Page 45 of The Dawning
She studied me with a quiet fascination, not responding. Instead, she finally proceeded to listen to my heart and lungs. After she finished, she hooked the medical instrument around her neck and again looked around as though we were being watched.
My pulse sped up. “Has anyone been listening to us?” Not that I’d said anything worth its weight in salt.
“No one is. I cut the wires on the cameras earlier. Your sister and grandmother are out of control, though this surprising news about Harriet makes sense of why she’s here. Your sister and Noah though—they need to go. Look, I need you to stay in bed. I want you to act like everything is fine. Don’t try to leave. There are guards patrolling the grounds. We have a plan.”
My stomach fluttered. “You’re letting me go?”
“Layla, you don’t belong here. I talked to Sam.”
An excited chill shook me. “Where is he?” My voice hitched.
“He’s close by. You have to stay put.”
She wouldn’t get any argument out of me except if Rianne or Harriet returned. Knowing them, gaining my freedom might be an impossible feat.
19
SAM
Idug around in my duffel bag on the floorboard between my feet and snagged a two-ounce bottle of the special antidote Dr. Vieira had developed to counteract a sedative Edmund had used to knock out his enemies to easily abduct them. I was convinced the antidote blocked the gelsemium—the drug Carly had used on me to stop my elemental powers from working. If she was helping me, she had no reason to inject me with gelsemium. But the key word wasif.
After I knocked back the contents of the vial, I dumped it back into my bag. “This has to work, man.”
Tripp slowed as he approached the one-mile marker from Intech’s facility. “It will. Like any other mission—in and out.”
But this wasn’t any other mission. The stakes were higher, and my mind was fucking with me. I couldn’t stop worrying about Layla. For fuck’s sake—her heart was weak. What did that mean? Could she not carry the babies?
Tripp wheeled off the main road and onto a narrow dirt path that wasn’t wide enough for the SUV. Tree branches slapped the windshield and scratched both sides of the vehicle as he drove deeper into the forest.
I pushed out a long-suffering sigh. “I got this.” I pitied anyone who got in the way of me reaching Layla.
He chuckled as he came to a stop beneath a cluster of trees. “I know you do.”
I shoved both hands through my damp hair and glanced out the windshield. The storm was moving out.Thank fuck.Torrential rain made it difficult to see despite my excellent vamp vision. I needed the path clear without any obstacles in my way.
“A piece of advice regarding the chip,” Tripp said, cutting the engine. “I know your father counseled you to fight through it. One way to do that is to concentrate on Layla’s scent. That’s how shifters distinguish friend from foe.”
Maybe that was the reason I hadn’t attacked her in my hospital room when Peter had messed with the device in his efforts to shut it down.
I filed his advice away, not wanting to linger on the topic anymore. We had twenty minutes until showtime. “I need to move.” I tightened my flak vest, pressed my earpiece to make sure my comm was tucked deep inside my ear, grabbed my backpack, and jumped out.
Pine, earth, and a hint of oak carried on the light wind. Clouds slid over the moon like a slow dance on a starry night. The energy I’d absorbed from the lightning show pulsed along my arms, promising reprisal against those who wronged me or got in my way.
Tripp and I exchanged a bro hug.
“Watch your six,” I said as I darted to my right while he headed straight.
Rebekah’s voice came through my comm. “Sam, you’re slightly off course. Turn east by an eighth of a klick, then go straight ahead. The greenhouse should be behind the wall.”
“Copy that,” I said into my comm.
I made the correction and took off at vampire speed. The wall came up fast. I made quick work of preparing my climbing gear. I might have immortal skills, but jumping ten feet upward wasn’t one of them.
“Layla, I’m coming for you, baby doll,” I said out loud before scaling over the wall.
Once on enemy grounds, I ripped off the harness, keeping an eye on the camera pointing at the three-story lab building.
I touched my ear. “I’m in. Setting my timer for fifteen. Rebekah, make sure you’re in position for us.”
