Fatal Strike (McClouds & Friends #10)(23)

“Hello,” she said. “Could you help me find the Citadel?”

The little boy shook his head violently. His eyes were wide with fear, fixed on something behind her. He backed away, turned and sprinted into the mist. She opened her mouth to call after him, but the cry never left her throat as the thought-probe stabbed, tearing her mind apart.

The shock jolted her violently back to the bright, airy room, and waking consciousness. Her thudding heart slowed. The darkness before her eyes cleared. She panted. Sagging in the chair. God. She’d gone off on a trip. Right in front of this creepy guy, and they hadn’t even injected her. Not for ten hours, and the effect had never lasted that long before.

“. . . amazing!” Greaves was saying, jubilantly. “Finally, we might have a viable formula! Your psi took off spontaneously. Excellent. What did you see? You came back before I established contact.” Greaves knelt by her chair, tipped a cup into her mouth. She sputtered, choked.

He jerked back. Not fast enough. His shirt was splattered with coffee. “Do it again,” he said. “I want another look.”

“I can’t,” she said, shakily. “I can’t control it.”

He stared into her eyes. “You will learn,” he said softly. “You will train with me. Rigorously. This is so exciting, Lara. To actually glimpse the future. I’ll come along with you, on your next trip.”

“You?” Her stomach was in free-fall, but his words weren’t a surprise, not after that agonizing mind-stab. Worse than Anabel’s. “You . . . you’re—”

“A telepath? Among other things. I can’t wait to put you through your paces. You’ve been giving Anabel trouble with that shield of yours, but I’m a different proposition. We’ll see if you can get behind your shield with me in the saddle.”

His tone made the words seem horribly lascivious. “I thought . . .” She cleared her throat. “I don’t block anyone on purpose. I—”

“It doesn’t matter. You don’t block me. I have many gifts, Lara.” His eyes slid down her body, assessing. “As do you. I look forward to discovering them. In fact, after your next dose, I think I will take you back home with me.”

A steel band seemed to squeeze her throat. “Home?”

“We’ll have privacy,” he said. “If you are with me, there’s no need for locks and bolts or restraints. I will keep you absolutely secure.”

As he spoke, she felt her wrists and ankles squeezed, as if hot, greedy hands clutched her there. Her guts lurched.

“I’m sorry for how painful these past months have been,” he said. “I look forward to making it up to you. And I’m curious about your shield.”

She flinched. God forbid he get anywhere near the Citadel. He’d find some way to twist it, pollute it. “I don’t know where I go when they drug me,” she said. “It’s a nightmare, and I just endure it until it stops.”

He scrutinized her. “There’s no place for lies here.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie. That was how it had been, until she found her Citadel. That was where she had stashed what was left of her sanity. If she lost her safe place, she was so done.

She dragged air into her tight chest. “How did my mother die?”

He brushed his fingertips over the coffee spots on his white shirt with distaste. “I wasn’t there,” he said. “Ask Anabel.”

“Anabel killed my mother?”

He made an impatient gesture. “Lara, please. I’m very sorry about your mother, and I was very angry about how that was handled. I claim no responsibility for it. I understand how you feel about your parents, but it’s done and gone. You have to look to the future.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “What do you want, Greaves?”

He smiled flirtatiously. “Besides the obvious? I want to save the world. To make it a better place. I am absolutely committed to that.”

Laughter jolted out of her throat again, hard, and suddenly she was doubled over, wheezing and shaking. Eyes watering, as her chest convulsed. It was so stupid to laugh at him, it went against every instinct of self-preservation, but she could not stop.

“I see we have a great deal of work ahead of us,” Greaves said.

She shook her head. “Why don’t you just strangle me telekinetically right now and save yourself a lot of time and bother?”

His gaze was fixed and hard. “Where’s the fun in that? Anabel, Hu, take our guest down to the testing room. My patience has ended.”

Anabel and Hu were at her elbows, hauling her to her feet.

“Sir,” Hu said, his voice vibrating. “Sorry to inconvenience you—”

“Then don’t, Hu,” Greaves suggested, pleasantly.

Hu gulped. “It’s still too soon now, after her last dose. Her blood levels will still be—”

Greaves cut him off with a sharp sound. “How long must we wait?”

“Uh, twenty-two more hours would be the optimal—”

“Split the difference, make it fourteen hours,” Greaves said briskly. “We’ll meet in the testing room for the final dosing at six

A.M. tomorrow morning. Take her away, please. I need to change this shirt.”

Hu cleared his throat. “Sir? About that testing . . . at six . . .”