The Decaying Empire (The Vanishing Girl Series Book 2) (16 page)

Caden removed one of the hands that cradled my thighs. A second later he ran it between my legs.

“Ho-
ly
hell,” I breathed.

He laughed again, and in it was that male smugness I loved so much about him. “Are you ready for this, angel?” he asked, still stroking me.

“What kind of question is—” My voice cut off abruptly as Caden lifted me onto him and thrust into me.

“Condom,” I gasped.

“Already taken care of.”

When I gave him a disbelieving look, he took my hand in his, a mischievous smile on his face, and reached between my legs. And then I was touching him. My fingers ran over the smooth latex of the condom, and tension that I hadn’t been aware of released from between my shoulders.

He pumped his hips in and out of me, and my head lolled back. “I’d never forget, Ember,” he said staring into my eyes. “You can always trust me when it comes to that.”

I caressed his face as he moved inside me. “Thank you.” He kissed my collarbone in response.

There was nothing sweet about the way we made up. So much for rewarding bad behavior. Caden’s strokes were punishing. Something about us crashing together and releasing everything that had come between us felt liberating.

The press of his skin on mine, the hot taste of him as he kissed me, the tight grip of his hands on my hips—like I might disappear if he let go—it was suddenly, overwhelmingly too much.

I cried out as shockwaves rippled out from my core, and I tightened my hold on Caden. He pumped faster, groaning as his release joined my own.

Leaning my head back, I began to laugh, and once I started I couldn’t stop.

Because it was all gone. Every worry, every fear, every pressure that had choked me from the inside out. All that was left were the stars in the sky, the chill of the night, and the man wrapped around me, who stared at me like I was his whole world.

Richards leaned back in his chair and watched the grainy footage play out on his laptop screen. He’d spent hours poring over footage of Ember and Caden since the two had been reunited. The boy looked happy; he’d give him that much. But there was something else there—something about Caden’s mannerisms, his body language—that set Richards on edge, and he’d already been on edge.

He couldn’t tell if he was uneasy about Caden’s relationship with Ember, or if it had more to do with his own relationship to the boy. So he continued to watch the footage.

Since Caden’s pair had reentered his life, the two had wandered into the forest often, away from the cameras that littered the facility. It could easily be written off as them wanting to reacquaint themselves without being caught on video; Caden would know that the surveillance in the woods was spotty at best, unlike the rooms inside the main building.

Richards drummed his fingers on his office desk. Yes, it could easily be explained away, but Richards wasn’t in the business of explaining things away. No, he was in the business of being skeptical and neutralizing threats.

And these two had officially become a threat. The sneaking around, Caden’s subversion, Ember’s unstable behavior—at best their conduct would catch other teleporters’ attention if it hadn’t already, and that could breed further insurrection. At worst the two might attempt escape.

He picked up the phone and dialed Debbie. She answered on the first ring. “Debbie, I’m going to need you to rush that eval you’re doing on Ember Pierce.”

“But, sir, I still have several remaining sessions with her. I haven’t even begun—”

“Evaluate what you have. Cancel your appointments and get me that write-up.”

“Yessir.”

Richards hung up and sighed. Caden was their best teleporter. He hated the thought of losing him. But it had to be done.

For two days life continued as usual—save for teleporting during the day into a candy shop. But by Friday morning, long before the sun rose, loud knocks sounded on my door. I woke up with my heart hammering in my chest.

“What’s going on?”

“Get dressed, angel,” Caden said, grabbing a nearby pair of jeans and shoving his legs into them.

He didn’t need to tell me twice. I slipped on my clothes as the banging increased. “Ember Pierce and Caden Hawthorne!” a voice bellowed from the other side of the door. “Richards wants to see you both.”

When my eyes found Caden’s, I knew he could see the whites of them.

This is it—I’ve failed and dragged Caden down with me.

Before either of us could answer the door, a key slid into our lock. I heard a click, and then the door swung open. Not two seconds later, a group of guards entered the room, corralling Caden and me out the door.

The hallway was deserted save for our little group. Not even the kitchen was open at this ungodly hour. This felt too much like a midnight execution.

A warm hand brushed against mine, grasping it. I glanced over at Caden, and he gave me a small nod. Whatever came to pass, he’d be with me.

The soldiers led us to a conference room. When the door swung open and we were shuffled inside, I had several ideas of what we might see.

None of them were accurate.

My instructors lined the seats, and at the head of the table sat Dane Richards. He gestured to the chairs closest to us. “Please.”

I eyed Caden, who gave me a reassuring look, and gingerly sat down.

Once we’d both gotten settled, Dane began. “Ember, Caden, thank you for joining us.”

As if we had a choice.

“Since you’ve been back, Ember, the facility has rigorously been evaluating your reentry. Some of it you know about—such as the counseling sessions with Debbie—and other evaluations you have not been aware of.

“We were hoping that, ideally, both you and Caden would return to your former distract-extract team.”

I noticed Caden’s hands fist below the table. I shared his anger.

