Frozen Desires (Asylums for Magical Threats) (23 page)

Gio nodded, and Liang disappeared. Once the door shut behind him and Evans, he motioned toward

one of the beds. “I need you to try and take a nap, Dr. Evans, before we meet with Liang.”

The man didn’t reply. He looked to be trapped in his own thoughts, much as he’d been the whole ride

here. He needed to snap Evans out of it, and soon, or he could lose him as an asset.

He hadn’t punched someone since he was a teenager in sixth form, but Gio walked over to Evans,

pulled back his arm, and punched the man in the jaw.

Pain radiated up his arm as Evans regained his balance and put a hand to his face. “Why the hell did you

do that?”

“I’ll do it again if you fall into another bout of self-pity.” He hoped not, as his hand bloody hurt. “I

understand your dislike of your new ability, but you need to get past that if we’re to be successful here.”

For the first time since he’d met Evans, the man looked genuinely interested. “What is so important to

you here? The mentally disabled are under tight security, with no chance of escape, and looking at a few

empty rooms isn’t exactly groundbreaking.”

Gio wanted to share his hypothesis with Evans, but he didn’t trust the man. Not yet. Besides, he had no

idea if Liang had the rooms bugged or not. “Get some sleep, clean yourself up, and maybe I’ll tell you.”

He waited, and finally Evans moved toward the en suite toilet. He stopped at the doorway and said, “I’m

only doing this so I can help find a way to get rid of my ability and the other unusual ones. I don’t care about you or your plans, just so we’re clear.”

Evans would change his mind, but for now, Gio said, “Fine by me.”

Evans nodded and shut the toilet door.

He waited a few minutes until he heard the shower turn on, and then he moved to the in-room console

and tapped the surface. A password screen appeared. He typed in the password he’d been given in Hong

Kong, and instantly had access to the local files. Aware that someone could be tracking his searches, he

flicked through the basic information about this facility. Maybe he could narrow down where they were

keeping the children.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

It was a little after 6 a.m.. Aislinn was on the phone, and Marco was not happy. “What do you mean

Jorge will take over the investigation into the arson fires? I’m this close to getting the bastard in charge of it.”

Aislinn said, “Are we really going to do this? You know I’ll win, especially since Neena’s on my side.”

If there was one rule inside of DEFEND, it was never to cross Neena Chatterjee unless you had a good

reason. Marco himself had learned that lesson the hard way.

Jorge spoke up. “There’s no love lost between me and Harry Watkins. He’s in charge of these fires, and

I have no problem bringing him in.”

Marco raised an eyebrow. “How do you know about Watkins?”

Jorge shrugged. “I’ve heard things. Working with Ekstrom has put me back in touch with some of our

mutual former co-workers.”

Aislinn added, “And that’s why Jorge is going. With Jorge’s sister Alejandra in custody, and a few other

things in the works, Neena’s confident he’ll pull through. Besides, you need to focus on Cam and her

mission.”

Aislinn had yet to mention Cam and her team looking for Talents in front of Jorge, so Marco decided to

keep it vague. “Speaking of Cam, what about the boat I asked for?”

There was some typing on the other side of the phone line. “Jorge, give Marco the phone and step

outside for a few minutes.”

Jorge handed over the phone and went outside. Ever since Aislinn had sent a short video of his sister,

showing her safe and sound, the shadow-shifter had been a hell of a lot more cooperative.

Even so, Marco was glad that it was still a few hours before the man could shift again.

He tapped off the speakerphone function and put the phone to his ear. “Well? I can’t do anything

without a boat. At least, nothing in broad daylight.”

“It’s going to take another hour.”

“An hour? Cam was seasick last night, and the longer we wait, the weaker she’ll be.”

“I’m aware of the situation, Marco. Can you listen for a few minutes without getting emotional?”

“I’m not—”

“Yes, you are. But don’t worry, Cam’s tough. She can last a little while longer.”

He knew that, but the thought of her suffering longer than necessary didn’t sit well with him. Still,

Marco forced himself to become the DEFEND soldier he knew he could be and said, “Okay, so what do

you need to tell me?”

“Ekstrom is going to use Cam to trade favors, and I need you to let her be taken.”

Cam hugged the pillow to her chest, thankfully, too exhausted to even dry heave. Unable to sleep last

night, she’d spent most of her time thinking about the ice flower in her window.

Marco had found her.

She’d been a fool to take charge and make decisions, not even bothering to confer with him to see if he

had any ideas she could use. The man was a fucking Elemental Master, and yet that hadn’t been good

enough for her.

Cam was a cocky idiot.

The next time something happened, she would talk with Marco and work out a plan.

The next time?
Yes, she wanted there to be a next time. Marco was smart, strong, and full of tricks. He

could be fierce one moment, and able to lighten the mood in the next. Around Marco, she could almost be…playful. Not even when things had been good between her and Richard had Cam acted that way.

And considering her latent abilities were still absent, and her team members were still missing, she

might need a sense of humor to face her future.

Don’t think about that.
Worrying about “what if” was a waste of time. She refused to believe Zalika and Jacek were dead, and her abilities would either come back or they wouldn’t. She’d been a good soldier

before they appeared. Cam had no doubt she could learn to be creative without them.

Maybe she’d even discuss working together with Marco, and lead a team. With Zalika and Jacek to help

them, of course.

She was still floored by the trust he’d shown, by telling her about the Elemental Master academies. She

had a feeling there was more to it, as she’d heard nothing about his family. For all she knew, his past could be as screwed up as hers.

As interesting as Marco was as a person, she was also attracted to him more than she’d ever been to

another man. She decided that if she survived this, she was going to reward him with more than a kiss.

After the preview of what had happened back in the park, she was curious to see what he’d do with her

when she was naked.

