The Cure (27 page)

My gaze went to Tom, whose eyes hadn’t left my face. I wondered how he really felt about me. Not that it mattered. “Then let me go.”

Justine laughed softly, her breath warm on my ear. “Don’t be ridiculous. You and Tom need some time alone. I know you have a lot to talk about. But first, we need to see who might be looking for you. Did you and Keene bring any more of Ava’s motley clan? That might upset things a tad. Why don’t you make it easy for everyone and tell me right now?”

Cort had said the Emporium agents didn’t seem aware they were being followed in the jungle, but surely they’d known we’d come once we heard of the fire. Maybe they hoped we’d think it was an accident. With only a few survivors, which they were doing their best to mop up, how would we ever know?

Wait.
Had she said “any
more
of Ava’s motley clan?” Because that sounded like she was aware of at least some of them.

“She’s not going to tell you,” Tom said.

My eyes flicked back to him. “Oh, so you
can
speak.”

“I’ll get her back to the room,” he continued, ignoring me. “You go grab those supplies. That clerk should have them here by now. Hurry, I’ll need to check in with the senator before he goes to sleep.”

“What senator exactly?” I asked. “How does he work into all this?” I really wanted to ask about the agents who’d stolen the research, but mentioning them would warn Justine that we were onto them.

“Don’t play stupid,” Tom growled. “You know what our plans are, or you wouldn’t be here with Keene.”

“The senator has nothing to do with me,” I retorted. Was it even remotely possible that he and Justine were here only for Senator Bellars and weren’t connected with the lab? I didn’t think so.

Tom arched a brow. “Then why are you here?”

“Vacation. I hear they have some wonderful ruins around here.”

Justine snorted impatiently. “Watch her. I’ll meet you back at the room.”

I waited for her to hand over the gun, but Tom pulled out one of his own. The way he handled it told me he’d been practicing.

“Edgel will go with you.” Justine’s trust in Tom apparently did not extend far.

Tom didn’t protest. “There’s more than we’re seeing here. A lot more. There’s a pattern I can’t quite make out.”

A pattern? That had to be something related to his ability.

Justine smiled at him as though he’d said something brilliant. “Great. Try to figure it out, would you?”

Tom shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it to Justine. “Drape it over her shoulder.”

“That’s right, can’t have her bleeding all over the place in front of the other guests.” Justine positioned the jacket and then kissed the air near my cheek mockingly before striding away. All of us watched her swaying back and forth until she was out of sight and the pheromones began to dissipate.

Tom put his hand with the pistol in his pocket to hide it. “Let’s go, Erin.”

I considered running, but Edgel loomed nearby, his stoic face belying the anger that exuded from the taut lines of his body. Every place he’d hit me ached—my cheek especially—and my head was growing fuzzy. The worst was the gunshot; I was pretty sure the bullet was still deep inside my flesh.

Holding my right arm with my left to minimize the pain, I preceded Tom back inside the hotel. “So, what’s your plan?” I probed. “Are you going to kill someone?” I tried to make it sound ludicrous, but the attempt fell flat. I glanced over my shoulder.

Tom frowned. “I have a duty to protect the Emporium’s interests.”

“Don’t you mean the Triad’s interests?”

“Same thing.”

“I don’t think so.” I stopped walking and waited until a foursome passed us in the otherwise deserted hallway. “Do you really believe in their vision of utopia? Because it sounds to me an awful lot like Unbounded ruling the world.”

Tom laughed. “What’s wrong with that? Look, Erin, I spent years investing money for rich people who were ahead in this world only because they’re rich. I have a chance now to be one of those people, and I’m not passing it up. The mortals don’t really matter to me. Their lives are too short to make any impact. Now get going.”

He propelled me ahead with a gentle shove that felt like a baseball bat to my shoulder. “Sorry,” he muttered when I winced, but he didn’t sound repentant.

