Run To Me (Lazarus Rising #4)(64)

“That was the only way I could get Maverick to back off. The guy is obsessed with you. Has been since the first time he saw you.” He paused. “And you don’t remember that first time. You think you met him after the lab. Oh, sweetheart, the guy has mind fucked you.”

Jay isn’t dead. I’ll get back to him. I’ll—

“He was in that North Carolina lab. Don’t you get that? He was there. He would come to assess the progress of the test subjects. He’d watch them. He’d watch you. And the guy, soon he didn’t just want to watch. He wanted you.”

“Stop it.” He was lying. His heartbeat was slow and steady, his gaze never wavered, he wasn’t sweating, but he was lying. He had to be lying.

“Wyman wasn’t going to let you go. You’re the only thing that old bastard cares about in this world. So since Wyman wouldn’t turn you over, Jay took you.”

“No!” Her temples were throbbing. Did he think she was a fool?

“He arranged for the explosions at the lab. He wanted the place destroyed so you could go free. Maverick planned to get you right away, but you slipped past him.” His head sagged forward. “You slipped past both of us,” he muttered.

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear anymore.” She needed her strength back. How long would the tranq be in her system?

His head snapped up. “You think I like this confession? You think I like admitting I worked with Maverick? He came to me. Got his brother West to do his dirty work, the way he always does. I agreed to light that lab up—only after I learned about you.” And now he reached out his hand and trailed his fingers over her cheek.

She heaved away from him.

“I lost you once. I thought you were dead. When I found out about the lab, about Lazarus, God, I would have done anything to get you out of there.” His mouth hardened. “Even make a deal with the devil himself—Jay Maverick.”

Hate and fury twisted inside of her. “You didn’t lose me. You killed me, you bastard!”

He blinked. Once, twice. “No.”

“Yes! In a motel room—just like this one! You stabbed me, and I bled out. I was on the floor, and I was dying, and you left me because I said it was over and—”

He yanked Willow to her feet. His hands jerked up her shirt.

“No! Stop! No!” Willow screamed.

“If you were stabbed, where are the scars?” His hands were on her mid-riff. “You would have scars, sweetheart, don’t you see that? Lazarus subjects can heal from just about anything, but you—if you were really stabbed by me before you were given the formula, you’d have scars.”

Her breath heaved in and out.

“Wyman Wright did this.” Rage ignited in his eyes. “He always did things to your head. Didn’t want you trusting anyone. Didn’t want you leaving him. He programmed your mind, Willow. When you were in that lab, he created reality for you. He never wanted you to come back to me. He made false memories. He knew if I ever got close…you and I—we’d vanish. Because I can’t, I won’t lose you again.”

“Stop.” Her voice was too soft.

“He made memories in your head. I never hurt you. I wouldn’t.” His hands were still on her mid-riff. Warm. Strong.

Familiar.

Not Jay. He’s not Jay!

Fear and fury were tangling inside of her, and they were growing worse with every moment that passed.

“You don’t have full memories of the so-called attack, do you, my Willow? Because it didn’t happen. You can’t trust your mind. Wyman made that happen. He destroyed who you’d been. He took you from me.” Pain flashed now, showing clearly on Lucas’s face. “I love you so much. And you loved me. Wyman broke us apart.”

“He…” The memories are real. They had to be real, didn’t they? Her gaze fell. Jay. I need Jay.

“Willow. Willow, look at me.”

Her angry gaze flew up, but he was staring at her tenderly. “It’s going to be all right. We’ll find our way back to each other.”

No.

“Wyman did this to you. Maverick did this. They tried to take you away, but I didn’t give up. I won’t ever give up on you.”

A tear slid down her cheek. “Did you kill Jay?”

“I sure as hell hope so.”

***

“Get the fuck…” Jay growled, “out of my way.”

But West just shook his head. “Get the fuck,” he growled right back, “into that bed. And stay there. Your dumb ass was shot three times!”

And he’d been stitched up. The bullets hadn’t hit anything vital, thank Christ. He was weak, he was on drugs, and he was getting out of that hospital. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Good. Then get into the bed—”

“But I will lay your ass out.” Flat. “Willow needs me. I’m getting to her.” Because that bastard Lucas had taken her. Jay had been lying on the ground, bleeding, and the guy had roared away with Willow. West had given chase, he’d shot at the vehicle, but Lucas had still escaped.

“He drugged her,” West said.

Like that reminder was going to help? West had already told him that before—

“Drugging her means he wanted her alive. Willow is still alive. You have to heal. You get better and then—”