Hunted (Talented Saga # 3) (35 page)

I landed several miles from the edge of the trees and quickly morphed back to my human form.
I dressed in the jeans and plain white tank top I’d packed, tying my tennis shoes securely to my feet. I took a deep breath, stealing my nerves for what might prove to be a death march. With the level of security in place, I had no choice but to surrender to the first guard I encountered, and I hoped that would prevent me getting shot again.

On account of my heightened eyesight, I saw the guard before he saw me.
I shuffled my feet to make enough noise to draw attention to myself.

“Halt!” the guard shouted at me.

My pulse quickened as he pointed his enormous rifle in my direction. I raised my hands in surrender, my eyes trained on the barrel of his gun. The scars on my back ached at the memory of bullets from a gun just like the one the guard had ripping through my skin. I stood frozen in place, waiting for the man to close the distance between us.

“This is private property,” he declared as he drew near.
“I suggest you turn around and go back the way you came.”

“I’m T-t-t-tail Lyons,” I stuttered, still focusing on his weapon.

“Excuse me?” he replied, his eyes disbelieving, like he hadn’t heard me correctly.

I cleared my throat and spoke in a clear, confident voice.
“I am Talia Lyons.”

The guard’s eyes lit up with recognition.
“Down on your knees,” he ordered.

Without tearing my gaze away, I sank obediently to my knees.
The guard’s finger jumped against the trigger and I recoiled, fearing that he might accidently pull it. With his free hand, the guard reached for a communication device at his belt.

“We have a situation out here,” he spoke rapidly into the mouth piece as he depressed a button on the side.

“What’s wrong ?” a voice crackled from the other end.

“I have a girl who says she’s Talia Lyons out here,” the guard responded.
He waited for a reply that didn’t come right away.

“What’s she look like?” a different voice demanded finally.

The guard looked at me uncertainly, then inched closer, looking uneasy for the first time.

“Small.
Curly brown hair. Purple eyes,” he answered.

“Bring her up here and be careful.
She’s extremely dangerous,” the voice ordered.

“Affirmative,” the guard replied, refastening the device to his belt.
“On your feet,” he demanded of me.

I slowly rose, keeping my hands visible so that I wouldn’t provoke him.
He grabbed one of my arms and twisted it painfully behind my back. I winced, but didn’t make any audible noise. He urged me forward while keeping my arm pinned behind me. The guard pushed me through the woods with the barrel of his weapon.

A short distance into the forest, several other guards materialized and fell in step with us.
One grabbed my other arm, painfully digging his fingers into my bicep. I gritted my teeth and kept my eyes forward. I had to swallow the overwhelming urge to attack. It went against every fiber of my being to submit to their dominance. Thoughts of Erik, the reason I’d come here in the first place, were the only thing that kept my temper in check.

The trees became thinner and the dirt floor of the forest gave way to a gravel drive that I recognized.
Several more heavily armed men stood blocking the entrance to the cottage. The man holding my twisted arm jammed the butt of his gun harshly into my kidney. White hot pain shot through my side as I stumbled forward, barely catching myself before I fell to the ground. I whirled around to face him, rage overtaking me, and I readied my muscles to attack, not caring that I was seriously outnumbered.

I lunged for the guard.
We collided with the ground, me on top. I ripped the gun from his hands and threw it at the man closest to us. When I stared down into his terrified eyes, I lost it. I channeled all my fear, rage, and pain into each punch. The guard tried to raise his hands to protect his face, and when he couldn’t, he tried to throw me off of him.

I had gotten in four or five good shots before numerous sets of hands pulled me off of the man.
I used my abilities to force the men touching me to let go, but soon learned the effort was pointless. Every time one set of hands released me, another took its place. Finally, someone kicked the back of my knees, causing me to fall to the ground. Something heavy hit me between my shoulder blades and suddenly, I was face down in the gravel with a swarm of gun barrels pointed at my head.

Great plan, Talia, I thought.
Way not to provoke them.

“Talia Lyons,” a man’s voice called.
I was afraid to raise my head to look at the speaker. “How does such a small girl cause so much trouble?” the voice continued. I said nothing. “An entire country is looking for you and here you are.”

