The Mind Readers (27 page)

“No, you don’t get it.” I rushed
up the stairs, knowing this could be my last chance to make him understand.
“These children deserve to be with their parents.” We paused on the main floor.
“You should know that better than anyone.”

He latched onto my arm, his grip
painful. “No matter how we explain the facts, you twist them and turn them. I
have nothing more to say to you, Cameron. Go to your room.” He pulled me up the
steps to the second floor, going so fast, I tripped beside him. At my bedroom
door, I jerked away from his hold. It was over. Anything we had, any emotions
we’d shared, they were over.

“Don’t try to escape again,” he
said. “You can wait until tomorrow to leave. And you sure as hell better not
try to take any of the kids with you. You’ll only endanger them as well.”

Somehow the tables had been
turned. I felt horrible, as if I was the one making mistakes, as if I was the
one in the wrong. Maybe I was. “And just like that, huh?” I whispered. “I can
leave tomorrow?”

He took a step back, his gaze
pinned to me. “Tomorrow, you can leave,” Lewis said, his voice hard. His gaze
no longer held any emotion. “You’ll go home.”

I lifted my chin defiantly, not
willing to let him see how his indifference hurt. “I don’t buy it.”

He took another step back.
“You’re right. Nothing comes without consequence. We must protect the good of
the Mind Readers. In the evening, Aaron will come for you. Your memory of this
place, of me…all of it…will be gone. You’ll finally get what you want.”

Chapter 20

The sun wavered on the edge of
the horizon, hovering there for eternity, taunting me as if knowing that once
it slipped below, my life would change forever. Afternoon was fading fast into
evening. With evening, they would arrive.
  

Lewis’ face flashed to mind.
Aaron will come for you. Your memory of this
place, of me…all of it…will be gone. You’ll finally get what you want.

But he knew I didn’t want this.
Who would want their brain turned into mush? I pressed my fingers to the
window, my breath fogging the cold glass. I couldn’t rest. I couldn’t eat. I
couldn’t do anything but wait for the thump of Aaron’s footsteps in the hallway
outside my bedroom door.

I glanced over my shoulder at
the clock on my bedside table. The minutes flashed; brilliant red numbers that
glared at me. For three hours I’d barely moved. For three hours I’d stared at
that clock until I thought my retinas would burn. I thought about my dad and
wondered if he had known his best friend was a psycho. I wondered about
Caroline, if she was still crying. If she had gotten into trouble because of
me. But mostly, I wondered about Lewis.

Aaron would come any moment now.
I knew that. It was almost as if I could sense him closer. Frustrated tears
burned my eyes. I swiped angrily at my wet cheeks. The waiting was unbearable.

He’d posted a guard at my
bedroom door. I glanced outside. The big, burly man who had ripped me from that
tunnel stood below my window. Aaron wasn’t leaving anything to chance. Lewis
wouldn’t help me. Grandma had no clue where to find me. I was alone in this
mess.

How much of my memory would they
take? Everything I knew about Lewis, every experience we’d ever shared. As much
as I resented him, the thought of forgetting Lewis completely killed me. This
island, this home…all gone. The children…Caroline…gone. What if Aaron screwed
up and erased more? What if I became some vegetable with no thoughts, no life?

It wasn’t right. He had no right
to do this to me. He had no right to do this to anyone.

The tears came again, hot,
stinging tears that slipped down cheeks raw from crying so much. As angry as I
was at Aaron I was even more so at my supposed boyfriend. How could Lewis let
this happen? Some girls complained because their boyfriends didn’t pay them
enough attention, or buy them gifts. But let’s face it, Lewis could pretty much
hands down win
Worst Boyfriend Of The
Year
.
 

I spun around, anger propelling
me forward, pacing back and forth, stuck in this stupid room. Should I even try
to fight him? Or were my chances of winning just too pathetic? He had his
henchmen to hold me down. I’d never really have a chance. My legs suddenly
weak, I sank onto the edge of the bed. Would it hurt as I’d hurt Maddox? Would
I bleed? I suppose I deserved it after what I’d done. Maybe this was what they
meant by karma.

