The Reckoning (26 page)

I shook my head. “He loves you. Whatever he agreed to, however that baby got inside you, he loves you, and you don’t love him. You’re going to break his heart.”

“No, I won’t.” Stella stood and looked down at me, her open palms pressed tightly against her thighs. “It’s not like that.”

“Yes. It is. Remember, I saw you two back at the Fortress.”

She slumped to the bed, bringing her hands to her face. “Oh, Erin, am I so selfish? I wanted my husband’s baby, but both Bronson and my baby are gone, and Chris is here. He knew how I felt, and I thought . . .” She closed her eyes, a stark pain written on her face that reminded me of when she’d lost her baby. So much had happened that it was hard to believe it had occurred less than six weeks ago. Tears started down her cheeks. “I don’t mean to hurt him. I just want the ache to go away.”

I put my arms around her and hugged her tightly. “I wish everything could have been different for you. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. I thought I was being responsible. I went to the lab. I manipulated his sperm. I did everything I could to increase the chance of our child being Unbounded. I know Chris is seventh generation, but I hope . . .” Her eyes unfocused for a moment and the slightest glimmer of optimism touched her beautiful face. “I know it’s wrong when Chris and I aren’t in a committed relationship, but somehow, I’m glad.”

Glad for the child’s existence, she meant, and I surprised myself by laughing. “Of course. I guess I feel that way too.” Her baby was hope for the future. “But this means you can’t be anywhere near that plutonium,” I said. “If something happens, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“What will I tell the others?”

“For now we only have to tell Ritter, and he already knows something’s up.”

“Because of what happened on the boat.” She ran a finger below an almond-shaped eye, glowing now with a subtle warmth. “I just wasn’t myself.”

Since she’d lost her baby while defending my niece and nephew from an Emporium attack, how could I blame her? I certainly could never repay her, and maybe Chris even owed her this. If only he hadn’t also given her his heart.

“Right,” I said, forcing down emotions that were too close to the surface. “Anyway, you can stay away from the main action and coordinate our efforts. With Cort and Keene here, we have enough manpower.”

“Keene.” Stella’s smile was full this time. “When do you think he’ll make the announcement about his Change? I think Mari and Chris are the only ones of us who don’t know. Well, and Jeane.”

We talked for a few more minutes, and Stella asked again about the snake before she left, but the box had stopped glowing the instant I dropped our connection after our nanite session. I wasn’t feeling too much pressure, yet, though I could tell the effort had taken some toll on me.

When Stella was gone, I lay back on the bed, breathing deeply and absorbing nutrients. The flavor of spice touched my tongue, and I regretted turning down Basilio’s refreshments. But it was too late to inconvenience the family now. We were already putting them in danger just by being here.

Closing my eyes, I investigated the box in my head. No blue lights. Yet even as I tapped the box, my ability activated and the twin lights flickered into existence. Expecting to feel nothing but a slight warmth, I reached out to one as I had so many times before. A sharp, piercing sensation filled me, as if I were being jabbed by a thousand pins. Abruptly, I felt a tug, and I was drawn into the light.

Falling.

Falling.

Or being dragged.

At the end of the fall, I caught a glimpse of Delia Vesey, or at least her mind. Her attention diverted from whoever she was with, and she turned her thoughts inward. Toward me. Chills crawled over my shoulders. I scrambled, pulling myself back along the light, exerting every bit of effort I could find. The light seemed to dig beneath my fingernails. More pinpoints of agony. I pressed on.

I came back to myself with a gasp, sitting up in the darkness, though I was sure I’d left the lamp on.

“What is it?” Ritter’s voice came from beside the bed, and I pushed into his arms as he sat next to me.

“Nothing. A dream.” Maybe.

“Sorry if I startled you. Shadrach’s son just signaled, and Stella is deciphering the message now.”

“That’s good,” I said, feeling unsteady. Had I really seen Delia? Had her construct grown so strong, or was she nearby?

