The Mind Readers (26 page)

“Hello?” I whispered, looking
toward the gray sky. “Could use some help about now.”

Shockingly, God didn’t respond.

“Fate it is.”

I moved along the fortress Aaron
had built, my hands scratching against the rough brick. To think I’d believed
this place a stunning, magical home when I’d first arrived. I knew better now.
It was nothing more than an elegant prison. At the corner of the estate, where
the bricks met in a sharp angle, I paused. Still too dark to see much of
anything, but I could just make out that ocean shimmering under a crescent
moon.

“Where are you going?”

The soft, sudden voice sent my
heart leaping into my throat. I spun around. “Caroline?” She wore jeans and a
sweatshirt, but no coat. I glanced sharply around, looking for someone who
might claim her. There was no movement in the darkness beyond.

“Are you…did you come from the
children’s dorm?”

She nodded, her bangs whispering
across her eyes with the movement.

“You should go back. It’s cold.
If they find you missing they’ll worry.” And come looking, which wouldn’t be
good for me.

“Are you leaving?” she asked, her
lower lip quivering. My heart clenched at the thought of lying to her. I had no
choice! I couldn’t take her with me.

“No, of course not,” I said,
stumbling over the words. “Now go back to bed, okay?” I shooed her with my
hands, but she just stood there, staring at me like a dog after a treat.
“Listen kid, you have to go, please.”

“You look like my sister.”

I hadn’t realized she had a
sister, but that was good. It meant she had someone here with her. “Yeah?”
Damn, if my voice didn’t catch. “Well, she probably misses you, so go back to
your room so you can see her, okay?”

“She’s not there.”

Crap. This just kept getting
better and better. “Did they take you from your family, Caroline? Did they make
you leave your sister?”

She nodded, her large eyes
shimmering now. She was going to cry and then I’d cry and we’d be caught.

“I miss her, but I can’t talk
about her because they won’t let me.”

The anger I felt toward Aaron
rushed through my body in a heated wave. For one insane moment I wanted to tear
through the door and demand they return the children. Instead, I knelt before
Caroline, my knees hitting the hard dirt with a thud that jarred my body. “Did
your parents know? Did they understand that you were being taken away? Or
did…Aaron do something to make them forget?”

She shrugged, looking confused.
“I don’t know.”

“It’s okay.” I grasped her
narrow shoulders. “Do you know when they took you? A year ago? Two? ”

Her brows drew together, her
lips puckering. “It was winter and cold. I didn’t get to open my Christmas
presents.”

No Christmas presents? Now that
was just plain wrong. “Do you remember where you lived Caroline? What town?”

She frowned. “Ohio, I think.”

Ohio? Ohio might as well have
been another country at the moment. I hadn’t realized these abductions took
place across states. I stood. I knew what I had to do and even as I thought the
words, Caroline said, “Take me home?”

How could I refuse? What was one
kid anyway? Surely we could sneak onto the boat together. They’d think we were
siblings. In fact, it might work better this way. And if her parents didn’t
remember her, Grandma would let her live with us.

“Okay, come on.” I took her
hand, her tiny fingers chilled. We needed to make it to town fast; she wouldn’t
last long in this cold weather. It was a ridiculous plan. I knew that, but I
had no choice.
 

“Where will we go?”

Already with the questions? It
wouldn’t take long before she’d realize I hadn’t a clue what I was doing. “I’m
not sure.” I slipped one of the straps of my backpack from my shoulder, intent
on finding a sweater that would fit Caroline. She needed something to block the
wind.
 

She latched onto my sleeve and
tugged. “This way.”

I didn’t miss the fact that she
was pulling me back toward the house and the way we’d just come.

“No,” I said. “We need to leave
now.” What had the kid forgotten? A stuffed bear or some other ridiculous
object that didn’t matter at the moment? Didn’t she understand how important it
was that we escaped ASAP?

“Caroline, we can’t go back.”

“Please,” she whispered. “I know
where we can get out.”

My knees almost buckled in
relief. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. What choice did I
have? Follow a six year old or stumble around the yard on my own until I was
caught? We followed the outside wall of the southern end of the house, heading
toward the back. The entire way, that damn fence followed, mocking us. The sky
was turning to gray, dawn breaking. My anxiety flared.

