Heartfelt (13 page)

Asia cleared her throat. “Umm, looks like we’re almost there. I’ll text Casey and the others to let them know.”

“This countryside is definitely rural. I haven’t seen any houses or businesses in miles, have you?” Conrad swallowed hard and pretended the air wasn’t filled with electricity.

“No. A lot of large tracts of farmland, but still plenty of open pastures and groves of trees.”

“That’s what we need, trees and shrubs to hide our presence.” Eagerness thrummed through him to jump out of the car, away from the tension. Sadness burrowed into his gut, knowing that something definitely was changing the character of their relationship and it was probably his fault.

It was obvious when they’d reached the preserve. Tall fences and a large entrance gate stood out among the natural setting. Conrad slowly drove by, taking in the long drive up to the gate and a main building.

“I don’t see any animals,” Asia said. “Maybe there aren’t any here yet or maybe their enclosures are out farther away from the main entrance.”

“We’ve got to get closer.” He narrowed his eyes and scanned the land surrounding the preserve as they drove by. About a half-mile away from the preserve, he saw a place to pull his car out of sight. He texted Casey, who quickly replied that he and the others would meet there within minutes.

Asia climbed out of the Rover and took the water bottles out of the back of Conrad’s car, handing a couple to him and putting two in her own backpack, just as the others drove up.

Casey motioned everyone to Conrad’s Rover and the colony cats crouched down to keep out of sight. “We’ll stay in touch by phone, and that includes Michelle. She’s at home, but she’ll be monitoring hers. From the strong scents, I would say animals are here but we’ll need to look for them. Conrad and Asia, your one goal is to find out if your mother is here. If you find her, unless you’re positive you can get her without bringing down a plague of TNG workers, leave her alone. We’ll be back.”

Conrad glanced at Asia and saw her lips purse. He knew for her, there was no chance in hell that she would walk away without her mother.

“The rest of us will pair up. So Booker and Shaun, Lara and me, Kennedy and Asher, Quinn and Tizzy. We’re just going to see what’s here and what is going on. We’ll meet back at this spot in an hour, but if you run into trouble and need to get out, get out and stay hidden here.”

Conrad sighed, then turned to Asia. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

The sun still hung high in the afternoon sky. Thankfully, Asia thought.
We don’t want to be here after dark.
The idea of running into lions and warrior were-lynxes in the dark felt too much like they were prey.

She strode silently beside Conrad through the fields outside of the preserve, taking care to let the foliage cloak their approach.

She whispered to him. “I didn’t think of surveillance cameras. Shit. I bet they’re everywhere.” Fingers of fear tightened around her throat. What had she been thinking about? They weren’t ready for this.

Conrad put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll text Kennedy. Maybe she can hack into their security system.”

He sent the text and almost immediately Kennedy texted back.

Asia shook her head. “Why didn’t we think of this at the meeting?”

“We should have. But we’re not professional spies.” He slanted her a smile.

Crouched in the tall grasses beside Conrad, Asia let his presence calm her nerves. This was how the colony worked. They did the best they could, which was pretty darned skilled, and when something unexpected arose, they dealt with it.

A few minutes later Conrad’s phone vibrated. “It’s Kennedy’s text,” he said. “Got it covered. Proceed.”

They reached the fence and Conrad pulled out his wire cutters. “There are no insulators and wire, so the fence isn’t electrified.”

“Couldn’t we just climb?” Asia shielded her eyes and surveyed the fence.

Conrad pointed to the top. “We could, but the barbed wire at the top would make it difficult.” He proceeded to cut a hole large enough for them to slip through. Once inside the fence, they pulled the flap closed.

“We need to mark this spot.” He looked around and broke off a thick tree branch, then sunk it in the ground.

Asia took two steps into the preserve and instantly stopped. Unexpectedly, thoughts not her own permeated her brain.

This one looks good, probably put up a good fight.

Look at that fur. Now that will look stunning hanging on my wall.

I knew that other guy would chicken out.

