Hunting the Shadows (18 page)

Ajay chuckled and picked up the sandwich, peeling the wrap off. “True. Davan does spoil me, but I’m not going to say no if he wants to practice his culinary skills on me.”

“Where is your partner?” J.C. asked.

“Out. He was deployed this morning and isn’t due back for a few days or so. There’s a young boy the Council has their eye on. They want him.”

And people wondered why he’d tried to blow up the labs.

He stabbed another piece of meat. “Was there a reason you came to our table?”

Amy frowned at him. “J.C., you’re being rude.”

“No, he’s not.” Ajay shrugged and took a bite out of the sandwich. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I was ever introduced. J.C.’s been keeping you to himself. I’m Ajay, the resident Time-Keeper. Davan aka Kitchen King, is my training partner.” She grinned.

“Ajay makes up superhero names for us. She calls herself the Time-Keeper because she can slow time down. She’s a big nerd when it comes to comics,” he explained. The woman made it a point to sneak in the contraband reading material.

Amy’s lips curved and her gaze flicked over to him. “And what’s yours?”

“Dr. Molecular.” Ajay laughed and reached behind to pull her blond hair into a messy ponytail. “When he was younger, he was a mad scientist, spending the majority of his free time in the lab. We’ll have to come up with a name for you if you’re sticking around.”

He tried to finish his meal, but pushed it away after picking at it for a bit. Her words only reminded him of everything the Council had tried to take away from him. He swallowed the bitterness, but it left him feeling like an imposter in his own skin.

“The Council ordered Leila’s body disposed of,” Ajay said suddenly, watching him intently. “They cremated her body.”

He turned to stare at her, shock rippling through him. “What do you mean they cremated her body? I never authorized that.”

“You know as well as I do they don’t need our permission to do anything. Since all the evidence has been gathered, they got rid of her. Broderick said she was just taking up needed space.”

Fuck evidence. What about giving them a chance to say their goodbyes and pay their last respects?

He was supposed to be different now. It wasn’t supposed to bother him. Leila was supposed to just be another victim he didn’t remember, someone he could scratch off a list and forget.

They were wrong.

It mattered. All of this, everything he did, was important. He couldn’t shove his feelings and memories all to the back of his mind and forget because they wanted him to. Caring too much was what got him into trouble the first time and if he didn’t watch it, they would see through this scheme. But he had Amy. Together they’d beaten the Council.

“I wanted to tell you now while we were alone so that you had time to regain your composure,” Ajay said, making him frown. “Don’t try and lie to me and pretend what I said didn’t bother you.”

“Why would it?” He forced the words out, holding himself rigid. “What’s your angle, Agent? What do you want?” he demanded.

“You’re different. You aren’t the J.C. in our last meeting or in that morgue. You
remember
.”

He lifted a brow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You were sent to Ashton for a mind wipe. Don’t bullshit me. I know what you were like after it. You have your memories intact and you gave yourself away just now by telling Amy I’m into comics. You shouldn’t remember.”

“Damn it, would you be quiet?” he hissed. Leaning forward, he muttered, “Yes. Happy now? I remember everything. My memories are intact. Ashton changed them, but we reversed it all. You can’t tell anyone, not even Davan.”

“How is that possible?”

“We aren’t going to discuss this, Ajay. All you need to know is that it didn’t stick. Are we going to have a problem?” He locked his gaze to hers, trying to read her.

“If we did, I wouldn’t have said anything. I’d have gone to Broderick with my suspicions,” Ajay said sharply. “We all cared about Leila but you’re going to need to work on shutting out how you’re feeling if you’re pretending otherwise. You suck at it.”

“Understood. Is there anything else you need to tell me?”

Ajay glanced around and grew quiet. “I’ve been looking into the deaths of the scientists. Care to tell me what happened?”

“I didn’t kill them.”

“No but someone did. Why?”

“Let’s talk on the way to the meeting.” Because he didn’t trust there weren’t ears in the vicinity that would jump on the information. J.C. shoved a hand through his hair. He gathered the garbage from lunch and rose to his feet. Eventually, he was going to have to tell someone and it might as well be Ajay.

