The Secret (25 page)

We’d managed to escape the police after Nicholi had left, taking the cake box and borrowing one of the airport vans that had been inside the building. Reed and I had even taken the vehicle back yesterday. But having Alana’s head stuck in the freezer in the garage made me…sick…and nervous. Marsha had insisted on waiting to bury it until Sam was back.

A round of thudding sounded through the house. A muffled voice. “Open the door, Jake.”

I found Mr. Schneider’s number and punched in a quick text. ‘Cops are here—again.’

Another round of pounding. “I’m giving you to the count of ten.”

I flung the door open, setting my face into an innocent annoyance. “I thought we agreed the questioning was over.”

Sherriff Boyle rocked back onto his heels and I saw my own reflection in his sunglasses. “Ya know, Mr. Curtis, I would like nothing better than to leave you all alone. The problem is that they found a headless body in a tarp that looks like it was thrown from a car on the interstate.” He pulled his sunglasses off and cocked his head in what I recognized as his accusatory stance. “And wouldn’t you know it—traces of Rob Hart’s blood were found on her clothes.”

Lanie

“You know—your lake house kinda sucks. If feels suffocating. I don’t know why. I think you tried to over-sell me on the idea of moving here a few weeks ago.” Bitter, controlled anger pulsed through me. I’d been imprisoned—like a sick sci-fi movie where the evil scientist holds his human subjects and mentally tortures them before disposing of them at the right time.

Nicholi sat in the chair next to me and put a mug on the table beside him. “Ruthie made it for you. She’s really great at herbal tea. You should try it. You need to relax.”

I winced at the thought of Jake’s mom shuffling around the kitchen doing Nicholi’s bidding. “You have mind-controlled her this whole time? Why isn’t her brain fried?”

Nicholi let out a breath. “You think it’s so simple. It’s...an art.”

I focused on the thick, pine trees right above the lake shoreline. “Why don’t you just mind control all of us? You
are
capable of that—obviously.”

Nicholi sighed. “You’re right—I could. But I see a larger picture that you don’t.” He sipped his tea. “You’re so broody. You were never this broody when I stayed with you and Rob. I actually enjoyed our conversations then. Cooking for you guys. Didn’t you enjoy any of our time together?”

I bit into the bottom of my lip, ignoring the painful sore that had formed from my obsessive habit.

Nicholi slurped his tea. “Okay, Lanie. I haven’t been fair. I brought you and your mother here and I’ve mind-controlled a few people. But—does that discount all the good things I did for you? I helped you escape, kept you hidden, kept you secure. And you wanted Luth dead for so long—admit it. I was doing you a favor.”

I whipped my head around, amazed at his ability to truly disconnect from all of this. “Convenient that I only wanted Luth to die because I thought he killed my father—and it turns out that was you.” I tried with all my effort to make the cup in Nicholi’s hand explode.

It started to shake and Nicholi looked at the mug and then opened his mouth in an entertained laugh. “Lanie—quit trying that on me. It won’t work. We’ve gone over this. I can’t be affected by your antics. And, if you make any moves you shouldn’t, I’ll kill Chandra. Is that what you want? To be the one responsible for your mother’s death?” His face frowned in mock horror. “That would be tragic.”

I glared at him and then turned back to the lake. “I hate you.”

Nicholi snorted. “Yes. Hate. A powerful emotion. You need to be careful with those kinds of emotions. They can consume you.”

“Like Molly?”

I let the name of his daughter hang in the air.

Nicholi didn’t laugh. He didn’t do one of his superior sighs. He didn’t say a word.

“Oh—right. You don’t want to talk about the little girl you’re killing everyone around you to bring back. Or about the fact that it won’t work. You know that. I presume you looked at all the experiments Luth made me try. You know it’s impossible.”

The smashing sound of Nicholi’s mug impacting into the side of the deck beside me made me smile. I’d angered him. We’d had these little chats for the past two days—every couple of hours he would send for someone to bring me to the deck to talk. I’d tried my best to hurt him somehow, and I reveled in my small success.

His face contorted into that of an angry animal. A low growl escaped his mouth. “It
is
possible.”

I held my eyes to his and dared him to do something. If the last two days had taught me anything it was that he didn’t want to hurt me.

Nicholi looked away and slowly stood from his chair. “Get ready to see your mother.”

My heart started to race. His mind-controlled workers were posted outside of every room and he’d kept my mother locked away from me, warning me that one wrong move would get her killed. What he didn’t know was that it wasn’t going to go down like he thought. I might not be able to do anything to Nicholi, but I’d been practicing some mind control tricks of my own on his peeps. Simple things—sending mental messages to them to pick something up: bring me a drink of water, bring me a book. I tried to keep them low and off the radar. No blowing things up. And it was working. I had my own plan for a complete take over.

Nicholi paused in front of me and looked down. “Get the coin out of her head, Lanie. And she’ll live. If you come out without it or pull any tricks—”

I cut him off. “I’m not stupid. I get it.”

He didn’t say a word.

I tried to give him the best taunting smile I could. “For some reason, you can’t completely mind-control me—and you don’t know why.”

The edges of his eyes crinkled into a squint and he stepped away from me and moved to the door. “Really? Do you know that for sure? Maybe I’m pretending. Don’t go accusing me of things quite yet. Especially when I have your mother.”

Rage surged through me.

He opened the door, but didn’t look at me. “There’s no way for you to gain the advantage, Lanie. It’s my rules. It’s my game. Then it’s back to Boulder. I’m sure you’re looking forward to seeing your brother. Rob’s a good guy. I want to make that a nice reunion for you. Let’s hope he can stay out of trouble with local law enforcement.”

