Claimed (9 page)

Dec rolled his eyes. “Give it a try.” He stood up abruptly from his chair. “But you killed our father, Ry. If you think she’ll ever forgive you for that, you don’t know her at all.”

Rylan smiled. “Oh, I know her very well. Better than you do, I think. She’s as ruthless as I ever was. Maybe more so.” There was a glint of admiration in his eyes. “But she’s also more cautious. With me helping her, though, we could take Moros down and fold the Kere into our empire.”

“What makes you think you can control them any better than Moros has? Be careful what you wish for, Brother.”

There was a beep, and then the guard’s voice filled the room. “Ten minutes is up, Mr. Ferry.”

Rylan shook his head. “Now you answer
my
question.”

“What is it?”

“Tell me what Father said to you right before he entered the Afterlife.”

Dec’s heart kicked fiercely against his ribs. “No.”

Rylan
tsk
ed. “You said yo
u’d
answer my question. I thought you were an honorable man.”

“I guess I’m less honorable than you thought.”

“But it’s why you’re here. It’s why you came to me. You’ve never been interested in our business, Dec. You’ve always stayed as far from the politics as possible. So the reason you’re here no
w . . .
it’s because of whatever Father said to you.”

The door opened, and Dec took another step backward. “Good luck, Ry. I hope the Keeper of Hell has mercy on you.”

Rylan’s dark stare was piercing. “It’s
her
, isn’t it? Galena Margolis. He told you to protect her.”

Dec took a quick step forward, cocking his fist. Rylan jumped to his feet. “Guards! Help!” he cried.

A firm hand closed over Dec’s shoulder. “Come on, Mr. Ferry,” said Charlie. “Give yourself some space.”

Dec shrugged him off but walked back to the door. As he stepped into the hallway, Rylan called out, “Wait.”

Dec turned back to him.

“Good luck, Dec,” Rylan said quietly, his pretense at fear gone. “You’ve been given an impossible task. I don’t envy you at all.”

And with that, Charlie put a closed door between Dec and his brother.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

G
alena clutched Eli’s hand tightly as they came to a stop in front of the building that had once housed her beautiful lab. It was still standing, but that was all that could be said for it. Construction workers were clearing debris, and the police had cordoned the place off with crime-scene tape, but Galena was hoping the
y’d
let her take a look at what had been salvaged, to see if any of her equipment had been spared.

“You up for this?” Eli asked.

“No,” she said quietly. “But I need to do it.” She looked around. “I thought Dr. Cassidy would be here by now.” She had called this morning and asked to meet Galena here to discuss next steps. Galena was eager to see a friendly, sympathetic face.

Eli frowned and looked uneasily at the bombed building. “When was the last time you heard from her?”

Galena put a hand to her stomach, which threatened to rebel at the caution in Eli’s voice. “Only an hour ago.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed, her fingers shaking.
Not her too. Please not her too.
The phone rang several times but then switched to voice mail. “Oh God,” Galena whispered, tears burning her eyes.

Eli’s arms closed around her. “Hey. Calm down. We don’t know that anything’s happened.”

“You know it has,” squeaked Galena. She felt like she was being strangled. First, all her volunteers, and then Ankita and Jian. Her poor neighbors who had been home when her apartment exploded. And now Dr. Cassidy? “Eli, when is this going to stop?”

His only answer was in the protective tightening of his arms, the way his hand held her head to his shoulder. Galena closed her eyes. Eli had died because of her research. H
e’d
been hurt over and over again trying to keep her safe. And now Declan Ferry was about to offer himself up, too.

Was it worth it? Was she worth it? What if her vaccine didn’t work? What if it was all for nothing?

She had to make sure it wasn’t. She owed it to all of them.

“Galena?”

Galena gasped and turned toward the voice, relief flooding through her. Dr. Elaine Cassidy was walking toward them from the direction of the tent the police had erected about a block away, her silvery-gray hair cropped close to her head, her heels clicking on the sidewalk. She looked more like a businesswoman than a scientist, but sh
e’d
done brilliant work in identifying the ways in which certain viruses mutated, and without her research, Galena wouldn’t have made some of her own discoveries. “I’m so glad to see you,” Galena said, wiping tears from her eyes.

Dr. Cassidy’s brow furrowed as she took in Galena’s appearance: her pallor, the circles under her puffy red-rimmed eyes. “Galena, I’m concerned about you.”

Galena shook her head. “No, I-I’m okay.” She pulled away from Eli’s embrace and let him greet her boss, who gave him a perfunctory hello and a brisk handshake.

Dr. Cassidy’s mouth set as she looked up at the building. Through the glass front doors at the entrance, they could see the construction workers dragging damaged equipment up from the basement. “The police confirmed this morning that the bomb had been placed in one of the nanopore sequencers,” she said. “The damage is in the billions.”

