arbitrate (daynight) (37 page)

I cross my arms over my chest. “Which are?”

“Too many to list. Besides, all you need to know is that I have them. Don’t be stupid or let them be stupid.”

“I’ll do my best,” I respond. “I have a pressing issue though…” I grab Madison’s hand and pull her towards me. She doesn’t seem to recognize Jax and shyly looks at her feet. “Madison, I’d like you to meet my friend Jax Christo. Jax, this is Madison. She has been through a lot, and there are some people after her here in Art City. I rescued her from a brothel a couple hours ago—one that
Bailey
had her sent to when she got released from the hospital. If you want me to concentrate on doing my job here, I need you to do me a favor. Take her with you.”

Jax glances at Madison. He definitely knows who she is but doesn’t let it show. “Where would you like me to take her? My options are limited.”

“Back to your apartment? Kira could keep an eye on her for me until I return.”

He lowers his head and presses his thumb and middle finger to either side of his temple. I know it is a lot to ask, and I’m sure he’s furious that I did so in front of Madison. After a minute, he removes his hand and meets my gaze. “Okay. I’ll do it. I’m sure Kira would like the company. I’ve got to take off here shortly. You might want to prep her for what’s coming.”

How do I explain to Madison that I’m sending her into the heart of Military City to live with my ex-girlfriend and child? Or how Jax will take her there?

I turn to her and hold each of her hands in my own. “You and I both know you aren’t safe here. I’m going to have Jax take you somewhere you will be safe. You’ll stay with my friend, Kira Donovan.”

Madison reluctantly agrees to go. Before I know it, I’ve given her a hug goodbye and walked her into the hall where Jax can leave without causing a commotion.

When I return to the room to finish my discussion with the Exiler Board, I can’t believe what Doc has on display now.

There are more than a hundred explosive devices—the very ones I saw below the platforms.

Doc beams his yellowed teeth at me. “Did I mention Ollie’s an electrical genius?”

“If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”

—Lao Tzu
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Kira

Pain shoots through my neck, and my head throbs from strobing images of the bombing victims.
I straighten my neck and stretch my hands above my head. I’d fallen asleep on Jax’s shoulder while wading through paperwork in Victor Black’s office.

“Here, let me help you, love.” Jax gently repositions me, so that I’m sitting between his legs, and he digs into the tight muscles in my neck and shoulders. His hands are magic. It feels like heat and a mild vibration are emanating from his fingers. He’s like a human massage wand.

I instantly relax and sink back against him. “Aargh, Jax. That feels so good. How long was I asleep?”

“Not long enough. You’re exhausted.”

A loud and long grumble rolls through my tummy. “And starving.”

Ethan says, “I was just about to walk over to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. Care to join me?” I look over and see him staring at Jax’s fingers like he’s imagining breaking them off one by one.

What I want even more than food is a shower and change of clothes, but there’s no way I’m putting on one of the Clean Slate Complex uniforms. After watching the video of all those people burning in them, I’m convinced they bring bad luck. The SCI should have used red shirts to indicate those who are “disposable.” I’ll settle for a freshening up in the bathroom and a solid meal. “Sure. Just give me a couple minutes. Jax, want to join us?”

He looks over at Ethan who, from the look on his face, is mentally screaming, “Just say no,” and responds. “You guys go ahead. I’ll be here when you get back.”

In the bathroom, I smooth out my yellow dress and run a brush through my hair. I use the travel size toothbrush and toothpaste in my clutch, and I rub some lotion into my face and hands. It will have to do.

Ethan’s waiting for me, and we walk in silence to the cafeteria, which is already bustling with activity. Everywhere I look, I see the cursed, white Henleys and pressed jeans. The people all look so happy. And why wouldn’t they? They used to live in desperate circumstances and now have jobs, homes, food, and “everything they need” courtesy of the SCI. Would they think it was all worth it if they knew they were doomed to die and end up on Thera as subjects of the SCI’s political science experiments?
 

Ethan grabs us two boxed breakfasts, and we sit down side by side at a table for four.

I open my yogurt. He peels his banana. Ten. Twenty. Thirty seconds of uncomfortable silence. I drink some milk. He eats some cereal. Neither of us speaks or knows what to say. Sixty. Seventy. Eighty.

