The Mind Readers (20 page)

To say I was nervous would be an
understatement. We paused at a steel door that ironically reminded me of the
steel walls in my mind. I reinforced those mental walls, pulling my thoughts
inward, keeping them close as Aaron punched in a code on the panel next to the
door. I made out a one and a three on the keypad before he shifted, blocking my
view.

The door slid open to reveal a
dingy, stone room. Caroline stood there, trembling in her long, white nightgown.
She looked so small, so lost. Her pale face turned toward me, those eyes wide,
empty, almost.

“Caroline?” I started toward
her, Aaron moved in front of me, blocking my entrance.

“Caroline, Sweetheart, go to
bed. You’ve done what you can.”

The child moved around him. She
slid me a glance, something…something in her eyes… a silent message I wasn’t
getting.

“Why was she here?” I demanded
the moment she left the room.

“She was helping. She’s fine,
there’s nothing to worry about. Caroline is quite powerful.”

But it didn’t seem right,
something wasn’t right. A child here… in this dingy cell. No windows and only
one single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. But it was the man sitting on a
chair in the middle of the small space that drew my immediate attention. No, he
wasn’t just sitting; he was tied to that chair. His arms were pulled tightly
back behind him, his biceps bulging underneath his white dress shirt. His
wrists tied to the spindles on the back, while his ankles were tied with white
ropes to the legs of the chair.

Any lingering sleep disappeared;
my mind was no longer muddy. Shocked, I froze while Aaron went inside,
strolling toward Lewis. Yes, Lewis was there, standing casually to the side
like they hung out in stone cells together often.

“What the hell’s going on?” I
demanded, but he didn’t bother to answer.

Was I dreaming? It was like some
bad horror movie. With quick assessment, I took in what I could of the
situation. A cot was placed against the far wall, no sheet or blanket.
Obviously he was a prisoner of some sort. Was he S.P.I.? As if sensing my
question, he slowly lifted his head. A gag bit into his mouth, the white
material contrasting against his tanned skin. His gray eyes met mine, mutinous
gray eyes that pierced my skin, seared my soul. He hated me with a hatred that
was almost tangible.

I sucked in a sharp breath.
Although he was tied and unable to move, it didn’t make me feel any better. His
skin had an unhealthy ash color to it and his hair was matted with sweat and
dirt. But even in his animalistic state, I could see he was gorgeous. As
ridiculous as it sounded, I wasn’t expecting that. Weren’t evil people supposed
to be big, bully men…not freaking models?

Twenty, twenty-one? I wasn’t
sure about his age. The white button-up shirt he wore was filthy and ripped on
the left sleeve, as if he’d been in a fight. His gray slacks were just as rough
looking, caked with mud at the cuffs.

“What happened? Who is he?” I
demanded, my voice harsh with emotion.

“This,” Aaron nodded toward the
man, “Is part of the group who wants us dead.”

This?
As if he wasn’t a real person? I looked at him again. He
seemed so young, so harmless. So human. Did he really work for S.P.I.?

“This can’t be legal,” I
whispered the obvious.

The man narrowed his eyes into a
glare, as if agreeing with me. I had to resist the urge to step back,
intimidated by his stare. He was broader in the shoulders than Lewis, taller
than Lewis, angrier than Lewis and Aaron put together. I didn’t blame him. I
didn’t like this situation. It didn’t feel right.
 

“Aaron,” I whispered.

Aaron waved me over and as I
stepped inside the small room, he shut the door behind me so that I was trapped
as well. “We caught him lurking around the property.”

The man mumbled something
indecipherable through his gag, but I could imagine it wasn’t pleasant
introductions.

“He works for S.P.I., the very
people who killed your father and Lewis’s parents.”

I glanced at Lewis. He was
merely standing there, arms crossed over his chest, glaring down at the man. He
didn’t bother to glance my way. No, he was focused on the S.P.I. agent, like a
dog wanting to go after a squirrel. I didn’t know or understand this angry
Lewis. The Lewis I’d been introduced to on our date was back.

“We need to find out what he
knows,” Aaron explained.
        

I brushed aside Aaron’s comment.
At the moment it didn’t seem important. No, what was more important was that we
had someone illegally restrained in the basement. “How long has he been here?”
I should have felt angry toward the man who worked for S.P.I., the people
responsible for my father’s death. But all I felt was sick.

