Tested (3 page)

He heard the catch in her breath as he let his lips ghost along her skin again. A slight shiver ran through her body causing his to respond immediately. His pants were becoming uncomfortably tight. Trent prayed she wouldn’t notice. He ran his nose from her ear to her shoulder, breathing in the fresh scent of Phoenix that reminded him of berries or an apple orchard.

You’re just pretending,
he reminded himself. There was no way he was actually attracted to the maddening woman pinned against him, but his body had a mind of its own at that moment.

“What do we have here?” one of the soldiers said loudly. Trent hoped the man didn’t notice how his body stiffened instinctively.

“Heeeey offisssser,” Phoenix said, laying it on a little thick. Trent rolled his eyes before turning to look at the two men leering at them. He knew right then that there was no way they were going to just walk away from this. The situation had just become exactly what he didn’t want.

“Hey man,” Trent said, putting on a goofy smile. “We were just stopping to have some fun.”

“Yes. We. Werrrre,” Phoenix said, walking her fingers up his chest. He squeezed her waist in warning.

“We’ll be leaving now,” he continued.

“What’s the hurry?” the other one said. “We like to have fun too.”

“Yeah,” the first one agreed. “How about you share that hot little piece of ass with us, and we won’t cause you any trouble after?”

Trent clamped down on the rage that burned inside him at the way he’d described Phoenix. He didn’t like anyone speaking about her that way, especially not some sleazy New World soldier. “Nah, we’re just going to –”

“We weren’t asking,” the soldier interrupted. “Move into the alley there. We’ll let you go last.” They both snickered.

Trent’s realized his hands gripped Phoenix so tightly he was probably hurting her. One of her hands stroked his bicep in silent comfort, letting him know she was okay. He didn’t like this situation one bit, but there was no way around it. Taking a step back, he reluctantly released Phoenix and let her lead the way into the secluded alley.

“Your boyfriend doesn’t seem too happy anymore,” one of them said to her as the other one walked around to close her in between them.

“He’s not much of a sharer,” she said with a sweet smile that Trent knew meant these men were about to get their asses handed to them. “In fact, neither am I.” Phoenix kicked back with lightning speed, catching the one behind her off guard. He instantly bent over, clutching his stomach as she spun around to land another kick to the side of his head.

Trent didn’t see anything else as he reached out and grabbed the other one’s hand as it grabbed the pistol holstered at his hip. The man screamed as Trent crushed his fingers until the gun fell uselessly to the ground. He didn’t stop until he heard the sickening sound of bones breaking. With two solid shots to the side of the guy’s head, he was slumped on the floor of the alley, passed out cold.

When he looked back over to Phoenix, he saw she had done the same thing to the other guy. Both soldiers lay unconscious on the disgusting floor like the trash they were. Trent had a strong urge to kick them both while they were out cold, but fought the desire. He met Phoenix’s stare as they both calmed down, letting their adrenaline simmer.

Then she smiled that smile Trent knew meant she was about to say something off the wall. It was one of the things he both hated and loved about her, although he’d never admit the latter.

Phoenix wiggled her eyebrows up and down as she said, “should we strip them naked?”

CHAPTER THREE

Missy watched Pete and Charlotte from her seat, her novel held uselessly in front of her face. She hadn’t read an actual word for the last fifteen minutes, despite the quiet that had finally settled into the house as most of the crew went out into the streets. It was the fourth day in a row that they’d left. Missy had thought she would be happy once she got her space back. She was definitely not used to having so many people around her constantly.. However, as the days went on, she started to remember just how lonely it was before Pete and the others had arrived.

Charlotte lay on the couch, her head settled on a pillow in Pete’s lap. Pete’s focus was on book he held, but one hand continually stroked through the long, dark tresses of Charlotte’s hair. They were so at ease with one another, Missy couldn’t help but watch with envy.

Her father and Michael, Pete’s dad, walked in suddenly, breaking her attention. She smiled as her father kissed the top of her head like he always did. The two old friends sat down in the chairs on either side of her.

“Would you like some tea?” she asked Michael, knowing how much he enjoyed his afternoon cup.

“Please,” he replied happily.