A soft murmur of voices
interrupted the quiet. I surged from the bed and stumbled back until my
shoulder blades hit the wall. My time had come. I patted my jean pocket,
searching for the feel of the Swiss Army Knife that had belonged to Dad. It
might be a sad weapon and they’d probably find it on me, but for now it was the
only protection I had.

Someone knocked, which made me
laugh, a strangled manic laugh. I found their use of manners and privacy
ridiculous considering the circumstance. I didn’t bother to respond, but turned
toward the windows, offering whoever it was my back. Could I lie? Pretend I’d
changed my mind and wanted to be one of them again?

The door opened. My heart leapt
into my throat. I didn’t turn to look; I could see Lewis’s reflection in the
windows. He hesitated in the doorway and I wished I could see him better. Why I
cared what he was thinking, I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to read his mind. Did
he regret doing this to me? Or was his need to see S.P.I. destroyed so great that
he’d sacrifice our relationship so easily?

“We have to go…now,” his voice
was strong, sure as if he didn’t care at all what was about to happen.

My stomach churned and bile
raced up my throat. I refused to puke in front of him.

“We need to hurry,” he said, his
voice softer this time. “It will take only a few moments, you’ll rest and then
we’ll escort you home tomorrow.”

“Will it hurt?” I cursed my
voice for catching.

He was quiet for a long, telling
moment. “A little.”

I cringed, despite trying not to.
“A
little
like we only hurt Maddox a
little
?” I turned, facing him.

He wore jeans and a fitted
t-shirt that hugged his broad shoulders. Gorgeous…always gorgeous. But he was
pale and there were dark circles under his blue eyes, indicating he hadn’t
slept. Well, good. It served him right.

“It’s the only way,” he
whispered. “I thought this was what you wanted.”

At one time he’d cared about me,
cared if I hurt, if I was injured. “I want…” No, I wouldn’t say it. There was
no point, but I couldn’t stop the words from tumbling through my head. I wanted
things back to the way they were. Just me and Lewis. But I’d die before I’d say
the words aloud.

“Sir,” one of the guards
muttered, “we need to hurry.”

So while Lewis stood there
staring at me with those fathomless eyes, I tilted my chin arrogantly high and
snapped out, “Let’s get this over with.”

I wouldn’t look at him. I
wouldn’t beg him to help. If he wanted me to forget about him, I would. As I
moved by him, he reached out, his fingers warm on my wrist. The moment he
touched me, tears burned my eyes. I couldn’t control myself around him.
 

“Cameron,” he whispered. He
jerked me to him and I didn’t protest. I sank into his body as he hugged me and
I hugged him back, afraid to let go. “I’ll miss you.” His words tore at my
heart. He cupped the sides of my face and pressed his lips to mine, a hard
kiss. And I knew it would be our last.

Tears slipped down my cheeks. I
tried to memorize everything about him…the way he smelled, the way his lips
felt against mine. I clung desperately to those memories even as I knew that
within moments they could be gone, erased from my mind forever.

He tore his mouth from mine and
backed up, his gaze intense, his breathing harsh.

“Lewis.” I raised my hand. I
wanted to beg him to go with me, beg him not to let this happen.

He turned away. My hand dropped
to my side, my heart crumbling to the pit of my belly. I wouldn’t plead. No,
not again. He’d picked this stupid mission over me plenty of times. I would not
beg him again.

“Let’s go,” one of the guards
demanded.

Lewis moved into the hall, not
bothering to look back to see if I followed. He knew I had no choice. I barely
noticed the length of the hall. The stairs seemed too steep and high for my
trembling body. Each step down sent my heart racing faster, so fast I thought
I’d faint. Closer to Aaron’s study…closer to the end. I felt like I was headed
toward my hanging.

It would hurt, even Lewis had
admitted that much. I wasn’t a coward, but I certainly didn’t like pain. As I made
my way toward Aaron’s office door, my body felt numb, the situation unreal. It
was as if my mind couldn’t take the truth and my body was shutting down. We
paused and I was vaguely aware of Lewis knocking. I tried not to think about
what would happen, tried not to think about the pain, tried not to think about
the fact that no longer would I know there were others like me. Instead, I
focused on the fact that tomorrow I’d be in my narrow bed, in my small room at
Grandma’s.

