Wilde Omens Page 19

  Masters picked up his gun and clicked off the safety; curious that he had it on at all. He turned his back to Lila and pulled us both up roughly by our wrists. My gaze flicked to the DAR on his wrist and back up to his eyes. He nodded once, so miniscule I barely saw it, and positioned his wrist where my fingers could hit the buttons.

  I heard Lila exit the room.

  “Hurry,” he murmured.

  “The DAR can only take one person at a time,” I whispered, my heart beating so hard I briefly wondered if I was having a heart attack.

  “Do it, Penelope,” Aaron whispered. “She cannot get her hands on that serum.”

  I murmured a word my hippie mother would be appalled at and typed in the location and time with shaking fingers. With a shaky breath, I hit the button and held on tight.

  I expected us all to wind up smashed together on the floor like a Picasso painting. Instead, Aaron and Masters were busy puking their guts out a few feet away and I was lying on the floor in a daze, pondering my sheer, stupid good luck.

  “Penelope!” My father’s hoarse voice startled me out of my thoughts. I moved my head and groaned. This was worse than a hangover. My head had been stuffed with broken glass and a marching band.

  I heard my father skid across the floor and the comfort of his touch on the back of my head warmed me. “My God,” he murmured. “How in the bloody hell—”

  “DAR,” I croaked. It took all of my strength, but I lifted myself onto my elbows.

  My father’s eyebrows rose to his hairline. “You used the DAR to take all of you back?” His gaze took in the two men throwing up their small intestines, my disheveled appearance, and he laughed. “Whether that was brave or sheer stupidity, I doubt I’ll ever know.”

  I was too tired to be angry. I shut my eyes and buried my head in my hands.

  Chapter 25

  The three of us, along with Watson and Holmes, sat together in Watson’s private quarters. For the first few minutes, we stared at each other, all of us a little bit in shock over what had happened and our unorthodox method of escape. But my father, who could never resist an opportunity for advancement when it reared its head, quickly overcame his shock and replaced it with curiosity.

  He wanted to know how we all felt. Consensus: miserable. How it felt during the time we transported back? I couldn’t remember much, but Aaron glared at my father and said one word: miserable. Watson said little. Overall, he appeared more concerned about our method of travel than our well-being. As if taking a chance would break the world or something.

  However, we were all quite lucky to be alive. I couldn’t shake the feeling we’d had a little bit of divine providence with us to keep us all in one piece. I couldn’t admit to believing in a higher power, but our extreme good fortune had me a little disturbed. I wasn’t one who believed in that kind of luck, either. I never played the lottery or slots, or any other game of chance, preferring to stay comfortable in the quiet bubble of my own making.

  I couldn’t let Watson’s reaction bug me. We had much bigger problems. Although my father didn’t bat an eye when he saw Masters with us, there was a stark curiosity in his gaze that made me think he knew something was up.

  We chatted for a while before I got annoyed. I help my hand up. “I can’t do this anymore. Why are we all being so nice to each other? We have mad problems and they need to be fixed. Now.”

  Watson narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but I didn’t let him. “And you!” I pointed a finger at him. “You let your pecker get in the way of your common sense. Lila took me out from right under your nose! And how could no one tell me she was the other immortal?” I pinched the space between my eyebrows. “What is wrong with you people?”

  Aaron shifted beside me and covered his mouth, but I still heard his gasped choke of laughter. Masters’ lips didn’t move, but the corners of his eyes crinkled.

  My father, however, turned a furious gaze to Watson. “What does she mean about Lila?” He lowered his glasses to peer at Watson.

  Watson glared at me, but had the good grace to look abashed. His hand crept to the back of his neck. He scratched it and gave a rueful chuckle.

  The bastard was laughing. I sat back and crossed my arms. Silence fell in the room as we all waited for an answer.

  “I didn’t think she’d really do it,” he finally said.

  I blew out a breath, stood, and walked the few feet to where Watson sat. I pushed my finger into his chest. “You, sir, are an asshole!”

