Villainess (24 page)

Jonah rubbed his temples, his eyes never leaving my face. “It was like they just erased you. Why then?”

Kristoph cleared his throat. “If I had to hazard a guess, knowing what I do about Project Reaper, combined with the memories we’ve uncovered from Leila’s childhood… I’m guessing that whoever picked back up where the original project failed, did so around that time. I’m sure they came across Leila’s name through records.”

“And what—they just abducted me?” I gnawed on my lower lip. “That would mean that they’d already been conditioning me before Theo came into the picture. They must have scooped me up and placed me in my other life, but why?”

“Maybe what they were doing wasn’t enough without Theo,” Jonah suggested.

Why is he still just sitting there? Come to me! I want to be in your arms
. I wrung my hands, my nerves getting the best of me. Even though I hadn’t remembered Jonah when I’d first met him, I’d still been drawn to him. “I guess even though they wiped our minds, our hearts remembered.”
Wow. That sounded really corny.

Apparently Jonah didn’t think so though. Before I could say anything else, he was on his feet, dragging me into his embrace.
Finally
. “You’re right. Even though I couldn’t remember you, the minute you stepped into this office I knew I had to have you.”

“You were so stubborn though.” I laughed, running my hand down his back.

“I didn’t know why I felt that way. I thought I was going insane.” He pressed his cheek into the top of my head. “I love you, Leila. God, I can’t believe they took you from me and I didn’t know. How could I have not known?”

I tightened my grip around him, my voice muffled in his shirt. “I’m scared now though. They went through all that trouble—with me—with you—with everything—and then somehow I end up here. Something else is going on that we don’t know about. Something major…”
Something that could destroy everything
, my mind whispered.

“I agree with her,” Kristoph said. “The type of people you’re dealing with don’t get this sloppy.”

“Maybe things changed when I killed Theo?” It was a possibility but it didn’t feel right. The words sat like a brick in my stomach.

“My suggestion is that the two of you disappear.”

Both Jonah and I whipped our heads around to stare with shock at Kristoph. “And how do you propose we do that?” I sneered. “I’m going to trial soon. I’m on lockdown here. I don’t think I’ll be able to disappear even if I could get out the country. People know my face. I’m famous—or infamous.”

“She’s right.” Jonah pulled me back into his arms. “We don’t have the resources to pull something off like that.”

“But you do.” Kristoph beamed, his aging face appearing years younger. “You have me, and I have those kind of resources.”

“And why didn’t you offer to help like that before?” Jonah demanded. “Why—”

“Because I didn’t know if she could be helped. I wasn’t about to send you off with someone who had an unstable mind. Now I feel like I can reach her. Unlock the conditioning… Plus, I’m a sucker for romance.” He winked.

For the first time in a long time, real hope surged through me, making me feel buoyant. “So what do we have to do?”

“You, my dear girl, leave everything to me.”

I pulled away from Jonah and rushed Kristoph. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I don’t even know what to say, or how I can I ever repay you!”

“Can’t breathe,” he sputtered.

Blushing, I let him go. “Sorry. I just—thank you.”

“Don’t thank me just yet, a lot could go wrong.”

“But it won’t. I know it won’t.” I thought back to the vision I’d had as a child, Theo and Jonah’s faces swimming through my head. One was my salvation and one was my ruination. Theo had served as my ruination, in a way, and now Jonah would be my salvation, just like I knew he would.
But wait…
“Jonah, are you sure? You’d have to give up everything. Your career, your family—everything.”

He cupped my face, his thumb sweeping my cheek. “I was willing to do that before I remembered you.” I closed my eyes and kissed his palm.

Maybe—just maybe everything really would work out.

“It’s not working,” I huffed.

“You’re fighting me,” Jonah growled.

“No, I’m not.” I opened my eyes and sat up. “I’m just too high strung right now. Either you let Kristoph give me more drugs or we give up for tonight.”

“More drugs for the time being wouldn’t be prudent, my dear,” Kristoph offered. “Too much in your system will have side effects.”

“See.” I shrugged. “Let’s call it a night.” I leaned into Jonah, pressing my lips to his ear. “Let’s ditch the old guy and have some fun.” I trailed my hand down the front of his shirt slowly as I pulled away.

Kristoph cleared his throat. “I can tell the two of you need some time to… reconnect. After all, the two of you did just get back your memories about your past relationship.”

“Leila, we’ll have all the time in the world together—once we make your break through and get the hell out of here. It’s not safe to linger.”

“Jonah’s right too.”

“Look, I know he is, but I’ll be much more…relaxed tomorrow.” I winked at Jonah and he sighed heavily. I could tell by the heat in his gaze that he was warming up to the idea though. I smirked. “All right then. So smuggle Kristoph out and then come back for me.”

“Fine.” Jonah eyed me as Kristoph gathered his things. “I won’t be more than five minutes.”

I grabbed Jonah’s arm, dread running up my spine. “Be careful.” I thought of my vision of Matt’s murder, somehow I’d managed to push it aside with all the good news I was getting for once.

