Absolution of Fate (Fate Series Book 3) (9 page)

It only took a couple of minutes for the pair to travel the distance to the containment unit and the ensuing pandemonium that was just outside the door. Clearly, Cami hadn’t been the only one to ignore protocol.

“How the fuck did this happen!” Commander Claesson roared rhetorically as the guard who’d been assigned to the containment unit cringed in the corner, trying to make himself invisible behind some of the other soldiers.
 

He’d been just as surprised as anyone when the alarm sounded a few moments after the Commander let one of the scientists into the area. Clearly, something had happened inside, causing the researcher to sound the alarm, but it shut him and the prisoners in until the system reset in five minutes, practically an eternity to a vampire who is in a hurry. Because of the panels that came down, they couldn’t even see into the interior corridor.

Cami glanced toward Jared just as the nervous guard caught sight of them. He opened his mouth, but then closed it again when Cami glared at him. His silence wouldn’t mean much either way with Jester rounding the corner shortly after, no doubt to report what he’d found on the security footage at the Commander’s request. Cami imagined she’d be shipped off before the door even opened, separated from Jared and wondering about her brother and the others for God knew how long.

The Commander locked eyes with Jester, who shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, sir. The footage for this sector was quiet, exactly as I would expect normally. It showed the guard alone at his post up until you opened the door, then alone again until the moment I came here to report. Inside looks completely normal; just the two prisoners in their cells. If there had been anything out of the ordinary, sir, I would have reported it as it happened.”

Cami looked toward the guard again, then at Jared, finding him looking as confused as she did. It made sense, since Jester didn’t see anything abnormal in the lab because Dante had implemented the loop on the cameras, a loop Jester had unknowingly provided, but they hadn’t tampered with the camera on the outer door. She gave Jared a more pointed look. When his expression remained the same, she nonchalantly tapped her temple while lowering her mental shields.
 

Understanding dawned on his face and he pushed into her mind.

Can you read Jester’s thoughts? Why didn’t he mention we were here close to the time all this went down?
she asked in her mind.

Jared nodded and turned his attention to The Elite’s IT specialist.

Jester glanced at Jared, and then gave Cami a wink.
 

Shit. Neither of them knew why, but Jester was covering for them. Perhaps he hadn’t been as in the dark about why Dante wanted the looping program as they’d thought.
 

“Smith, you want to tell me exactly what the hell is going on?” Commander Claesson bellowed, his eyes narrowed on the guard who was still a bit groggy.

“I, sir, I just, I…,” the confused guard stammered.

“For the love of God; spit it out, man!”

“Sorry, sir,” Smith continued, trying to regain his composure. Cami actually felt sorry for him; he had no idea about Martinez’s ability, so there was no way he could guard against it. “I’m not really sure what happened; you were here with one of the doctors, he went in, and you left. A few minutes later the alarm started.”

As much as he wanted to be pissed, Commander Claesson knew that Smith hadn’t done anything wrong. There weren’t any signs that the prisoners had escaped, so they were just going to have to wait for the system to reset. Meanwhile, a number of fucked up scenarios were running through the Commander’s head, all of which involved his own men, and made his eye twitch.

Cami let out a sigh of relief at hearing Smith’s explanation. For whatever reason, he’d decided to leave out the fact that she and Jared just happened to have replaced the assigned blood courier within an hour of the disturbance; not that it was proof of their involvement on its own, but it wouldn’t take much digging for a man like Claesson to put all the pieces together. Now she would at least be able to find out what had happened on the other side of the door they were all watching with fear and anticipation, before she had to deal with the consequences of her involvement.

She had to assume that Dante and Martinez were still inside; no amount of altered security footage or omitted details could hide their part now. The plan was for them to sneak back out under the cover of Martinez’s mist when the next scientist entered; regardless of what happened with Ethan and Alexa, they were going to lock her in. If that had been the case, the scientist inside wouldn’t have pulled the alarm. He would have alerted the Commander and other researchers more discreetly. The alarm indicated that he felt that there was an immediate threat that needed to be contained.

