Rhett’s words repeated in my mind. You don’t need Helix to be strong or be brave. It’s already in you.
Helix was in me. Just before I let myself go, lights zapped so close I had to veer my body in an awkward position. Still hanging on the rope, I swung like a pendulum on a clock.
“Go, Ava.”
The domineering sternness in Rhett’s voice had me in a panic mode, and the adrenaline kicked in, thick and heavy.
Anchoring the thick yellow rope with my feet and gripping it with one hand, I shot with the Taser on the way down at the guards. Rhett leaped across to get the rope and slid down while bullets sliced the air around him. Crazy, but amazing, Rhett.
Rhett landed a second after me and aimed the gun to where the rope tied. The rope dropped down with one shot.
I took off and raced around the corner of the building to find the vehicle held hostage by guards armed with Tasers and guns. Pointing their weapons at us, they held up clear, bulletproof shields, and their thick uniforms looked bulletproof, too.
Crap. Now what?
“Put it down, slowly,” a guard said. “You didn’t think you could escape again, did you, Rhett?”
Rhett sneered.
The guard knew Rhett?
“I’m going to get a huge reward for you. You’re lucky I was told to bring Ava and you alive. The rest can drop dead.”
Rhett didn’t say a word and raised his hands.
We were surrendering?
No. But he gave the impression we were.
I placed my Taser down and knelt like everyone else. Knowing they wouldn’t give up easily, I prepared to fight. The guard had made a big mistake by standing in front of Rhett and relaxing his gun arm.
Rhett swiped his leg under the guard, knocking him down. Then he picked up the guard’s fallen Taser and shot him in the chest. He spun and yanked the bulletproof shield from the next guard and used that shield to block a bullet flying toward him. Then Rhett went crazy with his Taser, just the way he had above.
Ozzie, Reyna, and I mimicked his moves with the other guards standing in front of us. When I got up, the other ten were down.
I was floored at how sleek, graceful, and swift Rhett, Ozzie, and Reyna moved, and how the four of us battled together as if we were a rehearsed team. We didn’t plan, and there was hardly any communication, but we fought together with ease and comfort.
“Get in.” Rhett cranked the engine. He shifted into reverse and the vehicle ran over bodies without a care. After changing to drive, he pushed the gas so fast my body jerked back against the seat.
Two bullets hit the truck. One pierced the back window and continued through the front, between Rhett and me. The truck screeched out into the street. As I watched the road, I had my Tasers ready to shoot, and my elevated pulse descended to find its steady rhythm the farther we drove.
“Anyone hurt?” Ozzie’s tone exuded urgently, his eyes fell on all of us. “That was real close.” He checked behind his shoulder then turned back to us.
I stole a glance in the side mirror at Reyna since she hadn’t answer Ozzie’s question. Well, nobody had.
Reyna slapped the door handle, anger seizing her. “How did they know? We’ve been here plenty of times, and they never came.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Ozzie placed a gentle hand on Reyna’s arm. “You know they can’t track us. I deactivated Ava’s chip. And even if she had another tracker, they can’t track us at the compound.”
Tracker? As I wondered if they had implanted a tracker inside me, I rubbed the back of my neck. My pinky slipped closer to my ear. Guilt and confusion flooded through me. Without a word, I peeled off the earpiece and tossed it out the window. Could that be a tracker too?
Damn. Why did I care?
“But they can track her here. I guess Ozzie forgot to check.” Reyna fisted a handful of her hair and placed her elbow on the door.
“You’re wrong. I did it when she slept.”
“In her sleep? You’re still afraid of her?” Reyna shook her head, a small squeaky noise escaped her throat.
“Kind of.” He shrugged.
It wouldn’t matter anyhow. If my earpiece was the tracker, a metal detector or any other device they had used wouldn’t have found it.
Rhett punched the wheel and swore.
I flinched.
“What happened?” Ozzie asked.
