Blacklisted (8 page)

Babe? Babe! Did he still have feelings for her? None of my business, it didn't matter,
shouldn't
matter, but…obviously, he did still care and obviously I did, too. He'd kissed me, after all.

Plop
.

My brow furrowed. What had made that sound?

“I dropped my gun,” Cara said, answering my unspoken question. “I'm weaponless.”

Erik snorted and peeked over the car window. “But you're never defenseless.”

I, too, peeked through the window and watched as a beautiful Asian girl stepped into the light. She had smooth, caramel-colored skin, almond-shaped brown eyes, and rich, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was medium-size and lithe, her smooth curves encased in tight, black syn-leather.

My head tilted to the side and I frowned. She'd been at the Ship. She'd been in that group of girls who had watched Erik so intently.
She
hadn't watched Erik the whole time, though. She'd mostly watched me.

Had she suspected me of working with him, even then? Dear God. Maybe the night had been doomed to fail no matter what I'd done. The girls as they'd walked up to the bar replayed through my mind…one of them had a blue trident tattooed on her face, one had pale hair and pretty features. One had brown hair and a sharp gaze. I couldn't recall the others, though. I only knew that there
had
been others.

Were they all here? Probably. My stomach twisted with the thought. That meant we couldn't see them all; some had to be hiding. Maybe even sneaking in behind us.

“There's more, Erik. There's more!”

He understood what I was saying. “I know. Three have already worked their way in front of the car. The building is keeping them from having a clear shot, though, so don't worry.”

Don't worry? Don't worry!

If Erik knew these girls so well, why hadn't he left the Ship the moment he'd spied them? I know he'd seen them. He'd stiffened and moved his meeting with Half-Mask to another room.

To save innocents in case a gunfight broke out?

“Damn it, Cara,” he suddenly snarled.

Cara continued to walk toward us, maintaining a slow and steady pace. Strands of her dark hair wisped around her lovely face. “That isn't what you used to say to me. You used to be happy to see me.”

No wonder Erik hadn't ever asked me out; he used to date perfection.

“That was a long time ago,” Erik told her.

“And a lot of things have changed since then. Including your appearance. Thought we wouldn't recognize you with a different hair color? Thought we wouldn't find out you'd had eye surgery, replacing your own peeps with someone else's? You looked better with green eyes, I must say.”

“Stop!” he shouted, gruff. “I don't want you any closer.”

If she reached us…Lord, I didn't know. What would she do? Nothing good, that much was obvious. There was fury in her pretty brown eyes. And what would Erik do? He obviously didn't want to hurt her or he would have fired by now.

For the first time since this night of terror had begun, Erik appeared deeply and unequivocally scared—and that frightened me all the more.

I mean, if
he
was scared, something terrible was about to go down. Every warning he'd given me about A.I.R. flashed through my mind. Pain. Torture. Death. So far, he'd been right about everything else.

If he wouldn't protect us, I had to.

Gulping, I searched the area for some sort of weapon. I saw dirt, gravel, brittle blades of grass. A few rocks. Then I saw the handle of a gun sticking out of the waist of Erik's pants. I'd never handled a gun before. They weren't even allowed in my house because my dad abhorred violence of every kind.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed the weapon and aimed it at Cara. I didn't fire, just shouted, “I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it.”
That's so lame, Robins!

Erik jerked in surprise, reached out for me, then thought better of it and stilled. Cara, too, froze in place.

“He might not shoot you,” I said, “but I will.” Maybe. Oh hell.
What are you doing?

“Innocent, huh?” A look of disgust washed over Cara's delicate features. “Get control of your girlfriend, Erik,” she snapped, stepping forward again.

My hand trembled. “I'll shoot. I will. I just want you to stop and listen to what I have to say. Don't threaten us anymore. All right?”

“Hand me the gun,” Erik said, trying to sound calm but not doing a very good job of it. “Just hand it over and everything will be fine.”

“No.” Tears stung the corners of my eyes. “They aren't listening to us! And you were right. They shoot first and ask questions later.”

“Camille,” he said.

“No!”

Cara took another step, so close I could see the golden highlights in her hair. I could see the matching flecks of gold in her eyes.

“Camille,” Erik repeated. “You don't want to do this.”

No, I didn't.

He reached out slowly and wrapped his fingers around mine. His touch was gentle; I could feel the callus on his palm, a little abrading. “They'll never believe you're innocent if you start shooting.”

“But—”

“You don't know the things they're capable of. Don't become their enemy.”

“I think I might already be their enemy,” I whispered, desperate.

“I won't let anything happen to you. Okay? Trust me. I'll take care of you. I've taken care of you up to this point, haven't I?”

“Well…”

“From now on then.”

Cara reached the door, her booted feet touching mine. The gun pressed into her chest. “You didn't used to make promises you couldn't keep.”