✧

After what felt like an eternity, the alarm stopped and the system reset. Everyone in the hallway, soldiers and civilians alike, looked around at one another with expressions of anxiety and expectation.

Without a word, Commander Claesson flashed to the door where several of the resident scientists were already gathered, and checked the weapon in his hands, which was loaded with heavy tranquilizers, and then his side arm, which was loaded with actual bullets. He prayed that he wouldn’t need the back-up gun. Claesson quickly entered the security code and lowered his head for the retinal scan to gain entry to the containment unit. “Dr. Jones, come with me, everyone else wait here,” he ordered as the door slid open and immediately closed behind them before anyone could object.

Cami pushed her way to the entrance, with Jared close on her heels. “Fuck!” she yelled, startling most of the people in the general vicinity.
 

Jared reached up and stroked her temple gently, indicating that he wanted to hear what she was thinking.

Cami sighed and looked up into his eyes. As hard as it was for her, she was learning to be vulnerable with him, to let him see and hear what was in her head and heart.

I’m so afraid of what we’re going to find in there. I’m not sure I can bare it if Alexa was wrong, if Ethan isn’t cured. They could all be infected now, or worse.

Jared pulled her into his arms, surprised by how willingly she came, given all the people surrounding them, and kissed the top of her head. He understood her fears; he shared them.
 

If Ethan or Layla were out of their cells, it was more than likely that Commander Claesson would have no choice but to use deadly force against them, given the great advantages of strength and speed the infection gave them. Not to mention the fact that Ethan was already stronger and faster than any vampire the ancient Commander had ever encountered. With the short amount of time that had passed and the lack of human blood to fuel the transformation, if the others were infected, they would be easily incapacitated by the tranquilizers and, though their use could have damaging effects on their transitioning bodies, it was better than the alternative

✧

"Ethan, we have to get back in your cell; they’re coming,” Alexa stated, pushing him back towards the door as the thick silver-plated panels rose; her voice laced with panic as she sensed the Commander drawing near. Due to the current state of mind he was in, he was likely to shoot all of them before they had a chance to explain, so the cell was the safest place. There had been so much happening when the scientist spotted them and pulled the alarm outside, that she hadn’t sensed his approach in time. She shot a glance over her shoulder at Martinez, who opened the door. As he was about to pull the lever to close them in, Alexa continued. “I’m so sorry, John, but we did what we could to protect you. Tell the Commander we forced you. Dante and I took Rachel and threatened to hurt her if you didn’t help us.”

“No one’s going to believe that,” he replied, looking nervous as his eyes went to the door where the Commander would soon appear.

“They’ll believe it because part of it is true; we
did
take her. We had to so they would believe you. Please just trust me; I will explain everything, but right now you have to close that door and get back against the wall,” she pleaded, her heart pounding as she willed the glass, which was the only thing that would keep Ethan safe, to close.

Even as his anger began to rise, Martinez knew better than to refuse. He knew his friends wouldn’t hurt Rachel, but the thought of her being involved in any way made his stomach turn. She was everything to him, which is why he didn’t have a choice, and he did the only thing he could. He closed the cell, faced the wall, and placed his hands behind his head.

A second later, the outer door opened and Commander Claesson barreled in with weapons drawn and anger pouring off of him in palpable waves.
 

He looked around the room, stopping on Martinez’s back along with the aim of his weapon. “Have you been exposed?” he growled.
 

“No, sir.” Martinez replied immediately.
 

“Turn around slowly and show me your eyes.”

Martinez did as commanded. Claesson pulled a set of silver-plated handcuffs from his belt and tossed them towards Dr. Jones, whose gaze was so focused on Ethan’s cell that they hit his arm and fell to the floor. He jumped in surprise before the scientist who’d pulled the alarm scooped them up. “Put those on him and loop them through that pipe over there, just in case,” Claesson ordered, pointing to the metal rod in the corner. When it was done, he holstered his weapon and turned his attention to the cells.

