Blood Promise (A SkinWalker Novel #4) (A DarkWorld SkinWalker Novel) (39 page)

I touched Baz on the shoulder. "I have something for you to do as well." I pulled Grams' chip from my pocket and handed it to him. "Can you find out what's on that drive that could be dangerous or liable to get someone killed for knowing it?"

He grinned. "It will be my pleasure. And how convenient that I wouldn't need to be killed for it?"

I shook my head as Mom laughed softly, giving the flash drive a glance. "Something of yours?"

"It's Grams'," I told her. "Maybe you could lend Baz a few gray cells?"

Mom nodded and headed into the kitchen. "Do you girls need food?" she called over her shoulder as she went.

"No, thanks Mom." The thought of food made me want to hurl. I looked at Jess. "You?"

Jess shook her head. "Thank you, Celeste but I have leave soon. I will return Kailin to her apartment. I will be back to see you as soon as I can. It is past time we caught up."

More secret relationships between Jess and my family. I was no longer surprised.

I called out a quick goodbye to Mom as Jess took my arm. Mom's farewell echoed around me as we disappeared and materialized in my apartment.
 

Sounds from Grams' shower confirmed she was home.

We had scarcely solidified before Jess spoke. "There is much that I have to tell you, but perhaps I will begin with Logan's past."

That took the wind from my sails.

"Logan's memories," she said, "the ones that are returning, pertain to something crucially important from his past."

"He thinks he's remembering a girl, around his own age." I told her, hoping to open her up more.

Jess nodded. "She is very important to him, to his past, and--quite honestly--to who he is. As I have told you before, there is much about Logan that nobody is yet aware of. I must stress again the Logan is far more important than he realizes.

All good to know, but she still wasn't giving me anything concrete.

"I know this may seem like I am telling you very little but I am not yet allowed to provide you with direct information."

I thought I knew what she was saying. She couldn't feed me direct information but she could point me to what lay between the lines.
 

There was still one more thing. She had promised me more information about the Niamh. Before I could form the question she held out a hand. A white envelope shimmered into solidity on her open palm.

She held it there, saying not a word. I took it and pocketed it in silence. I didn't even say 'thank you' but she seemed happy that I hadn't.

"If you want to help him," she said, "you must ensure he pushes himself harder to break the wall between him and the truth of his memories. The secret is there, locked deep within his mind, and only he is able to break through. No matter how painful it is, he must keep trying."
 

"Why?" I whispered. "Can you at least tell me why?"

"Because if he stops trying, he will be lost."

W
E
'
D
COMMANDEERED
MY
FATHER
'
S
DINING
room and split the files among Logan, Mom, Baz and me, working late into the night.
 

Mom had confirmed that the Walker High Council had requested she be brought in for questioning and so she'd spent a lot of time inside Dad's safe-room.

The High Council weren't aware of the safe-room so they hadn't checked there, and the people they'd posted to watch the house had had to remain outside to do their watching. According to Dad, they'd need an official warrant to search the property. So Mom was safe for now.

She was certainly safer there than our apartment building with all the attacks and home invasions.

I'd tried to contact Anjelo repeatedly over the last few hours and I didn't intend to stop trying. I wished he wasn't the type of person who would close himself off when he was hurting.

We'd scoured the files which we'd downloaded from the server, and they managed to fill in a number of gaps in our knowledge.

A secondary layer of protected files confirmed communication between the US military and Omega's munitions design division. The reports had been lightly coded--easy enough for Baz to break--and revealed that Omega had been experimenting on a wide range of paranormals, extracting DNA, and redeveloping it in order to enhance the governments human soldiers.

More importantly, the humans had had their memories of the enhancement removed, leaving them with psychologically planted triggers that would engage those enhanced powers on demand.

One entire file contained details of Brett Nevins' recruitment dating from two years previously. He'd been convinced by his handler that something called
inferior paranormals
existed, and then empowered with task of eradicating those paranormals, and named Omega Liaison.

Logan closed the file and then sat back, rubbing his eyes. The endless pots of darkly brewed coffee had helped, but fatigue was starting to take its toll on all of us. I felt it particularly hard since this would be the second night of no sleep.

"I'm still trying to figure out why Omega would get in bed with the US government," he said. "If the aim was for humans to benefit from paranormal enhancement then it would make a sort of sense. But the order to eliminate paranormals doesn't make any sense at all."

Still thinking of Storm, I said, "Maybe there is someone else orchestrating all of it. Someone outside both Omega and Sentinel, someone outside the government hierarchy, too. Getting the US government on board would help to maintain secrecy. Nobody wants to piss them off, or endanger their organization's relationship with the military. Sentinel and Omega both respect the governments of countries around the world. Nobody wants to get on the wrong side of either agency. Creating official, if top secret, associations with them would ensure any nefarious activity would remain secret, by order of both organizations."

"And maybe this same mastermind has more to his plans than he's shared with either the military or Omega. He's using both of them." Logan gave a nod of begrudging admiration.

