Avenged (The Altered Series) (4 page)

Standing, he shook out his arms and ran his hand over his hair, smoothing it back. It took a few deep breaths, but he pulled himself together.

As he caught up to her, he realized he’d left her in her socks. Shame swept through him. How had he forgotten? What kind of asshole let her climb all those trees in her socks?

Gritting his teeth, he called to her, “Come here, please.”

Kitty stilled. “What?” He could feel her tension, even in the dark, across a handful of yards.

“Your feet.” Nick pulled the strips of sheet from his pockets. “I forgot about your feet.”

She picked her way across the forest floor to stand in front of him, holding out her hand. “You can let me do that.”

“Nowhere for you to sit down. Let me help.”

After a moment, she nodded. Placing her hand on his arm to steady herself, she lifted her left foot. In the moonlight, he could see that the material of her sock had torn away in a few spots. The skin underneath didn’t appear to be broken, though. “We should wash these.”

“No. They don’t hurt. They’re just dirty.”

“Are you sure…?” He couldn’t wrap her dirty feet. It was bad enough he’d forgotten them in the first place.

“I would have said something, you know.” She squeezed his arm. “They are my feet, and I could have said something. I knew you had the strips.”

“I know…” He shook his head. She didn’t understand.

“They’re fine. Really. Please just put the wraps on.”

He did as she requested, wrapping with a series of knots he’d learned in his military training. When satisfied, he lowered her foot to the ground, and she lifted the other.

He repeated the process. The knots should hold until he got her to the cave. He had an extra change of clothes. The shoes would be too big, but they’d be better than nothing. When he dropped her second foot to the ground, he motioned toward the east. “This way, then.”

They did the short hike to the ATV in silence. When they mounted up, she crawled behind him. They went slowly, with no light, farther downstream. When he reached the opening where they could sleep, he pulled the ATV under some brush to conceal it from above, and they dismounted.

He’d stumbled across the enclosure when they’d been doing recon and decided it would be perfect for this op. It would keep Kitty safe and protected until they could get her out of here tomorrow, and away from everything she’d been through.

But when he pulled out the flashlight he’d packed on the ATV and shined it inside the cave, he found that he wasn’t the only one attempting to protect things.

The beam landed on a mountain lion. Behind her, he caught the barest glare from the eyes of her cub.

Chapter Four

Stop.

Nick’s voice shouted in Kitty’s head. It was such an urgent demand that she immediately obeyed.

The lion stood her ground in front of them, and Kitty watched as Nick spread his legs, his arms loose at his side. He was terrified, but tried to work through his panic.

A lion. A lion. The trank gun. Only chance
.

He pulled the gun out of his pocket slowly.

The big cat backed farther into the cave, her back up and her teeth on display. She snarled, the sound deafening as it echoed off the stone enclave. Her baby lay behind her, undisturbed by the entire show.

Nick took a step forward, the trank gun raised. He was going to shoot the lion. But what would they do with her then? What about her baby? And what about when the lion woke up?

“No. Stop,” she whispered. “Let me try something first.”

The thought of this lion mother, being tranked, of scaring her baby… Kitty couldn’t accept it. There had to be another way.

She didn’t know if her power would work on the animal. Mountain lions didn’t speak English. But she had to try something.

She closed her eyes, focused on the animal.
Leave this place. Leave this place. Leave this place.

Breathing softly through her nose, she continued to recite the words in her head, again and again, the phrase a litany.

“They’re gone.” Nick’s voice broke into her meditation. When she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her, obviously shocked—and a bit horrified.

She tried to ignore that part. She’d become pretty accustomed to people thinking she was weird. It hurt more from him, though, and she wished it didn’t. “I didn’t know if it was going to work.”

He flickered over the memory of what happened. The animal startled, then backed away, closer to her baby, her ears down. Finally, she snagged her cub by the scruff and bolted, as if chased by ghosts.

For a mountain lion, hearing strange voices was probably just as frightening.

Avoiding Nick’s stare, Kitty moved into the now-vacant cave. To her eyes, it was luxurious. He’d set up two sleeping cots, complete with thick sleeping bags. There looked to be a lantern, and there were extra blankets. She shivered. An extra blanket. She’d never imagined in her whole life that she would be so excited to sleep with an extra blanket.

She ran her finger along it. Thick flannel, or maybe wool, even. She sighed in happiness.

“How did you do that?”

She exhaled. Probably best to get this out of the way. “I’ve learned a lot these past months about how my gift works. Thanks to Dr. Fields.”

“Dr. Fields.” Recognition. He knew who Fields was.
The guy who poisoned her town.

“Yes. That was him in the corridor.” She rubbed her sweaty palms on her thighs. “Originally, Jeremy sold me out to Goldstone. To Pike. But Fields took me from them. Fields and Goldstone had some falling out. I’ve been with him the whole time, but a while ago, we ended up here.” She paused. She didn’t even know who had funded him. “Who was he working for this time?”

“Goldstone, again.” Nick put down the pack he’d brought from the ATV. “They rehired him last month. Our sources say they were concerned that Fields could still be traced to them, and they wanted to control the fallout.”

