Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(92)
When Jonas had rejoined us, he looked down at his mother. I thought he might spit on her or kick her, but he simply looked away. “We’ve got to get out of here. Briana, dear, you’re going to need to work your magic on Lexi and me. Addison, can you help Jack disappear?”
Addison nodded. “Gladly.”
“LAB WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN ONE MINUTE.”
Jack leaned in and kissed the side of my head. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Three days later…
I drew lazy circles with my forefinger at the base of Jack’s clavicle on a peaceful, sunny afternoon. He reclined on a large stadium blanket in the rose garden of the UK Arboretum, looking up at the sky. One arm was bent behind his head. I lay partially on my side, partially across his chest. With his free hand, he feathered fingers along my arm. The scent of jasmine drifted from the nearby herb garden.
“Look,” he said. “That cloud looks like a rabbit.”
“Uh-huh,” I mumbled, my eyes closed, and he continued on about cottontails and long, floppy ears.
We were trying to take the day off from Wellington, The Program, and watching the endless news reports of the “strange lab fire that occurred on the University of Kentucky campus.” According to reporters, a small explosion caused a fire in a building that had, until recently, been mostly empty. A private organization had rented the space from the university for an exorbitant amount of money after receiving a grant for stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. So far, no reports had been made of fatalities or injuries from the fire.
The destruction of the lab began right after we walked away from Sandra and Jack’s father. I shivered at the memory of the fire that broke out and threatened to trap us in the basement of the University building. Jack hugged me tighter.
The other thing my mind refused to take a break from was remembering my best friend—her laugh, her never-ending habit of doing yoga anytime we talked, and her unconditional love. I didn’t know what I would do without her. And I couldn’t stop wondering if her death had been my fault. Could I have stopped it?
“You did everything you could,” Jack whispered.
I had given up on blocking Jack from my mind the last few days. Jonas promised to stay out. Georgia and I removed his tracker, but he could still get in if he wanted. The tracker allowed Ty to control me in ways that Jonas never would have—but Jonas was still capable of manipulating my thoughts and desires.
“They just took her,” I said. My voice shook. “Her parents just swooped in and took Dani’s body before I even got to see her one last time. I didn’t get to say goodbye. No closure. Nothing. Why? And how did they find out so fast? It was the middle of the night—” My throat burned with a lump I could barely swallow past, yet my eyes remained dry, incapable of producing another tear.
Jack tightened his hold on me. “I don’t know, baby.”
I breathed in deeply, exhaling as a shudder moved through me. The school had organized a candlelight vigil in honor of Dani, but Dani’s parents planned a private funeral—family only.
“I was family to her. She would have wanted me at her funeral. Don’t you think her parents’ actions were strange?”
“Yes, but Wellington Boarding School is the ideal school for strange families.”
I chuckled even though it wasn’t really funny. “What do you think Sandra will do when she discovers Dia and Lin didn’t make it to the next destination?”
“You’re assuming that Sandra and my father got out alive.”
“Yes. I have to assume that. Someone would have helped them through that trap door. Sandra was so calm. She had a plan for everything. I will not let them sneak up on us again.” I flattened my hand against his chest. “I hope Georgia and Fred are being hospitable to Dia and Lin.” I smiled. Dia and Lin had more of a chance at a normal life by staying here in Kentucky with us, but my heart tightened just thinking about how little we knew about them. Would they be missed? Or were they just as expendable as Ty was to Sandra? And what about the rest of the clones inside The Farm? I would have freed them all if there had been more time.
“Hmm. I’m sure they’re fine. Probably experiencing a little culture shock being outside the lab.”
“Do you think Sandra will come after us again when she discovers that we stole the trackers and the hard drive? Should we destroy them? Where did Jonas put the trackers anyway?”
Jack covered my hand with his. “Lexi, stop. We agreed to take the day off from worrying about all this.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” I wriggled my fingers from his grasp and trailed them down his chest, his stomach, and let them slide beneath the hem of his Bastille concert T-shirt until I found skin.
His hand followed suit by slipping under my shirt and up my back. “I’m sure there’s gotta be something we can do to free your mind of all that junk.” His free hand cupped my chin and directed my head toward his. When my gaze met his, he said, “Come closer.”
I moved further up his body until my head was even with his. “What did you have in mind?” I offered my best coy smile.
He tilted his head as he slid his fingers around to the back of my neck and guided my face nearer until he claimed my lips with his. He pulled back. “A little of this.” He kissed me again. “A little of that.”