Broken Promises (12 page)

She swallowed the lump in her throat and took a step forward. “Doctor, this may come as a surprise to you, but I never wanted to be a marvel of modern
anything.
All I ever wanted to be was a dancer, and then to have a family. Simple things. And now, although none of those will be available to me again, I’ll be damned if I let the creatures you let loose inside my body take over completely.”

“I doubt they would take over completely.” His brow furrowed in thought. “However…”

“What?”

“I suppose the more the organisms continue to evolve, the more intelligent they will become, and—”

“You’re saying that pretty soon these things are going to decide they can run the whole show, aren’t you? They’ll decide they don’t need me at the helm of my own body. And what do you think will happen then?” Her voice rose until she was yelling, breathing heavily between each angry, biting word. “Whatever is left of
me
will
disappear, even while my body continues to walk around as an indestructible
marvel
of modern science.”

“Really, Lady Carlisle. I don’t think that is—”

“Don’t bother.” Stalking away, she groaned and dropped her head into her hands. How could she tell Jasper? This would devastate their already strained and cracking relationship. “Just fix it. Do whatever it takes, but take these things out of me.”

He gaped at her. “I can’t do that.”

“You have to.”

“Madam, it is very much impossible.”

“Then reprogram them or something.”

“Also impossible. Even if I could isolate each one—” He shook his head. “No. They have evolved beyond that.”

“What if you destroyed them?”

“With enough time, it might be possible to develop a serum to target them in your bloodstream, but destroying them would most certainly kill you as well.”

“I can live without the iron and gears if it means staying in control of my own body.” She would never give that up again. She would never let anything take control from her. Never.

“You misunderstand. I meant what I said quite literally. Because the nanites occupy your blood, they have already been in each and every cell of your body, altering your genetic structure a little bit at a time to accommodate their presence and purpose.”

“So…”

“There’s no living without them at this point.”

She staggered back, looking blindly for something. Something to hold on to. Dizziness overwhelmed her, and the ground fell out from under her as she reached out for balance, finding…nothing.

* * *

Jasper stopped in the entrance to the laboratory just as Callie stumbled and cried out.

“Callie?
Callie!
” He rushed to her side and dragged her into his arms. Her body fell limp against him. He pushed the hair back from her forehead. Her eyes were closed and she didn’t respond.

“What the hell have you done to her?” He demanded, twisting around to glare at Helmholtz.

“I’ve only explained to her the circumstances of her condition.” He barely glanced at Callie, seeming more interested in returning to whatever he’d been examining beneath his microscope. “She didn’t take it well.”

“Good Lord. What condition? Why has she fainted?”

The doctor shrugged before he picked up his notebook and started flipping through it. “I assume because she believes it’s a bad thing. Although I assure you that the lady’s progress is quite what one should expect to see, given my new discovery.”

“Jesus Christ.” Hefting her into his arms, Jasper straightened. Staying here and trying to get complete answers out of Helmholtz would only move him to strangle the egocentric bastard. He needed to get Callie alone and talk to her. He would make her tell him everything.

Everything. No more damned secrets.

“Where are you going with my patient?” Now the doctor was certainly interested.

Jasper held her closer. “We’re leaving. I won’t stay here and let you upset my wife again.”

Dr. Helmholtz walked to a tall cabinet and pulled open one of the drawers. Jasper started for the door, relieved but not one bit surprised that the damned quack had already dismissed them.

“I’m sorry, Lord Carlisle,” the doctor suddenly called after him. “But I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

Jasper spun back around. At the sight of a Tesla gun leveled at them, he swore and twisted Callie out of the line of fire. “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing, man?”

“What has to be done, in the name of science.”

“You’re insane.”

The doctor smiled. “On the contrary, I may be more sane than anyone else on this irrational planet. Only I can see the far-reaching effects of my research. Only I know how important it is, and what it will ultimately do for humanity.”

“You won’t use my wife to continue your research,” Jasper insisted, shifting her in his arms. Footsteps sounded behind him. He threw a look over his shoulder, only to find Mrs. Campbell standing between him and the exit. She drew a pistol from the deep pocket of her skirt and pointed it at him as well.