“Caroline, are you sure—”

“There.” She pointed to a dark
impression in the earth that ran underneath the fence. “A secret tunnel.”

 
I darted the small distance and hunched down.
It was a drainage pipe that led underneath to the shore. Definitely small
enough for Caroline to fit through, maybe small enough for me. When I lowered
myself to my belly, I could see the gray light at the end of the dark tunnel,
beckoning freedom. There was also a thin layer of water along the bottom of the
metal pipe. I didn’t have time to think about what could be living and growing
in that water.

My top priority was the diameter
of that tunnel. If I got stuck, or if there were rats or spiders…no, it didn’t
matter. I had to try. Stepping back a few feet, I slipped my backpack from my
shoulders and tossed it over the fence. Fortunately it sailed over the top and
landed with a thud in the sand on the other side.

“I’ll go first,” I muttered.

Caroline nodded her agreement,
her little round face full of trust. For a moment panic took hold. My God, this
little kid trusted me to get her out of here. I should have forced her to
return but it was too late now. My conscience wouldn’t let me leave her behind.

I lowered myself into that small
gulley, then lay flat on the cold ground, frost biting into my sensitive palms.
The ground was hard as I inched my way into the metal tunnel. Small rocks bit
through my jeans and jacket, scraping my legs and stomach.

I reached the tunnel, didn’t
pause, but flattened myself to the ground. The thin layer of ice that had
formed over the water cracked. Bitterly cold, it soaked my clothing, chilling
my flesh. I bit my lower lip, dug my elbows into the ground and surged forward
on my forearms into the pipe. I just fit, my shoulders scraping against the
metal sides. This was my only chance. Caroline was counting on me. I couldn’t
let Aaron erase my memory.

The moment my torso was inside
that tunnel, a tinkling of panic threatened to overwhelm me. What if my hips
got stuck? I ignored the shouts of warning coursing through my mind. I told
myself the tunnel would remain the same size all the way through, that if I fit
now, I’d fit ten feet in; I wouldn’t get stuck halfway in and drown when the
tide came.

Thankfully, it was too cold and
damp for spiders and rats. One small blessing. My harsh breath echoed against
my metal coffin. No rats, no spiders, but the ground could collapse, my
panicked brain taunted. I could get stuck.

I shook my head, clearing my
thoughts. No, I was almost there. If I could straighten my arms, untuck them
from my body, I’d be able to touch the cold air ahead.

“Almost there, Caroline,” I
said, forcing my voice to sound jovial. I pushed my elbows under my body and
inched forward, slower than a snail. The ridges along the pipe hurt, digging
into my muscles. “Almost…”

“Cameron!” Caroline screamed.

A firm grip grasped each of my
ankles. I froze. Suddenly, I was jerked backwards. My elbows hit each ridge of
the metal pipe, thump, thump, thump.

“No!” I screamed, digging my
fingers into the ridges and trying to cling as if my life depended on it. My
nails bent painfully upward and with a yelp, I let go. “Caroline!” I called
out, as if the child could help.

My shoulders scraped against the
sides of the pipe and suddenly I was pulled outside, the cold, clean air
swooshing into my lungs.

A tall man loomed above me, an
ugly scowl on his round face. One of the guards. I wasted no time and lifted my
hips, shoving my feet into his gut. He grunted, stumbling back. I flipped over
and scrambled to my feet. Without looking back I surged forward, into the gray
dawn.

I could hear someone running
after me, the thump of footsteps, heavy breathing. I didn’t dare look back. It
didn’t matter how fast I ran, I had nowhere to go. I sensed him right before a
body tackled me to the ground. With a cry, I stumbled forward. My knees hit the
dirt. I twisted as I fell to my back. Lewis fell on top of me, his hard body
pinning me to the frosted grass.

“Lewis,” I whispered his name,
but he heard all the same. I felt betrayed, hurt in a way I couldn’t stand.
That same body that had offered me comfort before, was now a foreign object
keeping me imprisoned in this hell.

