Cryostorm (11 page)

“Oh dear,” Lois said. “Okay, so, I’m seeing our options as: One—go destroy Center locations. Two—stay on the run. Three—contact this Dustin Parks. Or Four—go to the FBI and expose yourselves to the world.”

“That’s what we’ve come up with so far.” I settled against Nate’s warm body. I hadn’t taken a nap while they were out shopping, and boy was I feeling it.

“I don’t like the destroying Centers option, that sounds dangerous.” Lois shook her head. “We can’t keep running. Well, we could, but we’d run out of money. And that’s not a life I want for you, Georgia. You deserve more. You—” Lois’s hand went to her mouth. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Guess the mother thing really
was
hard to shut off. But Georgia’s face softened, even if only a flash, and I saw the love smooth the angry wrinkles. I’d seen it a few times. She must be going bonkers in her head right now. First the only mother she ever knew, then she finds out she’s a freak mutant like me, and my twin sister to boot. Which meant Lois wasn’t her mother and had been lying to her forever. Then for the cherry, Lois ups and disappears the night before Georgia’s birthday.

Our lives were crazy weird.

“I agree,” Nate said. “Physically destroying the locations would be dangerous. You’ve done it once already, they may have taken measures to be prepared, and you could get injured or killed.”

“Agreed,” Tim said.

“And,” Nate continued. “I’m leery of exposing ourselves to the public, especially my situation. But the rest of you, you’re products of loving relationships in which one of the parents were wrongly injected with DNA-altering serums. They can’t hold that against you.”

Nate worried how the world would accept him. How it would probably turn on him because of the way he was created. As far as we knew, he was the first and only Frankenstein who actually worked. Furthermore, he had a soul, a conscience. He felt. He loved.

He fastened his gaze on me and smiled. Never short of a smile, even when things were bleak.

I really did love this guy.

“You’re right. No exposure.” I nuzzled my nose against his cheek, then looked at Lois. “That leaves your Dustin guy or staying on the run.”

“I vote for Dustin,” Georgia said. “If that doesn’t work and we don’t get killed, then we can run.”

“Georgia,” Lois said.

“I second Georgia,” Tim said.

I nodded and looked at Nate. “I abstain.”

“You can’t. Has to be unanimous,” I said. “Why are you abstaining?”

“I don’t know enough about this. I need to see the data.”

“My boyfriend, the genius.” I looked to Lois. “Do you have anything on your phone?”

“No. Printed and deleted. All is in a safety deposit box.”

“Of course it is.” I flopped my head against the chair. “Nate. Really? You need to see the data? For realz?”

“Sorry. It’s my job to protect you. Remember what I said about that.”

“I know. I know.” I sighed, but inside, I was grateful. He was a good leader. Sure, he ticked me off royally about not telling me about Scott and Zach, but he was right, since he’d told me, I’d been obsessing about Zach. I’d never tell
him
that, but I was.

So yeah, I was going to go with him on this one.

“Okay, then. Lois, where’s this box of stuff?”

“Really?” Georgia asked. “Come on, Nate. This is going to set us back.”

“So will walking into a trap.”

Georgia slumped. She must have seen the logic.

“I agree,” Lois said. “Nate’s right. I’ve printed everything Gonzo sent me. But in the mean time, can you start your searching here on the Internet, since you have his name? Maybe you’ll get what Gonzo got on your own. That’ll strengthen your resolve, won’t it?”

“I like how you think, Lois.” Nate hugged me closer. “Now, did you get a nap? Any kind of rest? You’re looking really tired.”

“Thanks. Exactly what a girl wants to hear.”

“It’s true. You still look beautiful, but I can see fatigue as well.”

“Nice save, buddy,” Tim said. “I know I’m wiped out. Let’s surf for a while then get some rack time.”

“Can you surf from here, because I totally don’t want to move, like, ever?” I nuzzled my forehead to his neck and felt his pulse against my skin. His arms tightened around me, and he settled back.

“I don’t need to surf right this minute. Relax.”

I glanced at Lois, expecting a parental-like glare chastising me for the close contact with a boy. Georgia had made it clear to me what Lois had preached about premarital sex and stuff, so I wasn’t sure where she stood on the cuddling thing.

She surprised me with a smile. Her first toward me since I’d moved to Trifle and disrupted her perfect, little Georgia.

