Run To Me (Lazarus Rising #4)(67)

“He’s still breathing, so I don’t know what the hell to think.” He’d shot the bastard, and the guy had still come after him.

Wyman shook his head. “He’s just a hard bastard to kill, okay? Best soldier I ever met.” He jerked his head toward Sawyer. “Even better than you. With the Norse enhancement, the bastard could almost smell danger coming. He’s killed everyone that I sent after him.”

“But he can die,” Jay pushed.

“If you can get close enough. That’s the trick.” Another wheeze. “Getting close.”

“I hit him in the chest.” Jay replayed the scene in his mind. Analyzed. Considered. “Bulletproof vest.” Had to be. If the guy wasn’t Lazarus, then he didn’t get to magically rise again. He must have been wearing a vest. As Jay thought about the scene, he didn’t remember seeing any blood on Lucas. “I’ll be more careful next time. I’ll just pretend he’s Lazarus, and I’ll shoot the guy in the head.”

“Why is he so locked on Willow?” Flynn asked, finally stepping forward. “If he killed her before, why come after her again?” “Because he didn’t mean to kill her.” Wyman’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “He was in one of his rages. Freaking berserker rage. She wanted to get away from him. She didn’t love him—she knew he was dangerous. But he wasn’t letting go.” His face hardened. “I’d hid her. Gave her a new place to stay. I thought she was safe, but he was obsessed. His mind was messed up. He couldn’t let her go. And if she wasn’t going to stay with him—”

“Then no one else was going to have her.” Jay could taste rage. “Heard that twisted shit story before. Every abuser likes to sing the same song.” And Willow was with that piece of trash right then. What was he doing to her?

I’m sorry, Willow. I’m going to find you. I’m coming. Wait for me.

“He tranqed her at the scene,” Sawyer noted, voice emotionless. “That’s what West told me.”

Jay flinched.

“That’s how he got her out of there. So the guy must have gotten access to some of the Lazarus material you used on us. A regular drug wouldn’t have worked on Willow.”

“More secrets?” Flynn all but shouted at Wyman. “Stop holding back!”

Damn straight. “This is Willow,” Jay said. “She’s—”

Everything.

“I think…” Wyman’s voice was weaker. “I think Lucas is the one who destroyed the lab in North Carolina. Willow just got away before he could get to her.”

“You think?” Jay’s brows rose. “Or you know?”

One shoulder lifted. “I saw the video. It was him.”

Secrets. Wyman, you are going to choke on them.

“He took…some vials. The tranqs. And…the Lazarus serum.”

Jay’s heartbeat drummed in his ears. “What is he going to do with the serum?” But a dark fear was growing in him.

“Use it on himself!” Flynn answered before Wyman could speak.

Wyman shook his head. His gaze was on Jay.

Jay’s mind was spinning as he sorted through the possibilities. “If he was going to use it on himself, he would have done it by now.”

“Are we sure he hasn’t?” Sawyer pushed.

“How many vials of the formula did he take?” Jay tried to keep his voice steady.

“Just one,” Wyman replied.

Because one was all he’d need. Hell. “He’s going to use it on her.”

Flynn grabbed his shoulder and spun Jay around. “Jump to freaking conclusions much? Why the hell would he want—”

“Because it wipes the memories away. I’ve read the research on the formula. I funded the program, remember? That means I had access to every single piece of research data. If he gives her the formula, then she’s going to forget everything that’s happened. She’ll wake up again, memories of me gone. Memories of Wyman gone.”

“I always feared…he’d try something like this. That he’d make her believe she wanted to be with him again.” Wyman’s breath seemed to rattle in his lungs. “When she woke in North Carolina, I was so happy, so damn happy to have my girl back, but she didn’t know anyone. Didn’t know who to trust.”

The pieces were clicking in Jay’s mind. He pulled from Flynn. Faced Wyman once more. “And that’s why you put a trigger in her head. That bloom shit.”

Grimly, Wyman nodded. “I needed something in her core, a way for her to understand that danger was near. I had the shrinks there work with her again and again.” He stiffened as he stared at Jay’s face. “You think I liked doing that? I was trying to protect her! Her memories were gone! I had to do something—anything—to try and keep her safe. I knew he could get to her. He’d spin stories about them loving each other. About her wanting to be with him. But he wouldn’t tell her that he took a knife to my baby, and he stabbed her twenty times.”

Jay’s vision went absolutely black.

“So many wounds. So much blood.” Wyman’s eyes squeezed shut. “I saw plenty of men and women die in my life, but Willow—she was my daughter. I used every connection I had, everything I owned to get her back.”