Perfection Page 19

  “There is no point finding the friend he helped. We should follow him.”

  “Into town?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think he has something planned?”

  Micah didn’t bother elaborating any further. He closed the logbook and set it back on the table.

  Angela’s eyes landed on the book, then back on him. “Could you see something from the daybook?”

  Instead of answering her question, Micah simply repeated what he’d said previously. “We should follow him.”

  27

  Exhaustion clung to Ellyssa’s body like a needy toddler. The weight of it dragged on her feet as she made her way to the cot. Physical demands didn’t contribute to her weariness, though. Heat and humidity were the culprits. She hadn’t ventured outdoors for weeks, and her body had adjusted to the cool underground living.

  Despite the exhaustion, today had been one of the best days Ellyssa had ever experienced. Full of sun, blue skies, tall trees, and fresh air, not to mention the people who were really interested in what she had to say. Even a couple of the mothers and their children had come for the unscheduled lesson.

  A ten-year-old female child, with bright dark eyes and wavy hair, had a natural gift for finding roots quickly. Excitement shone in her smile every time she’d brought back a bag full of wild delicacies.

  What surprised Ellyssa was that she’d enjoyed watching the children. She’d never given them any thought at all before, never even wondered about them. But interacting with the young Renegades today, as they discovered and learned and explored, holding their mothers’ fingers with chubby little hands, made her appreciate the pleasure they’d brought to their parents.

  After class, Ellyssa had returned to the kitchen with Trista and Bertha. She’d shown them how to prepare some menu items, and instructed them on others. If not for their yawns and haggard lids, Ellyssa might’ve kept on talking.

  Now, as her body met the cot, she was happy she’d called it quits, too. Yawning, she yanked off her dirty shirt and pants and replaced them with fresh ones. Tomorrow, Trista had promised to show her where to do laundry.

  No more guards. People depended on her knowledge now. Being accepted, true happiness lifted her heart.

  Ellyssa rolled over and bunched the pillow under her head. For the first time ever, she drifted to sleep grinning.

  Ellyssa woke to the sound of a click. In the haze of sleep, she thought she was back in the abandoned store in Deepwater. But the next thing she heard erased anything as hopeful.

  “Ellyssa,” said a whispery voice, a tinny note resonating within the syllables of her name. The same voice that grated down her spine, like fingernails on a chalkboard. Jason breathed heavily.

  Completely awake, she didn’t answer, trying to assess the situation. Sending out the tendrils of her mind, she entered Jason’s.

  Nervousness and anxiety elevated Jason’s desire. Diseased pictures, red and lustful, spiked through. His mind spoke of revenge and strength, control, and her body receptive, wanting.

  Ellyssa’s stomach rolled, and bile rose within it.

  Somehow, Jason had concealed his true nature. She’d never seen this side of his fantasies. Maybe his conscience had squashed them, until now. Maybe his memories were distorted by his own perception of right and wrong.

  “I know you’re awake. I want you to roll over, slowly.”

  Ellyssa heard the click again. It wasn’t a gun, as she’d first suspected. It sounded like metal on metal. Slow and steady, she rolled onto her back. Jason leered over her, ropes draped from his left shoulder, a butcher knife poised in his right hand. He tapped the blade against a button on his pants.

  Click.

  Running his finger along the length of the blade, Jason watched her. “Let me explain to you how things are going to work. You’re going to roll onto your stomach and place your hands behind your back.”

  Ellyssa, still in his mind, watched his objective play out to the finale. Excitement thrummed inside him.

  Jason planned on taking her arms and tying them to the frame of the cot, spread-eagle-style. The next part involved him kneeling between her legs.

  He was insane.

  Instead of flipping over, Ellyssa stared at him, her eyes holding steady, her face an emotionless mask. Fear of him didn’t exist. Not for her. She wanted him to be aware of the fact that intimidation wouldn’t work.

  As she held his gaze, Jason’s tongue darted out, snakelike, licking his dry lips. Strings of spittle stretched on the edges of his mouth. Sweat trickled from his left temple and coasted down the side of his face. He ran his free hand through his dark hair, pushing back the strands hanging over his forehead. A tic developed over his right brow and jumped at regular intervals, beating with his pulse.

