Grim Vengeance Read online

  “Oh, God, now you really are making it hard to...Isaac!” She let out a squeal as his fingers found the sensitive part of her waist. This time, she flailed harder, tipping him off onto the mattress. “Ass!”

  Isaac put his hands behind his head and grinned. “Morning.”

  Emma threw the covers over his face. Laughing, he pulled them away to see her stand from the bed and head toward their little bathroom.

  “Be sure you make my omelet with four eggs,” she called over her shoulder, winking before she shut the door.

  “Wait, who said I was cooking?” He flung his legs around, planting his bare feet on the wooden planks that made up the uneven floor of the entire cabin. Stretching, he stood and pulled on a nearby pair of sweatpants and crumpled white t-shirt.

  “Extra mushrooms!” Emma called out.

  Isaac grinned. He left the room, walking down the hallway. Running a hand through his hair, he yawned.

  “Good morning.” Aaron stood in the kitchen, a half-full glass of orange juice in one hand. “Did you tell her yet?”

  Isaac scowled. “No.”

  “If you don’t, I will. I’m not waiting any longer to let Duncan know.”

  Sighing, he pulled open the small refrigerator and stared inside. He pulled out the carton of eggs, a container of mushrooms, milk, and a green pepper. “I get it. I’ll tell her. I just didn’t want to upset her more than she was yesterday afternoon, all right?”

  Aaron stared at him. “Today. Or I confront the group with it.” He downed the rest of his juice in two gulps.

  Isaac stayed quiet, nabbing an onion from a bag on the counter. He kept his thoughts clear of anything in particular as he began to chop the vegetables. Halfway through the process, he heard someone come into the kitchen behind him. Out of instinct, his grip tightened on the knife handle but, he resisted the urge to whirl around.

  “Good morning, you two!” Mari’s voice was light and airy. “Ooh, are you making breakfast, Isaac? I’m starving.” She nudged his side. “Aaron,” she said, moving on. “You look well-rested. Good night’s sleep?”

  Confused, Isaac turned to take in her suddenly different persona.

  “Uh.” Aaron looked just as baffled. “Yeah?” His eyes shifted to the side, thoughtful for a moment. He grinned. “Ah.” He glanced back the way Mari had come just in time to see Shawn step into the kitchen.

  “Morning, everyone!” The crooked grin on his face connected the dots for Isaac, and he laughed.

  “Wow, you two,” he said. “Way too obvious.” He resumed chopping.

  “What?” Shawn clapped him on the back, causing Isaac to narrowly miss slicing his fingers open. “Ooh, omelets! Make me two, dude.”

  Isaac lowered the knife and flexed his hands. “Yeah. Sure. Get the other egg carton and a couple more peppers.”

  Moments after the first omelet began to cook, Emma entered the kitchen, followed closely by Lucas, who looked like he hadn’t slept all night. He instantly went to the refrigerator and pulled out a Diet Coke. Popping the tab, he chugged the soda, swallowing quickly.

  “Smells amazing.” Emma came up behind Isaac and wrapped her arms around his waist. She planted a quick kiss on the back of his neck.

  “How is everyone up before me?” Duncan entered, already fully dressed in a light blue t-shirt and jeans. His eyes were fresh, and he smiled wide. “And breakfast, too? Fabulous.”

  Isaac suppressed a groan as his stomach rumbled.

  The group chatted idly as he served up each omelet, one at a time, sprinkling each with a pinch of shredded cheddar cheese before handing them over. When he slid Aaron’s along the counter, the mind reader raised his eyebrows and shifted his gaze to Emma where she sat between Duncan and Shawn at the long wooden dining table.

  “Not now, dammit,” Isaac said under his breath.

  “Quit coming up with excuses.” Aaron picked up his plate and joined the rest at the table, leaving Isaac to scrape the rest of the ingredients together for his own breakfast.

  Instead of making an omelet for himself, he scrambled the eggs and threw everything into the pan at once, watching solemnly as the vegetables shrank and darkened. When the food was finally cooked, he scraped it onto a plate, grabbed a fork, and sat at the table across from Emma.

