Resistance (The Variant Series #2) (27 page)

He shifted his gaze to the orange sky above.

The sun was setting in the Adirondacks, bathing the lake and the surrounding forests a hazy golden hue. The water had warmed up in the few weeks Alex had been away, but not by much. Declan couldn’t hold her captive in the lake forever.

She tried to swim around him and make her way to the dock, but Declan reached out and grabbed her around the waist as she passed.

Their heads dipped beneath the water and Alex pinched him hard on the arm until he let her loose and she surfaced again.

“
Ow
,” said Declan, coming up beside her.

“You deserved that.”

Alex made to go around him a second time and the same scene played out, all over again.

Declan coughed as he surfaced. “
Stop
, Alex. I swear I’m only trying to save you from yourself, here. You can bitch all you like, but you’re not getting out of this lake until I’m certain you won’t go running back to Bay View to dig yourself a hole you won’t be able to climb out of.”

Alex sighed in frustration. “You can’t hold me hostage in a
lake
, Decks. I can only tread water for so long. I’m exhausted. Eventually, my arms are going to give out,” she said. “Can we at least swim close enough to the shore that my feet can touch the bottom without going under?”

Declan couldn’t argue with that. Turning his back on her again, he appeared to relent.

“Fine,” he said. “But you’re still not getting out of this lake before I say so.”

We’ll see about that
, she thought to herself.

They made their swim toward the shore in silence, Alex struggling to catch her breath as her muscles burned in protest.

When she made it home tonight, she was going to sleep for
at least
three days straight. No way school was happening tomorrow. She’d more than earned a sick day.

Thirty feet from the shore, Declan cut off her forward movement by snagging her wrist beneath the water.

“That’s far enough,” he said.

Where they’d stopped, Alex’s boots could just reach the bottom with her chin resting at the top of the water. Declan, being a good eight inches taller, could stand with his shoulders well above the waterline.

Alex pretended to acquiesce—but only for a moment. As soon as Declan’s stance relaxed, she made a desperate break toward the shore.

Five feet later, he’d grabbed her around the waist and tugged her beneath the water. A few seconds after that, she returned to the surface with a gasp.

“
Why
can’t you just let me go back? God, Decks, you’re such a… such a…” Alex huffed, unable to come up with a suitable label.

“Yeah, well, maybe I am. But if you could have seen yourself sitting there on that couch, with your bloodstained clothes and your knotted hair—looking for all the world like a twice-drowned
bag lady
—you would have
thanked me
for stopping you.”

Most of Alex’s clothes were far enough submerged beneath the black waters that she couldn’t see them, but there was a telltale dark smudge on the neck of her white tank.

The nosebleed.

She’d forgotten. Her hand went to her upper lip, but found nothing. Someone must have cleaned her up after she passed out.

God. How bad
did
she look right now?

As Alex ran her hands over her wet, tangled hair, Declan kept talking.

“If you’d faced down the Director looking like that, she would have—” he cut himself short.

Alex’s brow furrowed. Her boots were sinking into the muck of the lakebed and she shifted, dragging them back to the surface.

When he didn’t continue, she asked, “She would have
what
, Decks?”

He set his jaw and glared into the setting sun, just over her left shoulder.

“She would have taken you, alright?” he said. “And I can’t… I couldn’t…”

Alex stared at Declan as he stared at the horizon. She noted his frown, the creases in his forehead, the angry way he held his mouth.

He was worried.

No
,
it’s more than that,
she thought.
He’s scared.

Declan O’Connell—the toughest, most reckless, bravest and most
stubborn
man she’d ever met—was actually scared of something.

He turned to meet her gaze just as the sun dipped beneath the mountain ridge, taking with it the warm light of the sunset and offering in its place a deepening veil of shadows and a chilly breeze.

“I wasn’t going to lose you,” he said. “Not tonight, and
definitely
not like that. I made a promise to keep you safe, Lex, and I
will
. Even if it means that, occasionally, I end up having to save you from yourself.”

