Love in Electric Blue (Westlake Enterprises) (22 page)

“Asshole.”
He intended to have a close talk with Thorne about his poor sense of humor when this was over.

“Your work?” he asked Lennox when they passed another bloodied room.

“Yes.” Lennox appeared proud. God, what a bastard. “Did you know that at 3,000 volts and 5 amps, the muscles spasm and contract into a state of absolute rigidity? The lungs and heart cease working. Blood boils. Mental processes scatter as the body begins to burn itself from the inside out. If we’re not careful when we attach the leads, sparks burn the flesh. Though many complain, I don’t find the stench unpleasant. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.”

“You know, I’m not surprised. You always were a crazy bastard.”

Thorne mentally agreed. Then he sent another warning.
“Getting…random waves…blocked by excess… Can’t… Hear me?”

J.D. had expected not to hear Thorne sooner, so he wasn’t too worried. He often scrambled his field to block Max when visiting the Buchanans, so he figured the massive amounts of radiation or electricity in the lab would eventually do the same with Thorne.

Now he really was on his own.

They passed a guy matching Mike Brooks’s picture in another glass-walled office. Lee Brooks’s nephew spoke to a man in a white coat. A few doors down, several armed security guards monitoring white noise on their video screens frantically tried to fix their system. Still no sign of Carter, though, and they’d come to the end of the hall.

Finally, they stopped. In this room that was slightly bigger than the others, a woman lay strapped down on a table, her form mostly covered by a blue sheet.

J.D.’s heart seemed to stop. Remy appeared conscious and in good health as a technician scurried around her. Thorne hadn’t lied about her being okay.

“I want to see her.” He didn’t bother pretending he’d come for any other reason. Hell, why not show Carter and his minions how vulnerable he was, to throw the man a bone, then yank it away later?

“Of course. We knew you would.” Lennox passed him and held up his hand to a sensor J.D. hadn’t noticed before. The door
snicked
open, and Lennox strode inside.

J.D. hurried after him. The technician left at a word from Lennox, until just J.D., Lennox and Remy remained. The bulk of the guards took post outside the room.

“Remy?”

She turned her head, her eyes cloudy, her energy unfocused. But when she saw him, her pupils dilated. He noted everything about her, and though he didn’t see any bruising, he vowed to kick the shit out of everyone who’d dared put their hands on her. From what he could see, she wore a hospital shirt and pants under the blanket that didn’t quite cover her.

Lennox stared at her, a little too closely for J.D.’s peace of mind.

Before he could say anything, Lennox nodded. “I’ll leave you.”

J.D. watched the man leave, wondering what the hell to do now. He hadn’t anticipated being left alone with her at all. The guards remained outside the room, but what was Carter hoping would happen? J.D. glanced unerringly at the hidden cameras mounted to the ceiling.

Remy blinked at him. “You’re…here? Dum-my,” she slurred. “Not s-posed to be here…yet.”

He gripped her hand in his, overjoyed to touch her again. “Well, I am here. And I’m not happy about you pulling this crap again.” He didn’t wait. He streamed power into her body, pushing the drug aside.

She grimaced. “I knew you’d th-think that.” She sighed as her eyes cleared. “You mad at me, J.D.?” She blinked, and a tear fell down her cheek. “’Cause I don’t want you to be. Had to be this way.”

“Yes, I know. He’s too powerful to avoid forever.” A bit of flattery to allay the man’s suspicions.

“Did you bring the gang?”

“Yes, did you?” Carter’s voice rang through the speakers in the room. “I’m dying to know.”

Dying. Not soon enough.
J.D. cleared his throat. “Of course I brought help. You didn’t think I’d come here on my own? I’m not stupid.”

“You never were.” Carter sounded pleased. “I’m glad to see you alive, Joshua.”

“It’s J.D.”

“We have so much to do now that you’re here. And little time to do it in, I imagine, with your friends soon banging down our door. Don’t tell me. I assume you brought Jurek Westlake. Did you also bring Buchanan? How ironic that Lizzie would work for a man who despises me.”

