Chapter 34 Raegan #2
My chest tightens as he gives voice to all my fears, making them feel more real. No, not just real.
Inevitable.
“Enough! Pick on me, asshole!” Dane shouts.
“They should kill you now to save the world while they still can. You’re going to be the end of it.”
“Raegan.” Aiden draws my face to look at his. “What did I say?”
“Don’t let him get to you,” I repeat on a breathless whisper.
“Good. You let him get to you again, and I’ll have Reid pull you out of here.”
The threat is like a splash of cold water and a cattle prod to my pride. Gritting my teeth, I nod, and he releases me.
Another gunshot, but this time it’s in a different direction. “You’re right, Reid. She doesn’t love you. You’re both a classic case of Stockholm Syndrome. If you live long enough to try having a normal life, she’ll realize you’re nothing more than a cold-blooded murderer.”
I hate that his voice is in all our heads at once, spilling our fears and secrets to the others. He’s taking something personal and weaponizing it.
“And Jackson... I’m surprised you’re not by her side when she means so much to you. Your arrogance will get her killed. She’s going to die, and you won’t be able to do anything to stop it.”
The sound of a bunch of chains being drawn over a pulley and clanging metal suddenly fills the room with a deafening roar.
The cages.
We followed where we thought he went, and now we’re surrounded.
A high-pitched sound rings in a single note, and if I thought the people in the cages were wild before, they completely lose it in response to that noise. They clamber and scream out of the cages, rushing toward us as if we’re the threat.
“Fuck’s sake,” Dane mutters, grabbing my arm and pressing close. “They’re just like the fucking zombies.”
“But they’re not,” I remind him. I can’t just kill them like I did the zombies. Not if they’re only being controlled somehow by that sound. “We need to follow that noise and stop—”
The sound cuts off.
“…it,” I finish.
The prisoners freeze.
“Found you,” Jackson murmurs through the darkness. Something gurgles. “Your mistake was thinking I need my eyes to see. That sound led me straight to you.”
Someone—James, I’m assuming—chokes.
The lights flicker—almost like they haven’t been used in so long that it takes a minute for the electricity to power them on—before the room finally brightens.
Reid appears beside us as we stare at Jackson doing something with James at the end of the aisle on the floor. The prisoners turn to see them as well.
They start running, a couple at first, and then the rest mob together toward James and Jackson.
“Jack!” I shout in warning.
He flies over them and drops at my side to one knee. Jack takes my hand and places something in it.
James’s tongue.
For everything he’d said to me. I close my hand and send a burst of my gift through it. Then angle my hand and let the ashes fall to the floor. “Thank you.”
He kisses the back of that same hand. “We should leave.”
Aiden stares at the mob of prisoners surrounding James. “What did you do?”
“He’s alive. And I left some knives for the prisoners to finish it,” Jackson replies, his voice cool and dangerous.
“What about the others?” I look to the other side of the room where the more docile prisoners are still caged.
“We can’t take all of them with us,” Aiden says, then raises his phone to his ear.
“I’m sending you coordinates. Have your FBI friend lock down the hospital and rescue the prisoners in the basement.
They’re likely gifted, so make sure only trustworthy agents are sent here.
Oh, and there’s a dead board member receiving justice by some of the prisoners, so I’d make sure they arrive quickly.
” Either I can’t hear Elias’s response, or he’s so stunned by the information that he doesn’t have time to say anything before Aiden hangs up.
“Karl!” I yell, cupping my hands around my mouth.
A man appears only a few feet from us, his mouth pressed into a tight line as he watches the brutality happening thirty feet away.
He has the same blond hair as Harvey and crystal blue eyes.
But his hair is cut short, unlike Sam’s long and choppy length.
His hands are casually tucked into his pockets.
He looks displeased with what he sees, but not fearful or disgusted, either.
I’m sure he’s witnessed a lot of horrible things if James was the member he was tasked to watch.
“We’re leaving. Reid can take you to your siblings,” I explain.
“Where’s Alice?” he inquires.
“With your other siblings getting them settled somewhere safe,” Aiden answers.
Karl nods. “I’ll keep an eye on them.” He motions his chin toward the prisoners. “And on the people you’ve asked to come here.”
Dane eyes the prisoners incredulously. “Is that safe?”
“I know how to keep them calm.”
“Keep your phone on you. If something is wrong or you need something, let us know with that.” Aiden fixes the shield to more manageable swords and armor on himself. I doubt it would have fit in the car if he hadn’t.
“You’ll tell me when he’s dead?” Karl asks, his tone indifferent even though he’s speaking about his father.
“Yes.”