Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(67)

“Oh, you’re ready to trust me now?”

“When have I not—”

Jonas raised a hand, cutting Jack’s words off. “Don’t.”

Jack’s chest fell. Look at her, he mindspoke. You of all people know how I feel about her. I will do whatever I have to do to protect her.

Jack’s words were directed at Jonas, but I heard them. Did Jack mean for me to hear him?

So will I, Jonas responded to Jack, then looked intently at me.

He’d meant for me to hear both his and Jack’s words even if Jack hadn’t.

“Look,” I said, squeezing Jack’s hand. “I’m going to The Farm. You both can either help me, or you can sit here and hope for the best.” Jack glared at me, as did Jonas. “You two are ridiculous. Each of you, at one time or another, have wanted me to be more in tune with who I am as a clone with freakish healing abilities. And I wanted nothing to do with any of it. Plus, you both are responsible for me landing back at Wellington.

“Well I’m here. I didn’t want to be, but I am. That has to mean something. And two innocent people are in a dire situation because of me.” I took a deep breath. “And my dad and a reporter he trusted are now dead because of all this.”

“About that,” Jack said. “Something keeps nagging me about the IIA, something we need to think about if we’re actually going to sneak into The Farm.”

I was excited he was finally listening to me, but my decision to enter the IIA became more real at his words, making my head ache a little. “Yeah?”

“Marci told you that your dad was planning to move you. I think he figured out what Sandra was doing and knew she was getting closer to finding you. He didn’t want you to be a part of this. And for good reason,” he added.

“You think Sandra killed him,” I whispered. “And Marci knew too much. When she discovered The Farm—”

“They murdered her, too.”

“One question keeps bothering me, though,” Jack said, and I knew immediately what he was thinking.

I nodded in agreement. “Who knew Dad well enough to know he was about to move me away from Wellington?” There were few people he might have told this information.

“I’ve got an even more important question,” Jonas said. “Who knows Sandra well enough that they kept the facility running while she was in a coma, and who was capable of operating the implanted trackers? And why don’t I know who this person is?”

“Are you sure you don’t know?” I asked.

Jack stood close to me, a warm hand to my lower back. “I’m afraid whoever it is has us right where they want us.”

“Along with many other clones we know nothing about,” I said. “With your father out of the country, I know who my guess is.”

“Cathy.”

I cupped his cheek with my palm. “Which is why we have to try this plan. We have to get into The Farm. Tonight, while they’re still unsuspecting. And Cathy and Dr. Wellington can’t know we’re gone.”

Jack’s face softened. “I’ll take care of distracting Cathy.”

Jonas sighed. “I’ll work on Georgia.”

And I needed a weapon.





Chapter Twenty-Seven


“What’s this do?” I pointed to a strange gun-shaped object that was obviously not a gun.

“That, my friend, is a Taser. It will drop your attacker to their knees in an instant.” Jonas pretended to touch his neck with the end of the Taser, then faked a massive convulsion as he fell to the ground like someone having a seizure.

I rolled my eyes then took the weapon from him. Idiot. The Taser was smaller than a gun and very light. If it did what Jonas demonstrated, it could be very useful. But it might also be used against me if a thug wrestled it away from me.

Jonas pushed himself up. “I still don’t understand why you won’t pack a gun.”

I shrugged. “Just don’t want one.” I knew I would never kill another human being. And I simply didn’t want to risk having a weapon that could be turned on me. “But I’m not opposed to defending myself or others I love. So, I’m open to other options. What else we got here?” I gestured to the table of weapons before me.

Jack entered the room with Seth and Coach. Whatever they had been discussing, they stopped the second they entered the room.

Keeping secrets? I asked Jack.

From you? Absolutely not. “Coach has something I think you’ll like.”

“Oh yeah?”

Coach set a small, hard case on a table in the middle of the room. He flipped up the metal clasps and opened it up. Inside, a dozen or so rings were displayed—ladies’ diamond rings, other less-flashy women’s rings, and even simple men’s rings.

I looked around at the other faces. Everyone, except Coach, looked as confused as I was.

“Are these some sort of James Bond spy gadgets?” Jonas asked, only half-laughing.

Coach pulled one of the daintier rings out and handed it to me. I held it in front of my face and gave it a little shake. It made a strange sloshing noise. I shook it again. “This has liquid in it.”

Coach watched me examine the ring. His eyes couldn’t hide his excitement. “This is something very new. Not many know about it.”