Don't Let Go (27 page)

“So I can be babysat,” she said darkly.

“It shouldn’t take long. Couple hours, and I’ll be back for you.” Watching her, Peter bit his lip. He just hoped it wasn’t already too late. In a way, it was good she couldn’t see herself. Noa looked so much sicker than she had in Colorado; her skin was practically translucent, and he could see the blue lines of her veins through it. There were deep, dark pouches under her eyes, and there was an ashy quality to her, as if she was slowly turning to sand and drifting away.

“What?” she demanded.

“Nothing.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“Because you have some serious trust issues.” Peter held up his hands to fend her off as she halfheartedly batted away at him. “Easy! My arm is still sore.”

“If I can see when I wake up, you’re in big trouble.”

“Great,” Peter said, turning over on his side. “Do your worst. Just wait until I’ve slept for about a day and a half, ’kay?”

Teo took a deep breath and checked the ground below for guards; he’d been timing their sweeps, and had a pretty good sense of their patterns. Still, the last guy had been off by a minute, which was worrisome.

If one of them happened to look up . . .

He checked the clock above the mantel: 2:15 p.m. Which hopefully allowed him some time. The first few days of captivity, his guard would pop open the door randomly. But when he always discovered Teo sitting there with an innocent expression on his face, he’d frown, then shut it again.

The past two days, his guard only came in to escort him to meals; so if luck held, he’d be left alone until 6:15, when it was time for dinner.

The next patrol would be coming by any minute now. So he’d better get moving.

Gathering himself, Teo hauled his body up and out the narrow bathroom window. He fought the urge to look down; a fall would definitely kill him. He inched along the narrow ledge, finding the footholds he’d identified on two previous attempts.

This time, he planned to make it all the way to the other side of the house. He’d already checked the bedrooms over here: No sign of Daisy. Hopefully they hadn’t moved her to another floor.

Using his fingertips, Teo found gaps in the roof tiles and hauled himself up. Swinging a hammer to bust through drywall was finally paying off; no way he would have been strong enough for this a few months ago. But now, he hauled his body weight onto the roof with relative ease. The healing cut on his arm throbbed painfully, but he’d bound it tightly with surgical tape. Hopefully it wouldn’t open again.

As soon as his feet found a purchase, he scrambled up and flipped over on his back, gasping. Teo allowed himself a minute to catch his breath. Then, trying to block out the knowledge that one careless step would result in a death plummet, he eased up the steep slope.

From the top of the roof, he could see past the dense forest that entombed the property. There was water on three sides; Pike’s mansion was on some sort of peninsula, which wasn’t great news. The shore looked rocky, and there were whitecaps far out on the waves. The sun was descending on the opposite side of the house, which made this the East Coast. But they could be anywhere from Maine to Florida, and he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Probably not Florida, he amended; it wasn’t that warm out. Seventy degrees in the daytime, cooler at night. This was May, so that would be normal in the Northeast somewhere.

Way to narrow it down
, he thought disconsolately.

A guard passed by on the lawn below; Teo ducked his head. He counted out a full minute before checking again; the guy was rounding the corner of the house.

Teo felt shaky: He shook his hands to loosen them up. This was insane. Even if he figured out which room Daisy was in, he had to pray that her guard was also stationed outside, and that her window would be open. And after that, they had to get through the house, past all these guards . . . and then what?

Don’t give up
, a little voice in his head insisted.
Find Daisy. You’ll figure out the rest later.

Teo inched down the opposite side of the roof, lowering himself along the shingles. His toes finally hit the gutter, and he paused, bracing himself. This next part was where it got truly dangerous. He had to trust that the gutter would bear his weight, and that there would be a ledge below for his feet.

He eased onto his belly and peered over the other side. At the sight of the fifty-foot drop, his insides clenched. With effort, Teo forced his gaze higher. There it was: a ledge, identical to the one outside his bathroom window. If he was careful, he should be able to make his way along the second story without too much trouble.

Teo drew a deep breath and lowered himself down. A panicked moment when his right foot slipped off the ledge, followed immediately by the left. He dangled by his arms, legs scrambling frantically. He could feel his fingers slipping, his grip starting to give. The gutter groaned, the sound unbearably loud. . . .