  “Someone was hungry.” She smiled at him as he inhaled the scramble.

  “Someone had to wait until everyone else was fed,” he said, sharper than he intended.

  “And oh, was it delicious.” Shawn leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stomach, empty plate before him clean of even crumbs.

  “Duncan.” Aaron’s voice was cold. “We need to discuss our plans.”

  Silence fell throughout the room. Isaac’s mouthful of food suddenly seemed to stale. He swallowed before he was hit with the urge to spit it out. Not now, all right? Let me tell Emma first, alone.

  Aaron ignored the thought directed at him. “When are we leaving?”

  “Well, when does everyone think we should leave?” Duncan pushed himself back in his chair, considering each around the table with his kind brown eyes. “Personally, I think we should wait a little longer, let Emma figure out her power a bit more before we use it on Vance. But that’s just me.”

  “I say we go now.” Mari finished her omelet and pushed her plate away. “The longer we sit here, the more of a chance there is of Jaxon finding us before we even get to him.”

  “True,” Lucas spoke up, “but as Duncan said earlier, Vance could have left by now anyway.”

  Their leader glanced to his left. “Shawn?”

  “I’m ready now. I say we just go.”

  “Are you...?”

  “I’m fine. I know Jax killed my dad. I can’t do anything to turn that around.” His face darkened. He stared at the table, not meeting anyone’s gaze. “But I also know that if we don’t at least try to stop him, and soon, he’ll just hurt more people. Waiting around may seem like a good idea, but I think we should just go now, see if we can get the help we need, and come back to train again. Hopefully with the money Duncan needs to enhance us.”

  Isaac watched as everyone else began to nod at Shawn’s words. He listened to his own breath, his own steady heartbeat, his conscience that would not stop screaming silently in his head. Straightening, he looked up. “He’s going to kill us.”

  Emma sent him a disapproving glance, which he ignored.

  “There’s no way.” Mari scoffed. “If I stop time and Shawn and Lucas intimidate him like we planned, Vance won’t stand a chance.”

  Duncan cleared his throat. “Isaac’s right, though. If something were to go wrong, if something happens...”

  “Vance is a cold, calculating crime boss,” Emma said. “But he prefers others to pull the trigger, to plunge the blade. He’s also not stupid. If we can at least get the issue at hand out before anything else, he might listen to reason.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Mari snapped, already back to her old self again. “He won’t hurt you two.”

  Emma laughed. “That is far from the truth. He’ll no doubt leave us alive only to torture to death later. For betraying him, bringing his enemies to him.”

  Isaac frowned. “Not you. Me, for sure, but not you.”

  “Why would you say that?” She tilted her head, eyes wary.

  “Because he always had a soft spot for you.”

  “No. About you.”

  Isaac resisted a glance at Aaron. “Uh, well, I...think...I think there’s something I need to tell you all.”

  Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. All eyes were on him as he struggled to control his fear. The urge to jump up from the table and run was overpowering. I can’t...I can’t...she’ll never look at me the same again...I can’t lose her, Aaron.

  “Isaac?” Duncan was frowning at him. Mari’s eyes narrowed.

  “There’s, uh, another reason Vance would kill me, more than just the betrayal.”

  “What’s going on?” Emma asked. “What’s the matter?”

  H
e swallowed hard, refusing to meet her gaze.

  “Well, I don’t need everyone listening, dammit.” Isaac scooted his chair back. “I can’t just—”

  “He’s fucking related to Vance,” Aaron said in a low voice.

  Emma’s mouth dropped open.

  “He’s my uncle.” Isaac said, miserable. His gaze slid over the people that watched him and landed on Emma. She shook her head. Tightened her hands into fists. The glare she shot at him sent his heart dropping into his stomach. No. Goddammit, no.

  “That’s why he gave you the combination to his bunker.” Duncan crossed his arms. “I thought that had been odd.”

  Silence filled the open air. Birds chirped outside, invisible amongst tree branches.

  “This is good,” Duncan spoke up.

  “What? Good how?” Lucas asked. He swiped a hand over his face in an angry gesture.

