Villainess (17 page)

Kristoph dropped my arm, running his fingers through his white hair causing it to stand on end like some mad scientist. “I expected—no. I won’t judge you. Women like Leila, they have a way about them…” His voice trailed off as his eyes glazed over.

We stood there for a moment, two men hidden in the shadows behind a mental hospital. Not the smartest thing in the world. “Come on. We better get inside. We’re asking to be caught just standing out here talking.”

“Right. Right. Lead the way.”

We were both quiet the rest of the journey to my office. I’d already disconnected the camera feed before meeting Kristoph at a nearby coffee shop. I knew my time was limited before Ella demanded to know what was going on, but until she did, I intended to continue on as long as I could. “I hate to ask you this, but could you hide under my desk? I don’t want the orderly to see you when he brings Leila in.”

Kristoph laughed. “I thought my days of hiding under desks were over at my age.” His eyes danced with mirth. “I’ll see what I can do. But I’m not making any promises that I won’t get stuck.” He motioned to his legs. “Arthritis.”

“Again, I’m sorry.”

“Nonsense. I’m quite looking forward to this in a way. I’m not sure if I hope to find that you’re right or wrong about your assumptions.” He chuckled. “Being retired can be quite boring sometimes.”

“I imagine.” I strode towards my door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I wasn’t sure what I wanted Kristoph to find either. On one hand, there was a part of me that didn’t feel quite so bad fucking Leila if she’d been somehow coerced or conditioned to end those people’s lives. And on the other hand, if that part was true, then we might all be in a world of danger. No matter how it turned out for Leila, I had a feeling it was already too late for me.

Leila

“Leila, it’s time.” Matt’s words were ominous. I lifted my head to meet his unreadable blue eyes.

“Geeze, you don’t have to be so serious. I’m going into another session, not the gas chamber, at least not yet.”

“Not funny, Leila, not at all.”

I shrugged as I slipped my feet into my slippers. Matt didn’t touch me on our way to Jonah’s office, which was unusual. He didn’t talk either, which wasn’t. My thoughts wandered on the short trip. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t know who I was anymore. For the past few years, since I’d met Theo, I’d been so sure of my beliefs and my goals. I’d never felt so sure of myself in my entire life.
Now I don’t even know if any of my own thoughts are mine
. There is no worse feeling in the world to not know if your own mind can be trusted.

Jonah opened his door, striding out confidently, just as we approached. His expression was startled for just a moment. “I was just coming to find you, Matt, to help escort Leila—how did you know?”

“You said ten o’clock, didn’t you?” He glanced at his watch and then back up at Jonah. “It’s five ‘til.”

“Right. Yes.” Jonah cleared his throat, his eyes darting everywhere but on me. “I suppose I forgot that I told you.” He swung the door open and I stepped inside. “Matt, I won’t be needing you tonight. I’m going to hold off on the hypnosis until tomorrow’s session. Leila needs a break.”

Instant relief caused Matt to sag. I tilted my head to study him.
That’s odd. Why does he care so much?
I thought he wanted me to get to the bottom of what was wrong with me. “Sounds good, Doctor Yoshihara. How long before you need me again?”

“Two hours, maybe longer. I want to cover a lot of ground tonight despite the lack of hypnosis. If the door still isn’t open in two hours—wait.”

Tension filled Matt’s continence again, making me wonder why. “Sounds good.” I met Matt’s gaze briefly before Jonah shut the door on him.
There’s something not right there. Did I miss something?

“Are the cameras off?”

“Yes, but—”

I had my lips on Jonah’s before he could finish his sentence. I leaned into him, pressing my body against his muscular chest. His hands dove into my hair, gripping tightly, and turning my face so that—

“Eh-em.”

“What the hell?” I broke away from Jonah just in time to see an elderly man crawling out from under his desk. The man’s white hair stuck up in disarray and immediately he reminded me of Doc Brown from
Back to the Future
, although maybe not as spry since he seemed to be having difficulty getting to his feet.

From Jonah’s complete lack of surprise, I gathered that for whatever reason, our guest was a secret or at least Jonah wanted to keep him that way. “This is Kristoph, an old friend and colleague. Kristoph, this is Leila.” Jonah went to his friend’s aid, offering him a hand to get him to his feet.

Kristoph smiled at me, his cheeks flushed. “I told Jonah I was going to get stuck under there. Arthritis in both knees, you see.” With one final grunt, he stood at his full height. “Ah, much better.” He offered me his hand. “As Jonah said, I’m Kristoph, and I’m here to help figure out what’s locked away in that brain of yours.” His eyes studied me intently, gleaming with something that made a shiver run up my spine. I wasn’t sure why, but something about Kristoph set me on edge.

“He’s a specialist, or at least he was before he retired. I trust him with you.” Jonah reached out to squeeze my hand and I took the comfort like a lifeline. I hated how afraid I was.

“Okay, so more hypnotizing is going to be happening, I’m guessing.” And here I’d been hoping for a nice long fuck session with Jonah. Instead it was only my brain that was going to be getting worked over.
Oh joy. Stop it. You need answers.

