Creatus (Creatus Series) (19 page)

Chapter Thirty-five

Vic sat across from Jonas, thinking how good he looked, wondering why she couldn’t fall. They sure gave it a good shot. And it’s not to say that she could never fall for him, but evidently, she had to get her head screwed on straight first. Still, she did appreciate what a good-looking man he was. She hated to think it was true, but after her attraction to Derrick, and Ry’s confession, she had to believe that their heritage is what drew her to them, even though a human man had never turned her on. She could never be attracted to a man who was weaker than she was.

“Ry told me about you—”

His eyes bolted up from his plate. “What? About us?”

“Yes. It’s okay.”

Jonas shook his head. “No, it’s not. He had no right.”

Vic raised her hands in confusion. “I don’t understand. Why is it such a big secret? Everyone thinks Derrick and Michael are an anomaly—”

“And yet, Ry and I also have a human parent. In fact, I think Ry is stronger than Derrick. He’s younger and doesn’t know as many moves, but he’s strong.”

“So, why don’t you want anyone to know? What’s the big deal?”

Jonas pursed his lips, staring out the window for a few seconds before turning back to her, his eyes cold and blank. “Because our father hated us when he found out
we weren’t
all
human. My parents had been together for years, but my mother had hidden what she was.” He bit down on his lip. “But she didn’t think about kids, about the fact that she couldn’t hide the eating habits and strength of a creatus child. He’d been in the military, so he missed a lot of our rearing. But when he was stationed in the states permanently, he saw me.” Jonas inhaled a deep breath. “Ry had thrown a ball up on the roof by accident, and I being the big brother went up to get it. When my father saw me jump off the roof, he flipped. Scared at first, but then he was excited. Thought he had some superkid for a child. My mother assumed as many years as they’d been together, he’d accept her.”

Vic reached across the table and squeezed his hand. Ryan hadn’t told her this part of the story. Maybe he hadn’t known since he was obviously younger.

Jonas shook his head. “He—my father—treated us like pariahs. He didn’t think twice about picking up the phone right in front of my mother. She had no choice. That S.O.B. was going to call his superiors in the army and turn us in as aliens. Can you believe that?”

“No,” Vic responded. She’d never been fond of humans, but his own children?

“She killed him. Right there in front of me. She snapped my father’s neck. Then she brought us here, where she said we had family. The family forged papers for us, and she stayed out of sight from all authorities.”

“I’m so sorry, Jonas,” Vic said, but he pulled his hand out from under hers.

Jonas pushed his chair away from the table and stood, throwing his napkin on his plate. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I don’t want your pity. I think I made that clear last night.” He skirted the table and pulled her to her feet. “Did you think about it? Are you gonna try? Will you leave with me and start a new family?”

She exhaled a deep breath. “I—”

“Enough said, Victoria. I get it. You’re still hung up on Derrick. Fine.” He stormed off, slamming the door behind him.

Jonas had left so quickly that his absence seemed to leave an empty vacuum in her apartment, dead space that needed
filling. She just couldn’t think. Yeah, she loved Derrick. She wanted to believe that this was all subterfuge to protect Kristina, but it wasn’t Derrick’s face that she’d seen when she was with Jonas last night; it was Michael’s.

Still, she had to know. Vic glanc
ed up at the clock: eleven a.m.

Chapter Thirty-six

The guide called up for a second time and still there was no answer. Even if Kristina had chickened out, the guide would have called before
rappelling down and trekking toward them. Derrick glanced up at the man in front of him. He hated to do it, but he didn’t have a choice. Chances were the man wouldn’t even know what happened. Derrick just had to decide if he should choke him out or hit him. It wouldn’t take but a couple seconds for him to drop. The movies had it all wrong. If you knew what you were doing, a man would drop in less than three seconds.

He decided not to hit the innocent man; instead, as the guide stared up toward the higher platform, Derrick used his hand  to compress his carotid arteries, hence causing cerebral ischemia and a temporary hypoxic condition in the brain. The guide dropped before he could even lift his hand to Derrick’s arm.

