Inescapable (Talented Saga #7) (67 page)

Victoria stayed to oversee the entire
operation, and though she said all the right words, I could tell
that her heart wasn’t in the search. She took Penny’s word that I’d
fled with Erik and Kenly. To my immense relief, there was no
mention of sanctions, and Victoria also seemed glad that I’d dodged
her bullet. Almost. Worry lines were etched into her expression. I
was positive they had more to do with the treaty vote than me, but
I couldn’t help thinking that deep down the austere councilwoman
was concerned with my wellbeing. Or, at the very least, she was
worried about my talents falling into the wrong hands. Either
way.

Two of the mysterious assassins—the woman
who looked like Penny, and the second man I’d barely taken notice
of—were alive. On one level, I knew this was best. UNITED would
interrogate them, find out who they worked for and why they were
surgically altered to look like the people closest to me, and maybe
even learn the identity of the mastermind who had hired Nightshade.
The problem was I wanted to interrogate them. I wanted firsthand
knowledge of the secrets lurking inside their heads. Yes, Kenly and
her nimble fingers could unearth UNITED’s reports on the
interrogation sessions. That would take time, though, and I was
impatient.

Finally, at nearly eleven p.m., Victoria
declared that she was satisfied with the search of Pure Bliss, and
that I obviously was truly gone. Her agents did find the storage
room, but they never did locate the trapdoor. Between Emma and
Brand, we’d remained invisible to both the naked eye and infrared
image scanners.

“
I can’t believe they’re
leaving,” Kenly proclaimed, letting out a huge sigh.

Me neither,
I thought. Victoria was nothing if not tenacious.
I was shocked she hadn’t ordered the entire structure bulldozed or
something as equally destructive.

Erik and I were sitting side by side at the
desk. He pulled my chair closer to his, so that our arms and legs
touched. The kiss he placed on my temple was sweet, his demeanor
almost relaxed.

James appeared at the top of the ladder,
jumping through the opening as I’d done earlier. Haggard and
emotionally wiped, his platinum eyes lit up when he saw Kenly. She
ran to him, and the two embraced. James stroked her hair and
whispered in her ear, promising that Bryn was going to be okay.

“
The medics say the bullet
didn’t hit any major organ. It nicked her spinal cord, but they
believe the damage is fixable,” James told us over the top of
Kenly’s head. He sounded relieved.

“
I’m sorry about all of
this, James,” I replied.

“
Don’t be. We knew the
risks.” James paused and furrowed his brow. “Well, obviously not
all of the risks. How did they know about the meeting?”

No one had an answer for this, at least not
one they were willing to share. I was too tired to contemplate the
possibilities, particularly since every one that popped into my
head was ridiculous and farfetched.

“
It’s late,” Erik said
quietly. He squeezed my hand knowingly. Apparently my mental
barriers were still leaky, and Erik felt my exhaustion. “We should
all get some sleep. We can talk about all of this in the morning,
decide where to go.”

“
Why can’t we stay here?”
Emma asked, confused. “It’s doubtful UNITED will come back now that
they’ve searched the place top to bottom.”

Erik and I exchanged a pointed look, but it
was Kenly who spoke. “They have Riley and Bryn, and they’ll have
Willa soon, too. It won’t take them long to learn about the
bunker.”

Emma still looked confused. “I thought they
were your friends?”

“
UNITED has ways of prying
information from even the most reluctant of informants,” I said
gently, not wanting to upset her. Emma was from a primitive
society, it was doubtful they used physic interrogation. This was
particularly unlikely given that the mental powers required for
such a method were shunned on Pelia.

“
Like torture?” Emma
squeaked.

“
Nothing quite so bloody,”
I replied. “But their methods are unpleasant and effective.
Everyone succumbs in the end.”

This seemed to disturb Emma more than the
prospect of physical torture. Kip wrapped an arm around her waist.
“You’re going to have nightmares, Em. Let’s save the unpleasantness
for morning,” he said, and then steered Emma back towards the
alcove where they’d been resting earlier.

“
There are loads of extra
beds, take whichever you like. I’m sure you’ll be able to tell
which belong to Riley and Willa, but they won’t mind if you use
them. Help yourselves to food, drinks, whatever.” James gestured
towards the bunker at large. “But if you don’t mind much, I’m going
to get Kenly settled.”

“
Of course,” I
said.

I leaned over and hugged Kenly tightly to
me. “I really am sorry about all of this,” I whispered in her
ear.

James helped Kenly to her feet and led her
off in the same direction that Emma and Kip had gone. And then,
finally, I was alone with Erik.

He turned my chair so we were facing each
other. He didn’t touch me, though I felt the physical ache inside
of him to do just that.

“
Hey,” he said
quietly.

“
Hey,” I echoed, fighting a
grin. It felt inappropriate and just plain wrong to be so happy
after being ambushed, nearly caught, and having two of our numbers
severely injured. But I was happy, so freaking happy.

Erik sighed. “We have a lot to talk
about.”

I nodded. “I know. So much to talk
about.”

Erik leaned forward, sliding one of his
knees between mine. He placed both hands on the arms of my chair,
our lips so close we were breathing the same air. “I don’t feeling
much like talking.”

His mouth covered mine in the most amazing
kiss we’d ever shared; absence really did make the heart grow
fonder. The kiss upstairs was nothing compared to this one, a flick
of match compared to a bonfire. I crawled onto Erik’s lap,
straddling his hips. His fingers searched the back of Bryn’s
ridiculous dress for a zipper or buttons. Finding none, he tore the
fabric down the seam along my spine.