“I came to tell you to get ready to move on the intel, but you were sleeping so soundly that I decided to leave and come back later once I knew our destination.” His hand went to my belly, sending heat through me. The next instant he was kissing me, and I was kissing him back, my mouth opening beneath his exploring tongue.

After a long moment I rested my cheek against his, listening to his quickened breath. “When we get back, I have a surprise for you,” I whispered, slipping my hands beneath his shirt and pulling him on top of me. I could feel the bond between us like a tangible thing.

“I can’t wait.” His lips found mine once more. I could feel exactly how he wanted to touch me, protect me, and make me laugh. His emotion filled me so full, there was no room for words. He groaned softly, lifting his lips from mine to say, “Lately, I always know what you’re feeling, even when you’re not sending it to me. Is this what you experience with others all the time?”

“Yeah. Kind of. With those who don’t block. Though I’m trying not to use my ability at the moment.” I shivered when I thought about Delia and what had just happened to me. How much time had passed since I’d touched the blue light?

His arms tightened around me. “Do you want me to come back for you later?”

“No, I want to come. Let’s go see what Habid has to say.”

We slid from the bed, our arms still tangled together. I smiled, but before I could twist free, he stilled, his eyes catching mine in the darkness. He brushed his lips against my cheek before he found my mouth, breathing me in for a long moment. Then he pulled back to search my eyes. “I know you’re afraid.”

I blinked at that, but before I could deny it, he squeezed my waist. “I feel it too, whenever I think of losing you, but then I remember one very important thing.” He paused as his thoughts spread through our connection, and I could see that he felt my determination every bit as much as my fear. I was scared, yes, but what we had together also made me courageous. That was what he remembered. He kissed me again, slower this time. The comfort he desperately wanted to give me ran through my body. This time when he pulled away, his touch lingered long after his lips left mine.

“You’re stronger than Delia is,” he said. “Don’t ever forget that.”

I nodded, the weight of my fear diminishing at his words. His fingers grasped tightly to mine as we headed for the door.

When we arrived in the sitting room where the others had gathered, I discovered I’d lost two hours to sleep—or to my hallucination about Delia—not just the few minutes it had seemed. I planned to ask Jeane about that the first chance I got. The light wasn’t glowing now, and while I didn’t feel rested, I wasn’t overly tired, especially considering what we’d been through the past twenty-four hours.

The sitting room was long and narrow, and fit us all as promised, though the long couches on either side of the room almost met the two coffee tables in the middle. These were filled with platters of meats, cheeses, fruits, cakes, and other things I didn’t recognize. Full cups of tea stood waiting on insulated cup holders—mint by the aroma.

“Habid is here in Casablanca,” Stella announced as we entered, looking up from her laptop that she’d placed on the end of the coffee table nearest the door.

“And so is the cargo,” Walker added, “and by that I assume he means the plutonium.”

“Where?” I settled next to Jeane, who sat across from Stella and was wearing robes that looked anything but drab on her. The others in our party were spread out over the rest of the couches. Ritter, who had remained standing, leaned over Stella to look at her screen.

“About three to four miles southwest of here near a place called L’Oasis.” Stella drew a line with her finger, and I scooted forward to peer over the laptop screen. “I was able to track the transmission, and it verifies what he said about the location.”

“Is he still broadcasting?” Ritter asked, glancing at the doorway where our host Basilio had appeared, straining under the weight of a wooden crate from which jutted several assault rifles.

“No, he’s stopped.” It was Walker who replied. The reporter had taken on a new air of confidence since I’d seen him last. Maybe because he felt useful. “The window won’t open again for another ten hours. It’s not regular, and I can’t change the preprogramming. But don’t you think he would have indicated if he thought he was going to be moved? So that’s probably where the exchange is taking place. Maybe tonight.” He glanced at Basilio. “Or maybe after morning prayers.”