His right foot found the ledge. Panting, he got his left foot braced and clung there, too terrified to move. Sweat coursed down his face, fogging his vision. He blinked it away.

“Teddy?”

Startled, he nearly lost his grip. Daisy was staring at him through the window, her mouth slack with shock.

“Oh my God!” she said in a loud whisper, throwing the window open.

“Hey,” he said weakly as she grabbed him and dragged him inside. He winced as his shins butted the windowsill. “Easy.”

“What the hell are you doing? You could’ve fallen!”

“I was looking for you,” he said. Taking in their surroundings, he realized this was their original room. He should have thought to check here first. Lucky thing he stumbled upon it, almost literally.

Daisy had her arms crossed over her chest. Her blue eyes blazed with fury as she hissed, “What were you thinking?”

“It’s a rescue attempt,” he said defensively. “We’re getting out of here.”

Daisy’s face softened, and she threw herself into his arms. Teo buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply.

After a minute, Teo forced himself to pull back. The clock on the bedside table read 2:45. “We don’t have much time. How many guards do you have?”

“Just one,” she whispered. “But he’s pretty big. And he’s always got a gun.”

“My guy, too.” Teo dropped onto the bed for a minute, his mind racing.
Maybe if we could overpower him, and get the gun. . . .

“I have something to show you,” Daisy said excitedly. She dropped to a crouch and felt around under the mattress. Then she dug out an iPhone and handed it to him, a victorious expression on her face.

“Where did you get this?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Long story. It works, but the battery only has a few hours left.” The words came out in a rush. “I was going to call Noa, but I was worried they might be tracking it.”

Teo turned the phone on. The screensaver was a young girl; it took a second to recognize Pike’s daughter, back when she was healthy. He frowned. “This is hers?”

“They haven’t missed it yet, but they probably will soon. What should we do?”

Daisy sounded so hopeful, like she had every faith in him. Teo swallowed hard. He opened up the map app; in seconds, it zeroed in on their location. “Kennebunk, Maine,” he said softly. He enlarged the map, getting a clearer view of the property. There was one road on and off the peninsula. But if they cut through the woods to the right, there was a state highway two miles down. And past that, a town. If they could only get there . . .

“We can’t call Noa,” he said decisively. “You’re right, this might be a trap. And I don’t want to risk it.”

Daisy visibly deflated, her shoulders drooping. “Yeah, okay. But then what do we do?”

“I have another idea,” Teo said slowly. Peter had established protocols in case they ever got separated. He’d repeatedly made Teo memorize them, a fact he was overwhelmingly grateful for now. “Keep an eye on the door, this should only take a minute.”

It took time to access the website since the wireless signal kept dropping out. Cursing, Teo navigated as quickly as he could, entering the password for The Quad. He wasn’t nearly as adept at this as Peter or Noa; hell, he’d never held a smartphone before in his life.

“Hurry!” Daisy hissed. “I think he’s coming!”

Teo quickly tucked the iPhone back under the mattress. He’d sent the message; now they just had to pray that the right people saw it, and decided to respond. Long odds, but it was the best chance they had of getting out of here.

The knob turned. Daisy squeaked as Teo threw himself under the bed.

Peering out, he could see the guard’s combat boots step inside. “Everything okay?” he rumbled.

“Fine.” Daisy’s voice was a little shaky, but hopefully the guy wouldn’t register it. “Why?”

“Thought I heard something.”

“Oh, that was just me singing. I do that when I’m bored.”

A long beat. Teo held his breath, praying that the guard wouldn’t decide to investigate further.

“Pike wants you,” the guard finally intoned.

“Great,” Daisy said brightly. “Right now?”

“Yeah, now,” the guy said with irritation. “Let’s go.”

The door closed behind them. Teo mentally counted out five minutes. His whole body felt sore and shaky, both from the exertion of climbing over the roof, and from nearly getting caught.

But he had to get back before his guard realized he was missing.

He crawled out from under the bed and went to the window, raising the sash to check below. He didn’t know how often guards patrolled this side of the house; he’d just have to chance it.