  “You have got to be fucking joking,” Emma whispered.

  “Because Isaac can tell us everything he knows about Vance. His weaknesses, anything we can use against him. You no doubt withheld information. Am I right?”

  Swallowing hard, Isaac nodded.

  “You...how could you...?” Emma stood up fast, rage in her eyes.

  “Emma.” Duncan stood as well. “Listen.” He tried to touch her shoulder, but she shrugged him off. Everyone was silent for a moment, watching each other, no one looking at Isaac. Lucas broke the stillness, pushing himself up from the table, the legs of his chair scraping the wooden floor with a harsh scree.

  Duncan cleared his throat, fingers scratching his beard, and spoke. “I know what Isaac said is a blow to you. To everyone.”

  “You have no idea how it makes me feel,” Emma growled through teeth that ground together. She glared at Isaac. “What it means to hear.”

  Duncan reached forward and this time she didn’t move away from his touch. “You’re right. I don’t. But we’re all at the peak of our emotions right now. Shawn finding out that his own brother killed their father. Lucas training him endlessly. You having to learn how to perfect a power you never knew you had. We’re all on our toes. Even Isaac.” Duncan glanced at him. “But the last thing we should be doing is turning on each other. That’s exactly what Jaxon would want. We need to be strong together, work together, as a team. Or we’ll fall apart at the most crucial moment.”

  Emma was beginning to tremble. Her hands shook, her gaze wavered. “How could you have not told me?”

  “I’m sure he had his reasons,” Duncan said softly. “Knowing his background, and yours, his reasons are no doubt extremely valid.”

  Feeling helpless, Isaac looked between the two, unsure of what to say, what to do. He closed his eyes and rubbed them, pressing his fingers hard enough to see sparks. When he looked up again, Emma was gone. Everyone stared at him.

  “This is something you should have been open about long ago.” Duncan’s normally friendly eyes held disappointment.

  Anger flashed through Isaac. “Right. I totally had time to tell everyone, between being held captive and nearly killed by Jaxon in Colorado, running to Boston and nearly getting crushed by a building, being dragged here with you people only to be told I have to confront the one person that I was desperate to get away from for years of my life, endangering the woman I love yet again for a plan that might not even fucking work. Tell me, when did I have a free moment to step up and say, ‘Oh, hey, by the way...’?” Isaac slammed his fist on the table and stood.

  “You should have anyway.” Mari looked at him with suspicion. “If you hid this from everyone, now who knows what else you haven’t told us. How the hell can we even trust him, Duncan?”

  “I’m sure Isaac feels terrible about this.” The older man sighed. “And I’m sure that he’s willing to open his mind to Aaron and give us the information we need to ensure our mission is successful. Am I right?”

  Isaac nodded, his anger dripping out of him. “I’ll tell you what you need. Anything.”

  “Good. Aaron and I will question Isaac. The rest of you, leave us.”

  They left one by one, mumbling and shaking their heads, but didn’t protest.

  “Isaac,” Duncan said when they were gone.

  “I know. I know.” He hunched over the table, leaning on it with both hands. “I fucked up.”

  “Big time. But they’re just upset that you of all people were hiding something important. It’s difficult enough for them to trust you and Emma. This put everything back one giant step.”

  “Or more. I get it. I had wanted to tell Emma and you, first.” Isaac glared at Aaron. “Not that it makes a difference now.”

  Duncan shook his head. “No. But like I said, this is a good thing. This means we have leverage. Vance no doubt cared for you. This means we can use that to our advantage. If something does go wrong, if we get attacked somehow, we bring you in. It will throw Vance off, right? Will he stop when he sees you?”

  Isaac sighed, bringing up memories of his uncle. “He’ll no doubt be shocked, but if you do end up using me as bait, he’ll want to make sure I’m unhurt. That or he’ll see through our façade and know the truth. In that case, he’ll happily kill me along with everyone else.”

  “Do you truly think that he would? Kill you?”

  “I honestly don’t know.”

  Duncan watched him for a moment, face thoughtful. “All right. Let’s begin. I want you to tell us every single thing you know about Ivan Vance.”

