Wynter's Horizon (34 page)

“It’s better left alone.”

“I think you’re wrong.”

“Quinn,” I growled. He dropped it. I held out the small black box I had planned to give Wynter. It had survived the fight, nestled behind the smashed entryway table. Underneath the box, I had attached the envelope.

“Can you give her this for me?”

“Stay. Give it to her yourself.” Apparently, my growl should have been stronger.

I shook my head. I had to go. I needed answers. I had stayed here, hidden, afraid after Colombia, nursing my wounds and my failings, but what had that achieved? Odds were, my government had known about Lilly and hadn’t done a thing to help us. Well, help or not, I was going to find her. She wanted me, wanted revenge. She had better watch out. She was going to get me, all of me, and, after her, I was going to deal with the Ministry of Defense.

Sara came down the stairs, moved to Quinn’s side, slipping her hand in his, and nodded at me. “I’ll see you both in London,” I said then paused outside to listen to the ocean before jumping in the Jeep and pulling out of the driveway.

I had lied to Quinn. I was going by the hospital to see her. I just wasn’t planning on her seeing me.

I watched her sleeping from the corner behind the door. She had tubes running in and out. I could see the bandages on her neck and arm, and her swollen and bruised face. I wanted to reach over and touch her hair. But I didn’t. I stayed near the door, where she couldn’t see me and I couldn’t touch her. When I couldn’t risk it any longer, I slipped out.

Chapter Sixty-Three

Wynter—The Necklace

I woke as the sky lightened. The painkillers were finally wearing off. I’d hoped he’d have been here, sitting at the bed. Now, I realized there was little chance of that. If he was going to show up, he would have already. My breath hitched, almost rattling, sending waves of pain through my chest. I turned on the television to distract myself, but my eyes kept wandering to the window. Twisting my hospital band around my wrist, I watched my name and ID number turn as I thought of a million things and nothing at all. I remembered his face that night he called me the cab.
How the hell did we get here?

“Hey. How’re you doing?” I looked up. Something wet dropped on my neck. Tears. I hadn’t even felt them. I carefully raised my bandaged arm and swiped them away.

“Hi, Quinn. How did you get in after visiting hours?”

He shrugged as if they didn’t mean anything. “I have my ways. Does it hurt a lot?”

“Which part? The ribs or the heart?” I tried smiling but failed. He raised an eyebrow back. “He’s not coming, is he?”

He cleared his throat. “No. He left.” I nodded stoically.

I didn’t want to openly sob, but I didn’t know if I could hold it in. “Does he hate me? Is he okay?”

He was next to the bed in an instant. “Hate you? Christ, Wynter, he almost killed you. He’s embarrassed—and scared and mad as hell at himself. He never wanted you to see that part of him. Maybe confused, too—he’s not really good at this.”

“Well, I don’t know what he’s embarrassed at. I’m the one who feels like the fool. After all this time, I knew so little. I opened up my life to him. He knew it all—all the stupid, idiotic things I did and felt and pathetic problems I had. And I never really knew him.”

He shook his head slowly. “No, Wynter, you knew him. He just didn’t want you to see the bad part. He keeps it so well hidden. Then he went and almost killed you. It’s tearing him up.” Maybe Quinn was right, but it hurt too much.

“So, after this I lose him anyway?”

He shrugged in reply. There were no words.

He held out a small box and envelope. “He asked me to give this to you.”

“You’re leaving, too, aren’t you?”

“Yes. We have things that have to be taken care of. I just wanted to make sure you have a way home.”

“I’ll be okay. Julia’s coming.”

“What about your parents?”

“They’re away in Italy.”

Quinn put his hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. I am. I told him to wait, but he just couldn’t.”

I nodded in understanding.

He smiled at me. “We’re going to London. We’ll be back. Once it’s over.”

I smiled back shakily. “Thanks, Quinn … for saving my life.”

“Anytime.” And then he was gone and I was alone, turning the black box over and over in my hands. In a day, I’d lost half my life. I didn’t want to open the letter. Once I did, there was no going back. I took a deep, shaky breath and slid my finger under the edge of the envelope.