  I spun on my heel and walked out of the room. Masters and Aaron followed behind me.

  Masters spoke. “What’s with that dude?”

  “I wish I knew,” I muttered. “You hungry?”

  Aaron and Masters paled.

  I snorted. “I’m starving. You can watch me eat.”

  The two men grumbled good-naturedly but followed me into the dining hall. A hush fell over the place as we walked up to the line. I ignored them all. The only time I’d felt like a part of their team was when Cass and Parker brought me into their fold.

  “Where’s Cass?” I asked Aaron after I’d picked up my tray and some silverware.

  His eyes dropped.

  “Aaron?”

  He busied himself with filling his tray. “She’s gone,” he said after a moment.

  “Dead?” My voice came out in a high screech.

  “No,” Aaron hissed. “Jump to conclusions much? She disappeared after we dropped you off that night.”

  “Oh.”

  Aaron shook his head. A crooked smile broke out over his face. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

  I nodded and grinned at him. I was glad Cass was alive no matter what happened. We could work through all of that later. If there was a later.

  We moved down the line. I pointed to the chicken fried steak and the older lady behind the food window picked one up and plopped it on my plate. By the time I finished, I had a plate piled high with steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli, and mac and cheese.

  Masters, who remained quiet, spoke up. “Jesus. Do you eat like that all the time?”

  I patted my flat stomach. “Perks of immortality, sir.” I grabbed a bottle of milk and a glass of water and headed over to find an empty table. I sat down and immediately started to eat, manners be damned. It felt like it had been forever since I’d had anything decent to eat, so I was waiting for no one.

  After a few minutes, I lifted my head to see Aaron and Masters staring at me with identical looks of horror.

  “Shut it,” I said, and took a swig of milk.

  “I didn’t say a thing,” Aaron said. But he didn’t have to.

  Masters looked uncomfortable in the dining hall. No one except my father and Watson knew who he was, but he still looked antsy.

  “Masters?” I prodded. He looked a million miles away.

  He blinked and shook himself out of wherever his thoughts had gone.

  “How long does your daughter have?”

  He inhaled deeply and an expression of grief made itself at home on his face. “She was diagnosed at age four. Doctors believe she could live an extra four to six years after that.”

  I noticed he didn’t answer my question. “How old is she now?”

  “She’s eight.” Masters pressed his lips together and looked down at the table.

  She was living on borrowed time. I exhaled in shock.

  “I will do everything I can to help her.”

  Masters nodded, but didn’t look up. “Thanks,” he said in a choked voice.

  “Thanks for not killing us,” I said in an effort to lighten the mood.

  Aaron elbowed me, but a grin peeked out from Masters’ face. “I second Aaron. You are ridiculous.”

  I finished my gigantic meal and thought about what to do next. I hadn’t told my father about my plans for Masters and I knew he was probably dying of curiosity about our extra guest by now. I disposed of my tray and made the trek to my father’s study with Masters and Aaron behind me. I wasn
’t sure what I was going to do with them yet, but we’d figure it out. Neither of them could go back to COTO while Lila was still there.

  I knocked on the door to my father’s study while Masters and Aaron gawked at all the clocks and the big mysterious silver machine Holmes still wouldn’t tell me about.

  The door opened and Holmes ushered me in. His jaw was tight and there was an air of barely controlled rage about him. I stalled at the entrance. “Is this a bad time?”

  My father was gritting his teeth together, I could tell. “No,” he said shortly. “Shut the door behind you. I’ve pulled up extra chairs for your companions.”

  We entered with Aaron pulling the door shut behind him. When we were settled in, my father began to speak.

  “Lila must die. She knows too much and has seen too much. I was hesitant about letting her leave the compound all those years ago, but Watson insisted she could be trusted.” He tapped his fingers on the desk, one of the few nervous tics I’d ever seen from him. “Obviously dear Watson was wrong.”