“I want to talk to Crane,” I snapped, my voice muffled by the ground.

“President Crane isn’t here, so you’ll have to deal with me,” the man said. “Get her on her feet,” he added to the guards.

Two men grabbed me under my arms and hauled me to my feet.
Gravel was embedded in my cheek and I had to resist the urge to wipe it off. The men turned me until I was facing a tall, well-built man in his late twenties. He had brown hair, messily styled, and piercing eyes. The look of open hostility he wore sent a shiver skittering down my spine.

“I thought Crane wanted me alive,” I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

“He does,” the man confirmed. “But for the life of me, I don’t know why. You have done nothing but cause trouble for our people.”

Personally, I thought that the characterization was a little unfair.
He made it sound as though I single-handedly waged a war against the Coalition.

“Lucky for you, Ian has a certain fondness where you’re considered,” the man continued.
I didn’t like the way that he said fondness. I
t made me want to take a shower. “Take her inside, to the cage.”

Cage?
I certainly didn’t like the sound of that.

My guards pulled me forward.
They were so much taller than I was and my feet barely touched the ground as they dragged me to the front door of the cottage. Once inside, I didn’t have time to take in the surroundings. They practically carried me towards a hole in the center of the room. Oh, my god, they are going to drop me down there, I thought frantically. I started to struggle. When I couldn’t escape their grip, I used my abilities to force them to release me. But as soon as they dropped me, strong arms circled me from behind.

“We can do this the hard way or the easier way,” the man who had spoken to me outside growled in my ear.
I tried to invade his mind, but I couldn’t. It was just like with Crane. His barriers were too strong and I was too weak from my journey here.

“I might not be allowed to kill you, but I will drug you if I have to,” he continued.

I might not be able to fight him mentally, but I did have some physical fight left in me. I stomped as hard as I could on the top of his foot. Then I threw my elbow backwards, making contact with my stomach. He didn’t release me, but his grip slackened. I kicked the heel of my shoe into his shin at the same time I grabbed his wrist and began twisting it painfully.

I could feel the guns trained on me, but I held on to the man’s words.
If they weren’t allowed to kill me, then I hoped that meant no one would actually take a shot. A small sting in between two of my ribs paralyzed me. I stayed conscious long enough to see the tranquilizer dart pinning my t-shirt to my skin.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“How could you?” a girl’s voice said, breaking into the blackness.

“She attacked Jared!” an angry voice shot back. “She could’ve killed him!”

“Talia isn’t a killer,” the girl hissed.

“That is exactly what she is. A trained killer. Besides, you didn’t see her. She was ready to take on all of the exterior guards! I had to drug her,” the man responded. He no longer sounded mad, more as if he were trying to justify his actions.

I sat up, groaning.
My head felt massive, my cheek stung, and my side ached. I reached up to touch my face and felt a bandage covering it. I looked at my surroundings. I must be in the cage, I thought.

It sure looked like a cage.
The space couldn’t have been more than six feet by six feet. There were bars on three sides of the room. The fourth wall was stone. The bed I was sitting on rested against it. When I shifted on the mattress, the springs squeaked. I froze, not wanting to let my captors know I was awake.

“You should have called me immediately.
I could have handled her,” the girl was saying. Now that my head was a little clearer, I realized she was close by.

“I didn’t want to bother you.
I know you need to rest.” The man’s voice was gentle now.

“Don’t treat me like a child, Brand.
I am fine and I am in charge, not you. When she wakes up, I want to be informed immediately. Is that clear?” the girl snapped.

I shook my head to clear the tranquilizer haze.
The girl’s voice was familiar, but for some reason, I couldn’t place it. My head was so heavy. I just wanted to put it back down on the pillow. Since I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, I did just that.

“Fine, Ms. Crane.
I’ll make sure to let you know the minute the prisoner comes to,” Brand shot back. Ms. Crane? Was Ian married?

“OH. MY. GOD!
She’s not a prisoner!” the girl screamed at him.

I bolted upright.
Then I pinched the skin on one wrist with the thumb and forefinger of the other hand. I must be dreaming, I thought. Or maybe I finally went off the deep end, because surely my ears were playing tricks on me.