He scanned Ethan’s, then Layla’s. “Motherfucker,” he said to no one in particular, as he took in the scene unfolding in the cell on the right, knowing that the four in the cells couldn’t hear him. It was impossible to tell, given the amount of blood and the tangle of naked limbs thrashing around. “Is it safe to assume that that’s Dante in there with her?” he asked of Martinez, as he gestured to the couple.

“Yes, sir. I tried to stop him, sir, but—”

“Shut the fuck up, Martinez!” Claesson spat. Disgusted, he stormed over to the glass where Alexa was waiting and pressed the button to talk to her, though with how he was feeling, he was pretty sure he could produce a yell loud enough for it to be heard through the barrier.
 

“What the fuck were you thinking?” he bellowed, his eyes going to her bloodied wrist. “He bit you?? Why the fuck didn’t you listen, Alexa? Now another one of my men has this filthy virus and you’ll be infected any moment, too!”

“I’m sorry, for all of this,” she replied softly, as she looked to the wall separating her from Dante and Layla. “But he’s my husband, my mate; I had to save him.”

Claesson opened his mouth, but then snapped it shut as Ethan placed a gentle hand on Alexa’s shoulder and gave him a hard look. “She’s not infected, sir. And thanks to her, and her friends, neither am I.”

The Commander looked back toward the doctor, who was still shocked by the discovery that he’d been noticed and had been watching since they’d entered the room.

Hearing Ethan refer to Alexa’s friends served only to remind the Commander that not one, but two of his men, had disobeyed his direct order, regardless of the outcome of their disobedience, and reignited his anger. Sensing that, Alexa spoke up again. “It was all my idea, Commander. I used Dante’s feelings for Layla to persuade him to help me, and we forced Martinez. He didn’t have a choice; we took Rachel and threatened to hurt her if he didn’t help. I had to do it; no one would believe me if I didn’t show you,” she blurted.

“This is utterly remarkable,” Dr. Jones said, moving closer to the cell as he stared at Ethan’s eyes, which no longer showed any sign of infection. “I’ll, of course, need to take a blood sample, but he seems to be completely cured. And he actually bit you?” he asked of Alexa, who nodded her affirmation “Sir, she would certainly be showing signs of infection by now if she had the virus. To be sure, I’ll need to confer with the rest of the team and we’ll need to collect samples and interview these two and the others if we can convince them to speak to us; though based on their state, I’d guess it may be a couple of days before the bloodlust subsides. It would be wise to get them some human blood before they hurt each other; a lot of blood,” he said, watching the couple with the curious gaze of a scientist.
 

The good doctor couldn’t mask his enthusiasm as he began rushing around the room, gathering materials to collect blood samples, stopping occasionally to tap out notes and mumbling excitedly to himself.
 

Claesson hated to admit it, but Alexa and Dante’s little stunt had just provided the first real breakthrough they’d had in several centuries of researching Lucias’s virus.

CHAPTER 8 -
Sex, Love, and Lies

Lucias remained frozen, staring with eyes full of wonder as Molly struggled to stand. She locked her blue eyes on him, full of confusion and hunger. A wide smile spread across his face. If the change in her eyes hadn’t been evidence enough, the shift in her scent was undeniable. She was vampire.

He didn’t know how or why, but he’d never been a man to question good fortune. Without a word, Lucias scooped Molly up into his arms and whisked her out of the room and to his playroom, which contained the closest supply of bagged red cells.
 

“Don’t try to speak; just feed” he said to Molly as he stroked her hair and passed her a bag of AB negative from his private stores. She obeyed without hesitation, his eyes darkening with desire as her new fangs punched through her gums, and she closed her eyes, and tore into the thick plastic.
 

She downed several bags in a matter of minutes before finally stopping and opening her bright eyes to look up at Lucias, who watched her carefully.
 

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry; I, I thought it was all a lie!” she blurted; an edge of panic in her voice for what she had done. Lucias was not a patient or forgiving man; no one knew that as well as Molly, who had witnessed his wrath being visited on countless others during her time with him.