He was about to climb out when he caught movement in his peripheral vision. Ducking back down, he watched three guards round the corner.

Two guards
, he amended a moment later. They were flanking someone smaller and leaner. Based on the formation, it looked like they were escorting him somewhere: Another prisoner? The smaller man limped slightly, and paused frequently as if he were in pain. The guards seemed impatient, yanking on his arm if he stopped for long.

Teo frowned. Even though he couldn’t see the prisoner’s face, there was something familiar about him. Maybe someone from one of the homeless camps he lived in? But what would he be doing here?

He couldn’t worry about it. If anyone answered their SOS, his sole priority was to get Daisy out safely. The other prisoner, whoever he was, was on his own.

Peter awoke to find Noa standing up facing the window.

“Hey!” he said, scrambling up. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s that bright light?” she asked, pointing at the flimsy curtains. A rectangle of light was diffused through them. Peter walked over and opened the curtains slightly to peek out. Storm clouds had rolled in, darkening the sky. Steel columns were sunk into the edge of the motel’s parking lot, supporting an enormous screen that faced their room. “There’s a billboard over the highway, one of those electronic ones. Can you see it?”

“Kind of,” she said. “I can see the glow.”

“Your vision must be coming back!”

“A little. But you’re still just a big blur.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Peter cleared his throat. Noa should have been turning cartwheels, but she looked despondent. “This is good though, right?”

“I guess,” she said. “It’s weird. I feel totally fine, my chest stopped hurting. But I still can’t really see.” Noa turned in a slow circle, then shook her head. “Just shapes, mostly. That’s the bed over there, right?” She pointed.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” She breathed out hard. “God, I really hope it’s coming back.”

“Me too.” Peter watched as she edged back toward the bed, groping with her hands before carefully sitting down. “So you want to get more sleep?”

Noa shook her head. “I’m not tired anymore. I feel really awake, actually.”

“Great.” Peter tried to sound enthusiastic, but he was still utterly wiped out. It was a little after 5:30 p.m.; he’d only slept for a few hours.

“Can you show me some of the stuff you found on Pike?”

“Sure,” he said. “Just let me eat something first.”

“I’m hungry, too,” she said tentatively.

“Yeah? So maybe you are getting better!”

“Maybe,” she said doubtfully.

Judging by her tone, she wasn’t in the mood to discuss it. Peter shambled across the room and grabbed the laptop out of the pack, along with a couple of power bars.

“Ugh.” Noa wrinkled her nose after taking a bite. “So sick of these things.”

“Yeah, I know.” Peter choked down the bite he was chewing. The bar was stale, and had a chemical aftertaste. He’d mostly grabbed cans of food from the Shapiros’, but no can opener. And they had no way to cook beans anyway. Shortsighted; he should have gone for the cereal. “I can try and find something else, if you want. Maybe there’s a vending machine.”

“That’s okay.” She polished hers off. “Tell me what you found.”

Peter powered up the laptop. He’d saved the files that looked most promising to the desktop. Clicking open a jpg, he explained, “This has the earliest date stamp. It’s a picture of Pike with a bunch of researchers. I think they probably took it close to when Project Persephone first started.”

“Are any of them named?” she asked.

Peter looked at her: She was sitting bolt upright, an eager expression on her face. “Yeah. Dr. Jeremy Holmes, Dr. Ronald McCall, Dr. Ray Forbes—”

Noa inhaled sharply and said, “Is there a Monica Forbes, too?”

There was only one woman in the photo. Peter read the name: “There’s a Monique Forbes. According to this, she and Ray were project heads.”

“Ray and Monique,” she said resignedly. “They changed their names to Roy and Monica. I was kind of hoping that Cole had lied about them, but it turns out he was right. They sold us out.”

Peter put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “Maybe not totally. I saw some other files with their names. Want me to pull them up?”

She nodded. He leaned over and tapped some keys, instituting a search for “Forbes.” He had to click through a few files before finding what he was looking for. “Here it is.” He drew a deep breath; this was the file that had been churning through his mind for days, the one he’d mulled over endlessly as the miles slipped past.