The Decaying Empire (The Vanishing Girl Series Book 2) (22 page)

Caden’s jaw tensed; I could see him fighting back words he wanted to voice.

“I know how it looks,” I said, beating him to it. “We’re taking the bulk of the risk—we are.”

His hand slid behind my neck. “I don’t want you to get hurt, and this plan of ours puts you repeatedly in danger.”

“It puts both of us in danger,” I corrected.

“I have years of field experience, angel.”

I flashed him a disbelieving look. “Are we really back here, to square one? Where you insist that I need to follow your lead because you know better?”

“You’re twisting my words.”

I stepped out of his embrace. “You need to back off,” I said. “I get it, okay? I get it that I’m forcing your hand—that you’re losing control of the situation. But being protective of me does not mean my decisions need to go through you.”

I grabbed my shoes and stalked away.

“Angel!” he called out after me. I didn’t stop walking. “You’re wrong. You don’t get it, and I hope to God you’ll never have to.”

That evening Caden and I arrived at the campfire in tense silence. We hadn’t talked about what had happened earlier in the day, and I didn’t much want to.

Luckily, Eric and Serena were already there, which eliminated the need to fill in the silence with the argument that was still at the forefront of Caden’s and my minds.

“This way,” Eric said, tilting his head to the woods behind us. He slung a bag over his shoulder and moved into the darkened forest.

I shone my flashlight after him. In another life, walking into dark, unfamiliar woods would have been scary. Now the woods had to get in line; I had other, very real fears to worry about.

We hiked uphill for about half a mile before Eric set down his bag. From it he pulled out several folded sheets of paper. Serena took these from him and glanced up at us almost shyly. “First of all, thank you both,” she whispered to Caden and me.

Caden crossed his arms, his hard eyes focused on her. “We didn’t have much of a choice,” he said, his gaze flicking to Eric. The other teleporter didn’t look apologetic in the least.

Serena also turned her attention to Eric. “Yes, I heard about what happened. I’m sorry about that, but we both do want to leave this place. In fact,” she said, “we’ve already figured out how to escape. All that we ever needed was another couple.”

“And someone to cut the power,” Caden added.

“Yeah, and that.” Serena’s eyes moved to me. “I heard you have a connection that can do this.”

“I have a connection who
might
do it,” I clarified. “Sunday is a bit soon for him.” Next to me Caden flashed an expression at Eric that said,
I told you so
.

“Wait.” Eric took a step forward, ignoring Caden. “You mean you’ve already spoken with him?”

I glanced uncertainly at Caden. He nodded for me to continue. “I have.”

“Tell them the rest,” Caden said, his eyes still hard.

I puffed out a breath. Someone wasn’t having a good day. “Everything?” I asked.

“Everything.”

“It’s a long story.” Like a really long story.

Eric took a seat on the ground. “We have time.”

“Okay,” I said, shaking my head once. I sat down on the ground as well, and for the next thirty minutes, I filled the group in on Adrian, leaving nothing out, leaving no detail—not even the emergency phone number—out. If either Eric or Serena wanted to turn us in at this point, they’d have an overwhelming amount of evidence against us.

But at the moment, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“So you mean to tell me that if we make it to this safe house, we will be safe from the Project?” Serena sounded so hopeful.

“Somewhat.”

I could tell from Serena’s expression that it was enough. She and Eric had another plan in place—exposing the Project as quickly as possible once they escaped. This was a more practical alternative.

“This organization sounds suspicious,” Eric said.

Caden grunted his agreement. “That’s ’cause it is.”

I leveled my gaze on the three of them. “The government controls where we go, regardless of where in the world we are.” I’d learned this the hard way right after my eighteenth birthday. “The moment we leave this place, we’re going to have a bull’s-eye on us. Only Stonehawk has the ability to shield us from that control.”

“They still sound suspicious,” Eric said.

I nodded. These were old worries of mine.

He looked to the sky for patience. “Realistically, is this our best option?” he asked, directing the question at me.

I thought of Eric’s plan to expose the Project as soon as he and Serena escaped. That required finesse, strategy, and—most importantly—time. Was what Adrian offered the better alternative?

After a pause I responded, “Yes.”

By the end of the evening, we had a plan in place. Serena hadn’t been kidding when she said that they’d already figured this whole thing out.

“Between three and four a.m. Sunday morning, food trucks arrive and restock the cafeteria.” Smoothing out the blueprints he’d managed to steal, Eric pointed to the location in the middle of the facility.

“We’ll use this as a diversion,” he said, his gaze taking in both of us, “since most of the security attention will be focused on the main entrance and the unloading station. That’s where they think anyone fleeing will be. Meanwhile, we’ll be at the fence right here.” He pointed to an area at the edge of the map where the fence ran.

“And if Adrian doesn’t pull through?” Caden asked, his voice gravelly.