“Lewis,” my voice caught, my
fingers curling into his sweatshirt. His face was hard, but his eyes…dare I
believe that his eyes were softening as he stared down at me? “Don’t do this.
Please let me—”

“What the hell do you think
you’re doing, Cameron?” Aaron suddenly appeared behind Lewis. Aaron never lost
his cool, but now, as he stared daggers down at me, I was seeing the man for
who he truly was, and he was irate. “Not only are you endangering your life,
but the life of a child.”

Lewis stood. I jumped to my
feet, stumbling back. Four guards stood behind Aaron, waiting to do his
bidding. Deborah, the gorgeous Indian woman, held Caroline’s hand, doing
nothing to calm the little girl who was crying. No hugs, no whispered words to
tell her everything was going to be alright. Caroline was terrified and cold
and that really pissed me off. It was one thing to scare me, but a little girl?
 

“We have alarms on the doors for
protection,” Aaron said. He wore dress pants and a button up shirt, as if he’d
been awake for some time. Like a father, dressed for work. “Did you really
think you could just leave without someone knowing?”

I had hoped, but decided to keep
that to myself. I crossed my arms over my chest, attempting to keep my body
from trembling. It was no use. Between the wet clothes, cold air and the fear
working its way through my gut, I was an anxious mess.

“I’m leaving,” I snapped, daring
them to disagree.

Aaron frowned. “There is a front
door you could use, you know.”

Was he being sarcastic? “You’d
let me leave?”

“Of course I would. I’m not a
prison keeper.” He started to turn.

“Could have fooled me,” I
grumbled under my breath.

Aaron jerked his head toward me.
I resisted the urge to step back, realizing I might have gone too far. For one
long moment he just stood there glaring at me. Not one person said a word,
everyone stood still…as if waiting to see what would happen next.
 

Finally, he looked at Deborah.
“Take Caroline back to the dorm.”

“Come along,” Deborah snapped
like a general giving orders.

Caroline looked at me, her eyes
pleading, as if she expected I could do something to save her. She didn’t
realize I was as trapped as she was. I didn’t believe for a moment that Aaron
was going to let me leave. Just like that, Caroline was gone, forced back into
her prison and I realized I’d failed her and that hurt more than anything
else.
 

“Lewis, escort Ms. Winters to
her room.” Aaron started toward the house, having no further use for me.

“You said I could leave,” I
reminded Lewis and the guards.

Lewis stepped forward. I stepped
back.

“And you will,” he said. “But
you’re soaking wet. I won’t let you leave like this. Although you seem to think
I am, I’m not a monster. You’ll take the ferry home.”

I brushed past Lewis and raced
after Aaron. “And what about Caroline?”

Aaron didn’t bother to glance
back. “Caroline is a child and I am her guardian. I have the papers. You have
no say in how I raise her.”

“She wants to go home! She
misses her family. It’s not right, stealing kids from their parents!”

He paused near the back door,
his gaze cold. “Caroline’s parents were going to put her in a mental
institution.”

I stiffened. It wasn’t true. He
was lying, I was sure of it. Yet, what if he wasn’t…“I don’t believe you.”

“You are an immature child who
knows nothing about what is truly out there. I’ve done all I can to protect
you, yet you still resist. You will not endanger the others here. Tomorrow you
will leave and you will be forced to live with the repercussions.”

He pulled open the very door
where I’d made my escape only moments before, and disappeared inside. I
couldn’t seem to move, even though the cold air was freezing my wet clothes and
my body was trembling, I couldn’t move.

Doubt crept through me. Why was
it that every time I talked to Aaron, I was left feeing unsure? I knew I was
right, but I couldn’t help but question my own sanity when he seemed so
rational. Was it true? Had he done these children a favor by taking them in?
Lewis paused next to me.
 

“So, you weren’t going to say
goodbye?” His voice was hard, angry.

“I didn’t think I had a choice,”
I whispered, unable to meet his gaze.

He didn’t respond but pulled
open the door and moved inside. I dared to glance back at the small army of
guards who were behind me. Yeah, I was outnumbered and out muscled, to say the
least.

I stepped into Aaron’s home and
hurried after Lewis. “Lewis, I—”

He paused at the bottom of the
steps, his back to me. His shoulders were tense, his entire body trembling. “I
can’t stop you, can I?” He looked back at me, his gaze piercing. “I’ve tried to
protect you, but you just don’t get it.” He turned and started up the steps
once more, as if done with me altogether.