  “I need to tell you something.” I took a deep breath and wondered how much he knew about Lila.

  My father wasn’t used to being interrupted. His eyebrows rose in surprise even as his face registered annoyance at me. “Yes?” He didn’t seem concerned. As a matter of fact, he didn’t seem too concerned about much.

  “Lila appears to be losing her immortality.”

  My father waved a hand. “Obviously, dear. If she weren’t, why would she need you?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “What happened to her?”

  His gaze flicked over to Masters, Aaron, and back to me. “Do you trust them?”

  No. Yes. “Maybe,” I said. “Probably.”

  Aaron didn’t appear perturbed and Masters just looked annoyed. It was a look I’d seen on him a lot. My father chuckled.

  “These men saved your life, correct?”

  I nodded.

  “When they didn’t have to?”

  I nodded again. They had. Even Masters, who had so much more to lose than Aaron. “I trust them,” I said with finality, and swallowed hard. I hoped I wouldn’t regret it.

  My father’s eyes took on a faraway look. I couldn’t even imagine the amount of memories he held. The experiences and drama. He also wasn’t the most forthcoming of people, even in the short time I’d known him. When he spoke, I sat up and listened.

  “Watson and I were friends many years ago. Inseparable as young men and adults, we grew up together and experienced some of the fine things life has to offer.” He smiled and his eyes lit up. “Good whiskey, lovely women, new music, old times. Anywhere we wanted to go, we could. Anywhere we wanted to experience, we could. But Watson always had a weakness for one of our lab assistants, a brilliant, beautiful girl.

  “I knew right away she was trouble. It wasn’t anything she said and it wasn’t anything she did. Lila was overly curious about the world.” He paused. “And my lab research. While we did have assistants in our labs, they did not have access to our notes or much of our research. But Lila saw her way in.”

  I closed my eyes. “Through Watson.” I blew out an annoyed breath.

  “Exactly. Through Watson. He chased her for months, a year even, and Lila always played hard to get. I could tell she was up to something. I knew she wasn’t any good for him, but alas,” he spread his hands out in a gesture of surrender, “you cannot tell a man anything about the woman he loves.”

  My mouth thinned. This entire thing made me crazy. Lila was obviously off her rocker. Why would someone as strong as Watson allow someone like Lila to walk all over him? I thought back to all those weeks ago when he followed me after the skydiving trip and saved me from her and Aaron. I could tell then he desired her. It was written all over his face; I would have known even if he hadn’t blatantly flirted with her.

  Yesterday, he was practically salivating all over her. I didn’t blame him for what happened, but I think he could have done more to prevent it. He had every opportunity to take care of her, to do something, and he’d been immobile.

  My father continued speaking. “When I stumbled onto the formula for the serum, I had no idea of the magnitude of what I discovered. I injected myself, your mother, and I forced Watson to inject it as well, having no idea the serum would alter our DNA with such finality.” He bowed his head. “Had I known, I never would have forced him. Ever.”

  He lifted his gaze to mine. In his emerald eyes, I saw sadness, pain, and above all, regret. I know Watson wasn’t on the greatest terms with my father, but from the look in his eyes, it was evident my father had paid his dues over this. I was still curious about the circumstances surrounding the decision and how on Earth anyone could force Watson to do anything he didn’t want to.

  “Watson spoke of the serum to Lila,” he continued.

  I shut my eyes and groaned. This was getting worse and worse.

  “I concur, my dear.” My father chuckled softly. “Lila had access to the lab after hours, and, after injecting Watson with sodium pentothal, found out the access codes to my private cooler.”

  I smirked. “You have a private cooler?”

  “Oh, yes. Scary things in there. Absolutely dreadful. Anyhow, Lila gained the access code where I’d temporarily stored the serum and broke into the lab. Unfortunately for her, I have a silent alarm when anyone inputs my access code.”

  I frowned. “Paranoid much? Watson was the only one who had the code.”

  My father gave me a sharp smile. “Ah, but his dick was temporarily occupying the spot where his brain used to me.”