They stepped out of the cafeteria and into the empty hall. Still, he kept his voice low. “They were helping me with the bomb and were supposed to get the children out of here when I initiated the bomb sequence.”

“You couldn’t trust us with that? Don’t you think we want this to end as much as you?”

He shook his head, unsure what to say. Or rather, how
much
he should say. “No, but there’s a spy. I couldn’t take the risk that the plans would get into the hands of the Council.”

“You’re an idiot.”

Amy smiled and when she spoke, her words were light with humor. “
I
could have told you that. He’s rather controlling, isn’t he? He thinks he can do everything on his own and that he doesn’t need anyone’s help.”

J.C. frowned. “That’s not what I—”

Ajay lifted a hand. “Please, spare me your excuses. It’s starting to piss me off that you think you’re invincible. You should know that Broderick cleared you of the murders.” It was like being lectured. J.C. didn’t know how he felt about that. Especially when he considered Ajay more of a little sister than anything. “We can’t see who did it on video but it’s clear it wasn’t you.”

“I should have been told.”

“Yeah and maybe you would have if we’d known you were fine and not under Broderick and the Council’s control. Trust goes both ways, J.C. Remember that the next time you’re planning something,” Ajay chided. As they stopped in front of the conference room, she shot a glance around the still empty hall then hugged him tightly. “I was worried for you. Glad you’re not a mindless drone.”

His laugh rumbled in his chest as he watched her turn on her heel and walk into the room where Darilynn and Ariadne sat at a long table. While Ariadne painted her nails black, Darilynn was busy on her laptop, most likely working on code of some kind. He didn’t understand computers. Whenever they gave him problems, he simply handed his laptop over to her and she worked her magic—returning it working perfectly again.

Turning from the door, J.C. ran a hand up Amy’s back, rubbing at the tight muscles in her neck. She looked up at him with concern and in her eyes. “It’ll be fine,” he whispered, so low that only she could hear.

“I’m not one of you.”

He moved his thumb back and forth over her skin. “Actually, you are. You don’t remember because you were so young, but they took you away and told us you’d died.”

He eased their bodies aside so that they weren’t blocking the doorway when he heard an argument coming closer. Stefan and Mackenzie approached slowly, his obvious limp slowing them down. With every step, Stefan winced and J.C. felt a small twinge of guilt that he quickly ignored.

“I told you to let me help you.” Mackenzie was saying.

“And
I
told you that I wasn’t going to be wheelchaired about like I don’t have two working legs of my own. I’m not an invalid, Mackenzie. Stop treating me like one, damn it. Despite what you believe, I’m capable of—” Stefan’s snarl cut short as his glare shifted from the doctor to J.C., to Amy, then back again to J.C. “Get out of the way.”

“I’m not blocking the door.”

There was, in fact, more than enough room for the two to get through, but obviously someone wasn’t taking their pain meds. Stefan was surly at best when he was hurt. Scowling, Stefan let Mackenzie put her arm around his waist and help him inside.

Amy turned her gaze to J.C., away from Mackenzie helping Stefan lower himself to a chair. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Stefan? He’s a cockroach. Nothing kills that asshole.” Stefan was one of the toughest men he knew. Even when they were teens, J.C. had more than once caught Stefan out in the gym until three in the morning, training while everyone else slept. J.C. may not like him, but he had to respect the dedication Stefan had.

“He doesn’t like me,” she said softly. “He thinks I should be locked up.”

“Ignore him. He’s just pulling a tantrum because his father put me in charge.” He glanced down and found that at some point, she’d taken off the wrist band. Tilting his head slightly, he studied her, looking for any signs that she was exerting herself.

So far, she was holding up. There was a bit of strain in her eyes, but she wasn’t exuding any symptoms to be worried about.
“Can you try reading Stefan?”