After lowering the man to the deck and strapping his carabiner onto the cable in the event he rolled over, Derrick grabbed his rappelling gear and hopped off the platform, hitting the ground and leaving a deep pit. He quickly covered his tracks and took off in the direction of the first platform.

As he ran, he attempted to listen to all surrounding sounds, but it was no use; there were too many tourists on the property. Every direction he turned, he heard skiers, hikers, and animals scurrying through the underbrush.

Keeping his focus, he remained within the trees so he could run. It only took him a few minutes, but he knew it’d be too late. He was faster than most creatus, but Kristina would be barely more than a backpack to the rogue, and he had the benefit of a head start and three different directions he could have taken. The only thing that Derrick could pray was that he was wrong. Nothing had happened; she’d just been terrified and rappelled down the tree instead. The other guide just hadn’t heard the transmission.

Stopping at the bottom of the platform, all his hope melted. There, lying at the bottom, his neck twisted in an unnatural position
, was the other guide. Granted, the guide could have fallen, but this appeared to be the rogue’s M.O., when he wasn’t ripping their bodies to shreds to attract the family’s attention, that is.

He dropped to his knees and felt for a pulse. Nothing. Derrick held his breath and listened for anything. Any sound. His gaze dropped to the forest floor. Nothing.

As with Janelle, no tears fell. His heart ached, but he had no time for sorrow, only hatred filled his veins—and guilt. Just like Janelle. He’d failed to protect Kristina, just as he’d failed to protect her mother.

Moving on instinct, and because his mind wouldn’t allow him time to grieve, he jumped to the platform, grabbed the
rappelling gear, ripped the harness as if it had broken, and dropped it over the platform. Then he darted back to the tree stand and watched as the other guide rappelled down the tree.

“What happened?” the guide called
as he dropped a few feet at a time.

Derrick gave a noncommittal shrug. “I
came down to find my wife, but I haven’t seen her. She must have walked back to the hotel. Probably furious with me for forcing her to go zip lining.”

The man shook his head. “I mean. How did you get down?”

“I rappelled down,” Derrick answered, as if it was the most obvious answer. Why would he have thought anything else? He dropped his gear and turned away. “I have to go find my wife.”

“Wait,” the man called. “I woke up on the deck. What happened?”

Derrick shrugged again. “You were fine when I saw you. Maybe you’re diabetic.” He trotted off before the man could ask any more questions, charging his way through the woods the moment he was out of view.

He’d left his phone in the room. He never left his phone, but he’d wanted the day to be about Kristina and him. Derrick struggled to keep his expression passive as he walked as swiftly as was humanly possible to his room, but instead of taking the elevator, he took the stairs, knowing few humans bothered. He paused only a second to listen for any sounds and then shot up to his floor.

As soon as he unlocked the door, he made a beeline for his phone. Four o’clock. Michael first, so he could track down the others. He hit “call” and then buzzed about the room, packing everything up. As much as he wanted just to run, leaving everything behind, he had to be sensible. He couldn’t give the authorities any more than they already had. Of course, who would possibly think that someone as small as Kristina could push the guide off the platform? No. They’d have to assume that the guide was in a hurry to rappel down and the harness broke. And, they couldn’t blame Derrick because he was with the other guide, who as he’d assumed, hit the deck so fast, he had no recollection of what had happened.

So, as always, he’d leave no trace. And his story would be that his wife was livid with him for making her go, and he couldn’t find her afterward,
so he’d hiked back to find her.

The call to Michael went directly to voicemail, so Derrick systematically dialed all his top suspects. When none of them answered, he made his way to the Navigator. As soon as he was inside, he called the only other person on earth who would understand his pain—his mother.

Tears stung his eyes the moment she answered.

“Derrick?” she screeched his name in panic after he hadn’t answered the first three times because he couldn’t find his voice.

