Page 25 of He Is Jensen: Part One

Anger, pain, and yes, fear collide inside me with a force so mighty, I think I might collapse. Something happens with that force inside me. Energy crackles in the air, and glass shatters in various locations of the lab. It’s as if my emotions are alive, like electricity in the air. My head spins, and my chest tightens. What is happening to me? Remotely, I hear Tad curse, then he’s on the floor, and so are the other scientists. They just drop like rocks and hit the concrete with hard thuds.

But I don’t.

What is happening?!

My fist balls at my chest, willing my heart to calm, but my hand is unsteady, shaky. I force myself to inhale and exhale and count to ten slowly. The dizziness subsides, and the room comes back into focus.

Then, and only then, do I scold myself for standing still. I race to Milton’s side and roll him over, cringing at his blank, open eyes as I check for a pulse I know I won’t find.

My stomach lurches, and I reach up to close his eyes. More glass around the room shatters as I whisper, “I’m sorry I didn’t save you.” But I don’t cry. The pain isn’t nearly as fierce as the anger eating me alive.

I push to my feet and glance around at the scientists, where they lie on the ground. Items in the room begin floating about. A chair jumps up and flips over, but I’m not afraid. I can feel the energy waving off of me—the power ICE created. There’s no other explanation. And I know I’m the reason everyone is onthe ground. I walk to one of the scientists, relieved to find them alive, just knocked out. That means Tad is alive, too, and that’s as dangerous as it gets.

I glance at the locked doors and the badge around Tad’s neck, flat against his chest. Without allowing myself to think, I charge forward and bend over Tad, unclip the badge, dig for a wallet, retrieve a money clip, and luck out with a jackpot of three vials of ICE. I’ll have to buy more on the street, and I’ll figure that out later. I draw his weapon, thankful that my brother forced me to learn to shoot and confident with the steel in my hand. “Thank you, Kevin,” I whisper, thinking of my brother, who’d died in combat in Iraq, not long after my father, but I don’t waste any time on memories. I rush toward the door, desperate to get out of here.

In a flash, I’ve swiped the security panel. A light flashes green, but the doors don’t open. I punch the keypad next to the panel to find it requires a password. I try random, logical sequences. Nothing. I try again and again. My frustration and fear scratch at the energy in the room. Suddenly, water bursts from the fire sprinklers, and the doors open. Water gushes all over me as I rush out into the hallway, but I have no idea where to go next or how to find Jensen. Muffled voices sound to my right and I don’t want to leave without him but time is up.He’ll find me, I tell myself and I take off, running in the opposite direction.

Chapter eighteen

Jensen

Itold her Iwouldn’t let anything happen to her, and what have I done? Allowed her to be taken. Each passing minute is driving me insane. I have to get to Layla. The Renegades will come for us; that is, if Maddox didn’t convince them we’re dead. I can’t risk waiting on them to act, not without risking Layla’s safety. I’ve waited too long as it is, and while I don’t believe they’ll kill her, not yet, I do believe Julian will offer her up as a sex partner to anyone who wants to try and lifebond with her, Tad included. I’m pacing the room, contemplating how deep the cut will be when I escape this room and save Layla, only to have the wolves corner us and punish us when the fire alarm blasts through the facility. Water sprays all over me, and the door pops open, and thank fuck for it all. The calvary is here.

Thankfully, I’m well prepped by Creed, who’d been undercover with Zodius, on the set-up of the facility and where I should be headed. I ease the door open, scan the hallway, and head the direction of the lab, which I think is most likely to be Layla’s location based on resources.

I run down a flight of stairs and pause at a door, easing it open, only to discover something blocking it. And there’s a Zodius soldier face-down in front of the door. All I can think is, I hope like hell the Renegades got to Layla before Julian did. I shove open the door and create a space large enough to examine the vacant corridor before I exit. Bending down next to the soldier, I retrieve the man’s weapons and then slick back my wet hair from my face.

I jog forward, stepping over two additional Zodius soldiers, both lying face-down, before I round the corner to find the lab door open. My gut clenches with fear for Layla, and I enter, not daring a breath until I confirm she is not among the six bodies on the ground. Fear for her is a wild animal clawing at my insides.

My gaze lands on the computer by the doorway; water is pooled around it. Not optimistic it’s working, let alone loaded with the information I need, I rush that direction, shoving my weapons in my pants, to punch the keys. Against all odds, the screen flickers to life, and I work my magic, tapping into the security feed, opening several windows at once, and confirming what I’ve suspected. There are no Renegade soldiers, and whatever is happening in this part of the city, knocking out the soldiers, is not happening elsewhere. Soldiers gather at a distant corridor, and I have no doubt the only reason this place isn’t swarming with them is that whatever had set off the alarm and flattened everyone isn’t contained.

Why I’m still standing, I do not know.

I tab through another few screens and all but shout with relief. Layla is not only alive and still standing, but on the move. And by the grace of God, headed the right direction through the underground ventilation tunnel leading to the highway. But once she’s above ground, she’ll be exposed, and the Zodius soldiers will find her. I yank the computer from the wall, toss it,and draw my weapons. Knowing she has to have ICE to survive, I tear the lab apart, but come up dry. Cursing, I know I can’t hunt any longer, and I pray she has some with her. No matter the case, I vow to find a dealer and the ICE that she’ll need to survive.

I exit the lab, and there’s not a soul standing, and it’s weird as fuck. Whatever this is, I’m immune, and everyone else is scared shitless. With no obstacles, I’m at the tunnel in no time, but I don’t risk calling out to Layla. We’re on camera, I’m certain, unless the cameramen are all passed out. I reach the end of the path and exit to the highway, but Layla is nowhere to be found. And I have no idea how long she has until she goes into withdrawal, until shedies. I have to find her now.

Chapter nineteen

Julian

Once the sprinklers areoff and I’ve sent in half a dozen men who haven’t passed out, I enter the lab with Dorian by my side. I grimace at the sight of Tad, face-down, and the only idiot still slumbering. I kick the asshole. “Get up, you moron. Get up now!”

Tad jerks to a sitting position, a stunned look on his face. “Holy crap. What the fuck happened?” He jumps to his feet. “Where’s Layla?”

“You tell me!” I snap. “Both her and Jensen are gone. How does that happen with my second-in-charge here?And, you idiot, she usedyourbadge to get out of the lab.”

The doors to the lab slide open, and the lead scientist, since I stole him away from General Powell, rushes forward, his jacket neatly pressed, his glasses sliding down his nose. I’d expected the world from him when I’d recruited him, but all he’s given me is ICE in all its failing glory. Chin’s getting on my nerves and outstaying his welcome, if he isn’t careful.

“I just finished watching the camera feed for the past few hours,” Chin announces. “I do believe the woman shattered theglass and levitated items. I think she caused the men to pass out. It’s remarkable, like nothing we’ve seen before.”

I grind my teeth, barely containing the urge to snap the man’s neck. “Yet another side effect of ICE we should have known about.”

Chin presses his glasses up his nose. “Thousands of people have used ICE, and no one else has developed anything remotely similar to the skills this woman has demonstrated. Perhaps ICE reacted to her recent cancer treatments. I need the woman and her records from the German hospital to be certain.” He holds up a hand. “I make no promises, but if my theory proves correct, we could potentially combine ICE with the same cancer treatments and recreate her skills in your men. But we must locate her quickly before ICE withdrawal kills her.”

I want no part of creating such a skill in others unless that skill becomes my own. I eye Tad. “Find her, and you kill her. Bring her body to Chin to study.”

“I need her alive,” Chin argues.

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