Mindsiege (24 page)

“Ty or the IIA was controlling his mind. I was forced to heal Sandra.”

“Exactly. Jonas began acting like he knew what was best for you. I was insanely jealous at first. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what he wanted.”

“Wait a minute. Are you saying that you no longer trust Jonas?”

Jack looked away from me. “Not exactly. I just don’t know. I’m wondering if we can afford to trust him if we’re not sure.”

“But how do you know he can’t hear everything we’re saying right now?”

“Ty. He made a huge mistake when he told us I was your shield. Now Jonas is being more careful and less obvious with how he invades your mind.”

“You’re wondering if Jonas has truly been deserted by Sandra and the IIA.” I said the thing I’d been thinking ever since I’d healed Sandra and she’d fled the facility.

“Exactly. So, I’ve been watching. And today—”

“Maybe that bullet was meant for Jonas.” Jack’s expression remained unchanged as I said out loud exactly what he was thinking. “Just maybe… whoever controlled Dani’s mind ordered her to shoot Jonas, not me. And that person knew the bullet would not kill or even hurt Jonas badly.” Maybe it was even Jonas who was inside Dani’s head. He had proven he could get in and out without the host body knowing.

“I think he knows I’m starting to not trust him. I also think he staged saving your life in order to win it back.”

I stared out across campus again, mentally exhausted from wondering who was manipulating my mind and who was my friend. “What do we do?” I asked. “I can’t ignore Sandra’s demands to give myself over to her by tomorrow, and I’ll need Jonas to get me inside.”