“Don’t worry.” He kissed my forehead and strode out of his office with Kristoph hot on his heels. I shut and locked the door behind him, call me paranoid.

About a minute later a soft knock sounded on the door. I flung it open, expecting to see Jonah.
Maybe he forgot something.
But instead I saw a ghost.

He looked different than I remembered, his hair shorter, no nose ring, but there was no mistaking who he was. “Theo?” I sputtered. “But you can’t—you’re dead.”

He grinned. “Obviously not.”

“But—but how?”

“We don’t have time for this.” He brandished a gun, raising it slowly to point at me. “You want out of here? You want to disappear? I can make that happen.”

I ground my teeth together. “I’m not playing your games anymore. I know what you did to me.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Do you? Do you really? You haven’t even scratched the surface.”

My stomach dropped into my feet. “Why are you doing this? I loved you.” A tear escaped my eye and slid down my cheek. “All I ever did was love you.”

He rushed me, grabbing my hair and forcing my neck to arch back painfully. “And I loved you too. I still do. And I hate you for it. And yet…I can’t hate you,” he snarled. “You fucked with my head.” He tugged on my hair and I cried out. “You don’t even know what you’re capable of.”

Something flipped in me, like a light suddenly turning on. I brought my hand up to cover his, untangling his fingers from my hair. He reluctantly released me, and I stood my ground.  “Tell me what I’m capable of then, if I don’t know. Tell me, Theo.”

“All right, I will.”

Theo

Leila wanted to know what she was capable of, then fine, I’d tell her. I was tired of worrying about the damage she could do if she knew. “You don’t just have visions. You have a second ability. It’s the one that truly makes you dangerous.”

Her brow furrowed as she considered my words. “No. There’s nothing else. I would know.”

“Would you?” I sneered. “If you affected people in a certain way, then how would you know?”

“What are you talking about? Just spit it out.”

“I will, but not now.” I grabbed her hair again to hold her steady, slamming the butt of my gun into her temple. Her gaze went vacant a second before she collapsed into me. “Now that’s a good girl. And when you wake up you’ll get all the answers you never wanted.”

I slung her over my shoulder and hastily made my escape. I didn’t want to have to kill anyone else for the time being so I was hoping to avoid Jonah’s return. I just didn’t have the time or energy to clean up another mess I recklessly made.

I gave Leila one last look before I loaded her body into the back of my van.
All my plans out the window because I’m fucking obsessed. This was supposed to be a test, not a kidnapping.
I thought I could let her go. I thought I could—
fuck.
It didn’t matter that I knew she’d rolled my mind or some shit—that me wanting her wasn’t real. I still wanted her anyways.
She’s mine
. I should never have listened to the sessions in Jonah’s office. It’d torn at my guts to hear her remembering him, even though that’s what I’d planned all along.

Fuck…fuck…fuck…fuck. She’s never going to forgive me now that she remembers I was a part of it all
. Unless… Maybe if I killed them all for her. Maybe if I killed every last person who was a part of Project Reaper, then maybe she’d see her way to forgiving me. Maybe then she’d want me instead of her precious Jonah.

As I sped down the highway with her unconscious and hog tied in the back of my van, a new plan began to take form. I’d thought giving her back her life with Jonah, and setting her free would release me, but I’d been wrong. Her getting caught had been the final test put upon her by Project Reaper, one that I’d managed to twist to fit my own agenda.
Maybe I’ve been testing myself all along and not her, and I’ve failed horribly.
Project Reaper was content to let Leila fry if she couldn’t figure a way out of her mess since that would mean her abilities weren’t what they thought. At least that’s what they’d claimed. I didn’t even know what the truth was anymore. I just knew that I wanted her…loved her. But maybe only selfless people like Matt are willing to die for the ones they love. Me, I’m a completely selfish bastard, who’s not willing to die for anyone, but I will kill for Leila. I was going to kill a whole lot for her.

Jonah

“Leila?” Dread settled in my stomach when I saw the open door and my empty office.
She wouldn’t just try to run, would she?
No. Maybe before she would have, but not now. She wanted answers, and me…
She wants me
.

My first instinct was to check her room, and when I found no trace of her there either, panic wound its way through my system. All I could think about was the fact that someone had killed Matt. What if the people that had been conditioning her had finally come back for her?
I won’t lose her again. I can’t.

Even though I’d turned off the camera in my office, the rest were still on. If someone had taken her I’d be able to see exactly who, and hopefully have a clue about what to do next.

My fingers felt too big, my motions slow and bumbling… I couldn’t get answers fast enough. Finally I was able to pull up the recent footage from the cameras outside my office.

I saw Kristoph and me leave, the door shutting behind us. We disappeared out of view, and a few seconds later, a tall man with short-cropped blond hair glided up the hallway with purpose. He knocked on the door and entered. I held my breath, waiting until I could see what was going on again. It seemed like an eternity before the man emerged from my office. He had an unconscious, at least I hoped merely unconscious, Leila slung over his shoulder.