“Yeah, ironic.” He didn’t answer, but he didn’t think Carter had expected him to.

“Well, then.” Carter sounded brisk. “Let’s get to it.”

Gas filled the room before J.D. could think to stop from taking his next breath. And then the lights went out.
Again.

Remy blinked and coughed to expel the sickening sweet stench of her uncle’s knockout gas. She’d learned to counter the disorientation years ago by holding an electronic shield over herself when he used it. Unfortunately, J.D. had never mastered the art.

In minutes, the guards reappeared and strapped him down next to her, J.D. held tight by synthetic, flame-retardant restraints designed to withstand electronic burns. The guards tilted the tables, putting J.D. and Remy into standing positions, then left the room.

Moments later, Carter and Lennox entered.

Her uncle stood next to Lennox and smiled. “Just like old times.”

She wished Carter had lost his hair or looked worse, but he was just as handsome, cold and enigmatic as he’d ever been.

“Fuck you.”

He frowned.
Good, don’t like that, do you?
Her uncle and his prissy mores.

“Such a mouth. Too bad our family’s refined sensibilities didn’t stick. But your power hasn’t waned. You’ve grown much, much stronger. I know. Now let’s see what Joshua can do.”

“His name is J.D.” She glared at Carter, while wanting to curse out her handsome, idiotic
rescuer
. Thorne had barely warned of J.D.’s arrival before he’d winked out of her head. After all the trouble she’d gone through to keep J.D. away from here, she didn’t like him showing up now.

He had to have a plan, but it would have been nice if he’d shared it before being knocked off his sexy feet. If only she could reach him, she could push that drug out of his system, the way he’d earlier helped her.

“Yeah, what she said,” he slurred as he blinked awake.

Hell. She had to act, despite the sensors and Carter waiting for her to do something.

Knowing they needed to be ready to fight back, she concentrated and streamlined a small jolt into J.D. Damn, but that hurt. She was a lot weaker than she’d hoped to be. But hopefully…

After a few seconds, she sensed his mental processes tightening. Like a well-oiled machine, J.D.’s mind was a thing of beauty, his synapses firing on all sides.

Buzzers and beeps sounded all around her, and Carter and Lennox jumped to take in the data.

“Thanks.”

She stared at J.D. in shock, ignoring her uncle’s excitement. Several more men in white coats entered, as did Mike Brooks.

“J.D.?”
They hadn’t spoken like
this
, truly merged, in so long. Despite being linked during sex and when they shared energy, their telepathic closeness had evaded her. She hadn’t thought they might reach this level after being with each other for so little time. Maybe… Maybe he really did love and trust her, like he’d said.

“Just bear with this crap. Let him pontificate out his ass. Jurek, Hunter, Thorne and the others are here with me. While Carter deals with us, the others are right now invading the compound and setting any survivors free. We just have to keep him occupied.”
Aloud he asked, “Why did you leave me?”

She started to cry, so relieved and in love with him. It was as if Carter wasn’t even there.

“They were
merged
.” Her uncle’s voice rose. “Did you see those readings?”

“Yes, sir.” Mike Brooks, the little creep, smiled and leered at her, the way he’d been leering since he’d seen her stripped of her clothes and dressed in those nasty, paper-thin scrubs. “Perhaps we should hook up the machine, Doctor?”

“Yes, yes. Lennox, you’re no longer needed. Firm up security. You know we’ll soon have company.”

Lennox frowned and made no move to leave. “I want to be here, Dr. Carter. I can help.”

Remy glanced away from her lover and studied Lennox. He sounded…wrong. The spark in his eyes alarmed her. She’d been suspicious of him, even back when she’d been a prisoner at the Institute. He’d always been too hands on, as if he too participated in instances of conduit testing. But her uncle had ignored him, so she’d done the same.

A mistake.

“Yeah. He’s fucking nuts.”
J.D. watched him as well.
“But don’t worry. I’m here.”

