"Looking for hot chocolate," I admitted.
She sipped, a loud slurping sound that wasn"t exactly attractive. "Don"t have any."
I crossed my arms over my chest, partly from anger, partly because I was cold. I couldn"t even get a d.a.m.n cup of hot cocoa. "What are you drinking?"
"Green tea."
We were silent for one long moment as I debated whether or not I wanted to lower my standards to green tea. Definitely a no. I wasn"t in the mood for something that was good for me.
"Good night," I muttered and turned to leave. I was so not going to hang around and try to make conversation with Miss Dour Teen U.S.A. She could seriously be the poster child for teenage depression and I didn"t need anything else to worry about.
"You saw him?"
I froze. "Who?"
When she didn"t respond, I turned. I could barely see her face and of course I couldn"t read her thoughts. Surely she wasn"t talking about Maddox.
"That man, the S.P.I. man," she said.
Shocked, it took a moment for me to answer. "Maybe," I mumbled, wondering if she was tricking me into admitting something I wasn"t supposed to speak about. I wouldn"t put it past her.
She straightened, her body stiff, as if somehow I"d annoyed her. "Oh please, like its some big secret, like I can"t know."
I flushed. That"s exactly what I"d been thinking, but I wasn"t going to admit it to her. Did she know? Could she tell me anything? "I didn"t mean...just forget it." Having had enough, I started toward the door again, only to pause, realizing she might actually know more than me. "Is...is he okay?"
"Who?"
I turned toward her. Was she intentionally being obtuse? "Maddox, the man downstairs. Is he okay?" I felt like I was in freaking Alice in Wonderland and having a chat with the Mad Hatter.
She shrugged and dumped her tea into the sink. "Wanna check?"
Trepidation fought with excitement, a tingling thrill that coursed through my body. "What? How?"
"Uh, you go into the room." Sarcasm dripped from her tone and I could just imagine the look she was giving me. She was such an obnoxious brat, unfortunately if I wanted to sleep, I didn"t have a choice but to go along with her. That didn"t mean I trusted her. Was she setting me up for a fall? I"d deal with the consequences later, I had to know if Maddox was alive.
"You have the code?" I tried not to sound eager.
She shrugged, making her way toward me. "Sure." I read the arrogance in her voice, as if she was saying don"t you? She paused near the window, the moonlight highlighting her round face. "Well? Do you want to go see him or not?"
She was daring me. In most instances I would have walked out the door and ignored her taunting. The problem was, I needed to know how Maddox was doing. "Will we get in trouble?"
"If we get caught."
I had to trust her if I wanted to see Maddox. But trusting Olivia was impossible. h.e.l.l, trusting anyone in this house was becoming rather like jumping off a twenty story building in hopes that you"d suddenly grow wings; not a good idea. Still, my curiosity got the better of me. I could peek, just look in the door, make sure I hadn"t killed the agent and then maybe I"d be able to sleep tonight.
"Okay, let"s go," I rushed the words, worried I"d change my mind.
She didn"t hesitate, the bad a.s.s that she was, and started down the hall. I followed more cautiously, my wide gaze darting from shadow to shadow, waiting for the moment we"d be caught. And let"s face it, this was like a horror movie, so we would be caught. When she pulled open that bas.e.m.e.nt door, I was finally able to breathe with some normalcy.
At the keypad, I watched as she typed the numbers. "Ten," she glanced over my shoulder. "Twenty-five and thirty-six."
Olivia was being helpful, way too helpful. Still, I committed the numbers to memory. I wasn"t about to ask her for help if I decided to come down here again. Not that I would come down here again...
"Better block your thoughts, just in case. We never know what they"re truly capable of."
s.h.i.t, I hadn"t been blocking my thoughts? Heat shot to my face as I frantically tried to remember what she"d overhead, and at the same time I tried to put up that wall. The door popped open. The dim light bulb glowed harshly from the ceiling, providing the agent with no darkness to sleep. Maddox lay on his cot, facing the door. He looked huge on that tiny bed. So large, that for a moment I froze in fear.
His eyes were open as if he"d been waiting for me, and that glare was still in place. I swore he could drill a hole through my skull just by staring. I swallowed hard, my attention jumping to the handcuffs wrapped around his wrists and attached to an iron bar on the wall. To say I was relieved would be an understatement.
Olivia stepped closer to me. "I figure you have about five minutes before Aaron realizes we"re down here. If you"re caught, you better make sure you don"t rat me out." With that said, she stepped back into the hall. I could hear the thump, thump, thump of her feet as she raced up the steps. She might have let me in, but she sure as h.e.l.l wasn"t going to watch my back. Not that I blamed her for hightailing it out of there. I was about ready to run myself.