She nodded and stepped forward, biting her lower lip. He could see the focus in her eyes, her pupils dilating. After a few minutes, she faced him.
“He’s clean. His signature doesn’t match what was on Drake or the necklace. But there’s something there… I don’t know what though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t explain, J.C. It’s a feeling. Instinct. I don’t trust him. Somehow, he’s locking me out. It’s like with the memories of yours I couldn’t access, but his are more intense. I can skim the surface thoughts, but anything deeper and I get stuck. He has traps set up in his mind.”

“Could someone have tampered with his head for those walls to be there?”

“It’s possible.”
Amy jumped a little as Ajay burst out into laughter at something one of the others had said inside the room.
“It’s also entirely possible that he built those defenses naturally. I don’t know what they’re hiding, but whatever it is, I don’t like it.”

Neither did he, but was it worth it to push her to get through?
“How hard would it be to get through?”

“With all those traps, I’d be worried about getting out in one piece. Whatever he’s hiding isn’t something to play around with.”

Damn.
“All right. Let’s get this over with.”

With one last lingering brush of his palm over her back, he stepped away from the doorframe and moved inside, heading toward the coffee machine that someone had turned on. After he’d poured himself a mug, he leaned back against the counter. He lifted the drink to his lips, waiting for the caffeine to hit his system.

Amy had settled down into a chair beside Ajay, looking far from comfortable as she studied the whiteboard ahead of her. She belonged, just like every other sitting around the table. Eventually, she would realize that as well.

J.C. cleared his throat. “Before we begin, I want to introduce Amy. A few of you know her but, Ariadne, you don’t.” He nodded to Ariadne. “Where’s Cameron?”

“You took him off the case,” Darilynn said, barely looking up from the computer.

“Not indefinitely.” He sighed inwardly and swallowed more of the coffee. “Just until he was cleared. Anyway, Amy will be helping us.”

“Do we really need her?” Ariadne’s lips flattened. “She’s been in the psych ward for how long? How do we know she’s not going to mind fuck us?”

J.C. narrowed his eyes, but Stefan picked up where Ariadne left off.

“She has no place here. The moment she was brought back to the Centre, she should have been sent to the—”

“Enough.” It was only one word, but the low, warning sound achieved the silence he wanted. He stepped forward, putting himself behind Amy. “I’m going to set things straight and I want every one of you to listen. Amy was attacked by our killer. She did not kill the guards. Broderick and Rick had her in the psych ward to protect her because she’s a telepathic-empath. No other reason. Are we clear?”

“She’s not prepared for this. Shouldn’t she be—” Mackenzie began.

“I’m more prepared than any of you are. I
lived
. He attacked me and I got away. He’s been in my head for years, not yours. I know how he thinks and I know when he’s going to kill.” Amy said matter-of-factly. J.C. felt a twinge of pride. “Don’t put me down because I’m not like you. I don’t have your training, but I’m strong. I
want
this killer caught, more than anything.”

J.C. couldn’t help but smile. When Ajay lifted a quizzical brow at him, he remembered the mask he was supposed to be portraying. “If this is settled, let’s start. The other day, Amy found a necklace in one of the Crypt’s cells. Darilynn, I want you to try and pick up any impressions from it.”

Digging into his pocket, J.C. drew the Ziploc bag containing the necklace and slid it across the table toward her. Hands covered by black gloves reached for it.

“I should be able to. Give me a second.” Lips pursed, Darilynn peeled off the gloves and opened the bag, palming the piece of jewelry. Closing her eyes, Darilynn rubbed her fingers over the locket. “It was created in 1972 by a Jared Smith. Sold to…Chris…something.” She opened her eyes. “Sorry, it’s very muted. I can barely get a reading.”

“Can you pick up who owned it?”

Her thumb brushed against the chain. “She used to twirl the chain. A habit. The necklace was important to her. Owned by…uh…” she trailed off, lips twisting as she concentrated. She took a deep breath. “T something. Trina. Or Terrie. Or…”

“Teresa?” Amy asked, sliding forward in her chair. He shot a glance from Darilynn to Amy and back over.

“Yes, Teresa.” Her eyes shot open. “Oh my God, Teresa.”