“Yes. You four rest for a bit. I can use your laptop and begin some searches and bookmark them for you. I assume your laptop is safe?” Lois asked Nate.

He nodded.

Lois got up and cast a look at Nate and me, then Georgia and Tim cuddled up on the couch. Yep, we were an exhausted bunch, but at least we’d made some progress.

Let’s hope this Dustin guy could help. A life without Agents chasing me was what I’d always wanted, after all. I let that thought chase me into a deep sleep in Nate’s strong, warm arms.

I’d let tomorrow worry about itself for a minute.

Chapter 17

V
iolent pounding on the door yanked me out of a deep sleep. I hopped to my feet, hands frozen.

“Mandy!”

It was Nate’s voice. Georgia was up, skin glowing pink and standing in front of Lois.

The door vibrated beneath massive pounds again. “Mandy. Are you okay? Answer me or I’m breaking this door down.”

“Yeah. Coming.” I glanced at Georgia. She nodded, but her eyes flamed orange as if to tell me she was ready in case something was wrong.

The cold floor frosted my toes, not literally, but close. The room was dark, so it had to be really early in the morning. What on earth could be wrong? My limbs felt heavy, like cement, but I made it to the door. I heard wood creaking and peeked out the eye hole. Nate paced in front of the door like a wild animal.

Didn’t see Tim.

“Nate?” I said.

“Open up. Everything okay in there?”

I disengaged the lock and pulled the door open. “What’s wrong?”

He pushed the door back, and I stepped out of the way. His intense gaze swept the room, then fastened on me. Sweat beaded across his forehead and ringed his neck.

“Nate, what happened to you?” I reached out to the door to shut it.

“Wait,” Tim called out. “I’m coming.”

Sure enough, he hurdled the steps, still in his stockings.

“What the hell is going on?” I said.

“He ran out so fast with his speediness, it took me a second to catch on.” Tim went past me to Georgia. “Everything okay?”

She nodded, knocking the glow factor down a couple of notches, but stayed in front of Lois.

“Nate?” I asked.

“I—” He yanked me into his arms. “I needed to see that you were okay. Not hurt.”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay? Well, I mean, besides Agents and crap, but it’s been that way for months.” I hugged him back with strength only he could withstand.

“Just had a bad feeling all of a sudden.” He loosened his grip, and I slid down his body. “That you were hurt.”

Tim stared in Nate’s direction, his eyebrows furrowed. Nate dipped his head, then focused on me. “I’m sorry I scared you. I—”

His big body shivered against me. That’s when I noticed his feet were bare. “Nate.” I tugged him to the couch. “Georgia, can you get a towel?”

Now that my senses were catching up to me, Nate was barefoot in sweat pants and only a t-shirt. And that shirt was soaked. It was dark red, so I couldn’t see his branding, but still. Lois hurried to the fireplace and snatched the poker.

“Tim, get me some kindling.” She lit a match and ignited some pieces of paper.

“That’s okay, Lois. I got it.” Georgia stood behind Nate, and gripped his shoulder.

Her nails flickered red, and the familiar pink glow her skin takes on ignited. Nate instantly calmed. I dried his feet while he relaxed and sunk into the chair.

“Oh my goodness,” Lois said. “Georgia.”

A flick of her finger, and a stream of fire shot to the fireplace. The log Lois had put on the rack ignited with a burst. Some sparks shot out, but dissipated quickly. Lois jumped back, hands to her heart.

“That’s going to take some getting used to.” She shook her head. “My little gir—” She coughed. “You’ve changed so much since I last saw you.”

“Nate. Tell me.” I sat beside him, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. Lois sat on the hearth while Tim and Georgia stood nearby.

“I’m sorry. It was a dream.” He looked at me with wide, dilated eyes. “You were injured. It seemed so real. I was—” His voice cracked. His voice never cracked. He was usually stone, no granite-tough, but the last couple days, I’d seen him flustered more than once.

“What?” I whispered.

“I had to make sure you were okay.”

“Must have been some dream.”

He nodded, then glanced at Tim. I cupped Nate’s cheek and pressed his forehead to my neck. For once I was going to cuddle him and take care of him. When had anyone done that for him?

“It’s almost five in the morning, anyone want pancakes?” Tim asked.