“Shut the hell up, Cara. She
is
innocent. I'll come in and explain.” Erik paused, his eyes never leaving me. “Camille. Give me the gun.”

A tear escaped and slipped down my cheek. I allowed Erik to take the gun from me. My shoulders sagged in relief. I hadn't really wanted to shoot anyone anyway and I'd never been good at confrontation.

In the next flash of time, Cara gave her arms a single shake and two blades fell into her waiting hands. Before I could blink, she had the sharp tips at Erik's throat.

I gasped in shock, in horror. “You said you were unarmed.”

“I lied.” She didn't face me. I guess she didn't consider me enough of a threat. “He's subdued,” she called. “Aren't you, baby?”

Erik remained silent. Our gazes met, and he gave a single shake of his head meant to assure me that everything really would be okay.

The other girls rushed forward and I saw that I'd been right. There wasn't just three or four of them. There were six of them. Someone, the one with the blue trident tattoo, grabbed me and shoved me to the ground, face-first. Dirt filled my mouth and I tried to spit it out.

“Don't hurt her,” Erik commanded. “I told you. She's innocent in all of this. I gave her the napkin to distract you.”

“She's as innocent as you, I'm sure,” Cara scoffed.

My arms were jerked behind my back and I screamed so loud and long the sound echoed through the night. The action had caused the numbness in my wound to wear off abruptly and I felt every new throb of pain.

Erik grabbed Cara's wrists and gave a sharp twist. She tumbled to her knees with a yelp, her blades falling to the ground. He dove for me in an effort to free me, but someone—a human cat?—met him halfway and they tumbled together on the gravel.

“Let her go,” he snarled. “You're hurting her.”

Erik and the girl, who had multicolored hair and pointy ears, struggled and rolled on the ground. The girl hissed and lashed out with her nails. Erik didn't punch her, as I would have liked him to do, but he dodged her blows and struggled to pin her.

“Careful with him, Kitten,” Phoenix growled. “I want him alive.”

“Yeah, well,” the purring one said. “You want me alive, too? He's fighting dirtier than when we last rumbled with him.” She grunted as Erik flipped her over his shoulder.

She held onto him, pulling him back down. Her orange, red, and black hair formed a curtain around them. Moving with the grace and fluidity of a cat, she arched her back and slid herself up Erik's body. She was a Teran, I realized.

Captured as I was, I didn't know what to do, how I could help. So I said, “Erik, it's okay. I'm okay.”

Cara had reclaimed her knives and leapt at the dueling pair. Distracted, Erik didn't see her and soon Cara's blades were once again compressed against his throat. Several droplets of blood cascaded down his neck.

And yet, still he fought to get to me.

“I'm okay,” I repeated, fighting past the pain. “I'm okay.”

This time, he stopped moving. Panting, he moved his gaze over me to judge the truth of my words. I had a feeling that he would have started struggling again if I'd so much as frowned.

With Cara pressing the knife into his throat, the one called Kitten wound laserbands around his wrists. Laserbands were wound around my wrists, as well, their light bonding to my skin. If I tried to take them off, I'd take hunks of skin and bone with them.

“Now that that's taken care of,” Phoenix said. She stood in front of us and dusted off her hands. She was the girl with the blonde hair and brown eyes. Pretty, almost fragile-looking—a startling contrast to the aura of death that blanketed her expression. “Let's get these two to A.I.R. lockup. I've got questions. They've got answers.”

Erik and I were shoved into separate cars. At that point, everything became surreal to me. One minute I'd been at a club with my best friend, scoping out my crush, the next I'm injured and the prisoner of a group of people who'd so far proven themselves to be ruthless.

What could I do? I'd mentioned the napkin, I'd tried to explain what had happened, but so far no one had cared to listen to me. Not even when I'd held that gun.

I was beginning to suspect, deep in my bones, that they might never believe me, no matter what I said. In their minds, I was guilty and that's all there was to it.

Trying not to panic, I slumped in my seat. No one had bothered to shut the passenger door, so I heard the girls as they laughed proudly about their capture and taunted Erik.

“Thought you'd escape us, did you?” one of them said.

“You should have known we'd catch up to you sooner or later,” another proclaimed. “We always do.”

“You never were very bright,” still another chortled.

He didn't respond, but even from this distance I could see the hurt in his dark eyes—eyes that had once been green, apparently. I tried to picture him with green eyes but couldn't. How could they be so cruel to him?

Our doors were shut, blocking him out completely. Each of the girls claimed a car. A blonde I didn't recognize turned out to be my driver, and Cara settled in beside her.

She didn't speak to me, but cast me narrowed glances every few minutes. A glass partition separated us, so I couldn't talk to her. That was okay. At the moment, I despised her. And, I hated to admit, I was scared of her. She'd lied, she'd attacked. She'd
won
.

