Page 122 of Wicked Nightmare

This is bullshit. No way some new-age crap is gonna fix what those Chimera fuckers did.

As Sarah's words washed over us, Rose's face changed. The tension smoothed out, replaced by something that looked almost peaceful. I glanced at Cam, but his eyes were fixed on Rose, his expression unreadable.

"Now," Sarah continued, "I want you to picture a place where you feel completely safe. Somewhere no one can hurt you."

Rose's lips parted slightly, and I swear she smiled. "I'm... I'm in a garden," she whispered. "My grandmother's garden. The roses are blooming."

Anger twisted in my chest. She'd had a grandmother. She wasn't born into it. I'd never had a safe place like that. Never even knew what it was supposed to feel like. I thought I had glimmers of memories involving a mother, but they were vague. Almost as if they weren't mine but something put inside me. A fake.

"Good," Sarah encouraged. "Now, I want you to remember that this place is always inside you. No matter what happens, you can come back here."

Rose nodded, her body relaxing further, her shoulders dropping as she sank deeper into her garden.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from Sarah. There was something about her that pulled at me. She had this softness, but not the weak kind. The kind that could wrap around you and hold the sharp edges at bay. It brought back a wave of memories. The first time Cam and I sat in her office, I was barely six and Cam was turning eight. Sarah had given us each a fuzzy blanket and hot chocolate while she talked to someone in the background.

Who was she talking to? Why can't I see their face?

I glanced at Cam. He was watching Kyle. Sizing him up. Playing out scenarios in his head, just in case he needed to put this mountain of a man down.

No one said anything until Sarah sighed and looked up at me.

"We've been through some shit," she said simply. "Figured out how to survive it. Now we help others do the same. Kyle, I told them what you used to do and how you've been decommissioned but still have access to things that could help them. I also let them know about untraining your mind and unlocking it."

Kyle nodded before stepping around and leaning against a wall, watching us with a hard scowl.

Grudging respect bloomed in my chest. These two weren't just do-gooders stumbling into our mess. They had become adaptable.

"And how exactly did you stumble onto Sarah's radar?" Cam asked, his tone casual but his eyes sharp.

Kyle's hand twitched before he shoved it in his pocket. "Let's just say we had chemistry and the rest is history."

Not much of an answer, now, was it?

As we watched each other, Sarah refocused on Rose. Rose was answering questions about what they'd done to her, but it was like she wasn't fully present. She was inside her head. Maybe reliving it, maybe just remembering it. But she wasn't in pain or terror. She was just eerily calm.

Sarah gently coaxed Rose back to the present, and when Rose opened her eyes, they were different.

"I feel better. I'm ready to do this." Rose was determined, that much was clear. The skepticism still sat in my gut. There was no fucking way Sarah had cured her during this little session, but I didn't care enough to point that out. If Rose said she was ready, then she was ready and who the fuck was I to say she wasn't?

"Well then," I grinned, slapping my knee. "Looks like we might have ourselves a little war party."

Kyle leaned forward, his tattooed forearms resting on his knees. "Alright, you trust us now? Rose is fine, everything is good, we've eaten and done the small talk. Let's move on. Chimera's main hub is a fucking fortress."

I cocked my head, studying him. His eyes were hard, focused. This wasn't half-assed intel.

"We're talking state-of-the-art security systems, armed guards, the works," he continued. "But the real kicker? They've got a goddamn underground bunker. Everything else is small potatoes compared to what's inside there."

Cam's eyebrow twitched. The only sign he was impressed. A thrill raced down my spine. This was gonna be one hell of a ride.

"How'd you get the layout?" I asked.

Kyle's gaze flicked to Sarah, then back to me. "Let's just say we have our ways. I don't know you well enough to give you trade secrets."

I smirked. "Feeling's mutual, sugar."

Sarah drew our attention. "The chip in Rose's neck? It's not just a tracking device. It's connected to Chimera's entire database of experiments."

"Yeah, we figured."