Impostor (5 page)

“Stop holding back!” I screamed, charging toward him. He only dodged my punches and kicks. It was like he wanted to touch me as little as possible. That thought sent me over the edge. My skin started rippling and I felt myself grow, my skin stretch, my bones tearing and rebuilding.

His eyes widened.

I’d become him. I’d never done that.

My knuckles cracked as they made contact with his abs. I wished the shift would bring the Variant powers of his body with them, but I wasn’t any stronger or faster than a normal man. Something changed in Alec’s eyes as if a switch had been flicked—a fighter awakened.

I aimed a kick at his head. His hand shot out, grabbed my ankle and twisted. I spun in the air before I collided with the ground. My wrist bent back at an unnatural angle, and I screamed as I shifted back to my own body.

Alec knelt beside me on the mat but I didn’t move.

“Tess, shit. Say something.”

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and scrambled to my feet. Cradling my wrist in my other hand, I took a step back as he reached out for me. I didn’t want him to touch me if it was out of pity, not when he couldn’t stand my closeness for any other reason.

“I don’t want to practice with you anymore. Just tell Major I’m ready.”

“Tess—”

“Just tell him! I don’t want to be near you, Alec.”

This . . .
thing
with Alec was messing with my Variation. It was ruining everything I’d worked so hard to achieve.

I didn’t wait for his reaction; I left.

• • •

The intercom crackled as Major’s voice summoned me into his office. I dragged myself out of our room, glad that Holly had criminology and wasn’t there to give me a pep talk.

I knocked on Major’s open door and stepped inside. He sat behind his desk, a cup of steaming tea in front of him. Worry lined his forehead. He looked up when I entered, and turned on his blank expression.

I lingered in the doorway, pushing my hands into my pockets. If he wanted to shout at me for abusing my Variation, I’d rather be in a position where I could flee as fast as possible. The piercing intensity of his gaze made me squirm. It felt as if he could see right through me. What if he could? What if that was his rumored secret Variation?

His gaze didn’t waver. “Sit down.”

My skin began to prickle in a way that made me want to scratch it. I perched on the edge of the seat, my hands folded on my lap. The shiny name plate on Major’s desk looked as if it had just been cleaned and polished. It looked odd next to the small crack in the wood Alec had caused the last time I was in there.

“I assume you know the reason for your summoning.”

“Yes.”

CHAPTER 6

M
ajor nodded. “Good. This is an important matter. We can’t afford for you to fail.”

This didn’t sound like a lecture on the abuse of my powers.

“Sir?”

“It’s a pity that Kate’s Variation is so limited. I have a feeling that Madison’s brother or father might have shed a good deal of light on many aspects of her life.” He started tapping the smooth wooden surface of his desk. His nails were short and neat; I’d never seen a speck of dirt on him. He didn’t take his eyes off me.

“We talked to her doctors and convinced them it was likely that Madison would suffer from amnesia after she woke from the artificial coma.”

“Someone messed with their minds?” The words were out before I could stop them.

Major rose from his chair and loomed over me. “We don’t mess with people’s minds, Tessa.”

I dropped my gaze to my lap. “Of course not, sir.”

“This mission is about saving lives. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Here are a few pages touching on the typical after-effects of an artificial coma, particularly in a case like Madison’s.” He pushed a stack of papers over to me. More facts to read and remember, to internalize until there was no room left for anything else.

“Many important figures will be watching you. This mission can be your breakthrough.”

There was a knock on the door and Alec walked in.
Fabulous
.

I dropped the stack of papers. The pages scattered across the hardwood floor. My insides clenched as I got to my knees and started picking them up. A pair of strong hands came to my aid. I didn’t look up, gingerly taking the papers from him and settling back on my chair.

From the corner of my eye, I watched Alec take his seat beside me. He wasn’t looking at me, and he didn’t have to. Major’s scrutiny was enough to make me jittery.

What was Alec doing here anyway? Our training was supposed to be over.

“Alec and I have spoken, and he will join you on your mission.”

“He . . . what?!” I blurted.

Alec turned to me, his forehead furrowed. I avoided his eyes and instead focused on Major, whose expression had turned stern.

“Sir,” I added. “Why?” I hated the little part of me that felt elated about the news.

