A Secret Fate (30 page)

“Wow, Aiden. Am I that easy to get over?”

Aiden turned his gaze toward Addie. “No, darlin’. There’s nothing easy about you.”

Her cheeks warmed and she blinked. “Your eyes would suggest something different.”

He nodded. “Gerry never should have told you about that. I think I’d better start wearing contacts in this town.” He sat in the vacant chair beside her and turned his attention back toward Cael and his sister. “There comes a time, love, when a man knows he’s been beaten and it’s time to move on.”

“I suppose you’re right.” She thought about touching him, or making some sort of comforting gesture, but decided that might be construed the wrong way and not only by Aiden.

Aiden smiled that easy way he had that always made her heart melt regardless of her feelings for Cael. Aiden was a very attractive man. “I’d like to help, if I can. I mean with rescuing Cael’s sister.”

“Thanks, but you could be sorry because I might just take you up on that. Your precognitive gift might come in handy.”

“That’s what I was thinking.”

“I can help too.” Breena snuggled in between Addie and Aiden.

“Thank you, sweetie. I think one future sight will be enough.”

“Well, I can help with my deflection ability.”

Breena was an angelic child and all she ever wanted to do was help people. Addie bent down so that she was eye-to-eye with Breena and brushed a strand of hair out of her pretty face. “Honey, I know you want to help, but …” she paused, searching for something that would make Breena feel important. She glanced at Maia. “I need you to do something else for me.”

“What?”

“Do you think you could stay with Maia while we are away and use your sight with her every now and again to make sure the babies aren’t coming while we’re attempting to rescue Carly?”

“I can do that.” Breena’s eyes lit up with anticipation.

“Not all the time, though,” Siana interjected. “Remember, adults need their privacy.”

“But how will I know before I …”

“Good point, but I don’t believe we will be gone for all that long, so I think it will be okay as long as you tell Maia about it beforehand.” Addie smiled at Siana. “Do we know where Carly is being held?” This she directed toward Eric and he nodded.

Chapter 27

The compound where Joseph held Carly captive was located on some remote miniature island, so small it would probably only take about an hour to drive from one end to the other and chances were, its location didn’t even show up on radar. With the help of Cael and Siana, they could be at the facility within seconds. Caitlin had insisted on tagging along and no one could really deny her. Aiden seemed elated at the idea and promptly made himself available as her own personal bodyguard. Surprisingly, Cael hadn’t objected, stating it would be good to have someone close to her who knew what was going to happen so she could be protected. He also thought Aiden’s little fire tricks might be helpful. Addie wondered if Cael wished he had that ability.

“Have you ever wanted more?”

“More what?” Cael asked as he strapped a six-inch blade to his calf and then another one to his belt just below the Glock in his shoulder holster. He wore jeans and his black leather jacket and once he put on his boots he looked dangerous. He had his hair secured at the base of his neck with one of Addie’s elastic bands. Now that it was longer, he’d worried about it getting in the way and almost cut it off, but Addie rather liked it long and suggested he simply tie it back instead.

“Power.”

He stopped what he was doing and stared at her before answering. “No. I’ve always considered the ability of having my molecules dispersed into space and reformed quite enough. Not to mention my other—what you might consider minor—abilities of enhanced vision, augmented hearing, and mind intrusion, though the last one doesn’t seem to work with you and I can’t figure out why. I don’t suppose you’re going to clue me in on that.”

“Actually, I don’t know,” she said, yanking on her own black boots. She’d chosen a pair with a flat heel. Just because Cael and Siana had the ability to transport her and the others instantly, one could never be too sure when running or kicking would be necessary. “When you and I first met, you mentioned something about that. I know you and your mother have that same ability, but I didn’t realize I was an exception yours all the time.” If that were true, she wondered how they’d ever connected through the bond they’d shared. Maybe the bond had been so strong that it needed to develop on its own without any interference. God, that was so confusing. Would they ever get it back? She missed it terribly. Unfortunately, it was another one of those things she wouldn’t divulge to him, yet. It first happened right after they’d both proclaimed their love for each other, but it hadn’t occurred again. Wasn’t their love strong enough this time? Maybe he didn’t love her the same way he had. Maybe it wasn’t about love at all. Addie grabbed another elastic band and quickly secured her own hair in it before slipping her arm over Cael’s.