Chapter Sixteen

“Want to know a secret?”

Amy tilted her head, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Drake stepped toward her, his hair covered in cobwebs, and dirt streaking his cheeks. “Sure. I’m game for a good secret any day.”

He caught her hand. She smiled and clung to him, keeping step with his shorter stride as he hurried her to a door that was open an inch. She glanced around the halls once then slipped behind him into the closet. “J.C. has a map of the Centre that he keeps hidden in his room. I’m not supposed to know about it, though.”

Amy lifted her hand to her mouth, turning her fingers as though locking the secret away.

He smiled brightly, his excitement bubbling from his exuberant hand gestures. “It was this—” he held out his arms, wider than his body, “—big. My favorite color is blue and it was like that, but darker, showing the locations of all the hidden tunnels between the walls.”

Easing jackets back for more room, she peered around. “So what are we doing in here?”

He knelt on the ground and pushed at loose boards until they budged and opened to a darkened space. He eased inside, clicking on a small flashlight she hadn’t even seen him take out. Offering his hand, he whispered, “You don’t need to be afraid. I won’t get you lost.”

Wandering around in the walls was a bad idea. What if something happened? After everything they knew about this killer, Drake was still wandering the halls alone. Why wasn’t he being guarded? She made mental note to tell J.C.

She placed her hand in his and stepped through, ducking her head. Pulling back the clothes and re-adjusting the boards, she followed him. If anyone else knew about these passageways, there was no indication of it. Thick dust coated the wooden beams on either side of her, cobwebs hanging low from the ceiling.

He stopped suddenly and shut off the flashlight. A thin ray of light filtered through an air vent.

“Have a look.”

Curious, she placed her palms on the wood, stepping on a wooden box and leaning up to look through the vent. On the other side agents were working out. “That’s the gym,” she murmured with surprised.

He nodded. “Want to see where J.C. works?”

He grabbed her hand, dragging her forward through the narrowed space. It wasn’t until they neared that she heard the voices.

“She’s not progressing fast enough. What are we going to do about that?” Broderick’s voice was low and impatient. “Her track record isn’t impressive. I want that remedied. We both know that those who are useless have no place here at the Centre.”

Gripping the air vent, she lifted herself up, fingers curled in the metal.

She found J.C. over by his desk, looking anything but happy as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Your definition of progress and mine seem to be different. Her abilities are getting stronger every day. She’s demonstrated a high level of—”

“I want those abilities documented.” Broderick shrugged off the rest of J.C.’s words. “What are the risks of her mental state shattering?”

“Anything is a possibility. She may never be stable.”

He thought she was broken? Amy glanced at Drake, lifting her fingers to her lips to ensure his silence. Looking back up, she noticed Broderick had moved closer, giving her a better view of him.

“If she’s too fragile, you do know that you’re going to have to get as much information about how her mind works before it breaks, right?”

J.C. drew in a sharp breath. “She would never survive the procedure.”

“Most don’t.”

“She’s getting stronger. A bit of training and I believe she’ll be able to build her own shields without aid.”

Broderick glanced down at some tests. “Make sure you know what you’re doing, J.C. I won’t have a crippled psychic blemishing everything I’ve accomplished. You marked her yourself all those years ago. You were the one who recommended that she not be allowed to leave isolation.”

Shock ran like ice through her veins, the sound of surprise catching in her throat. J.C.? He was the one who’d locked her up? He marked her? Betrayal made it near impossible to breathe.

“As you said yourself earlier, she’s a lab rat,” J.C. said tightly. “She offered me a chance to help her catch the killer and I couldn’t pass that opportunity up. If I can train her into the weapon you want her to be, it’s only an advantage. I just need more time.”

Bastard.
He’d imprisoned her, ensuring there’d been no way for her to have a semblance of a real life. And more than that, he only helped her so that he could use her.

J.C.’s eyes jerked to the vent, pinning hers as though he’d heard her and she stumbled away in a blind rush.

“Get me out of here, Drake,” she whispered, blinking back the sting of tears. “I need to leave.”

