Winter's Storm: Retribution (Winter's Saga #2) (6 page)

A little breathless, she said, “Your change, sir.”

Well, good. At least it wasn’t just me. This guy was more than just a little attractive. Any girl with a pulse could see how handsome this guy looked. Something about his eyes was mesmerizing. Note to self, Meg: Try not to look into his eyes.

“
That was very nice of you,” I said awkwardly.

“
Don’t think anything of it. Hey, I know we ordered to go,” casually taking my bags of food from me, “but would you be willing to sit with me for a while?”

I stared at the cardboard drink holder in my hands, trying not to look up into his eyes. “I really have to get breakfast up to my family,” I said a little too hurriedly.

“
Of course,” Creed’s voice dropped a pitch. I could hear his disappointment. “Will I see you again?”

“
Well, my mom’s really sick. I don’t think we’ll be leaving the hospital any time soon,” I said. “What about you? Who are you visiting here?”

“
I was visiting a friend who was in an accident, but he’s being discharged today. I don’t imagine I’ll be hanging out on the hospital’s front lawn at 3am anymore.” As he was speaking he’d been leading me away from the crowded dining room toward the elevators.

“
I’m glad your friend is well enough to go home,” I said trying to think of a way to keep him with me for a few moments more. Something about the way he moved made me want to move right with him. I didn’t mean to. I felt him leading me, but I couldn’t resist.

He leaned up against the wall next to the elevator, still holding the bags of food all in one hand. I stood facing him foolishly holding the tray of milk. He didn’t speak for a moment, waiting instead for me to look up at him. I knew that’s what he was doing. I bit my lower lip, torn between my instincts and my urges. My eyes studied the steady pulse in his throat for a moment before I gave in and dove into his pools of blue.

“
I need to see you again,” he simply said.

I tried to think clearly, but his scent was intoxicating. “Noon,” my mouth formed the words, but my head was screaming, slow down you dolt!

“
Where?” he smiled.

“
On the lawn,” my mouth was moving of its own volition.

“
I’ll be there,” he said smiling that dazzling smile he showed me last night. He leaned over and pressed the up button for me. Immediately, the doors opened. He stepped in briefly to hand me my bags of breakfast, allowing our fingers to touch. I had to look away for a moment as he exited the small space. The doors began closing with a “ding” and there he was, lifting a huge masculine hand to gently wave goodbye.

It didn’t register till I got to my mom’s room and was unlocking the door by typing the code into the lock that I didn’t remember pushing the elevator button. It stopped on the floor I needed, the seventh, but I hadn’t pushed the button.

Did Creed?

How would he have known what floor my family was on? Worry lines creased my forehead as I thought of the possibilities. No, I must have hit the button myself, and just don’t remember doing it. My mind was a little preoccupied just then, to put it mildly.
It’s okay to like a nice guy, Meg.
I told myself
. Especially a hottie with dreamy eyes! Don’t be so paranoid!

7 Changing of the Guards

“
Breakfast is served,” I called over to Evan who was carefully folding up the cots and blankets.

“
Excellent, I’m famished, and it smells delicious.” He walked over to the makeshift breakfast table and sat down with me. Maze was licking his chops waiting for his plateful of food, too.

“
Okay, Maze. Here go you buddy. Don’t eat too fast, or you’ll get hiccups like you did last time,” I teased my friend while placing his plate on the floor at my feet.

“
Wow, this is awesome. I sure have been missing authentic Mexican food,” Evan said with his mouth full of eggs.

“
Mmm,” I swallowed, “me, too.”

“
Wish mom could eat with us. She’d love this,” Evan stopped and looked over lovingly at his mom who was still lying in bed. Her jaw was wired shut as it healed because it had been so horribly shattered.

“
She’ll be eating with us soon enough,” I said trying to cheer up my little brother. “Then she’ll make you eat asparagus with breakfast.”

“
Yeah, that never did make sense to me,” Evan smiled.

“
Mom loves to force vegetables down our throats,” I smiled at the memory. “But I love her for always wanting us to be healthy.”