“Hmmm …” was all he said before adding, “Well, it is a puzzle, but one I’m looking forward to figuring out. Come on, let’s go meet the others and get this over with.”

***

Cael, Eric and Addison materialized behind a building close to a boat launch. A couple of boats lined the small strip of slots alongside the dock. One boat was huge, a two-story yacht, that the company must use to get here. At least Cael hoped so, as he eyed the other boat, a small dinghy with a single outboard motor—not exactly high seas material. Then again, perhaps they flew here in a helicopter.

Cael glanced behind him when he sensed the presence of his mother and sister, along with Aiden. Caitlin looked a little green. Her pale complexion stuck out like a sore thumb in comparison to her completely black outfit. He almost laughed when he realized both she and his mother looked like amateur cat burglars. Aiden, on the other hand, seemed more suited for the breaking and entering profession in his dark blue jeans. He also had on a black leather jacket and Cael frowned realizing they looked similar except Aiden’s hair still hung down loose but neatly tucked behind his ears.

“Fun stuff, huh, sis?”

Caitlin swallowed hard and her mother held on to her as she swerved a little. “I’ll be okay.”

“I think this is the building where they have her,” Eric said.

“You think? I thought you said you’d been here before,” Cael said. An edgy discomfort crawled up his spine. It was quite possible they were walking into a trap. If this company was as tech savvy as his father claimed, they’d be able to detect any sort of intrusion and most likely be expecting one. He figured the extra power Aiden supplied would help, but he didn’t like bringing the women along on this adventure at all. He couldn’t have brought all four of them here without his mother’s help. Caitlin, on the other hand, would have been better off sitting at home like a good little sister should. But damn it, he understood her need to be here more than he liked to admit. There wasn’t another place on earth he’d rather be right now than here, rescuing his other sister, and he didn’t even know her. He could only imagine how Caitlin felt, considering they were twins. He knew the twin bond was strong. His mother and Bart had it, maybe even to a greater degree considering her ability.

“It’s been years since I’ve been to this section. They didn’t show me the exact room where they kept her,” Eric said, reaching into his chocolate brown leather coat pocket, pulling out a map.

“How’d you get a map of this place?” Cael asked.

“I managed to confiscate it on my last visit here when they let me see and talk to Carly on video. They wouldn’t divulge her exact location and that’s when I realized the only way I’d ever see my daughter again, was if we rescued her. I don’t have the clearance anymore, but I know for a fact that they haven’t changed the location. This is their headquarters and laboratory. They need a remote island for the type of experimenting they do.”

Cael frowned at his father and shuddered at the thought of what kinds of experiments this company conducted, considering the extreme measures they’d taken in order to get the crystal.

“I want you to stay here with Aiden,” Eric ordered, looking at both Caitlin and Siana. “Aiden, only break silence if you see anything that would harm one of us, agreed?” Cael had to admit his father had some pretty decent high tech electronics and was able to outfit each one of them with a wire and ear bud so they would be able to communicate.

“Got it,” Aiden said, placing his hand on Caitlin’s shoulder but removing it almost immediately as Cael gave him his best deadly stare.

“Wait a minute. Aiden, don’t you need to be with us to use your foresight?”

“I think I can get enough contact through this handy little device.” He tapped his finger to his ear. “I should be able to pull enough energy from your voices. If I start to lose sight, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay, good. Here, take this.” Eric placed a small pistol in Aiden’s hand.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll need this.”

“I want to be sure my wife and daughter are protected out here, so hang on to it.”

Aiden nodded and held the gun at his side.

“Cael, take us just inside that steel door. That should put us in the basement. I believe that’s where Carly will be,” Eric said.

“You’re okay with this?” Cael whispered into Addison’s ear.

“Yeah.”

“You’re not scared?”