Horror stabbed her heart. She turned to Conrad and stared up into his face. He had no idea what this place was. It pained her to think of it. She doubled over and grasped for her ability to tune out the unwanted thoughts.

Conrad reached for her. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice low.

A series of gunshots pounded the air, and hollering came far from where they stood.

Goddamn, I’m good.

Wow, that one went down easy.

Where’s the camera?

Asia grabbed her head, shaking it side to side. Again, she tried to breathe in and out steadily, filtering the horrible thoughts out of her conscious awareness, while Conrad slipped his arms around her. He knew. “This preserve is for hunting game. Another thing we weren’t prepared for.”

The scent of desperation and wild fear commingled in the air with the odor of savage thrill. Asia’s heart raced. She needed to get moving. They had a mission. She couldn’t allow anything to freeze her in place.

“Ground yourself. Breathe. You can do this.” Conrad’s words whispered in her ear reminded her she had the ability to weed out others’ thoughts and let them pass by.

“Let’s go. I’m okay.”

Side by side they picked their way to where they expected the animals to be housed. The scents grew stronger as they walked, guiding them to large enclosures about a quarter mile deep into the grounds.

They hunkered down into a patch of shrubbery, listening. Men, probably three of them, commended the hunter who had killed an animal. The scent was unfamiliar but definitely a lynx. Asia heard the men riding on a vehicle—she presumed an ATV—since their voices carried so well. She and Conrad were hidden from the men. Conrad motioned for her to stay still.

As the men drove by, she drew back in horror. A dead lynx lay on a trailer hooked to the ATV. She covered her mouth to keep from vomiting on the spot. Conrad touched her again, rubbing her arm. But she saw his nostrils flare and felt his muscles tense.

From their vantage point, they watched the men pull up to an elevated area, get out, and stand around admiring the kill. A man in what looked like a preserve uniform walked up and congratulated one of the hunters. He carried the carcass to the raised area surrounded by trees and rocks and plopped it down. He motioned to the hunter to join him and arranged the animal in a pose with the hunter and his gun.

Through tears, Asia watched as the guard took multiple photographs of the posed scene.
Such a meaningless thing to commemorate with photos. To kill an animal that has nowhere to go is unconscionable.

Was there nothing too low for TNG? Asia turned away, grabbing for control of her sorrow and her rage.

Conrad texted the others. “It’s a hunting ground.”

They didn’t wait for a response. As soon as the men jumped back on the ATV with promises from the guard to prepare the trophy animal and drove toward the building at the front of the preserve, Asia and Conrad crept in the other direction, heading farther back into the grounds.

From a distance Asia picked up the sounds of animals. “Do you hear that?”

Conrad nodded. “Lions and tigers, probably. I even hear some little ones.”

“Yeah, the young ones are closer.” Fear trembled up and down her spine at the idea that not only was this a hunting preserve, but maybe it was a place TNG was breeding animals for hunting.

Off in the bushes, they followed a dirt road that went deeper into the preserve and happened upon another fenced area with a variety of structures. Lumbering in and out of the structures were groups of captive lion cubs and adult females.

“I don’t like the sight of this.” A quiet snarl sounded in Conrad’s chest. “This is unbearable. These poor animals.”

They continued walking under cover of the foliage and found a fork in the road.

“Which way, Conrad?” Asia knew his ability to see paths in his mind that would lead to resolutions would be working hard.

“I think the way to the right will lead to more of the same, just perhaps different animals. The way to the left is probably our path to find your mom.”

“That’s what I’m here for, mainly. The others can scope out the property, right?”

“Right. I’ll text the group and update them.”

They worked their way through the trees alongside the road on the left. A text from Casey told them he had discovered the same hunting party and agreed that he and the others would continue to cover the grounds.

The road ended up at a large, multi-winged building, hidden behind tall trees and shrubs.

Conrad pointed up. “Let’s climb up the tree and see what we see.”

Asia nodded, and began her climb. Below her, Conrad took the branches effortlessly, hardly breathing heavy. With each reach of a branch and pull up, she felt in sync with Conrad. The labor came easily to them both and they didn’t need to talk to know the right branches and the best path up through the trees. They moved as one, and it invigorated her senses in a completely unexpected way. It was about power and strength and shared proficiency. But it was more. Her insides vibrated with this expansive blending of their intentions.

