The Storm That Is Sterling (9 page)

A few more screens and he wanted to shout from relief. Becca was alive and on the move. He punched in a code to shut down the security cameras and then snatched his weapons. A search of the lab for ICE followed and came up dry. Cursing, he headed after Becca and vowed to find a dealer and the ICE that Becca needed in the city.

Her path ended at an underground ventilation tunnel he knew would lead to deserted terrain near a highway. Obviously, she’d put her brains to work to figure that out or taken a calculated risk.

He pulled open the steel door to the tunnel and climbed inside, resealing it behind him. He didn’t dare call out for fear of being heard, but the farther he traveled with no sign of Becca, the more worried he became. When he reached the end of the tunnel, he went topside to discover that Becca was nowhere in sight. He’d lost her again, and she was running on borrowed time. He had no idea if she had a supply of ICE, and he didn’t have the serum.

***

Once the sprinklers were off and the security feed was analyzed, Adam entered the lab with Dorian by his side. He grimaced with disgust at the sight of his second-in-charge knocked out on the floor—the worthless piece of shit. Half the men who’d taken a nap, compliments of Rebecca Burns, were already awake, but Tad lay there sleeping in a puddle of water. He kicked Tad.

“Get up, you moron. Get up now!”

Tad jerked to a sitting position, a stunned look on his face. “Holy crap. What the fuck happened?” He jumped to his feet and glanced around to see the scientists on the floor as he had been. “Where’s—”

“You tell me!” Adam demanded furiously. “She and Sterling are both gone. How is it that your prisoner dropped all of you flat on your asses without lifting a hand, and now she’s missing and the cameras are out? How does that happen with my second-in-charge here?
And
you idiot, she used
your
badge to get out of the lab.” Adam motioned to Dorian and then the rest of the men. “Wake them all up.”

Dorian quickly began kicking the other men with the force of an angry elephant. Despite his irritation, Adam found himself amused at the display.

The doors to the lab opened, and the lead scientist for the ICE program rushed into the room, his lab coat neatly buttoned, his glasses sliding down his nose. Adam had expected the world when he recruited the brilliant Chinese scientist from under General Powell’s nose, and he’d been given ICE in all its failing glory. Chin was wearing on his nerves and outstaying his welcome, if he wasn’t careful.

“I just finished watching the camera feed,” Dr. Chin said. “The woman levitated items in the lab and caused the men to pass out. It’s remarkable, like nothing we’ve seen before.”

Adam ground his teeth, barely containing the urge to snap the man’s neck. “Yet another side effect of ICE we should have known about.”

Chin pressed his glasses up his nose. “Thousands of people have used ICE, and no one else has developed anything remotely similar to the skills this woman has demonstrated. Perhaps ICE reacted to her recent cancer treatments. I need the woman and her records from the Germany hospital to be certain.” He held up a hand. “I make no promises, but if my theory proves correct, we could combine ICE with the treatments and recreate her skills in your men. But we must locate her quickly before ICE withdrawal kills her. The camera footage showed her taking a small supply, not more than a few days at most.”

Adam wanted no part of giving anyone the kind of power this woman had, unless it was him and him alone. He eyed Tad. “Find her, and you kill her. Bring her body to Chin to study.”

“I need her alive,” Chin argued.

“I want her dead,” Adam said. “
Now
, before she can be used as a weapon against us, which means before Sterling manages to get her to Sunrise City and under my brother’s protection.”

He cut the three dripping wet scientists a look. “You have all failed me, and that comes with a price.” His attention flicked to Tad. “Kill her, and you will be forgiven. Fail… and you will suffer worse than all three of them together.”

***

Becca reached the highway and stripped her jacket off, hiding the gun in its folds. Waving her hands, she raced in front of an oncoming truck and prayed the driver stopped. Her heart racing as he got closer and closer, a huge sigh escaped her lips as the semi came to a screeching halt inches from hitting her.

Shaking, Becca ran toward the passenger’s door, which popped open, only to have the ICE vials in her jacket crash to the ground. No! No! She bent down and tried to recover them, but they were gone. Her lifeline was gone.

“You comin’, lady?” the trucker asked.

“Yes,” she said. She had no other option. She couldn’t go back; she could only go forward and pray she could find a stock of ICE on the streets. Either way, there was a good chance she would die, but she’d be damned if she was doing it before she stopped Adam from hurting anyone else.

Becca climbed inside the truck and started rambling about a made-up, crazy boyfriend who’d left her on the side of the road, when all she could think about was her supply of ICE being lost.
The
ICE
was
gone
. Sterling was gone. He’d deceived her, she reminded herself. He wasn’t what he’d seemed. He was never her friend, never her lover, and thank goodness for it. But as her gaze settled on the road, and she was traveling farther and farther away from him, she found herself replaying every moment with him, questioning his true agenda. No matter how she justified leaving him behind, no matter how she told herself she had taken her one chance to leave Zodius City alive and warn the world about Adam, leaving without Sterling hurt.

After a good three hours of searching the Area 51 desert terrain for Becca with no luck, Sterling wind-walked to the Nevada mountains and the underground headquarters for the Renegades. He entered Sunrise City with murder on his mind—Damion’s to be precise. He charged through the facility, and with a few inquiries, went straight for his target in the “war room,” the Renegades operation center.

Kicking the door open, he found Damion sitting at the conference table with Caleb and Michael on either side of him, along with four other high-ranking Renegades. One look in Sterling’s direction and the room seemed to get the message. No one dared any “welcome homes,” and Caleb motioned for them all to leave. Everyone stood and quickly complied, except Michael, who considered himself Caleb’s personal bodyguard, which was fine with Sterling. He and Michael had their personal battles, but they were friends at the core. Michael and Caleb were about the only two people he would trust if his life depended on it right now. There was a time not so long ago, when Damion would have been included on that short list.

