The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) (11 page)

His hands pushed at the tops of his pants. It took
him a couple of tries before he got them over his hips. I let him
fall back, face-first into his pillow. I tugged and yanked till his
pants peeled from him, taking extra care with the area sticky with
blood. His gash was still oozing. This wasn’t good. It was becoming
more and more apparent I was healing like a fae and he was not.

I went to the bathroom and grabbed the first-aid
stuff I had bought earlier: gauze, rubbing alcohol, bandages, and
sewing items.

When I stepped back into the room, my stride
faltered. Ryker had taken off his shirt and now lay only in his
boxer briefs with Sprig curled at his head. My heart fluttered with
tenderness. They were all I had left in the world, and they were
only temporary. The thought of them eventually leaving me triggered
the start of a panic attack; my heart raced and sweat prickled at
the back of my neck.

No. Not now.
I pushed away the feelings and
got back to business. I cleaned and bandaged Ryker’s leg, then got
in the shower, shrieking at the cold water but relieved to be clean
of dirt and blood.

Dressed in soft cotton shorts and a tank, I crawled
in bed next to Ryker. Rain trickled at the windows, coating the
room with mugginess. I curled myself in the small space his form
didn’t take up, trying not to touch him. Without waking up, his arm
came around me and pulled me to him, his face snuggling into the
back of my neck. He inhaled and exhaled, tension leaving his
muscles. He drifted off into a deep sleep.

It took me longer, but eventually I succumbed
too.

The early morning sunshine and heat roused me. Ryker
lay extended on his stomach, his legs and arms splayed out like a
starfish, leaving me little room on the mattress. He didn’t even
stir when I tried to shove him back on his side. Healing produced
an almost coma-like state in fae, especially him. Sprig was curled
at the head of the bed. Snoring.

I climbed out of bed, stretching as I lumbered to the
window. I cringed, my neck and body still bruised and sore, but
overall it was shocking how good I felt. The sunlight was creeping
over the mountains, hitting the buildings on the other side of the
street.

“Another beautiful day in Peru,” I mumbled with a
smile. Rain clouds rolled through constantly, but they left as fast
as they came. Just like the sun in Seattle.

I cleaned the cut on my neck before attending to
Ryker’s leg. Normally, with a wound like his, a fae would be mended
by now. His was still leaking blood. I finished doctoring the wound
and wrapped it with fresh gauze.

The air was thick, but a slight breeze trickled
through the sheer curtains, brushing lightly over my skin. I
plunked down in the chair, curling my legs underneath me. A single
papaya chip remained on the table, and I snatched it up,
munching.

I sat in silence, devouring the last morsel of dried
fruit, my mind going over the night’s events. The video camera I
was going to watch the other night sat on top of the dresser,
drawing my attention over and over. This was as good of time as
any.

I had made a pact with Ryker we would deal with the
shaman first, but my mind was never far from knowing I was a lab
experiment. I mean, how does one even deal with something like
that? You technically have no real mother and father, merely
donors. I came to life in a petri dish.

The DMG supposedly discovered my abilities and
recruited me while I was attending college. Now I knew they had
been fully aware of me my entire life. Lying and deceiving me,
letting foster parents hurt me. I couldn’t regret working for DMG,
though. It was where I met Daniel, my trainer, my mentor, the son
of the man who created me, and with whom I fell hopelessly in love.
Our fates were meant to cross, but sadly our love was not.

The chair creaked as I unfolded myself and leaned
over, grabbing the camera. I twisted the screen and placed it on
the table. I took a deep gulp of air and quickly stabbed my finger
at the on button. Even though I had watched it once before, it
wrenched my stomach in knots to push play again.

Daniel’s face illuminated the screen, and my heart
clenched at his image. It was getting a little easier, but I would
forever grieve having him in my life for such a short time. There
would always be a “what could have been” if life went another way.
But it didn’t. And I would have to learn to deal with the loss.

The video rolled with Daniel once again explaining
how his father had created a bunch of us in a lab, including Sera
and me, the only two still left alive, and the fact I was
supposedly dying. “While playing with genes, DMG made a lot of
mistakes. Most of the eggs did not make it. And sadly, most of the
babies died. Only a few of you survived.”

I wanted to believe what Ryker and I talked about,
the actual thing DMG was working on to achieve. In small cases they
had helped humans recover, but not enough to make a national stand.
There was a chance Ryker’s fae powers would heal me. It was clear
at least they were mending me with extraordinary speed.

Daniel’s voice brought me back to the video. “Crush
the DMG and find a way to live. You deserve the best this world can
offer you. Take Lexie and live the fullest lives you can. Love and
have lots of babies. I want all your dreams to come true. If anyone
can survive a weakness in her genes, it’s you. You are too much of
a fighter to give up.” He took a gulp. “I love you, Zoey Daniels,
no matter how you came to this Earth.”

I wiped at my eyes and leaned in to turn it off,
remembering it ended here. My finger froze on the button when the
video continued to play. Daniel shifted in his seat. His hand ran
through his short, dark brown hair, the silver at the temples more
pronounced. “I wish this was the end of the bad news...”

