The Forbidden Trilogy(59)

But since being here, I'd gotten almost none. Ana would brush against me when she could, offering a hand of support. Susie tried not to touch me at all, and Dr. Pana never touched me except in creepy ways that made my skin crawl.

I'd never realized how much I needed to be touched, and to touch—to feel that contact with another person.

No one wanted to end the conversation, but we all forced our goodbyes. Still connected to Ana, I felt the tears flow down her cheek and drip over the edges of her smile.

'Thank you, both of you. Thank you so much. That meant the world to me.'

The group link had drained me. Would it affect our ability to escape? Maybe, but I didn't regret it. That one conversation healed a hole in my friends' hearts that had been raw far too long. I could see the light in Ana as well, brightness in an otherwise dark world.

This was real power. Not controlling other people, but helping to heal their hearts. For the first time in my life, my para-powers meant something more.

They made me proud.





Chapter 23 – Sam



Drake and I linked and commanded the guard to shut down the camera. Ana had slipped him a little something that would keep him in the bathroom for quite some time. She locked him in, and Drake and I instructed him not to leave, even if he started to feel better. Ana snatched the keys from the guard desk, and came to my room.

She pulled out a scalpel and walked toward me. The hairs on the back of my neck sprang to attention.

"I'm so sorry, Sam, but I have to do this."

This couldn't be. I didn't believe she would hurt me.

"You have a tracker in your arm. I have to remove it before we leave this room, or you won't get past the security gates."

My body visibly deflated. Right, the tracker. She reached for my right arm. I rolled up my sleeve, held it out and gritted my teeth.

The pain came without warning—sharp, biting. The blade sliced into me, dug through me, and pulled out. Warm liquid flowed down my skin. A metallic plop followed.

Ana wrapped my arm. "You're a very brave girl. Are you okay?"

I moved my arm to test it. The muscle ached, but I would live. "Yes, let's go get Drake."

She hid the tracker, a thin metal piece, in a drawer and grabbed a clean scalpel for Drake. I grabbed my backpack with my sketchpad and secret box tucked safely inside.

When we got to his door, I paused. This was the moment. Our first meeting. Ana had been kind enough to get me a pair of khaki pants that fit and a blue sweater that brought out the blue in my eyes. I'd pulled my hair back in a braid. No makeup, but I hadn't worn any in so long that I didn't really think too much of it. Still, the butterflies in my stomach turned into raging bees.

What if the chemistry we had in our minds didn't translate to our bodies? What if he looked at me and ran away?

Ana, reading my mind, tugged me to the door with a motherly smile. My heart clenched at the thought that Lucy and Luke should have basked in that smile over the last eighteen years. The injustice of it all renewed my motivation.

She opened the door and Drake stepped forward, and for that moment, the world stopped spinning and time stood still.

In my imagination, he hadn't been so tall. Tall and muscular. His blond-highlighted hair lay casually messy, and his crystal blue eyes held me in a long stare. He'd found a way to shave, and the chiseled strength of his jaw made my knees weak.

When he smiled, warmth filled my stomach.

"Sam."

That was it, just one word, but he made it sound like it held all the secrets of the universe. His voice was deeper, huskier, than it had been in my mind.

"Drake, it's really you."

He reached for my hand. "It's really me."

When his skin touched mine, lightning danced between us.

He pulled me close, breathing in the scent of me as our bodies touched. I nearly cried right there in his arms, just being held, feeling him. I never wanted to let go.

But I had to. We sighed and reluctantly pulled our bodies apart, though we clutched each other's hands as often as we could.

He held his arm out to Ana, having heard our thoughts, and she carved the tracker out. He didn't flinch, just held my gaze and smiled, as if she hadn't jabbed a sharp object into his bicep.

Ana wrapped his arm, and led us through a maze of hallways and rooms. They knew Drake could control minds, which would explain why she led us to the door. Her alibi.

She gave Drake her car keys and the keys from the guard. 'In the trunk, there's a blue backpack with a small memory stick in the inside pocket. It also has money, clothes, and supplies for you both—medical supplies for you, Sam, a laptop computer, and a cell phone that's not traceable. You'll also need the guard keys to get out the back way, through the locked gates.'

Even though I wanted out of this hell, I couldn't stomach the thought of what we had to do next. They mustn't suspect her of anything.