Judgement 8 (Subject Alpha #1) (17 page)

“And he created those so . . . so what?”

“So,” she flinched, guilt and shame covering her face. “I used him. I knew what he was doing. I knew what he was creating and I knew one day he would be unstoppable. There are forces way higher in this, Elina. We don’t have time now, but we will before. . . . I promise.”

“So that’s why they wanted to terminate me the day I escaped.”

She nodded. “They found out what you were, that you have the capability to take us all down.”

“And my escape?”

She gulped. “I surged your chip.”

“Of course you did, and you knew, like when I asked you to do it, it wouldn’t terminate me.” My teeth vibrated, the tiny hairs in my nose capturing a sudden rush of chemicals. “They’re here.”

“GO!” my mother hissed, pushing me into the car as she wrapped Lettie into her side. Before I had chance to pull the door closed, her fingers curled around the edge and she stopped me. Her wet eyes found mine. “I love you, Elina.”

Staring at her, seeing the truth of her words in her eyes, I nodded. “And I love you.”

Her face twisted as she tried to hold on to her emotions before she nodded and slammed the door shut, banging on the roof for Jonah to move.

He tore away, leaving both Reid and me silent, both of us confused, angry, sad and in Reid’s case, totally destroyed by betrayal.

BLAINE WALKED INTO THE room where I stood with Janice. I didn’t like Blaine; he was mean to me. When Elina ran away he . . . he hurt me. He made a great big bruise on my arm and he made my teeth cut my lip when he smacked my face.

He looked at me with his lip curled, and snorted as if I repulsed him. But he turned back to Janice. “All done?”

She nodded, stuffing some things into her large bag. “Yeah.”

“Did they suspect?”

Janice shook her head and I looked up at her, confused. What did he mean?

“You reinserted her chip?”

“You act like I don’t know what I’m doing, Blaine. Of course, I admit the only place I could insert it was into a wound on her arm where she’d cut herself climbing out of the burning house. But it’s in and it’s been tested. She’s completely trackable.”

“What?” I asked, my eyes flicking to Blaine.

He laughed cruelly. “Aww, did you actually think you were helping them? And you’re supposed to be intelligent.”

Janice looked at me, her face bright as she laughed at me. “Yeah, I should do something about that.”

My feet shuffled backwards when she grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into me as she pulled out a needle from her bag.

“We need her,” Blaine said quickly, his eyes narrowing.

“Relax.” I cried out when she stabbed me in the arm, the nasty clear liquid she squirted into me stinging. “I’m just sedating her, the little bitch is getting on my nerves. Fucking ‘Daddy’ this and ‘Elina’ that. Anyone would think they were superheroes.”

I didn’t hear what else they said when my body suddenly grew heavy and I fell asleep, my body thudding on the floor when nobody bothered to catch me.

MY CHEST FELT HEAVY as I settled my bag on the floor beside the bed. Another safe house, another dusty room and another basic bed covered by a single threadbare sheet, yet this time I was to share it with Reid.

He’d been quiet on the drive, but I knew he had lots to think about.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, bringing me out of my musing and making me jump.

I turned to him, biting my lip in bewilderment at the feeling in my bones. “I don’t know. Something’s not right. I can’t shake this feeling.” He stared at me, not offering any suggestions, his face blank as though he hadn’t even heard me. He’d completely withdrawn from me after our conversation with Janice.

“Are you okay?” I asked, frowning at his cold attitude.

He sucked air through his teeth then clicked his tongue and stormed across the room, causing me to step back so he didn’t plough me over. “I’m going for a walk.”

“Why don’t you take a stroll, Reid,” I said quietly to myself when he slammed the door behind him. “The fresh air will do you good, and maybe Jack Frost might freeze your face into a fucking smile.”

Huffing, I stepped onto the landing and into the bathroom, my lip curling as my eyes slowly roamed the room. Picking up a facecloth and unpeeling it from its crispy ball, I washed it through and wiped the toilet seat, still placing toilet roll and hovering over the seat to pee.

“What the hell, El?” I cursed myself when the weight in my chest grew. Something didn’t make sense but my brain couldn’t make sense of whatever my instincts were trying to tell me.

I braced myself, pulling the shower curtain back hesitantly as I peered round it, surprised when an old but clean shower welcomed me. Reaching around, I turned the tap, jolting when it coughed and spluttered but eventually gave me a stream of clear warm water. “You beauty.” I beamed, stripping out of my clothes and stepping under the water.

“Oh, God, yes!” I sighed, lifting my face to catch the refreshing water. I winced when I reached for the showerhead; the stitches in my arm pulling tight as I brought it lower to accommodate my height.

I frowned, tipping my head to study them. They looked fresh but then I realised Janice had just cleaned them; the dried blood that had covered them had been wiped away and made them sore.