Wynter,

Not that words are enough but I’m sorry.

It took a while to find the form underneath. I hope it brings you some peace. You deserve that. There is always more to the story. Scout and Atticus Finch showed us that. Remember, seeing the other side is a gift. It was for me. It allowed me to get to know you. Thank you for that. Hold onto it.

Yours always,

Beck

I unfolded the document—a photocopy, one page. Abby’s death certificate. Cause of death said major organ failure. Highlighted in yellow was
BAC: .135
. She had been over the limit. No one had told me, but then again I hadn’t told them what I knew. He had found it. For me. The ache in my chest got stronger.

I opened the box and found, nestled on the velvet, a silver necklace with a charm of the moon and a star made up of tiny diamonds. It was just like the one from the arcade, only beautiful. I held it up, and it sparkled. We had walked such a fine line up to now between friendship and anything else. I had never understood where we were headed. Now I feared it. I stared out the window, waiting for the sun to break through the sky.

Chapter Sixty-Four

Beck—Phineas

We met at Katherine and Nathaniel’s estate outside London. It was in the Cotswolds, in a quaint town called Upper Slaughter. I remembered when they had found and bought the place, cackling away at the fitting name. It was a beautiful place and just what we needed to figure out a plan while we waited for my strength to return.

It was our usual group: Sara, Quinn, Fiona, Harold, Joanna, Campbell, Katherine, and Nathaniel. On New Year’s Day, Nathaniel finally found a source that—after much persuasion, a little torture, and lots of money—informed us Lilly had been released months ago and that her movements had been well known by the Ministry of Defense. Nothing like your bosses, or ex-bosses, turning on you. We tried to reach someone there, but all doors were closed. Now, they weren’t even pretending. I wasn’t sure which bothered me more.

Nathaniel paused in his dissertation, rubbing his hand over his forehead. “She’s crazy, Beck. They knew she killed Michael and Audra and they did nothing to warn us. Obviously, they don’t care and, to be honest, the scuttlebutt I’ve turned up is that they want us dead.”

I studied the distraught faces around me, faces I had known for years, and wondered who would be next. Sara stared at the wall in despair. .

Then, as if a bell went off in her head, she stood. “We should go see Phineas.”

All eyes turned to her, but we remained silent. Phineas had been one of the oldest living members of the Ministry of Defense and co-founder of the Forum. He had retired a few years back. We had all met him, but Sara and he seemed to have a stronger connection. The rumor at MoD was that he was a recluse now living in an abandoned building near Prague. I had no idea if he could help, but it seemed we were sitting ducks without some assistance.

“Are you sure?” Quinn asked. She stared at him, the intensity of her gaze made me look away.

“Yes.” She moved smoothly, efficiently, to the door, her mind decided. She turned back to look at us. “You and Beck should come with me. The rest of you stay hidden until we get in touch.”

***

We traveled via train across the channel to Prague, covering our tracks as we had been taught. A plane would have been quicker, but we didn’t want to tangle with witnesses. When we arrived, Sara took us to a beautiful old brownstone building near Prague Castle.

“This is it?” Quinn asked incredulously. “He lives here?”

Sara smiled. “You shouldn’t believe all the rumors, Quinn. He’s old, not senile.”

The house was as impressive on the inside as the outside—deep polished oak stairs, marble floors, intricate woodwork and molding in every room, and each room more furnished and decorated than the last. The study was walled with bookcases from floor to ceiling. I wondered if he had read them all.

Out of nowhere, he appeared in the doorway, tall and lanky, with pasty white skin. His eyes were dark, his nose large and hooked, his lips deep red, an eerie contrast against the color of his skin. His hair lay flat and smooth against his skull and was as black as shoe polish. He looked strange. Standing, he watched us silently, like one sizing up prey.

Sara stood equally silent and still, and then he nodded to her. “You took a chance coming here,” he sneered. “Why do you think I’ll even help?”

“Why? Because you’re the reason we’re here. You made her and us.” Barely controlled anger colored Sara’s voice—and more than a touch of jealousy. I felt like a late arrival to a party that had been in full swing for hours. Sara knew things we had never discussed.

