Chapter Forty-Three Hollis
Chapter Forty-Three
Hollis
In the air
The jet engines roared as we cut through a sheet of rain, nose pointed toward Surrey. Julian had already warned our parents that our protectors might be compromised, so the decision was made among all of us—get to where my parents were immediately.
No one really knew what the hell had happened or why, and it seemed that was part of the design for whoever was behind this. If the very people sworn to protect us were traitors, then did that make us sitting ducks no matter where we were?
They’d know our every movement. They probably wrote the handbook on our fighting techniques, for all I knew. They could easily be five steps ahead of us, which didn’t sit well with me. We’d trusted them, placed our lives in their hands, and now this?
Mum and Dad had refused to involve the police or MI6 when Julian asked them to. They’d claimed this was a personal matter and they didn’t need anyone finding out there was a crack in our literal armor.
Dad alleged our enemies would smell blood and strike all at once, which would only make things a hundred times worse. Thank God for Delta Shield, Carter, and the others, or we’d have been completely screwed.
“Almost there,” Jason murmured in my ear, his hand firm around mine. “Lucky your family’s got a private airstrip five klicks from their estate.”
Nausea twisted my stomach. “That also means whoever is behind this will see us coming from a mile away.” Not that we had a choice. Time was of the essence, and we couldn’t risk diverting to a farther airport.
“I’ve got your back, I promise,” he reassured me, remaining a steady force so I could be the one to spin out, and I knew he’d catch me.
I scanned the cabin, working my ass off to be the warrior I’d been trained to be.
Gwen and Julian sat shoulder to shoulder, eyes glued to their laptops, sitting across from Ryder and Alex, as they combed through hours of footage in Rome to see if Kylo—or any other protector, for that matter—had made an appearance after the rave.
Alpha Team, Carter and Sebastian’s unit, were currently on board Carter’s personal jet, shadowing us.
“It’s a dead lead on the men with Gideon in Rome.” Julian interrupted my thoughts with his shit news.
“What do you mean?” Alex asked, elbows braced on the table.
“I found them. In a morgue outside Rome. They were Italian mercenaries, more than likely hired for a single job. Doubtfully without any ties to whoever’s pulling the strings.” Julian glanced sideways at Gideon on the couch to his left. “Someone tied up loose ends.”
Gideon met his eyes, shaking his head. He had to be assuming that someone was him.
“I’m sure you didn’t,” Gwen said softly, and my brother sent her a slight nod, a thanks embedded in that dark, broody expression of his.
“It was more than likely my protector with him who shot those men,” Julian added, voice flat. “Or at least, my protector is also part of this. I bet he’s how my source code was acquired.”
“Then Kylo must really be involved, too. A family affair,” I noted.
“Kylo set the trap for me in Rome with the Putcheskis. All of the protectors betrayed us, but why? How would they even know about the book in the first place?” Panic pressed in on my lungs when it clicked.
I pulled my hand away from Jason’s to bury my fingertips into my chest at the pain there.
“They found out about the book because I was searching for it, and they quickly realized they could use the drugs against us for whatever reason.”
Jason’s hand closed around my jeaned thigh, grounding me. “You don’t know that. Tristan might have—”
“No, I put the spotlight on my brother.” I faced Jason, eyes blurring. “I went to Switzerland and realized if the book was still out there, Tristan would have it. I confronted him about it, and somehow, his protector or mine discovered the truth.”
Ryder shook his head. “If Tristan had the book and told you, then you’d never have been in Rome at the rave. Doesn’t add up.”
I shut my eyes, hating the blank spot in my mind. My memories were another enemy right now.
“What if the formulas weren’t just words on paper?
Clearly, that one sent to Putcheski worked.
What if Tristan had already tested them at some point in the past, maybe even before you contacted him?
” Gideon suggested. “And when you started digging, you stirred something up.” He rose, fists in his pockets.
“But that isn’t on you. Someone played all of us. ”
“Because your bighearted sister was trying to help the dad of someone she thought didn’t even like her,” Jason cut in, voice low.
“What are you talking about?” Gideon asked, eyes sharp on him. “Julian told me you were after the book, but you were searching for it because of his dad?”
“Jason had no idea. I did this behind his back.” The weight of that admission filled the cabin. “Seems to me if only I’d been honest with everyone, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation.” Just like my mother said.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Gwen cut in, “but I finally found Kylo on camera after the rave.” She spun her laptop to the side so we could all view it.
On screen, there was a clip of Kylo being dragged unconscious by a masked man over to a windowless black van.
“That’s me,” Gideon muttered, pointing at himself on camera as he climbed out of the back to help load Kylo inside it.
The driver lowered his window and gave a three-finger salute right at the camera.
“That’s gotta be my protector,” Gideon rasped. “He has to be undercover—but if he’s on the inside and helping us, then why didn’t he get word to us yet?”
“And where the hell is he and Kylo now?” Jason removed a piece of paper from his pocket, and I looked on. It was a list I’d forgotten Carter had asked Gideon to make back at the hotel, pairing up our protectors with our names:
Rowan—Gideon
Kylo—Celeste Hollis
Orson—Julian
Cassian—Lyra
Waylen—Tristan
The list also included my parents’ protectors and so on, but I stopped paying attention to it when Jason got up and passed it to Alex. Something told me he’d already memorized every name on it and didn’t need it anymore.
“Our protectors have two bases of operations,” Gideon continued as Jason returned to his seat. “A remote location outside Surrey and another site in Montana.”
“If Tristan’s innocent, maybe he’s being held at their compound in Surrey,” Julian commented, closing his laptop. “It was probably Tristan’s blood that activated the memory-wipe formula.” He dragged a hand down his face, sitting back in his seat. “They used the mind control shit on him, too.”
Gideon stiffened. “But how would they know the formula would work on Tristan, because not even our protectors know he’s our . . .” His words trailed off as he fumbled for his phone, made a call, then cursed a few seconds later.
“What is it?” I asked, attempting to stand, but turbulence knocked me back down into my seat.
“Mum. I can’t reach her.” Gideon dropped onto the couch. “If Tristan truly isn’t in on this, that means these assholes found out at some point he’s our brother, because Mum hid her pregnancy from everyone, including the protectors back then.”
“If they believe we’ve been corrupted or our bloodline is,” Julian went on, his tone as dark as the skies outside, “then in their minds, they think they have the right to take over themselves or pass on the so-called crown to someone else.”
Gideon tried the call again, but it clearly failed, because he slapped the phone against his leg. “My protector must’ve broken with them, or he wouldn’t have saved you.”
The jet bucked as we descended. Rain streaked the windows, lightning flashing, forcing me to grip the chair’s arms. “If they planned to kill me, they didn’t need to wipe my memories, right?
Couldn’t they have just controlled me like they did with you two?
And for that matter, why let you all live, but—”
“Bloody hell,” Gwen hissed. “The source code was just used in Surrey.” She looked up at me. “They’re at your parents’ house now.”