Reborn(77)

I pulled the gun out from behind my shirt. Shot. Missed.

In the center of the road, watching the SUV spin dirt as it took off, I squared my shoulders, held the gun with both hands, and pulled the trigger. The back window shattered, glass plinking against the bumper.

But Riley kept going, and drove out of sight.





41

ELIZABETH



THE BOY NAMED CAS DROVE ALL OF US to a motel on the outside of town. It was stuck beneath a sign shaped like a horseshoe that glowed neon orange in the dark.

We rented three rooms. Sam and Anna in one room, Cas and Trev in another, and Nick and me in the third.

Once we were inside, Nick locked the door, slid in the dead bolt, and shut the curtains. He set his gun on the nightstand.

There was only one bed.

“Elizabeth,” he said.

I looked over at him. In the hour or so since we’d left the barn, I’d been having these flashes, like déjà vu, laced with a rush of knowing and understanding. And then it would disappear again, leaving me with an emptiness that settled in my heart.

Nick had explained to me what had happened. That the Branch had tried to wipe my memories, and that he’d stopped the process before it had been completed. He didn’t know what that meant for me.

The more he used my name, the more it felt right.

My name was Elizabeth, and I lived in Trademarr, Illinois.

And the way my heart jumped every time he looked at me said all that needed to be said about how I felt about Nick.

I liked him. More than liked him. Just as my name felt right, so did he.

“Yes?” I said.

He sighed and scrubbed at his face. “I wish I could make it better.”

There was something else he wanted to say, but didn’t.

I sat on the edge of the bed. He sat next to me. Our knees bumped together. He reached over and took my hand in his. His fingers were long, and covered in scars. They were thick at the knuckles, knuckles threaded with veins. I liked his hands.

“Will I ever not feel empty like this?” I asked.

He squeezed my hand. “Yes. I promise.”





42

NICK



WE HUNG AROUND TRADEMARR FOR A FEW days, long enough for Trev, Sam, Cas, and I to break back into the barn lab and steal whatever information we could. The place had been cleared of people and bodies, but there were still computers intact and filing cabinets stuffed with old logs.

We were still unclear as to what exactly Elizabeth’s mother had done to herself, and therefore to Elizabeth, to change her genetic makeup. And we needed to know everything.

Could Elizabeth die and come back to life like Chloe and I had? So far, we had found zero record of the Branch killing Elizabeth as part of their testing.

I didn’t want to find out the hard way.

Anna also wanted to know what we could expect from me now that I’d been given a dose of the serum. Would I become fearless, too? Would I no longer feel anything?

Anna was good at the research bit, and now that Trev had been accepted back into the group (on probation, though, maybe with a hazing or two), she had a study partner who was good at the whole memorizing-and-compiling-facts crap.

Those two were set for months.

Later, before we left Trademarr, Trev and I broke into Aggie’s house to grab some of Elizabeth’s things. She’d wanted to come with, but I quickly shot her down, knowing it’d do more damage than good.

Anna helped me talk her out of it. Anna was better at talking than I was.

The attack at Aggie’s had made national news, and the house was boarded up now, sectioned off with crime scene tape.

It was easy to get in, though.

Trev and I stared at the bloodstain on the hardwood floor where Aggie had lain before the coroner took her away.

I regretted not having talked to Aggie more. She must have known a lot of incriminating things about Riley and the Branch, having worked for them in the past, and later becoming a Turncoat. Trev said we’d ask the Coats for info on the Angel Serum once we settled in somewhere.

In Elizabeth’s room, I stood in the center, wondering what she’d want. Realizing that I didn’t know her well enough to know. Wishing like hell I did.

I found a bag in the bottom of her closet, and tore a few things from the hangers. Tossed them inside the bag. I went to her dresser, grabbed a fantasy book that had been marked off with a bookmark, and threw that in, too.

I went to the desk, picked a few things that seemed important. I glanced up. The blue glass bottles looked black in the dark. When Elizabeth had explained them to me, she’d said scent was a strong trigger, tied to memories. Maybe it was true for her.

I grabbed the CARNIVALS, AGGIE, MERV’S, and NICK bottles. Last, I decided to grab two newer bottles—I could tell they were newer because the labels weren’t faded. One was marked HOPE and the other SECRETS. I wrapped all of them in a few pillowcases and packed them in the bag, too.