Page 109 of Bones
Pain pricked in my arm and horror surged through me. I tried to turn my head to look, but the familiar ice cold of the drug moved faster, spreading through my veins until everything faded away.
* * *
There you are!
Horror washed over me. I kept my eyes squeezed shut. No. This was just a dream. It was just a nightmare.
I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where are you?
It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream. Tears were burning under my eyelids.
What’s wrong? I thought—His voice cut off, and I tried to brace myself.
Open your eyes.
I kept my eyes squeezed shut. In the silence, I could feel the emotion radiating from him, and I braced myself.
You used me.The words were sharp with hurt and betrayal.
I flinched at the touch of phantom hands cupping my face, their touch as icy as the narc.
You should know better than to play with fire.The words brushed against my skin like a caress.Open your eyes.
No.My voice trembled, but I said it.
I felt the first wave of anger emanating from him.Open your eyes.
No.
Is this how it’s gonna be?He sounded amused.You want to do this the hard way?
I sucked in a panicked breath through my nose and tried to will my mind to be empty and blank like a book with nothing inside.
He sighed in disappointment like I was a disobedient child, and I winced as his fingers tightened on my face.The hard way then.
I tried to fight, but as always, he ripped his way inside my head like claws tearing through paper. He reached in and grabbed, pulling up memories I tried to cling to. I felt him chuckle at my pathetic attempt right before he wrenched them free. Images flashed behind my eyes as I tried to scream in pain.
The knife in Juck’s heart. The sneering face of the mercs. The bullets spraying the roof. My bloodied hands pressing against Trey’s stomach. Mac’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
NO. I fought back, trying to snatch the images away.
It didn’t have to be this way.I heard the smile in his words.
Lana pointing the gun at my face. Madame’s calculating eyes. Hojo’s screams. My reflection in Clarity’s mirror as I touched the brand on my chest. Mac’s clipped words, “Madame would like to offer you a job here as healer for the Vault.”
The Vault.He sounded thoughtful.You got farther north than I thought.
I sobbed, terrified.
Did you really think I wouldn’t find you?His voice sharpened into something cruel.Did you think I would just give up?
My body shook as I tried to keep my mind clear and blank, but Trey’s face floated through. I felt him pause. He seized the memory, gripping it in his claws as he examined it. I held my breath, my heart pounding as his rage grew like a thunderstorm.
Who is this?His voice was calm.
I tried to picture the endless desert, the sky blending into the sand.
Who is this?
