Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(53)

“He’s wrong. I will still find normal some day.”

Jack smiled. “I’ll be right there with you. Right now, that’s the least of our concerns. You need to meet with Seth. It’s time to learn more. We can decide later which parts of our powers to embrace, which parts to ignore, and whether we want to have anything to do with some of the people in our lives.”

“Where is Seth?” I asked.

“He’s waiting for us across the hall.”

“He’s been here the entire time?”

“That’s right. Since he heard about his sister bringing a SWAT team on campus, he’s been ready and waiting. That man is nothing if not patient.”

I took a shaky breath. “Does he know about Dani?”

Jack slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. “Yes. And I’m sure he and Jonas are discussing it now.” He smoothed my hair back behind my ears.

“What if something happens to her because of me? Or Addison… what if…” My voice cracked.

“Shhh. Stop. You didn’t do these things. None of this is your fault.”

I swallowed hard against the giant lump in my throat. “I can’t let anything happen to either of them, Jack.”

“Nothing will. Think about it. If something happens to them, they’ve got nothing. We’ll run. If they don’t have bargaining power, they’ve got nothing.”

“You know that makes no sense, right?” I smiled weakly.

“It makes a little sense. Now, come here.” He lifted me up so that my face was even with his. He pressed his lips to mine. “We will figure this out.” He kissed me again, deeper this time. When he released me, he let me slide back to my feet, out of breath and slightly lightheaded. “I’ll meet you across the hall. I have something I need to do first.”

I cocked my head. “Secrets?”

“I want to know where my father is.”





Chapter Twenty-Two


I found Seth and Jonas in a room across the hallway. It was set up like a classroom, with tables organized in a circle for open discussion. Seth and Jonas spoke quietly in a corner as I entered.

When they saw me, they immediately stopped talking.

“Hi, Sarah,” Seth cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I mean, Lexi.” He sounded genuine. “Old habits,” he added.

“It’s okay.” It wasn’t okay.

“I’m glad you’re here. I know this is hard for you. I—”

“Do you?” I interrupted. “You’re Sandra’s twin brother. You and I are related by DNA. How am I supposed to believe that you aren’t going to drug me with something? Or insert a tracker into the back of my neck? Or force me to heal someone I don’t particularly want to heal? Or worse?”

“All fair questions.” He gestured toward a chair. “Please. Let’s sit.”

Jonas led the way by taking a seat first.

After deliberating for a brief moment, I followed.

Seth sat at the same table, facing us. “Where’s Jack?”

“He’s checking on his father.”

Seth clasped his hands on the table, stretching them out between us. “First, you know I’m here to help you, right? Or you wouldn’t be back at Wellington in the first place.”

Wasn’t like I chose to return to Wellington. “I’m mostly certain of that.”

“You also believe I can help you, or you wouldn’t be sitting here.”

“Yes.” I guessed that was correct.

“We’re just going to talk tonight. I promise I will work hard to earn your trust, but I need something in return.”

I raised a brow, looked sideways at Jonas, then back at Seth. I didn’t owe either of them squat at this point.

Jonas snickered. I hated that I had no idea which of my thoughts he heard and which he didn’t.

When I didn’t answer, Seth continued. “I need you to give me the benefit of the doubt for now.” He got up and walked to an easel with a super-sized pad of paper attached to it. He flipped the pages over until he got to a list. “I’ve suspected there were seven original clones for a while now. But I was only starting to figure out what you were created to do before I got a call that my sister was in a coma. Since then, I’ve been piecing bits of information together. Some of the information had come directly from my sister, as she’d been trying to persuade me to join her at the IIA. Other information has come from the various clones I’ve met so far.”

I stared at the piece of paper in front of me where Seth had listed the following: mind-altering abilities, mind control, physical strengths and abilities, and supernatural healing powers.

“That’s why you initially formed The Program away from Wellington. You learned from Jonas, Fred, Georgia, and Jack under the guise of ‘teaching’ them?” I made air quotes around the word “teaching.”

Seth shifted. Raised his hand to his face and massaged his jaw. He stared at me, thinking. “Yes, I formed The Program close to where I work, until it was time to bring it here on campus. I’ve learned from each of the clones I’ve worked with so far. From you, even. I like to think we’ve learned from each other.” He paused. I thought he would say something more, but he turned to the easel and pointed to the items there. “We have to figure out where your strengths lie within these areas, and how we can use these strengths to defend who you are as human beings—not the scientific experiments Sandra and the IIA want you to be.”