“So…he loves you.” The animosity in his voice sizzles through the stale air like lightning.

Did Jax ever tell me he loves me? No, not exactly. But he has
shown
me he loves me through his every action.
 

“I don’t want to talk about Jax.” Not with Ethan at least.
 

He bites his lip and nervously runs his index finger across the pad of his thumb. “And you love him. I can tell.” I miss the silence. Déjà vu. Didn’t Blake and I have a similar conversation about Ethan once? I frown.

“But you love me, too?”
 

I blink rapidly. Two worlds are falling apart, and he wants to have this conversation?

“Ethan…” I stare into his beautiful, sapphire eyes and will myself to come up with words to convey my feelings. Ethan is looking at me like he needs me to answer a question but is too afraid to ask.

He doesn’t wait for my thoughts to organize. Instead, he grabs the back of my neck and without asking, smashes his lips to mine. It’s as if I can feel his thoughts.

Desperation.

Greed.

Longing.

Jealousy.

Anger.

Fear.

“Get a room.” A man cackles as he walks by.
 

I break the strange, hard kiss, and I can’t help but compare it to the light kiss-that-wasn’t-a-kiss that Jax gave me. Ethan’s cheeks are red, but his facial expression is stone cold. I scrunch my nose. What is his deal? Why accuse me of loving Jax and then kiss me? I shake my head to try to get rid of the cobwebs that have infested my brain and attempt to make sense of him, of me, of my life. It was probably just another manifestation of Caveman Ethan.

“We should get back,” he says. I agree. I’ve met my awkward quota for the morning. He grabs our breakfast remnants, stuffs them into a nearby garbage can, and then charges on ahead, expecting me to follow him to Victor’s office.

Ethan scoffs when he sees that Jax is waiting with a change of clothes and a bag of toiletries from home. “You’ll feel better once you shower and change, love.” He knows that Ethan kissed me. Maybe that’s why he wants me to shower. Jax chuckles and kisses me on the forehead and whispers, “No judgment. When you know, you’ll know.”

Oh I know.

I quickly disappear to take a quick shower, leaving my hair to air-dry after. Jax brought me a comfortable, green jersey wrap dress that works with my brown boots. After dabbing on a little concealer to hide the circles under my eyes, a light coat of mascara, and some lip gloss, I return to help search for clues.

No one talks as we pour through the remaining files. Brad gets more and more agitated as the evidence mounts against the Blacks. It is unreal.
Too unreal
.
They’d have to be idiots to leave all of this for us to find.

I jump up and walk over to Victor’s desk where the case against him is spread out. “Can I?” I ask Brad.

“Sure, though I don’t know what you think you are going to find. It looks pretty open and shut.”

“It does appear to be.” I read through everything. On the one hand, Victor and Violet stole money. They used it to buy resort properties that they may or may not be at right now. On the other hand, they’re devout SCI loyalists who developed the Clean Slate Program from scratch and implemented it with precision.

Why did they use the acid?
The thought’s eating at me just like acid. What would they have to gain from the deaths and disfigurement of a bunch of SCI politicians and actors?

Disfigurement.
That’s what they were after
. What do politicians and actors rely on for their success? Their looks. Yes, they need skills and talent, but let’s face it…our society is nothing, if not vain. We want the people in the public eye to look good.

“It wasn’t Victor and Violet,” I blurt out.
 

Brad whips his head around. “What? Everything here shows it was them.”

“Politicians get elected based on their looks. Actors and actresses get parts based on their looks. The acid…it was used to
disfigure
them. Only someone who was decidedly anti-SCI would do that. The evidence shows that Victor and Violet were greedy, but there is
nothing
that shows that they did anything to subvert the SCI. Gads, they killed
thousands
to benefit the SCI. They supported Henry’s campaign at every turn. It can’t be them.”

I have everyone’s attention now. Brad pounds his fists on the desk and sends papers scattering. “Who then?”

