Unforgettable (Talented Saga #6) (26 page)

Penny turned to face me, lime-green
irises full of determination.

“
Talia, please. Don’t make
me stay behind. I want to go. I joined UNITED to help other
Created, because I understand how hard it is to control all of that
extra power. So far, all I’ve done is chase Created from one
country to another. Even the ones we’ve managed to catch,” she
shook her head sadly, “I’m not sure if they really are better off
in containment. But today, liberating Created, saving them from
slavery—that will make a difference in their lives. I will
actually
be helping
them. Please, let me help them.”

Well, damn. How could I say no after a
speech like that?

“
Are you sure you’re okay?”
I asked.

Penny’s smile was stiff and forced,
but I could see the resolve behind it.

“
I might not be the best
right now, but I’m fine, Tal. Really. I will get through this, and
I will be fine.”

“
Would you tell me if you
really weren’t up for it?”

This time Penny’s smile was genuine, a
little color returning to her waxen cheeks.

“
Yes. As badly as I want to
go, I wouldn’t compromise the mission by saying I’m okay when I’m
not. Unlike
some
people I know.”

Her jab made me grin, if only because
she could still find some sense of humor within herself. And yes, I
was too stubborn to admit a weakness.

“
I can’t fathom who you’re
referring to. Okay, let’s go over your cover story. Tell me what
it’s like to be the wife of a gazillionaire.”

An hour before departure time, our
group dispersed to get dressed. For the first time, instead of
donning boots, an adapti-suit, and an arsenal of weapons, my
mission attire consisted of a slinky dress, stupidly high heels,
and a sparkly clutch bag. Less-than-ideal-for-combat clothing
aside, the real problem lay in the lack of weapons. The silky
fabric was too thin and too tight to wear underwear, let alone my
knife belt. I tried strapping a blade to the inside of my thigh,
but found the arrangement extremely uncomfortable.

“
You’ll be searched anyway,
Tals,” Erik told me. An amused smile parted his lips as he watched
me trying to find an inconspicuous location to hide a weapon, my
dress hiked up around my thighs.

Already dressed in black combat gear,
a tranquilizer gun and one that fired real bullets snug in holsters
at his waist, he looked the part of a UNITED agent ready for his
mission. I, on the other hand, looked like an overly made-up child
playing dress-up with her older sister’s clothes.

I tossed the dagger onto the chaise
lounge and smoothed the skirt of my dress into place.

“
How do I look?” I asked,
twirling for Erik’s inspection.

His turquoise eyes glittered in the
dim lighting and heat sparked beneath the cool, detached mask he
always wore just before a mission. With my enhanced hearing, the
increased tempo of his heartbeat was audible.

“
Do you really need to
ask?” Erik replied, crossing the room to join me in front of the
full-length mirror.

Between the indecent thoughts running
through my boyfriend’s head and his visceral reaction to the rare
sight of me in formal wear, I had no doubt Erik appreciated my
appearance. But when Erik’s arms pulled me tightly against his
sculpted chest, and he whispered, “The only thing anyone is going
to notice is how amazing you look,” I was further reassured the
outfit would pass even the most inquisitive inspection.

“
Be careful today,
okay?”
Erik added mentally.

“
Always,”
I joked, responding in kind.

“
I’m serious, Talia. Get
in, do your job, and get out. Don’t pull any stunts. We are working
with limited intel on this one. There are too many unknown
variables in play to go off-book.”

“
You sound like
Victoria,”
I huffed.

With one finger on the underside of my
chin, Erik tipped my head back and forced me to meet his gaze. All
traces of the earlier heat were gone, replaced by concern that
verged on fear. In light of our early-morning conversation with
Victoria, Erik was nervous that I’d try to free both the Created
and the Talented. And it wasn’t the disobeying orders or the
ramifications from the council that Erik worried about. He was
anxious about the danger inherent in helping our fellow Talents.
Erik was aware that leaving them behind went against my nature, and
he didn’t fully believe I’d be able to walk away.

I stood on tiptoes and pressed my lips
to his in a silent promise to be smart. To not take any unnecessary
risks.

Erik melted into the kiss, hands
trailing up and down the silk material covering less of my skin
that I’d have liked. Heat chased his touch, leaving burning embers
on my skin when his fingers moved on to the next bit of exposed
skin. Curling my own fingers into his dark hair, I molded my body
against his.

Moments like these were what kept me
going, what got me through the tough times and made me believe the
future held promise. One day, our world wouldn’t revolve around
missions and danger. The Creation drug and its horrible
side-effects would be a distant memory. The fate of our kind would
no longer hang in the balance.

A not-so-subtle throat-clearing from
the doorway to our bedroom pulled me from my daydreams of a
sunshine-and-rainbows future. I groaned inwardly and released Erik,
stepping back just in time to see him give the unwelcome intruder a
one-finger wave in rude greeting.

I laughed. Based on the distinctive
brain patterns, I didn’t need to turn around to know the identity
of our guest.

“
I’ll be ready to go in a
second, Frederick,” I called over my shoulder.

“
Now, dear,” my
boyfriend-for-the-day replied dryly. “We cannot be
late.”

“
Treat her right,” Erik
joked. “But not
too
good. Don’t make me look bad. Oh, and watch the roaming
hands. I’d hate to make Henri a widower at such a young
age.”

“
Duly noted,” Frederick
deadpanned.

Despite the craziness of our lives
lately, or maybe in spite of it, Frederick and Henri had been
discussing the possibility of making their union official. I hoped
they did. We needed the reminders of love and life that a wedding
would bring.

I gave Erik a quick, chaste kiss on
the cheek, and then turned to face Frederick.

“
Let’s go,
honeybunch.”

Frederick’s lip curled in disgust.
“Please don’t tell me you’re planning on calling me all sorts of
ridiculous nicknames today?”

