Reality Hero (23 page)

The men handled her roughly as they fought to get her into a box. She was able to move again, and she struggled. Ella focused, ready to turn into vapor, when one of them grabbed her by the hand. She couldn’t use her power. She glanced at the man holding her hand. He wasn’t wearing a uniform, and she could tell he wasn’t a scientist. There was something—different—about him. She felt kindred to him. This man had an ability that was blocking hers. When he’d touched her, he’d gotten inside of her somehow. She shrugged off his hand, but he was still there—inside. The scientists had done this to him, she was sure of it. Shuddering at the thought, she gazed into the man’s face. She bit her lip. “
Please don’t help them. How can you do this to one of your own? Let me go.
” She pushed the thought at him and he flinched, but didn’t relinquish his power over her transformation.

Ella thought she saw regret before his eyes became cold. He was breathtaking. If he weren’t delivering her to the Grim Reaper, she would have declared him the most perfect specimen of a man on the planet. Her captor was tall, and his polo shirt clung to his lean muscle. Hazel eyes looked down at her, a mixture of color. He had beautiful eyes. Fascinated, she looked into his face. His long, tar black hair was tied at the nape of his neck. It fit him perfectly. She could feel the strength of his ability, and it amazed her. He was strong. He watched the solider pushing her into the box. Whimpering, Ella felt panic rising. It was dark, small, and brought back a lot of bad memories. She screamed as they closed her into the terrible little tomb. The last things she saw were his sad, hazel eyes.

Terror made her lose control. She thought of her sister and Zane and used those thoughts to anchor herself. Somehow, she felt as if she could reach out to them. She tried to reach them. She felt as if Dina was dead, and it made her panic. She couldn’t sense anything about her. Her mind shut down. Was she asleep, unconscious, or dead? It was a question she feared having answered.

Ella curled up in a protective, defensive position. The darkness was cold, and her terror left her hypersensitive to every moment of her captivity. She lost all sense of time. The van was moving, but the darkness was what bothered her. Cold darkness always got under her skin, making her feel like a terrified child.

In the dungeon, they’d often used such methods of sensory deprivation in their warped experiments with her. But she was an adult now, and they’d not find her so easy to control this time. Cringing, she heard something scrape against the box. She lay silently, curling tighter into a ball, and letting the terror wash over her in waves. There was no escaping the fear, or them.

“
Please help me.
” Her mind reached out to Hazel Eyes.

“
You’re dangerous. I can’t help you.
”

She flinched. He’d responded telepathically. She was stuck at a cross between awe and anger. “
I’m not the one forcing people to become lab rats. I’d say that makes you more dangerous than I am.
”

She felt his sorrow, and his amusement. “
These people can help you. They’re looking for a cure. They’ll fix you.
”

“
News flash—these are the same kind of mad scientists who did this to me.
”

“
You weren’t born with abilities?
”

“
Were you?
” The idea that someone might be born with abilities had never really occurred to her. She’d teased her sister about not wanting to have Zane’s mutant babies, but she’d never honestly believed a child could be born with powers.

“
Yes, I was, and I’m going to get rid of them.
”

“
I don’t know what they’ve told you, but they want to make more people like us. They called this evolution. I don’t believe a person can un-evolve. I’m sorry, but I believe you’re stuck with them—just like me. Don’t let these monsters hurt me. My death will be on your hands.
”

“
They aren’t going to kill you.
”

“
They’ll cut me apart, piece by piece, I doubt I’ll survive that. Please let me out.
”

“
You’re trying to manipulate me. How is it we can communicate this way? I thought I was the only one who could get into people’s heads.
”

She’d never really thought about what she was doing until he put it to her like that. She was in his head. Ella hoped she could figure out how he was controlling her. If she could find out how he was doing it, she could stop him.

“
If you were born with abilities why do you want to get rid of them?
”

“
Tell me how you got yours first.
”

She didn’t like going first, but she decided she didn’t have a lot of options. If she could make Hazel Eyes her ally, she had a chance.