“Alexa and Joshua. They set Victor and Violet up.” The words come out before I can filter them. I don’t say them with malice, but with an almost reverent respect and awe for pulling off the perfect crime. But when I look up and see Brad’s expression of glee and Ethan’s face of disgust, I want to stuff my words back in, squash them with a mallet, melt them in a bonfire.

It only takes seconds for Ethan to be in my face, spitting his words out. “How dare you? They were
kidnapped
. They were
injured.
Their
blood
was there—
lots
of blood. Alexa would
never
do anything like this.” He shakes my shoulders, and I have to grab the edge of the desk to stay steady. “You are just
jealous
of her. You want to
destroy
her. Will that make you feel better? Will that make you feel less guilty about what you have done?”

Jax rips Ethan away from me. “You keep your hands off her, understand? She has done nothing to deserve your ire.”

Ethan is pointing his finger at me, wagging it through the air. “I’m going to prove you wrong. You’ll see. They are
innocent,
and you will pay for dragging them into Violet and Victor’s filth. You have betrayed me for the last time. I
hate
you. You are not worthy of me or our child.” I can feel the tears filling my eyes. As I blink, drops escape one by one.

Brad steps between us, holding a hand out to keep Ethan at bay. “Gads, son. It’s just a theory. And it has merit. The acid…it never made any sense, but what Kira said makes sense. Regardless of whether Victor and Violet did this and kidnapped Joshua and Alexa or the other way around, we’ll need to find them to get our answers.” Brad would do anything to remove the stench that Victor and Violet have attached to the SCI and Henry’s pending presidency.
 

Despite what Ethan says, I think I’m right about Joshua and Alexa.
What if I’m wrong?
There’s a wide gap between hating the SCI and being willing to coldly and callously kill and maim them.
No… I think I’m right.
From what Jax has told me, the SCI killed Alexa’s parents and took her brothers away from her. And Joshua has been working with Jax, Ethan, and Blake to subvert Brad and the SCI. I’ve heard them talking. Joshua’s the weapons expert, the military strategist. He’s brilliant. If anyone could pull this off, he could. I keep my further opinions to myself, however. I’ve stirred up the beehive enough for one day.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, and Brad leans in. “I’m glad you insisted upon coming, Kira. I knew those Recruit tests didn’t lie. You’ve been invaluable.”

Great. I helped the enemy.
Quid pro quo would say he owes me one. I turn to him. He has answers I need. “What happened to all the babies, Brad? The ones implanted in my friends? Are they alive? Safe?”

He rubs his scruffy chin, and I can imagine the wheels spinning rapidly in his head. “I’d be more than happy to find out the answer to that for you, Kira. It’s the very least I can do. I’ll send word.”

“I’ll see you in
the evening,” I tell Jax as we arrive back at our Military City apartment round midday. I’m exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Later I’ll process. Right now, I’m just going to sleep.

He gives me a kiss on the forehead. “Sleep as long as you need. I’ll take care of the babies when they wake up.”

I take off my boots but otherwise climb into my bed fully clothed and succumb to sleep instantly.

When I wake up, I don’t bother to take a shower right away. I want to see Aiden, Evvie, and Zander, but I find their cribs empty. They aren’t in the playroom either, so I head out to the kitchen.

This is so not what I expected to find.

The Genitor is playing airplane with the babies—and not in the traditional sense either. My babies are flying through the air, squealing with delight. Jax is standing next to the boy, laughing, his hand on the boy’s shoulder. It’s uncanny how much the boy looks like Jax. Well, except the eyes. The boy’s eyes are something to behold with not only a variety of colors but insane depth.

The babies aren’t toys, you know.

“I won’t hurt them,” the boy speaks in my mind. “They’re having fun.”
I can see that.
He has Evvie fly over to me and hover by my face, so I can give her a kiss. Then he gently floats her down into her bouncy chair. He repeats this with Zander and Aiden.

What’s your name?
He doesn’t answer, but he and Jax shoot each other suspicious looks. “I shouldn’t say. Names wield tremendous power. Just call me B.”

“B” sits down at the kitchen table next to Jax who hands him a plate of chocolate chip pancakes with strawberry eyes, a whipped cream nose, and a bacon mouth. He holds the bacon up above his mouth like a mustache and Jax chuckles.