  “That’s going to take hours.”

  “No one knows where we are.” Duncan smiled and rubbed his neck. “We have time.”

  I hate to admit that I need help.

  It’s even worse to know that I need HER help.

  Chelsea.

  We had a fling a little while back. I had a moment of weakness.

  When I first found her months ago, sensing her Evo power, I watched her for half a day, trying to get her alone. A guy tried to flirt with her, got pissed when she turned him down. While walking home, he followed her. Threatening her.

  I assumed he’d take care of the kill for me, or at least incapacitate her so I could finish the job.

  Instead, she grabbed a hold of him.

  Her hands lit up.

  He screamed.

  Flesh melted from his arm, dripping gore.

  Now, I know my goal is to wipe out Evos, but hell, a power like that I could use.

  I decided to keep her for myself.

  But when I approached her, intent on adding her to my collection, I realized quickly that I either had to kill her or risk meeting the same fate.

  She was sassy and emotional.

  A liability if not contained properly.

  And when I used her power against her, nothing happened.

  She was fire-proof.

  Of course she was.

  So we hooked up for about a week.

  And I discovered from her constant prattling that she used to work for — wait for it — Ivan Vance.

  The same man who was at Lab 14 before its fall.

  The same man Jaxon wanted.

  So I left her alive, knowing that someday, someday, I’d need that power on my side.

  And that day has finally come.

  Chapter Three

  Charlie stared at the sleek cell phone he held, wishing he didn’t have to make the call he was about to dial. He tried not to scowl as he brought up his contact list and started to scroll. Slowing as he reached the entry simply marked “C” he paused a moment longer. Just until you’ve killed the time stopper. Then you can get rid of her. He poked the screen with his thumb and brought the cell to his ear.

  Less than a single ring sounded before she answered.

  “Charlie?”

  He winced. “Are you well?”

  “I thought you were done with me. That you were upset because those people in Texas got away.”

  “I was.” He stared at the ceiling of his car, hating every word he uttered. “I specifically warned you about Duncan and the Synths, t
old you to eliminate them should you come across any of their group, but you couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.”

  “It was four on one. Synths against an Evo. What did you expect?”

  “Yeah, but you’re more powerful than you let yourself realize.” Charlie imagined her pout fading, but her expression guarded and offended. “Look,” he said, staring through the windshield of his car. “You can take lives with a single touch of your hands. You have immense control over nearly everyone you encounter.”

  “And that’s all you need from me.”

  Just tell her what she wants to hear so we can get the fuck going. Charlie smiled, making sure his voice was soft. “I need you. The whole package.”

  She fell silent. He closed his eyes and pictured how a blush was coloring her cheeks, bringing a tinge of pink to her light brown skin. How she smiled coyly, perhaps even covering her mouth with a hand. Women. Too easy.

  Charlie continued, leaning forward, eager. “I can’t do this alone, and I don’t want to. I want to wipe these fucks out with you, and only you.” He paused, letting the silence stretch for a few seconds. Making his voice lighter and adding a touch of a pleading tone, he said, “Please? Will you help me? Will you stay with me?”

  She let out a soft sigh that trembled slightly. “Yeah. Of course.”

  Charlie straightened and stared through the windshield at the little droplets that formed from the light mist that fell. “You’re right, you know. You were outnumbered in Texas. Duncan and the Synths were exhausted, yes, but there were still too many. I shouldn’t have gotten angry with you. However,” he glanced at his black briefcase on the floor of the car in front of the passenger seat, “I’ve found a weapon that can stop them for good, but I need your help obtaining something first.”

  “Yes. Just let me know the details and where to meet you, and I’m in.”

  Once he hung up, he stared at the screen of his phone. Scrolling through his contacts once more, he selected the number that he’d gotten from Larissa in Brazil. Time to make sure they stay put while I get to Vance.

  Three rings sounded before Duncan answered.

  “Hello, Charlie.”

  He kept his voice light and conversational. “Duncan. How are you? Where are you? I need a safe place to stay a while.”