Georgia laughed. “I’ll help.”

The gang, including Lois, moved toward the kitchen. I heard mumblings about how it sucked getting woken up like that, but it was no use going back to sleep. I let the voices roll off my shoulders. My Nate was upset, and I needed to take care of him.

But I had a sneaky suspicion it was more than a nightmare that prompted his frantic visit.

“Tell me what you saw.” I combed my fingers through his hair, like I remembered him doing to me last night, before I fell asleep in his arms.

“It’s nothing.”

“Nope. Not good enough.” I hugged him closer. “Talk.”

“It was just a dream. Agents got to you.”

“Just a dream.” Yeah. It had been my nightmare several times. Thankfully it
was
a dream this time. So did
not
want to go back there.

“I’m sorry,” Nate said.

“Don’t be. We’re all jumpy right now. I’m here. We’re safe.”

He sucked in a deep breath and sagged lower so his head rested on my lap. He curled his legs up onto the couch and used my thighs as his pillow. I rested my head back, continuing to comb his hair with my fingers and let the clanking of utensils and shuffling from the kitchen fade away to background noise.

“Did I die?”

Nate flinched, but didn’t answer.

“Okay, that answers that.” I drew in a deep breath. “So, is future telling or seeing one of your gifts?”

“No.”

“Then don’t worry. It was just a dream. No biggie.”

“I know. You’re right. I’m just overtired.”

“Join the club.”

He turned to his back, keeping his head on my lap. “I looked up Dustin quite a bit with Tim last night.”

“And…”

“We’ll see what her safety deposit box contains. He feels a bit shady. Some key points don’t connect.”

“Like...”

“GEM. He isn’t directly connected with it, yet his name comes up on most of the searches about business articles or medical center donations when we try and research GEM.”

“Medical centers, huh?” I shivered. “Yeah. That’s feeling a bit wonky.”

His shoulders jutted up, and a smile filled his face. Too bad it didn’t reach his eyes, though. I loved seeing those brown eyes sparkle.

“Pancakes are ready,” Tim said.

“Hungry?” I moved my hand down the side of his face and over his chest, resting my palm over where his jagged marks lie beneath his shirt. He’d always been self-conscious about them, but he’d stopped flinching when I touched them a couple of months ago.

“Okay. Let’s eat and then go get this information so we can see if this Dustin guy is worth the risk.”

Chapter 18

“D
esire Honesty? Really? You picked Desire Honesty for your name for this safety deposit box?” Georgia shook her head. “How—um—well, I’m dumbfounded.”

Lois smiled. “You’re the creative one in the family.”

“Oh no, it’s creative. Crazy, but creative.”

Nate and I trailed behind Tim, Lois, and Georgia up the sidewalk. Being back in the same town we’d found Lois in was pretty much the stupidest thing, ever. Each person, except me, tried to tell Nate that he was insane. But he held fast.

That was one thing he did. Held fast. No matter what, he did what was right so he could say he tried everything to make sure we were all safe. Didn’t always work that way, but at least he could say he looked at it from all angles.

“How long have you two known each other?” Lois asked Tim.

“Almost four months.”

“Where’d you go to school?”

“At The Center.”

“Oh.” Lois glanced back at Nate. “You, too?”

He nodded and instinctively, probably didn’t even know he did it, rubbed his chest.

“And your parents were—”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Georgia said. “How far until the bank?”

“Oh, sorry, dear. Up on Mill Street.”

I scanned the area again. Across the street sat a park with a fountain—er—frozen fountain in the center. Despite the cold, people still gathered, bundled up in their Gore-Tex, braving the brisk wind to bathe in the sun that had been absent for days. Three kids rolled around on the ground trying to make the snow stick for a snowman head.

It quickly dissolved into a snowball fight. I laughed.

Nate looked at me, then to the park area. He, too, smiled.

The sidewalk ahead of and behind us was littered with people holding bags, out shopping. I guess that would be normal since it was a Saturday, early afternoon. Maybe since things were so populated, Agents, if they were here, wouldn’t try anything.

They had to have figured we wouldn’t dare come back to this town, right?

Reverse Psychology.

I had a sinking feeling, though, that if The Center Agents were gone, Bev’s GenCorp agents would be around. From what I could tell, they’d been quiet. Then again, how would we know which Agent was from which evil organization?