Rhett took a step toward me and rubbed the back of his head, seemingly nervous. “I don’t have anything expensive to give you. Only a memory. This is my gift to you.” He extended his arm and made a complete circle, as if his gift was the world.
The city lights shimmered as I fought back the tears. “I think this is the best birthday present anyone has ever—”
I bit my bottom lip to hold in a sob. It was the only gift since the little doll my mom had given me when I turned thirteen. My last present from her, long since lost.
Without thinking, I reached for his hand and stood next to him under the night sky, under the stars and the moon. The universe joined us in a mesmerizing moment of awe. Nothing mattered. I drifted to another place and time where Rhett and I were a real couple, and I was not an assassin, but a simple girl.
I’d dreamed of moments like that, of being a normal teenager in love. I’d go on dates, and he’d show me how much he cared with thoughtful gestures like this. But like all dreams, I had to wake up.
Rhett wrapped his arms around me when I shuddered. The cold, brisk wind slapped us, breaking our tranquility. He held me tighter when I trembled, and I wanted to hold onto this moment of serenity and stay in his arms forever.
“Thank you,” I said. And I meant those simply words to the depth of my core. I closed my eyes as if to still the competing emotions running through me. Then I opened them on his loving smile. “This is very sweet of you. It’s breathtaking.”
“I knew you’d like it. You used to talk about how you wanted to see the city lights from a tall building.”
My smile faltered. The picture I’d seen of the two of us lips to lips, looking so happy, flashed in my mind. Every time he mentioned our past, it felt like an ice pick twisting deep in my heart with each forgotten memory. I still wanted him to be wrong, to catch him making up a lie. But so far, he’d been right about everything.
I didn’t want to be reminded about the past. I needed to know about the present. “Is there something going on between you and Cleo?”
Pressing my lips together, I chastised myself. The stupid question had sounded different in my head.
Rhett pulled back and searched my eyes. He curled his lips down at the corners, trying to hide a gloating smile.
Damn.
“Are you jealous?” A happy chuckle rang from his throat.
So jovial. I would never forget the sound of that laugh; music to my ears. But it had to end. I reminded myself I needed to go back to ISAN and find out what happened to my father and my twin. I also needed to tell Brooke about what I knew and had experienced, maybe Tamara, too. I wasn’t sure about Justine. Then I had to find a way to get us out.
Rhett would help me if I asked, but I didn’t want to get his hopes up. There was no guarantee nothing would happen to me and who knew how long it would take me to find my missing family. At those thoughts, I dropped my hand I’d rested on his arm.
His expression changed, and he laid his big hand over mine. His jaw tightened and his anguish-filled eyes searched mine. “I’m letting you go, Ava. You can leave tomorrow.” He stepped back, all playfulness gone. “I can’t keep you hostage forever. I only wanted a chance to open your eyes. I know you can’t remember any of the things I’ve told you, but at least I gave us a chance to start over someday. Even if a part of you wants to stay with us, I know you need to go back to ISAN to find answers about your family. I hate that I can’t be there for you. It’s killing me that I have to let you go after I found you again.”
I rubbed my arms and gazed at the stars, not knowing how to respond. Pressure built around my bottled-up emotions; if I opened them, I would explode. Unwanted tears welled in my eyes, pushing at the dam of my lashes.
Girls dreamed of a handsome guy madly in love with them. One stood in front of me and I was tossing him away. For what? A father and a twin who could be dead. A friend who might think I’m crazy. But ISAN was still a part of me. Still coming after me. I couldn’t run away without finding answers.
Rhett understood because he was like me. We were fighters. Survivors.
“Rhett?” Calling his name felt more familiar now than it had before. “Did we ever ...?”
I gasped when Rhett set his hands on my hips. He waited for our eyes to connect before he spoke. “Did we ever get this close? Yes. Did I caress your cheeks like this?” Rhett skimmed his hand on my face. “Yes.” He paused to run his thumb along the outline of my lips and grabbed my hand to place it on his chest.