What? There is more?

My heart thumped in my chest, recalling Ryker had
been the one to turn it off last time. I had only assumed the video
had ended. I sat straight in the chair, clutching the camera on
either side.

“You have received a great deal of bad news in your
life, and you only deserve good.” Daniel rubbed at his chin. During
the years, I got to know him completely, so with every movement I
could guess his mood. His light blue eyes focused on the camera,
full of sadness.

My chest and stomach retracted, knowing more awful
news was coming my way. “You are going to be upset because I went
behind your back, but I talked to Lexie’s doctors. Her outlook is
not good. I know you were fearful of this, but it’s definite. With
a few operations, there is a possibility she can live a little
longer. She will never have a full life, but even a couple of more
years are worth it.” Daniel folded his hands over each other. “A
year ago, I opened an account in your name and have been depositing
extra money in it. You are also my beneficiary; everything I have
will be left to you if something should happen to me. Even though
the money in the will can be tracked by DMG, the account in your
name cannot. It is not something you can do online or by phone. I
wanted no ties to the money I left you.”

Daniel went on explain where and how to get the
money, but my brain couldn’t get beyond the fact he had made me his
beneficiary. He opened an account for me when he feared he might
not be around to protect me. “I want you to use this money to get
yourself away from DMG. Give the files to the police and get as far
as you can from them. You and Lexie come first. Her medical bills
are only going to get worse, and I want you to be able to help
her.” Tears filled my eyes. I missed him so much. “I also set it up
for whoever is left...” His sentence ended, his voice cracking. I
understood. He thought I was also dying. So if Lexie lived longer
than me, she would be all right.

Liquid slid down my cheeks. This sweet, unbelievable
man. It saddened me we were never allowed the chance to love each
other. But I understood all too well life was not kind or
forgiving. You had to take what you wanted. Daniel never took the
chance, and we both lost out because of fear.

“Which takes me to the last bit of bad news. When I
heard of your condition and started researching what DMG was really
doing, I uncovered a lot of things. Rapava has stated fae DNA can
save human lives. His claims are bigger than his successes. Most
humans did not adapt to the fae blood and died. There have been a
few who survived, but they haven’t discovered why some humans can
take it and some can’t. Going through my father’s research, I
learned people with the sight, seers, are those rare people who are
immune to fae blood. It doesn’t kill you, but you won’t benefit
from it either. I don’t think it’s a coincidence seers are the ones
who can see through magic and glamour. Magic doesn’t work on you
like others.” Daniel’s blue eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I
wanted to believe you could be saved by the one thing we were
trying to achieve by collecting fae.”

What? But Ryker’s powers were adapting to me. I could
jump. And I definitely was healing faster. The healing wasn’t all
in my head, right? Or had I wanted it to be true so badly I
believed it to be true? Maybe I could heal externally, but magic
was useless in changing my actual DNA?

“My father tested every baby, including you and Sera,
and none of you showed signs of being helped by fae blood. The flaw
in your genetic code you were all born with was not altered. He
tried hard to save the other children’s lives. In the end he could
not.”

The life raft of hope circling around my soul popped,
deflated, and sank to the pit of my stomach. The hope I held for it
to be true curled around my abdomen. In my heart I had clung to the
notion Ryker’s power would help me. But it wasn’t true. I was still
going to die.

“Again all the information you need is in these
files,” Daniel continued. “It is imperative these stay out of DMG’s
hands. I know Dr. Rapava has been searching for this information
for a long time. He will do anything to get it. So be careful.”

Too late.

I paused the video, no longer able to stop the sobs
from wracking through my chest. I really was no different from an
hour ago, but hope is a powerful thing.

I cried till nothing was left. Nobody stirred from
the bed, which made me feel even more alone, though a part of me
was glad. I didn’t want them to know the real truth. It was better
to leave Ryker thinking the chance was still there. If a therapist
was sitting next to me, they would probably also say it was my way
of not fully dealing with reality. If I didn’t say it out loud,
then it could still be wrong.

Reality could bite me.

My heart couldn’t take anymore, and I turned off the
video, placing it underneath my underwear in a drawer. I sat in
silence, staring out the window. Nothing had really changed except
now I had money waiting for me in Seattle—if I ever got back there.
It didn’t help me now; I was exactly where I started when I woke
up.

I made the decision I would go on like I hadn’t heard
this bit of news. I’d pretend the video ended where Ryker had
stopped it. My sadness turned to a strong resolve, finding the
shaman was the number-one priority. The urgency to get Ryker’s
powers back to him rang even louder in me.

Ryker continued to sleep into the afternoon, his
body deep in healing mode. Eventually Sprig awoke.

“
Bhean
, please!” Sprig patted at his stomach.
“It’s not happy. You know if it doesn’t get fed I will die.”

I didn’t like leaving Ryker unprotected. When he went
into this state it was as if he were in a coma. It rendered him
completely vulnerable and an easy target.

“Okay, drama queen.”