“What’s in the basement?”
“Mr. Young, I’ve already explained to you the secrecy of my assignment,” Esther’s little brow furrowed above her sincere green eyes.
“Right, of course,” Gavil quickly amended. He had an irrational fear of this gentle little doll jumping from her chair and bolting from the room. If she did, there’s no way he’d be able to catch her in his current condition. If she left, he may never see her again.
Gavil’s brain searched desperately for topics, trying to think of something she would be willing to talk about. “Your assignment is lucky to have you.”
“Why would you say that?”
Gavil shrugged, searching for where he was going with this. It’s not like he had much experience talking with females. His only interaction with them consisted of giving and receiving orders—all business. He couldn’t remember ever just sitting and talking to a female for no reason. But, he wanted to talk with Esther. He wanted to say something smart and funny so he could see her smile. He had this crazy need to hear her laugh; he was sure it would sound angelic.
Esther watched the soldier unabashedly. She could stare at his pale blue eyes for hours, counting the tiny freckles marked in a beautiful pattern around the outer rim. He wasn’t the biggest metahuman male she’d ever seen, but there was something about him that made her heart beat faster. He was intense, so serious and vigilant in his contemplation of the world around him. She recognized him to be a hunter by nature, a predator and though she had no experience with males outside of her military life here at the Facility, she knew he was an alpha personality.
She was drawn to him.
With her message delivered, she should be returning to June’s room, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Gavil. Not just yet. He seemed like a caged jaguar. He was obviously accustomed to being virile, dangerous and feared. To see him vulnerable and weak was heartbreaking to Esther.
Gavil held perfectly still completely aware the girl was studying him, forming an opinion about him. He watched her, watching him.
“May I come back to visit?” Esther heard herself ask, amazed at how composed her voice sounded, though her heart was racing.
Gavil wanted to leap out of his bed and tackle her to the ground, desperate to taste those pink lips. Instead, he slowly nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
Esther’s wide smile turned her green eyes into sparkling slits. “Tonight—it may be late. I’ll have to sneak away when I can. Is that okay?”
“I’ll be here.” He offered a smile of his own; oblivious to the pain the movement caused his battered face.
Esther reached out instinctively to touch Gavil’s hand. Static shock zapped them both with a crackling pop causing the two metahumans to flinch. Their nervous laughter echoed off the mint green walls of the recovery room.
Part 1
Location: The Big Island
Present Day
Chapter 1 What Have You Done?
Everyone stared in shock.
Cole was face down on the non-slip floor of Paulie’s lab. His cotton T-shirt clung to his body, wet with sweat. The bandages still wrapped around his biceps from the bullet wound were soaked with fresh, bright blood. In his left hand he clutched an empty syringe. The vial of Infinite serum was nearby, still spinning from having been inadvertently kicked when the rush of people clamored into the room. Farrow’s limp body still hung in Alik’s arms.
No one moved.
Theo dropped to his knees beside his son.
Then, everyone spoke at once.
“Oh, dear God!”
“Cole! Cole! Wake up!”
“How much did he take?”
“Is he still breathing?”
“Son!”
“Cole, come on! Open your eyes!”
Alik turned his focus back to the girl in his arms and hurried her to a waiting gurney. He gently laid her down and yanked the drop-sides up to prevent her from rolling off the bed before returning to Cole.
“Why did he do this?” Margo groaned as Evan lifted Cole’s spent body off the floor and carried him carefully to the only other gurney in the lab.
“Mom, I’ll get to work on Farrow. You and Theo stay with Cole,” Evan said pragmatically, even as he hurried to the sink to scrub in. Over his shoulder he added, “Alik, I’m going to need Paulie and Creed.”
Alik was already running back through the lab doors to get the others. “I’m on it!”
“Evan,” Margo looked up from the bottle now held in her hand, “what effects will the .5ml have on him?”
Evan shook his head and scrubbed under his nails even harder. “I don’t know, Mom. He’s sixteen. I’ve only studied the effects of the serum given to those dosed very young. We’re going to have to run some tests on his blood, but now that he’s been exposed, I really think it’s going to be a wait and see.”