Right Through Me (The Obsidian Files #1) (27 page)

Two muffled gunshots to the head. The bearded man thudded to the ground.

Mark put down the gun, seized Luke’s chin in a cruel pincer grip and kissed him aggressively. “Alone at last,” he said. “Great to see you again. The brave warrior who saved us all! What a man. You always had the biggest balls. Mind if I squeeze?” Mark reached down, grabbed the other man’s crotch and just about wrenched them off.

Luke’s face contracted with agony, but he didn’t make a sound.

Mark slapped him brutally hard. Caro half expected Luke to spit out teeth or crumple to the floor, but his tormenter steadied him before he could topple.

“Poor bastard,” Mark crooned. “What a fucking mess. They invested so much money in you kill code boys before they scrapped the program. Everyone with clearance knows your fucking codes, plus anyone those people feel like telling . . . and anyone who’s good at data theft, like me. I have your brother’s codes too. I think you two are the last of the tribe.” He patted Luke’s face. “I’m almost sorry for you. But not really.
”

Luke was motionless, his gaze fixed on Mark.

“Want to know a secret?” Mark chortled. “Obsidian improved the product. No verbal codes this time, though. No more of that calliope-banner-ibex crap. Too sloppy. Full of bugs. Not anymore. Now it’s coded ultrasound. One pulse to activate. And now there are hundreds of them. Trained like us, only better. Stronger, faster, more mods, more implants, more power genes.”

Luke’s chest hitched as Mark leaned closer. “Aww. Don’t be jealous. I’m going to take their army . . . and I’m going to fuck them with it. I’m going to fuck them really hard. And you, my old friend, are going to help me do it.”

Luke made a strangled sound.

“Yeah, I know, it’s crazy,” Mark agreed. “But you’re the decryption man. You and Zade and Sisko decrypted all the Midlands info before rebellion day. I know exactly how good you are. I have the files on the slave soldiers in a biometric safe, which I can’t get into. But you can.” Mark’s manic grin showed all his teeth as he leaned in and licked Luke’s neck. “I could have had so much fun with you. Too bad I’m not into boys.”

Luke gurgled painfully, dragging in a little air.

“Shut up. Don’t even try to move. You can’t until I give you the release code. I have six prototype slave soldiers all in the Wyoming-Utah area, and as soon as I get access to the frequency wands, I can pick them up and start practicing.”

Luke looked pale. Gray in the face, blue in the lips. Fighting Mark’s mind control was quickly draining his strength.

“By the way, as far as the police are concerned, you shot that rich asshole, took his eighty million and his fucking fancy jewelry collection and left the country. I could tell them where to find you. Want to know?” He leaned closer, to Luke’s ear. “You’ll be six levels underground, at my secret place. Being my bitch.”

Luke jerked, helplessly.

Mark Olund pulled a small device out of the pocket of his sweatshirt. It looked like a wide, heavyweight elastic band that he put around Luke’s head, clamping a series of sleekly designed electronic devices against it. Mark adjusted the band carefully and peered down into his phone, syncing the device. He gazed at his own phone for a few moments, tapping and scrolling.

Apparently satisfied, Olund went to the door and opened it. Four huge men came in, carrying a case that looked like it was made for a big piece of sound equipment.

They upended Luke Ryan’s stiff, unyielding body into it like a corpse into a coffin, locked it and carried it out of the room.

Mark followed them. The door clicked shut. Minutes passed, in utter silence.

The video stopped. No one moved.

Caro had no reason to be surprised by any of this. She knew only too well how violent and disturbed Mark was. But she still couldn’t move or speak. It was so horrible.

Then she saw Hannah, sobbing into her hands. Sisko paced behind the couch. Zade sat, white-faced, fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white.

Noah just looked at the blue screen, his face a blank mask.

Her neck prickled, as Mark’s words in the video floated through her mind.
You and Zade and Sisko decrypted all the Midlands info before rebellion day.

Oh, God. Zade and Sisko? “What the hell is going on?” she demanded.

No one answered. The tension in the room intensified as she stood up.

“You guys are not being straight with me. Especially you.” She pointed at Noah. “I don’t know what the fuck happened in that video, or what connection Mark has to that poor guy, or why you even care. But none of it matters to me.”

Hannah’s wet eyes widened with outrage. “How can you say that?”

