Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(12)

Then what was that early this morning? You’ve been inside my head, controlling me.

“That wasn’t me. Well, not completely.” He smirked.

Dropping the bloody sheet back on the bed, I cocked my head. What do you mean that wasn’t you? I stepped closer to him. His hand shook just slightly. The blade punctured his skin slightly, and blood ran down his neck.

Georgia balled her hands into fists. She interrupted Jonas’s and my conversation before he could answer. “Have him put the knife down, now, and let’s talk about this.” Her voice shook. To Georgia’s credit, she at least feared my threat to force Jonas to hurt himself.

“Give me one good reason why,” I said. “He’s been getting inside my head for weeks.”

“Because if you don’t, I’ll be forced to do it myself, and it won’t be pretty.”

That sounded like a threat, which I didn’t take well to. “Do it. Be my guest.”

She waved a hand, and the scalpel Jonas held fell to the tiled floor with a clank. She waved another hand at me and sent me flying backward into the wall.

I fell to the ground with a harsh grunt, the air knocked out of me. What the hell?

Once I caught my breath, I pushed myself up. Georgia convulsed on the ground. Jonas knelt beside her, holding her head gently. “Hand me that pillow.” Jonas pointed at the gurney.

I scrambled to my feet and got the pillow. I slowly handed it to Jonas. When he jerked it from me, I flinched.

“I guess I deserved that,” Jonas said. I assumed he was referring to being mind-controlled and held at bay with a scalpel. His head tilted to look up at me. “The thing is… I’m surprised you had it in you. I certainly wasn’t expecting you to take control of me.” He felt the side of his neck, touching the blood that was already starting to clot and dry. “But you have a lot to learn, Lexi.”

Ignoring his insult about my apparent weakness, I said, “She’s telekinetic.” He nodded. The warm look of concern he showed Georgia surprised me. “And suffers grand mal seizures when she uses the ability.”

“Yes.”

“Why would she ever risk a seizure?”

“She wouldn’t. Without good reason.” A thick vein pulsed in the side of his neck. His face reddened. “She must have believed you would hurt me. Or maybe she wanted you to see what happens to her.” He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Like I’ve been telling you, you need to embrace who we all are.” There was a protective edge to his voice. Protective of Georgia, maybe. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead in a brotherly sort of way.

I backed up against the wall and slid down until I was sitting. I was pretty certain I would have hurt him had she not stopped me, and was disappointed in myself at the prospect. I drilled my fingers into my temple.

I wanted to question Jonas further about how and why he gets inside my head and what he meant by it not being completely him, but my head throbbed, and I couldn’t handle another nosebleed right now. I was mostly sure he wasn’t going to tell me the truth… without proper motivation anyway.

I lowered my gaze as I replayed the actions—my actions—that put Georgia in her now-still state, but the chilling memory of her seizure heated the blood running through my veins. No one forced her to use her telekinetic power.

Caught off guard, I flinched when Jonas’s presence slithered into my mind. He crossed the room and knelt in front of me, his jaw set. Nice work, getting inside my head. You won this round, but you’ve got a lot to learn. He touched a knuckle to my chin and lifted. His eyes burned into mine. And trust me, you will learn. You can’t run and hide from this, Lexi.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked. My shaky voice betrayed me. “So tell me, Jonas: if you’re not inside my head, then who is?”

I’ll show you soon enough.

What makes you think I’ll hang around long enough to give you the chance? Not that I believed a thing he said. He forced Kyle to stick his arm in the fire pit, then threatened me. He practically admitted that he had been inside my head.

He smiled. Oh, you will. Like I said, you can’t hide from this. Pinning me with his gaze, he stood, and after an uncomfortable moment, he returned to Georgia.

A shiver went through me. I hugged my knees to my chest. He was right. I was quickly realizing that I would have to stay, have to learn. I couldn’t live like this—with the constant threat of someone invading my mind, seizing my thoughts, and controlling my actions.

That’s where we were when Jack and Seth walked in: Jonas tending to Georgia, and me watching, contemplating.

“What are you doing here?” Jack asked me from the doorway.

I didn’t even look up. I just sat there, my body in a tight ball, and stared at Georgia and Jonas. Georgia slept, and Jonas watched her.

“What happened?” Seth asked. He was dressed in his white physician’s lab coat. A neurologist at the University of Kentucky Hospital and head of The Program, he had been the one to convince me I could heal Addison and others of brain injuries and disease. He’d assured me I’d be begging to join The Program when the people who killed my father came after me.

Well, I wasn’t begging yet.

Jack kneeled in front of me and traced his finger down my cheek. I’m sorry I left you this morning.

I flicked my gaze upwards. He should have been sorry he called me a liar. Besides, I had left him first. Did you know that she’s telekinetic? I looked at Georgia, who remained unconscious.