Page 116 of Captured Immune

“At least we can sleep now,” Trey says a while later from the bedroom doorway.

I’m gathering all the dirty towels into a pile on the floor. “How long do you think we should stay here?”

“Until we figure out what to do next. We’ll have to resurface for some food in the morning. I found cans of soup and beans in the kitchen cabinets, but I refuse to let you consume anything in here. It’s all probably so toxic, one bite will kill your baby.”

My body stills. I didn’t realize Trey still thinks I’m pregnant. I suppose he has no reason to think otherwise. I haven’t had much free time to think about the loss of our baby, let alone explain it to him. We’ve been a little too preoccupied with running for our lives for the baby topic to even come up.

“Are you hungry?” Trey asks.

“I can wait until the morning.”

“Okay. I’m gonna use the bathroom. When I come back, I have something to tell you.”

I have something to tell you too...

With a sigh, I stand back to take a look at our cleaning job. The bedroom looks and smells less musty than before. The protective cover that was over one of the beds is now lying in a heap on the floor.

I don’t waste a second getting under the covers. As I lay my head against the weird-smelling pillow, my eyes get heavy. My exhausted body is ready for a long, uninterrupted night of rest. The last places I slept were handcuffed to a lumpy bed, the dirty floor of a barn, a rocky bus, and the front seat of a Lincoln. I’m excited to sleep in an actual bed tonight—without the handcuffs.

Trey reenters the bedroom with damp hands, patting them off on his shirt. “I dirtied up all the towels while cleaning. Didn’t think about saving one for our hands.” With a plop, his sweatpants fall to his ankles, then he drags his shirt over his head.

My eyes don’t leave his abs and muscular shoulders as he joins me under the covers. I’m used to seeing him in only his boxers. This is how he normally sleeps. So why are my insides tingling this much?

Trey props himself up on an elbow and tenderly tucks some of my hair behind an ear. “You look cozy.”

I lean into his touch, hoping he’ll continue to do it. “I’m exhausted, and this bed is comfy.”

“Would you rather we talk in the morning?”

“No.” I sit up and prop my pillow against the wall behind me. “I’m curious about what you have to tell me.”

He sighs deeply, and it makes my body tense. The blankets ruffle as he sits up. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just gonna say it. Do you remember when you told me about your parents? About how they were driving home on a rainy night in September of ’95 and drove right over a cliff?”

Of all the things I thought Trey had to tell me, I didn’t think it would relate to my parents. I side-eye him. “Yeah?”

“Well...” He scratches the back of his neck. “I researched them. Aries and Bella Rance, right?”

“Right.”

He bites his lip and stares at his hands for a moment before looking back up at me. “The reason I thought to research them in the first place is because my parents also died on a rainy night in September of ’95.”

I blink as I process that information. “Are you saying they died the exact same month?”

“No, babe. I’m saying they died the exact samenight.”

“What?”

“Yeah, that was my reaction too. At first, I couldn’t find anything on an Aries Rance or a Bella Rance online. After some digging, I ended up Googling for deaths over a cliff in September of 1995. Turns out, there was only one couple that happened to, and it happened on the same night my parents were killed. And here’s the other part: It happened in Three Rivers, near the same mountain range Shadow Ridge is hidden under.”

I gasp with a hand over my mouth. “Do you think there’s a connection?”

“I don’t know exactly what, but there’s gotta be one. Back then, ZIRDA was already doing research on Immunes. My parents were some of the researchers. The subjects were told it was part of a top-secret medical study put on by the government. My theory is thatyouwere one of my parents’ research subjects.”

“I suppose that’s plausible.” I hope the tests being performed at that time were more humane than the ones Victor was doing.

“It would explain why your family was around Shadow Ridge that night. Now, are you ready for the next part?”

The next part?My heart’s still thrashing over finding out that my parents died on the same night as Trey’s parents. Do I really want to hear more? “I’m going to assume by the hesitation in your tone that this next part is crazier.”

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