Heat suffused Galena’s face. “I’m so sorry.”

“G, why are
you
apologizing?” Eli asked. “You’re the victim here.” He looked down at Dr. Cassidy. “Any hint of who did this? What about that lab assistant—Jian Lee?”

“Well, it’s innocent until proven guilty, but his movements over the last week are definitely making him a target for investigators. Unfortunately, the surveillance videos were scrambled by someone with a high level of technical expertise,” Dr. Cassidy replied. Her eyes met Galena’s. “Jian is dead, but he’s not the only suspect. The detectives are making their list of persons of interest. They’ll be bringing them in for questioning as soon as they finish collecting evidence from the crime scenes.”

Galena clasped her hands in front of her. She was glad to hear about the investigation, but she had little doubt Jian was responsible. She would never have thought Jian capable of this kind of evil, but the moment Moros had announced Jian had killed himself, a feeling of dread had settled deep in her gut. He was dead now, though. If he
was
guilty, h
e’d
already punished himself.

“I just want to salvage what’s left and rebuild,” Galena said. “I’m eager to get back to work.”

And after she got through tonight, sh
e’d
be able to do exactly that, and with a lot less fear. Too bad it felt like she was made of fear right now,
especially
at the thought of what she had to do tonight.

“Well, that’s something I need to discuss with you,” said Dr. Cassidy. “It’s why I asked to meet you here. I met last night with the university’s administration, and we agreed that you should take a leave.”

Galena stared at her. “What?”

“Your lab, the one we constructed to your exact specifications, has been destroyed. It’s going to take a few months to rebuild it.” Her voice took on a frustrated tone as she gestured at Galena’s face and body. “And with all due respect, you don’t look prepared to return to work. We think you should take some time.”

Eli looked back and forth between the two of them. “Isn’t her research time-sensitive? I thought you guys wanted it to move forward as soon as possible.”

Dr. Cassidy looked annoyed. “The world has been waiting decades for this vaccine, young man. It can wait a few months longer.”

“But I
need
to work,” said Galena, her voice rising in desperation. “It’s the only thing that’ll help me feel better.”

“Research isn’t about making you feel better. It takes precision and total focus,” said Dr. Cassidy.

“I know that,” Galena snapped. “I’m pretty damn good at it.”

Dr. Cassidy gave her a pitying look. “Of course you are. That’s why you’re at Harvard. But we need to work with police to figure out who is responsible for last night’s tragedy, and then we need to make some decisions about rebuilding. I trust you to cooperate with the police. Once the investigation has concluded, we’ll make a decision about your future here.”

Galena suddenly felt hollow. “My future here?”

Dr. Cassidy’s heels scraped against the sidewalk as she shifted her weight. “After a devastating event like this, one that took many lives in our community and destroyed one of our most recently constructed facilities, the administration must carefully evaluate the psychological profiles of anyone involved and—”

“Wait. Do you think I actually had something to do with this?”

Dr. Cassidy met Galena’s eyes. “You’ve been under enormous pressure.”

“I’ve been under enormous pressure for years!”

“That’s a pretty backhanded way of making an accusation,” Eli said, his voice hard. “And it’s totally unfair to Galena. She’s busted her ass every day since she got here, trying to get this vaccine ready. How can you—?”

“I’m sorry, Galena.” Dr. Cassidy stepped back, shaking her head. “I know this is disappointing. I wanted to do you the courtesy of telling you in person, but now I need to get back to work. Like I said, please cooperate with detectives on this case. They’re eager to get to the bottom of it.”

“Dr. Cassidy?” A young woman with brown hair and glasses poked her head out of the police tent and called out in a hesitant voice, “The detective has a question, and I’m not sure how to answer it.”

Dr. Cassidy’s stern face melted into a smile. “I’ll be right there.” She turned back to Eli and Galena. “My new assistant. This isn’t exactly how sh
e’d
planned to spend her second week on the job,” she said, and Galena didn’t miss the accusation in her tone. “Please excuse me.”

And with that, she turned and walked back in the direction of the tent. Galena stared after her, stunned. “She thinks I did this,” she whispered.

Eli put his arm around her. “She didn’t say that. It’s going to be easy to prove you didn’t have anything to do with it, G. I’ll be surprised if they even label you as a person of interest.”

Galena watched as one of the construction workers carried Danny’s shattered screen into the lobby and dropped it onto a pile of broken equipment. “If you say so.”

He took her hand and pulled her toward a bus stop. “What would you say to something to eat? We don’t have to be at Psychopomps for another few hours.”

Just the mention of it sent Galena’s heart rate skyrocketing. “I’m not that hungry.”

Eli tugged her hand as an amphibious bus turned a corner and rumbled toward the stop. “Come on. Humor me?”