  For a split second, Jason’s confidence wavered under her scrutiny. Ellyssa wasn’t cowering like he’d expected. He wasn’t used to the defiance. Unease settled as Jason wandered if he’d be able to force her to keep quiet.

  Blinking, Jason broke eye contact, but, as his gaze floated down to her breasts, he reclaimed his conviction. Of course she would keep quiet. Women like it rough.

  He stepped back and poked the tip of the knife into her thigh, applying pressure. “Roll over,” he ordered, his tinny voice steady and demanding.

  When she didn’t comply, he leaned into the knife.

  Anger boiling, her natural instincts stampeded to the front, overcoming everything else. She didn’t feel her skin slice from the pressure of the blade, or the trickle of wet sliding down her thigh.

  Jason clicked his tongue, as if in reprimand. He pushed harder. This time she felt the stab of the smooth metal, but not enough to hinder her. He pulled the blade away. “Now.”

  Ellyssa did as he commanded. Not out of fear, but waiting for the mistake that would give her the upper hand, without her being harmed.

  As she settled onto her stomach, Jason moved to the other side of the cot, slowly, quietly, barely a whisper from the soles of his shoes along the ground. No wonder she hadn’t heard him come in, alerting her to the intrusion. When Jason wanted to be sneaky, he was better than she’d expected.

  Jason placed his knee in the middle of her spine, grabbed her right wrist, and twisted, pulling it behind her. Ellyssa’s breath hitched as his weight crushed her ribs. Her face pressing into the pillow, he rotated her hand, the palm facing inward, hitching her thumb, and brought it over her head.

  “One little move,” he said, leaning over her, his fetid breath brushing her ear. He jabbed her in the ribs with his weapon. “I’ll break your wrist.”

  Ellyssa tried to nod.

  After warning her again with a quick jab from the knife, he withdrew the sharpened point from her side as he yanked her hand down to the frame of the cot. He shifted his weight and leaned over to secure her hand to the metal leg.

  It was a stupid move on his part.

  His hands busy, the weapon no longer a threat, she bucked up onto her knees, and in one fluid motion, flipped him over the cot and landed on her feet.

  Jason squeaked in surprise, as his back smacked the ground. The knife clattered next to him. His fingers found the hilt, and he popped up brandishing the blade.

  Armed or not, Ellyssa moved toward him. Her body fluid, fast, she struck. Once, twice in his face, her backhand strike finding its mark. His head rocked back with each impact. Blood spewed from his nose and more flowed from a split lip.

  Blindly, Jason swiped at her, the blade flashing. She blocked, but he retreated before she could disarm him. He stepped back, weapon between them. His eyes wild and fearful, he studied her, regret pouring from his mind.

  “You made a mistake,” Ellyssa said, circling him as a predator would prey.

  Jason jabbed the knife in the air. “Stay back.” He tried to move toward the only escape route.

  As if he could outrun her.

  Crouching, ready to spring, Ellyssa’s instincts to survive surging within her, she slid to th
e side. His back stayed facing the metal cabinets. He swiped the blade through the air again. A sloppy swing, poorly aimed.

  Fear poured from him, scenting the air with a musky odor.

  On the verge of attack, taking him down like an animal, another sound—one she recognized—stopped her. A shell chambered into a shotgun. Even she couldn’t outmaneuver a bullet.

  “What’s going on here?” Candy demanded, her musical voice wavering, unsure.

  With her back toward the new threat, Ellyssa didn’t respond, but the look on Jason’s face said a lot. Relief, followed by a sneer. Indecision churned in Ellyssa as she tried to decipher what Candy’s eyes had witnessed.

  “Candy,” he said, his voice nasal from his broken nose.

  “You, over there,” she said, indicating for Jason to move to the back.

  The smile fell away. “She attacked me.”

  “I said, get over there. Ellyssa, put your hands where I can see them and turn around.”

  Ellyssa waited until Jason moved closer to the cots before she extended her arms. He still brandished the weapon, light reflected in the lustrous surface. She faced the fiery redhead. The double barrel pointed at her chest.

  “I told you, she attacked me,” Jason said.

