The confusion overshadowed the other emotions. “Do you know who I am?”
“Of course. You’re a slayer. I’ve taken down your people, and you now want revenge. Well, it’s not going to be easy.” I raised my fists. I might not remember how to fight, but I wasn’t going down easily.
Two boys came up beside him. One flashed me a toothy grin. The other, a blond with tragic navy eyes, never lost his scowl.
“Go,” Violet told them. “I’ll take care of her.”
Off they went, and all too soon, I heard the pop of gunfire behind me.
“Listen to me,” Violet said, drawing my attention.
I gasped. He’d closed more distance. I could feel the heat of him now, smell the soap and strawberries of his scent. I swear my heart skipped a beat.
“My name is Cole, and I’m here for you. To take you away. I’m not going to hurt you. Would never hurt you.”
I wanted to believe him, but Rebecca’s warning blasted through my mind. I spat, “Liar!”
“Ali-gator,” he said, his tone gentle. “Ali.”
That name again... I frowned. It struck me with the same force as one of his arrows, my chest throbbing, throbbing so intently. “I’m Samantha.” Wasn’t I?
“You were captured, brought here. Took us a while, but we finally found you. I don’t know what they did to you, but I can assure you they aren’t your friends. We are. None of us would ever hurt you.”
I edged around the corner, backing away from him.
“A lot of people are worried about you.” As he spoke, he inched toward me. “Nana, my dad. Reeve. Do you remember Reeve?”
I racked my brain, came up empty and shook my head. Chest...throbbing harder...
“Emma, your little sister, has been helping us look for you. But Anima used pulses to surround the perimeter, so she wasn’t able to get inside until after we’d disabled them. Then I wouldn’t let her in the building. I knew you would be upset if anything happened to her.”
Emma...Emma... The name made the throbbing far, far worse.
Could I trust this dangerous boy?
“All right. You’ve left me with no choice.” Before I could decide, he was on me, hefting me over his shoulder. “Time to make the vision come true. At least I finally understand it.”
Answer: no, I couldn’t trust him. “Let me go!” I beat at his back and slammed my knees into his torso.
“Never again.” He lifted a gun and marched forward.
“I mean it. Let go,” I demanded.
“Never. Again.”
“You keep saying that. What do you want with me? What do you want from me?”
“What I’ve always wanted. Everything.”
“Well, you can’t have it.”
There was something familiar about the scene....
Another flash of this boy kissing me.
A flash of this boy stripping me and touching me.
A flash of this boy smiling at me, violet eyes sparkling.
A flash of this boy studying his cuticles while I killed zombies.
Killed zombies, rather than healed them?
I must have. If these flashes were memories. But that would mean Rebecca had lied to me.
Why would she lie?
Cole stopped at the end of the hall. Smoke billowed, layered with the scents of rot, gunpowder and blood. To the left, the blond boy with the tragic eyes fought a handful of guards—on his own. He had a gun in both hands, aimed, shot, aimed, shot. Bodies crumpled around him.
“We’ve got slayers all over the building,” Cole said. “River’s team is with us, and we’re taking every floor. There will be nothing left of Anima when we’re done.”
I twisted. Two men in lab coats raced around the corner. They caught a glimpse of Cole and backtracked. Cole shot both in the legs. Then he returned to his easy pace, as if nothing had happened.
“Do you know where Smith is?”
Smith. Rebecca. My friend—who wasn’t really a friend.
I gulped. I couldn’t tell him. He’d kill her. And even though I wasn’t sure I liked her, even though I didn’t know if she was friend or foe, I didn’t want her dead. Did I?
Throbbing again...
I’d never been so confused.
Another blond boy came tearing from the opposite direction. “Can’t find Smith. But I see you found my cupcake.”
“Mine,” Cole snapped.
Uh, was the cupcake supposed to be me? Because it was a weird nickname for a supposed enemy.
“Ali,” Cole said, “I’m going to set you down. Don’t run. If you run, I will chase you, and when I catch you, I will spank you.”
“Excuse me?” I hated the idea of being spanked. Really.
“Why would she run?” Blondie asked.
Cole eased me to my feet, and I did contemplate running. Now was my chance. But curiosity held me immobile. These boys could have hurt me. They hadn’t. They had spoken to me with affection.
“I can help you,” a woman said. A tall, slender blonde with eyes as freaky a blue as mine appeared out of thin air.
Throb.
Cole stiffened. “We don’t need your help, Helen.” He stepped in front of me...protecting me?
Throb, throb.