Brain Storm (A Taylor Morrison Novel Book 1) (48 page)

By the time we had finished shopping, it was dark and chilly, the wind that had kicked up while we were inside making it seem colder than it actually was. I had forgotten how the temperature dropped along with sun in the mountains and was definitely regretting having left my new leather coat in the car. I looked down at my feet, now toasty warm in my new trekking shoes and thick socks, grateful that at least I wasn’t tromping around through the cold with nothing but slippers on.

Lars started the car, leaving me inside while he stowed the bags in the trunk. I sat there for awhile fiddling with the heat settings before I realized that it had suddenly gotten quiet. I looked around to find the trunk closed and Lars nowhere in sight. The thought barely had time to register when a tap on my window had me twisting back around, ready to face Hughes, only to find Lars standing there, both of his hands full.

Coffee. He’d gone for coffee. I rolled the window down and relieved him of both cups, grateful for the heat that radiated into my icy fingers. I settled the cups into the holders and raised the window up fast, before whatever warmth the heater had managed to emit, escaped to the wind outside. A cold blast of air sailed into the car as Lars quickly got in and latched his seat belt. He picked up the cups and handed me one of them before shifting the car into gear and pulling out of the lot.
 

I wrapped my hands around the hot cup and took a tentative sip. Expecting the acrid taste of strong black coffee, I wasn’t prepared for what I was actually tasting. It took a second deeper sip before I realized what I was drinking. A white chocolate mocha and a touch of cinnamon. My favorite coffee. Mac had made them for me. Something special. Something only Mac would know.
 

We pulled to a stop and I looked over at Lars, his face bathed in red from the traffic light. He turned to me and nodded before turning his attention back to the cars around us. Mac had told him. Was telling me to trust him. Wherever Mac was, whatever condition he was in, he was on the job and he’d secured reinforcements.
 

In less than a day, everything had changed. Where once I’d been alone in the enemy camp, I now had allies. Where there had been doubt and fear of failure, was the conviction we would succeed. The knowledge that if I failed, there were others who would make sure Hughes paid for what he had done. The people he had sacrificed, the lives he had ruined.

I settled back in the seat and closed my eyes, inhaling the deep scents of the coffee, chocolate and cinnamon and reveled in the moment.

FORTY

THE AGENCY WAS ablaze in light when we returned, the grounds busy with security guards.
 

“What’s happened?” I asked Jenny, who had run to meet the car.

“Dr. Connors is missing!” She was nearly in tears and clung to my arm. “No one’s seen him since he left you this morning. They’re combing the grounds now.”

I barely had time to think before Lars grabbed my other arm, wrenching me free only to drag me through the door and into the waiting elevator.
 

“Hey!” I managed to gain my feet and jerk free of his grip just as the doors closed, trapping me inside. “Don’t you dare push that button. I’m getting out.”
 

I shoved him aside, intending to open the doors only to be jerked to the back of the car and held there while he sent the elevator streaking down to the lower floors.
 

“Hughes has ordered you be secured in your quarters.” It was the first time I’d heard him talk and it froze me in my tracks. Low and gravelly, his voice came out more like a growl from some animal than anything human, so faint I questioned whether I had heard it at all. The look on his face told me I had and before I could stop myself, my eyes flew to his neck and the turtleneck that covered whatever damage had done this to him.
 

Before I could say anything, the elevator came to a stop, Lars dragging me out as soon as the doors opened wide enough for us to squeeze through. His long strides ate up the distance to my room so fast, I had to run to keep up, nearly slamming into the guard that was waiting there for us.

“Hughes wants you topside,” he informed Lars. “I’m to stand guard here.”

Lars nodded, pushing me into the room. The other guard slammed the door shut and I stood there in shock as I heard the key turn in the lock. They’d taken Connors and I was locked in my room. Didn’t get better than that. I tore off my jacket and threw it across the room in frustration. I’d been so relieved that Hughes hadn’t tried to take me while I was in town, I hadn’t even stopped to think about why he hadn’t. I hadn’t counted on this, it wasn’t part of the plan. I hadn’t just underestimated Hughes. I’d never even seen this one coming and now Connors was paying for it.

I paced off most of my anger and flopped down in one of the chairs to wait for Hughes. I’d been locked up for nearly thirty minutes and unless I was totally off the mark, he’d be coming for me soon.

Hughes didn’t disappoint me. Within ten minutes, I heard the key in the lock and stood up in an attempt to be ready for whatever came through the door. The last time Hughes had tried to take me, he’d sent men armed with guns and tasers to do the job and I’d lost control. Something I couldn’t afford to do this time. I
had
to go with him. I had to find out who he was working for and who else was involved. It was a risky plan, but the only one I could think of that would give me the answers I needed.
 

I just hadn’t anticipated it being this difficult to go with him. I tried to still my growing sense of panic as the door began to swing open. Hughes came rushing through the door and I felt the power snap through me with each beat of my pounding heart. Fight or flight. The response was instinctive when faced with an enemy, and the battle to contain it was raging inside me.
 

Hughes reached to grab my arm and I jerked back avoiding him. If he touched me now, I would lose it, no doubt about it. I would end up killing him before I found Connors, found out the information I needed. We would be on the run forever, constantly looking over our shoulders, waiting for the next attack. It was a sobering thought, and one I wasn’t prepared to live with.
 

He started forward again, reaching out, but as his hand closed around my arm it was if the universe suddenly shifted on its axis as a moment of total clarity engulfed me.
I was afraid I would lose control and kill Hughes too soon.
Somewhere, deep down, I knew I could actually kill him if it came to that. I was the one with the power here. Not him. I wouldn’t allow panic to force my hand. Hughes was going down, but I would be the one to pick the time and place.
 