“All tied up too. My hero.”

“Witch.”

“J.D., I love you.”

“Back at ya, babe. Now let’s watch this play out.”

Babe?
Where had that come from? But he was right, so she focused on the here and now. They had to get through this so they could deal with their new togetherness. A future of tomorrows.

“Yes, yes. You’re always a help.” Her uncle nudged Lennox away from the computer and continued to type with a mad zeal.

Lennox folded his arms over his chest. “Dr. Carter, I’m one of them. You know that. Hook me up to the device. Pour the power into me. Use me, I can handle it. I’m not like the others. I won’t burn up.”

Burn up?
Remy and J.D. shared a glance.

“Fine, Lennox.”

She hadn’t expected Carter to concede. Lennox looked like a kid at Christmas. Brooks and two other men put a black glove on Lennox and hooked it up to leads and to what looked like a small computer. They attached nodes to Lennox’s temples.

Brooks moved to Carter’s side. “Vitals are steady, Doctor.”

“You sure you’re ready for this?” Carter asked Lennox one more time. “You’ve been a good man for so many years. I’d hate to see you come to a bad end if the experiment fails.”

Odd, because Carter never looked on the dark side of his genius. He was up to something.

“I’m ready, sir.” Lennox looked so proud, ready to burst. He fixed his gaze on her and smiled. “Soon Lizzie and I will be more than compatible.”

J.D. looked from him to her. “For what?”

“To breed, of course,” Carter answered for him. “With my niece’s offspring, I’ll be able to measure new capabilities otherwise untried. I’d hoped to pair you two years ago, but then the fire happened. Now with Lennox adjusted, he’ll make an adequate replacement.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Though she felt more than sick at the thought of procreating with Lennox, she didn’t take it seriously. From what she felt from J.D.’s relaxed energy, he didn’t either.

They watched the drama play out.

“Okay, Mike. Now.” Carter stepped back as Mike threw a switch and typed in a few commands. “Good luck, Lennox.” His eyes narrowed.

A loud hum broke the sudden silence in the room.

Remy gasped as energy flooded the room and centered in her gut.

“I can feel it.” Lennox prayed with a zealot’s devotion. “Dear God. The power is flowing into me. So much energy. And it’s good. So amazingly
right…
”

“Increase the current,” Carter ordered, studying his monitors and Lennox in short intervals.

Remy and J.D. watched in shared silence, not sure what to expect. Something was happening, but
what
was the million dollar question. She felt the energy burning through her, but it didn’t hurt. The more she absorbed, the more clear-headed she felt.

“You good?”
J.D. asked.

“Yeah. You?”

He nodded.
“But I don’t think Lennox is going to be. Look at him. He’s got blood in his eyes.”

She wasn’t surprised when Lennox shrieked. Bloody tears streamed down his cheeks and his eyes rolled back in his head. Mike cranked the dial again at Carter’s order, and arcs of blue and purple light moved along the wires connecting Lennox’s temple to the leads fixed to the glove. For several minutes, Lennox remained frozen, his muscles locked in place, his face a grotesque parody of bliss—his scar stretched his mouth to appear as if he were smiling.

It seemed to last forever, and then it was over. Mike shut off the controls and Lennox slumped, brain dead, his eyes wide open but unseeing.

“Excellent.” Carter removed the glove from Lennox and ripped out the wires without getting so much as a shock. “Worked like a charm.”

“Good numbers, Doctor,” Mike nodded.

“What did that accomplish?” J.D. asked.

She wondered if he felt her unease. A pleased Benjamin Carter was a dangerous Benjamin Carter.

“That, my dear subjects, is the jump I needed to be ready for you two. Mike, the headsets.”

Mike hurried from his stool, grabbed two weird-looking visors and crossed to J.D. and Remy.

“Fuck, no. Get that thing away from me,” J.D. insisted.

“It’s okay. Link with me,”
he told her.
“We’ll get past this together. Remember how to shield.”

Together? They hadn’t done this in ten years, and it had only worked the one time…