“If Adrian doesn’t pull through, we’ll figure something else out. But if the guy needs our help to expose the Project and clear his name like you said he does—then he will.”

Caden curled his lips and looked away, like the whole situation disgusted him.

“Once the power shuts off, we’ll leave our cabins and head here. You’ll see two boulders bordering the inner road. That’s where we’ll meet to cut through the fence,” Eric continued.

“And once we’re on the other side,” Serena picked up, “we’ll lie in wait for the outer unit’s vehicle.”

Caden leaned back on his haunches, his forearms resting on his knees. “So you want us to overtake a vehicle carrying four armed men?”

“It’s not like you haven’t done this before,” Serena said.

Caden shook his head and laughed humorlessly. “Yes, but I always disappeared after ten minutes. I could be as loud and messy as I wanted.”

I winced at his words, all sorts of bloody situations flittering through my mind.

“To get them to stop the car, someone’s going to have to act as the diversion,” he said.

A corner of my mouth rose. This was one thing I could do. “I’ll do it.”

Next to me Caden tensed. Finally he gave a jerky nod. “I agree. Ember’s the most iffy with a weapon.”

That earned him a glare. He grinned at me, his eyes playful and his expression transformed from the hardened one he’d worn only seconds ago. “Okay, okay,” he admitted, “you do know how to handle some weapons . . .”

“Thank you,” I said.

“. . . in the bedroom.”

I narrowed my eyes at him just as Serena said, “Ugh, Caden, leave the dirty talk for behind closed doors.”

His grin only deepened. “Ember’s also the best at persuasion,” he continued, his smile wilting as we got back to business. “It’s what she’s been trained for.”

“Great,” Eric said. “Ember will create a diversion, the three of us will pick our targets and ambush them—Ember, you’ll take the driver—and then we’ll grab the car and go.”

“Won’t the facility find it suspicious when their military vehicle drives away?” I asked.

“That’s the thing,” Serena said, cutting in, “the outer circuit branches off near the main entrance. There’s an access road soldiers use to refuel their vehicles and change guard without breaking formation. While the rest of the facility is focused on the food trucks, we’ll slip by on this access road. And then we’ll be free.”

As everyone got up to go, I pulled Serena aside. “How well do you know the hospital wing?”

She shoved the last of the maps back into her bag. “Like the back of my hand,” she said. “Caden’s good at
. . .
convincing people, Eric’s good at hacking, and I’m good at learning a place’s secrets.”

That was what I thought. After Eric had spread the blueprints on the ground, I noticed most rooms had notes penned on them. From the loopy script I’d guessed Serena, and not Eric, had filled in the extra details. She’d written things like
cook #3 stashes his spare keys here
and
air-duct entrance here
.

Serena gave me a curious look. “What do you want to know?”

“I need to get my hands on those sedatives they give us before a mission.”

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t ask me to elaborate. “Those are kept under lock and key in a temperature-regulated container—looks a lot like the love child of a fridge and a snack machine. You’d need a keycard to access it.”

Not a problem if the power would be out.

“Where can I find the container?”

“Hospital basement. Third door on the left.”

“Perfect.” I had my own mission to execute.

CHAPTER 13

I
didn’t see Adrian again until Wednesday.

“Took you long enough,” he said when I showed up next to him in a Swiss grocery store clad in a T-shirt and jeans.

“Have a little sympathy. I just disappeared from a crowded dining hall where I’m going to show up naked in ten minutes.”

“Sounds fun,” he said, perusing the shelved items.

I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

He grabbed a can of soup and moved down the aisle. “I can do what you asked,” he said.

It took several seconds for Adrian’s words to register. I stood there, staring at his back until he looked over his shoulder, one eyebrow cocked.

“You mean you can cut the power?” I clarified.

“And arrange your escape.”

Rarely did I get übergirly, but this was an exception. I squealed and threw my arms around him. He grunted, dropping his basket of groceries.

“Thank you, Adrian,” I said. It felt like something had been lifted from my chest.

He hesitated, and then his arms came around me, squeezing me back. “Hey, no problem,” he said. His stubble grazed my forehead, his breath stirring my hair.

Eventually, when I calmed down, I stepped out of his embrace.

“What time do you need to schedule the blackout?” he asked, picking up his basket of groceries.

“Ideally from three to four a.m.”

Adrian began walking again, and I followed alongside him. “Thirty minutes is the best I can do.”

“Then do three to three thirty.”

“Done.”

We walked down the aisle, and I grabbed a chocolate candy bar and threw it into the basket.

He glanced down at it, confused.

“For when I arrive,” I explained.

“And you want me to buy it for you.”

I stared at the bar and had a change of heart. I pulled it from his basket and tore the wrapper open.

“What are you doing?”

“I decided I didn’t want to save it for when I arrived.” I bit down and almost moaned at the taste. They just didn’t make chocolate the same in the States.

Adrian sighed. “Do you break some law everywhere you go?”

“I’m not going to be breaking the law. You’re buying.”