“
Me, too,” Evan poked his fork into his rice and began pushing pieces around his plate.

In an effort to get his mind off of mom, I asked, “So, what are you going to do with yourself when Alik comes to relieve your duty?”

“
I dunno. I’ve been really interested in the hospital’s library. Dr. Andrews has been allowing me special access to all the medical books and journals. I’ve been so fascinated with medicine; the more I read, the more I want to know,” Evan’s eyes lit up brightly as he spoke of study the way regular kids his age brightened at the thought of going to an amusement park.

“
Very cool, Ev,” I said sincerely. “Maybe you could become a doctor someday?” I loved the thought of my brilliant little brother helping people.

Evan shrugged humbly, “I dunno. I really just want to figure out how to get mom better faster. And maybe, figure out what happened to us to make us so different from all the other metas.” He grinned adorably, “Strictly selfish reasons, really.”

“
I think you’d make a wonderful doctor, Evan. Maybe we should look into getting you accepted to a university so you could begin pre-med classes?” I asked casually after finishing my last bite of rice.

“
First thing first, Meggie,” he said in an absolutely serious tone, “we’ve got to take care of some unfinished business.”

“
Right,” I said clearing my plate. “We need to talk with Alik and get a plan in motion. Sometimes, I feel like Williams could walk through that door any minute and put a bullet through mom’s head.” I shivered at the thought.

“
Naw, he wouldn’t get his own hands dirty. That’s not his style. He’d send a meta to finish the job. That’s who we have to look out for: Some guy who looks completely out of place here; probably tall, muscular and extremely clever. He’s done with regular hired henchmen. He’d send a meta like the one who attacked you in his office,” Evan’s eyes were too busy watching Maze chase his now empty paper plate around the floor licking every last morsel off to see Meg’s face pale.

“
Of course,” she whispered thoughtfully rubbing the scar on her thigh. “That’s exactly how he’d do it, isn’t it?”

“
That’s how I would do it if I were him,” Evan leaned down and grabbed Maze’s empty plate before he started to rip it up and eat the pieces, as he’s been known to do. The old goat!

“
Of course, there is still the matter of our blood. He wanted to study us to figure out what he stumbled upon that worked so well in the serum we were given. He probably still wants us. Blood samples only last for an hour or two before the fragile molecular compounds start to change and/or lose their blueprints,” Evan was thinking out loud now. He was casually discussing the ideas that had scared the apple fritters out of me ever since this whole thing came to light.

Ugh, again I’m amazed at how nonchalant he could be in the face of scary stuff like, oh I dunno, becoming lab rats again, mom getting off-ed right in front of us, watching a madman use us as his weapons of mass destruction by cloning us and turning the clones into mindless drones to do his bidding, you know…all the stuff that wicked, scary books and movies love to throw in their plots. How can Evan just casually speculate and project these very real scenarios and outcomes?

“
Hum, but you know, he doesn’t need all three of us,” Evan stopped talking and looked pensively over at me. “Just one of us would probably suffice for his purposes.”

As if my face wasn’t pale enough, I felt myself go perfectly still at my brother’s words. I stared at him, unblinking for a full minute, feeling all the terror of the last few weeks wash over me with a completely different slant on what could have happened.

“
Breathe, Meg,” Evan ordered. “Meg, come on. Don’t freak out on me. All of this is just me throwing around ideas—you know, hypotheticals. I could be completely wrong. Who knows what is logical in the mind of a madman?”

Just then, there was a knock at the door that scared the heck out of me. “Hello, there Winter family!” Dr. Andrews called through the closed door.

“
You have got to stop drinking caffeinated coffee, Meg,” Evan teased as he walked to the door to let the doctor in.