"And he pulls the puppet strings as and when he wishes," Baz said.

"Which explains why there's nothing in the files about killing or massacres." I twisted to ease the tightness in my back.

"Do you think the government is unaware of the murders?" asked Mom.

"Who knows?"

"I have to speak to Nevins," said Logan. "For all we know, he's been lied to or even brainwashed into this."

He had to be joking. "Are you insane?"

Baz glanced up. "He's probably right. If he speaks to Nevins directly, Logan can figure out if the guy's mind's been effed with."

"It makes sense," Mom said, although she didn't look happy. "I don't like it. You'll be putting yourself in too much danger. But it makes the best sense."
 

She gave me a 'sorry for agreeing with the guys' look, but I'd already realized they were right. That didn't mean I had to like it.

Logan got to his feet and looked at me. "And as much as I don't like the idea, you should come too."

"I'm flattered," I said as I got to my feet. "And I'll agree on one condition."

His eyes narrowed. "Which is?"

"Get Jess to come too. She can hide and watch him, poke around in his head to see if he's got any blank spaces."

Logan smiled. "I like the way you think," he said with a yawn.

"You'll do nothing of the sort until you both have some rest." Mom's stern tone implied we had no choice and I was fine with that.

I went to the front lounge and crashed on the sofa, barely listening as Mom send Logan to the library.

A few hours later, rested and fed, Logan was allowed to make his calls. Mom had been right though, tired could easily translated into careless.

Soon, Jess arrived and transported us to a spot at the edge of the forest, a few miles from Tukats on the side closer to the city.

She didn't seem to be in the mood to talk and disappeared into the bush muttering something about recon. Logan let her go without a question.

I studied the trees and foliage, and the great old oak behind me. "Does it bother you that he agreed to meet you so easily?"

"Yeah. Could easily turn into an ambush."

Good to know I wasn't the only paranoid person there.

"Tell me more about how you know him?" I asked softly.
 

I expected him to evade and avoid so it was a complete surprise when he actually answered.

"When Omega recruited me, I joined an agency-run school. It was normal learning peppered with a good deal of paranormal military training." He took a deep breath and looked away. "Nevins was one of the older kids. A couple of years ahead of me."

"And a bully."

He flashed me a wry grin. "How did you know?"

"I've met the guy."

Logan nodded. "He tried to hurt me once. Another kid saved Nevins in time."

"Saved
him
?"

A muscle in Logan's jaw tightened. Released. "Yeah. Mikael. He's a weather mage. Storms and lightning and stuff. I'd grabbed a hold of Nevins' wrist before he punched my lights out. His performance saved Nevins from being burned alive." Guilt flitted across his face.

An image of a badly burned wrist shimmered in my mind. "Don't you dare blame yourself. Blame the bully."

"And who's to blame for making the bully?" he asked softly.

"That's not your problem."

He shook his head as if the movement would dismiss my comment. "I think I owe it to him to at least give him an out."

"It's more than he deserves."
 

I sounded bitter, I knew it. I didn't care. But I couldn't change his mind and I wouldn't presume to try. "I still think it's too dangerous, but you have to do what you need."

I hesitated, caught between wanting to hug him and wanting to punch him. Physical confrontation I could handle, especially when it meant using my fists or my panther. But personal confrontation had never been my strong suit. I'd rather swim in bloody water with sharks.

So I didn't hug him and I didn't punch him. Instead I climbed a tree and settled along a nice thick branch several feet above where Logan stood. It was sheltered and comfortable. It also gave me an unimpeded exit route if I needed to turn panther, jump down, and rip Nevins's head off.

It didn't take long before there was rustling in the trees ahead. Bushes swayed as they were thrust aside and dirt and leaf litter whirled like small tornados. Nevins certainly wasn't keeping his presence a secret.
 

He finally strode into the clearing, shoulders stiff, spine erect, every inch a soldier. The look he gave Logan could have frozen a lava flow.

"What do you want, Westin?" Nevins grunted the question, arms tense at his sides.

"To talk," Logan said.
 

"Then talk," Nevins said, and folded his arms across his chest. I figured it was a good sign considering he used those very hands to ice things to death.

Logan did the same and I watched as Nevins nodded.

Peace, for now.

"You're being used." Logan launched into the conversation.

Talk about being subtle.

"What the hell do you mean?" asked Nevins, scowling.

"You're being lied to and used and in the end you'll be killed by the very people you're working with."

"You are insane."

"I've been getting a lot of that lately." Logan laughed. Then his features smoothed and the look he gave Nevins was serious. "The man you're working for-- You're just a pawn in his bigger plan."

Nevins took a step closer. "The man that
I
am working for would never do such a thing. I trust him. His intentions are pure."

His hands curled into fists, although his arms stayed folded. "His
plan
, as you call it, is to create a better world. He's done research into paranormals--research that shows some of us are a danger to our world. Some of
us
need to be removed from the equation."