“I’m sorry, my lord.” There was regret in her voice. “But if the doctor needs you to stay…”

“If I’m going to expand my research, I must conduct more in-depth experiments,” Dr. Helmholtz continued. Jasper’s horror mounted as he realized just what the man was saying. “Captain Dunsmoor’s escape severely halted my work, but I can continue it with Lady Carlisle. You understand why I can’t afford to let you take her from me.”

Chapter Eight

Breathing hard, Jasper glared into the darkness. The bloody door wasn’t going to budge. His shoulder ached well enough that he was pretty certain of it.

“Jasper?” He didn’t like the reedy sound of Callie’s voice.

“I’m here,” he quickly reassured her. Swinging around, he stretched his arm out to touch the wall and made his way to the back of the room where he’d carefully laid her down.

“How long was I unconscious?” she asked, her voice hoarse and cracking.

“Not very long.” He knelt on the hard stone floor beside her and fumbled for her hand. “A half hour at most.”

She was sitting up and clasped his hand with precision, reminding him that while the darkness was oppressive to him, it proved no impediment to her ability to see. “What happened?”

“Helmholtz and Mrs. Campbell each pulled a gun on me when I tried to take you out of here.”

She gasped. “Oh no. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. But I got us in a bit of a predicament.” He grimaced and swung his arm in a half circle. “We’ve been provided with such elegant surroundings for the balance of our stay.”

She squeezed his fingers, but he didn’t feel reassured. “Where is Patrick?”

He sighed. “While we were out, I discovered where Dunsmoor has been hiding out, although he wasn’t there. I sent Patrick to report our findings to General Black and return separately.” He couldn’t think about Patrick now.

“Why is it so cold and dark?”

“I’m sorry. I think this must have been some manner of storage locker at one time. The walls and door are made of steel. Mrs. Campbell and the doctor didn’t think to leave a lantern.”

She shuddered. “He wants to cut me open, Jasper. He wants to run his horrible experiments on me and—”

“Shh. Nobody’s going to touch you.” He pulled her into his arms and rocked her.

She allowed it for a few moments but soon stiffened. “We have to find a way out of here. Helmholtz hasn’t seemed as interested in Patrick, but he also doesn’t care about anyone or anything except his research, and Patrick’s blood contains the same nanites as mine. We can’t let the doctor get his hands on him.”

“I know, but I’ve tested the door and it’s pretty solid.” He sighed. “And we need a plan. I’d prefer we not saunter unprepared into yet more danger.”

“I agree. But we have to put a stop to him, or who knows what he’ll do next. He’s insane, Jasper. Dangerously so.”

A rumble rolled through the floor beneath them, shaking the steel door in its frame and sending a shower of dust down on their heads. They both scrambled to their feet. Callie clung to his hand. “What’s happening?”

A cannonball-sized weight settled on his chest. “Bloody hell.” His breath hissed out between his teeth. “That was an explosion.”

Which could only mean one thing.

Dunsmoor.

With long strides, Callie walked to the door. He couldn’t see her but he heard the rattle of the door in its frame. He was about to remind her that he’d already tried everything he could think of to get the thing open, when the sound of groaning metal echoed in the dark, tiny room and he remembered just how powerful she was.

He also remembered how much he’d hurt her by rejecting her strength as not good enough. He held his breath, closed his eyes and listened. In his mind’s eye he could see the thick bolt bending under the pressure she was putting on it and was amazed. He shouldn’t be—she’d proven herself capable before. In fact, if he hadn’t been so dismissive of her abilities and allowed a true partnership—the way it should have been from the beginning—they probably wouldn’t be in this mess now.

When the abrupt snap came and the door opened, letting a thin stream of light into the room, they peered out to make certain nobody lingered on the other side before he swept her up in an embrace and twirled her around in a wide circle.

“You are amazing.” He put her back on her feet and settled a hard kiss on her lips. “I can’t believe I doubted that you would get us out of here.”