“
Good morning Meg, Evan. How’s the patient this morning?” He asked us, oblivious to the tension he just walked in on. Out came his little flash light as he leaned over mom’s closed eyes. He gently lifted one lid at a time to expose the pupil. Quick flashes of light across her eyes seemed to make the doctor happy. “Nice and reactive,” he mumbled and put his stethoscope to mom’s chest. After a few moments he said, “Good, good. Heart sounds good, lungs sound clear and pulse-ox good,” he said reading a print out from a machine beside mom’s bed. “Blood pressure, holding steady,” he said nodding to himself. “Excellent. Her jaw looks to be healing on schedule. I know it would be great to be able to talk, Margo,” he said to a sleeping patient.

“
The kids would feel so much more assured if they could hear your voice,” the doctor’s hands gently touched mom’s face where bruises were beginning to fade. The tenderness was so clear I had to look away because watching seemed intrusive. You didn’t have to be an emotional superconductor like me to see he loved my mom deeply. Anyone with eyes could see she meant the world to him.

“
Uneventful night?” he asked.

“
Yep,” Evan answered for us.

“
Good. Well, Alik and Cole are on the third floor doing their magic act for the kids. Do either of you want to go stand in the back of the room and make fun of them?” Dr. Andrews smiled mischievously.

“
I’ll go. I’ve been cooped up since yesterday. Do you mind Meg?” Evan asked thoughtfully.

“
Hum? Oh, no. I don’t mind at all, Ev. Have fun,” I said thinking I’d rather not see Cole right now. Good grief, I thought to myself. I know nothing about Creed, but here I am feeling guilty for having spoken with him. Well, that’s not exactly true. I feel guilty because of the attraction I have for him. Besides, I don’t even know if Creed is safe. What if he’s working for Williams? But, if he is, wouldn’t he have just kidnapped or killed me last night when he had the chance? I was completely unaware of him there in the shadows. He could have put a bullet right through me if he wanted to.

This is crazy,
I thought to myself.
Let it go, Meg. You have enough to worry about. No time for a love life. Leave that mushy stuff to the normal girls out there.

“
Would you mind hanging out for five minutes so I can take a fast shower, Dr. Andrews?” I asked. “I don’t like leaving mom unattended.”

Maze whined.

“
No offense, Maze. I just need someone who can speak English, just in case. Then there’s that opposable thumb thing,” I teased while patting his ample flank.

“
Oh, sure, Meg. I have a phone call to make anyway,” he graciously added, reaching for the hospital phone on Margo’s bedside table.

“
Great, thanks. I won’t be long,” I said hurrying to gather a fresh change of clothes.

The moment I stepped under the streams of hot water, my mind wandered back in time. When I think back to that day at the Institute, I am still in awe we all survived. The media reported the event in all its television glory while the smoke was still billowing from the Institute. But once the ashes cooled, Dr. Andrews’ best friend and police detective, Greg Burns was able to keep all details out of the news.

Dr. Williams fled the country the same night his Institute burned, so the authorities had a lot of questions for him, as well. Once the fire investigators released their report noting the cause of the fire and subsequent explosions was caused by arson, even more people wanted to talk with Dr. Williams. However, he was nowhere to be found.

He was last seen boarding his personal jet, accompanied by a woman named Michelle Andrews. Their flight plan indicated a trip to the Cayman Islands, but there was no record they ever landed there and an escape to a completely different location is assumed.

Dr. Andrews, when he found out Michelle had left him, was quiet and solemn. He never went into the particulars with us kids, but he mentioned in a small voice once, how upset he was with himself for “allowing that rebound marriage.” Something about his failed attempt of recreating what he lost when Jenna, Cole’s mom, died.

Then when he found out Michelle was definitely conspiring with Dr. Williams, he blew his top. Who could blame him? Although I did try to warn him, I couldn’t bring myself to give him the infamous “I told you so” speech. Especially not when I could sense he was enraged to the point of popping a blood vessel!

It didn’t take him long to realize she had been the one to inform Dr. Williams of his plans to help me and my brothers. And that it was she who planted the GPS tracker and audio transmitter in the SUV before we left Kansas to travel to California. He wondered, though he wouldn’t say it out loud, how far back Dr. Williams’ influence went with Michelle. How much of his life had been reported back to the Institute by his own wife?