Redemption (7 page)

“I’m not a dictator. I lead my pack by example,” Adrik said. He ran his fingers along her arm. “Should I wake her? She fell asleep so fast. She might be at risk.”

“She was exhausted. The moment she felt safe, she was out.” Doc locked gazes with him. “Whatever issues you have with her story, I suggest you get over them before she wakes. The injuries I’m healing are consistent with long term, rigorous torture along the lines of what we suffered in internment.”

“Didn’t need to hear that,” Adrik snarled.

“I think you did. What you did at Medical was a low blow. This female came to you, trusted you above anyone else to help her. You treated her like the enemy.”

“We just went down this road, Doc. I don’t care to repeat myself.”

“This bears repeating.” Doc’s hands moved slowly up her lower body. “The damage done to her left leg is too extensive for me to heal this time around. We’ll work on it gradually, over several sessions. For now, I’ll focus on the other damage. By the time she wakes up she should be much stronger.”

“Strong enough to go back?”

“You’re leaving so soon?”

“Trent wants it done quickly if there are other Impures in jeopardy.”

“You doubt there are?”

“No. After seeing Mira like this, I’m sure there’s another facility—or something else equally destructive. We need to shut it down.”

“Then let’s get your woman patched up.”

“She’s not mine,” Adrik growled. His hand ran down her arm.

“Yeah, okay.” Doc smirked. “I’ll remind you of that when half the pack starts sniffing around her. She’s a beautiful woman.”

Yes, she was. Fortunately they’d gotten most of the knots out of her curly hair. He’d handle the rest while she was resting. Her ivory skin, pale and bruised from her confinement, glistened with beads of moisture along her brow.

He longed to pull her into his arms and sleep for an eternity with her at his side. Soon. But first, he had a war to mount. The NAH would suffer for what they’d done to Mira.

Mira awoke, sensing movement beneath her. Startled, she jerked and grimaced as pain entombed her leg. She stifled the scream as her mind reeled.

Where was she?

The interior of an NAH transport bus startled her a moment. Silent, she blinked the dregs of exhaustion aside and allowed the hushed conversation a few feet away to tumble through her brain. Everyone was lost in conversation. At least she had time to sort her brain, figure out what was happening.

“We’ll need to wake her soon.” She recognized the voice as Ren’s. “We’re in Baton Rouge.”

“We should’ve woken her hours ago,” Peyton said.

“Doc said she needed rest,” Adrik commented. “We should’ve insisted he come with us. If there are prisoners, they could be in the same condition she was in.”

“There are too many injured in Medical for him to leave Redemption,” Marek’s voice drew nearer. “Besides, the whole purpose of using this piece of shit bus was to transport any injured we may find. I’m not holding my breath.”

“You still don’t believe her.” Adrik’s anger shocked Mira. Guilt flooded her belly as she remained still, listening to the conversation drifting from the front of the bus.

“I believe something happened. I can even imagine the NAH being responsible. What I can’t swallow is another facility, or her ability to cross the Highway to come ask for our help. Why didn’t she go to The Alliance?”

“Exactly!” Of course Peyton would doubt her.

“I guess we’ll find out soon enough whether she was telling the truth,” Ren commented. “I think she’s awake. We should’ve probably had someone watching her closer.”

Damn. She’d forgotten how astute wolf shifters were. Their enhanced senses really were a pain in the ass sometimes. “Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation.”

She sat fully, forcing her spine straight despite the lingering exhaustion.

Don’t ever show fear.
With the worst of her weariness gone, the lessons she’d heeded the past couple of years tumbled into place. Her friend had given her small glimmers of advice on how to handle his comrades if she made it to Redemption.

Too bad she hadn’t recalled those tidbits yesterday.

She’d been an idiot when Adrik kissed her. There’d been no reason to freak out, but she had. For a microsecond it hadn’t been him grasping her hair, claiming her mouth. She owed him an apology. Then again, not mentioning it made sense. He hadn’t expected it to happen either—that was abundantly clear.

And he’d been so gentle. Kind.

