Uncovering You 10: The Finale (34 page)

There is not one Stonehart standing there…but
two
.

I shriek and dive under the covers. One Stonehart I can manage. But a pair?

Sobs overtake my body. I imagine all the vile things two Stonehart’s can do to me. I cry and cry and cry, awaiting the inevitable first touch.

And all the while, I give way to that nasty habit, that filthy thing, and stroke my long, soft hair over my cheek again and again and again.

Chapter Forty-Two

I cower and wait. They do not touch me. They speak in hushed tones and eventually leave.

I peek out from under the sheet. Did I imagine that? Was it yet another lie?

Wait. ‘Another?’ Why ‘Another?’

Sometime later—I cannot tell how long. My nerves are too frayed—the door opens again and an elderly woman comes in.

I stare at her. I think,
Rose?
But, no. This is not Rose. Some memory, some inkling in the back of my mind tells me something happened to Rose. I do not know what. It does not seem important now.

But the woman has a familiar face—even if I can’t say why.

She does not frighten me, at least.

“Miss Ryder?” she smiles at me. “My name’s Jill. Do you remember? I brought you food this morning.”

I narrow my eyes at her, suddenly suspicious. I do not even remember eating.

“What is this place?” I ask. I look around the room, expecting to find the marble pillar. But it’s not there. That throws me off.

“This is the Hermann Grace Medical Center.” She smiles. “I’m a nurse. I’m here to take care of you.”

“Take care of me how?” My hackles rise. “Where is Jer…“ I cut off. I remember it’s rude to call him by his first name. Especially to people I do not know. “Where is Mr. Stonehart?”

“Mr. Stonehart is close by,” Jill says. “Would you like me to call him for you?”

“No!” I yelp. Then I curse. If this “Jill” passes on information to Stonehart about my reluctance to see him…

Well, that can only end in more punishment.

“I mean,” I clear my throat, “I’m sure Mr. Stonehart will see me when he deems the time proper.”

A bit of sadness shows in Jill’s eyes. I do not know why.

“I’m here to give you something,” she says. She holds out a thick, pen-like device. “If you’ll let me?”

I eye her warily. “Did Mr. Stonehart send you?”

‘No,” she says. “Dr. Telfair did.”

Dr. Telfair
. There’s another name that should ring a bell. In fact it sparks something in the back of my mind. But’s very vague, and much too hard to reach.

However, for whatever reason, that name grants me no comfort. It’s a trustworthy name. A name I can rely on.

Unlike
Stonehart
.

“Okay,” I say. I hold out my hand. “I’ll take it.”

“Actually,” Jill says, smoothly coming up to my side. “It’s something I have to give you.”

And in a curt, stabbing motion, she jabs the pen into my leg.

“You bitch!” I call out, and jerk up, away from her, the pen sticking out of my leg…

Without warning, I stumble. The world spins once. My vision clouds, then clears, and then clouds up again.

I close my eyes, feeling suddenly dizzy. I hold out a hand to steady myself. It finds the wall. A subtle pain works through my temples. I’ve forgotten all about my leg. I reach a hand to the side of my skull, just above my ear. My finger finds short, prickly hairs…

I gasp in horrible realization of where I’ve been. My eyes pop open. I stare at Jill, who is looking at me with a worried, anxious expression.

“Get Dr. Telfair,” I whisper.

She runs out the room. I look down at my leg. It’s an auto-inject pen.

Moments later Jeremy and Dr. Telfair burst through the doors.

They both rush to me. Jeremy reaches me first. He wraps his arms around me. I hold onto him and cry.

“I lost it,” I say. “I lost it, I lost it. I lost it…”

“Lilly,” Dr. Telfair speaks. “We don’t have much time. The shot Jill just gave you will only keep you here for ten minutes. After that—after that, you’ll go back.”

I cling to Jeremy and cry harder.

“Sh, sh,” he murmurs in my ear. “It’s all right. You’re here now. You’re safe.”

“W—why ten minutes?” I blubber.

“It’s a variation of the counteragent I’ve given you before, but a much shorter ester. It’ll be out of your system quickly. I can’t give you anything longer acting, because we still don’t know how all the drugs might interact.”

I break away from Jeremy and look helplessly into Dr. Telfair’s eyes. “So I’m doomed?” I say. “I’m doomed to be who my father was, forever?”

“We don’t know that for certain,” Jeremy says. “There’s always a chance…”

“But there’s not!” I wail. Full desperation has kicked in. “If the procedure failed, if I can’t be given the antidote…Oh, God, Jeremy! I
remember
! I remember everything that I thought was real. How I thought you were Stonehart. How I couldn’t understand why there were two of you. How I still thought I was bound by the contract, in the sunroom, with the pillar just over my shoulder…”

I break off in despairing moans and start to cry.

“I will fix this,” Dr. Telfair promises. “I will…”

The world lurches once.

I stagger back, off balance. When I look up, there are two Stonehart’s staring at me.