Alex swallowed, her earlier frustrations now warring with a growing urge to grab the front of his black shirt and pull him toward her.

Instead, Declan swam closer, bending at the knees so that his shoulders disappeared beneath the water and he was once again on Alex’s level.

His breath warmed the air between them.

Alex’s own breath was caught in her throat. Every trace of the anger she’d been clinging to since their arrival at the lake had withered beneath the weight of honesty she’d found in Declan’s eyes.

“So get mad,” he said. “Scream. Curse. Yell at me until your voice turns to a whisper and you run out of breath, if it’s what you think I deserve.” Declan reached a hand out of the water to gently cup her face. He dragged his thumb over her cheek. “But know this, Alex Parker—if dropping you in a lake is what it takes to keep you safe and keep you
free
, then I’ll drop you in this lake as many times as I have to.”

“Declan?”

“Yeah?”

“
Shut up
.”

Alex closed the distance between them, her lips meeting Declan’s with a shock of electricity that traveled straight to her core, causing her heart to take flight in her chest.

And then he was pulling Alex even closer beneath the water, wrapping his arms tightly around her, as her legs circled his waist. She felt Declan’s lips curve into a smile beneath her own.

Violet tendrils of electricity began arcing through the waters close by, surrounding them in an underwater lightning storm that lit up the night.

Declan deepened the kiss and everything else fell away.

There
was
nothing else. There was only Declan. Only this moment. Only—

Ahem!

The mental throat-clearing caused Alex to hurriedly break off the embrace and swim a few feet backward.

Sorry to interrupt,
Kenzie projected
, but your Aunt is here, Alex. And she’s… uh… sort of wondering where you two are.

Alex looked back toward the dock—and then higher up the side of the mountain, to where an array of golden lights were now fighting back the gathering darkness.

The cabin’s outdoor lights.

The cabin
, where the others were waiting, and which was still a ten minute walk from the lakeshore.

Good thing they could teleport.

“What is it?” asked Declan. “Should I not have—?”

“No!” said Alex, swimming close to him once more. Declan pulled her back into his arms. “No, it’s not that. It was just Kenzie.”

She could feel Declan’s groan rumbling through his chest. “My kid sister and her impeccable timing.”

Alex smiled up at him, shaking her head. “Aunt Cil’s here and she’s looking for me. We should go join them.”

“In a minute,” said Declan, grinning. “
They
can wait.
I
, on the other hand, have waited long enough.”

He leaned forward and claimed her lips once more, this kiss even more demanding than the last. If it hadn’t been for the water and Declan’s strong arms around her, Alex’s knees wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“
Ahem
.”

Breathlessly, they broke apart.

This time Declan had heard it, too. Probably, that was because the sound hadn’t come from Kenzie—it had come from a spot a mere twenty feet away, right beside the water’s edge.

Alex grimaced, slowly turning to face the newcomer.

Standing on the shore with her arms crossed and her mouth a thin, rather
angry
line, was Alex’s aunt.

Crap.

“Aunt Cil!” said Alex. When her aunt didn’t immediately reply, she added, “If you’re here, does that mean… Is it over?”

“It is.”

Alex and Declan exchanged a glance.

“What did the Director say?” asked Declan.

Cil seemed torn between answering their questions and commenting on the scene before her. Eventually, she settled on a sigh. “Grayson was able to convince her to wait. She’ll make her final decision after your test, Alex. Two weeks from Sunday.”

“Oh,” said Alex. Her Aunt sounded exhausted, but not necessarily relieved. “That
is
good, right?”

“It’s something,” she replied. “After this, Dana—the
Director
—will probably increase the Agency’s presence in Bay View. You’re going to have to be twice as careful, Alex, and twice as smart. You can’t afford another slip up.”

“What about Aaron?” asked Alex.

“He’ll be fine,” she said. “The Director wouldn’t admit to any intentions to
take
him, but she knows we’ll be keeping an eye on him. She won’t be able to touch him, so long as he keeps his abilities under wraps.”