“However,” Richards continued, “that is no longer a realistic option. I’m sorry to say that you failed the evaluation.”

I stiffened at that. What was going on? I’d only been back a week. Of course I’d fail it in that amount of time; both physically and emotionally I was still in bad shape—even I could admit this much.

“What does that mean?” I asked. The words came out clear, strong, but inside I was quaking. Was this whole thing just a ruse to permanently do away with me?

Almost on cue a knock sounded, and one of the men who’d escorted us opened the door. In walked a woman in a lab coat.

Shit. It was.

I stood. “What’s going on?” I stared at the woman while I spoke.

“It’s obvious that you two care for each other quite a bit,” Dane said, acting reasonable—magnanimous even. “You both came close to being permanently separated, and I’m sure that’s something that weighs heavily on your minds. We’ve decided the best course of action at this point is to send you both to the Montana facility.”

I was already getting ready to fight when I processed his words. “Wait—
what
?” I said, swiveling to face Dane.

“The Montana facility,” he repeated calmly.

Better than death but worse than remaining here. At least here we had an escape set up. Montana was a foreign state. It had different, unknown terrain; it was colder, less populated, and farther from the preferred border.

I backed up. “I haven’t had enough time to acclimate.”

Caden’s eyes were trained on me. I refused to look at him because I knew what I would find. He’d tell me with his body language not to fight this. Not to draw attention to the fact that this would ruin our plans.

“We have enough evidence to make a decision. Like the other pairs at the Montana facility, you can petition for reentry into missions at a later date.” The glint in Dane’s eyes was triumphant.

He must’ve suspected. And my acting out right now only further proved his suspicions.

I finally snuck a peek at Caden. His jaw tightened, the only hint that this displeased him.

“Now,” Dane said, splaying his fingers on the papers arranged in front of him, “you’ll be leaving today.”

“Today?”
My eyes almost popped out. Then they moved to the doctor.

Not just today. This moment. I backed up only to collide with the rigid body of one of the guards.

The woman stepped forward. “Ember, Caden,” she said, nodding at each of us.

Caden stood. “Why are you here?” he asked. I could see his arm muscles straining with tension.

“You will need to be sedated for your journey.”

We’d been had.

“What?”
Caden said. Almost reflexively he stepped in front of me. As though protecting me would do a damn thing about our situation. As though the doctor posed a bigger threat than the men at our backs or the instructors quietly watching this entire situation unfold.

“Your file says that you’ve experienced involuntary teleportation while awake. We can’t chance your safety,” the woman said, clearly addressing me even though I could barely see her around Caden.

Well played, Richards, well played.

“Why does Caden need to be sedated?” I asked.

The doctor’s gaze flicked to Richards, then back to me. “I’m not at liberty to disclose that information,” she said.

A cop-out answer. The real reason was obvious: Dane had already considered the possibility that we’d try to escape. Now he’d prevented that from happening.

The doctor looked between Caden and me skeptically. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to do this here.”

“No-no-no-no-no,” I said, shaking my head. Fear closed my throat. What if they set me up again?

Caden swiveled to face me just as a heavy hand dropped to my shoulder, pushing me down toward my seat.

“Don’t fucking touch her,” Caden said, forcing the soldier’s arm off me.

Across the room I heard Richards’s soft sigh. “Restrain them both.”

I saw a wounded look flash through Caden’s eyes. That was how it went with betrayal. Though this act was much smaller than the one I’d experienced, Caden had more emotions invested in Dane the Dick.

Several pairs of arms grabbed me and pushed me down into my seat.

“Who should I sedate first?” the woman in the lab coat asked Richards.

Rather than watching helplessly, I leaned my head back against the chair and closed my eyes, checking out of the moment.

“The girl first.”

My muscles tensed.

“Angel, it’s going to be okay.” Caden’s voice was gentle.

I nodded and opened my eyes to take him in. Twice as many soldiers held him down, not that he was struggling any longer.

The woman came over and placed a medical bag on the table in front of me. From it she pulled out rubbing alcohol and swabs and got to work.

The usual prep set me on edge, so I focused on the details. The doctor’s French-tipped nails. The label on the vial of sedative—fentapropol. The fact that she smelled like jasmine. I felt a prick of pain, and I jerked my arm at the sensation. The soldiers’ grips on me tightened.

“I’m going to need you to hold still,” the woman said as she emptied the sedative into me.

I made a small, bleak noise when, a moment later, the doctor removed the needle and placed a compress on the prick. “All done,” she said as if I were a child.

I held my arm, scowling at the tiny red droplet of blood that had formed over the needle’s entry point. Already my limbs began to feel heavy, and my eyes began to lose focus.

My head listed to the side, and I stared into Caden’s face. “Don’t let them . . .” I lost the thought. What had I been about to say? My eyelids closed. The thought niggled at the edge of my mind, but the moment I seemed to grasp it, it slipped away.

“I love you,” Caden said. The words sounded like they came from far away.

I smiled, or tried to. Everything felt so heavy. I gave myself over to sleep, and soon my worries were replaced by a familiar oblivion.