She stopped herself from having another fantasy of Marco naked over her—she’d relived that fantasy

far too often over the last few hours. It was amazing what being dehydrated and off-kilter would do to your brain.

The boat went over a rough patch of water. Cam clutched the pillow tight to her chest, breathing in and

out until the water calmed.

At this rate, she’d never have the chance to help her friends, let alone see Marco again. Another few

days on the water without something to help with her seasickness, and she might die of dehydration.

The locks clicked on her door, and Cam gripped the heavy-duty flashlight that she’d found inside one

of the cubbyholes in her room. Her energy levels might be low, but she wasn’t about to let someone kill her without a fight.

The door opened, and Richard stood in the doorway. “Time to come out on deck.”

Before she could reply, he walked over to her bunk, pulled her up by her arm, and started dragging her.

“Can you slow down? I’ve been puking my guts out for the last however many hours I’ve been on this

damn ship.”

Richard yanked harder. “We have an appointment and can’t be late.”

Asshole.
But struggling would use up energy, and she couldn’t afford to spare any in case she needed it for this “appointment.”

Somehow, between Richard’s grip and her strength reserves, Cam managed to walk onto the deck

without stumbling. The sudden brightness of the sun hurt her eyes, but after blinking a few times, she

noticed that not only were they in the middle of the ocean, but there was a ship anchored not that far away.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Richard released her arm. “You said that you wanted to try something new since DEFEND hadn’t been

able to free your sister.” He gestured toward the ship in the distance. “If you were telling the truth, then the people on that ship are your new chance.”

When she’d made the bluff, Cam hadn’t foreseen her current circumstances—mainly the lack of her

latent ability and her seasickness. Her best bet was to keep bluffing and find out what she could. “How do you know that they won’t just kill both of us, and take your boat?”

“Oh, I know they won’t kill me.”

That was comforting. “Is that why you brought me on this damn boat, to make me weak so they could

kill me?”

“You’ll just have to wait and find out.”

Okay, that was it. She wasn’t going to try to pretend to be anything but herself.

“Richard.” She waited until he looked at her. “Look, I’m sorry that your sister is dead, but all of this vague bullshit needs to stop. Just tell me what you’re trying to do, and maybe I can help.”

Richard shook his head. “No, you abandoned me when I needed you, and I won’t risk it again.”

She had a feeling Richard was a lost cause, but she couldn’t leave it there. “You were the one who let

me down, Richard. I went to you for help, and what did you do? You tried to force me to stay by going

after Adella. If you can’t see how wrong that was, especially after what happened after my skills placement, then I feel sorry for you.”

Richard raised an eyebrow. “Sorry for me? You’re the one I feel sorry for.”

Before she could reply, he picked her up and tossed her overboard.

Her first thought was that she was going to die without ever seeing her sister, Marco, or her team ever

again. But as the shock of hitting the water faded, Cam started swimming upwards and made it to the

surface.

She used the last of her strength to reach the side of the small, inflatable boat sitting next to Richard’s boat, and she crawled in. As she lay panting on the floor of the boat, Richard descended from the foot of

the stairs and sat in front of the motor.

She glared at him. “Thanks for trying to kill me, asshole.”

“I knew you’d make it. Now, shut up. Your mouth will likely piss off the people on that boat, you really

don’t want to do that. The Collector’s people make the Fed League recruits look like spoiled children.”

She wondered who this “Collector” was, but considering a good third of the Fed League recruits from

back in the day had been a little crazy, Richard’s words worried her a little.

Richard started the motor and headed for the large boat in the distance.

Gio sat with Evans in a well-organized office, waiting for Liang to show up for their meeting.

There was nothing in the room that revealed anything about Liang or what he did here—just a few art

pictures on the walls, office supplies on a mostly bare desk, and a locked filing cabinet. Liang was either extremely careful, or extremely tidy.

Evans started drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair, and Gio took a good look at the researcher.

After several hours of sleep, he looked a little less like a corpse and was functioning somewhat normally

again. He’d even trimmed his close-cut beard and put on a set of fresh clothes. At least for now, his self-pity act seemed to have disappeared.

The door opened and Liang walked inside. “Evening, gentlemen. Did you find your room to your

liking?”

Gio didn’t want to waste time on small talk, but it was necessary, as he’d learned from watching his

father over the years. He forced down his impatience and said, “Yes, everything was fine. The facility is

quite modern.”

Liang nodded. “Some overseers resist change, but technology has its uses.” He sat down in the chair

behind the desk. “The people in Hong Kong rarely tell us anything that doesn’t deal with the mentally

disabled. So, tell me more about these
Feiru
with strange abilities, and why you chose this facility as a possible site for these special cases.”

They’d decided earlier that Evans would be better at explaining this—albeit with a few exclusions—so

Gio nodded for the scientist to go ahead.

Evans said, “While all first-born children of
Feiru
mothers gain their abilities through chemicals absorbed while in their mothers’ wombs—chemicals all
Feiru
females are born with, but don’t regenerate after the first pregnancy—it is my belief that other abilities exist among the
Feiru
as a result of genetics and a different type of chemical change.”

“Such as?”

“Well, all I have at the moment is a hypothesis, but my hypothesis is that latent abilities appear in groups, often around the same time. An hour ago, I was able to confirm three other cases, which all

manifested in the last few weeks.”

Liang folded his hands over his slightly round stomach. “Were all of these people working in other

AMT facilities?”

Evans shook his head. “So far, only one AMT employee has shown signs of a latent ability.”

“Okay, so if the AMT or exposure to first-borns doesn’t trigger a change, then what does?”

“I still need to conduct a series of tests to prove it, but I think the change is triggered by something

invisible, possibly a chemical reaction in the air.”

Gio had first heard this hypothesis about thirty minutes ago. And while it made sense to him—after all,