“He got her, Mom,” he choked out. “And I don’t know where to start looking.”

Sabrina screamed his father’s name, and Derrick had to extend the phone away from his ear. After all these years, she still forgot. He switched the call to the hands-free SYNC and peeled out of the parking lot. His only hope would be that the rogue wanted Kristina alive, wanted Derrick to somehow witness her death. And wouldn’t he know if she were already dead? If the rogue had wanted her dead, wouldn’t he have left her on the ground for Derrick to find her?

Yes, he knew she was alive. She had to be alive. He would find Kristina; and, man or woman, friend or foe, he would tear the culprit apart with his bare hands if he so much as put a scratch on her. He was finished with being nice.

“Derrick?” his father’s deep voice filled the line. “Dear God, you mother is ready to have a heart attack. What’s going on?”

Derrick relayed the story as he sped across the highway about ninety, not concerned with getting a ticket. Not that he would stop, even though he did have a get-out-of-jail-free card as a doctor. A state trooper would more than likely just chase him at ninety. Any more though, and he’d have a roadblock waiting for him, and that definitely would waste time. He’d do better to run, but then how would he explain his vehicle left at the hotel.

His father listened intently without interrupting and then Derrick relayed his greatest concern. “Dad, I’ve been trying to reach Michael, Vic, Jonas, and Ry, and I can’t find any of them. Will you get on the horn and track them down. I’m going straight to my apartment, as the house would be backtracking, and I have a suspicion that this
rogue
wants me to witness Kristina die, or he would have left her body in the mountains. I have no doubt that he plans to murder her, as he thinks that would kill me. But, he’s partly wrong.” Derrick steeled himself, knowing his father hated violence and loathed vengeance; after all, that’s how his mother’s family had died. “If he hurts her… I’ll use every waking minute of my life to track him down. I will not die or wither away; I will never give up until he dies.”

Chapter Thirty-seven

Every time Kris stirred, a quick whiff of the rag and she was out again. But that would only work for so long. Too much would cause cardiac arrest, especially with her history of drug abuse and just detoxing. And Kristina couldn’t die. Not yet.

Derrick needed to watch her die, needed to know that nothing he did would save her. And Derrick needed to die too. The plan was flawless. Easy actually, since Derrick lived in one of the tallest condos in Back Bay. Even the
all-powerful
Derrick wouldn’t be able to survive a drop from the roof. Then the poor star-crossed lovers would die together, exactly what Kristina had wanted.

Based on her history, no one would question that Kristina jumped off the roof, and no one in the family would doubt that Derrick would jump right after her, attempting to save her, as he’d done for the last fourteen years.

Derrick was too weak to lead their family, and so he would die too. Shame, though. His intelligence and strength would have been invaluable. But choosing Kristina over the family had proven his weakness for humans. The rest of the family would have no problem with the plan to start moving key creatus into top-level positions in the government, something they’d never done in the past. Notoriety was something creatus had always shied away from. If you were famous, humans started to wonder why you were still alive when everyone else was dead. But now, they’d use their heritage to their benefit. Outliving their peers would work to their advantage as they infiltrated all branches of the government.

“Oh, my
… head…” Kristina moaned from the passenger seat.

Enough was enough. She obviously had a high-
tolerance to drugs. Pulling the vehicle underneath an overpass before she awoke completely, the rogue sifted through the bag of medical goodies on the floor. “You like drugs, Kristina? You are going to like this drug, lovely. Propofol will give you a high like you’ve never known.” With a slight squeeze of the pump, all of the milky substance disappeared into Kristina’s vein. That would keep her knocked out until everything was ready.

Escorting Kristina to the parking garage was easy; no one seemed to care that a half-drunk woman was being assisted to her apartment. Of course, sleeping beauty wouldn’t be receiving a princess’ welcome. The maintenance room on the roof would serve as her quarters until this evening when Derrick arrived.