Back where he belonged, then. Kitty sighed. “Well, he helped me learn a lot about how my power worked. Stretched it and stretched it. Worked through the headaches and the nosebleeds, even one seizure.” She smiled without humor. “Apparently, it’s like a muscle. As long as you advance slowly, you won’t get hurt. It’s when you try to push beyond your limits that…” She left the rest unspoken.

Nick nodded. “The rats.”

“What?” What rats? They used rats in the labs, but how would Nick know that?

“Oh, that’s right. Maybe you were gone before we learned about this.” Nick put his hands on his hips. “They found some research—lab work Fields had done on rats. The rats advanced with their skills, but then some died, as if it had gotten too much for them.”

She nodded. “They did a lot of work on rats. The rats haven’t got our higher order thinking. We, the human test subjects, can choose not to use the skills. Or to what extent we use them. The rats don’t use that much restraint.”

“No. I bet not.”

She continued. “I figured out yesterday that I could project my thoughts into someone else’s head.”

He remained there in the entryway, blinking. “Project your thoughts into someone’s head.”

“Yes. As in, I think something and put it in their head.”

His mouth dropped open as he stared at her like she’d spoken another language. “How?”

“I don’t know. I did it to the assistant in the lab. When he caught me, I tried to…get away.” The details seemed irrelevant. She changed the subject. “What about you? How did you get here, Nick?”

He folded his arms over his chest, the muscles of his forearms flexing. A cocky halfgrin split his face. “You aren’t happy to see me?”

“I’d have been happy to see anyone. Don’t be flattered.” The words tripped out so fast, like a slash of a knife. His grin slipped.

What was the matter with her? He’d risked his life to come for her, and she was being rude to him. That wasn’t fair or kind. But she was so edgy. She wanted to yell at him, to strike out.

She was angry, that’s what she was. So incredibly angry.

The realization shocked her, left her reeling. She’d never considered herself an angry person. In her family, she’d been the diplomatic one, the one who softened communications between her parents. But she felt the anger coursing through her. It was red and ragged and nasty. It was completely unfocused. Worse, it filled her up and spilled out over her
.

Her legs weak, she dropped to sit on the cot closest to her. “I’m sorry. That was mean.”

“No problem.” He shrugged.

But it was a problem. This wasn’t who she was. Had spending three months as a prisoner changed one of the most basic parts of her? She was kind, caring. The type of person who always saw everyone’s side of the story. She didn’t treat people like this.

She didn’t want to treat people like this.

She couldn’t think about herself and what was left of her, not so close to leaving her cell, or she might break open. What she needed was for him to talk, to distract her. “Why didn’t one of the others come?”

“Jack and Luke split town around the time you were taken. Did you know that?” Nick’s mouth thinned. He didn’t think much of them.

She nodded. That’s right. They’d talked about going to Mexico.

“And Blue blew up Fort Sam Houston a few months ago. I’m not sure the military has forgiven her for that yet
.
”

“Blue?” Kitty shook her head. “No way. Blue’s as much of a pacifist as, well, I am.”

“Yeah. That’s what she thought. Until they were shooting at Seth.” His mind played over the events of that day, and Kitty watched as Blue brought down the side of an administrative building. As Seth caught and carried her, Kitty witnessed the protectiveness and fear on his face through Nick’s memories.

Seth and Blue were together, then. Kitty had heard their attraction, had listened in on some of their self-doubt. It had been hard to watch them dance around it all. Kitty didn’t like conflict. Apparently Kitty was still enough of a romantic to be happy they worked things out.

“Where are they? Blue and Seth? Are they okay?”

“They’re fine. After Sam Houston, they left for her mother’s house. They wanted to recover away from the military. I’ve kept in touch with Seth.”

Wait, though. “You were at Fort Sam Houston, too?” This had been from his perspective. He’d been running from the explosions, too.

He’d been in danger. She didn’t know if she liked that.

Nick shrugged again. “Seth needed help.”

It was the only explanation he offered, and he said it like it was enough. His friend needed him. The end.

“Why did you come for me, Nick?”

His thoughts jumbled before he focused on facts. “I was the best choice. Seth and Blue are changed. Like you. But I’m normal.”
I’m not a danger to society.
He left that part unspoken, but it explained everything. Of course the military wouldn’t trust her, or Seth and Blue. The Army didn’t understand them. They didn’t even understand themselves.

“Are Seth and Blue in danger?”

“No.” He pressed his lips together. “At least, I don’t think so. The Army agreed to leave them alone. For now.”

“They’re leaving them alone in Idaho? After Sam Houston?” The Army didn’t want to take them into custody? Press charges? Something?

“I don’t think they know where to house them.” He shrugged.

Kitty blinked, taking that in. Blue and Seth were considered so dangerous, the Army wasn’t sure how to contain them?

“You came for me, then. Because they couldn’t.” Even though she wouldn’t consider Nick and herself friends, he’d done what none of them could do. She didn’t know how she felt about that.