Worse, Erik's ex-girlfriend might very well hold my future in her hands.

• • •

Thirty minutes and a bumpy ride later, we were parked in an underground garage that led to a stone-and-glass fortress. Towering, oppressive, eerie, the building practically screamed “keep out or die.” People strolled in and out, and all of them wore black syn-leather and had pyre-guns strapped to their waists.

I didn't see Erik as the blonde jerked me from the car. She flanked one side, Cara flanked the other, and they escorted me inside. I tried not to cringe at the pain in my arm. I tried not to cry.

What were they going to do to me?

“This is all a big misunderstanding,” I tried explaining yet again.

“Yeah. I believe you,” Cara said dryly. “'Cause I'm an idiot.”

“If you'd just listen—”

She pressed my shoulder, hard, and I gasped. Then she pressed harder and my knees gave out. Neither girl did anything to stop my ensuing fall. I yelped, hitting the ground face-first. Air shot from my lungs in one mighty heave.

I lay there for a moment, stunned.
They won't hurt me
, I'd told Erik more times than I could recall. How foolish I'd been. I uttered a humorless laugh as I tried to tamp down another surge of fear. “It's illegal to treat me this way. I haven't been found guilty of a crime.”

“We don't need to find you guilty,” Cara said. “We just need to suspect.”

“Call my father,” I found myself saying. He would protect me. Yes, he'd find out everything I'd done, how I'd lied, but I no longer cared. I suddenly wanted away from these girls, no matter what.

“We'll call him. Later.”

“I know my rights.” My dad had made sure of it. “I'm a minor. You have to call him if I request it.”

“If we were dealing with a human crime, sure. With Onadyn, all bets are off. Besides that, you are so not a minor. You're eighteen. Legally an adult.”

“He's my attorney.” I tried to push myself up, but Cara jammed her foot on my back, slamming me back down. I winced.

“No getting up yet,” she said. “I like you where you are.”

“This is harassment. This is assault,” I huffed, anger pushing past my fear. “Let. Me. Up.”

“Think you're tough enough to make me?” Cara chuckled and there was a menacing edge to the sound. “If so, you'll soon learn better. I'll make sure of it.”

She removed her foot and the blonde jerked me to a standing position. At the wide double doors, she secured me against a wall so that I couldn't run as she and Cara endured a palm and retinal scan. The entrance opened and I was tugged inside.

People—agents, I'm sure—were everywhere. Behind desks, walking the plain, silver hallways. Few spared me a glance. There were holoscreens, computers, and other equipment I didn't recognize.

“This isn't—” I pressed my lips together.
Whatever you say can be used against you in a court of law
. I felt the heat drain from my skin as my dad's voice echoed in my mind.

“Say hello to your new home,” Cara told me. “Your weight, height, and body heat have already been logged into the system. You step foot in this lobby or any of the surrounding rooms without permission and you'll be dead.”

A tremor worked through me.

After several twists and turns, we finally reached a steel door. We lost the blonde somewhere along the way. Cara had to pause for another scan, this one a full body. Red lights pulsed over her seconds before the door opened.

This new hallway boasted several other doors that led straight into prison cells. The knowledge nearly undid me. I was shoved inside the last room on the right. The air inside was sterile-smelling. There was a chair in the center, but that was it.

Another tremor catapulted the length of my spine. My new home, she'd said. For how long?

“Put your face against the wall,” Cara commanded me.

For a split second, I thought about disobeying. In the end, I didn't.
Coward
.

The moment my cheeks pressed against the cool metal, she was behind me, removing my laserbands. I felt a tug on my wrists and then, finally, the heat of the bands was gone.

“What's your full name?” she asked, her voice cold, emotionless.

“Camille Diane Robins.”

“How old are you, Camille Diane Robins?”

They'll ask you easy questions at first
, Erik had warned me.
Then they'll get harder
. I had trouble catching my breath, but managed to gasp out, “Eighteen. You already know that.”

She stared over at me for a long while, studying me, and it looked like a war raged in her mind. Finally she nodded, as if she'd made a decision. “I'll be back for you in a little bit. For now, you can sit here and think about all the ways I'm going to hurt you if you lie to me.”

Oh, I'd imagine, all right. Needles shoved under my nail-beds. Hammers pounded into my knees. All of my hair shaved off. But I couldn't let that affect me. Today I'd endured the sting of a Lancer. I'd lived through a car chase and a gunfight. I hadn't cracked to a million pieces when this girl pushed me down.
Time to stop being a coward
.

“Where's Erik?” I asked, turning to face her eye-to-eye. A brave move, one I wouldn't have attempted any other day. But I wanted to talk to him. He'd told me what to expect. Now I wanted him to tell me what to do, and how to get out of here.
How is
that
any better?