I tried to scream the name that formed in my head at the sound of her voice, but my throat was raw and the word came out hoarse and little more than a whisper.

“Well, I’m not letting her out of the cage. She’s too dangerous,” Brand yelled back.

“Good thing it’s not your call to make.”

It was her. I knew it. I chanted her name in my head, over and over. Footsteps pounded in the darkened hallway to one side of my cell. I could feel her before I caught sight of the red-orange hair.

“Penny!” I repeated aloud, my voice stronger now.

“Talia!” she cried when she was still several feet away.

I scrambled off of the bed and stumbled to the bars.
I thrust my arm through the metal, stretching my fingers in her direction. She nearly collided with the metal structure when she laced her fingers with mine.

“Open the cell door,” Penny shrieked to the man behind her - Brand, I assumed.

Brand fumbled with the key ring at his belt, but once he had the right key in his hand, he hesitated.

“Now!”
Penny barked.

He reluctantly complied.
Penny released her grip on my hand and rounded the cage. I flung myself into her arms as soon as she entered.

“I thought that you were dead,” I sobbed, still not believing she was actually there.

“I know,” she said. “It’s a long story. I’ll explain everything soon.”

I pulled back, staring into the lime green eyes of my best friend – the girl I’d condemned to death.
Oh, my god, she must hate me. She should hate me. I hated me.

“I’m so sorry, Penny,” I whispered.
“I’m so sorry.” I repeated the phrase over and over again.

“
It’s okay, Tal. I don’t blame you for anything,” she promised.

Brand scoffed behind her.
Penny shot him a withering glare over her shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get you upstairs,” Penny said, turning back to me.
She put her arm around my shoulders and guided me out of the cell. Brand fell in step on my other side and I noticed the gun in his hand for the first time. I shrank closer to Penny, not wanting to be closer to the weapon than absolutely necessary.

Penny led me down a dimly lit corridor, through a main room, and up a spiral staircase.
Brand stayed close to me, clearly not wanting to touch me, but determined not to let me out of his reach just in case. At the top of the staircase, we hauled ourselves through a trap door. I looked around and recognized the foyer of the cottage. The hole that we’d just crawled through, I realized, was the hole I’d worried they were going to throw me down.

Penny directed me to a room on the right.
The room had a worn brown sofa and matching arm chair set up in front of a stone fireplace. The walls were stone and decorated with framed paintings. Two large windows looked out over the ocean.

I ran to one window and pressed my face to the glass.
Waves crashed onto the bluffs below. I could hear the roar of the sea through the pane. I closed my eyes and let the noise calm me.

“Tal?” Penny asked, placing a hand on my back.
“Why don’t you sit? We have a lot to talk about.”

I turned around.
Brand was already seated in the arm chair with his gun resting on one knee. His gaze followed me as I moved to sit on the sofa.

“Where’s Crane?” I asked once I was seated.

“He’s on his way back here,” Brand said.

“I need to talk to him.”
I had so many questions for Penny, but finding Crane and begging for his help rescuing Erik was more pressing.

“He’ll be here by the morning,” Penny assured me, placing a hand on my arm.

“What do you want with President Crane?” Brand asked, pinning me to the couch with the harshness of his glare.

I swallowed, looking from Penny to Brand.
Should I tell them? I wanted to be the one to tell Crane. I hoped to catch him by surprise. I didn’t want him having a refusal ready when I finally saw him.

“It’s private,” I finally answered stiffly.

Brand scoffed and turned his gaze towards the empty fire place.

“Is this about Erik?” Penny asked gently.
I stared at her, shocked. Did they already know that Erik had been captured? “The Coalition has several spies in the Agency. We got word a couple of days ago that Erik had been arrested.”

“What else have you heard?” I asked, frantically grabbing her shoulders.

Brand jumped to his feet and darted towards us. He reached for me and jerked me back from Penny.

“Brand!” she shouted at him.
“Stop. She wasn’t going to hurt me!” Brand released my arms, but remained standing next to the couch.

“What else have you heard?” I repeated numbly.