"I...I wanted to make sure you were okay," I managed to get out.
He didn"t respond even though the gag was gone.
"I didn"t mean to hurt you."
Slowly, he sat upright, the cot creaking a protest. I had to resist the urge to step back and slam that door shut. I could return to bed, pretend like I"d never seen him. So why wasn"t I leaving? Why weren"t my feet moving?
Because there was something about his eyes that held me captive. He was big with broad shoulders and dark hair. That scruff along his jaw was turning into a beard which made him look older than what he was. Dark and mysterious...dangerous. I suppose I would have thought he was gorgeous if I wasn"t so afraid he was going to murder me.
I took a big step backwards. "Well then, guess I"ll...go."
I waited for him to protest, to beg me to help him. He didn"t say anything, merely sat there glaring at me. In fact, he didn"t think anything. I paused, realizing his silence was more important than I"d realized. "I can"t read your thoughts," I blurted.
He swallowed hard, his throat working. "They taught us to block them with meditation." His voce was deep, but rich, like honey. "The chip in my brain was for backup."
I was so surprised by the sound of his voice that the importance of his response was lost on me for the moment. I shook my head, trying to regain control. "And...can you read my thoughts?"
He didn"t respond, just glowered at me. Worried we were running out of time, I glanced back. The bas.e.m.e.nt was dark, the house still silent. I met his gaze. "Please, I need to know."
"I can"t read your thoughts," he snapped. "Only your kind can."
"My kind?" I released a harsh laugh. "You say that like we"re freaks or...inhuman."
He shrugged, smirking.
I had the feeling he was trying to hurt me. It worked. I guess he hadn"t forgiven me for breaking into his mind. Well, screw him. "You know what, I"m not the enemy here."
He laughed and jerked on the handcuffs, his muscles bunching under the white dress shirt. "Oh really? You"re not the one who broke into my thoughts? How"d I bust my brain open then?"
I ignored his harsh words and the guilt. It wasn"t my fault; he deserved what he got. At least, that"s what I tried to tell myself. "I had help, if you remember."
He surged to his feet, tall, intimidating. He might have only been a few years older, but he was twice my size. I refused to move back anymore than I already had.
"You think they were helping?" He laughed, a deep chuckle that seemed to vibrate through my very body. "You were doing the work, Sweetheart."
Flabbergasted, I wasn"t sure how to respond. "I wasn"t... they needed my extra ability so they..."
He started laughing again, great big laughs that would surely wake someone up.
"Shhh!" I hissed.
He merely rolled his shoulders as if to ease the ache of being tied up. "You were doing the work, believe me. It was all coming from you."
I crossed my arms over my chest, my body trembling. "You"re lying." So why did I suddenly feel sick? No, Lewis would have told me. I hadn"t been the only person responsible for making Maddox bleed. "I don"t believe you."
He shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. "I don"t really give a c.r.a.p. What I care about is the fact that I"ve had a d.a.m.n headache ever since you broke into my thoughts, so thanks for that."
I shook my head, feeling cold, close to panicking. "We...I....had to. You"ll kill us."
He lifted a dark brow and settled on the edge of the cot. The bed creaked and groaned under his weight. Even sitting he seemed huge. "Kill? What the h.e.l.l kind of nonsense has he been feeding you?"
I frowned, confused when I shouldn"t be. He was trying to twist the facts. But I knew the truth and the truth was he was partially responsible for the death of my father. "Your little group killed my father."
He was silent for a moment, but I could read nothing in his hard gaze. "Is that so?"
I didn"t respond. What was the point? He"d never admit the truth. "I have to go." I started toward the door again, intent on leaving. I wouldn"t listen to anymore of his lies. I wouldn"t let him sway me, even for a minute.
"Ask them about George Miller."
I froze, my heart slamming wildly in my chest. "What do you mean?"
"You think it was a coincidence? You don"t think it odd that the man shows up in your small town? No one knows him. You don"t think it weird that he starts dating one of your best friends and because of him, you finally start using your abilities?"
My blood had run cold, fear giving way to anger. "What I find weird," I spun around to face him, "Is that you know the details of my life."
He just smirked. Was he playing with my mind? No way George was a fraud, or planted by Aaron merely to get me to use my powers. No. It was too sick to even think about. I turned and started for the door. He might not tell me about George, the psycho murderer, but Lewis would.
