Hunted (Talented Saga # 3) (32 page)

Frederick met my gaze in the rearview mirror again.
Indecision flickered in his eyes. “He won’t. Crane doesn’t want you dead.”

I could tell Frederick wanted to say more, but held back.
I didn’t ask Frederick how he knew Crane’s feelings where I was concerned. Part of me didn’t want to know. My system couldn’t handle any more shocking truths for a while.

The knowledge that Crane had no intention of killing me brightened my mood slightly.
If Crane didn’t want me shot on sight, I had a chance. If I could just talk to him, appeal to whatever compassion he might feel for his captured men, I had a chance.

Just after sunset, we arrived at the next stop on the Underground.
To my surprise, this station was a small neighborhood. There were a handful of identical one-story houses with attached garages. Frederick selected a well-lit home with a small, red car in the driveway. He pulled next to the vehicle and the garage door shuddered to life. As soon as it was high enough for our car to clear, he entered, came to a halt, and turned off the engine.

I climbed out and stretched the kinks from my limbs before grabbing Alex and placing him on my hip.
Frederick didn’t bother to knock on the door leading from the garage to the interior of the house. We entered through a laundry room that opened into a tidy kitchen.

“Whose house is this?” I asked as Frederick sat his keys and our bags on the round table in the corner.

“Mine, actually,” he said smiling. “I have homes at several of the compounds I frequent.”

Frederick showed me to a bedroom with two single beds covered in blue quilts.
The room was so small that the beds and a small night table consumed the entire space.

“You two can stay in here.
I can make us some dinner if you want to get settled in,” he offered.

“Thanks, Frederick,” I said softly.
“Thanks for everything.” I started to get choked up.

“Talia, this is what I do.
I’m happy to help, especially you.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me an affectionate squeeze before departing to make our meal.

I helped Alex get cleaned up and changed.
Then I sat him at the kitchen table with paper and crayons while I freshened up. The water was warm and felt amazing after nearly a week of too-short, too-cold showers. I vowed never to take the small luxury for granted again.

Once I was dressed in clean, comfortable clothing, I joined Alex at the table.
The smell of roasted chicken and steamed vegetables wafted through the small house. I was scared to look at Alex’s drawings for fear they would be more images of Erik in distress, but when I peeked over his shoulder, there were only obscure shapes decorating the pages.

“You guys hungry?” Frederick asked with mock cheerfulness as he set plates of steaming meat and asparagus on the table.

“Yup!” Alex called back, patting the table for the fork.

Frederick had cut Alex’s dinner into small pieces so the boy wouldn’t choke.
I smiled gratefully as his thoughtfulness. I took my own dinner and began pushing my chicken around on the plate. Frederick chewed slowly, scrutinizing my eating habits.

“Henri says I’m a pretty good cook,” Frederick commented when he realized that I hadn’t actually put any food in my mouth.

“I’m sorry, I’m just not that hungry,” I muttered, slightly embarrassed.

“You need your strength, Tal,” Frederick said gently.

Deciding he had a point, I bit a chunk of chicken off my fork. The food smelled incredible, but tasted like cardboard in my mouth. It took all my willpower to swallow and then keep the meat from coming back up. I managed to consume half the dinner.

“Full,” Alex declared, pushing his empty plate away from him.

“Good job, sweetie,” I praised his accomplishment and ruffled his hair. “Are you tired? Do you want to lie down?”

“Story?” he asked hopefully.
Leisel had included several children’s books in our things, so I agreed to read him one while he fell asleep.

I tucked him into one of the beds and perched on the edge, opening a book about a large red dog.
It had taken three read-throughs before his eyelids began to droop and his small head lulled to one side. When I was satisfied that he was asleep, I turned off the lamp and went to find Frederick. He was in the kitchen, washing our dinner dishes.

“Dinner was great,” I said, leaning against the counter next to the sink.

“Uh-huh, I could tell by the way you barely ate it,” he teased.

I blushed and looked guiltily at my bare toes.

“You’re great with Alex,” Frederick said, changing the subject.

I laughed.
“I have no idea what I’m doing, but he’s been through so much. I just want him to be as comfortable as possible. I know what it’s like to lose a parent.”

Frederick made a non-committal noise and returned to the dishes.

“So, you said you’re an Elite Talent. What’s your gift?” I inquired.

Frederick didn’t answer right away.
His slim fingers forcefully scrubbed the remnants of chicken from a plate, the wheels in his head churning as he decided how much to divulge. “I’m a Viewer,” he finally said.

A Viewer?
This just kept getting more intriguing. Viewers were extremely rare, and Elite Level Viewers were virtually non-existent. Yet, I was now in a house with two. Whatever Frederick knew about Toxic must be extremely detrimental if they let him go. I had to know what it was.

“What happened on your mission, Frederick?” I asked softly.

He cleared his throat loudly. “Kind of what happened to you, actually.”

I raised my eyebrows questioningly, prompting him to continue.

“We were sent to extract a child who wasn’t really under the jurisdiction of the Agency. Things went bad, and the child’s family and several Operatives were killed. Toxic wanted to cover it all up, and I was the only person who wouldn’t agree to that. So, I traded my silence for my freedom. I made it clear if I ever found out they were tracking or monitoring me, then I would go public with what I knew,” he explained.

“But they could have just locked you up, killed you even, to keep you quiet.
Why would they just let you go?” I asked more to myself than him.

“That would’ve required a trial, a sentencing at the very least.
Toxic couldn’t risk that. If I made claims about what I’d seen on the record, there would have been an investigation. And I didn’t have the balls to run away with the kid so they could spin the story and make me out to be a kidnapper, like you and Erik,” he said pointedly.

