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His face appears inches in front of mine, a sheen of sweat betraying his cool demeanor.
“Your so-called feelings are no more than a biological reaction to the serum you were injected with as an infant. She only wants you because we made her want you. The DNA we made her with is in your veins. Admittedly, it wasn't an intentional outcome of the original experiment, but it's interesting nonetheless, is it not?”
My gaze freezes on the wall across from me, refusing to look this man in the eye as he bends down even closer to my ear.
“We're so grateful that you have volunteered to test this connection. We have years of these recordings in her entire file to work with, and then when we bring her in, the real fun can begin.”
He stabs the cattle prod hard into my inner thigh. The pain radiates all the way into my bones, nearly making me lose control of my bladder. My teeth clamp together and my eyes squeeze shut, fighting to hold back my reactions.
“And son, we will find her. I promise you that.”
Jackson
Packing away some supplies I picked up on my way in, I look around the cabin. It's quite a bit smaller than the B&B, but hopefully we can manage a tight space for a while. There's only one bedroom with a queen sized bed, a standard bathroom, a good sized living room, and an eat-in kitchen.
They should be here any minute. I texted the guys when I made it to the nearest town to see how far out they were. I had enough time to run into a store, so I stopped into one of those big box stores to stock up. Food was going to be necessary, of course, but I also picked up a few air mattresses, sheets and blankets, pillows, and towels. Whatever we needed to make sure we'd be comfortable for a couple of days at least.
Tires crunch over the gravel outside the cabin. Shaking out my limbs, I try to loosen some of my pent up tension. We're all here, safe.
All of us, except Bennet. Fuck, what are we going to do?
Throwing open the cabin door, I make it to the van in all of three seconds. My arms immediately seize Six as she steps out, lifting her into my arms in a tight embrace. I might never admit it out loud, but for a moment, when Adley's minion pulled up next to me, I never thought I'd see her again.
She hugs me tightly, tears streaming down her face. Her legs wrap around me, face buried in my neck, and I hold her against me and breathe her in for a moment.
“I was so worried about you, but I'm thankful that you were there,” she says tearfully. “We would have never known…”
She trails off, choking on thoughts of what happened to Bennet.
“Let's get inside so you can tell us everything. We have some new info too,” Lukas says.
We grab all the bags and head inside.
“Go ahead and throw your bags in that back bedroom, we’ll figure out sleeping arrangements after we eat and catch up,” I announce while pulling out some easily prepared foods.
Once we're all settled around the table with paper plates filled with rotisserie chicken, mac and cheese, and green beans, we get caught up. I relay every second of what I saw this morning. Six gasps as I describe how they carried Bennet out of the building, dumped him in the trunk, and then lugged him into the private jet like he was nothing more than a bag of dirty laundry.
The guys catch me up on their phone call with Brenda and Six's quick thinking that might have gotten us in touch with Tony. Hopefully, he calls us and agrees to help, because I know he has capabilities beyond what we can imagine. With his help, we might be able to confirm where Bennet is and if he’s alive. Maybe he can even help us figure out how to get him home.
For now though, it's a waiting game. Lukas and Luis want to get the computers set up so that they can go through all the files they brought, hoping for another lead on how we can help Bennet.
None of us wants to speak, or even think about, the worst possibility. We are placing all of our hope in him still being alive. Wherever he is, we will think of a way to save him. We will. We have to.
Micah, Six, and I work on getting all the air mattresses blown up. We decide to move the couch and use the living room as one big bedroom. We store all of our luggage in the actual bedroom.
There's enough space between the three queen-sized air mattresses for us all to sleep comfortably. Micah and Lukas always end up next to each other anyway, and one of us is always with Six. Plus, there is still a bedroom if anyone gets uncomfortable. Not that I'm expecting anything that could make anyone uncomfortable…
Now that we’re looking down at one gigantic bed, I can't pretend the thought of group activities hasn't crossed my mind. I pointedly do not make eye contact with Six in case she can read my thoughts. I don't want her knowing where my thoughts have strayed, in case there’s any chance she’d feel pressured. I’m expecting some heavy energy with five of us in one bed though.
Luis and Lukas set up the kitchen table similarly to the dining room back at the B&B. My heart clenches a little, imagining the future I'd dreamed up for us all back in Barnaby Falls. A perfect little fantasy life with my four brothers and the most amazing woman, all together, forever. Call me a sap for believing we could make it work after only knowing each other for a week, but it feels right.
We barely speak to each other as we go through the motions of doing what needs to be done. I think we’re all in a bit of a daze, and I notice that I’m not the only one tip-toeing around Six, unsure of the best way to comfort her.
Everyone takes turns taking quick showers and getting dressed for bed while we look through all the files and try to guess Bennet's passwords. Unsurprisingly, we don't come up with anything, and I say a silent prayer that Tony comes through.
Fed, showered, and conceding to the fact that there isn't much we can do right now, we all climb onto the giant makeshift bed. Micah and Lukas take one of the outside mattresses. I lay next to Six in the middle, and Luis lies on the other side of her on the third mattress. There's some shuffling as everyone gets comfortable, but otherwise it's just restless silence.
It takes my eyes a while to adjust to the darkness, but once they do, I can see Six's face in the faint glow of the moonlight filtering through the window. Her eyes are wide open, tracing the wooden beams of the ceiling, her forehead creased with worry.