No one had ever cared for her the way he had. Hell, he hadn’t even looked at her for the most part. Sure, he’d seen her naked. Big deal. She’d gotten over people seeing her au naturel long ago, way before her incarceration. When public bath houses were the only option, one got over silly notions like privacy.

Peyton wandered her direction, a plastic offering in her hand. “Breakfast.”

“Thanks.” Mira opened the container. Eggs. Bacon. Toast. The meager portions made her gut churn with need. When had her last meal been? She couldn’t recall. Didn’t matter. She knew the rules.

Eat fast. Swallow whole if necessary. No silverware? Not. A. Problem.

Food got taken away if not eaten fast enough. It’d been reality for as long as she could recall—even in Hell’s Highway before she’d been detained. Her stomach rumbled as she devoured the rations. As she chewed the last bite of toast and licked her fingers clean, awareness flickered into her brain.

She wasn’t alone.

This wasn’t the facility.

Gulping down the last of the bits of food, she warily gazed toward Peyton, who’d halted a couple feet away with a fork in her hand. Oops. A snarl echoed within the bus. She looked at Adrik. Marek swatted him on the back and whispered something too softly for her to hear.

Ren approached in slow, measured steps. “When was the last time you ate, Mira?”

She shrugged and inhaled the bottle of water he offered. At least drinking provided an excuse for not replying. What could she say? She didn’t remember. Locating drinkable water had been difficult enough. A couple of unexpected berry patches and wild vegetables had made her journey across the Highway tolerable. Starvation didn’t scare her.

What’d Deimos said about it?

Oh, yeah.

A need for something gives it power they can hold over us. We want nothing. We need even less.

“We’re in Baton Rouge already? How long did I sleep?”

Marek glanced at his watch. “Twenty eight hours, give or take half an hour.”

Yikes. She set the drained water bottle aside. Another appeared in her field of vision. She looked at Ren warily.

“You’re still dehydrated. Doc made me promise I’d watch your vitals.”

She looked around the moving bus. Dread sank in. “There’s only four of you?”

“We’re assessing the situation first. If more are needed, we’ll call for reinforcements,” Adrik stated as he sat across from her.

Deimos couldn’t afford a delay, but Mira knew better than argue with Adrik, especially in front of three of his sentinels. The fact he’d brought them instead of regular warriors made her feel better. He believed her.

Hopefully.

“Can you give us any idea where we’re going?”

“Southeast of Baton Rouge, but there may be a faster way of finding it.”

“Oh?” Marek crossed his arms. “How?”

“There’s this guy who supplied the facility. The guards hated him, but they were terrified of him even more. They called him Blade.”

“And why would this
Blade
help us,” Peyton said.

This portion hadn’t been on the discussed or approved plan discussed with her friend because she knew he wouldn’t approve. “I was kept from the other people for some reason. So I was ‘walked’ during different shifts than they were. One day I was being herded around and one of their delivery services came to my attention.”

“Came to your attention,” Peyton repeated.

She avoided Adrik’s gaze because there was no way to avoid discussing this. It was either now or later when she had to explain how she knew entry codes and other key data. They had to understand why she was out and about around the exterior of the facility in order to believe the intel she had.

“The guards used the walks as a ruse to get me away from the facility for what they called quiet time. It was during one of those moments I saw him. I’m assuming he heard the…”

Mira severed the statement as she was swept into the moment.

Her leg burned. Fresh blood oozed from the latest wounds inflicted the evening before. Each forced step away from the facility made her pulse race with terror.

“We thought you’d like some quiet time in our special spot today since you had a rough night.” Harvey raked his filthy hands along her arms as he dragged her to the stump.

“Don’t touch me,” she screamed.

He punched her stomach and she doubled over. “We’re gonna keep bringing you out here until you learn to be extra sweet to us.”

“Yeah, real, real sweet.” Floyd grasped her face in one hand and squeezed until she gasped. “I’m thinking knocking those teeth out’d take the fight right outta ya. It wouldn’t matter, though, cause ya wouldn’t have much of a weapon for what we have in mind.”

She punched and pulled, twisted and tugged in their grasp as they laughed and dragged her to the stump. Terror clawed her insides when they forced her to her knees.

