Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(41)

“Wasn’t like I was given a choice, Cathy,” I said. I found Jack’s eyes again. “I didn’t want to heal her. Not until I knew more about her. But…”

“She had no control over her actions,” Jonas said. “This was the work of The Farm. This is what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

I whipped around to face Jonas. “Oh, yeah? Well, your communication skills suck.”

“I’m going to go check with Security to see if they saw where Sandra went,” Cathy said.

I watched her leave, then directed my attention back to Jonas. “Start talking. How are we supposed to believe you—the son of that maniac of a woman?”

“Sandra is your… mother?” Jack asked, as if finally catching up.

Jonas nodded. “I couldn’t come out and tell you. Someone within the IIA would hear me. It wasn’t just you being controlled. Some cloned freak was inside my head, too. Ty, mostly.”

“But he’s not there now?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. I can tell without a doubt when someone or something is controlling me.”

“Something?” Jack asked.

Jonas turned around and lifted his hair to reveal a round scar at the base of his hairline. “A tracker was placed inside my head to give the IIA full access to my mind and body. Sandra and the IIA can manipulate me and track my every move.”

“Are you trying to tell me that someone was inside your head when you tried to make me kill myself? That someone else is trying to force me to kill Jack? That someone is inside your head now?”

Jonas faced me. His eyebrows further darkened his brown eyes. “Not exactly.” He swallowed hard, then looked away.

“What are you saying?” I crossed my arms, losing patience.

“Some of that was me. I was getting inside your head after your dad died. I wanted to know more about you, and Jack was being very secretive. And when I thought you would ignore what you were created to do, I tried to scare you into needing to find out more.”

Jack charged forward and stood in front of me. “It’s true then?” He grabbed Jonas by the neck. “You put our lives at risk?”

Jonas gagged. “No,” he squeaked out. “Let. Me. Explain.”

Jack, stop, I pleaded.

No, he’ll answer to us, or he’ll find himself in his own sort of coma.

I touched Jack’s arm. His blue eyes were on me instantly like two thick storm clouds. The pain that shot out of them was like a knife to my heart. “Let him explain,” I pleaded. When Jack didn’t immediately let go, I pulled harder on his arm. “He did keep me from going unconscious while I fixed Sandra’s brain. We need to hear what he has to say.”

Jack let him go with a shove backwards. Jonas massaged his neck. “I wasn’t trying to kill either of you.”

“What were you trying to do?” Jack asked.

“The clones need Lexi. We need her to accept who she is and embrace her abilities. And you were just going to let her go.” Jonas was talking directly to Jack now. “You know she’s the key to our survival.”

I took in a breath, watching them both, but mostly Jack. “What’s he talking about, Jack? What’s he mean ‘She’s the key to our survival’?”

Jack stepped to me. He brushed the back of his hand down my face. “We know that Sandra altered our DNA to give us these supernatural abilities. My mother thinks Sandra also made sure that those abilities wouldn’t come without consequences.”

“You mean the nasty side effects?”

He nodded.

“What does that have to do with me and our survival?”

“Seth disagrees with Cathy. From conversations he’s had with his sister over the years, he thinks Sandra made sure your DNA was equipped with the ability to heal each of us. Seth doesn’t think Sandra planned on being separated from you. But your father hid you all these years.”

“Is this why your parents and Seth are now at Wellington? Did they know all this?”

“Probably. Cathy’s not really talking, still. And my father is nowhere to be found.”

As if on cue, Cathy stormed in. “Jack! Addison is gone.”

~~~~~

“Security cameras caught a female helping a child into the back of a sport utility.” Cathy paced. “Then she and a second female, a teen, climbed into the front seat. When I questioned the officers at the front gate, they claimed that I had left with Roger in my Mercedes at about the same time.”

“That’s Dia,” Jonas said. “She can make anyone believe they’re seeing whatever she wants them to see.”

“Who is Dia?” Jack asked.

“She’s an identical match to Briana.” I spoke with my eyes closed, massaging the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger.

“And you know this how?” Jack asked.

“I met her.” I looked down at my hands. Jack would never forgive me if I could have prevented Addison from being taken. “There are others, Jack. There’s one that looks like Bree, another like Jonas…” I inhaled deeply before squaring my shoulders and facing him. “And one like you.” I’d spent all week trying to forget what it looked like for Jack to hold Bree in his arms. Only it wasn’t Jack and Bree.