“Framing people for murder is what Mark does,” Caro said. “That’s all that’s relevant to me. This video will prove my innocence, or at least help me prove it. I have to take this to the police right away.”

Noah stood up, and removed the flash drive from the laptop. The TV went dark.

“No,” he said.

Caro braced herself. “Care to explain?” She knew he wouldn’t.

“I’m taking him down,” Zade said. “Nobody can stop me.”

“Zade.” Noah’s voice was flat. “Think. If what he says is true, and we have no reason not to believe him, then he has your codes. You can’t get near him. He’d take you just like he took Luke.”

“But Luke’s in the dungeon,” Zade insisted. “Mark’s hurting him
now.
”

Caro looked around at Zade. “So that’s why I saw you before Hannah called for me,” she said to Zade. “You guys know Luke Ryan personally. Mark Olund, too?”

Noah broke the silence. “Yes,” he admitted. “We have history with Mark.”

“So you’ve been stalking me?”

“Not exactly,” Noah said. “We’ve been stalking Mark. We only stalked you by reflex. You popped up on our radar when you made contact with Bea.”

Caro tried to wrap her mind around that, and drew a blank. As blank as Bea’s empty blue eyes. No mental flexibility was possible today. She felt fragile, brittle.

“Guess we all want to bring down Mark Olund,” she said. “Right? So why not go to the police? Why not help your friend?” She gazed around their shuttered faces, feeling the weight of their tense silence. Her heart sank.

Caro straightened her shoulders, and held out her hand for the flash drive. “Give me that,” she said. “It’s mine. I found it. I paid for it. And the price was very high.”

“I’m sorry,” Noah said. “I can’t let you take that file to the police.”

Caro drew her hand back. Her stomach roiled. So. There it was.

She’d had an awful, sinking sense that something like this might happen. Ever since Noah insisted on calling his own crew to view the footage they had found
.

She’d been betrayed, fucked over, deceived and used. Again.

This time, it was incredibly personal. Noah had made an absolute fool of her. She’d opened herself to him completely. He’d made her fall into something like love with him and then betrayed her trust. She was almost too shocked to be angry. But not quite.

“You lying, treacherous prick,” she said.

Noah let out a controlled sigh. “Caro—”

“You had your own agenda from the beginning. The whole time you were just manipulating me. Jerking me around. All those things you said.”

“They were all true,” Noah broke in.

“Oh, shut up. How could you play me like that?” To her dismay, she was dissolving. This asshole didn’t deserve her tears. She barely remembered the other people in the room. She was alone with Noah. The others were wallpaper.

“I meant everything I said to you,” Noah said. “And the two of us are on the same side. But my people and I have secrets that have to be kept at all costs.”

“Secrets?” She laughed wildly. “Oh, great! All costs, huh? I’m
the cost, Noah. Who the
hell
are you guys? What is your deal?”

The others exchanged uneasy glances and looked to Noah for their cue.

“It’s complicated,” Noah said.

“I just bet that it is.” She glared at him through a haze of furious tears. “Let’s keep it simple. Just give me the flash drive.”

“If I do that, everyone I care about will die,” he said. “Or worse.”

Something in his voice undercut her anger. An intuition of some shadowy threat that loomed over all of them. Noah was not lying.

And that helped her not one bit. She had her own monsters. She had no compassion to spare for anyone else. Maybe if he had not sucked her in so completely, she might have been more open-minded, but as it was, no.

“Guess what, Noah?” she said. “That is not my problem.
You
are my problem. You stalked me, seduced me, lied to me and fucked me left, right and sideways. I will not smile and make nice
. Give me
that flash drive, you son of a bitch.” She dove for his hand.

“Flush this.” Noah tossed it into the air toward Zade, who caught it one handed. Then Noah seized her in his arms.

Panic exploded in her chest. “No!” She fought like a wildcat to free herself. Nothing doing. He was insanely strong.

“You sure about this?” Zade said to Noah.

“Get it over with.” Noah’s voice was implacable.

“Don’t!” Caro yelled. “Don’t do it! Please!”

Zade flashed Caro a pained look, and did as Noah commanded. They saw the bathroom light switch on. Heard the swoosh and gurgle as the flash drive was swept out of reach.

Zade came back, avoiding Caro’s eyes. “Done.” His voice was subdued.