“
Men tortured me after filling me with chemicals. They changed me against my will. I was just a kid. Your turn.
”

“
When my mom was in college she agreed to do some drug trials in exchange for money. She became pregnant a few months into the test, but didn’t realize it right away. When I was born I was different. Whatever they gave her weakened her. She died of cancer when I was a teenager. She was sure the cancer, and my abilities, came from the drugs.
”

“
I’m sorry about your mother. I’m sorry you were born this way. I didn’t ask for it either, but I’m not evil. I’m not dangerous. I use my abilities to help people. You could too. You aren’t alone, there are more of us.
”

She didn’t know how much he knew. She hated exposing Zane and Bridget to added danger, but she needed Hazel Eyes on her side. She couldn’t imagine living her life with powers and no one to understand how it felt.

“
Were any of you born with abilities?
”

“
No. I didn’t know it was possible.
”

“
Then I’m alone. The government has promised to cure me if I help them contain you.
”

“
They don’t want a cure. They want super soldiers or something. When they don’t need you anymore they’ll kill you and see what they can use to make sure more people are born with powers. There could be kids walking around right now with powers because of these men. We need to fight them, not help them.
”

“
I’m helping myself.
”

It was as if he’d closed a mental door on her. He wasn’t going to help her. Ella lay in the darkness, feeling more alone than ever. She hadn’t been able to figure out how he was controlling her. The knowledge that someone could be born with abilities was interesting. She wondered if he’d told the scientists, and really hoped he hadn’t. They’d be manufacturing spiked prenatal vitamins ASAP…if they weren’t already. Ella shuddered at the thought.

Chapter 17

Zane felt weak. His whole body hurt. He’d never felt that kind of hurt before. After his transformation, he was strong and powerful. His injuries healed with unnatural speed, but not this time. Whatever forces Ian used to hold him drained that strength. As frustrating as it was, he had to let himself recharge or he’d be of no use to the twins.

The thought of losing either of them was entirely unacceptable. Frustrated with his weakness, he lay in the middle of his apartment on the floor, unable to sit up. His mind tripped over all the terrible possibilities of what was happening to the women at the maniac’s hands. Ian had been an unstable kid. What he’d evolved into as an adult was something far beyond unstable, and entered the realm of insane. Each second Zane lay useless was one more second Dina and Ella were in danger. It was out of his control. He needed to call Bridget. He’d need all the help he could get. He tried to stand, but he was so weak. Darkness sucked him down into the depths of unconsciousness.

When Zane woke up, the room was dim because the sun was setting. He felt much better, but not one hundred percent, and there was no time to waste. He’d been tracking the crimes Ian committed since the beginning. He always knew he’d be the one who’d have to stop him. Standing weakly, he wobbled over to the counter and grabbed the phone. There were a lot of messages, all of them were from Dina. His heart swelled. She loved him. When they’d been lying in the warehouse, Ella had told him about Dina’s revelation. Ella confessed her own love. He’d already known she had feelings for him, but he’d never see her as more than a friend—a sister.

He dialed the phone.

“Hello,” Bridget said sleepily.

Zane looked at the clock, it was already late evening.

“What day is it?” he asked harshly.

“Zane? Tuesday, why?”

“Fuck.” He’d lost two days. He tried not to panic. “Ian has Ella and Dina. He’s going to give Ella to the same kind of assholes who did this to us.”

There was a pause.

“Bridget? We have to hurry.”

“No, we don’t, Zane. You do. I have to protect my family. Don’t call me again.”

He flinched as he heard the line disconnect. Family? He looked down at the screen with confusion. His heart sank. He knew Bridget had been through a lot, but he couldn’t believe she was turning her back on them—not now. His thumb hovered above the button that would redial her, but he didn’t touch it. He ran his hand through his hair, then slapped the phone back on the counter. He went to his office, opened a drawer, and pulled out a map. He’d been keeping track of crimes he believed Ian responsible for committing. Each of the little red dots on the map indicated places where Ian had committed a crime, and the blue dots indicated sightings of him. Black dot indicated places where Zane knew that Ian had been in the past. He knew it was a long shot, but there was a thirty-mile area central to all the recent sightings and crimes that seemed to be devoid of him. It made sense he wouldn’t want to lead authorities or enemies home. It was as good of a starting point as he could think of. Zane wrote down the directions and found the closest point that he’d been to the location on the map. It was at least twenty miles from where he wanted to be.