She looked up at him in surprise. “You aren’t…appalled?”

“By what? Your bravery? Your strength? Of course not, don’t be ridiculous. You should know by now that everything about you is absolutely perfect, especially if it means you’re better protected and harder to kill. As much as I agreed that we would be partners working for the War Office, you might have noticed I continued to have some reservations,” he admitted. “But I was wrong to doubt you. I don’t want to hold you back. Despite my recent stubbornness and denial, it seems we’re stuck with this job, and I wouldn’t have anyone but you at my side.”

“I want a partner,” she warned, “not a governess.”

“So that’s what you’ll have, but I can’t promise I won’t be overprotective at times.” His heart was in his throat as he gazed into her eyes. “I won’t lose you, Callie. Nothing can make me go through that again.”

“I don’t want to lose you either. I suppose, then, the best way for both of us to make sure of staying alive is to work together.”

“Does that mean you believe me when I say I wasn’t kissing anyone on that train but you?”

“I’ve thought long and hard about that, replaying it in my mind until I thought I would go mad. Yes, I believe you, mostly because it just doesn’t make any sense.”

That didn’t say much for her belief in the strength of their love, her belief in
him.
He could shake her. They were supposed to have put the past behind them and moved on to something stronger, deeper. And yet, it was now obvious that his colossal failure was not only still between them, but would always be between them. Fighting this uphill battle for the time when she would trust him was becoming tiresome…and his guilt for feeling that way was as strong as his sorrow.

“I wonder now if whatever I did see became warped before the image was even translated by my brain,” Callie said. “It’s not the first time I’ve experienced it. Something similar occurred when we arrived here. What if it’s another symptom of whatever is happening to me?” She paused. “The doctor said I’m changing. That the nanites are busy twisting my body to their own purpose. This is only the beginning. What if they take over completely?”

“They won’t. They can’t. You’re stronger than they are. Don’t forget it.” He ran a shaking hand through his hair. “If you were worried, why didn’t you tell me? How long have you felt these symptoms?” He needed to know.

She didn’t respond.

“Damn it.” He couldn’t hide the bitterness in his tone. It felt like acid burning his tongue. Until General Black had shown up at their door, he’d believed they were making such progress. Had that been a lie too? “What else are you keeping from me?”

She frowned. “I can’t talk about it yet. Not here.”

“Callie—”

“Please,” she begged, her natural eye glistening with tears. “Don’t ask me yet.”

“Bloody hell.” How could she say that to him?

He swallowed his frustration as another rumble rocked the building, causing both of them to duck. Dust clouded the air, and the meager gaslight from the hallway outside their dungeon flickered. Callie coughed and waved a hand in front of her face.

She was right about one thing: they would have to wait to finish this.

“Come on.” He took her hand. “Let’s get through this trial before we worry about the next one.” He thought of all the weapons and explosives being stored in the old part of the factory. The chemicals the doctor kept in his laboratory. Too easy for a fire to start, and they’d been caught in enough of those to last a lifetime.

They ran back to the large, open area where the War Office’s death machines were being stored. Another reverberation rocked the foundations of the building.

The wall fell inward right on top of them and Callie screamed. He pulled her close and crouched, covering both their heads as best he could as they were showered with stone and jagged glass. A large chunk of something hit the small of his back. He recoiled with a hiss.

When the world stopped shaking, they shook off the debris, lifting their heads and blinking at one another. The one gas lamp had been extinguished and it was almost impossible to see.

Callie twisted out of his arms. “You’re bleeding.”

He squinted. She was covered in dust and looking down at his arm. There was a shallow gash in her forehead, but it didn’t look as though it was bleeding profusely and he couldn’t see any other injuries. “Are you hurt?”

“Don’t worry about me. You’re the one already dripping blood onto the floor.”

He turned his attention to his arm. A clean slice, but not the only injury. He could feel the digging pain of a thick sliver of glass sticking out of his shoulder as well. “It’s nothing.” He shrugged but the wound was actually fairly deep and, sure enough, blood trickled down his arm, the stain already soaking through his shirtsleeve.