Two Stoneharts, with evil intentions clear in their eyes…

“No!” I screech, and stumble away. I grab my head, pulling at the roots of my long hair. “No, damn you! Stay away!”

The Stonehart closest to me—the one with an aghast expression on his face—moves like a jaguar. He grabs something from his pocket and leaps on me. I squeeze my eyes shut and shield my body from him…

Something pricks my leg. I gasp. I look down. I see a familiar pen protruding from my thigh, Stonehart’s hand wrapped around it…

My vision blurs, then clears, then blurs again. I feel myself floating up for a second.

Then the sensation cuts off. I open my eyes, and I see Jeremy, and Dr. Telfair, and Jill once more.

Jeremy withdraws the auto inject pen from my leg.

Dr. Telfair grabs him by the shoulders and spins him around. “Idiot!” he hisses. He sounds furious. “We don’t know how she’ll react.”

“I’m here,” I say. “I’m…” I suck in a stuttered breath. “lucid.”

Jeremy drops the pen. He clasps me tightly to him. “I couldn’t…” I hear tears in his voice. “I couldn’t let you go. Not yet. Not so soon, Lilly.”

I stand there, pressed up against him, numb and shocked.

In that brief moment of clarity, I see what I have to do.

“Let me go,” I say calmly.

Jeremy holds me tighter. “Never,” he says.

I repeat myself. “Let me go.”

My words are empty. They are bereft of emotion.

They represent exactly how I feel.

Reluctantly, Jeremy relaxes his hold. I step away from him and move toward Dr. Telfair. “How much time do I have now?” I ask.

He shakes his head and looks gravely serious. “Not much.”

“Is there more of the counteragent?”

“None that I’m willing to give you. No.” He directs a disgruntled look at Jeremy. “This second dose could already have consequences…”

“Then let me speak. Before I…before I start to hallucinate again.”

He nods.

“Jeremy. Doctor. I trust you two. I believe in you. I know that if there is a way, you will find it.

“Jeremy,” I turn to him. I don’t move to touch him, or take his hand, or show intimacy of any sort. “I need you to make me a promise.”

“Anything,” he swears.

“I want you to promise to keep me here. Here, in this room, where I know I’ll be safe. Don’t—don’t come and see me. Not until your brother finds a solution.” Tears want to form in my eyes. I blink them away in anger. “When I’m—
insane
? You’re Stonehart. You’re only Stonehart. You terrify me. And I don’t—I don’t want to lose what we have. The memories, the good times, the—”

I cut off.
The love
, I think.

The world lurches.

I turn around and vomit on the floor.

The throw up gets caught in my hair.

I’m alone in the dark. Here, I have no friends.

But I have no enemies, either. Stonehart comes to visit me sometimes, claiming to be “Dr. Telfair”.

I know better. But I let him pretend.

He has not raped me once.

And that’s all for the better. Every day that passes brings me one day closer to freedom. Closer to revenge.

Chapter Forty-Three

My brother listens to my request in silence. Then, he turns around and focuses on the computer screens.

Lilly’s test results are displayed on the three-monitor system. Dozens of graphs display vital health markers. Charts show their progression over time.

Atticus looks from one screen, to the other. I can see the stress lacing across his shoulders. It is not dissimilar to my own.

For hours he’d been analyzing these results. For days. For weeks.

For
month
s.

I watch him keenly, waiting on the answer.

“No,” he says finally. He shakes his head and takes his glasses off. “No, I cannot do it.”

No
. The word crashes into me and steals the air from my chest. I feel like I cannot breathe.

“Please,” I say. I try to be polite, to be cordial. But the tension is unbearable. My hands clench into fists. “I need to see her. I need to speak to her. Let me! She’s still in there, I know she is, I
know she is
, dammit!”

“Jeremy.” Atticus looks me in the eye. I can see sadness in his. “What is the point? You’ll have her for ten minutes—and then what? By giving her a third dose of the counteragent, you risk too much.”

“I can reach her,” I hiss. “Goddammit, Atticus, I know I can! Let me try. I’m going crazy without her.” I cast an angry glare at the computer monitors, mocking me in their bright serenity. “It’s been weeks and there’s no progress!”

“She hasn’t regressed.”

“Hah!” I give a scornful laugh. “You think that fucking counts? You think I can watch the woman I love be consumed by insanity and
accept it?
” My voice softens, and I take a menacing step forward. Anger is flowing through me, anger fueled by frustration and by lack of progress and by utter despair. “You think I can let her bury herself deeper and deeper into madness and
not do a damn thing about it?
”

“The risks—”

“WHO CARES ABOUT THE RISKS? SHE’S GONE EITHER WAY!”

I catch myself yelling, and stop short. My chest is heaving. My nostrils flare with each breath. Adrenaline is pumping through me, and my self-control—the one thing I prided myself on for so long—has been torn to shreds.

How can I last when Lilly is so far gone?

“Jeremy…”

“No.” I shake my head, close my eyes, and take a step back. I breathe in once, summoning the icy calm and letting it wash over my mind. As it does, the cold dispassion I had to assume when I had Lilly prisoner comes over me again.