Adrian snorted. “It still baffles me why I like you,” he said.

“I’m charmingly endearing,” I said, grinning in between bites. “You can’t help it.”

Adrian winced at my smile. “Someone will be waiting for you in Big Bud’s, a diner in Eureka, Montana. The city is less than ten miles south of the US-Canada border, and it should be about an hour north of the facility you’re at.”

I committed the information to memory.

“Be there by eight a.m.,” Adrian said, “or else my contact will leave without you. He’ll take you to an airfield where you’ll board a private jet. The flight will land in Saint John’s, Newfoundland. From there you’ll take a commercial flight to Zurich under pseudonyms.”

I took another bite. “What happens when they ask to see our passports and we don’t have any?” I asked around a mouthful of chocolate. Caden’s forged passports were still stashed inside some PO box in Big Sur, and I doubted Eric and Serena even had fakes to use.

Adrian’s eyes drifted over various packaged pasta noodles. “We’ve paid off the staff to look the other way,” he said, turning to me.

I mulled this over as I finished off the bar of chocolate. The plan he had in mind seemed precarious, like any chink in it would throw the entire thing off.

He must’ve read my expression, because he said, “Just make sure to be at Big Bud’s by eight. Leave the rest for me to worry about.”

“And once we land in Zurich . . . ?”

“I’ll pick you up from the airport and take you to the safe house.”

“How safe will we be once we arrive?” I asked.

“The place is reinforced with lodestones that repel unauthorized imprints. No stray teleporter will be able to teleport onto the property.”

We’d be safe
. . .
but still confined.
It’ll only be temporary,
I told myself.

I dropped the now-empty candy bar wrapper into Adrian’s basket. When I turned to him, he laughed. “I think you managed to get chocolate everywhere but your mouth.”

I licked my fingers. “I beg to differ.”

Adrian reached out and wiped the corner of my lip with his thumb. “There,” he said, his hand lingering. His eyes stayed locked on my lips.

Desire spread over his face, and he leaned forward.

He wants to kiss me. Oh holy shitballs—Adrian Sumner wants to kiss me.

I backed away, eyeing him warily. “Big Bud’s. Eight a.m. Eureka, Montana. I got it.”

He blinked several times, recovering his focus. “Ember . . .” he said, his face remorseful.

“We’ll be there.” I turned on my heel and left a bewildered Adrian behind me.

It wasn’t any wonder I ran from my problems. I was damn good at it.

Over the rest of the following week, Caden, Serena, Eric, and I met up several times to put the final touches of our plan into place and to scout our meeting area. By then I’d passed on the information Adrian shared with me.

I’d only seen Desiree’s mother, Terri, twice since she’d visited us, and both times from a distance. She hadn’t been kidding about this being a hands-off facility. Not that the teleporters didn’t make up for it. Over the past several days, pairs had introduced themselves to Caden and me, doing their best to welcome us into the fold.

During the day Caden and I received IT training; if we weren’t going to be agents, then the Project would use us as research analysts. The work was just as boring as it sounded, and it made me almost wish to be back on missions. Almost.

I also teleported increasingly less while awake, but it hadn’t ceased happening. I’d begun to notice a trend to these particular teleports. They tended to occur when I was especially exhausted, which made sense, considering I normally teleported right
after
I fell asleep.

I’d kept this information from Caden and hid my trips from him now that I could somewhat predict them. He believed I’d worked my day teleports out of my system.

Now as the four of us met just hours before our escape, I slid a hand in my pocket and fingered the GPS tracker I’d been carrying. I would have to set in motion my backup plan. I’d been dreading doing this all week.

“Do you guys have everything you need packed?” Caden asked Serena and Eric.

“We do,” Serena said. “How about you guys?”

I dropped my hand to my side. “One bag’s packed and hidden near our meeting spot. The other’s in our cabin, ready to go.”

“Eric, you got the blowtorch?” Caden asked. Because we were going to melt our way through the fence.

“Caden, it’s all taken care of.”

Caden ran his hands through his hair, then nodded. He was what I’d like to call a calculated risk taker. Tonight’s plan—hell, our entire escape—had too many ifs for his liking.

My heart pounded at the thought of what we were going to do, but a heady sort of exhilaration also flowed through me. From the look on everyone else’s face, I wasn’t alone.

As our final meeting wound down, there was only one last thing I needed to do. I pulled Eric aside. “Tonight I’m going to be a little late . . .”

By the time I’d finished explaining the circumstances, his face was grim.

“Promise me you’ll take Caden with you,” I said.

His eyes looked empathetic, and for all of Eric’s disturbing behavior, I realized we shared a strange sort of camaraderie. “I’ll do my best,” he said.

My stomach dropped as I glanced over at Caden. He caught my eye and flashed me a smile that reached his eyes.

He’d asked me not to keep secrets for this very reason. Because later tonight I was going to have to leave him.