* * *

Amy thought that by the time J.C. got to his room, she’d be packed and out of his life. She didn’t know where she’d go, but she didn’t care. She wouldn’t give them the chance to send her back to her prison. It came down to that. She would never let them take her back into that room. Not when she would know every day for the rest of her life what she was missing.

When J.C. charged into the room not ten minutes later, she thought she could hold her ground. The moment she got a glimpse of his eyes, however, she knew she was wrong.

“What were you doing in the walls?”

There was something in his stance, in the way he held himself still that got her back up. She lifted her chin, bracing her shoulders as she straightened. “You used me.” The words were hard, colder than she thought they’d be. “I’m nothing more than an experiment to you.” She jabbed a finger into his shoulder and when his brows knitted down, she did it again.

Who cared if she was in the walls? As far as she was concerned, her eavesdropping was the least of their worries. He wasn’t going to lay the blame on her. She was many things, but she wasn’t a coward and she wasn’t going to let someone else hurt her. Not anymore.

“We’ll get to that.” He shut the door with his foot, closing the last chance she had to run. “What if Dare or one of the other Enforcers had come across you in there? It’s not safe, Amy. I know you’re new to the outside, but you can’t go around where it’s dangerous.”

She didn’t want to hear his lecture. She was so angry that she had to stop herself from reacting for fear of what she might do to him. If he knew what was good for him, he’d shut up and let her go.

“You’re not going to turn this around on me. I’m not going to forget. You marked me, J.C.” She didn’t realize that she’d moved, not until her palm made contact with his face. Shocked, staring at that red mark with disgust, she trembled with rage. “You took my life away.”

He just stood there. Lifting his hand, he touched the spot she’d hit. “I deserved that. You’re right.”

She swallowed back the tears and turned her back to him. “I want to leave.”

J.C. reached for her bag at the same time as she did, tossing it aside before she could grab it. “Do you really think they’ll let you leave? Do you really think that you’ll
escape?
The Council will hunt you down and bring you back. For what? You’ll end up on the other end of that knife you fear so much. Broderick has already ordered me to perform the procedure. Your leaving will seal that fate.”

“I can do whatever I put my mind to. If I want to leave, no one will stop me.” She glared at him. It took everything in her not to delve into her powers and use them on him. Something dark whispered to her, a little voice that said to show him what she was capable of doing. “You told them to keep me in isolation.”

“Amy,” he pushed his hands into his hair, “if there was anything I could do, I’d change that. I was stupid and I made a lot of mistakes.”

She refused to be swayed. This was
her
life, not his.

“Rick wanted a consult. You were in coma, but that day you woke up. I was asked to help. You lost control of your abilities and it frightened me.”

“You didn’t think I was stable so you told them I needed to be locked up.”

He sighed and moved away. “It’s a bit more than that. At the time, I was in the middle of creating the wrist band you’re wearing today. Rick wanted me to fit you with one. He wanted to get you out for training exercises and I told him no.”

“Just like that? One incident and you were willing to ruin my life? Even Rick came back for future consultations before making final decisions.”

“Yeah, and he also has no regard for your safety or your health.”

She was past angry. She could barely look at him right now. “That’s not the point. He came
back
.”

Something passed through his eyes, a look she couldn’t read. “I wasn’t allowed to, Amy. Your case file wasn’t in my jurisdiction.”

“You didn’t
try
.”

“No,” he agreed. “I didn’t. I was an idiot. I thought I was ready to make the important decisions about what happened to others and not care. Yes, I didn’t go back, but I never forgot about that day, or what happened.”

“How can you try and justif—”

“Amy.” J.C. leaned forward, catching her face between his hands. His gaze caught hers, drawing her deeper. “Go into my memories.”

“You don’t like it when I’m in your head. I
might
be the spy,” she snapped. She had trusted him. With Rick and Dare, she knew not to. They never kept their word. But she’d thought J.C. was different. Now, to find out that he’d been using her…it was a stab in the back.

He sighed heavily, lowering his forehead to hers. “I was wrong. I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re a spy and I should never have black marked you.”