Oh, God.
“Did our hearts ever feel like this, like they were going to explode from our chests every time we were near each other? Yes. Million times, yes. You feel that, Ava? My heart thunders for you and no one else. It knows when you’re near. You can feel that, can’t you?”
I nodded, drowning into him, warmth blazing through my body. My heart beat out of control, just like his. Everywhere he touched burned. Even his words made me dizzy.
“No one can take away my beating heart for you. You’re imprinted right there. Memories can be erased, but you can never forget an emotion that’s meant to last forever. You are my forever. Find me. Find us in your heart. That is my only request. Whatever it takes.”
My head spun. The lights below me whirled in a tunnel around us, and I floated weightless as the breeze. My breaths shortened as I watched his lips inch toward mine.
Rhett stopped and took out a small device from his backpack. Music filled the air. “Dance with me under the stars. I promised you one day I would against the city lights.”
I’d never heard the song before, but something told me it had once meant something to us. Another attempt to trigger my memory. Rhett’s body pressed against mine, and we swayed to the music.
Put your hand on my beating heart, as we dance under the stars.
I’ll sing you a love song, mending all time’s scars.
It was clear and simple you see.
We fell in love with just one glance.
We knew it was special when we took a chance.
A gamble worth taking, true love in the making.
We are forever. You and I.
I closed my eyes and listened to him sing. Serenity I’d never known filled me to my core. If it were possible, I would’ve floated off the roof. How could I have forgotten feeling that way? I wanted to hold on to the moment and make it last forever. Our slow dance broke down something inside me. When the music stopped, he cupped my face into his hands.
“Rhett, did we ever ...” I stopped. My face flushed with warmth, and I shyly dipped my chin.
I didn’t know how to ask it. Perhaps I didn’t want to know, being utterly drunk by his one last attempt to get me to remember him, to remember us.
Rhett ran his fingers through my hair, sending warm shivers through me.
“To answer the question I think you want to ask, yes. We had sex. And it was amazing. It was fireworks, baby. I’m going to kiss you, if you let me. Let me give you something to remember from the present and not from the past.”
I shuddered a breath and didn’t answer. The happiness suffusing me might have been past or present. It felt so real, so right, and I didn’t want to ever let it go. Without waiting for him, I crushed my lips to his.
Rhett pressed my body tighter and kissed me back, all madness and hunger, as if to make up for all the time lost. His stubble grazed my lips, my skin, but I welcomed the gentle pricks.
My lips moved with his in ways I never thought possible, desperate, and wanting more. Our locked lips felt so perfect, so familiar, like we’d kissed thousands of times. Though I couldn’t remember us having sex, I knew in my heart he had been incredible. And this kiss ... oh, this kiss ... this toe curling kiss ... utterly mind-blowing. Perfect in every way.
Rhett’s lips slowed to tender caresses, taking his time, and then began to nip at my neck. When his hands trailed lower down my spine, I arched my back from the euphoric sensation. Wanting more, my hands greedily explored the curve of his biceps and
the defined chest I’d wanted to touch since I first set my eyes on him.
Sliding my fingers through his hair, I twisted his hair in sudden anger. I hated him for making me weak. Falling for him would only break me. If he’d forced me to stay, it would have been a relief in a way. But given a choice, the road I’d been on before was the only way. With this taste of him, Rhett would forever be imprinted on me. I freely gave him a piece of my heart I could never take back ... again, apparently.
Lights flashed in the corner of my eye.
“Rhett.” I pulled away, out of breath, eyeing his stubble that grazed on my lips. “I think ... I think I saw fireworks.”
Rhett rewarded me with the sexy smile that left me lusting for him.
“I want to say it was from my kiss, because I’m pretty sure you felt it inside you. But that’s Ozzie. Time to go.”
Blushing like an idiot, I reached down to find the latch when my body twisted back without my control.