The irony of that wasn’t lost on me, but Basilio, long accustomed to a religion whose extremists fought their holy wars in the name of God, only nodded. “That will be the most likely time. Prayer will be finished just before sunrise.” He waited as platters were resituated before placing the crate on one of the coffee tables.

“Then let’s go now.” Ritter grabbed one of the machine guns, and Jace followed, making sounds of approval in the back of his throat. “The Emporium won’t have had time to do anything fancy to protect the place from Erin or Mari.”

“We don’t know that,” Stella said. “It might be a house they’ve owned for years and forgotten about, or it might be something they’ve bought or updated recently.”

“I’m betting not,” Ritter countered. “We have them off-balance.”

“Hopefully.” Stella’s frown reminded me of the baby.

“Stella should stay in the car and coordinate,” I said. “With Walker.”

Ritter’s eyes met mine, and he nodded, though I hadn’t told him yet about her condition. Walker didn’t disagree, and I thought maybe he had some sense after all.

“We have to make sure my son is safe.” Shadrach gazed at Ritter anxiously. “We owe him that much for locating the plutonium.”

“We’ll do our best, of course, but keep in mind that if your son hadn’t contacted a reporter”—Ritter spat it like a dirty word, though he didn’t look at Walker—“they wouldn’t have moved the plutonium early, and we wouldn’t be scrambling to keep up with them now.”

“I wouldn’t have known the plutonium was even in Venezuela without my son,” Shadrach insisted. “Because of him, we recovered the other batch.”

Ritter nodded. “As I said, we’ll do our best.” But we all knew, and Shadrach needed to accept, that the life of his son had to be weighed against the lives of eight million Israelis and a war that would take even more casualties.

How would I feel if it were someone I loved? I glanced at Ritter and knew exactly what it would feel like. “We’ll get him,” I assured Shadrach. “We’ll go in and hit them hard.” I waited only a second to add, “But Jeane should stay here.” If I was going to use my ability, she wouldn’t be any help to me, and nulling the Emporium agents hadn’t gone so well last time.

“No, I’m prepared.” She pulled aside her robe to show an armored vest. She lifted her gaze to Basilio, who had averted his eyes, though less of her skin was showing now than when she’d arrived. “Thanks to our host.”

Ritter and Jace crowded around Stella’s laptop and began planning how to enter the building that seemed to be a house of sorts. Probably well-secured. I was going to insist that Jeane stay behind, maybe even bring up the cell phone she’d stolen and the possibility of securing her in a locked room, but at that moment, she leaned in close and said, “When are you going to tell him?”

I turned to her, seeing that her eyes were not on Ritter but on Jace. “What do you mean?” I said slowly.

“He looks just like Stefan. Or close enough.”

I glanced hurriedly at Jace, but he was arguing with Ritter. Something about a roof. He always liked the idea of going in from a roof. Last time he’d been right.

I shifted my stare back to Jeane. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do.”

There was no doubt in my mind that she was threatening me. “You leave him out of this,” I said through clenched teeth.

She smiled. “Be glad to. You and I need each other, Erin. At least until we get rid of Delia. After that, we’ll see.” She gave me one of her movie-star smiles.

I didn’t know what to say to that because she was right. I was going to need her if my plan to face Delia would have any chance of success, and I didn’t like that one bit. “Okay,” I said finally, “but you will leave my brother out of it.”

I looked back at the others to find Ritter staring at me, obviously aware that something was going on, and I clamped down on my shield. Thankfully, this didn’t require use of my ability.

I was going to have to be careful if I didn’t want to endanger Ritter with the plan I was beginning to formulate regarding my confrontation with Delia. No matter what, I wasn’t going to risk him.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER, WE WERE
hunkered down outside the mansion where we hoped they were holding Habid. Though the stuccoed and tiled house was larger than its neighbors and set back from the road to make space for a massive stone archway that led to a courtyard in front of the house, there would be many casualties if something went wrong with the plutonium. I would have preferred a less inhabited location.