Grayson met his eyes. “We both know that’s not true,” hesaid quietly. “I’ll always be the Dead Man. And I can’t ever care about that one way or the other.”
Reece opened his mouth, like he was going to say something. But then he leaned in instead, and brought their lips together.
Grayson’s eyes closed, but almost immediately Reece was pulling back again. “We have to go,” he said, shifting off Grayson’s lap, to the step. “And Dead Man or not, I’m the one who knows where we are, where we need to go now, and wasn’t drugged with who knows what last night.I’mdriving.”
Even Grayson had to admit that Reece was the better choice in this situation. He maneuvered out of the driver’s seat and went around to the passenger side of the truck.
As he put his hand on the handle of the passenger door, his gaze swept out past the trees. Now that the sun was out, he could take in the miles around them, his vision filled with snow-dusted evergreens and blue mountains with tops lost to the white clouds that stretched across the mercury sky.
He hesitated for a moment, his hand on the door handle, his eyes on the view.
Then he opened the truck door and climbed in without further thought.
Charles Stone was in his preferred recliner in the back of the Maybach, frowning at his text messages, when his phone began to ring. The caller ID identified Emily Lowe, Stone Solutions’ director of response operations.
On the other side of the privacy glass, the driver, Mr. Huang, was drumming fingers on the steering wheel as they waited for a red light to change. Charles answered his call. “Emily,” he said pleasantly into his earpiece. “I was just about to call for an update.”
“You’re not going to like the one I’m about to deliver.”
Stone’s frown deepened. “What’s happened?”
“Park rangers reported smoke near the Olympia National Forest. The call escalated up through local law enforcement, and we intercepted it,” Lowe said shortly. “It’s the new Olympia facility, sir. The building is in shambles, and several of the facility staff are dead, including Dr. Nichols.”
Charles sat forward in his seat. “Victor’sdead?”
“Oh yes,” Lowe said with feeling. “Very,verydead.”
“But how?”
“The security cameras were cut,” she said. “But just before they went out, Reece Davies was captured walking in through the front doors.”
“Ah. Of course.” Charles’s jaw tightened ever so slightly. “Mr. Davies does seem to have a knack for disrupting my plans.”
The car began moving again. Charles sat back in his seat, steepling his fingers. “There were no empaths at the facility yet. It is possible Mr. Davies was acting preemptively with his destruction, but that requires intelligence and foresight that I simply don’t attribute to empaths. Out of curiosity, was the Dead Man’s body among the victims discovered?”
“No, sir,” said Lowe. “We’re not sure exactly what happened, but Agent Grayson appears to have escaped Mr. Davies’s rampage.”
“Isn’t that interesting,” Charles said slowly.
The car was picking up speed now, making its way toward downtown. “The situation at the Olympia facility is being handled,” Lowe went on. “I assume you would like any thralls with a pulse to join the others?”
The Maybach passed a shuttle bus, every seat full. “Yes, thank you,” said Charles. “I think Mr. Davies may have unintentionally shown his hand.”
“Sir?”
A dark hint of a smile curled on Charles’s lips. “Just adjusting course ever so slightly. I can’t always control the sea, despite my efforts, but a good captain can weather any storm to port.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll need to amend your instructions at Lumen Field, but first I would appreciate a status update on those others.”
“Ambulances two through four are on their way to the stadium,” she said. “All thralls recovered over the past weeks are on board. Their IV drips have just been altered to the same formula given to Dr. Whitman before her rampage at AMI. We’ll inject that formula into the surviving Olympia thralls as well, and all will be ready for release on arrival, sir. Forgive my language, but it’s going to get fucking ugly.”
“Excellent,” Charles said, with a slight edge. “And ambulance one?”
“It has acquired its patient from the airfield.” She cleared her throat. “He’s being transported with the utmost care and will be waiting for you when you arrive.”
The pieces were moving into place. They would need a new facility for the corrupted empaths now, and a replacement for Nichols, but Charles would have even more money and resources at his disposal after today. He would find both.
He’d find somewhere very special, just for Davies.
“Thank you, Emily. Your service won’t be forgotten.” Charles went to hang up, then paused. “Any chance you’ve heard from Lennox?”