Rhett flashed a glance at me, and then looked back to the road. “ISAN guards will report Ava shot back. I should have killed them all. If they ask you about it, Ava, you lie. Tell them they must have made a mistake. It will be your words against theirs.”
Oh, God. Lying wouldn’t help me. I needed a miracle.
“Okay,” I said.
Rhett remained silent. One of his hands set on the wheel and the other hand rested on his leg. Too busy keeping my eyes on the road, I hadn’t noticed he was hurt until then.
“Rhett, you’re hurt.” I tried to sound calm, but my voice was too loud.
“You’re hurt?” Ozzie reached over to get a better view.
Rhett placed his palm on Ozzie’s head and shoved him back. “I’m fine.”
“He’s bleeding?” Reyna gasped.
“I’m fine.” Rhett huffed a breath, sounding irate. “It’s just a nick. We’re almost there. Once we get inside the glider we’ll be fine.”
Liquid soaked his dark, long-sleeved shirt on his shoulder and I questioned how much blood he’d lost. I had to take his word for it. Secretly, I chastised myself for caring and stared out the window.
Rhett stopped Ozzie and Reyna at the entrance of their compound. “Not a word about what happened today, got it?”
They shot a weary glance at me and nodded.
“I’ll be in my room. Ava, come with me.”
Rhett and I walked quietly and hastily, avoiding others and entered his room. “Have a seat,” he said, but it sounded more like a command.
When I sat on the bed, Rhett dropped to his knees. Hands braced on either side of me on the mattress, and he searched my eyes for answers.
Oh God. Move away, Rhett. Don’t look at me like that. His closeness made me hot and dizzy, and butterflies swirled, loosening the tightness in my chest. My eyes set on his stubble I’d been wanting to trace with my fingers, and I shook away the thought.
“Are you okay? Do you need to talk about all this? I know you’re confused.”
No, I’m not okay. I’m never going to be okay. I wanted to say.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Shouldn’t you take care of that wound?”
Rhett sighed, dropped his head lower, and met my eyes again. “I’m fine.” He paused, seeming to search for words. “Do you know if you have a tracker inside you? Were you injected with anything besides Helix?”
I lowered my eyes to my dry, dirty hands, and then peered back at Rhett. I hardly knew him. Yet in a couple of days, I’d learned to trust him. He’d keep my secrets safe because he’d do whatever it took to keep me safe. Why? What was I to him?
I swallowed nervously. “I think my earpiece was a tracker, too, but I can’t be sure. It lost connection long before I got here. I tossed it out the window as soon as I realized I still had it on. I swear I didn’t try to contact ISAN.”
Rhett nodded. “I know. I believe you.”
My eyes shifted to his shoulder. “Are you still bleeding? We need to clean that up. Are you in pain?” I asked the last question when he squinted as he rose.
“Are you trying to show me you care?” His lips curled, wickedly hot.
Rhett dropped his backpack on the floor, opened a drawer to take out a shirt, and then took out what he needed from the medicine cabinet and placed it on the counter. He opened another cabinet, took out a needleless syringe, and shoved it in his back pocket.
Rhett’s shirt had apparently soaked up the blood. I didn’t see any drops on the floor; I assumed it wasn’t too serious. He tugged at his shirt but grunted in pain. I didn’t mean to stare, but I knew he needed my help
. And maybe I wanted him to need me. Maybe I wanted to return the day’s gift.
I twitched when Rhett said my name. “I’m sorry to ask, but do you think you can give me a hand?”
“Sure.”
Heat flushed my cheeks at his proximity and seeing Rhett with his shirt half way up, exposing his tanned six packs.
“If I can’t take it off, then you’re going to have to cut it. But I really don’t want to cut my favorite shirt.”
“Tell me to stop if I’m hurting you.” Slowly, I pulled up from where he’d left off.
He peered down at me. His warm eyes darkened, and something other than pain lurked in them. My heart thumped faster when he placed his hand over mine.
“Stop right there.” He groaned, his cheek muscles twitching. “Can you pull it over my head from the back? I’m going to rest my arms on your shoulders, if that’s okay?”