“No. We’ve been up against worse things.”

“Ah, right. Eidolon.”

She nodded and he latched on to her arm at the same time he took hold of his father’s and they dematerialized, appearing within seconds in a long dark hallway.

“This way,” Eric said, gesturing forward. There really wasn’t any other way to go. They came to another door at the end. Eric reached for the knob and Cael stopped him.

“Wait. Let me take a peek first.” He disappeared and reappeared a few seconds later. “Okay.”

Eric tried the knob. “It’s locked.”

“Hold on,” Cael said, grabbing them both and their molecules scattered and reattached once again on the other side of the door. They now stood in a vast room made of steel. As far as they could see, the room was empty except for the steel cage at the other end. The air smelled like something died, like a shit bucket full of dead rats. The stench had them all covering their noses and Addie almost gagged. The horrible odor was close to what she thought a decomposed body smelled like after it sat undiscovered in ninety-degree heat for about a week. Then something moved inside the cage.

“Is that Carly?” Cael asked but as soon as the words left his lips, he knew whatever the growling thing in the cage was, moving around, shaking and pounding against the bars couldn’t be any relation to him. They all had to cover their ears, as the roar booming from it was enough to puncture all their eardrums. “What the fuck is that?”

“Something much worse than Eidolon,” Addison said.

Chapter 28

“An experiment gone bad?” Cael suggested and glanced toward Eric. Both held guns ready and pointed at the cage. Addie had her hands. They weren’t pointed at anything in particular but she had them ready and felt the sizzle building within her core, just in case.

“Or well, I’m sorry to say,” Eric added.

“Depends on whose side you’re on, I guess,” Addie choked out.

There were three doors in the room, the one they just appeared in front of, one to their left and one to their right. “Carly’s not in here,” Eric said.

“Good thing. I think she’d suffocate from the stench of that thing,” Cael said. “So, which door should we try?”

He no sooner spoke, than the door to his left opened. Before they had a chance to vanish without being seen, three men walked into the room. One man wore a knee-length white lab coat and the other two wore white jump suits with skin-tight white caps over their heads, looking very much like refugees from Intel. All three men carried semi-automatic rifles aimed right at them. One of the refugee guys wore a huge, brown weed-like substance over his right hand, spanning his forearm. It looked similar to the stuff people used to put in pots for hanging plants.
What was that stuff called?
Addie wracked her brain for the word that wouldn’t come to her.

The man wearing the lab coat stepped out in front and spoke. “Welcome home, Eric. I see you managed to bring the lovely Addison MacKenna with you after all. Quite frankly, I didn’t think you had it in you to betray your son this way.”

“You son of a bitch,” Cael gaped at Eric. “You brought us into a trap!”

“Sorry, son.” Eric stepped away from them, joining the other three men and held his gun pointed at Cael and Addie. “You needn’t have worried about me, Joseph. I’ve always been on your side. My son, as much as I hate to admit it, can be rather stubborn at times.”

“Takes after his old man, I’d say,” Joseph said, smirking. “Move.” Joseph gestured at Cael and Addie with his gun to walk toward the cage where the deformed smelly beast stood inside shaking the bars and growling. As they got closer, Addie realized the creature had blue eyes with a red ring around the outer rim of the iris. The thing was huge, at least eight feet tall or more. Its skin, under its brown, rough elephant-looking texture, gave off a greenish-bluish iridescent glow that suggested it might be emitting some sort of radiation. Addie didn’t want to go anywhere near the hideous creature. It wasn’t so much that it scared her, it was the thought of what it was going to smell like when she torched it that bothered her the most.

As they approached the cage, another door opened and in walked a middle-aged woman, shoving a younger woman toward them, her hands tied behind her back, silver duct tape over her mouth. “You needn’t have tied her up,” Eric said, hurrying toward the younger woman who looked like a very unkempt Caitlin with straggly black hair and a few smudges of dirt on her face. “You knew I would bring them.”

“One can never take chances in this business. You said that yourself, my friend. But as promised, your daughter has been well taken care of.”