I shrugged.

“
I don’t know, sugar pie.
Maybe. I’m not used to undercover work, what if I forget your fake
name? This way I have one less thing to remember.”

“
Awesome,” Frederick
replied with an exaggerated roll of his brown eyes. “Come on,
before Brand sends a search party.”

Erik accompanied Frederick and me
downstairs, keeping a firm, somewhat desperate, grip on my hand the
entire way. His light-hearted, jovial attitude had been left in our
bedroom, vanishing the moment we crossed the threshold into the
hallway. Nerves made him edgy and he worked his jaw tirelessly back
and forth while we walked.

This was the first mission since
joining UNITED that Erik would not be by my side from start to
finish, and that worried him. Our scant intel on the Poachers only
added to Erik’s concerns. If nothing else, TOXIC had trained us
that preparation was key. Walking into a hostile situation with
only a portion of the facts was not smart. Thankfully, instead of
voicing his concerns again, Erik sent calming waves meant to
reassure me that the mission was destined for success.

The other members of the two
undercover teams were dressed and waiting in front of Walburton
Manor’s majestic wooden doors when we arrived. Our group of
auction-crashers was quite the sight. Brand, Henri, Frederick, and
Jay were impeccably outfitted in matching tuxedos. Angus was
serving as Henri’s personal bodyguard for the event, since his was
the only fake identity that warranted one. As such, our Scottish
team member was dressed in a black suit with a hip holster half
concealed beneath the jacket. He’d certainly be asked to remove the
gun once we arrived at Andrew’s Rock, so the weapon was only for
appearance. Luckily, like the rest of us, Angus’s Talents were a
far better source of protection than anything manmade.

The other women going undercover with
me—Catherine, Gina, Ronnie, and Penny—were all dressed in their
beautiful gowns. It was definitely a concern that our attire was
better suited for a fancy dinner at some posh restaurant, followed
by drinks at a high-end nightclub than a mission to free our
brethren. It was a necessary evil, unfortunately. If it came down
to it, the heels we’d all borrowed from the stockroom would
probably work as makeshift daggers. I could just imagine the
sight—we’d never live it down.

Fully immersing herself in her new
identity, Penny had gone above and beyond, wearing an impressively
natural looking wine-colored wig.

“
You like?”
she sent when she caught me staring at her new
hair color.

“
I love. Was that in
Victoria’s wardrobe room? I didn’t even see you grab
it.”

Penny’s smile was coy as she fluffed
her hair.

“
This is all me. Riley
inspired me. So I gave the partial morph thing a try. Pretty cool,
huh?”

“
Whoa. Very cool,”
I sent back.

Three hoverlimos were parked in a line
outside the front doors. Chaz, Thom, and Riley were already in
place at the wheels, each dressed like a cross between a chauffeur
and a bodyguard. Viktor was going with Erik and Janelle as part of
the strike team. Once we arrived at the auction, Chaz and Thom
would join them. Riley, however, would infiltrate the auction,
morphing into Jaylen Monroe’s bodyguard, Benji. He was our best
chance of on-the-spot intel in the areas that would not be open to
the public.

Willa and Honora were to remain at
Walburton Manor. Like the council, they would be able to watch a
live-action feed provided by the drones trolling Andrew’s
Rock.

“
It’s about time,” Brand
called when Frederick, Erik, and I arrived.

“
Limos,” Catherine ordered
in her brief yet effective way, gesturing towards the vehicles with
a sweep of her hand.

I turned to Erik for a final
goodbye.

“
I’m here if you need me.
I’ll keep the connection open,”
he sent,
squeezing me so tightly I had trouble breathing.

“
You better,”
I sent back.

Brand came over to exchange last
minute details with Erik as I followed Frederick towards one of the
vehicles. Riley and Honora were saying their own goodbyes, the
impressive dual Talent reassuring his girlfriend the mission would
be a breeze and she had nothing to worry about.

Spotting Honora standing off to the
side alone, I touched Frederick’s arm and nodded in her
direction.

“
I’ll be quick,” I
muttered.

He nodded and pointed toward the car
that Chaz would be driving.

“
I’ll be
inside.”

“
Hey,” I said when I
reached Honora, plastering on a fake smile for the other girl’s
benefit.

“
Hey,” Honora replied
uncertainly. Arms crossed protectively over her chest, she looked
like she was trying to hold in the array of emotions screaming to
be released. I had to block my mind to prevent the fear she
projected from swallowing me whole.

“
We’re going to get them
back, you’ll see,” I promised, dosing my words with conviction I
didn’t feel.

Honora’s tense expression relaxed
visibly.

“
James, too? Riley says
your orders are for the Created only. But James isn’t Created. Does
that mean you’ll be leaving him behind?”

Shit
. I hadn’t considered that.

One look into Honora’s pleading eyes
and I made a promise, one I intended to keep regardless of the
consequences.

“
James, too. I’ll
personally make sure we get him.”

“
Talia,”
Erik’s voice inside my head was a sharp rebuke
and carried a warning that I promptly ignored. I wasn’t promising
to rescue
all
of
the Talented, so I wasn’t technically going against orders. Just
one of them.

That poor boy had suffered for Kenly,
I was not repaying his bravery and stoicism by leaving him at the
Poachers’ mercy.

“
I promise,” I added to
Honora.

To be honest, I wasn’t good at
comforting others. At least not in the way normal people do. I used
my manipulation to ease fears, calm nerves, and alleviate pain.
Only with Erik, and occasionally Penny, did I ever use physical
touch to reassure another person. Although Honora appeared to be
the same age as me, she looked so much younger than I felt. And
more vulnerable than I’d been in over a decade. Acting on instincts
I was unaware I possessed, I hugged her.