Thinking of Rob and the mess all of them were left in when we hopped into that helicopter had nearly driven me to the brink of insanity. “You—”

Nicholi turned back and shook his finger at me. “Uh-uh—I have a present for you.”

Sam came out onto the deck and my heart lurched inside my chest. I hadn’t been allowed to see Sam, either.

Nicholi clapped a hand down on Sam’s shoulder. “I thought you’d like to get reacquainted before you work together.”

Sam held veiled hatred in his eyes, but he gave Nicholi a nod.

“Great. Enjoy your visit.” Nicholi closed the door.

Sam wore a long-sleeved, blue knit shirt with dark jeans. His eyes looked tired. His hair hung loosely in front of his face.

Sam paused, studying me and then rushed forward, opening his arms. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

I stood, letting him hug me, smelling his sun tan smell and grateful, for a second, that he was okay.

He leaned back, but kept me wrapped inside his arms. “Lanie.”

I thought of Alana. The sadness and vulnerability in his eyes made me swallow back my own emotions. “It’s going to be okay, Sam.”

He looked at my lips. “Are you alright?”

I nodded. “Are you?”

Before I could object, his lips brushed against mine—heat poured into me. It slid to my heart so quickly and with such a penetrating force—I could feel all of my walls go down. I pushed him back and slapped him.

Sam pulled away and his eyes held anguish. “I’m sorry, Lanie.”

I stumbled back and realization dawned on me. “You just took my feelings—didn’t you?”

“Yes. But I didn’t want to. I have to do what he says. Lanie, you can’t stop him. Get that out of your mind.”

Red anger burned through me like a flag of righteousness. “Don’t, Sam…”

Sam lifted his hand into the air and cut me off. “Nicholi never used his mind control on me before now. He got me to do his bidding by threatening Alana. But now…I can’t stop it. I can’t stop him. And neither can you. Alana is proof of that.”

I shook my head. “Fight it, Sam. You’ve got to fight.”

He looked abandoned and hopeless. “I have to help him, Lanie.”

If Sam could be forced into telling Nicholi everything we talked about, I would have to work with that. “It’s okay, Sam. We’re just going to do what Nicholi says, it’s that simple.”

Sam moved his eyes to the window in a hidden gesture and then stepped forward, taking me back into a hug.

I tried to push away from him but his grip tightened.

“Shh. I think I know a way. Listen to me.”

I studied his sincere, green eyes as he allowed me to pull just slightly back, and then I let myself relax against him. Was he fighting the mind control?

Sam quickly pressed his warm thumb against the raised, silver mark behind my ear. A jerk of pain went through me and the last thing I heard was Sam’s soft voice.

“I’m sorry, Lanie. This is the only way.”

Episode 29: Debt

“Lanie! Lanie!”

I could hear her calling to me. I opened my eyes and shielded myself from the glare of the sun.

My dolls were strewn out in front of me and I could feel that my hair was pulled back into thick braids down the sides of my head—just like when I was a little girl. I sat up, blinking, and noticed I was wearing a dress, like the cottony, summer ones my mother had insisted upon when I was a child.

“There, there, little Miss Hart.”

I looked into Henrietta’s deep, brown eyes and felt her soft hand petting my forehead.

“Your momma thought it might be nice for you to get some sunshine and have comforting things around you when you woke up.”

I expected pain. Pain in my head. Pain on my body. The usual pain in my chest that was like a knot that never seemed to unwind—but there wasn’t any.

I didn’t move, letting myself bask in the innocence of this moment—this feeling. I knew I was in my mother’s head. I knew that everything around me was an illusion. But I liked it.

“Come up to the balcony, Lanie.” My mother’s voice.

My mother sat perched on a chair at the top of the stairs. I was by the fountain with Henrietta. I stood up. “I’m coming, Mom.”

Sam stepped in front of me, still wearing his dark jeans with his hair falling in his eyes.

Anger flashed through me. “What did you do?”

He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “. Did you think he wouldn’t know you would be planning a mutiny? Did you think he wouldn’t guess that you would try to stop him? He knew you were testing your powers on the others.”

I clenched my fists. “So you just played soldier—right?”

Sam grabbed my wrist and started pulling me toward the house. “We need to talk to your mom, Lanie. There’s no time for this.”

I kept walking, but pulled my wrist out of his grasp. “Stop it!”

Sam stopped and put both of his hands onto my shoulders, whipping me around to face him. “Nicholi wanted you in here, Lanie. He used me. That’s what he does—uses people to get what he wants. And he didn’t want tricks from you, so I had to start the process out on the deck. I’d never done it like that before. But I
had
to. Do you get that? There is no fighting him when he’s in your head.” His eyes pleaded with me for forgiveness and a tortured energy passed between us. “I couldn’t stop.”

I heaved in air, trying to understand.

He gave a small shake of his head. “He can’t get at me in here—in this reality or whatever. But we’re on a time clock. He told me he would pull us out if we didn’t come out on our own. And he’ll kill all of them. He has people on everyone.” He looked down. “We don’t have a choice. Even if we don’t get the coin, everyone will die.” He shook me. “Rob will die. Everyone will die. Lanie—we have to do what he says.”

My heart clutched in fear. I didn’t like hearing that lives hung in the balance, because I didn’t know what to do. I backed away from Sam. “Let me think. Just let me think for a minute.”

He nodded his head and cleared his throat. “But—I have to tell you something. I know you think Nicholi put me up to everything before—”

I started up the stairs. “Not now, Sam.”

Sam took the back of my bicep, pulling me hard, pulling me close. He searched my eyes. “I have to do this now, Lanie. I have to do this while you know it’s me. This part isn’t some game he’s playing or mind trick. It’s real, and it’s something I’ve felt for you since the day I met you.”