Avenged (Altered #2)(40)

“You think something has happened?” A trickle of uncertainty iced its way down her spine, adding to her anxiety.

“Yes.” His mouth tightened. I need to protect her. No one hurts her.

She took his hand, hating the terror in his thoughts. She reached out to the guards, trying to hear what she could from them.

There were five.

Why would they bring five soldiers?

Jeremy was with them.

Oh God, did they know about Nick? Her head jerked to him. He met her eyes, his jaw tightening. His shoulders clenched as he braced himself.

No. They couldn’t take him from her. She wouldn’t let them. Not after what they’d done. Not now that they had each other.

The door swung open, and Jeremy trooped in, followed by four more men. Her mouth thinned. This definitely wasn’t good.

Kitty backed up, closing the distance between her and Nick, as if her slight form could stop them from doing anything.

“Fields wants to see you two.” Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest.

No other explanation. Just: what Fields wants, Fields gets.

Why, though? Fields hadn’t come to see them since they’d been recaptured. Why now?

Her eyes met Nick’s. He didn’t know, either. But he didn’t like the sound of it.

“What if we don’t want to see him?” she asked. She knew the answer, but the show of defiance made her feel strong. She might not have any real control over the situation, but she could control how she felt about it.

“You can come quietly. Or…” He smiled and tapped the tranquilizer gun at his waist. “We can carry you. Either way is fine with us.”





Chapter Twelve


Jeremy led them not to an experimentation lab, but a conference room. Next to Kitty, Nick’s foreboding ratcheted up. He hated being surprised.

She agreed. Something was happening. But what?

If Fields only wanted to talk to them, he would have come to their cell. Kitty assumed he’d written her off, now that he had other subjects to study. And, to Fields, if Nick didn’t have any powers, he would only be an inconvenience, of no use to him.

She stayed close to Nick, though, not liking to be too far as she worried for him.

Had they discovered he was changed? Fear twisted her chest.

No. If they’d learned that Nick was changed, Fields would have taken him to an exam room. He would have definitely separated him from her. Fields would have never left them together. It would be too dangerous.

But taking them to a conference room fitted with a beverage table, complete with a wine decanter and water cooler? Cushy chairs? Not exactly what she’d expected. Definitely not a good sign.

Jeremy wasn’t thinking about why they were here. He’d been told to bring them to this place and that was good enough for him. He didn’t care what happened next. A complete lackey. Once again, she wondered what she’d ever seen in him.

Before they’d left their cell, the soldiers had zip-tied Nick’s and Kitty’s hands in front of them like handcuffs.They stood, flanked by soldiers like death row inmates, as the door on the far wall of the conference room opened.

Kitty shifted so her arm touched Nick’s. The small contact, knowing he was there beside her, comforted her. She reminded herself that they weren’t defenseless.

Fields stepped in, accompanied by two guards. Last to enter were two men in dark suits. Nick remarked silently that their garments had to be custom-made because they were both tall and covered in muscle. He possessed the same general body type, and he knew from experience that it was hard to find a suit that fit correctly. Yet these men’s jackets fit snug against their bodies, without pulling or bagging. A cut like that wasn’t cheap. And their shoes were real leather, of the highest quality.

These men stink like money, Nick thought.

She agreed.

Both were dark-skinned, with dark eyes and thick lashes, strong jaws and strong builds. Next to Fields’s soft belly and rounded shoulders, these men were the epitome of fitness and health. They exuded coiled violence.

What she found chilling, though, was that their minds were calm, focused on watching Fields, her, Nick. She’d never met people so undistracted. The tenor of their thoughts was exotic, guarded. Calculating.

These were very dangerous men.

One of them stepped forward, slightly in front of the other. He held his head high while the other man carried a briefcase and dropped his eyes, deferring authority to the first.

“Good evening, Miss Laughton and Mr. Degrassi.” Fields slapped a stack of paperwork on a table near the door, drawing Kitty’s attention. “I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Ahmed.”

The foreign man—the one in charge—found this common, stereotypical name amusing.

Kitty shook her head. “That’s not his name.”

“No?” Fields’s eyes widened, and he glanced at his companion. The other man’s expression didn’t change, but surprise tinged his thoughts. He hadn’t expected her to know that. “How interesting.”

Fields stepped in front of Kitty, studying her. She didn’t cower. She’d come a long way from the girl he’d taken, the girl who had been afraid of him. She might fear his actions, because he was a small man and small men did cowardly things. But she saw him more clearly, him and his delusions of grandeur. She pitied him.