Missy walked into the kitchen only to find another couple seemingly caught up in their own world. Roman sat hunched over the table, his eyes trained on the map of New Berlin Lake somehow acquired. He was doing his best to figure out a route to get help in and out of the city, since apparently via air was a no-go. He was certain any planes would be shot down within seconds. Bridgette stood behind him, her hands massaging his shoulders, as she looked down at the map as well. Her husky voice pointed out a few options, but Roman would quickly explain why they wouldn’t work.

Neither seemed to be aware that Missy had entered the room. Looking away, she headed to the stove, throwing a couple of logs on the fire to keep it going. She filled the kettle then stood back and waited silently for the water to boil.

The crash of the front door had her jumping. Roman and Bridgette looked up in unison as Phoenix and Trent walked into the kitchen. Missy took one look at her sister and knew she had discovered something today. A look of triumph and unease warred on her face.

“We’ve got a lead,” she said, confirming Missy’s suspicions.

“On Tyler?” Bridgette asked with a hint of hope.

Trent nodded. “It’s not good,” he said. Missy watched as Bridgette’s shoulders dropped, just as a wave of sickness filled her own stomach.

Realistically she’d known when, or if, they found Tyler it was going to be bad, but to hear Trent confirm it still felt like a punch to the gut. Charlotte, Pete, and their fathers walked in, their faces identical masks of concern.

“Should we wait for Seamus and Garrett?” Trent asked his brother.

Pete shook his head. “We can fill them in later. Tell us what you’ve found out.”

The high pitched squeal of the kettle had Missy jumping again, her nerves completely shot. She quickly made the tea then joined the rest of them at the table. Normally she would have kept to the background, but she wanted to hear what they’d discovered.

“One of my guys that hangs around the old hospital, you know the one from Uxbridge?” Phoenix said, looking to Missy. Missy nodded knowing the man she spoke of. He was a drunk, and probably not the best source for information, but she didn’t say anything. “Well he’s been seeing a white van all over the city, picking up most of the homeless.”

“Homeless?” her father said. “That doesn’t really fit with Tyler then,” he pointed out.

“I know,” Phoenix agreed. “I have a gut feeling he was targeted specifically.” Her eyes went to Bridgette and Charlotte. Missy got a sinking feeling when she realized where this conversation might be going.

Charlotte cursed under her breath. “Our father?” she asked.

Bridgette and Charlotte’s dad, Douglas Hatcher, or better known simply as ‘the General’, was the leader of the rebellion. He was a man with misguided ambitions. Their crew, the Archers, had known right away that they wanted nothing to do with his rebels from the eastern ghetto. They’d always made an effort to keep the western ghetto rebels away from the General’s men. Knowing what they knew about him, especially the newest information that had come to light since rescuing Bridgette, made Missy wonder if he was any better than the man he was fighting against.

Phoenix nodded as Trent’s mouth pressed into a flat, firm line. He didn’t look happy.

“I guess my guy heard that we’d been asking around about a white van, and had a hunch it might be the one we were looking for,” Phoenix went on.

“Considering there aren’t very many vehicles
period
in the ghetto, I’d say that assumption wasn’t too hard to reach,” Trent said.

“If you met my guy, you wouldn’t be saying that,” Phoenix countered.

Missy couldn’t help but snort, attracting attention. “I’m surprised he even noticed the van. He’s not the most observant, or coherent for that matter,” she explained.

“Great,” Pete muttered. “Can we even trust this guy then?”

Phoenix instantly nodded. “I believe everything he told me.”

“So what happened then when he saw it?” Charlotte asked.

“He followed it to see where they went.”

“How can a man follow a vehicle?” Roman asked.

“He has a bike, and he knows all the shortcuts through the city,” Phoenix answered. “Trust me, this guy can get around on that bike way faster than anyone with a motor.”

“They went to a building on the outskirts of the city,” Trent said, taking over the story. “We checked it out right after Phoenix found me and told me what the guy had said.”

“You went there, just the two of you?” Pete said angrily.

“We weren’t that far, and two people are a lot less conspicuous than a whole group. It just made sense,” Trent argued.

