Chapter Twenty-Two
Braxton
L auren is still asleep, her head tucked against my chest like she belongs there because she does. The steady rhythm of her breathing anchors me, makes me want to stay in this moment forever. But there’s work to do—things that need to be said while she’s not there to overhear them.
I slip out from under her slowly, careful not to wake her, dress, then make my way out of the cabin. The air has a cold bite to it and the sun is just beginning to rise. The soldiers are gathered around the kitchen table; their heads turn toward me as I step into the room. The robots hover nearby, their glowing eyes flickering in the dim light like something out of a sci-fi movie.
“You’re up early,” Pete says, his tone neutral but curious.
“We need to talk,” I reply, taking a seat at the table. “Without Lauren.”
That gets their attention. Hugh leans forward, hands flat on the table, his expression calm but intent. “And the other women. They don’t need to be part of this.”
“Agreed.” I take a moment to look at them—all these men who’ve lost everything and are still here, still fighting. “First: Lauren’s service to you is done. She doesn’t owe you anything. Be grateful for what she offers and respectful of her boundaries. Are we clear?”
I may be crazy to confront men who could snap me in two, but I feel we need to have ground rules to be able to move forward. It doesn’t hurt that Franklin, Elliot, Pete, and Ray come to stand behind me. The other men Lauren brought back watch me silently.
“I’m not a super soldier,” I continue. “But I have an idea for how we could stop Inkwell.”
“A plan,” Ray repeats, pushing the soldier out of the seat beside me and commandeering it. “Let’s hear it.”
I glance at Hugh. “Inkwell has been experimenting on people for nearly a century. Maybe longer. They’re not the kind of people you can reason with or appeal to their humanity.”
“They must be terminated,” one of the robots says, its mechanical voice unusually monotone.
“Exactly,” I reply. “People like that don’t stop unless you make them stop.”
“And how do you suggest we do that?” Hugh asks, his tone steady.
I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest. “The modern world runs on two things: greed and power. No matter how much money Inkwell has or how powerful it has become, I guarantee it wants more. And that’s what we can use against them.”
“How?” Franklin asks, his voice low.
I take a deep breath. “We lure their top players together. The people who benefit the most and make the decisions. And then...” I glance at each of them in turn. “Then you do what they trained you to do.”
Ray’s lips curve into something that’s not quite a smile. “How will you get them all in one place?”
“Not me,” I say. “I have nothing they want. But my business partner? He’s a pretty big deal. He wields the kind of influence that attracts powerful people like moths to a flame.”
Pete doesn’t look convinced. “Why would he help us?”
I spent a good part of the last hour asking myself the same thing. “Because no one can hear about that kind of evil and not want to stop it.”
Looking equally doubtful, Jack asks, “He’d put himself at risk for people he’s never met?”
“He’s used to having enemies,” I reply. “And isn’t that what you all did?”
That gains me another long silence.
Hugh looks around at each man in the room. “Although I don’t like the idea of trusting another person with our secret—we could use someone powerful on our side.”
“As long as he doesn’t stop us from killing them,” Ray says in a cold voice.
“He won’t,” I say.
John flies up in front of me. “He also believes in killing to save lives?”
“He’s morally gray,” George announces as if he’s become an expert on the matter.
“It’s no one’s first choice,” I say in a low tone, “but sometimes there’s no other way.” I repeat what Cole said about fighting so others can believe peace is possible. Not knowing if any of this is a good idea to talk to robots about, I add, “No one wants violence. But sometimes, the only thing that can stop a fire from destroying everything is another fire.”
Pete nods slowly, his expression grim. “We’re the fire.”
Christine hops onto the kitchen table in her little flowing dress. “I’m the fire too.”
“Me too,” Awbree says as her little feet clickety-clack across the table.
“We all are,” I say. “Together, we can make sure Inkwell never steals another person’s life. No more experiments. No more victims.”
“Or using robots for warfare,” Awbree says firmly.
I smile faintly. “Or using robots for warfare.”
Another silence falls over the room as the weight of what we intend to do sinks in. Ray stands, bracing his hands on the table. “When do we start?”
“Not yet,” I reply. “We go slow. Hugh’s right about being careful. We need to do this in a way that can’t be tracked back to us. We could wipe out Inkwell and gain the attention of someone worse.”
“Worse?” Elliot asks.
I wish it weren’t true but... “You came back during a messy time in history.”
“What do you need us to do?” Franklin asks.
“Train,” I say, my voice steady, “Get ready. I’ll contact my partner and we’ll go from there.”