“Alec suggested it would be safer for you if he was around, and I agree. Alec can protect you while conducting his own local investigations.”

So it had been his suggestion. Was this his twisted idea of revenge? He might keep me safe from the killer, but who the hell would protect me from my feelings for him?

“But, sir. How is Alec supposed to fit in?”

Alec’s face tightened. “
Alec
plays a new student. He’ll be a senior. Also, he’s in the room with you.”

I glared at him.

“A senior?” I put as much sarcasm into my words as possible. “But he never went to middle school, much less high school.”

“Neither did you,” Alec snapped.

“I went to middle school.”

Major leaned forward in his chair and rested his arms on his desk. “That’s enough, you two.” Something close to amusement flickered in his dark eyes.

“But, sir, if he pretends to be a student he can’t live alone. People will get suspicious.”

“He won’t be alone. Summers will pretend to be his mother.”

Alec leaned back, his legs stretched out on the wood floor in front of him. But behind his mask of relaxation, something was lurking. If I wasn’t mistaken, it wasn’t even directed at me.

“Agent Summers?”

Major nodded.

Summers. I had to admit, that was clever of Major. There wasn’t a better fit to make sure the habitants of Livingston weren’t suspicious of Alec and me. Her Variation—diversion—would surely come in handy. Of course, from a practical standpoint, she didn’t look one bit like Alec, nor did she possess a single motherly trait. With her underbite and broad shoulders, she looked like someone who enjoyed hanging around in shady bars and fighting scoundrels for money. And Alec . . . I allowed myself a sideways glance. Alec was Alec. Tall, tan, buff, black-haired, with his gray eyes and his chiseled jaw . . .

“They don’t look related.”

“Not all children resemble their parents. You, for example, look nothing like your mother.”

I shrugged. “Maybe I look like my father.” My tone of voice was petulant and one I didn’t usually use with Major. But my family was taboo. No one brought them up. Ever. And everyone knew that.

Alec straightened in his seat, his muscles tense.

Major considered my point. “Maybe. But that’s not important now. The only thing of importance is that you won’t be alone in this mission. Alec will be at your side. And Summers’s main job will be to divert the police’s attention. We don’t want them prying about too much. They don’t know what they’re doing, and this case is the FEA’s business. Especially if there’s Variant involvement.”

“Has Variant involvement been confirmed, sir?” I ventured.

“No, but I prefer to take all necessary precautions. Two of the victims show extremely atypical pressure marks around their throats. That’s our only lead so far.” Major scanned my face, then Alec’s. What was he looking for? “I hope this arrangement will guarantee the swift success of our mission.”

Major started pacing, his arms crossed behind his back. “Let’s go over our possible suspects again.”

“I thought we didn’t know anything conclusive about the murderer, now that he’s started killing men,” I said.

“That’s mostly true. As you may know, the profilers are still trying to narrow down the list of possible suspects. They told me that the killer is almost certainly a man and probably knew all four victims.”

That wasn’t helpful. Livingston was a small town; everyone knew one another somehow.

“Kate’s exploration of Mrs. Chambers showed that she isn’t involved, and neither is Madison’s aunt Cecilia or Madison’s best friend, Ana. As for the rest of her friends and family members, they’re all suspects unless proven otherwise—especially the men.”

“Why only men? I thought the women didn’t show signs of . . .” Alec glanced awkwardly at me. “ . . . sexual harassment?”

“No, they didn’t. We’re not dealing with a sex offender.”

“So why only male suspects?”

“Strangling someone requires considerable strength, and serial murderers are typically men. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t keep an eye on the women in Madison’s life, but I don’t want you to waste your energy on unlikely suspects. The killer might have gone to school with Madison or might be involved with the school in some capacity. After all, one of the victims worked in the high school and the other was a senior.”

Mr. Chen and Kristen Cynch.

“What about the first victim? Did she have any connection to the high school?” Alec asked.

“No, she was a pediatrician in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. The only possible connection is that she’s probably treated most of Livingston’s students since they were kids,” I said.

It was scary how in the dark we were. Anyone could be the murderer. So far the only connection was the
A
cut into the victims’ skin. “Does Madison have the same mark as the other victims?”