“It was stupid,” said Pete.

“We had it under control,” Phoenix defended. She and Tyler shared a quick look that told Missy something must have happened, but neither said a word.

“What did you see there?” Missy asked, growing annoyed by their useless argument. She just wanted to hear what they’d learned about Tyler. Not that she was happy with her sister for going into a potentially dangerous situation without back up. She also wasn’t surprised by it.

“Nothing,” Trent answered, deflating any hope Missy might have had.

“Nothing?” Bridgette asked, confused. “Then why even bother telling us?”

“Because there was nothing in
that
building, but there was a passage that led to another building on the other side of the fence – in the eastern ghetto,” Phoenix said with a grin. “They have a passage in the basement that takes them beneath the fences. It’s pretty cool.”

“No one cares how cool it is, Princess,” Trent said.

Missy saw her sister open her mouth, no doubt gearing up to a rude retort, but she cut her off. “And what was the other building?”

Phoenix looked slightly put out at not getting Trent back for his princess comment, but she let it go and answered. “It’s a lab. We didn’t get to investigate much. The other building over here and the tunnel aren’t guarded, but there were plenty of people milling about in the other building.”

“What makes you think it’s a lab?” Roman asked.

“They wore lab coats,” Phoenix answered, as though it were obvious.

“We heard a few talking about some of the subjects and their reaction to the treatments,” Trent said. He looked to Charlotte. “We’re pretty certain it’s your father’s outfit. I’m guessing he’s been taking people off the streets to give them whatever enhancing drugs he gave you two.”

“Oh my God,” Missy whispered, clutching at her chest. Charlotte and Bridgette had both been given drugs when they were younger. Drugs that could somehow enhance natural abilities, or create new ones. A drug that their father had hoped would create super-humans for his army. Charlotte had gained the ability to read minds from it, and apparently Bridgette was abnormally fast when she fought. However, they knew that the drugs didn’t work in the same way on everyone, and were actually quite dangerous. Missy’s heart sank for Tyler.

“We need to go in and get him,” Pete stated plainly.

“Easier said than done, brother,” Trent said. “That place isn’t tiny, and there are a lot of people working there that would notice us. There’s no way of getting in without raising the alarm, and there are too many people in there to subdue quickly. Someone would be bound to call for help before we could secure them all. We might not even reach Tyler.”

“Not to mention that there were like a bazillion doors there,” Phoenix added. “It would take us forever to find him. And that was just the floor we were on. Who knows how big that place actually is.”

They all fell into a tense silence.

“So what do we do?” Pete said, to no one in particular.

“I might have an idea,” her father said, speaking for the first time. Missy looked up to see him staring at her thoughtfully. It took her a second to realize what he was going to suggest, and it instantly made her want to run from the room and lock herself in her room. The thought of Tyler and what might be happening to him kept her in her seat.

“Sorry, darling,” her dad said sadly, “but you’re the only one he hasn’t seen.” She knew he was referring to the General, and she also knew he was right. Any of the others would be recognized by either the General himself, or one of his men. There had been quite a number of his soldiers there the night the others rescued Bridgette that had gotten away. It would be too risky to send anyone else in.

“Wait,” Phoenix said, sitting up straighter. “What am I missing?”

Missy took a quick look around the table and realized the others had caught on already too, even though her father hadn’t said it outright. Phoenix probably did too. She just didn’t want to accept it.

“If Missy can infiltrate the building as an employee, it will give her full access to the prisoners there. Not only could she help get Tyler out, but possibly the others as well,” her father said.

“Wait,” Pete said quickly. “As much as I want to help anyone else being abused by Douglas, our priority right now is Tyler. If Missy goes in, she gets Tyler and gets the hell out of there as fast as she can. We’ll figure out a way to help the others once we have a bit more back-up,” he said, looking meaningfully at Roman.

“Missy isn’t going anywhere,” Phoenix stated plainly. “There’s no way I’m letting her go undercover in there.”

“Your sister has basic training in first aid, and can manage giving needles and such,” their father argued, speaking softly to his eldest daughter. “She’d fit in perfectly. If we can find a way to have her hired there, we’d have full access to the building.”