“Not so fast.” Rhett rested his forehead against mine and gathered me in his arms. He embraced me as if he wanted to frame that moment forever in his mind. When his lips caressed my cheeks tenderly, I quivered under the warmth of his breath. “Promise me, Ava. Please try to remember us. Whatever it takes.”
“I promise,” I whispered. I meant it. His words tugged to the depth of my core, and I felt the sincerity and the pain in them.
I stayed in his arms, cheek to cheek, body to body, until another flash lit the sky soon after, and someone honked a horn frantically. A soft growl gushed out of Rhett.
“Second warning.” Rhett uttered an annoyed sound. “What’s so urgent? We should get going.”
“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “What’s that?” I pointed at a black fabric with a small mechanical thing attached to it.
I had never questioned what Rhett had hidden inside the other bag he’d brought. Perhaps I should’ve asked him when we were in the truck.
“It’s faster this way. We did this before and you loved it.”
“That was the old me.”
Rhett unzipped the long backpack. It frazzled me at first until I realized it was something else. He slipped his body through it and zipped up. After grabbing the flashlight, he tossed his smaller backpack around his shoulders. The material from his arms expanded outward, connecting to his legs.
“You look like a bat.” I giggled, but my amusement died a hard death when he handed me an identical contraption.
“Don’t you trust me?” Rhett raised an eyebrow, his eyes daring me. Then he winked.
Oh, hell. It was that wink. Or maybe it was the kiss. I couldn’t say no.
“Fine. But you owe me big time.”
His brow twitched in a naughty way. “I can suggest ways to pay you.”
“Maybe I’ll let you.” I couldn’t believe I flirted back.
Rhett zipped me up and guided me to the edge. My stomach had already dropped to my toes; I didn’t know where else it could go. I thought I’d surpassed the point of no return and had become numb. My knees buckled and my muscles tightened, but Rhett’s hand in mine gave me the security I needed.
“Ready?” His eyes twinkled brighter than the stars.
As for me, I wanted to spit in his smirking face. “Nope. You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? You’re enjoying the fact I’m doing this for you. You feel like you’ve won something when I do things you ask, right?”
Rhett’s eyebrows pinched at the center. “Well, I never thought of it that way, but yeah, I like that you trust me. One step at a time, that was my goal. When I count down to three, Ava, we jump.”
“Okay.”
Three ...”
“Don’t let go, Rhett.”
“Never. Two ...”
Rhett pressed something on my suit, and then his, and yanked me with him.
“You never said one, Rhett.” The wind had tamed my bellowing voice, sounding softer than it should have.
“Just getting you back for the many times you didn’t let me say one.”
I soared with the breeze toward the city lights. Every thought fled and everyone else ceased to exist. I laughed and smiled, lost to the elation of freedom and lost to Rhett, who held my hand so tightly I felt his love for me.
I trusted him with my life, and that had been his true gift. To show me I could trust him, let myself feel, dream, and hope.
In front of me was the beauty of the city lights, but below, nothing but the gentle darkness. The breeze rocked and cradled me as the flapping of my suit glided like a bird. Fly. Fly. Fly away. So calm. So peaceful. I was free, and bliss filled my heart and my soul.
I continued to stare until the ground rushed toward us. My happiness disappeared. It might be our last time together. I had to go back, not just for answers regarding my family, but also for my other friends. They needed to know the truth. But truth about what? What could I tell them? Would they even believe me?
Doubt attacked me. What if Rhett and his friends had fed me lies to gain control of my special abilities? How did I know the truth? What if the journal was fiction?
But the video. That was real.
Everything added up.
The guards who had attacked us knew Rhett’s name. Rhett and his friends knew about the Helix serum. They’d known about the cyanide capsule. The photo I’d found in Rhett’s desk was clearly of the two of us, undeniable proof we had a past.
What the hell do I do?
I wished I could crawl into a cave and hide from reality. Or I could believe my instincts and the evidence.
I landed and took off my suit. In the process of folding the material to fit into a backpack, I spotted someone running toward us in the dark.