Spending way too long under the revitalising deluge, my skin resembling the one time I’d attempted to bake a jacket potato in the microwave and I’d misread the cooking time, I switched the shower off and stepped back into the bathroom.

“Shit!” There was no towel, so grabbing my t-shirt, I pulled it in front of my wet body and after peeking out of the door, made a run for it back to the bedroom praying Jonah didn’t decide to come up the stairs at that exact moment. The poor fella would have gotten the shock of his life; I told you my ass is way too flabby. That’s not a nice sight, watching my fat wobble across the landing.

I grinned to myself when I made it into the bedroom, kicking the door shut quickly behind me before fate intercepted. However, I slammed to a halt when a smouldering Reid lay on the bed, his hands linked behind his head as he rested against the headboard, obviously waiting for me. He looked furious and I frowned; surely me having a shower hadn’t angered him?

He remained still but his eyes didn’t. They moved ever so slowly down my body, pausing to take in my nipples protruding through the saturated t-shirt that clung to my wet skin like a glove.

His eyes climbed back to my face. My mouth dried when I noticed his bare chest heaving with each of his inhalations. “Drop the shirt.”

I quirked a brow at him. “You know,” I pulled my shoulders straight and lifted my chin, refusing to let him see my nerves, “you can be quite rude.”

“Rude?” He said the word quietly, his gruff tone making my womb twinge.

“Rude.”

His head inclined to the side, his dark stare observing me, and I gulped when he took hold of his belt and he deftly undid it in a single snap, the heavy buckle dropping to one side as he slid the zip down. Pulling his cock out, making me squirm at the sight of it, he wrapped his fist around it, his fingers gripping his shaft one by one and reminding me of a Mexican wave. Slowly he stroked his hand up and down, my eyes following every single move. “And do think this is rude, Elina?”

I coughed, bringing my eyes back up to his. “Uhh, well . . .”

“Well?” he prompted when my mouth dried up and I couldn’t get the words out. I just shrugged. “Lose—the—shirt.”

I dropped the shirt, encouraged as I watched him masturbate for me so very beautifully.

“Good girl,” he whispered. “Now turn around.”

“Are you always this demanding?”

“Are you always this fucking stubborn?”

I took offence to that. No way was I stubborn. Well, maybe a little. Actually . . .

Sighing and shrugging I spun around, cringing when my backside wobbled with my swift motion.

He clicked his tongue and I tensed further. I hated my backside. I needed one of those damn machines that vibrated all the fat away but I’d always wondered if I’d be tempted to slip the strap between my legs so I hadn’t bothered asking Janice for one.

“Fuck!”

“I’m sorry.” I sighed. “I did tell you it was a bit . . . loose.”

He barked out a laugh. Arsehole. “Are you kidding me?”

Peering over my shoulder at him, my eyes widened when I found him rubbing himself off faster, his eyes on my arse, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes blazing with heat. He snapped his eyes to mine when he noticed me looking at him. “Come here.”

I rolled my eyes but humoured him, swinging my hips dramatically as I moonwalked backwards towards him. His lips twitched in amusement but he shook his head and sighed.

I stopped when the back of my legs touched the edge of the bed. “Here, sir?”

“Bend over.”

“What the hell, Reid?”

“Carry on arguing with me and you’ll pay, Elina. Now bend over and stop challenging me.”

“Do you know there’s one word in the English language that starts with P? The definition says, ‘A word used to make a request more polite and . . . ’”

I gasped when he grabbed my waist with his large hands and in one quick movement, pulled me over him so my body was laid across his legs. My body jerked, my eyes snapping wide as a yelp bounced up my throat and left my mouth when his palm struck my bottom. “Shit, Reid!”

Again, he brought his hand down, a sharp sting radiating across my flesh, my skin burning with the spank. “What the hell . . . ?”

He growled in warning but shifted his hand to the other cheek, painting my skin red to match the opposite side. “REID!”

Ignoring me, he spanked me again and again but he suddenly changed direction and I jolted when his aim caught my pussy.
Whoa!
I whimpered when a small jolt of electricity shot from him onto my clit, my eyes widening even further when the sensation made my pussy twitch in delight.

“Fuck!” he snarled. “You arse is fucking perfect. The way your flesh quivers makes my cock weep.”

Oh, God, why the hell did he have to start with the dirty talk? I wasn’t coping with the humiliation of my arousal very well.

Another strike to my clit made my body tremble over him and my thighs instinctively parted a little wider, inviting him. Seeing my need, he suddenly thrust a finger inside me, my back arching with the instant pleasure. Swirling it around he pulled it back out, making me pout and lift upwards, begging him for more. He dragged his finger up me slowly and I tensed when he pressed it against my back hole.