We marched toward the senator’s wing. When I realized the direction we were heading, I began hoping we’d run into Keene. I even sent my mind searching for him, but my thoughts didn’t seem to get past the pounding in my head. I was having problems seeing now, and the urge to vomit was growing.

I stumbled on the stairs to the second floor, but when Tom reached out to me, I hurried ahead blindly—only to run into a wide man in a white linen shirt and a thick gold necklace. Both of which I saw very close up, since my nose hit his chest. Agony from my shoulder made the rest of him a blur.

“Too much to drink,” Tom apologized, scooping me into his arms. Blackness ate at the edges of my consciousness. The arms around me felt familiar but far from safe, unlike when I was with Ritter, though as far as I knew, Tom had never killed anyone and Ritter had killed many times.

Where was Ritter now? And Keene? The worst was not knowing if Justine and Tom had discovered Mari and Hertenstein. If we didn’t recover the research, the doctor was Stella’s only hope at recreating the formula for Bronson, and Mari’s ability made her invaluable to the Renegades. If Justine found them, I’d never forgive myself.

My sight was clearing a bit, and I could see Edgel reaching to unlock a door.
Now,
I thought. Twisting, I slammed the palm of my hand into Tom’s chin. With enough force, apparently, to make him drop me. Liquid fire erupted from my wound. I heaved twice, but nothing came up except the sour taste of bile.

A sound behind me. I lashed out a foot, felt it connect and heard a satisfying grunt. I scrambled to my feet and half stumbled, half fell down the stairs.

“Get her!” Tom’s voice.

That I made it to the bottom of the stairs was small comfort. I turned to see a fist coming straight at my eyes. I crumpled from the impact.

“Guess I made it here just in time.” Justine stared down at where I’d fallen. For someone who looked so feminine, she had a fantastic right hook.

By the time Edgel scraped me off the floor, Tom had the door to the room open. Inside, Mari sat on a chair, her hands tied and her eyes wide. She’d been crying, and there was a fresh cut on her bottom lip.

I glared at Tom as Edgel set me inside the door and shut it behind me. “She has nothing to do with this!”

Tom arched a brow. “Uh, you’re the one who brought her.”

Ignoring him, I went to Mari, anger fueling my strength. “Did they hurt you?” Something about her expression wasn’t right, though she hadn’t retreated into herself as she had before.

She shook her head, a sob coming from her throat. “They broke in. We hadn’t even eaten yet. And the doctor . . . they . . . they—oh, God, help us! They shot him!” Her voice rose hysterically, and I could barely understand her through her convulsive sobs. “There was bl-blood everywhere. All o-over the bed and . . . the wall. It was horr-horrible!”

I hugged her with my good arm. “It’s going to be okay,” I whispered in her ear. “Just don’t tell them anything. Nothing at all, got it?” What if she’d already told them about Ritter and the others? If she had, it might become impossible for them to retrieve the research.

I was yanked from Mari before she gave any response, pain bursting through my body at the sudden movement. I twisted to see Edgel grinning at me.

Justine watched us with a half smile on her face. “It was the Mexican.”

I blinked. “Benito’s yours?” Though I’d suspected the coincidence of his appearance, I didn’t want to believe it.

“Of course he’s not ours,” Tom answered with a little shudder.

Justine laughed. “No, but he was the reason we found you. Half the staff here is on our payroll, and they’ve looked closely at every single new guest since our arrival. Benito did fool us for a bit, but there aren’t many lowlifes dressed like him at a place like this, much less ones using business credit cards. The clerk checked him out like all the others and reported it when our automated checks showed the credit card came from a dummy corporation. It was easy enough to verify everything with a listening device on the room service cart.” Justine smiled. “Of course, we wouldn’t have been watching at all if we hadn’t baited Keene in the first place. You are all just icing on the cake.”