“That’s correct.” Kristoph gave me a friendly smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He was looking at me like I wasn’t even a person anymore, but a complicated puzzle he wanted to put back together piece by painful piece.

“How about you go over to the couch and get comfortable.” Instead of obeying, I intertwined my fingers tighter with Jonah’s. I needed answers but I didn’t like how I was going to have to get them.

Jonah leaned into me, his full lips skimming across the shell of me ear. Goose bumps erupted in quick succession. “I’ll be right here the whole time. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

I ground my teeth together.
What happened to being willing to die for a cause? This is nothing. Stop being chicken shit and face whatever it is. You need to know.
I dropped Jonah’s hand, lifted my chin, and went to the couch. I situated myself with my head on the arm, and my legs curled up underneath me. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

I expected the ticks of the metronome to begin, but instead Kristoph appeared in my line of sight as I stared up at the ceiling. “This may hurt a little.” I saw the flash of a needle and then I glanced down in time to see it plunge into my arm.

“Kristoph! No! I didn’t—”

Jonah’s words were quickly stolen away as my vision blurred and my head lulled. Whatever I’d been given was pretty strong to act so fast.

Everything went black.

“Who are you really? Why can’t you ever give me a straight answer?” I glared at Theo from my position in bed.

He shrugged out of his black t-shirt, exposing his muscular chest that was covered in tattoos. Despite my anger, my eyes slid over him hungrily. “Because there is no straight answer. You’re lookin’ for something that isn’t there.”

“That makes no sense, no sense at all. From the first moment you seemingly appeared in that back yard with me—you knew too much. And then when I tell you I have visions, that I knew about that mom because I’d seen it in my head, you just accepted it.”

Theo flopped into bed beside me, rolling over to face me. “I’ve seen stranger things.”

“Where? And just like that, we became like a team. No—” I shook my head. “That’s not right. We’re more than a team. We’re…well I don’t even know, and that’s kind of the problem.”

“Did I ever tell you that you talk too much?”

He flipped me over in one smooth move, ripping my panties off of me. Before I had a chance to react, he shoved into me from behind. I groaned in pleasure. But before I really started to enjoy anything, something stung me in the ass, like a bee or a—“Hey, what the fuck did you just do?”

I tried to buck Theo off of me but he held me steady. “It doesn’t matter because you won’t remember any of it.”

My eyes fluttered shut and I slumped forward as Theo pulled out of me. I lay there in a heap, conscious but unable to move. The bed dipped, I could hear rustling, and then Theo’s deep voice. “I can’t take much more of this. I’m gonna get fuckin’ blue balls.” A pause. “Yeah, I know. Well, next time I’m finishing first so I better get a little more time.” Another pause.
He must be on the phone
. “No, not yet.” A sharp knock sounded on the motel door. “That must be them. I’ll update you on the progress when we’re done.”

A moment later the door creaked open. “About time. Let’s get this over with,” Theo growled to our visitor. Panic swelled within me.
What the fuck is going on?

The bed dipped and I struggled to move, but to no avail. “There she is, my little Leila, and here everyone thought you were too weak. I always knew better.” A large hand stroked down my naked back, but not in a sexual way, as if I was being stroked like a prized pet. “You’re going to be our greatest success. Project Reaper 2.0. Too bad they’re all dead and won’t get to witness my greatest success.” He leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Our greatest success.”

“Just get on with it already,” Theo grumbled.

I was roughly flipped over, my eyes pulled open so my gaze fixated straight above since I couldn’t voluntarily move. A queen of hearts card was thrust into my line of vision. “This is the queen of hearts. This is you. When you see this card you will do whatever needs to be done to reach your ultimate goal. You are a survivor. You take out anyone who stands in your way. You do it because you couldn’t save them. Feel the guilt. Let the guilt…”

“Leila, wake up!” Cold water splashed over my face and I sputtered. I blinked Jonah’s dark gaze into focus. I rolled over and retched.

“I’m sorry, Jonah, Leila. There are fail-safes in place in her mind. I can get past them, in time, but not tonight, and not in this way.”

“What do you mean by fail-safes?” I retched again, my stomach cramping and my head swimming. Spots danced in front of my eyes, and darkness pushed around my vision. My mind was reeling as I though back to what I’d just remembered but the more I thought about it the more—

Blackness.

Jonah

“Do something!” Panic swelled up within me seeing Leila unconscious after everything I’d heard.

Cool as ice, Kristoph leaned over her, probing his fingers into her neck. “Her pulse is strong and steady.” He lifted her eyelid, studying and assessing. “Her pupils are normal, and so is her breathing.” He stood slowly, groaning under his breath. “I’ve seen this type of thing before, Jonah, and I’m sorry. I had my suspicions when I spoke with you, but I’d hoped I was wrong.” He shook his head slowly. “I’m not.”

“So what does it all mean? She’s been conditioned, programmed, but to do what?” I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt, focusing on the motion to calm me. “It can be undone, right?”