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Talon hung up, then walked over to me and grabbed my face with one hand, his fingers digging into my cheeks. This close his aura was smothering, all heat and longing and need. “Business to attend to,” he said, then kissed me hard
God help me, the fever rose, and it was all I could do not to arch into his body. But when he stepped back, I spat in his face. He laughed and wiped the spittle away with an arm. “We shall see how feisty you are once that fever has had time to burn.”
He walked out. I closed my eyes and conjured the psi door again, pushing with all my might. This time it opened, and I didn’t fall on my face
Are you all right?
Qui
Yes. You?
Nothing worse than bruised ribs. I’m currently locked in a cell, but I have all the hidden weapons.
As have I. I’m chained in what looks like a control room over what I’m presuming is an arena.
Is Talon with you?
Just left.
And the fever?
Burns. Right then the force of fear made me able to ignore it, but I had a suspicion Talon only needed to walk into the room and that would be the end of any pretense of control
Can you escape?
I tugged experimentally on the chains. Concrete dust sprinkled downward, making me sneeze. Probably take me a while, but yes
Then start trying. This cell has laser bars, and I can’t get out until they’re down.
So you’re not holding out hope that Rhoan and Jack are going to come rushing to the rescue any minute now?
It’s five in the afternoon. If they’re rushing, they’ve got a strange way of showing it.
Something has gone wrong.
Obviously. He hesitated, then added. They’ll be here, of that I have no doubt. I just don’t think we can afford to sit around and wait for them
Not when Talon plans to use you as a punching bag for his latest batch of clones.
Shifting my right foot, I began turning and twisting and tugging at the chain, until the skin around my ankle was raw and pain burned up my leg. The ring in the wall began to move, the small puffs of dust providing hope
It came away suddenly, the chain lashing out across the carpet, then snapping back like a pissed-off snake
I started on the ring holding my other leg captive and was slick with sweat and trembling by the time it came loose. I edged the chains behind my legs just in case Talon came back in, then started work on the chains pi
Maybe it was the fact that the ring was higher and I was able to hang more weight off it, but that one came out quicker. Even so, my wrists were red and raw
I’m free. Still wearing chains, but free. I rattled past the long control panel and began going through the drawers of the desk
Great. Now comes the more difficult part—finding me.
Unfortunately, Talon has not been considerate enough to leave floor plans lying about.
Qui
The third drawer down was locked. I forced it open, and found several keys. The fourth key opened the locks around my wrists, the seventh the ones around my ankles. I had no idea what the rest opened, but I wasn’t about to leave them behind
I puddled the chains under the desk and walked back to the control panel. Any idea where you are?
No. There are no signs and no movement whatsoever.
I sca
I moved on, eventually finding what looked to be a series of crisscrossed red lights. Those lasers bars… are they red and on all four sides?
Yes.
Then I think I’ve found where you are. I glanced at the top of the screen. Sublevel three. All I have to do now is find how to get there
Be careful.
No… really? And here I was all set to go ru
His laughter reminded me of a summer breeze—so warm and rich. Anyone would think you did this for a living
My clothes were nowhere to be found, so I walked over to what looked like a cupboard. Inside, there were several leather jackets and Talon-sized pants, as well as a white lab coat. I put on the coat, rolled up the sleeves, then undid my hair to retrieve the finger laser. The knives I left where they were
On my way. Hopefully
I opened the door and peered out. The corridor was long and curved around to the right. I glanced up. Two security cams, one just above me, another right on the curve
Shoot them out.
I do that and it’ll raise the alarm.
The mere act of walking out could do that. You have no idea who’s watching.
I slipped the laser onto my fingers, adjusted the trigger, then raised my hand and fired. Black glass shattered, falling to the floor as softly as snow. I did the same to the second camera, then listened for any sound that might indicate the alarm had been raised
Nothing
I edged out. The silence was eerie, the air cold. Shivering, wishing I had more than a thin coat on, I edged down the corridor
As I moved around the corner, a slight hum filled the silence. I froze. Sweat trickled down my back, and my finger trembled against the laser’s trigger. The humming stopped. I let loose the breath I’d been holding, but in that instant, footsteps echoed, coming down the hall toward me
I swore under my breath and looked around quickly. No doors and nowhere to go but back to that room. I might not have gotten far, but I wasn’t about to retreat. I sniffed the air. Pine and coffee. Not Talon, then
Taking a deep breath, I pushed away from the wall and walked down the hall, the rap of my bootheels as loud as the beat of my heart. His scent got sharper, and a second later I saw him—a small brown man clutching a clipboard and wearing a furtive expression
He stopped when he saw me. “Who the hell are you?”
“Research.” I continued walking toward him
His frown increased. “What division?”
“This one.” I popped the buttons on my lab coat and flashed him
The clipboard dropped to the floor and his jaw just about did the same. That’s when I hit him. His head snapped back and he hit the floor with a crack that made me wince. I dragged him to the side and checked that he still had a pulse
He did. I grabbed the pass from around his neck, wrapped the coat around me as best I could, picked up the clipboard, and continued on. Elevator doors came into view. So too did another camera
I kept my head down and kept on walking. The doors slid open. I walked in, pressed sublevel three, then stepped back and waited
And waited
Heart thumping, fingers trembling, I pressed the button a second time
Still nothing
Then I saw the keycard slot beside the panel. Cursing under my breath, I swiped the stolen pass through the slot and the elevator doors slid closed
I flopped back against the wall and took several deep breaths. Until I saw the camera. The whole place was worse than the damn Directorate for spying on people. But I didn’t move, hoping my disheveled and sweaty state would have any watchers thinking I was nothing more than another of Talon’s floozies. Which I guess I was