  I barked a surprised laugh. “I’ll give you that one. So, the silent alarm goes off, what happened?”

  “I set down my Scotch and teleported into the cooler.”

  “Naturally,” I said.

  “Lila had just picked up the serum when I teleported in. It was a stroke of luck Watson hadn’t yet told her about our abilities. She spilled a few drops of the serum on her wrist before I could safely wrest it away. We thought everything was fine.” My father closed his eyes and breathed out a frustrated breath. “But it wasn’t. We held Lila in custody for several weeks before she was able to escape.” He chuckled. “Once she escaped, we already knew. When she went to work for COTO, we figured she was on our side. And she was for a while.”

  “Until the serum started to wear off.”

  “Exactly.”

  My mind raced at the impact of my father’s words. If just a couple of drops of the serum could do that, what could an injection do? I wondered about the impact down the road. If one day my children might be free of this curse. If one day the serum would diminish enough for me to be free as well.

  I noticed my father’s intense look and he shook his head sadly. “Penelope, I’m sorry. The effects appear to be permanent. I do not want you to live with false hope.”

  I buried that seed of hope way down deep. My father might not believe it, but if the serum is wearing off inside of Lila, it was possible there was still hope.

  I changed the subject. “What do we plan to do about Lila?”

  “My first thought was to force Watson to take care of it.”

  I raised both eyebrows and gave him a pointed look.

  He grinned. “But, we can both see how that turned out.”

  Aaron and Masters had been sitting quietly until now. Masters leaned forward. “There was so much commotion at COTO with Penelope here, Lila will be explaining it for a while.”

  “Why aren’t we alerting COTO about Lila?” The thought had been bothering me for a while now.

  Aaron jumped in. “COTO is notoriously tight with their information and operations. If anyone knew Lila had been trying to steal from your father, it would bring their operations to a screeching halt and result in investigations and probing that could last years.”

  I stared at him. “Are you serious?”

  “Deadly.” Aaron shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “The director suspected Lila was up to no good and requested I get
close to her. I was reporting information to him when I could. With this most recent debacle and Lila’s blatant attempt to kidnap you and hold you at COTO headquarters, she’s going to have difficulty explaining that away so it might already be moot. But she tends to be a pretty crafty liar as both Watson and Holmes have found, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she manages to wiggle out of this.”

  I pondered this. “What if we just let nature takes its course?”

  My father’s gaze sharpened. “What do you mean?”

  I suspected he already knew what I meant, but I elaborated for the team. “If the serum is wearing off, all we have to do is wait for it to wear off completely. I’m assuming she would just pass away, right?”

  Holmes shook his head. “No idea. This hasn’t happened before.”

  “She seems desperate. Really desperate. Maybe she’s seeing signs of it already and is in a mad scramble to recreate it because she knows her time is dwindling.”

  The door slammed open. I jumped and swung my head around to the door. Watson stood illuminated by the outside light. I swallowed. He cut a fearsome figure. Gone were his traditional flannel and cargo pants. He looked more like the fictional character than I’d ever seen. He wore a brown suit with a blue cravat tied at his neck. A long black leather duster covered up much of it and he wore a bowler hat, which shouldn’t have been sexy, but my body told me otherwise.

  His gaze took all of us in and guilt flooded through me for talking about Lila behind his back. “How long were you there?” I asked when I regained my wits.

  “Long enough to ascertain you lunatics think I’m a lovesick fool.”

  I lowered my eyes. “Long enough, then.”

  “I will not allow Penelope to live in fear every day. We take care of Lila and we do it now. Are we clear?” His intense gaze swept across the room and we all froze. Except my father. A hint of approval flickered across his face and he nodded once.

  “Elaborate for us then, John.” My father stood and made us each a cup of coffee.

  Watson pulled up a chair next to Masters. He swept his hat off and placed it in his lap. After he gratefully accepted a cup from Holmes, he filled us in on his plan.