“You called me a lab rat.” She shoved against his chest. “You told Broderick that you were using me.”

“I lied. Sweetheart, it was for Broderick’s benefit. He’s pushing for results so I had to tell him something to give us more time. If I don’t put up the necessary front, he’s going to take you away. I won’t hand you back to Rick.”

Because he wanted to inflict the pain himself? “Why not?”

“I can’t.” His voice hardened, his jaw tightening.

Pain stabbed across her forehead. When she stumbled and he reached out for her, she stepped away, using the desk as support instead.

He frowned. “I would never hurt you. Don’t you know that?”

“I thought I did.”

Catching her hands, he brought them up to his mouth, pressing his lips to the pulse at her wrist. “I’ll do whatever I need to protect you. Whatever it takes. You don’t know how sorry I am that you heard me, but I didn’t mean any of it. I care about you and I’m not supposed to.”

“What about the next time? What happens when Broderick tells you to take Testing to the next level? Like you said, Broderick has already ordered you figure out how my brain works through whatever means possible.”

“I’m not Rick. He may do whatever his father wants. I don’t,” he said. Those hands slid up her arms then down again, his fingers tightening around hers before he let go. “Okay?” His thumb rubbed along her jaw, down over her lip.

“No, it’s not okay. My head is spinning right now. You were the one person I never expected to betray me. All my life I’ve been used like some toy. The moment I’m not wanted, I’m shut away.” Her heart hurt as she pulled in a deep, gasping breath. Lifting her shaking hand, she pressed it to her chest. “I wanted to believe you were different, but you’re like every other scientist who wants something.”

“Don’t
ever
think that. Go into my memories, Amy. I’m not lying to you.”

She didn’t know what to expect when she slid into his head. The memory in question was of a nineteen year old with the first taste of power and a need to prove himself. A young man with insecurities about what he was doing and an intense fear that he was going to mess up. Although he’d been working in the lab all his life, he’d never been in control of one and making the tough decisions.

On his first day he was called to the psych ward to fit a patient with a trial band. The ward was in chaos and in high alert. He’d come into the room, nearly tripping over one body, in time to watch a second doctor who was trying to restrain her younger self fall to the floor, bleeding from his eyes and nose.

She looked feral. When her eyes had locked on his, he prayed she wouldn’t kill him. Instead, when he felt the tearing through his mind, it simply knocked him unconscious.

When he woke later, he would tell Broderick she was a high risk.

Amy pulled free from J.C.’s mind, dragging in a ragged breath as she tried to calm her system. His fear when she’d attacked him was more than she could deal with. It stripped her of her anger, leaving her feeling hollow and numb.

“I’m sorry.” His hands slid down her arms. “If you want me to move you elsewhere, I will, but you can’t leave the Centre. You can stay with Ajay, but until we capture whoever is killing the agents, I can’t let you be alone.”

Her world turned upside down. She didn’t know what to think anymore. “And what happens after we catch the killer? What then?”

“What do you mean, what then?”

She pulled her hand free of his. With a wide gesture, she turned. “Are you planning on sending me back to the psych ward? Are you planning on dumping me in some small room and never thinking twice about me again?”

“Of course n—”

“Because you’ve done it once already. I was alone without even a friend to talk to. If you’re going to do it again, I’d rather you tell me now. It’d be cruel to let me out now, just to shove me back in that room.” She blew out a breath of frustration. “I’m not going to let you break me. You can take everything from me, you can lock me away from all human contact, but you’ll never—”

He pulled her against him and before she could finish, his mouth slid along hers and silenced her. She had no defense against his kiss and could only hold on, wrapping her arms around his neck for balance.

He broke the kiss. “I’m a lot of things, a bastard being one of them for hurting you, but I’d never do that.” His gaze never left hers, giving her a look at the vulnerability in his words.

“You can’t tel—”

He pressed his mouth to hers again, forcing any argument she had back down her throat. “
Never
.” His lips trailed over her jaw. “I promise, you’ll never go back in that room again.”