“Rhett. Rhett.” The panic in Reyna’s voice was palpable, and terror filled her eyes. “They have Ozzie.” She bawled, pouring anguish into her shout.
Rhett bristled. “Who has Ozzie?”
Reyna bent over, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. “ISAN. Mitch was there. He tried to grab me, then ... no, Ozzie. I hid. Ozzie pushed me. I was so scared. Drifters were there.” Her eyes danced around in panic.
Rhett placed a hand on her shoulder, in control like a true leader. “Slow down, Reyna. I don’t understand. Start from the beginning.”
Reyna took a deep breath. Watching her made my lungs hurt.
“Ozzie and I went to Hope City and a bunch of us decided to visit Abandoned City. We hung out with Zen and his friends. Ozzie and I were on our way back, but before we got to the truck, somebody shot at us. When Ozzie pushed me behind the truck he got tased. Zen helped me escape. Before Mitch left, he said tomorrow at noon we exchange Ozzie for Ava in front of the Leviathan Hotel. If we don’t, they’re going to kill him.” Reyna dropped to the ground, covering her face. “What do we do?”
I was deeply touched she didn’t say flat out I needed to leave.
Rhett’s shoulders tensed, and he squeezed his fingers into fists, the veins in his muscles bulging.
“You’ll get Ozzie back tomorrow, Reyna.” I helped her up. Already knowing I was going back made it easier. I just hoped Ozzie was okay.
“Did they take the supplies?” Rhett asked.
“No, but they took our friend.” She sobbed, dropping to the ground again.
Rhett got on his knees. With a tilt of his finger, he forced her to meet his gaze. “Listen. We’ll get Ozzie back. They’re not going to hurt him.” Then he looked up at me, his eyes filled with so many emotions, but mostly sadness. “Ava will be leaving tomorrow.”
* * *
“I’m sorry,” I said.
Rhett paced his room from one wall to the other. My heart seemed to soften around Rhett more and more.
Would ISAN torture Ozzie for information? They said they would release him, but they never promised they wouldn’t harm him.
“It’s not your fault, Ava. It’s mine. I should’ve predicted this. I wasn’t cautious enough. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Rhett took a fistful of his hair in his han
ds. After he exhaled a long breath, he let go. “You should get some sleep.”
“I’m going to wash up first, if that’s okay?”
I stood from the bed to get clean clothes and saw the book Rhett had let me check out. I’d never even got a chance to read it, but I had skimmed through some parts, especially the ending, which had unsettled my stomach, only because they didn’t have a happy ever after. Funny how our situation was kind of similar.
An irrational twinge of hurt flashed through me. If I had wanted to stay, would he have given me a choice? What was I to them if I couldn’t remember who they were? Those thoughts weren’t fair, especially when I couldn’t read Rhett’s mind. The little time I’d spent with him told me he was a person who thought things through before he acted them out.
But emotions get in the way, cloud judgment.
Rhett stood by the door with his back toward me. His muscles bulged when his fingers gripped the doorframe. “Just so you know, it’s killing me to let you go. It was worse the day we escaped and you didn’t make it out with me. I can’t seem to get away from losing you.” He paused. A breath rushed out of him, as if he needed a moment to collect himself. “If you wanted to stay, I wouldn’t have asked you to leave for Ozzie. You mean more to me than that. I would’ve found another way, even if I had to trade my life. If I have opened your eyes and made you feel even a part of what you can’t remember, then the past three days were worth everything.
“Ozzie thinks our memories can be erased by our advanced technology. And with ISAN, anything is possible, I suppose. But I think you did it to yourself. I think the trauma of us being separated, whether it was too painful or whether to protect our final destination, which you knew, is linked to your loss of memories. But that is just my theory.”
I blinked and soaked in his words, thinking about that possibility.
Rhett added, “Every second lost without you the past six months drove me insane. I died the day you didn’t come with me. And even though you’re here with me now, I can’t seem to let the pain ease because I have to let you go again. I didn’t know if you were alive or ...”