“I don’t think that makes you a coward; it makes you smart,” I replied.

Frederick gave me a hard appraising look. “I have regretted my decision every day since,” he said.

“That’s why you joined the Underground,” I replied.
It wasn’t a question. After what I’d witnessed, I was ready to sign on the dotted line, too.

“Yeah.
I swore I’d do whatever it took to prevent a repeat of that mission.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I reached for a folded blue towel and began drying the dishes he’d placed in a plastic rack next to the sink.
We finished cleaning in silence before going into our respective bedrooms. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep. I felt useless. I wanted to take action. All this sitting around was doing nothing to help Erik. The torture I imagined him enduring likely didn’t come close to what Mac was actually subjecting him to. I felt guilty sleeping in this warm, comfortable bed while Erik was crumpled on the concrete floor of some cell. It pained me to think my stomach was full of Frederick’s home cooked food while Erik was likely subsisting off the bare minimum to keep his heart pumping. I was safe and healthy and Erik was bleeding and broken.

When I became so frustrated that I couldn’t lie still any longer, I quietly left the room, careful not to wake Alex.
I paced between the small kitchen and the blue couch and chair that made up Frederick’s living room. There had to be more that I could be doing right now. There had to be a way to get to Crane faster. I wouldn’t last a couple more days; I was already driving myself closer to the edge of sanity.

As I paced, my temper flared until it was a full blown inferno.
My steps became faster and heavier as I began to stomp. I bit down on my lower lip and felt my incisors pierce my flesh, tasting blood. My breath started coming out in ragged gasps until I was growling. When I caught sight of my reflection in the window, my eyes had elongated. And when I opened them wider, the whites were gone; only large purple orbs filled my sockets. I looked down at my hands; my nails were now pointy and claw-like.

I tried to recall the last time I’d taken my medicine.
It had been at least two days since I’d last injected myself. I had the syringes in my bag. All I had to do was get one and I could stop the change. The room started to spin until I was no longer sure which way was up. I sunk to the floor and put my head between my knees, willing myself to calm down. I was too worked up, I couldn’t get control. Part of me knew I was going to morph. The still rational part of my brain fought the transformation, but I was quickly losing touch with reality.

My arms and legs trembled,
then began to jerk violently, painfully. I screamed as my bones popped and cracked, reforming themselves. My pajamas tore. I fell to the carpet, writhing in agony.

“Talia!”
Frederick yelled, running from his bedroom.

With impossibly fast reflexes, I spun to locate his voice.
I bared my sharpened teeth in his direction and he backed against the wall. His eyes were terrified as I advanced on him. In my mind, I was trying to speak, but the only sound coming out of my mouth was a high pitched keening.

“Tal?” Frederick asked, visibly trying to calm himself.

I emitted a low guttural growl and kept moving to where he stood. Frederick’s brown eyes darted around the small room and a spark of understanding lit his face when he saw my shredded clothes. He knelt and tentatively held one hand to me. Unsure what to do, I licked his fingers. Frederick sat crossed-legged against the wall and patted the fur on my head.

“I didn’t really believe Erik when he told me,” he whispered.

I whimpered and dropped to my stomach, scooting closer to him. I looked over my shoulder, seeking out my reflection. A small, nearly black wolf with giant purple eyes stared back at me. I tried to cry, but it came out as a horrific whine.

“
It’s okay, Tal. Just concentrate on changing back. You can do it. Just focus your energy,” he commanded.

I stared up at him sadly, unsure that I had the ability to comply.

“Come on, Talia,” he urged, collecting my small wolf body in his arms, no longer afraid I’d attack him.

I did as he ordered and focused my powers.
After several tries, my body began to shake again and the painful sensation came back as my body morphed back to human. Soon, I was sobbing uncontrollably in Frederick’s arms and to top it off, I was naked.

Frederick was non-fazed as he rubbed my bare back.
“It’s okay, Talia. You’re okay,” he soothed.

I cried harder.
I wasn’t sure if I was reacting to the transformation or if all my bottled up emotions were finally breaking free. Either way, nothing staunched the fat tears pouring down my face and soaking through Frederick’s pajama pants.

“I’ll get your medicine.
Erik said you had some drug that would prevent you from morphing. Where is it?” Frederick asked, running his hands along my tangled curls.

“NO,” I practically shouted sitting up.
“I don’t want that.” Realizing I was fully exposed, I wrapped one arm across my chest and hastily wiped at my eyes.

Frederick gave me an appraising look and I wanted to melt into the carpet with utter humiliation at him seeing me sans clothing.
His delicate face broke into a huge smile. “No offense, Talia, but you do nothing for me,” he said, working his way out of his shirt and handing it to me.

I gratefully slipped the soft fabric over my head.
Frederick helped me to my feet, and my legs wobbled unsteadily.

“Come on, let’s go lay down,” he guided me back down the short hallway that led to the bedrooms.
He bypassed mine and Alex’s and directed me to his. Frederick’s room wasn’t much bigger than the other one, but there was a huge bed with rumpled blue sheets. He held the covers back and gestured for me to climb in. He sat gingerly on the edge of the bed.

“You should take the medicine, Talia,” he said softly.
“When Morphers first begin to transform, they can’t control it. With everything going on, you don’t need to deal with this, too.”

“I don’t want their drugs.
I can control it,” I urged.

Frederick looked doubtful, but didn’t argue further.
Instead, he reached over and turned off the lamp next to the bed. Then he grabbed a pillow and stretched out in the small strip of beige carpeting between the bed and the wall.

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor,” I mumbled.
“You already saw me naked.”