  While the shotgun stayed trained on Ellyssa, Candy’s eyes darted toward Jason. “Why are you even here? I woke up and you were gone.”

  Ellyssa waited to hear which lie would actually spout from his mouth; his mind was cluttered with all sorts of excuses.

  When he didn’t answer, Ellyssa did. “He tried to rape me,” she said.

  The muzzle of the gun dropped. “No.” Candy shook her head and her braids swung back and forth. “That’s not true. Jason?”

  “Babe, she’s lying.” His voice was steady and calm.

  “I am not lying. He came in here with a knife, and threatened me.”

  “You lying bitch,” Jason screamed. “You know me better than that, Candy. I’ve never hurt anyone.”

  In an instant, Ellyssa saw it all. What Ellyssa had glimpsed in Jason’s mind weeks before played out differently in Candy’s head. Jason had hurt her, and the shame of Jason’s actions had kept Candy quiet.

  “That is a lie. Is it not, Candy?”

  Candy’s lips pursed ever so slightly and her eyes widened. “Wh-what?” she stammered.

  Ellyssa composed compassion on her face. “A few months ago, when you first started to…date, he hurt you. His touch was not gentle, as you had imagined, but rough as he took you in the storeroom. The bruises on your thigh took forever to fade.”

  Candy shook her head. “Wh-…How?”

  “Shut up, you bitch,” Jason screamed, stepping toward Ellyssa.

  The gun pivoted from Ellyssa to him. “You stay put,” said Candy.

  “Don’t listen to her,” Jason said. “She’s a freak.” His tinny voice took on a pleading note.

  Ellyssa glanced behind her. Jason was staring at her, jaw locked, body trembling. Deciding he wasn’t going to attack, she faced Candy. The redhead had her targeted again.

  “Candy, you do not have to do this.” She took a step forward.

  “One more step, and I’ll blow your pretty face off,” Candy stated. Ellyssa hesitated. “I know what he did.”

  “Shut up!” Candy screamed, pulling the butt of the gun firmly into her shoulder. “Ever since you got here…” She slammed her mouth shut.

  Ellyssa felt the jealousy in her mind. The anger. The hurtful embarrassment of someone knowing her secret.

  Candy’s finger twitched nervously against the trigger. “I want you to shut up. Shut up!” Her squeal tumbled through the room and out into the hall.

  Ellyssa tensed, seeing the confusion, the hurt, in Candy’s mind. She readied herself, but before Candy could pull the trigger, a dull thunk sounded, and the armed woman’s fingers relaxed. The gun clattered to the floor as she crumpled. After kicking the dropped weapon into the passageway, Rein stepped over Candy. He swung the muzzle of his rifle up, targeting Jason.

  “What’s going on?” Rein demanded.

  Heart skipping a beat before accelerating into overdrive, Ellyssa stared at Rein, his hair even more disheveled than usual. She lacked the ability to fully comprehend what he’d just done. Done for her. His gaze darted toward her, green eyes questioning, but the words caught in her throat.

  “She attacked me,” said Jason, the syllables of his words blunted by his wound. The blade of his knife pointed outward. He took a step.

  “Is that true?” Rein directed the question at Ellyssa.

  Ellyssa parted her lips, but before she said anything, she peered into his thoughts. He was unsure whom to believe; images flipped between her and Jason, as he tried to decipher the truth. What he had walked in on was two against one, but could it be that Ellyssa had initiated the confrontation?

  Ellyssa read the uncertainty, the doubt, and how he felt for her. Then, he focused on the silvery surface of the knife, questioning why Jason had it. She pressed her lips together.

  “Of course, it’s true.” Jason shuffled closer toward her; she felt him nearing, his mind working on contorting the facts. “The damn bitch almost killed me. If it wasn’t for Candy, she would’ve done it.”

  Then, Ellyssa perceived his plan before he could launch it—Jason lunging at her, knife sinking into her chest, shutting her up, keeping his secret safe. She turned just as he pounced, ready for him, but the moment never came. A deafening shot rang out, and Jason tumbled off-course, screaming as he landed close to her, his leg stretched out before him. The knife skidded across the rocky floor, out of his reach.

