The Change (Unbounded) (26 page)

“Hello, Keene,” the dark-haired mortal said, her smile wide and real. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“We need a tag check first.” Keene leaned on the desk, and I could feel his exhaustion.

The blonde removed a set of keys from a drawer. She was smiling but not nearly with the warmth of the brunette. I couldn’t help wondering if she thought Keene was beneath her. “This way.” She led us to a tiny back room where a machine took up most of the space. “Lie down, please,” she said to me.

Great, now for the moment of truth, when Keene would know what I had done in the bathroom at the hotel. I lay on the padded surface, which slowly fed into the machine, like the CAT scan my mother had a few years ago to investigate a numbness in her arm.

“She’s clean,” the blonde announced as I came out of the tunnel.

Keene helped me up, his hand going to the place where I’d once had the transmitter. I thought he was going to say something, but he nodded. “Thanks, Langly.”

“You can go on up,” the brunette told us as we returned from the lobby. “You’re expected.” She was beautiful, and I bet she was another failed attempt at creating Unbounded.

Tom and Justine were nowhere to be seen, and Edgel remained below while Keene took me up in the elevator. He was staring hard at me, and I shrugged. “No use keeping it if it’s going to be deactivated.”

“I see.”

I knew he wondered what I’d done with it, but did it really matter? If what he’d told me was true, it wouldn’t work here anyway. Besides, I was about to become Daddy’s precious little girl.

We stared at each other for several long seconds. As the elevator was about to reach the top, I couldn’t resist saying, “You should leave here, Keene. You should get out and go as far away as possible. You don’t belong here.”

His eyes narrowed. “What makes you think they’d ever let me leave?” There was that. “I suppose you think I could join the Renegades—as if they’re any better.”

“They don’t kill whole families.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you didn’t die at my house yesterday.” Besides, I simply couldn’t see Ava or any of the Renegades killing children or other innocents. That meant I had to help them fight the Emporium.

The door opened and without another word, Keene passed the two guards there—one mortal, one Unbounded—and hurried down the hallway so fast, I had to run to catch up. Despite his rapid steps, exhaustion radiated from every line of his body, and for the first time my pity was accompanied by a sense of superiority, which I quelled as fast as I recognized it. Being Unbounded didn’t mean I was better; it meant I had the responsibility to help and protect those who weren’t as strong.

Still, I might be able to take him now, especially since we’d turned a corner and the guards could no longer see us. I could use him as a shield to get past the guards, down the elevator, and out the door before anyone could stop me.

Instead, I followed Keene obediently to the double doors at the end of the hallway. “Good choice,” Keene said softly. “You wouldn’t have made it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You were thinking about making a run for it. I know that much about you by now. Besides, your muscles don’t lie. You were as tense as when you went for the gun at Cort’s.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

With the barest of smiles in my direction, he knocked on the door.

“Come in!”

Keene opened one of the doors. We were barely three steps inside when a knife hurtled toward us—or more exactly toward Keene. He ducked to the side casually, allowing the knife to plunge into the second door, at the same time whipping out his gun and pointing it at his attacker.

The blond man who’d thrown the knife laughed. “Haven’t lost it, I see, Keene. Good to know you’re on your toes.”

Keene didn’t look amused, but whatever his feelings, they were not revealed on his face or exuded in any emotion I could detect. He’d gone completely dark.

“Erin,” Keene said. “This is Stefan Carrington, your father.”

S
TEFAN
C
ARRINGTON WAS EVERYTHING
J
USTINE
had intimated he would be. He was tall and well built, and the magnetism in his sky-blue eyes was palpable. His short hair was so blond I couldn’t tell if there was any gray. His broad, tanned face showed fine lines, but instead of aging him they lent his face character and experience. He was the type of man even a teenage girl would have been proud to claim as a father, and whose friends would have sighed over with girlish longing every time they were in his presence. He looked familiar to me, not as father being instinctively recognized by a child, but as someone I’d seen somewhere before. I hadn’t expected that.

“Erin,” he said, holding out his arms in welcome. “I’m so glad to finally meet you.” He hugged me warmly before holding me out at arms’ length, studying my features. “Your pictures don’t do you justice. You’re a beautiful, beautiful young woman. Not much of me in your face, but the hair, that’s mine.”

“My mother’s too,” I said stiffly, the anger building inside me as I remembered the last time I’d seen her.

“And your Unbounded ancestor’s.” He laughed. “I wish I could see Ava’s face now.”

I smiled, though I felt absolutely no joy in the comment. I couldn’t tell if what he said was sincere or not. I could sense nothing from him. His mind was as dark to me as Keene had gone.

“Ah, but let me introduce you to Tihalt McIntyre.” With a hand on my shoulder he angled me to several large windows where a man waited, a mug of something in his hands. “Tihalt is one of my two partners who help run this great organization.”

I caught an impression of brown hair washed with gray, a narrow face, slim build—definitely Unbounded—and then he was offering his hand. “Welcome, Erin. Very nice to meet you.” To my surprise, he took my hand and kissed it, all the while holding my gaze with green eyes that reminded me of Keene’s. “My son has told me good things about you,” Tihalt added. His gaze went to where Keene stood stiffly by the door. They hadn’t greeted each other in any way that I had seen, but I’d been a little occupied.

Like Stefan, Tihalt exuded no emotion I could sense. Tihalt resembled Keene more than Cort, though his expression was decidedly more on the intellectual side like his Unbounded son. He let my hand go. To Stefan, he said, “I’ll take my son for debriefing and let you two get acquainted. I’m sure I’ll have many opportunities to get to know your beautiful daughter.”

Stefan inclined his head. “Maybe we’ll have another alliance soon.”

Tihalt smiled. “Perhaps.”