The drop in my anxiety level was so unexpected, that I was momentarily stunned and I stumbled, my legs refusing to work as Hughes started to pull me toward the door. I quickly recovered my feet and looked up to see Jenny standing there with her arms wrapped tightly around my leather jacket, an encouraging, if fearful, smile on her lips.
 

“Here, Taylor, you’ll need this.” She shoved the coat at me, managing to give my hand a hard squeeze in the process.
 

“Did they find Dr. Connors?” I asked, dislodging Hughes’ hand and sliding into my jacket.

“No,” Hughes answered for her. “We haven’t and that’s why we’re moving you. The Agency’s been breached and we can’t keep you safe here.”

“What about Sean?” I stepped out of the room to find Lars standing at the ready, car keys in his hand. Whatever Hughes had in mind, Lars was coming along.

“Sean’s gone, Taylor,” Hughes said roughly. “He didn’t survive his injuries.”

Stunned, I whirled back to Jenny, the unspoken question in my eyes.

“He’s right, Taylor,” Jenny confirmed, sadness in her voice. “Where Sean is, no one can hurt him anymore.” Hughes hadn’t bothered to turn around when Jenny answered me, so he never saw the hatred in her eyes as she stared at his back. Nor did he see the cunning smile and knowing look she threw my way before she followed him out into the hallway.
 

I doubled over, my hands braced on my thighs for support, taking in deep breaths, as I absorbed what she’d just told me. Sean wasn’t dead, but Hughes didn’t know that. Wherever Jenny had stashed him, he was safe. For the second time that day, Jenny had surprised me. She was much more devious than I’d given her credit for.

“I’m sorry,” Hughes said, the toes of his shoes coming into sight. “I know you two were close, but we don’t have time for this. We have to move.”

I nodded and stood up, sniffling and wiping at my eyes as I moved away from him. Lars led the way down the hallway and I followed, Hughes bringing up the rear. I shuffled along, trying to look the very picture of misery. I turned around to see Jenny waving good bye from down the hall as the doors slid closed. Within seconds we were gone, speeding to the surface and whatever lay in wait beyond the gates of the Agency.
 

Lars was driving and Hughes took the seat next to him in the front, leaving the back seat free for me. I stared at the back of his head as we sped down the mountain in silence, wondering how he had become the monster he was. Was he born that way or had he, at some point in his life, stepped too far over the line and got sucked into the dark abyss of evil. Because there was no doubt in my mind that Hughes was evil.
 

The lights of Estes Park disappeared into the darkness behind us and the thought passed through me that somewhere back there, Mama D was praying for us all, praying for me, and the thought brought me immeasurable comfort. Tonight, God willing, it would be over. I could never put things back the way they were. I knew that. But maybe, just maybe, I could put things right.
Dear God, don’t let me mess this up. Don’t let me be blinded by anger or hate. Please don’t let me lose control.
I joined my voice with Mama D’s as we emerged from the mountains onto the plains that stretched far into the distance and prepared myself, the best I could, for the battle to come.
 

WHEN WE FINALLY arrived, I knew we had moved up to a whole new level. Technically, it was just another warehouse, but that was the only similarity it had to the last place Hughes had used. This one sat separately, isolated from the others by high walls topped with razor wire, a massive gate restricting not only who got in, but who got out as well. An important point in my case.
 

We waited as the gate opened and the guard waved us though. A lone lightbulb marked the single door entrance and Lars rolled to a stop next to it. Hughes got out and opened my door, standing silently while I got out and stretched, taking the opportunity to look around and get my bearings. It wasn’t good. Scattered lighting illuminated the wall and from what I could see, the only point of access was the main gate. There might be something in the back, but running behind a building without a sure way out wasn’t something I was willing to tackle. I couldn’t see any security cameras or alarms, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.
 

“This is so much better than where you kept Dr. Brown, isn’t it, Hughes?” I asked, taking my time to survey the building. “Those walls are a real asset. Easier to secure. Which is good because you don’t have as many men at your disposal as you used to, do you?”

“You had help there,” he snapped out. My reference to his failed attempt in Little Rock had obviously irritated him. “You’re all alone this time.”

As if to prove his point, Lars opened his door and got out, drawing his gun out from under his jacket as he rounded the car and pointed it in my direction. The sight of the gun didn’t bother me as much as the cold look of determination in his eyes. A glimmer of doubt passed through me and I felt my heart skip a beat.
 

Had I misread him? Lars knew where Bryan and Candice were. Mac had told him. Told him how to convince me that he was on my side. What if the whole thing had been a sham? How did I know that Mac wasn’t working against me the whole time? How did I really even know if he was actually hurt? He could have been working for Hughes the whole time. What did I really know?

I heard the warehouse door open behind me, the light from inside casting long shadows around us.
 

“Put the gun down Lars. We don’t want any accidents, do we?” The bottom of my stomach dropped out at the sound of his voice and I froze, afraid to turn around and see what my gut was telling me was the truth.
 

“Hello darling.” His voice brought echoes of the past surging through my mind. I knew that voice better than I knew my own. It was the voice of love and security. The voice of happiness and tender moments. The day I realized I would never hear that voice again had been devastating, but it was nothing to what I was feeling now. The pain that ripped though me nearly brought me to my knees.
Anything, anything, God, for this not to be true.

I braced myself, slowly turning to face him, and looked into the eyes of my dead husband. Shock left me speechless, unable to do anything but stare at the smiling face that mere moments ago I would have given anything to see again.
 

 
“What? No loving embrace for your husband, back from the grave?” He held out his arms as if he actually expected me to rush into them, assuming a hurt, pouting look on his face when I didn’t. I felt a tremble roll through me at his mocking words and Lars moved up so close behind me, I could practically feel his heartbeat through the back of my shirt.