So, we get closer to Jonas. He won’t be able to hide his true intentions forever.

~~~~~

Jack held my hand, rubbing his thumb over my skin. We walked along the sidewalk behind the bombed classroom building. I was amazed by how well Dean Fisher and President Wellington had kept knowledge of the incident covered up. Had this been a public school, Wellington would’ve been a media circus.

Eventually, Jack would have to let me go, therefore breaking his protective shield. We couldn’t spend the rest of our lives joined in some way, as nice as the prospect of him touching me forever sounded now. But we had to push forward with our plan to get Addison back and rid both Addison and Dani of the trackers embedded at the bases of their brains.

We went over my part of the plan one last time.

“Your job is to learn more about the trackers. Who has them? How are they inserted? How are they manipulated? Who controls them?”

The more I thought about the plan, the more nauseated I became. Not to mention my goal of getting Jonas and everyone else out of my head.

“You cannot mindspeak to me once our plan is put into place. So when I let go of you outside the next building, you’re on your own until we meet up later tonight. Do you understand?”

I cocked my head. “Of course I understand. I can’t mindspeak to you if I have any hope of learning what I need to from Jonas without him getting suspicious. Like I told Seth, since I can’t escape this crazy, stupid situation, I want to know everything. Maybe then we’ll find a way out.”

Jack stopped and turned to me. He pulled me close and whispered, “I hope so.” He brushed his hand down the length of my cheek, then leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. After two light touches with his lips, he pressed harder, deepening the kiss and taking my breath with it.

I pulled away first, swallowing hard. My heart constricted, but I had to ignore the ache for now. “You haven’t told me your part of the plan.”

His lips tugged downward. “I can’t. We can’t risk Jonas reading your mind once the shield is broken, and learning what I’m up to. But I will tell you that part of my job is to find out why my mom is keeping Father’s whereabouts a big secret.”

Jack was scared I would blow the entire plan, and for good reason. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Addison or Danielle—or anyone—because of my vulnerable mind. “When will I see you again?”

He rubbed his thumb across my lips, my cheek. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Anything to keep touching me. “You’ll see me soon. I promise. Try not to anticipate that moment though. The plan will work better, the less you know.” After one last kiss to my lips, Jack stared into my eyes.
Promise me you won’t take any unnecessary risks. You’ll call out to me if your life is in danger in any way. I will come immediately.

I lifted his hand and brushed my lips across his knuckles.
You know I can’t promise that.

He countered with a lingering kiss to my forehead.
I love you for your courage and your honesty.

I love you for seeing things in me that aren’t there.
I gave him a weak smile.

Then, he let go.

Chapter Twenty-Five

I found Jonas at the gym where Wellington’s boxing and wrestling teams worked out. I was pretty sure no one from those teams remained on campus. Regardless, we were alone.

He worked the speed bag as I approached. The room reeked of leather and sweat. I searched my mind, and didn’t see his small presence there at first, but remembered that Jack had said Jonas was always there. I examined the darker corners. That’s where I found him hanging out, practically dormant. I tried to watch how the small specks representing Jonas’s invasion into my mind reacted when I spoke.
Hey, Jonas.

The specks came alive as if just awoken. Jonas reached up and stopped the bag with both hands. “Where’ve you been?” he asked, keeping his back to me.

“Checking on Dani. Seeing if she got as much pleasure out of shooting you as I would have.” I forced a smile.

He turned in time to see the smile. “I definitely expected more of a thank-you for taking a bullet for you.”

I cocked my head. “
Did
you take a bullet for me?”

A smirk spread across Jonas’s face. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe you only thought she was going to aim at me? I’ve been wondering if Dani was actually aiming at you. Maybe she hit her target.”

“Why would Dani be firing at me?” he asked.

“Why would she want to shoot me?” I countered, then continued. “Let’s back up. Let’s say that someone from the IIA was sending me a message through Dani. And the message was giving me less than twenty-four hours to turn myself over to the IIA. If that were the case, why would the IIA then shoot me?”

Jonas’s grin grew. “Hmmm. Well thought out. But you forget one thing. The rubber bullets most likely would not have hit you in a body part that would have seriously hurt you, let alone kill you. What if the IIA wanted you to feel pain? What if they wanted you to know they were serious about making your beloved best friend do something she’d rather die than do? And of course, they knew your boyfriend would heal you anyway.”

He was right. Dani said so herself. She’d rather die than hurt me. And I felt the same way.

“Also good points.” I walked around him and punched the speed bag while avoiding eye contact. I could barely reach the bag at the height it was set, but it was something to hit. I needed Jonas if I had any hope of saving Dani. I turned back to him. He was closer than I expected. My breath caught. Searching his eyes, I wondered if it was truly lack of trust that made me nervous around him, or something else entirely. My eyes slammed shut. When I reopened them, he remained inches from me. Willing my pulse to slow, I asked, “What do you think I should do?”

“About?”

He smelled of a hard workout mixed with the hint of deodorant. Moisture seeped through his gray T-shirt. “Should I turn myself over to the IIA? Would that save Dani?”

Jonas’s grin disappeared. “Are you asking if I think the IIA would leave Dani alone and not use the tracker inside her head? Not try to remotely control her again? I can’t answer that.” He reached up and stopped the speed bag I had set in motion. He looked everywhere but at me. “As far as turning yourself over to the IIA… I don’t know, Lexi.” He sighed while wiping his forehead on the sleeve of his shirt.