“A week.”

Startled, I was quiet for a
moment, mulling over the reality of what they’d done. A week? For a week they’d
kept this man tied up, alone in this cell? Smudges marked the area under his
steel eyes. The shadow of a beard was beginning to form along his jaw line. A
week with no sunlight, apparently no bath. My horror increased. “Why?”

“What would you have us do?”
Lewis snapped, finally looking at me. The anger in his gaze was shocking. “We
can’t let him go. He knows who we are, where we are. We’re tired of running,
Cam. Tired of hiding. We shouldn’t have to.”

I looked at the agent again; he
was staring daggers as if he blamed me for this entire incident. Why me? I
hadn’t tied him up. I hadn’t even known he was here.

Aaron rested his hand on my
shoulder, the touch jarring. “We can’t just let him go.”

“What does that mean? What will
you do with him?” I demanded.

“We have no idea what he knows,
that’s why we need your help,” Aaron said, ignoring my question.

“How,” I asked, not sure I
really wanted to know.

Aaron cupped my shoulders,
stepping in front of me and blocking the man from view. “We need to pull out
his thoughts, his memories.”

Pull out someone’s thoughts? It
sounded invasive, wrong. It was one thing to read someone’s thoughts that were
flowing freely into the universe, but to drag them out? “Okay, so why haven’t
you?”

Aaron released his hold and
stepped back. With a sigh, he rubbed his brow. He looked tired, worried.
“S.P.I. places a chip in their officer’s heads. A chip that blocks their
thoughts from being read by people like us.”

“And you want me to remove the
chip?” I asked, my voice shrill. Well really, there was a limit to what I would
do and I drew the line at surgery.

“No, of course not.” Aaron moved
around the room, pacing as he rubbed the back of his neck. “If we concentrate
hard enough, we can override the chip and pull the info from his mind, but
Lewis and I aren’t strong enough alone.”

Oh God, I didn’t need to be a
genius to know where this was going. “You need my help.”

He nodded.

My stomach twisted in protest.
“But I don’t know how.”

“You do. We’ve taught you.”

I swallowed hard and dared to
glance at the man. He was still glaring at me and his gaze sent a shiver of
unease over my skin. Those eyes…those eyes promised retribution if he ever
managed to free himself. He could easily kill me with his hands. My attention
slipped to the ties binding him to the chair, making sure he was secure.

They wanted me to help. What
choice did I have? I owed Lewis and Aaron. Besides, this man was responsible
for my father’s death. This man would kill me if he could. So why did I feel
sick at the thought of invading his mind?

Aaron sighed, raking his hands
through his hair. “I suppose we could try to use Caroline again.”

“No!” She’d had enough, didn’t
they notice how tired she’d looked? “I’ll do it.”

Aaron smiled and moved toward
the man, edging around him, his gaze unwavering like an animal of prey. Lewis
did the same, while I was forced to stay in front. We formed a sort of
triangle, three points and the agent was at the center. With my legs trembling,
I stood my ground, reminding myself that he was responsible for my father’s
death. For some reason it didn’t make me feel any better. I was far enough away
that if he was able to reach out, he wouldn’t touch me, but I swear I could
feel his hot breath on my face.

He was hunched slightly, like an
animal in a cage, his gray eyes piercing me, not wavering, not looking at Lewis
or Aaron. He knew I was the weakest link. Heat crawled slowly, torturously, up
my neck. He jerked forward. I jumped back. But his bindings held him tight and
he merely scooted an inch, his chair scraping against the stone floor.

“Cam, you’re all right, he can’t
escape,” Aaron insisted.
 

Right. Tell that to my heart,
which was currently threatening to make a mad leap from my chest and hightail
it out of there. I was the one standing directly in front of him and I was the
one he seemed intent on coming after. I stepped forward, back to my spot,
determined not to flinch under his hard stare. He wasn’t much older than me,
maybe three years. How had he gotten involved with S.P.I.?

Damn it all, as much as I wanted
to hate him, I couldn’t. Rationally, I knew he had nothing to do with my
father’s death; he was too young. But was Lewis right? Would he kill me if he
had the chance?

“All right, Cameron,” Aaron
said. “I want you to relax. Deep breaths in, out, close your eyes. You know the
drill.”