When they’d reached the highest vantage point, they dared to perch on a limb, their lynx skills naturally keeping them solidly in place.

“I say we watch for a bit, size up the place before we try to get inside,” Conrad said.

Asia nodded and settled in for what might be a long time. But just then a box truck rumbled down the road and pulled up to a loading dock at the building. The door went up and another man in uniform motioned the driver to back up close to the receiving dock. Once parked, the driver turned off the truck and jumped out. He stood beside the truck, looking over papers on a clipboard.

“Stay here,” Conrad ordered. “I’m going down. Just wait for my sign.”

Without waiting for Asia’s nod, he climbed lower and jumped to the ground, landing with a soft thud. Then she watched him creep up silently behind the guard.

She held her breath as Conrad clapped his hand over the driver’s mouth and wrapped his arm around his neck. He held the position for a brief few minutes until she saw the driver’s body go slack.

Conrad motioned for her, and she dropped to the ground beside the tree trunk. She sprinted to his side and helped him carry the driver into the trees where he’d be out of sight.

Swiftly, Asia pulled the duct tape and two zip ties from her backpack. She covered his mouth with the tape and secured his hands and feet while Conrad donned the guy’s uniform and the lanyard with a security card from around his neck.

“I suppose you saw this coming?”

“I did. My plan fell into place when I saw the truck, which I suspected would be coming along.” He gestured to his uniform and card. “We needed this.”

“You could have told me.” She frowned at him, but secretly grateful for his special ability.

“Sorry. Let’s get going. Follow me.”

He led her to a main door, where he slid the security card through a reader that unlocked the door. They stepped into a small foyer and walked to the guard behind a desk.

The guard stood and eyed them. “Do I know you?

Before the guard could even twitch, Conrad jumped the desk and knocked him out. “Hand me the ties and duct tape.” The guard secured, Conrad grabbed the guard’s radio while Asia checked the monitors in the console under the desk.

“What is this?” She pointed to what appeared to be a hospital room, filled with people in beds. “Just like Michelle’s glimpse.” It wasn’t fear that made her hands tremble; it was anger and concern. “What if my mom is in there?”

“If she is, we’ll get her out.” He peered close to the monitor. “Do you see her?” He stood back and let Asia get closer, all the while scanning the room and hallways.

“No. I don’t know. It’s too hard to see.”

“Let’s find this room.” He leaped over the desk and Asia followed. “This way.” He trotted down the hall, peeking through windows in the doors at each room they passed. “Equipment, medical supplies. An office.”

Frustration burned in her gut. “I don’t like this. Where are all the workers?”

Without answering and without stopping to search for the right room, Conrad turned up the volume on the radio. Conversations between workers sounded like typical work exchanges. “At least if an alert goes up we’ll hear it.”

Ahead of him, Asia lifted her nose. Her heart thudded. “I think the people are near.”

Conrad agreed. “I smell them, too. There’s also a whiff of chemicals. And I hear voices.”

They reached another room and looked in.

Asia looked through the window in the door. She didn’t see any workers in the room, but she saw people lying in beds. A large machine stood in the center of the room, and tubes running from it were hooked to IV bags on stands beside each person.

“They’re all men,” Asia whispered. “Twenty of them.”

Conrad sprinted inside the room. He nodded to acknowledge he’d heard her but he was busy looking through drawers, putting vials and bottles in his backpack, and reading charts on tablets.

“This is not a drug study,” he told Asia. “It’s implantation of a device that delivers drugs directly into their bloodstream and some kind of drug therapy. Your mom’s not here. Let’s move on.”

They found more rooms with men hooked up to a machine, some with workers in lab coats milling around the room, checking on patients.

Asia and Conrad turned into a stairwell, all the while listening to the radio for danger, and raced up to the next floor. Asia raised her nose for scents again. She froze in place. She tested again, teasing apart a variety of scents. “My mom is here.”