I roamed around the gym. I tried out the large punching bag with a side kick, all the while keeping thoughts of Jack out of my mind. I would have to turn myself over to the IIA—to Sandra. That was the only way. For both Dani’s and Addison’s survival. I threw a punch and another kick.

“Very nice. You up for a workout? Maybe we can work on concentration techniques while practicing some self-defense.”

I shrugged. “Okay.” I massaged my chest where panic slowly swelled in my heart. I had to keep my thoughts in line. The last time I tried this, Jonas took over my mind, and Jack put me on my back. I had to focus on learning everything I could about the trackers, while keeping a constant lookout for signs of Jonas and Ty. Somehow I had to convince Jonas to take me back inside The Farm.

We began with a regular kickboxing workout. Instead of punching and kicking air, Jonas wore thick gloves. I kicked and punched his hands, taking out pent-up frustration on innocent pieces of padded leather.

Eventually, our workout morphed into Jonas showing me what to do if someone grabbed me from behind. He also reminded me of the various vulnerable parts of the body. My hands and feet, and other parts of my body, became weapons.

As we worked, I practiced erecting walls and barriers around my thoughts. I attempted techniques Jack taught me for keeping him out of my head. I had used all of these techniques before, though. And they hadn’t worked with Jonas.

“You’re going about this all wrong, you know,” he said, sliding the padded gloves back on.

I aimed a side kick into Jonas’s left hand. He grabbed my leg and twisted. I went down hard.

He let go immediately, and I sprung back to my feet ready for a fight. “Why did you do that?” I wanted to kick him again, this time straight to the face.

“Because you were concentrating so hard on keeping me out, you stopped paying attention to the opponent in front of you.”

I used my forearm to push hair out of my face. “So, what am I doing wrong?”

“Remember earlier when you found me inside your head, and you squished me out? You imagined crushing me with your bare hands, and that’s exactly what you did with my invasion into your thoughts.”

“Okay, but that took work. I need to be able to keep you and others out at all times. Even when I’m physically busy with something else.”

“Right. And you’re fully capable of doing so. You’ve proven this. You just don’t know how to shut others out on command.”

“And you do?”

“Of course I do.” He tilted his head side to side. “Well, except people controlled by the IIA. But I’m getting better at it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, the more I study your thoughts, Jack’s ability to shield you, and my power over you…”—he winked at the last part, sending an angry fire straight up my back and neck—“…I’m convinced that the tracker at the base of my skull has intensified my ability to control you. And that’s exactly what Sandra wanted. But it has also allowed Ty deeper into my mind.” He took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Until I figure out a way to remove the trackers and destroy Sandra’s path into our minds, we have to do our best to block access, or at least recognize when another invades, so we can choose not to follow.”

“The deeper Ty gets into your mind, the deeper you get into mine,” I said, mostly to myself. I leaned against a metal pole and massaged the bridge of my nose while processing what he was saying. I wasn’t sure who was responsible for manipulating my mind more: Sandra, Ty, or Jonas. “Why haven’t you shown me how to keep you out? You said you would.”

“Maybe because I like being inside your head and experiencing what you’re thinking and feeling.”

Maybe it’s because you still want to kill me.
This was exactly why Jack didn’t want me with Jonas. I was sometimes too honest.

Jonas laughed. Then his face softened, his eyes narrowed. “If you really believed I wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t be here. Besides, Jack might not trust me, but not because he thinks I might kill you.” Pulling the gloves off and tossing them aside, he stepped closer to me.

I held up a hand to stop him, and he pressed his chest into it. My heart leapt into my throat. My mouth went dry. I was not getting into this subject with him while he could read all of my thoughts. I couldn’t even admit to myself what I was thinking for fear Jonas might hear me. “You’re not going to teach me how to shut people out of my head, are you?”

“Why would you say that, Lexi?” Jonas frowned. His hand traveled up and covered my hand resting on his chest. “You still believe I’m trying to hurt you?”

“Maybe not harm me physically, but every time you… or Ty… force me to do something against my will, you hurt me. Every time you sneak in and around my head, you hurt me.” The muscles in Jonas’s face drooped. Maybe I had said too much. “I’m sorry, Jonas. Sandra expects me to surrender to her tomorrow. It would be nice to know how to block Ty and anyone else trying to get inside my head.”
And yes, that includes you.

Fifteen seconds passed. The amber specks in Jonas’s eyes reflected the overhead lights. Pulling my hand away, I shifted under his scrutiny.

He backed up and scrubbed both hands over his face and into his hair. When he finally looked at me again, I saw a vulnerability I’d never seen in him before. “Fine. Let’s get started.”

I was working with Mr. Multiple Personalities. I could barely keep up.

“To start with, instead of erecting walls the way you do to keep Jack out, you need to form pockets.”

“Pockets?”

“Yes. We all compartmentalize our thoughts and fears.” Jonas motioned me closer. He bent over and grabbed the training gloves, sliding them back on. “Imagine someone who has just lost someone close to them.”

Easy enough. I knew how that felt.

“Now, while this person might be grieving a terrible loss, they’re able to place that despair within a pocket inside their mind and heart. This is how they’re able to continue in their everyday life without being paralyzed by sadness.”