“Yes, above her rib cage just like the others.” Major cleared his throat and stopped behind his desk chair, hands gripping the backrest. “I think you should keep a close eye on Madison’s boyfriend, Tessa. He might be the only one who knew what was really going on in the last few months of her life.”

“A boyfriend?” Alec asked, incredulous. “You can’t expect Tessa to continue someone else’s romantic relationship.”

I glanced at him. Was he jealous?

“She won’t have to. As it turns out, Madison broke up with him a few weeks before the attack. That puts him very high on our list of suspects.”

“But what motive might he have for the other murders?”

“We’re not sure about that. But maybe he killed them without reason, and when Madison broke up with him he chose her as his next victim.”

“But why the
A
?” I asked.

“That’s for you to find out. The mission starts in two hours. Prepare yourself.”

My eyes snapped up to Major’s. “So soon?”

“Madison died half an hour ago. The doctors and the machines will keep the Chamberses believing that she’s alive. But we only have so much time until the first signs of death begin to show.”

I gave a numb nod. Why hadn’t I felt anything? Shouldn’t I have known when she died? After all, her DNA was part of me now. It was all that was left of her.

“Read the papers and be ready in an hour, Tessa,” Major said before he zeroed in on Alec. “I’d like to have a word with you.”

What did they want to discuss without me?

My feet carried me out of the room but my body felt like it was encased in a bubble. I barely heard the outside chatter, the laughter from the common room, and the music blaring from somewhere down the hall.

Holly froze when I came into our room.

“I have to go,” I managed. My legs, my entire body were numb. Since hearing the news of Madison’s death, it felt like the life had slid out of me too.

“How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know. However long it takes.”

Holly just hugged me, for once not saying a word.

• • •

I pressed my face against the window of the car, remembering the evening more than two years ago when I’d sat in the same spot on my way to headquarters for the very first time. So much had changed since then.

My skin prickled and I sensed that Major was watching me.

The car glided to a stop. I reached for the door but Major’s words stopped me. “I know something is going on between you and Alec. I already spoke with him about it. Don’t let it endanger the mission.”

“There’s nothing . . .” I stopped myself. It would have been a lie and some people said Major could smell lies. It was just one of the ridiculous tales people spun about Major because they didn’t really know what he was capable of.

We stepped out of the car. My legs felt like jelly as I trudged into the hospital. The tightness in my chest grew with every step I took closer to Madison’s room. Voices echoed from the end of the corridor and my muscles began quivering.

I stumbled and Major grasped my arm. “Act natural,” he said under his breath. “They should have been gone by now.”

We walked through the corridor, closer to Madison’s parents, acting as if we had some good reason to be here apart from covering up the death of their daughter.

I busied myself with gazing at the checkered pattern on the linoleum floor, but as we passed Madison’s room, my eyes found them: Ronald and Linda Chambers. Linda looked older than in the photos I’d seen—wearier, paler, her blond hair gathered in a messy ponytail. Ronald looked thinner and the gray streaks in the hair at his temples had spread. They clung to each other as they listened to the doctors spewing lies. I couldn’t hear the doctors’ words but I knew that whatever they were telling them was far from the truth.

The worst thing was the way their faces lit up with hope as the doctors spoke to them. They thought their daughter would recover, that they’d get her back; they didn’t know that only a few hours ago they’d lost her forever.

Suddenly, a sense of determination filled me. I’d find the monster who’d taken their daughter away from them. Even if I couldn’t give Linda and Ronald Chambers their daughter back, I could at least try to give them justice. We turned another corner and they disappeared from view.

Hawk-Face leaned against the wall a few steps from us. He straightened when he saw us. Major let go of my arm. I hadn’t even realized he’d been dragging me along.

“Why are they still there?” Major’s scowl made the man recoil.

“I’m sorry, sir. They should be gone any moment.”

“They’d better be.”

Major started pacing and I busied myself with counting his steps. His legs weren’t long but his stride made him look tall. Hawk-Face peered around the corner, then turned to us and gave a quick nod.

We walked back to Madison’s room, my mouth as dry as sawdust. Hawk-Face marched ahead and opened the door. Major beckoned for me to enter. There was no turning back now.