Part 23 (1/2)

I didn't bother to look at the man who would steal my memories. Instead, I kept my gaze pinned to Lewis, even as he stepped away from me, his face s.h.i.+fting once more into that hard, emotionless man I didn't know. It was over. Our moment gone. Lewis gripped my arm, his attention forward as he marched me to Aaron's study.

With its warm colors, the room was just as comfortable as I remembered. Leather chairs next to a large desk. Book shelves and a large fireplace. And I remembered my first night here-the dreams that I thought were being fulfilled-and I felt like such an idiot for believing.

Everything in this room was the same, except for the large wooden chair in the middle of the floor. A chair much like the chair Maddox had been tied to. Even though there was nothing particularly scary about that chair, it had me sweating.

”Pay attention,” Aaron said, his gaze pinned to Maddox. ”Because you'll be next.”

Maddox didn't look concerned as two guards pushed him into the sofa, and then trained their guns at his head. The man merely growled low in his throat. I wished I could be as defiant. Instead, I was shaking as I was pushed gently into the chair.

”Tie her up,” Aaron demanded.

”No!” I shot from the chair, desperately seeking Lewis.

Strong hands gripped my upper arms, drawing me to a stop. Lewis averted his gaze, his face flushed red. Lewis, the man who supposedly loved me, didn't protest as two guards roughly jerked me back into the chair. He didn't protest when I cried out, twisting and turning in a lame attempt to break their hold. And he sure as h.e.l.l didn't protest as one guard held my arms while the other tied my legs to the chair.

”No!” I screamed, throwing a fit Emily would have been proud of. ”You get off tying up a helpless girl?”

The two goons didn't reply, merely backed up a s.p.a.ce, transferring their attention to Maddox, who had gone slightly pale, perhaps remembering his own time locked away and realizing he would be next. I met his gaze, hoping...heck, I didn't know what I was hoping. He was as helpless as I was.

”Sorry, Sweetheart,” he said softly and I knew he was apologizing for not being able to help. For some reason the words made tears sting my eyes. No, I wouldn't cry in front of them.

”It's for your own protection,” Aaron said, his face wavering in and out of focus through my salty tears. ”I need you to keep as still as possible.”

I narrowed my eyes into a glare, not caring that the movement sent hot tears down my cheeks. Vaguely, I was aware of the door opening, of Deborah stepping inside with a small case in hand, but I had eyes only for Aaron. I seethed hatred and hoped he felt it. I wouldn't let him know that nausea churned in my stomach, bile rising in my throat.

”Is this what my father would have wanted?” I asked.

Was it my imagination or did he actually flinch?

Hope swelled within me, tempting and sweet. I'd found a weakness. I s.h.i.+fted, the binding around my wrists burning the skin. ”My father trusted you-”

”Your father would have wanted me to do what was best for everyone.”

His words hurt to the core, worse than Aaron, or even Lewis' betrayal. He was implying that my father would have given me up if it was for the good of the whole. I couldn't believe that; I wouldn't. They could do what they wanted with me, but they would not take away the belief that my father had been a good man. I closed my eyes and lowered my head. In the struggle, my hair had fallen from its ponytail and hung in a protective curtain around my face. I wouldn't look at Aaron. I couldn't, or I'd get sick all over him. And I refused to look at Lewis.

”Do it then,” I whispered.

There was a moment's silence as if I'd stunned them all. With a wave of Aaron's hand, the entire world s.h.i.+fted back into focus, everything oddly brilliant. Deborah swept forward walking like she was on a runway, that small metal case dangling from her manicured fingertips. Aaron scooted a chair closer, sitting directly in front of me, the spicy scent of his cologne adding to my unease.

”I'm sorry. I'm not going to enjoy this, Cameron. It's necessary.” As I looked into his blue eyes, so close that I could see the black flecks around the irises, I almost believed he was sincere in his apology. Or maybe it was Lewis, standing across the room and making me think I was calm, but an odd sense of ease swept through my body as if I was no longer there, but watching a play.

”Try to relax. Open your mind and it will be less painful.”

Painful. The word brought me back into cold reality. I jerked forward, my wrists and ankles pulling at my bindings; it was an automatic response. Instinct forced me to try to escape. But the bindings just rubbed against my wrists, burning my skin. I was pathetic. I was trapped.

Oh G.o.d, I couldn't prevent it from happening.

”Deborah.” Aaron nodded.

Confused, I glanced at the beautiful woman as she stopped beside me. She tapped a needle like some crazy scientist out to do an experiment on a rat. A needle. A needle.

