Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(6)
“And after this?” Quinn gestured at the white room. “After tonight?”
“A reprieve.” She smiled. “You’ll enjoy it while you can, but it won’t last. She’ll try to win you over with a complete one-eighty, but it’s false. Don’t fall for it. Get through this and I’ll patch you up. She should leave us alone tonight.”
“You went through this? All of this?” Quinn took a moment to really look at the lovely Latina woman in front of him. Her chestnut brown hair fell in limp waves down her back. She was too thin but her petite frame still held a hint of the strength she’d once had.
“I’ve spent more than enough time with Michael,” she said. “And Livia continues to find new ways to torture me. I can only take it one hour at a time. I can’t ever think beyond that.” She jerked her head toward the door. “She’s coming.”
Quinn heard Livia’s unmistakable approach. She had a firm footfall. A no-nonsense, “don’t waste my time or you’ll wish you hadn’t” attitude.
“I have to go.” With that, Santi left him alone in the white room.
Quinn figured he had about thirty seconds to get his head on straight. He squared his stiff shoulders and shoved the whirlwind of conflicting memories out of his mind. He needed to focus if he was going to get through this. Just one more day.
~~~
CHAPTER
THREE
Sasha: Summer
Agra, India
“Sasha, are you coming to Quinn’s vigil tonight?” Allie asked.
Sasha glanced over her shoulder to see Allie lurking in her doorway, sweaty and disheveled from her afternoon of training down in the courtyard with Aidan and Liam.
“No.” Sasha’s tone was unintentionally harsh. “You all might be ready to mourn Quinn’s life, but I’m just not there yet.”
All the blood rushed from Allie’s face and Sasha winced at the hurt look in her eyes as she turned back to the corkboard wall. Sasha knew it wasn’t fair to take her frustrations out on her best friend.
“I’m sorry, Allie.” She sighed. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just not ready to give up hope yet. This vigil … it’s too soon.” She worked a piece of red yarn around a thumbtack in the wall and guided the thread to another thumbtack to link the two elements she was certain were connected, although she couldn’t prove it. Yet.
“I don’t think it’s supposed to be about giving up.” Allie flopped down on the corner of Sasha’s bed, clearing a pile of her carefully documented notes. “It’s not about that for me, anyway. I think this vigil-celebration thing is supposed to be about renewing our hope for whatever is ahead for him. It’s not about moving on without him.”
“You’re right.” Sasha nodded. In her heart, she knew Quinn’s family wasn’t giving up on him and never would. But they were keeping her in the dark and it seemed like they were no closer to liberating him now than they were when he was taken more than two months ago.
“What’s all this?” Allie swept her hand across the bed, taking in the chaos that was Sasha’s room. “It looks like you’ve been binge-watching old episodes of Prison Break on Netflix. If you’ve got plans to tattoo all this crap on yourself, please don’t.”
“You’re not funny, mortal girl.” Allie and her pop culture references usually went right over Sasha’s head. “This is all my personal research on Quinn’s situation. I can’t sit back and let the adults do all the work. I need to do something, and I’m good at researching.”
“Let me help,” Allie said eagerly.
“You have to keep all of this stuff to yourself and not share with your little brain twin.” Sasha gestured to Allie’s forehead where her brother Aidan had taken up residence in Allie’s telepathic mind.
“Let’s just say I suddenly have the proper motivation to keep some of my thoughts to myself,” Allie muttered.
Sasha’s eyes widened in surprise. The last she’d heard, the two couldn’t control the link they shared and were in each other’s thoughts constantly. “I bet that’s making him crazy.”
“Well, it doesn’t take much to send Aidan into a tizzy. Now tell me what you’re planning. I have a feeling it has a kamikaze theme.”
“I’m not planning anything.” Sasha shot her a withering look. “Just researching.” Unfortunately, Allie was right. Sasha did have a plan and it was incredibly risky—but she wasn’t going to be telling her friend anything about it. Sasha just needed to do something. The way she’d left things with Quinn haunted her. What did that kiss mean? They were headed for something just moments before he was ripped away from her. And it was her fault. She brought the Coalition’s attention on them that night.
“Don’t look at me like that, Sash. I know you. I know what Quinn means to you and I know sitting around waiting for something to happen is killing you. To be honest, it’s killing me. So tell me what you know.”
“What do you know about where he is?” Sasha asked.
“I know he’s in Atlanta, and it doesn’t seem like he’s with the Coalition like we originally thought. At least not the normal Coalition. Livia’s connected with them, but she was the one in charge the night we were taken, so I’m thinking he’s still with her.”