“Maybe I did. That doesn’t give you the right to come here. I can’t help you.”

“Yes, you can. And you should. They’ve cut us off.” She stepped away from the wall and advanced toward him, fire flashing in her eyes.

“They fired me. They didn’t need me. I can’t help you.” His voice mirrored hers in feeling. He moved toward her, stopping only a foot away.
What the fuck was going on
?

“You told me once you loved me.” Her voice was thick with emotion.

He waved a hand in Quinn’s direction, his face a mask of disgust. “It didn’t matter, did it? You wanted him.” Now, he really was sneering. Quinn stared back, his own face blank. I had never seen him so expressionless.

Then, as if to not leave me out, Phineas turned to me, a knowing smile on his alabaster face. “Love makes you do strange things, doesn’t it?”

For an impossible moment, I had a feeling he wasn’t talking about himself, and my stomach lurched. And then he was back in control, his face a blank mask as he stepped away from Sara, moving toward his desk and putting space between all of us. He smoothed his already slick hair back from his forehead and responded dispassionately. “Why do you even think I can help? They cut me off, too.”

“Then help me. Help us. Get back at them. I want to know what you know. What their plans are. If you know where she is.” Sara sounded in control now, but I could see the anger still in her eyes. “She’s killing us one by one.”

“I don’t know, Sara. I don’t know. They let her go accidentally. Budget cuts. It wasn’t their plan as far as I know, but when she started going after you guys they decided not to step in. That new minister Ledford. He’s a fool. He never liked the Forum. None of it. He convinced the others to shut it down. I don’t know what their plans are, but I wouldn’t expect any help from them.” He said it matter of fact, motioning to the three of us. He looked at me again. “She really hates you, you know, but, then again, don’t we all hate the people who betray us?” He smirked at me then Sara.

Sara ignored it and went on. “Do you know where she is?” Her voice was softer, almost kind.

He smiled slightly. “No. I wish I did. I might go after her. She’s an embarrassment to my idea.” He leaned back on his desk, his gaze blank, as if seeing some other story in his head. I wondered if he wasn’t just a bit crazy. He swung his head around, eyes flat, black, and cold meeting mine. “I am crazy. You can’t come up with the ideas I have, with the temerity to put them in place and not be. I’m a genius. And we geniuses live on the edge of society, misunderstood. Look at Einstein, Edison. I saw where we were headed, and I … I gave them a brilliant army. But they didn’t appreciate it. Maybe in the beginning but not now, all stuck in morals.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, glancing at Quinn and Sara. Quinn looked puzzled, but Sara’s face showed nothing.

“Where do you think you come from? Thin air? Just born that way? Don’t be a fool. I created you.” He repeated.

“Like Frankenstein?” This was my worst nightmare coming true. We
were
monsters.

He laughed scornfully. “I thought you were smarter. I engineered your genetics. It doesn’t take much. Just vision. All of you. My brilliant group. In vitro. That’s what your parents sought from me, and I delivered. Brilliantly manipulated embryos implanted into all of your mothers.”

He spread his palms out on his desk. “Nathaniel was the first. An experiment to see if I could do it. Then, when he was born, I saw his abilities and went further. I showed the government what I could do, what science could do in the right hands, and they jumped on board.” He shrugged. “Of course, we didn’t know about the drawbacks. The faults. It took time, but I perfected it.” He looked at Sara. “You were my reward. I finally achieved in you the abilities I’ve possessed, given by nature.”

“You can read minds?” I asked, my heart thundering like a runaway train.

“Yes. Mildly. I can feel people in the area. I know when the phone will ring and someone will be at the door, and who it will be. And I was born that way. It was what set me on my path. Trying to figure out why I possessed these qualities. After a while, I just gave up and focused on finding a way to impart these qualities to others. What if we took cloning and genetic engineering one step further? Oh, most scientists are too scared of what might happen. But I wasn’t. I knew, if I was born with extra powers, others could be, too And I did it. Look at you all. More than normal.” He smiled at Sara.