Laughing, I broke the kiss just long enough
to chastise him. “Bryn is going to kill you. This is her
dress.”

“
She can bill UNITED,” Erik
mumbled, his lips finding my throat.

I arched my back and worked my arms out of
the sleeves with Erik’s help. He flung the silver material across
the room. The boots were another matter, one that required a lot
more finesse owing to all of the pearl buttons.

“
Leave them on,” Erik said
huskily when he noticed me fumbling with the footwear.

“
Then how would I get the
tights off?” I asked.

“
Right. Here, I’ll do
it.”

Erik lifted me off of his lap and onto the
desk. My butt hit controls, and the screens behind me started to go
berserk.

“
We’re going to wake the
others,” I muttered.

Erik slammed keys until the sound muted.
“They’re all adults, Tals. They’ll survive. Besides, they’re
distracted with their own issues. You and these boot things are my
only concern.”

“
Actually, Emma and Kip…” I
began, but lost my train of thought when Erik made circles with his
tongue down one side of my neck.

“
What was that you were
saying?” he teased, easing back into his chair so that he could
figure out the boots.

Unlike with the dress, Erik seemed to want
to take his time undoing the pearl buttons. Then again, I was half
naked and he was racking his gaze up and down my body. So, yeah,
there was that.

“
I don’t remember,” I
breathed. “Not important.”

Somehow, by the time Erik had my shoes off,
he’d managed to get me out of the rest of my clothes, too. Then, he
hooked one arm under my knees and one across my shoulder blades. I
wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in Erik’s neck,
inhaling the mix of love, desire, and mango soap.

“
It was in the hotel
bathroom,” he said, reading the thought about the soap from my
head.

Just as I always did when we were together
like this, I kept my mind open to Erik. I let him feel everything I
felt, my love and affection for him, the way he made me feel both
desired and protected, how complete I was with him by my side.

Erik found the closest alcove with a bed and
tossed me onto it. I laughed as the springy mattress sent me
bouncing back into the air. Erik didn’t take nearly as long with
his own clothes as he had with mine. Then, he was laying next me,
our bodies pressed together. He tucked a curl behind my ear.

“
I can’t even tell you how
many nights I’ve laid awake thinking about this moment,”
he sent.

“
Me too,”
I sent back. The difference of course being that
I’d been in a cell on the lumpy piece of cardboard the prison
administrator called a bed.

“
Tals, I am so sorry. It
should have been me.”

I hadn’t meant to let the thought about my
time on Vault slip out.

“
Can we not do this
now?”
I pleaded.
“I won’t lie and say that the last month didn’t suck. But I
just want to forget about it for the next hour. Please.”

It was the please that caused Erik to grin
wickedly.

“
You’re adorable when you
beg.”

I rolled my eyes.
“I thought you liked strong women.”

“
Oh, I do. I also like to
know that you aren’t made of marble. With me, you can be
vulnerable. It only makes me love you more.”

Without warning, Erik rolled me onto my
back, his face hovering inches above mine.

“
You know what else is
adorable?”
He didn’t wait for answer,
before adding, “
That you think I’m going
to help you forget your troubles for just one hour.”

The Privileged

Besançon, France

The Night Before the Vote

Cressa’s eyelids felt like they were made of
lead, and glued together with cement. Given the last thing she
remembered, Cressa was surprised to find she wasn’t in excruciating
pain. Her body was weightless, as though she were suspended in
water. And yet, she didn’t feel like she was floating either.

In fact, Cressa didn’t feel anything at all
below her chin.

Alarmed, she tried wiggling her fingers and
toes. Nothing happened. She tried again, still to no avail. It was
like something was blocking the messages her brain was sending
out.

Cressa panicked.

She tried to scream. Though she felt her
lips move no sound came out. Full-blown terror set in. Except, she
had no visceral reaction. Her heart wasn’t pounding. Sweat didn’t
form on her face, which was the only part of her body Cressa could
feel. Even her breathing was even. It was her mind, not her lungs,
screeching for air.

“
Cressa? Are you okay? Can
you hear me?”

Soft fingers caressed her cheek. At the same
time a hand tipped her chin upwards. Warm breath fanned her face as
the person leaning over her let out a relieved sigh.

“
Cressa, can you hear me?”
the person repeated. “Please open your eyes. We need to
go.”

She recognized the voice. It belonged to
Kev. His touch was so gentle; all Cressa wanted was to snuggle
closer to him.

“
Cressa,” Kev snapped.
“Open your eyes.”

The next instant, her cheek was on fire.

Shock alone brought her mind into sharper
focus.

“
Did you just slap me?”
she asked incredulously. At least, that was what Cressa tried to
say, but the words came out jumbled and unintelligible.

Fingers pried her lids apart. Kev’s deep,
soulful eyes filled her vision. When he spoke, his voice was firm,
authoritative, just like the one her father used when scolding one
of his underlings.

“
You need to sit up. We
need to leave.
Now
. Do you understand?”

Her body obeyed the command with no
conscious thought on Cressa’s part. The sting in her cheek was
fading, but the rest of her body still felt numb. She looked down.
Thick blue gel swirled around her body from the waist down. The
same substance coated her arms and chest, which were bare.

Cressa let loose an ear-piercing scream.

Kev clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle
the noise.