“He’s still alive,” Penny said cautiously. She was trying to keep her face neutral.

Fear for what she was leaving unsaid filled me.
“Alive?” I mumbled.

“He’s been roughed up pretty badly,” Brand interjected.
“Our sources tell us Medics have been sent to his cell to revive him several times.”

“Brand,” Penny hissed.
“SHUT. UP.”

My hands flew to my chest, as if they could hold my heart together.
I wanted to melt right into the cushions of the couch or throw myself out of the window into the roaring sea. This couldn’t be happening. It was worse than I thought. My head spun so fast I had to put it between my knees.

“I’m so sorry, Talia,” Penny said, rubbing my back as I sucked air through my nose and blew it forcefully out of my mouth.

“I need to get to him,” I wheezed. “I need to save him.”

Neither Penny nor Brand replied.
She just continued to rub my back until I was able to sit back up.

“I need to save him,” I repeated, silently pleading with Penny to tell me that was possible.
She looked up at Brand, then back at me.

“I’m sorry, Tal,” she said again.

“Rescuing the boy isn’t possible,” Brand said flatly.

I rounded on him.
“It is possible. I will not let him die because of me!” I jumped to my feet, causing Brand to back away from the sofa. “I will do whatever it takes to get him back.”

“There might be one way, if you’re serious,” Brand said slowly.

“What?” I demanded, hope sparking.

“The Agency wants you more than they want him.
They might be willing to make a trade.”

“Absolutely not,” Penny declared, rising to stand next to me.
“That is not an option.”

“I’ll do it,” I said without thinking.

“No, you won’t,” Penny replied firmly. “I didn’t risk my life to let you go back there. My mother didn’t die so you could give up this easily.” The fierce determination that I’d seen in the courtroom shone in Penny’s eyes now. I was so caught off-guard by it that her words didn’t immediately register. Her mother? Then I remembered that Brand had called her Ms. Crane in the hallway downstairs. All the pieces were starting to fall into place.

“Ellen Larsen was your mother?” I asked softly.

“Yes, and she was trying to break onto the school grounds to rescue you when she was caught.” I wanted to shrivel up and die. I was responsible for Penny’s mother’s death. “That’s when Uncle Ian decided to send in an undercover agent that could get close to you,” she continued. “I volunteered to go. I didn’t realize it would take so long for me to become friends with you. At school, you were always with Donavon and closely watched by the Director. It wasn’t until you were at Elite Headquarters that I could get you alone.”

I remembered the first time I’d encountered Penny in the Hunters’ Village.
That seemingly chance meeting wasn’t chance at all. I felt hollow. Nothing in my life was real.

“Why does the Coalition want me so badly?” I asked quietly.

“The Coalition doesn’t want you,” Brand growled. “Ian does.” Cold fear spread through my entire body. I didn’t like the sound of that at all. I had made a terrible mistake in coming here.

“What do I want?” a voice boomed from behind us.
I turned and met Ian Crane’s dark eyes. He moved slowly into the living room, stopping a foot in front of me. “Natalia, it’s good to see you, I think,” he said.

“You think?” I managed to squeak out.

“Yes, if you are going to try and kill me again, it’s not good to see you.” Crane smiled. I swallowed thickly. “I am pretty sure that’s not why you’re here, though. Word is you kidnapped a child and your boyfriend is currently a resident at Tramblewood. What I’m not sure of is what convinced you to come to me.”

I steeled my nerves.
It was now or never. “I need your help.”

“What makes you think I would help you?” Ian asked.
The words themselves sounded like a challenge, but the way he said it was more inquisitive than combative. It seemed like he wanted me to say something specific, as if there were actually one right answer to his question. I was pretty sure I knew what the answer was, too. I just wasn’t sure I could say the words.

“You said you knew my father,” I started shakily.
“I think, at one time, you were friends with both my parents.” I paused. The next words would be the hardest. Saying them out loud would make the accusation real. Rip the bandage, I told myself. “And I’m pretty sure Mac killed them,” I finally added.

Crane smiled thinly and held out a hand to me.
“You and I have a lot discuss, Natalia Lyons.”