They were
smart enough to pick up on the vibe I gave off.

Jabez came in just as I was finishing. He had his coat and wool
hat on and nodded toward the courtyard.

I smiled. “I’ll meet you there.” I gathered my winter things
and joined him. The cold air bit at my nose and lungs, and I puffed it out like
dragon’s breath.

Jabez lit a cigarette and offered me one.

I shook my head. “I’ve quit.”

Jabez nodded and stuffed the pack back in his coat pocket. The
tip of his cigarette grew bright red as his tugged on it. Then he let out a
long smoky sigh.

“So, Zoe Vanderveen, huh?”

I nodded sheepishly. “Are you going to turn me in? A million
dollars is a lot of money.”

Jabez laughed. “Believe me, I’m tempted. But I like you,
Chloe-Zoe. Tell me, why don’t you like your family? I mean, at least you got
one.”

“They messed with my mind. Literally. Stole my memories and
brain washed me to believe things that weren’t true.”

Jabez’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“That’s sick and crazy.”

“I know. I could go back. I wouldn’t die. I just wouldn’t be
me. Maybe I should. I don’t know if it’s worth the trouble to stay away
anymore.”

“Any trouble to stay free is worth it, Chloe-Zoe.” He reached
up and stroked my chin. “Don’t give up.”

I flashed him a soft, sad smile. “Thanks.”

“Ya sure you don’t wanna smoke?”

“I have a date with the punching bag.”

He chuckled. “A healthier alternative.”

Noah was wrong. The gym wasn’t that warm. I did a few jumping
jacks to get my blood flowing, followed by leg and body stretches. Then I took
on that bag with every ounce of strength I had, each punch and kick an effort
to release the frustration and helplessness I felt.

My mounting feelings for Noah and how jealous I’d felt when
Mary kissed him. The injustice in the world, not the least of which was my own
fugitive status and the fact that I couldn’t rely on my own family.

Taylor Blake.

He was just more confusion. We had strong chemistry, but it was
the kind of passion that couldn’t be trusted. Besides, life with Taylor meant
life with his sister and his obnoxious tagalong, Rebecca. The sooner we parted
ways, the better.

Jabez would let me stay, for awhile anyway, until he tired of
me and the money looked more desirable than I did. As much as I liked Jabez, I
couldn’t see us ever being more than friends.

I was trapped. I had to leave with Noah tomorrow, even if he
didn’t really want to keep running with me. What else could I do? Unless I went
back to Sol City and surrendered my life? I didn’t think that would protect
Noah though. Grandpa would go after him out of spite.

And if Noah was going down, I was going to go down with him.

“Wow. I wouldn’t want to meet up with you in a dark alley.”
Taylor Blake sauntered into the gym. “Unless, of course, it was for a romantic
rendezvous.”

I gave the bag one more hard jab before grabbing a towel and
wiping the sweat off my face. I turned to him. “You have a one track mind.”

“Only when I’m with you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Noah made Mary train me. You know, in case I
was caught off guard without my gun.”

“I’ve seen you with a gun.” Taylor leaned up against the ring.
“It’s sexy.”

“Glad to have impressed you.” I huffed. “What do you want,
Taylor?”

“Hey, just making conversation.” He glanced around the gym,
suddenly looking uncomfortable. I had the feeling there was a purpose to this
visit. I gulped back water from my bottle and waited. “I need to be totally
honest with you,” he continued without smirking. Not a hint of tease in his
voice.

“Okay.” I leaned up against the ring beside him.

“I didn’t come just for me, even though I wanted to find you. I
came for my mother.”

“Celia?”

Taylor bit on his lower lip, a sign of nerves I wasn’t used to
seeing. “She’s your grandmother.”

I blinked a few times. “What?”

“You tipped her off with your alias, Zoe Morgan. Her last name,
before she married my dad, was Morgan. She has an estranged daughter named
Alison.”

My body went numb and I slid to the floor. Taylor followed
suit, sitting beside me.

“She suspected it was you at the commune. I guess you look like
her daughter. Then when the authorities came…”

Celia Galloway was my grandmother? Alison didn’t know what had
happened to her, only that she was anti-GAP and that they’d lost touch when her
mother remarried a man who was even more anti-GAP than she was.

It explained why Celia kept staring at me and that strange
visit I had from her at the barn when I was being shunned.

“Even if it’s true,” I said, “why would she care? Aren’t I some
kind of symbol of all things evil?”

“If you are, then I am, too. I know this might be hard for you
to believe, but she’s a good mother. I don’t remember that much about my
biological mom. Celia’s the only mother I have and I love her.”

I hadn’t pegged Taylor as a mama’s boy. I found the trait
enduring.

“I still don’t understand what that has to do with me,” I said.

“You’re family, Zoe. That’s all that matters to her. Celia
wanted me to make sure you were okay.”

“Why’d you bring your sister and Rebecca? Surely this is a trek
better made on your own?”

“Hannah’s pregnant.”

“Oh.” I remembered the love tryst in the barn loft. “I’m
sorry.”

“Yeah, well, she and Simon weren’t married and even though my
mother would forgive her transgression, my father and Finn aren’t so generous.”

“And Rebecca came to help her?”

Taylor hesitated before nodding. “Something like that.”

I had the feeling Rebecca came for Taylor as much as she came
for Hannah. You had to be blind to miss seeing the crush she had on him. “What
about Rebecca’s illness? How’s God going to heal her without Finn’s
special
water?”

Taylor grimaced. “I told her the truth.”