“You shine like a sapphire. You’re absolutely beautiful,” Meg whispered as she walked the last three steps separating her from Creed and reached to touch his face.
At the physical contact, she felt a rush of his emotions crash over her like a tidal wave. At the impact, her exhausted body gave in and her knees buckled.
With movements swift and sure, Creed reached out and caught her in his arms.
Chapter 7 The Heart Knows
Meg buried her face in his chest for just a moment and inhaled his masculine scent, giving her senses and body a chance to recover. That’s when she heard whimpering.
Her head shot up. She stared past the people standing around the SUV to the source of the sound.
“What’s that?”
An even louder whimpering, half-bark came from the SUV at the sound of her voice.
“That’s your pet coydog, Maze. He’s hurt pretty badly, Meg.” Cole nodded to the back of the SUV, encouraging her to so see for herself.
“I have a pet? What did you call him?”
“A coydog—he’s part coyote, part German Shepherd, we think,” Sloan answered. Meg moved toward the SUV to see for herself.
“Wait! Stop!” Evan snapped. Everyone froze to stare at the fourteen-year-old whose hands were held out to keep Meg from taking another step.
“What’s wrong?” Creed demanded. His arm was wrapped securely around Meg’s tiny waist supporting her weight easily.
Evan rubbed his tired eyes, thinking.
“The nanoweapon. Meg still has hers intact, so does Maze.”
“Oh, shit,” Cole croaked.
“What are we going to do?” Farrow asked. She looked from Evan to Alik.
“What are you talking about? I just want to see my coydog,” Meg looked around at all the worried faces surrounding her. Even Creed was pulling Meg back away from the SUV.
“Why can’t I just…”
“Meg, you don’t remember any of this, but Arkdone—that bad guy we mentioned before—he injected all of us with nanoweapons. Half were triggers, the other half explosives. They could set each other off if you get closer than seven feet from one another. We all disabled ours, but Maze was too sick, so we let him be. Now that we found you, we are back to the problem of what to do.”
“I have a nanoweapon in me?” Meg asked. Her eyes were wide with horror.
“Yes, in your heart—we all did.”
“Did? How did you deactivate yours?”
Evan exchanged looks with Sloan before answering.
“We short-circuited them by using a defibrillator on ourselves.”
“Okay, then do that to me so I’ll be safe to be around him,” she waved her hand toward the coydog she instinctively knew needed her.
“I have two problems. First, I don’t know if the defibrillator has enough battery power to do what we need it to do and second, I know I’m not alone in being worried about your health. The machine packs a huge punch directly to the heart, essentially stopping it for a few moments before allowing the heart’s natural rhythm to return.”
“Yeah, and it hurts like a bit—”
“Cole!” Farrow slugged him in the arm.
“Ow, what? It’s true. She should know what to expect.” Cole stood rubbing his shoulder where Farrow’s knuckles probably left a bruise.
Meg looked around at the circle of strangers and took a slow deep breath.
“Listen Meg, you have a lifetime of memories we need to help you get back, but right now, you’re just going to have to trust us.” The earnestness in Evan’s handsome face was as clear as the cuts and bruises marking her bare arms and legs.
Meg cocked her head to the side and stared at the boy who claimed to be her brother. “Let me hold your hand for a moment?”
“Of course,” Evan nodded and moved forward offering his large hand.
Meg reached out and grasped the hand that should have been as familiar as her own for all the years she’d known him. Instead, it was as though they were shaking hands at a first introduction. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly at first contact. He was absolutely sincere, she could read immediately.
“Let’s try,” she said simply and let go of Evan’s hand.
“Whoa, wait. Why not try it on Maze?” Sloan asked logically.
“No, I’m stronger than the coydog. He may not survive.” Determination flashed in her dark eyes.
“We don’t want to risk you, Meg,” Creed spoke softly to the girl still clinging to his side.
“I am stronger than I look.” Meg pushed away from Creed and pulled her shoulders back defiantly. “No one is going to be hurt on my account. Not a person or an animal.”
Alik and Evan exchanged knowing glances.
“You may not know us, Meg Winter, but you are definitely the same girl we know and love,” Evan grinned widely. “Okay Alik?”
“She’s the boss; always has been, always will be,” he smiled ruefully at his big sister.
Meg hadn’t moved from her dogged stance, but offered one nod of acknowledgment for what the two boys said.