A strange tingling awareness made the hair on the back of his neck and his arms rise. He swore that he could hear Ella calling his name. Closing his eyes, he listened with his special hearing—nothing. Irritated, he shrugged off the odd feeling.
Am I hallucinating because I want to find them so badly?

Zane closed his eyes and willed himself to his destination.

* * * *

When Dina woke up, she was lying on a king-sized bed in the middle of a lavish room. The room looked beautiful enough to rival the finest suites at the best hotel. Somehow, she doubted this was a hotel room. Sitting up, she looked over and saw a bottle of water and a meal on a nearby table. Steam rose off the food. It was obviously hot, and the bottle had beads of condensation, indicating it was cold. Someone expected her to be awake. She was afraid to eat and drink the offering.
He can knock me out with a wave. Why am I afraid of ruffies?
She slowly slid off the bed. Her stomach grumbled.

Looking around, she realized she needed to use the ladies’ room. She saw the open door leading to a lavish bathroom. Stumbling toward the door, she saw a hot bath drawn in the gigantic garden tub. There were large, fluffy towels waiting, and soap and shampoo sat near them. A cashmere robe and slippers sat on an embroidered chair, along with some very skimpy sleepwear. Shuddering, she realized everything was perfectly her size, and the soap and shampoo were her preferred brands.
How closely has he been watching me?
It gave her the creeps. She decided to forego the bath, wondering how many cameras were watching her. She used the toilet, and then washed her face and hands in the sink. She saw a toothbrush, along with her favorite toothpaste and decided to wash the sticky taste of sleep out of her mouth. The small acts refreshed her quite a bit.

Going back out into the main room, she could see the sun setting from the barred and frosted windows. Yes, it was a pretty prison, but definitely a prison. Sitting down at the table, she took a bite out of the waiting food. Delicious. She hoped one of Ian’s spandex-covered devotees didn’t cook it. If they did, they probably spit in it. Dina lost her appetite. Setting the fork down, she took the water bottle and drained it.

Standing, she walked around the room, exploring the small domain. She opened a door. It led to an enormous walk-in closet. The closet was bigger than her bedroom in her apartment. It held more clothing than she’d ever owned. It was all new and in her size, although definitely not her style. Everything was far too reveling and girlish for her taste. Dina lost count of the number of garments. It was becoming horrifyingly clear that Ian expected her to be staying awhile.
Did he put all of this together while I was sleeping? How the hell long was I out?
She rubbed her aching forehead. The unnatural sleep didn’t leave her feeling rested.

She saw dozens of shoes and even a jewelry box with some very tasteful, expensive-looking pieces. He wanted her to be his pet, kept in a lavishly appointed cage. Dina was a strong woman who’d always taken care of herself. She didn’t want to be his pet or prisoner. Feeling dirty in her damaged, bloody clothing, she wished that she could take a bath and change her clothes. But to allow herself to partake in anything he’d left for her would feel too much like giving in.

She noticed the ache in her side and went to the large mirror in the corner of the well-lit closet. She pulled up the edge of her shirt and gasped as she saw the dark binding that held her skin in place. Someone had stitched up the damage caused by the broken glass. She didn’t feel as if she’d been violated, but it didn’t stop the nagging concern from troubling her. She went back out to the bedroom, unable to look at the creepy closet for another second. She went to the main door and tugged. Just as she’d feared, it didn’t budge. Slapping the door loudly, Dina began to scream for Ian. Someone had to be listening, guarding. She was sure Ian would hear of her temper soon.

An unseen force suddenly pushed her away from the door. Dina landed on her injured side. She moaned as blood seeped out of the stitches. Groaning, she tried to sit up. Ian was in the room quickly, helping her to her feet. She shrugged away from his touch. He took the hint and backed away.