”Relax,” Aaron said softly, leaning forward so that I could only focus on him. He was staring hard at me, peering into my eyes, attempting to delve into my brain. Vaguely I was aware of the slight sting of a needle piercing my arm, but I couldn't seem to look away from Aaron, mesmerized by the odd glow of his eyes. I felt the slightest nudge on my mind and I knew it was Aaron invading but I couldn't seem to care. Someone, or something, was holding me captive.

Fight back. The words whispered through my mind, a message from G.o.d, or the universe, I wasn't sure. It could have been a message from the fairies for all I cared, but the words were enough to make me regain control of my mind...if only a little.

My body hardened and my attention refocused. I remembered why they'd brought me here in the first place, because according to them, I was the most powerful Mind Reader they'd met. A glimmer of hope had me reeling.

Fight back.

The words came again. I didn't spend time thinking about the ramifications. Instead, I let instinct take over. I closed my eyes, and I waited...waited for him to attack. I felt that gentle nudge again, like someone had pressed their finger into my brain, testing its ripeness like a piece of fruit. I forced myself to think of Lewis, the hurt of his betrayal so Aaron wouldn't know the direction of my true thoughts. A p.r.i.c.kle of pins tapped against my skull like a thousand needles in a pincus.h.i.+on. He'd broken in easily enough. I cringed, gritting my teeth, forcing myself not to react...not yet...

”Relax,” Aaron murmured.

Screw you.

I threw the thought out right before I slammed up my mental wall. I vaguely heard Aaron's gasp of surprise, but I didn't dwell on it. No, I knew he'd come back full force. I dared to open my eyes. Our gazes locked, our minds at war. As I'd done with Maddox, I fell immediately, swimming in the sea of his gaze. I was in his mind before he'd even realized I had turned on him. I didn't have time to gloat.

Full colored memories suddenly flashed through my mind.

”Aaron, we do not speak while adults are speaking.” A beautiful woman was glaring down a long table at me. Aaron's mother. I felt immediate shame and embarra.s.sment as the other adults watched on. I'd only wanted to prove my intelligence but had been reprimanded.

Another memory came to mind. ”I don't want to go to England!” I screamed, or Aaron screamed. He was ten, being sent to boarding school.

And then the memories came more quickly...girls, sports, cla.s.ses. So quickly, so many memories, that I had a hard time truly seeing them. Vaguely, I heard someone shouting, the voice odd, as if coming from outside my mind. Lewis, I realized with a start. I started to slip, my walls crumbling.

Suddenly my father flashed before my mind. ”It's not right, Aaron,” he said, his face flushed furious.

”The vaccine isn't working!” Deborah called out, her voice mingling with the memories so I wasn't sure if she was real or not. I ignored the woman and slammed that wall back up, reaching out to Aaron's mind and grasping onto the memory of my dad.

My father paced back and forth in Aaron's study. ”What you're doing isn't right and I want no part...”

Bam!

A thousand fists seemed to hit my body. I gasped, my head jerking back at the impact. My eyes opened, my body straining against my bonds. The sudden light from the lamp above entered my pupils and momentarily blinded me. The pain faded slowly, torturously, tearing the air from my lungs and leaving me gasping. I noticed Lewis first...pale, trembling as he stood only feet from me, closer, but still not close enough to help. The entire room had grown still and I would've thought nothing had happened, but for their faces...surprised faces full of shock and some worry. They knew I'd done something.

My gaze jerked toward Aaron who was still sitting across from me, but now he was glaring at me with a mixture of anger and awe. Sweat dripped down the sides of his handsome face; his nostrils flared as he gasped for air. I'd done that to him, broken into his private thoughts. I had a feeling it hadn't happened to him often and I couldn't prevent the sick sense of accomplishment from coursing through me. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to gloat, even knowing that more pain would arrive and I'd most likely come out the loser.

His lips lifted into a snarl, those blue eyes flas.h.i.+ng as cold as ice. ”I said you were good, but I didn't say you were better than me.” Before I could even blink, sharp pain sliced through my brain. I screamed out, arching my back, jerking against my bindings like a worm on a hook.

”I told you it would go better if you relaxed. I gave you a chance,” Aaron's voice managed to weave its way through my pain.

Frantically, I tried to imagine those steel walls. But the images slipped away as quickly as they came. Gone, like ghostly memories and I was left standing in darkness, the pain roaring through my body like fire. The pain increased, twisting, slicing through my mind like a corkscrew. The only thing connecting me to reality was the awareness of my hot tears slipping down my cheeks.

”Enough,” I heard someone demand, the strength in his voice giving me hope, hope that this would all end...the pain...the suffering...

Then I heard no more and my hope faded as quickly as it had come. Memories slipped through my mind, floating by me like movies on a theater screen. My memories.