"Wait," he demanded.
There was something to his voice, an anxiousness that made me pause.
"I want to show you something."
As my Grandma used to say, too curious for my own good, I glanced over my shoulder.
He reached for his sleeve and rolled the dirty material, the handcuff rattling with the movement. His forearm was just as muscled as the rest of him. But his muscles were suddenly the least of my worries. He flipped his arm over and I saw it...there on the underside of his forearm...a tattoo of an animal...a bird with a lion"s body.
Unwillingly, I stepped closer. It was oddly familiar....so familiar, yet I couldn"t place it. "What is it?"
"The Griffin. A symbol of what we stand for."
For some reason I was finding it hard to breathe. I couldn"t look away from that tattoo. A picture that clawed at my memory, begging me to understand. "Why does it seem familiar?"
"Because your father had one just like it."
I jerked my gaze up to him. He was completely serious. "No, he..." But even as I thought the words, a memory flashed to mind, a memory I"d always a.s.sumed was some fantastical dream. Dad had taken me to the lake, intent on teaching me to swim. I think I was four, although not positive. He"d told me not to be afraid, that he"d keep me safe, he"d always keep me safe. Was it real? Had he truly visited me?
Tears burned my eyes, I shook my head. "S.P.I. betrayed him-"
"No, we didn"t." His hard gaze flashed with anger and something that looked suspiciously like compa.s.sion. Dare I believe him? But if he was telling the truth, what did this mean?
"I don"t believe you."
He held his arms as wide as the handcuffs would allow. "Why would I lie to you? I have no reason."
"You have every reason," Aaron spoke sharply from behind me. "Get away from him, Cameron."
Maddox"s gaze turned to steel. Before I could even blink, the agent surged from the cot, latched onto my arm and jerked me back, directly into his hard chest. A muscled forearm wrapped around my throat with enough pressure that it brought tears to my eyes.
"Leave her alone," Aaron said softly, as if he was in total control.
Maddox chuckled, his breath warm on the top of my head. "You know I could so easily kill her."
"And then what?" Aaron asked, holding his arms wide, a look of bewildered amus.e.m.e.nt on his face. "I"ll kill you? What"s the point?"
"At least you won"t have her ability to add your little collection."
Even through the pain and confusion, his words bothered me. Add to his collection? As if we were priceless dolls. Maddox"s arm tightened. Air couldn"t get down my throat. I squeezed my eyes closed as blackness taunted.
"She"s just a girl!" Aaron snapped.
"And I was only eighteen the first time you and your little friends captured me."
They knew each other? I barely had time to consider that comment before Maddox"s arm tightened, crushing my throat. Light faded, the world spun.
"So what?" Aaron hissed. "You"re going to kill her? Then do it." His tone was stern. He was totally serious. I was going to die, here in this dungeon. I"d been worried I"d killed Maddox, instead he"d kill me.
Then, just as suddenly as he"d grabbed me, Maddox relaxed his hold. My body quivered as glorious air seeped into my lungs. Maddox shoved me away. Off balance and practically unconscious, I stumbled. Aaron was there, reaching for me, but I didn"t want him to touch me. I didn"t want anyone to touch me. I evaded his grasp and spun around, falling back against the wall.
"Cameron," Aaron called to me.
I shook my head. I had to get away. Away from them. Away from this dungeon. Not looking at either man, I turned and raced through the door. Aaron would have let Maddox kill me. Maddox wasn"t on my side. I couldn"t trust anyone. I stumbled up the steps, clinging to the railing for balance. I"d been so stupid to think I could deal with this, that I could submerge myself into this lifestyle.
"Cameron?"
Lewis was there at the top of the stairs. Olivia had told him, or maybe he"d read my thoughts. It didn"t matter, all that mattered was he was there. I didn"t pause, but slammed into his hard body.
He caught me, holding me tight against his bare chest. Vaguely I was aware that he wore only cargo shorts, apparently having come from bed. He smelled warm, and wonderful and comforting.
"What"s going on?" he demanded.
"Nothing," I sniffed, cursing the tears that were forming in my eyes. I didn"t want him to see me cry, but I didn"t want to leave him either. "Everything." The numbness in my body was fading fast and my throat ached.
I felt his body stiffen right before he cupped my shoulders and stepped back. Instead of compa.s.sion, he looked furious. "d.a.m.n it, you went and saw that agent, didn"t you?"
Shock gave way to fury. Immediately I threw up my mind wall. "Don"t read my thoughts!"