Whisper (Whisper #1)(28)

Not being able to see where we’re going is disorienting. I don’t like that I have to trust Ward to tell me if there’s a step I need to take or an obstacle in my path I should avoid. I’m on edge, and all I want to do is rip the blindfold from my eyes. But Abby’s small hand still grips mine, as does Ward’s. So I can do nothing but grit my teeth and hope that our journey won’t end with a missed step and a broken ankle.

It’s not long until I’m tugged to a halt in yet another elevator. This one has a voice prompt asking for security clearance, password included. Ward doesn’t respond verbally, so I assume he’s inputting the specified information by hand.

When the elevator comes to life and moves us farther upward, I marvel at just how deep underground Lengard must be. Anticipation prickles my skin. We must be very near the surface by now.

A quiet ding is the only indication I have that the doors are sliding open, that and the lively noises greeting my ears. It sounds like people — lots and lots of people.

Abby gives an excited squeal, squeezing my hand tightly. She tugs me forward with so much force that the tip of my booted foot catches in the gap between the elevator and the landing, causing me to trip. I know I’m about to go down, so I yank my hand from Abby’s to keep her from tumbling with me, but there’s nothing I can do about being shackled to Ward.

Before I can dread the coming impact, his arms snake around me, hauling me upright and into his strong body.

“I’ve got you,” Ward whispers into my ear.

He does. He very much does have me. And he’s not letting me go, though I very much want him to.

Or … so I try to convince myself.

I squirm in his arms — which are still tightly wrapped around me — and the microseconds it takes for him to release me feel like years. Once free, I quickly step away, only to stumble again, because judging by the “Ow!” I hear, I’ve just walked into Ethan. Yet again, Ward’s arms are all that save me from falling for the second time in less than a minute.

“If I didn’t know any better, Chip, I’d say you just wanted to cuddle.”

I don’t have a chance to melt into a puddle of embarrassment, because he lets me go and almost immediately the blindfold is whipped off my head.

I blink, blink, blink and try to comprehend what I’m seeing.

The number of people makes perfect sense considering where we are. But I have no clue how we can be here. It doesn’t seem possible.

I spin around and see the elevator behind us, then I whirl back to take in the sight before me again. I’m overwhelmed by unanswered questions, and I turn incredulous eyes to Ward.

All he does is send me a knowing — and dimpled — grin.

My gaze narrows, and for some unfathomable reason, he bursts out laughing.

Not one to be left out, Abby joins in with her own giggles. Ethan and Isaac just look confused — which makes three of us. Of all the questions brimming in my mind, one takes precedence: How can Lengard — a secret government facility — be located deep beneath Centrepoint Tower, right in the heart of Sydney?

Another important question is, how did I get to Sydney? The psychiatric institution I checked myself into was located on the other side of the country. Just how drugged was I when they delivered me to Lengard?

I’m itching to know the answers, but I release a breath and decide to let my curiosity go. With so few days left, there’s little point in adding to my list of unresolved questions.

When I turn back to Ward, his humor has passed, but he still has a smile on his face as he gives our cuffed hands a tug and starts leading the way forward. Abby skips ahead with Ethan and Isaac, and Ward calls out a reminder for them to stay close. They slow down, but it’s clear they’re struggling to rein in their excitement.

“They don’t get to come out very often,” Ward tells me again as we head toward the exit of the shopping center located underneath the tower. “It’s hard to keep the facility a secret if we have people coming and going all the time.”

“Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!” Abby chants, skipping around us.

I smile at her exuberance, but when we step out of the shadow of the tower and onto Market Street, it’s all I can do to remain standing as I take in my surroundings.

The noises — the crowds, the traffic. The colors — the sky, the sunshine, the clothes. Everything is so overwhelming. There are no whitewashed walls here, no silence of forgotten dreams, no nightmares of unending futures. Instead, here there is life.

I move a trembling hand out in front of me, marveling at the way the sunlight whispers across my pale skin. I can’t remember the last time I felt such beautiful warmth. I can’t remember the last time the wind teased my hair and tickled my flesh. I can’t remember the last time I felt so completely, gloriously, alive.

This is likely the last time I will feel any of this.

Three days isn’t long enough.

But that’s all I have, so I’m going to make the most of it.

“Okay, kids, do we want the park, or do we want the water?”

At Ward’s question, I tear my gaze from the fluffy white clouds overhead and come back down to earth.

“Park!”

“Water!”

“Park!”

“Water!”

And thus begins the rather heated debate, until Ward reminds them that they’ll have to wait longer for ice cream if we walk to Darling Harbour, whereas Hyde Park is only a few minutes away.