She squeezed his fingers and let him pull her onto the bus. The ride to Chinatown was about twenty minutes, first through the Charles River canal zone and then across the river into Boston. Galena leaned her head on her brother’s shoulder and stared out the window as the bus chugged through the chaotic waterway. Sh
e’d
been so excited to move here from Pittsburgh, so ready to leave all the misery of that place behind and start over in this new city. And now it was all falling apart.

It was hard not to want to give up, just to lie down and do nothing. Arrogant belief in her own ability to save lives had kept her going. Sheer determination. It’s what would get her through the night to come, what would enable her to take off her clothes and—

“Hold her legs,” the blond one snapped. Iron fingers grabbed her ankles and wrenched them to the side.

Galena shuddered. She couldn’t let herself remember. She wouldn’t survive if she did.
Dec is a good man. He won’t hurt you. He’s handsome and sensitive, and you’re lucky.
She chanted silently to herself all the way to Chinatown, trying to convince herself it was true.

Eli got to his feet as the bus rattled to a stop. She followed him as he got off onto the crowded street and walked half a block to a noodle place. From the sidewalk, Galena could smell roasted meat, alluring and mysterious. Eli grinned. “Cacy brought me here a few days ago. They have the most amazing food. The Szechuan noodles make your mouth feel like it’s been lit on fire.”

She smiled in spite of her dark mood. She and Eli had been raised on canned protein slurry and stale carb bars, with the occasional can of real green beans or peaches as a special treat. And now Cacy seemed determined to expand Eli’s horizons. “I could give it a try.”

He got them a tiny table at the back of the restaurant, reasonably private. Once the
y
’
d ordered and had little cups of tea sitting in front of them, Eli gave her a searching look. “How are you feeling about tonight?”

Galena let out a half-hysterical burst of laughter. “Must you ask?”

He shrugged. “You’re my sister. I care about you, and I know this is scary. I wish you weren’t in this position.”

“I guess I should be glad Dec agreed to it.”

Eli smiled and looked away. “Yeah. That was a nice surprise.”

“Wait. He said you went to talk to him. What did you say?”

He gave her this wide-eyed innocent look. “I just told him what happened after he left Aislin’s office.”

She was certain h
e’d
said more than that. Sh
e’d
thought Dec had proposed all on his own, that perhaps he even liked her enough to be willing to give it a try, but now she knew her brother had guilted him into it. “Thanks,” she murmured.

Eli frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Galena stared at a loose tea leaf in her little cup. Drowned. “Eli, is there any other way to make me immortal?” She looked up, struck by sudden inspiration. “Do you think Moros would make me a Ker? Would that work?”

Eli’s eyes half-closed. “No, Galena, that’s not possible. Not for you.”

But Galena’s blood was suddenly pumping with the same excited urgency she always felt when she was on the verge of a breakthrough. “Why not? I mean, you’re bulletproof. Even stronger than Dec or any of the Ferrys. And you didn’t have to marry anyone to become that way.”

“But I did have to give up my soul,” Eli said quietly. “Moros reached inside me and pulled it right out. It still hurts, even though it’s not there.” He grimaced and rubbed his hand over his chest. “It’s how he controls us. All of us.”

She leaned forward. “But he doesn’t control everything you do.”

“As long as I’m doing what he wants.”

“But he wants me to finish my research. He said so himself. If it’s so important to him, why can’t he make me like you?”

“You’re saying yo
u’d
give up your soul to finish this research?”

She sat back, that hollow feeling growing inside her. “I already feel like I am, Eli. That’s what tonight feels like.” What made it even worse was that Dec was having to do the same.

“But Dec really cares about you, G. He won’t hurt you.”

It’s not him I’m worried about.
Her memories were there, always there, just waiting to break free. “Do you think Moros would talk to me? Would he even consider it?”

Eli’s jaw clenched. “No. He wouldn’t. Because you’re not qualified.”

“Why not?”

“Do you know what I do every day? I Mark people for death. I touch them, and then, just with my thoughts, I determine how they’ll die. Heart attack. Car accident. Gunshot wound. You’re all about saving lives.”

“So are you! You’re a paramedic, for God’s sake!”

“I do try to save lives, G. But I’ve also taken them. A lot of them.”

“Well, yeah, when you were in the army, but—”

“No, G. Not when I was in the army.”

Galena stared at her brother. “What are you talking about?”

Eli let out a slow breath. “Nothing. I’m just saying that Kere have to take lives, and it’s not the kind of thing I want
you
to have to do.”

The waitress came and set down two bowls in front of them. Eli thanked her while Galena gazed down at the thin noodles floating in orange-red broth, already knowing she wouldn’t be able to take a single bite.
It’s not the kind of thing I want
you
to have to do.

She looked at her brother as he hunched over his meal, slurping up the fiery noodles. She couldn’t bear to tell him what she was thinking. She didn’t want him to hurt more for her than he already did, but she couldn’t help the swirl of betrayal coiling inside her.