“Are you hungry?”Nick went to what looked like a steel container in the corner. He unlatched it and removed four packages.

He laid them out then turned on the lantern, motioning for her to sit on the cot in front of him.

“MREs. I brought my favorites, but they’re pretty nasty. At any rate, you can choose. Chili macaroni”—he pointed at the first—“rice and bean burrito, pasta Alfredo with veggies of some kind, and this”—he picked up the last one, cradling it in his hand—“is my favorite. Beef enchilada.” He offered it to her as if it was a gift.

Her stomach heaved. Food hadn’t held much appeal in weeks. “Um, no, you should take that one. But I’ll have the burrito, I guess. Thanks.”

“Good choice.” He squatted and opened them, sorting the packets. As he deftly ripped the bags, poured water in some, put some smaller bags in others, she couldn’t help but wonder about the other times he’d done this.

“How often have you had these?”

“I did a tour in the Middle East, two years ago. I had some then. But we end up getting them other times, during training, field exercises, whatever.” He didn’t look up as he focused on his task, thinking of where the pieces fit. “They’re supposed to be better than they were in the old days. Can’t imagine how bad they used to be
.
”

He unwrapped the packages and pulled out what looked to be a miniature Tabasco bottle.

She studied him. He was too intent on what he was doing. Surely he’d done this enough that he didn’t need to think so hard about the task.

Then it made sense. “You’re shutting me out.”

His head jerked up. “What?”

“You’re thinking about these packets so you don’t have to tell me something.”

She must have surprised him, because she was suddenly bombarded with images. So many images, like a floodgate had opened, releasing bad dreams and fear—boys dressed in camo and carrying guns, like they were playing dress-up, but she knew it was too real. An explosion that he shied away from—

He pressed his hands to his head, taking deep breaths. As he did, the thoughts moved away from her.
The food. It’s ready.

“How did you do that?”

Nick’s skilled fingers worked for long moments before he answered. “I don’t focus on those things, not around you. You don’t need me clogging up your head with my bullshit.”

“That’s what he did.” She fingered the edge of the cot mattress.

“What who did?” Then he stilled. “Jeremy.”

“Yes.” She took the packet of food he held out to her. “He misled me, with his thoughts.”

He didn’t let go of her dinner, holding her eyes for a long minute. “I’m not misleading you. But it’s uncomfortable, with you eavesdropping on me.”

She nodded. She wouldn’t want anyone listening in on her private thoughts, either. He let go of her MRE, and she watched him expertly open the container then followed his lead. “Would you prefer that I not listen to you?”

“Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

He considered. “I think it should be up to you. I bet you’re sick of people telling you what to do with your power.”

Her hand shook. He didn’t know how close to the truth that was. She waited for the steam to slow—the meals were incredibly hot—and asked another question to distract herself. “When can we see Blue and Seth?”

He blew into the disposable container. “I kept in touch with them until I came here. Maybe we can meet up with them after you’ve been cleared.”

“Cleared?” Her shoulders tensed.

“Yes.” Nick turned on the light. “They need to verify that you’re not a risk to others.”

No. It couldn’t be. Not again.

She shook her head and stood, abandoning the meal beside her. “No.” She needed to get out of here. If it meant walking, so be it. “Where are the shoes? The ones in your extra set of clothes?”

He held up his hands, still holding his MRE, and stood as well. His expression remained calm, soothing. He’d worn a similar expression when he’d approached the lion, right before he was about to shoot it. Definitely not good. She backed up.

“Kitty, please. I told Martins. He knows what you can do. I told him you didn’t have any offensive power.” He spoke low and fast, as if he knew he only had so much time to convince her. “He only wants you to stay on post for a while. You’ll be free to move around.”

“No.” She wasn’t going to be a prisoner again. She couldn’t. “I can’t. You don’t understand.”

He snagged the sleeve of her ugly orange jumpsuit. “I saw where they were keeping you. I saw how you were living. You don’t think I understand?”

“You saw, Nick, but you didn’t live it. You don’t know.” Her voice was rising, but she didn’t care. Her mother would have told her to calm down, that a woman in hysterics was an ugly thing. But her mother wasn’t here. Her mother was dead.

“So tell me, please.” His voice was soft. “I can understand.” In the light of the lantern, his eyes were darker than usual, like deep wells she could fall into.

“No, you can’t, Nick. You can’t.” She pulled her arm from his grasp, wrapping it around herself as if to hold herself together. She stepped back, needing space, something of limited quantity in the small cave. “No light, Nick. I was kept in rooms without windows, in case I did gain some power that hadn’t presented yet. And drugged, over and over. So many times, I lost count. They’d poke me with needles, take so much blood that I would be black and blue up and down my arms and legs.” She inhaled, trying to stop the words. She’d been trapped behind walls for months, and now when she wanted a cage for her emotions, there was nothing to be found. “One day, I woke and my body ached. I hurt for days. I found out later that they’d pumped me full of adrenalin, over and over, to track if the drug had affected my heart. They shocked my heart, to see if they could force a new power out of me.”