I nodded.
When he placed his arms on my shoulders just as he said he would, I gripped the back of his shirt. I stopped when I felt him shudder under my hands.
“I’m sorry. My hands are cold.”
“Actually, it feels good.”
His words whispered smooth and hot in my ear. Sensual sensations slowly built inside me. A puff of air escaped his mouth at the side of my neck.
Oh, dear God. Ava, control your lustful thoughts.
“I’m going over your head. Let me know if you want me to stop,” I said.
“Go for it.”
I didn’t have to look to see his impish grin.
I trembled when his breath brushed the tip of my ear. His muscles tightened when I slipped the shirt over his head.
“Almost there,” I murmured.
As he focused on me with a mischievous grin, my mouth dried.
“Trying to take advantage of me?” He chuckled lightly. Rhett pulled one sleeve off easily. Then he extended his wounded arm to me. “I’m afraid to see blood.”
“Now who’s taking advantage of whom?” I narrowed my eyes. “You’re afraid of blood? Ha.”
“Seriously, I need you to peel the shirt off the wound. Don’t hurt me, please.”
A soft laugh fluttered out of me. Leisurely, I unrolled the rest of the shirt from his arm, trying not to stare at his chest. The wound started at the top of his shoulder and extended to his biceps. Thankfully, it hadn’t cut deep.
“We need to clean that,” I said.
“Let’s go to the sink.”
“You have a sink in your room?”
Rhett took several steps before he looked over his shoulder. “This isn’t really a bedroom, as you can tell. I didn’t want one like the others had. It reminded me of my room in ISAN.” He picked up bandages and disappeared behind a wall.
I picked up the pace and almost bumped into him. Rhett moved a large box aside, revealing a small sink with a mirror on top. When Rhett’s reflection appeared next to mine, I moved away. He reached underneath the sink and pulled out a small, beige towel.
“Let me help you.” I placed the towel under the running water and then wrung it. Timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I asked the one question that had been on my mind for a while. “How long have you been here?”
“About six months,” he answered without hesitation.
Ozzie had said the same. I had been in ISAN for approximately six months, but if they were here six months ago ... Something didn’t add up. I asked a different question.
“How long were you in ISAN?”
“I’d already been there for a while before you arrived. But if you’re trying to ask me how long we knew each other, it was about six months.”
I tried to recall, but as usual, I couldn’t and only got frustrated. Rhett bit his lips and winced when I placed the damp towel on his wound. More blood seeped out. I rinsed the towel, but I didn’t place it directly on the wound. Squeezing the cloth, I let the water drip down on the cut.
“Do you remember your family?” I asked hesitantly.
“I was brought up by foster parents like you.” He tightened his jaw.
“And everyone else?” I knew the answer, but I needed confirmation.
“Yes. We all have different reasons for being sent to juvenile detention. Some are similar, like stealing, but some are more serious, like taking a life. But I’m pretty sure they were framed. Maybe not all, but some of them couldn’t kill a fly. Well, they could now. We’re all different after coming out of ISAN.”
I ran the towel under the water. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I thought about my twin. Would my twin recognize me? Did I have a brother or a sister?
“Not that I’m aware of.” Rhett gripped the edges of the sink and slumped over. “I try not to think of the past but hope for a brighter future instead. My past molds me to who I am today, and because all I remember is the bad, I know exactly what not to do.”
I took another towel from underneath the sink and lightly dabbed the wound.
“Thank you.” He grabbed a needleless syringe from his back pocket and pushed the top. It penetrated his skin. “It will help prevent infection and heal it faster.”
“Let me help you.” I picked up a large square bandage, peeled the first layer, and warily pressed it around his wound.
“You know in some cultures, washing a male is like bonding, committing you’ll be with him forever.”
I let out a curt snort. “You’re full of shit. You’re lucky you’re hurt. I could seriously take you down.”
Rhett slipped his wounded arm through a button-down shirt, wincing. “Yeah, you can. You’ve done it before.”