The strength that outrage had given her drained away. If not for Noah’s hold on her, she would have crumpled. All that effort. Months of plotting, searching.

“I’ll fix this for you,” Noah said forcefully. “I’ll find another solution. I’ll protect you from Mark for as long as you need protection. I promise, Caro. Just please, be patient.”

She started to laugh, but it degenerated into tears. She choked them back.

Noah deposited her in a big easy chair and stood looming over her as if afraid to turn his back on her. “Relax,” he said.

“How?” she asked, with a bitter laugh. “Maybe you should just fuck my brains out. It worked so well for you the last time. Too bad it’s just a temporary solution.”

Zade and Sisko edged warily toward the door. “Hannah,” Zade said in a warning tone. “Let’s get the hell out of here. These two have things to discuss.”

“No. We don’t.” Caro’s voice rang like out a bell. “I’m not likely to live long enough to be a problem for Noah.”

“Caro, shut up and listen to me!” Noah’s voice was harsh with frustration.

Sisko snagged a big black wool overcoat from the closet near the door. “You won’t go all AVP apeshit on her, are you?” he asked.

“Get lost,” Noah said curtly. “All of you. Fast.”

They filed out fast, eager to be gone, but Hannah stopped at the door and turned to look at Caro.

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I never wanted to hurt you. It’s not who we are.”

“Really,” Caro said icily. “I’m touched.”

“Don’t hate us,” Hannah persisted. “Please.”

“I don’t hate
you
,” Caro said. “Good enough? Now get out of here, unless you want to watch me rip off your brother’s arms.”

Hannah’s eyebrows shot up. “Good luck with that,” she murmured.

She scurried out. The door slammed. The two of them looked at each other.

“Caro,” he said. “I swear I won’t let anyone hurt you. Is that understood?”

Caro crossed her arms over her chest. Her neck felt sore, looking up at him. “You mean, except for yourself?”

“I couldn’t tell you secrets that weren’t my own to share,” Noah said.

“You lied through your teeth to me!”

He waited for a moment. “Last night you asked me what happened to us after my mother disappeared,” he said finally. “Do you still want to hear that story?”

“Sure. Why not. Like I have a choice.”

Noah made a frustrated sound. “Are you going to bust my balls indefinitely?”

“That is the least of what I am going to do to you, Noah Gallagher.”

He shook his head wearily. “OK, here it is,” he began. “For what it’s worth. I told you about our mother disappearing. After that, Child Protective Services sent us to foster homes. Asa and Hannah and I ran away. We shoplifted to get by, when we weren’t eating out of supermarket dumpsters. Hung out on the streets when we weren’t stealing. Slept wherever we could. Then one day, I get approached by this guy, out of nowhere. He told me about this amazing experimental program for young people. An awesome opportunity for us all.”

Oh, shit. Dread tightened her belly, but she kept her face sternly blank, and nodded for him to continue.

“He didn’t talk like a pimp, for what it was worth,” Noah said. “And we prided ourselves on knowing how to dodge them and the chickenhawks looking for underage kids. There was something different about him. Even so I figured there had to be a catch. But Hannah was sick. I needed medicine for her. If we’d gone to a clinic, we would’ve ended up in juvenile detention. I couldn’t risk that.”

“Got it,” she said. “And?”

“I figured, I’d go along, check it out. Walk out whenever I wanted to. Lying and cheating and stealing, picking locks, deactivating alarms—I was an ace at all that.”

Caro couldn’t afford to sympathize with Noah’s desperate younger self. He’d tried to parent his brother and sister as best he could, yes. But she had to stay in the center of her own goddamn story. “Go on.”

“So I said yes. Asa thought the whole thing stank. He wanted nothing to do with it. So he disappeared, and Hannah and I went to Midlands.” He paused for a moment, his eyes bleak. “I’ll have to live with that decision for the rest of my life.”

“How old were you?” she asked, in spite of herself.

“Seventeen,” he said.

Shit.
Already, she was falling into his trap of feeling sorry for him. He was playing her again. “Finish your story,” she said. “Be quick. I’m not enjoying this.”

“It seemed OK, the first couple of weeks,” he went on. “The food was great. Hannah started getting better right away. As soon as her lips stopped looking so gray, I began to plan how we’d get out. Which was when I realized that the place was a prison.”

She was leaning forward, she realized. Hanging on his every word. Damn him.