“Now, ya gonna be sweet for us?” Floyd demanded.

“Never!”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Harvey slapped her face. “Secure her. I’ll get the toys.”

Calm your mind, Mira. I can’t help you from this distance if you surrender to your fear. Fight.

She couldn’t understand why the unseen stranger helped her in the darkest moments, yet she craved his intervention. Like an avenging angel he delved into her mind the moment she released the last of her terror. She had a vague sense of struggling against restraints, a shredding of material, followed by a brush of burning pain along her back. But warmth like the sun enveloped her, carrying her away to a happier place.

They can break our bodies, Mira, but they’ll never touch our souls.

“Mira.” The call tugged her to reality. She blinked, unaware how Adrik had moved to sit behind her with his arms wrapped around her.

“You with us again?” Ren asked as he crouched in front of her.

She nodded, wishing she could get away from everyone until the cloying shards of the past settled into the recesses of her mind. Guilt pained her, shredding her thoughts. She’d abandoned Deimos.

Tears trekked down her cheeks. To hell with being strong. She was the real monster in this fucked up situation. She’d done what he’d never done—left.

“Mira, focus on my voice. You’re safe.”

The words made her gasp teary lungs of air. Deimos wasn’t though.

“Fuck.” Marek’s agitation startled her to silence.

“What happened?” Ren asked.

“I-I sometimes can’t distinguish between the past and present. It’s like my thoughts are fractured, pieced together with duct tape or something.”

“The damn drug therapy, I bet,” Peyton commented. “We see it all the time with Impures from facilities. Shards of what were wiped away will appear at random and appear real.”

Deimos had somehow undone most of the drug therapies she’d been administered, but she couldn’t tell them about him yet. She’d sworn to keep his existence a secret until it wasn’t an option any longer.

“I still don’t understand how she remembers the facility. Administered drugs to take away her memories would explain the sharding. But then how does she remember everything so clearly?” Marek demanded.

“Temper your tone or I’ll have your ass, sentinel.” Adrik’s rage silenced the onlookers.

Realizing the tension was because of her, Mira focused on the explanation she’d been giving before her episode. “The man I mentioned happened upon us one day. Although he didn’t intervene, it was obvious to me he didn’t agree with what they were doing. They recognized him, called him Blade. I found out later it’s a nickname he’d earned in Hell’s Playground because he guts anyone who messes with him.”

“He’s a procurer,” Adrik said.

“Yes. Apparently the best in the Playground or Highway from what the guards said. They boasted he was a neutered pup for them because they had what he wanted most—medicinal supplies.” Mira shrugged. “I figured a procurer’s tongue could be bought for the right price.”

“It’s a viable plan,” Ren stated as he stood. “Searching for one person in an area this size will take time, more than we should probably allot since there’s so few of us. Baton Rouge houses the scourge of existence.”

Mira’s temples throbbed. Recalling specific events sometimes made her head hurt. “I was around a few times he showed up. The guards teased him about his gumbo addiction. He always brought a bag of food for them from this place he apparently ate at all the time. They thought he had some connection to it or something.”

“You remember the name?” Marek asked. “How convenient.”

“I was a broken mess, easily forgotten.” Mira stood and charged toward the man and Peyton. “They didn’t think I’d make it out of there, much less remember anything. And you know what? They were right. I should’ve died a hundred times. Hell, I wish to God I didn’t remember anything. Maybe it would’ve been easier to not give a damn, not come and beg you all to help the others like me.

“But guess what? I do remember. I remember
everything
—every scar, every wound, every
outing
. I got through it because what mattered was surviving and getting to Redemption, to Adrik, because I knew he’d make it all go away. Somehow you all would make it right. I can’t undo what they did to me, but I can damn sure make sure it never happens to anyone else again.”

She glared at the two wolves for a moment before turning to Adrik. “Blade’s network operates from a hulled-out Creole restaurant called Mama Pierre’s. I figured noticing stuff might help.”

“It does,” Adrik squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll find him.”

“It’s a hell of a good start,” Ren commented. “You did good remembering, Mira. Really.”

“Come on, you need to rest.” Adrik dragged her toward the seat.