Tihalt walked to the door and without a word, Keene followed. He glanced at me once, and I thought he might be silently wishing me good luck.

I didn’t need it or anything else from him. My plan was securely in place.

“I’ll bet you could use a drink after your flight,” Stefan said.

I followed him to the bar in an alcove on the same wall as the entry door. As I waited for him to pour, I took the opportunity to scan his office. There were exquisite paintings and art objects, carved wooden panels, clever lighting, and a comfortable couch arrangement. The only thing that signaled it was a work place was the enormous cherry desk, complete with carved legs, and a black leather swivel chair that must have pivoted around when Stefan arose because all I could see of it was the tall back.

“You like it?”

“It’s beautiful.” I accepted the drink, took a sip, and nearly choked. “Isn’t it a little early for whisky?” Strong stuff, by the taste. Too strong.

He laughed. “Never too early for a good scotch. Besides, it’s not as if we’ll get drunk.” I heard the remorse in his voice. “It’s strong enough to give you a little buzz, but getting drunk would take far more than I have here.”

“Another Unbounded trait?”

He cocked a brow. “Actually, yes. Whatever keeps us alive so long, also removes poisons from our bodies, and whisky is definitely a poison.”

“Tastes like it.”

He laughed again. “I keep forgetting you’re so newly an Unbounded. There’s a great deal you will learn here, Erin. A great deal I can teach you.”

I nodded, not sure what to say to that. I took the opportunity to study him closely. Why did he seem so familiar? Was it because I saw myself in him? If I did, I couldn’t identify any particular feature I could claim. Perhaps the recognition was on a more primitive level, the same level as the Unbounded gene. I concentrated until my head pounded, but I couldn’t catch any of his thoughts.

“So, are you impressed with our organization?” Stefan asked.

“I haven’t seen much.”

“Of course not. Come, have a seat.” He sat on a brown leather couch, patting the space beside him. “Are you happy to be here? Are you as happy to meet me as I am to meet you?”

I felt nothing for him or about him. Perhaps the fact that I couldn’t sense any of his emotions caused my apathy. So what if he appeared happy to see me? I couldn’t sense that he really was. It was as though I was blind to him, made so intentionally by his own control. But why couldn’t I sense anything? I remembered Cort talking about protecting his thoughts, and I wondered if Stefan was doing that and if he suspected my real talent.

“I’m happy to meet you, Stefan,” I forced myself to say, “and to take my place among the Unbounded here.”

His grin spread. “That will happen very soon, and meanwhile we’ll be spending a lot of time together. Keene tells me you have the family ability.”

“I guess so.”

His turn to sit back and take a drink, looking both smug and in control.

My apathy instantly vanished, replaced by a burning anger.
This man’s responsible for what happened to my real father. To Lorrie and Jace.
If I’d had a gun in my hand that moment, I would have easily pulled the trigger.

“She’s lying.” Across the room, the black chair behind the desk swiveled to reveal a small woman with gray hair swept into an elaborate twist at the back of her neck.

I was stunned to see her, taken completely by surprise, and I realized I’d become overconfident of at least being able to sense all the people in a room, even if I couldn’t see inside them. Yet somehow I hadn’t caught even an inkling of this woman’s presence.

Stefan set his drink on the coffee table and came to his feet. “Erin, meet Delia Vesey. She’s the third partner in the Triad.”

Delia’s face was lined, giving me the impression of great age, but she had an air of royalty that not even Stefan could match. Confidence, power, knowledge. Definitely Unbounded, though far older than the others. While I knew both Stefan and Tihalt were powerful, I had no doubt this diminutive woman was the true force behind the Emporium Triad.

She stood with a graceful motion that reminded me of a dancer, her gray dress flowing like water around her. The regal face must once have been beautiful but was now simply striking. Her brown eyes dominated her face and my attention. I arose, feeling like a bug in a jar.

“She believes she would kill you,” Delia said without a change in expression, “given the chance. Fortunately for you, I don’t think she has the guts for such an act. There is more she’s hiding, but without a proper examination it’s useless to guess. She seems to have learned a little about blocking.” She crossed the space that separated her from Stefan. “This is not a good idea, as I’ve said from the beginning. She has already been poisoned against us.”

“I’m sure once Erin understands what we are doing here, she’ll join us willingly,” Stefan said mildly.

“Will you?” The woman’s gaze turned to me, and I felt a probing in my head, as though someone was touching the inside with feather-like strokes.

I pushed back at the touches, felt them subside. No sooner did I feel triumph than thoughts tumbled into my head.
I’m still here. You may hide things, but you cannot push me out entirely. You are untrained, and I am the strongest sensing Unbounded alive today. Even Stefan has a hard time keeping me away.

I glared at her, pushing against the intrusion until suddenly it was gone. I didn’t know if I’d pushed her out, or if she’d withdrawn on her own. Or if she was simply there without making herself known. A chill tingled down my back.

“Erin?” Stefan asked. “Are you willing to give this a try?”

I looked at him, still sensing nothing from him. It dawned on me that his darkness hadn’t been for my benefit at all but because he didn’t want Delia in his head any more than I wanted her in mine. Yet in my thoughts she’d been, and she had exposed my plan to play along with Stefan. What I didn’t know was if she’d learned of my true ability.

“I need more answers before I can make a decision.” My voice was steady but held a touch of venom. “My sister-in-law is dead, my brother’s wounded, and my father is dying in a hospital right now. I have no idea where my other brother and his children are. If I’m so important to you, why would you do these things to everyone I love?”

Delia gave him a smirk that said, “See?”

Stefan ignored her. “I promise I have no idea what you are talking about. I ordered your family brought in for safety because I was afraid the Renegades would use them against you. Erin, you have to believe that we want the best for you.”