Jack slaps me so hard on the back I nearly go flying across the table. “Welcome to the family, Braxton. We stand and fight as one or fall and die together.”
Ray leans in and growls. “Dying is not a fucking option anymore. Not until every last person who’s responsible for us being here is dead.”
I smile weakly. Ray’s a bit much.
“For the ones they’ve taken,” Hugh says.
“And the ones they never will,” Pete adds and the others echo him.
I do as well. Normally, I’m saving lives, but this feels more right than wrong.
“And every robot who has ever been unplugged,” Awbree says with passion.
We all freeze.
Awbree looks around, trying to discern why we didn’t echo her. I clear my throat and say loudly, “And for all the unplugged robots. ”
The soldiers repeat the cheer, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who is a little uncomfortable.
A quick glance at the clock on the wall and I decide it’s time to return to Lauren. I’m halfway to her cabin when Ray jogs up to me. “Braxton,” he calls out.
I halt and turn toward him.
Without warning, he slices the inside of my forearm from elbow to wrist. “What the fuck?” I yell as I try to stem the gush of blood. There’s no way to. It’s spurting out between my fingers.
Ray slices his forearm in the same area, then grabs my arm just above the elbow, pressing our arms together. I’m too in shock from the pain to react as he grinds his wound into mine. Not that I could have escaped anyway. He’s a hundred times stronger than I am.
When he releases me, I stand there, holding my gushing arm and wondering exactly how long it takes to bleed out. He just stands there as if waiting for something to happen. Something besides me dying.
But it doesn’t.
“Hang on.” He cuts the palm of his hand and stuffs it in my mouth. I swallow his blood only because I’m gasping for breath.
He watches me intently after releasing me the second time. “Sorry, I’m not a scientist. I don’t know how this works. The injections took months. Ashley gained powers and the ability to heal from having sex with me. I’m not going to fuck you, so I hope this works.”
Covered with his blood as well as mine, I sink to my knees. “What are you talking about?”
“Shit. You don’t feel any different?”
Darkness circles and closes in. “Cold,” I say as I bleed out. “So cold.”
“Oh, fuck,” is the last thing I hear before I pass out.
Voices reach me from a distance. Am I dead?
“If you killed the man who could have helped us get rid of Inkwell for good, I swear to God, Ray, I will beat you to death a thousand times.”
Hugh?
“I don’t think he’s dead,” Ray answers. “I only almost killed him.”
My eyelids feel heavy, but I force them open. Both Hugh and Ray are standing over me watching me intently. “What just happened?”
“Look at your arm.” Ray’s tone is smug.
I do. It’s covered with blood, but the wound has healed. I jump to my feet and gag at the taste of his blood still in my mouth. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Ray?”
“You’re welcome.” He doesn’t seem bothered by my disgust.
Hugh snaps, “Ray, you need to stop and think before you do shit like this.”
Ray points to me. “Braxton put himself and his family in danger for us. I couldn’t let him do that while weak and defenseless. Now he can protect both his family and Lauren.”
“What are you saying?” I ask. “You think drinking your blood gives someone superpowers?”
Ray shrugs. “It works for vampires.”
“Holy shit,” I rub a hand over my forehead. As I do, I note that the familiar tightness of my chest and upper arms is gone. I pull at the neck of my shirt and accidentally rip the front of it clear off.
“Quick healing. Super strength. And he’s not dead. I’m a fucking genius,” Ray boasts.
A thought occurs to me, and I look down at my chest. No scarring.
Hugh puts a hand on my shoulder. “Regeneration is part of the process.” He glares at Ray. “But enhanced intelligence is not.”
“Fuck you,” Ray says. “I would have asked him but he took decades to grow the balls to make a move on Lauren. I don’t have that kind of patience.”
I run a hand over my intact chest. “It would have been nice to be asked,” I say in a low tone before meeting Ray’s gaze. “But thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Ray answers in a much humbler tone.
“Just don’t ever, and I mean ever, put your hand in my mouth again,” I growl.
“Deal,” Ray says. “Oh, and go easy on Lauren the next time you fuck. You don’t want to hurt her.”
I punch him right in the face, and damn, it feels good .
Both my hand and his face heal fast enough that neither of us holds a grudge.
I didn’t have “unwillingly becoming a super soldier” on my list of things to do this year, but I can’t say I hate that it happened. Ray’s right—I can protect the ones I love better now.
“I’m not going to turn into silverware, am I?” I ask as the thought intrudes.
Ray and Hugh exchange a look then shrug.
Great.
I hope I’m not a ladle.