She raised one brown brow. “What do you care? What's he to you?”

“A hero, I guess. He fought to protect me while
you
were shooting at me.”

Anger washed over her lovely face, vibrating palpably. “You think that makes you special? Well, it doesn't. He once saved my life, too.”

I blinked at her in surprise. “How can you treat him this way then?”

She didn't answer. In fact, she spun on her heel and strode out of the room, leaving me alone. Alone to wonder.

Where had they taken Erik? What were they doing to him?

Had my parents been notified as I'd requested?

Tears suddenly burned my eyes and I slumped against the wall. If I survived this, I should become a lawyer like my dad and fight stupid laws that gave stupid A.I.R. agents the right to apprehend innocent people.

Never had I felt more violated. More helpless.
At least you acted brave, there at the end
, I told myself. Small comfort now.

What would happen to me next?
I wondered. Just how far were these A.I.R. agents willing to go?

With a trembling sigh, I closed my eyes. That proved to be a mistake. My eyelids were heavy, like thousand-pound rocks held them down and there was no opening them once they were closed. The muscles in my shoulders sagged and gradually my chin fell forward. Black spots sparkled through my mind like dark glitter.

How much time passed, I didn't know. I only knew that I drifted in and out of turbulent dreams and hazy wakefulness—and after a while, it was hard to distinguish which was which. I saw flashes of gunfire. Hard, smiling faces that didn't care whether I lived or died. Buildings towering around me, clouds holding me, padded walls.

“She was certainly a surprise,” a hard female voice said, pushing into my consciousness.

Still dreaming?

“I know. Came out of nowhere.” Phoenix. Like I'd ever forget her commanding timbre.

“How'd she get the wound?” Stranger.

“We're not sure. Somewhere inside the club, though.” Phoenix.

“I guess it doesn't matter.” Stranger.

You're awake. Have to be. Otherwise you could burst both of those women into flames with a single thought
. I kept my eyes closed, my breathing even. Tried not to move even an inch—if I could have, that is. I still felt like lead.

“We had no idea she was working with Erik.” Cara. And she sounded bitter.

So. There were at least three people in the room with me. Great.

Cool breath fanned my cheek as one of the girls knelt in front of me. “She's not his usual type.” This pronouncement came from the stranger.

Don't frown, don't frown, don't frown
.

“And what type is that?” Cara demanded.

“You,” the woman replied.

Which was? Pretty? Smart? Both? Everything I supposedly wasn't.

“Well,” Cara said, clearly mollified. “That's true.”

My teeth ground together.

A pause. Then a tortured “Mia,” from Cara. “Do you really think—”

Mia said, “Don't go there. Just shut it, Cara. You dumped him. He's working against us. Don't fall for him again. Look where it got you last time.”

Heavy tension filled the room.

Phoenix cleared her throat. “I, uh, pulled up Camille's history. Model student, never in trouble, no hint of being an addict. Parents aren't rich, but they make enough to support her in style. So why would she dabble in Onadyn?”

“Thrills?” Mia said. I heard the rustle of clothing, as if she shrugged. “Love?”

I haven't dabbled in Onadyn, you idiots!

“Not love. Not on Erik's side, at least. For the most part, he ignored her at the Ship,” Cara pointed out. “Maybe they aren't working together. Maybe she's a sick little puppy and was stalking him.”

“You and I both know that isn't true,” Phoenix said. “He knew the minute she stepped onto the fourth floor. You
saw
his reaction to her. His eyes heated; his body language changed, leaning toward her. He was aware of her every move and trying his best not to show it.”

What? My heart fluttered.

“But in the end, he did show it.” Mia sighed. “You said he gave her something. What?”

“After we cornered them, she told us it was a napkin.” Phoenix.

“I searched her and did find a napkin, but it was blank.” Cara.

“A decoy, probably.” Mia.

There was a second pause, this one so sharp and tight it would have cut me to pieces if I'd moved. Erik had noticed me? His eyes heated when he saw me? Despite the danger, the thought was intoxicating.

“And let's not forget the way he protected her when each of our guns were aimed at her.”

“I get it, Phoenix,” Cara said hotly. “Point made. You can shut up now.”

Strong fingers wrapped around my sore arm. I had to fight back a wince. Cool scissors cut at the bandage and I wobbled in my seat, surprised that I hadn't toppled over yet.

Wait! I was in a seat? Last thing I remembered, I'd been crumpled on the floor.

I took stock: legs under me, butt planted firmly on a flat piece of metal, arms bound behind my back. They'd moved me to the chair and bound me. Dread slithered through me. I was trapped. Totally and completely.

Oh, that sucked. They could do anything they wanted with me and I wouldn't be able to stop them. I wouldn't be able to fight them or shield myself.