“And besides, the world has assimilated. There are no cultures. It’s a shame really.”
“I agree, but we can create one.” He waggled his eyebrows.
I ignored his silly antics and thought about probing more, but I didn’t want to just yet. Information about a missing father and twin who never existed was already too much to handle. And hearing more about a past I couldn’t remember tormented me.
“Why did you leave ISAN?” I asked just as he finished buttoning his shirt.
Rhett leaned back against the desk, dazed, as if his mind had traveled somewhere else. “I’m going to tell you something, but you have to promise me you won’t repeat this under any circumstances. You have to pretend you never heard it. Ozzie and Reyna can’t know I told you. Okay?”
“I promise.” I plopped on the bed, preparing to listen.
Rhett sat next to me. “The serum was obviously successful. With Helix, we became stronger and our senses were heightened; however, in stronger doses, males became more aggressive, just as you read in your father’s journal. The serum binds with testosterone. That’s the problem. Sometimes it makes us do crazy things, like bash an instructor’s head through the wall for no reason.”
I gasped. “Did you?”
“No, but Ozzie did. He was locked up for evaluation. My group went on an assignment, and we killed everyone at the meeting, including the ones we weren’t supposed to take out.”
“Was I there?” I didn’t mean to ask that question. Asking meant I accepted everything he’d told me about my memory being erased.
Rhett studied me a few long seconds, then finally answered. “Yes. We were a team. Thankfully, you and Reyna stopped me, but you couldn’t stop the other two. You took them down with your Tasers, but one of our teammates gave you the scar on your back when he grabbed a dagger off the ground.”
I brushed the ridge on my back with my finger. The scar was real, but the memory was gone. “What happened next?”
“That was the last time they sent out the males.”
“Why didn’t they inject smaller dosages instead?”
“At first, everything went well, but ISAN got greedy. They wanted to see what we could do and test our limits. That’s when the problems began. The males retained it longer over the course of time, even with a smaller dosage. Doctors could predict females’ reactions better. Ten milligrams would last ten minutes and be out of
their system completely, something like that, but for the males, it was different for each of us.”
I crossed my arms to brace myself to hear more.
“ISAN feared we would revolt one day, so they decided to get rid of the males. If a guy like Ozzie could kill an instructor with one swing, can you imagine what a group of us could do? They didn’t announce this. I found out from a source. They were going to say they sent us back to juvenile detention, only they were going to ship us to get cremated.”
I ran my fingers through my hair in disbelief. Russ and Lydia didn’t seem like the type who would agree to such a murderous act. Would they? I didn’t know Lydia well, and come to think of it, I didn’t know Russ well, either. But he was my friend. Although, I didn’t know if I could trust him anymore. The knowledge gutted me.
“Are you sure?”
Rhett raised his brow, giving me a how-dare-you expression, and continued. “After we found out, we knew we had to escape. Our source found an escape route and made a plan along with Ozzie’s help. But things don’t always go as planned. We lost a lot of friends that day. It wasn’t easy. It was a rough journey to get here.”
“How did you know of this place?”
Rhett sauntered to the counter and moved a few items around. “Lots of research before we left and a rumor I happened to hear from my foster father. The knowledge of this secret hideout died with him, hopefully. He was at least good for one thing. His family line was in the military.”
“Oh.”
“Now you know why there aren’t males in ISAN. Someone smart like you must have asked that question in the last six months.”
Yeah, I had wondered many times. And the question had been finally answered.
Rhett wiped up the counter and closed the medicine cabinet. “ISAN will get rid of anyone that stands in the way of their power. We are just numbers to them. They don’t consider us human beings.”
Maybe he was right, but I didn’t want to believe I could be a part of such a network.
Rhett picked up his backpack and took out my father’s journal and the phone. “I’m going to store these here for safe keeping.” He ambled to his wooden desk and unlocked it with the key he had in his back pocket. As he shoved the items inside, he said, “Whenever you feel the need to watch it or read it again, let me know.”