  Jason whimpered in pain, his eyes darting toward Rein, accusing him of betrayal. The thigh of his pants quickly turned from camo to dark crimson.

  Adrenaline pumping, her body on high alert, Ellyssa turned, preparing for Rein as he moved forward, but he no longer carried the weapon. The rifle lay on the floor, a meter away from Candy.

  She popped into his mind. He meant her no harm. He’d protected her.

  “I did not need your help,” Ellyssa stated, as he came toward her.

  “I know.” Rein hesitated for the briefest of seconds as he grabbed a cloth, then crossed the remaining distance. “I just wounded him. Would you have stopped?”

  Knowing she wouldn’t have, she didn’t bother answering. Ellyssa glanced at Jason. Blood pooled under his leg.

  “You should help him,” she stated as she turned around, looking straight into Rein’s eyes.

  Startled to find he stood so close, Ellyssa stepped back. Rein moved closer, erasing the distance she’d made and more, his face centimeters from hers. The nearness unnerved her. His scent intoxicating, she remained still and gazed into his eyes. Golden flakes swam in the green and burst around his pupil, like rays of the sun. She couldn’t help but focus on them.

  “Hold this to your wound,” he said, tossing the towel he’d grabbed to Jason. His gaze never left hers.

  Jason mumbled under his breath, then hissed as he pressed the cloth against his leg.

  Still connected to Rein’s mind, sensation overwhelmed her. Ellyssa didn’t fully comprehend what Rein was doing when he first rested his hands on her shoulders; then it hit her. Stunned, unmoving, her heart responded with a new beat. The hardwired senses jammed as her arms dangled at her sides like useless, dead attachments. He pulled her in closer, his scent thick, tantalizing, inebriating.

  She broke the link, but not before she saw that he had decided not to doubt her any longer. The feeling that followed was indescribable.

  “Are you okay?” Rein whispered into her hair while his fingers traced circles on her back.

  Words stuck in her throat; she nodded, relishing the tingles he left behind.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  His touch melting away the last of her defenses, Ellyssa shrugged. She didn’t know what else to do.

  Rein released her and stepped back, his expression uncertain. Ellyssa could’ve kicked herself for not
responding the correct way, by holding him back in return. The small gap between them left her cold, wanting.

  “I’m sorry about before, too” he stated. Maybe he was thinking her unresponsiveness had to do with what had transpired before he’d left.

  Biting her bottom lip, Ellyssa lifted her hand, hesitated for a moment, then pressed her palm against Rein’s face. Stubble from a few days’ growth scratched her skin. She loved it. The prickly hair, the warmth from his skin, the way he looked at her.

  Rein took her hand in his and kissed the inside of her palm, sending a stream of lava through her. Her breath caught, as her body adjusted to the new surge of awareness she’d never experienced before. Blood pounded in her veins and her heart swelled.

  Everything and everybody else disappeared for a few moments, but then reality whirled back as Mathew came barging in, panting. He stopped at Candy, who had started to stir.

  “What happened?” he asked, kneeling next to her. “I thought I heard a gunshot.” He pushed back a clump of red hair behind her ear and revealed a darkened red blotch.

  Trista, and two others Ellyssa had only met once, ran in behind him. She glanced at Ellyssa, her face pale. Before they even had a chance to start asking questions, Rein began barking orders.

  “Trista, go get Eric and have him bring his weapon. You two,” he said, pointing at the newcomers, “go to the passageway, and don’t let anyone else in.”

  The others retreated, but not before getting an eyeful. Ellyssa heard their whispers as their footsteps faded down the passageway.

  Mathew pressed a tender area around Candy’s wound and she moaned. Her eyes fluttered open. “Jason,” she mumbled.

  “Shh,” Mathew said. “You’re going to be okay.” He examined the gash on the back of her head. “Who did this to her?” His gaze met Rein’s, then dropped to the floor where Jason babied his leg and whimpered. “Oh, my God,” he muttered, his eyes widening.

  Candy turned her head, her face scrunching in pain. At first, she didn’t seem to understand, but then emotions played across her features as realization ripped through her. Her eyes kept moving from Jason to Ellyssa, anxiously. Maybe embarrassed?