The door opened and Aaron
appeared dressed as immaculately as always in black slacks and a blue button up
shirt. I was so disgusted by the sight of him that for a moment I didn’t notice
the frantic look in his gaze. But as he scowled down at me, I realized there
was something more to his gaze, something that looked oddly like worry.

“It’s too late,” he snapped.
“Take her to the dorm, now.”

“They’re already here?” Lewis
demanded. “What happened?”

No
why
or
Okie Dokie
, not
even a
Yes Sir
, but a
what’s happened
. Which made me realize
that taking me to the dorm had not been the original plan. Aaron slid me a
suspicious glance, then looked back at Lewis. “They’ve breached the fence.”

“Shit,” Lewis whispered.

“They who?” I asked.

Aaron turned, heading back into
his office. “Get her downstairs, we’re under lock down.”

Lewis grabbed my arm and dragged
me down the hall. “Lewis, what the hell’s going on?”

I could feel his body trembling
as I tripped beside him. Was he trembling from fear or anger…I wasn’t sure.
“All those S.P.I. agents you’ve been defending have breached our security.
They’re coming. Better pray they don’t get into the mansion.”

My fear turned bitterly cold as
panic flooded my body. I was barely aware as we stumbled down the steps to the
basement. Having a piece of your memory erased didn’t seem so bad compared to
being murdered. Would they kill us? Imprison us?

So focused on my fear, I was
surprised to suddenly find us standing in front of the Children’s Ward. Lewis
punched in a code and the door slid open. The children were sitting on their
beds, but awake, a sea of round, chubby faces staring at me.

“You’ll all stay in here,
understand?” Lewis asked, pushing me inside. Everything was moving too quickly,
my mind couldn’t grasp the situation. But I was well aware that Lewis was leaving
me, abandoning me, here.
 

He was at the door when I
finally found my voice. “Lewis! Where are you going? You can’t leave me here!”

He didn’t bother to turn around.
“It’s the safest place for you.”

He slammed the door in my face.
My stomach dropped. I grasped onto the cold, metal handle and pulled. It didn’t
budge. Trapped. I spun around. The children were sitting there, watching me
with patient acceptance. I found Caroline almost immediately, a golden beacon
of hope. She was two beds down, her face showing no emotion.

“It’s fine. We’ll be okay,” I
said softly to myself, or to the children, I wasn’t sure who.
 

No one responded to my pathetic
attempt at a pep talk. But then again at least they didn’t look afraid. Why
didn’t they look afraid? Maybe this happened often, maybe they didn’t care.
“I’m saying we’re safe here.”

Still no response.

“We know,” Caroline finally
said.

“Oh, so this has happened
before?”

She nodded. I shook my head,
disgusted. What a wonderful way for a child to live. I couldn’t leave them
here. I had to find a way to take them with me. As soon as the thought entered,
I realized how ridiculous it was. Right, it was going to be hard enough to slip
out unnoticed, how would I escape with twenty kids?

There was nothing I could do for
these children at the moment. Instead, I focused on doing something
proactive…like pacing. I walked up and down the aisle between the beds, my mind
spinning. Lewis could be hurt, even killed. And I hated myself for caring about
him, and wondered if this was his powers of mental and emotion persuasion at
work once more. And what about Maddox? Would he escape? Or would they, seeing
him as a threat, get rid of him altogether?

Footsteps thundered above,
making the ceiling vibrate. The children gasped as one, finally reacting like
normal human beings. They scampered from their little beds, huddling together
against the far wall.

“It’s okay,” I insisted,
although I knew it was far from okay. If those footsteps were from S.P.I., that
meant they’d invaded the house. The million dollar question was were S.P.I.
good or bad? What if they could help and escort me to my Grandma’s? What if
they killed us all? It didn’t matter, I had to try.

“Does anyone know the code on
the door?”

Caroline parted from the group,
her long nightgown brushing against the floor. “Promise you’ll come back for
me?”

I didn’t have to think twice.
“Yes.”

Tears shimmered in her trusting
eyes. “Twenty-eight, thirteen, five.”

A door from the back of the room
burst open, nearly scaring me to death. Deborah rushed through, her usually
beautiful face a bit wild with panic. So maybe being attacked wasn’t common, or
the attack was worse than before.