Alex nodded.

“It’s time to head home, Lee-Lee,” said Cil, her icy glare fixed on Declan. “Come on. Out of the water, now, before you catch a cold.”

Before Alex could begin her short trek to shore, Declan’s hand found hers beneath the water. He squeezed it gently and sent her a smile in the fading light.

“Thanks, Decks,” she said, releasing his hand. “For everything.”

I might even be able to forgive you for dropping me in the lake
, she projected, moving toward the shore.
Again.

Her aunt, oblivious, waited patiently for Alex to climb from the water.

Behind her, Declan’s grin turned rakish.
I knew if I dropped you into this icy water enough times, you’d eventually surrender to my charms. It was only a matter of time, Lex. Ladies just can’t resist a terrifying free-fall.

Really,
she replied.
It’s a wonder you’re still single.

Still
?

From over her shoulder, Alex smiled at him.

“See you later, Ms. Cross,” Declan said aloud. “And goodnight, Lex. Be safe.”

Reaching the shore, she sent him a wave. “G’night, Decks.”

And then Alex’s aunt took hold of her elbow, and the lakeshore became a memory.

— 22 —

J
ohn Grayson glanced up from his computer screen, distracted by a knock at his office door.

“Enter,” he called.

The door swung open a short ways and Aaron poked his head through, his face pale and drawn.

“Come in, Aaron,” said Grayson. He gestured toward one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”

Aaron closed the door carefully behind him. He stood awkwardly in place for a long moment before seeming to remember that he’d been invited to sit.

He carefully deposited himself in the leather chair, darting nervous glances at Grayson. His expression walked a fine line between
awe
and abject terror.

Grayson hid a smile.

His status and reputation had preceded him once again, it seemed.

The boy had no reason to be nervous, of course, but there was no need to tell him that right away.

Grayson planned to use the air of intimidation to his advantage. Fear and awe worked wonders in loosening the tongue—and there was still quite a lot to be learned from Aaron, just yet.

“How are you feeling?” Grayson asked.

“Better. Thank you.”

The room fell quiet. Grayson settled back further in his seat, while Aaron remained perched on the very edge of his.

“Do you think I… I mean, with
the
Agency
… Could I…” Aaron stuttered. “Is it safe for me to go back now?”

“To your apartment?” asked Grayson. “It should be, yes. The Agency has no legal recourse for taking you into custody now that everything’s been settled. So long as you don’t
give
them a reason, you ought to be just fine.”

Aaron visibly relaxed.

“I’m puzzled, Aaron,” said Grayson.

At his tone, the boy stiffened. “About what, Mr. Grayson?”

“About the circumstances that brought you to Bay View,” he replied.

It might have been exhaustion that turned Aaron’s complexion a watery gray and put the beads of sweat on his brow, but Grayson doubted it.

Aaron was silent for a long while before he answered. “I was hired by a man who seemed interested in my abilities. He agreed to pay my way through college after graduation, so long as I… relocated.”

“To Bay View.”

“Yes.”

“Did he say
why
he wanted you here in Bay View?”

Aaron shrugged. “When I agreed to move, I just assumed it was because he wanted to keep me close at hand, but…”

“But your employer doesn’t reside here in Bay View, does he?”

He shook his head.

“Does this employer have a name?”

Aaron hesitated.

“Li,” he said finally. “Dr. Edward Li.”

Grayson narrowed his eyes. The name wasn’t familiar.

He pulled a photograph from his desk drawer and slid it across the top of the desk. “Is this him?”

Aaron’s brow furrowed. “Samuel Masterson?” he asked. “But… Isn’t he…? I thought Masterson was
dead
.”

The boy’s reaction answered Grayson’s remaining question. His suspicions were confirmed. He now knew
exactly
who Aaron Michael Gale really was.

“Michael Ian Gandry.”

The boy’s eyes widened.

“That’s your real name,” said Grayson. “Isn’t it, Aaron?”

Silence.

“And your father,” Grayson continued. “His name is Robert Gandry.”