Sterling stepped out of the doorway to let the four other men pass, as he waited for Damion, adrenaline rushing through his limbs in anticipation of his approach. The instant Damion was within reach Sterling grabbed him and flung him onto the conference table.

Michael arched a dark brow as Damion slid to a halt between him and Caleb. “Bad mood, Sterling?”

“Bad mood doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Sterling said, already stalking toward the table.

“What the fuck, man?” Damion demanded, starting to get up.

Sterling jumped on the table and was on top of Damion in a flash, grabbing a handful of his shirt again. Pumped up on anger and fear for Becca, Sterling had Damion against the wall in another blink.

“You fake, Mr. All-American, do everything by the book, piece-of-shit traitor, with your GI Joe haircut and morals of steel,” Sterling ground out. “You gave her up. You gave
me
up.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Damion demanded.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know,” Sterling warned. “Because that’s only going to piss me off more, and you don’t want to do that right now.”

“Wow,” Caleb said, pressing them apart with an assist from Michael. “What’s this about?”

“Damion handed Rebecca Burns over to Tad Bensen. That’s what the fuck this is about.”

Damion glared at Sterling. “
You
handed that woman over, not me.”

Sterling lunged at Damion. “You lying sack of shit.”

Michael cursed and shoved Sterling to the table, blocking his view of Damion. “Take a breath, man. Let’s figure this out.”

“He’s Zodius,” Sterling seethed, enunciating every word tightly. “And you know me well enough to know I wouldn’t make such an accusation if I wasn’t
dead
certain.”

Michael narrowed his gaze before he stepped aside to glance at Caleb, but not without maintaining a handful of Sterling’s shirt for good measure. Sonofabitch. Sterling was going to kick Michael’s ass, too, if he didn’t let him go.

“This is insane,” Damion mumbled furiously, talking to Caleb, who had his hand pressed to his shoulder, holding him immobile. “He’s crazy. He was hurt and delirious, and I’m not taking the fall for his stupid, daredevil mistakes that got that woman killed.” He glared at Sterling. “Stop trying to prove you’re as GTECH as the rest of us before you get someone
else
killed.”

Fury exploded in Sterling at the reference to Sterling’s limited wind-walking ability and a few other shortfalls that only a handful of people knew existed. Sterling lunged forward, managing to land a blow on Damion’s jaw, before Michael and Caleb could gain control again.

Michael held Sterling against the table and looked over his shoulder at Damion. “Why did you go there, man? Seriously why?” He returned his attention to Sterling. “That shit he just said doesn’t matter,” Michael said, shared understanding in his gaze, the feeling of being an outcast. While Sterling had a few limitations, Michael had a few extra assets that scared the shit out of people. “You’re both pissed and saying things you don’t mean.”

“Oh yeah, I’m pissed,” Sterling agreed. “I have
never
risked anyone’s life but my own, and I’ve damn sure saved a hell of a lot more than him.”

“Oh Jeezus, Sterling,” Damion said. “Why don’t we get out our dicks and measure them too?”

Sterling kept his gaze locked on Michael. “Maybe you should remind him I’m as good at taking lives as I am at saving them.”

“I
said
meet me at the upstairs window,” Damion yelled behind them. “Why the hell did you go out the back door? And why the hell did you hand her over to the Zodius without a fight?”

“Oh, that’s priceless,” Sterling said in the midst of a bitter laugh as Michael moved from between the two of them. “You were at the window. You think I don’t remember that? And we both know you were on the back porch, that I handed Becca
to
you
.”

“You came out the back door before I ever made it to the window.”

Anger uncurled in Sterling, calmer now, more calculated. “Your lies are going to get you nice and dead, Damion.”

“I am
not
working for Adam,” Damion insisted vehemently, his chin lifting in Michael’s direction. “You were undercover inside Zodius until only a few months ago. If I was working for Adam, wouldn’t you know?”

“A lot can happen in a few months,” Michael stated.

Damion made a frustrated sound. “I am not working for Adam!”

“Why didn’t we hear about any of this until now, Damion?” Caleb demanded.

“Because it was done,” Damion said. “For all I knew Sterling was dead, and I wasn’t going to throw accusations at a dead man you considered a friend.”

Caleb considered him a moment, then released Damion and indicated the door to Michael. “You and Damion leave Sterling and me alone.”

Michael cast Sterling a warning look before releasing him. Sterling stood rock steady, his eyes locked on Damion. “She’s not dead. But I can promise you this. If anything happens to her, I will kill you.”

Several tense seconds passed before Damion pushed off the wall and walked away without another word. Neither Sterling nor Caleb spoke until the door to the war room shut behind Michael.

“He’s not lying,” Caleb said softly.

“The hell he’s not,” Sterling said. “I saw him hand her over. I don’t care what your damn Spidey senses tell you.”

“I know you believe that,” he said. “I know you’re not lying, and I wouldn’t need my ‘Spidey’ senses to know that, because I know you. But I can tell you without any question, you both believe what you’re saying is the one hundred percent truth.” He paused a moment. “I thought you were dead.”

Sterling ran a hand through his hair and sat on the edge of the table. “Yeah well, I should be, and she will be, if I don’t find her and find her fast.” He recounted the past few days, including Becca’s ICE addiction and ending with the details of their escape. “I have no idea what happened in that section of Zodius City, but Becca and I were the only ones who were conscious.”

“Were they dead?” Caleb asked from the spot where he’d perched against the wall.

“No clue, and there wasn’t time to spare to find out,” he said. “And it can’t be a toxin, or Becca and I would have been affected.”