Being a coward, I was glad to
close my eyes so I wouldn’t have to look the agent in his eerie steel colored
gaze. I tried to relax, I pictured my ocean, breathed in and out, but it was
difficult, to say the least. I wasn’t sure how many minutes had passed, but I
suddenly found myself sitting on my beach, everyone forgotten. Only peace and
contentment surrounded me.

You’re going to concentrate on the man in front of you,
Aaron said,
his voice invasive.
Slowly open your
eyes, Cameron.

I didn’t want to, but I did. I
opened my eyes, but I no longer saw his glare. I only saw that steel gray. A
pool of melted metal that I sank into. As I fell, I felt like I was falling
through the very universe. Brilliant white stars flashing past me on a cool
breeze. I hit something hard, and stopped, suspended between the dark reality
of my subconscious.

“You feel it,” I vaguely heard
Aaron say. “That’s the chip that’s keeping you out. You have to push against
that blockade, Cameron.”

I focused more intensely, I
couldn’t let them down. Aaron and Lewis were counting on me. They’d taken me
in, they’d taught me when no one else would.

I didn’t question his decision,
but reached out and pushed against that wall. It was like I was working on auto
pilot; focused only on success. I concentrated as they’d taught me, and a small
sense of release whispered through my mind, a slight budge of the wall giving
way. Thrilled, I pushed harder. Sweat broke out on my trembling body, but I
didn’t relent. It didn’t take much before the dam burst. I felt as if a river
of color was suddenly flooding around me…memories that burst into full bloom.

People swept through my mind in
a whirlwind of emotion; laughing, arguing, talking, hugging. I tried to grasp
onto them, but they were gone before I had a chance. Christmas trees, presents,
birthday cakes, a mother and father beaming down at me. I saw teachers and then
college professors, I saw grades, sports…. Then suddenly it switched to men in
suits coming to my room, talking about recruiting me…

Everything went so fast I could
barely hold onto a single thought. I felt like I was spinning in space,
attempting to grasp onto anything that might help. But it was all too quick,
too confusing. And then I was looking at a girl…a girl with dark hair and a
wide smile and my heart expanded. The girl he loved, I realized.

I’m Maddox
, a voice inside my head explained.

Nora
, the girl said softly and then in a flash she was gone.

More memories. Nora dancing…Nora
slipping her hands through my hair…or Maddox’s hair. So many memories…so
confusing…And then I heard it…a scream…as if someone was in pain. The sound
jerked me from his mind. The memories were gone and I floated in blackness.
Suspended for a brief moment in the silence of the universe, those white stars
pulsing around me. I couldn’t move, couldn’t see or feel anything. But I wasn’t
alone…no, there was a small white light in the distance.

There it was again. A scream of
pain.

I dove toward the conscious
world, that small beam of light that I knew would send me back into reality.
Within moments I slammed into my body. Freezing cold, like I’d been thrown into
ice water. Gasping for air. I stumbled back, falling against a warm body. The
room spun, the walls wavering in and out of focus. Aaron, frowning with
concern, stared down at me, yet there was something else in his
eyes…excitement?
  

“What happened?” I demanded.

Pushing away from Aaron, I
focused on Maddox. The man wasn’t moving, slouched forward so I couldn’t see
his face.

“Nothing, everything.” Aaron
grasped my shoulders and spun me around to face him. Dizzy, I wavered, his
beaming face going out of focus for a moment. “Did you get that?” His gaze
jumped to Lewis. “The information? My God, with her ability we can break in
anywhere.”

But Lewis was frowning. “They’re
coming.”
 

I was barely aware of what they
said, barely cared. I felt dizzy, off balance. My stomach was twisting and
turning. I glanced over my shoulder. Maddox still hadn’t moved. Why wasn’t he glaring
at me? Why wasn’t he trying to curse me out?

“Yes, but we can be ready for
them,” Aaron was saying.

Unconcerned with my safety, I
stepped closer to Maddox and knelt to get a look at his face. For some reason,
I needed to see his face. His eyes were closed, his forehead damp and pale. I
hesitated a moment, then reached out, nudging him in the shoulder. He didn’t
move. My heart jumped into my throat. Cupping the sides of his face, rough with
whiskers, I lifted his head. Blood trailed from the corner of his mouth. I
dropped my hold and jumped back.