She walked over to the mound on one of the two beds, ripping off a blanket to reveal Benito, whose unnatural position for a moment made me suspect he was dead. “Wake up, you.” Justine jabbed at his shoulder. “Get into that bathroom and clean up. You stink, and I won’t endure another minute of your presence.”

Benito struggled to a sitting position as she shoved a plastic bag of clothing at his stomach, nearly toppling him again. He groaned but pushed doggedly to his feet. His face was mottled black on the left cheekbone, his right eye black and puffy, and he limped as he passed. He hesitated near me. Was that relief in his eyes?
Poor thing.
There was nothing I could do to help either him or Mari.

“And use soap,” Justine shot after him. She nodded at Edgel. “Keep an eye on him.” Taking a few steps toward Mari, she squatted down beside her. “Judging by her healing face, I’d say she’s Unbounded.” Glancing over at me, she reached out and stroked Mari’s hand. “Tell me, dear, what is your ability? Who are your ancestors?”

Pheromones swirled around us, making me feel dizzy and wanting. Was it my imagination or could I actually smell the faint scent of musk? Justine might have been too busy earlier laying a trap for me to get much information from Mari, but she wasn’t holding back now. With everything Mari had been through the past few days, she wouldn’t be strong enough to resist Justine. She wouldn’t even know what pheromone manipulation was.

Mari’s gaze shifted to me and just as quickly back to Justine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do.” Justine’s voice crooned. “You can trust me. I’m your friend. Who else is here? Did you come with others?”

Mari’s nostrils flared. “Go to hell.”

I had never been more proud of anyone than of Mari at that moment.

Justine’s slapped her hard across the face. I lunged to stop another blow, but someone moved behind me. Pain exploded in my brain and blackness filled the world.

F
INGERS OF LIGHT STREAMED IN
from curtains next to the bed, the pale rays falling over my face. I snapped open my eyes and looked around. I lay on a silky coverlet in the middle of a big bed, probably still at the Misión Palenque. My hands and feet were tied to the bedframe. I was wearing my stretch suit, minus the jacket, and my shoulder was wrapped in a thick bandage.

The lack of pain and light told me I’d been out a long time. Not a natural sleep, either, if the drug paraphernalia on the nightstand was any indication. An enjoyable buzz hummed in my veins, telling me they’d also given me their curequick equivalent. Despite this, I felt cold, as if someone had left the air conditioning on and hadn’t remembered to cover me with a blanket.

Voices floated to me from what I thought might be the door to the room. “You should have done it.” Justine’s brittle voice. “Why do you think I got the second room?”

The ropes holding me seemed to have significant give, so I reached a hand toward the closest syringe on the nightstand. A needle would make a sort of weapon, even if a poor one. But my hand stopped short of the syringe.

“Maybe you like them helpless and unwilling, but I don’t.” The second voice was Tom’s. “There was a time Erin
wanted
to be in my arms.”

I strained harder. One finger touched the syringe, and I flicked it off the nightstand onto the bed—only to discover that it didn’t have a needle. I pushed it off the bed so it wouldn’t be found.

“Those days are over,” Justine was saying now. “What’s important now is that you have this opportunity. You owe it to the Emporium and to me.”

I felt sick at the meaning of her words, and what she planned for me. I reached for another syringe but came up several inches short.

“I don’t
owe
anyone,” Tom said. “I’m not your useless mortal brother anymore. I have my own agenda.”

“It’s
our
agenda, and you were never useless, not as long as you were with her. That’s why you shouldn’t have passed it up. Think—a grandchild to not one but two of the Emporium’s Triad. If that child were Unbounded, we could control the very future of the Emporium. Of the world.” Her tone was vicious and excited.

Grandchild of
two
Emporium Triad members? Since she believed me to be Stefan’s offspring, that could only mean that Tihalt McIntyre, Cort and Keene’s father, was Tom’s biological father. He was a scientist like Cort and the real genius behind the Emporium’s genetic success, though less driven politically than his partners. I’d only met the man once, but he didn’t seem Justine’s type.