"Let's see what other goodies you've got, shall we?" He started patting down the bastard's pockets.
I grabbed the gun Cam had lost in the scuffle and trained it on our unwelcome guest, finger itching on the trigger. One wrong move and I'd paint the walls with his brains.
"Jackpot," Cam smirked, fishing out a cell phone and what looked like an old-school beeper. The thing was flashing like crazy. "Now what do we have here?"
Before I could stop him, the idiot pressed the beeper's button. I opened my mouth to curse him out, but a strangled gasp from Rose cut me off.
"Fuck!" she cried out, hands flying to her neck. "It burns! Make it stop!"
Cam was on her in an instant, his large hands surprisingly gentle as they probed her skin. He frowned as he felt around. "There's something here," he muttered, pushing aside her hair. "Jesus Christ."
I edged closer, curiosity overriding caution. "What is it?"
Cam's face was grim. "Looks like a wire. Embedded right into her skin. How the fuck did I miss this? I checked her neck. Jesus Christ."
Rose's eyes were squeezed shut, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Chimera... they... they said it was... for... for my own... own good. Oh God, I remember now. I remember."
I shared a look with Cam. They had been spying on her this whole time.Son of a bitch.
"Get it out," Rose whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "Please, just get it out."
I turned back to our captive, tapping the gun on his forehead.
"You're going to tell us everything you know about that fucking thing," I growled, pressing the gun to the intruder's temple. "Or so help me God, you'll wish I'd just shot you already."
His eyes darted between us, fear and resignation warring on his face. "It's... it's a neural chip," he finally spat out.
Cam's hand tightened on Rose's shoulder. "A what now?"
"Chimera uses them to track their patients," the guy continued, words tumbling out in a rush. "It's connected directly to her nervous system. They can monitor her vitals, her location, even her emotional state."
My blood ran cold. This was some next-level sci-fi bullshit. We didn’t have those. Obviously. Or they’d have known we were here the whole time.This guy must not know who we are…
"Can it be removed?" I demanded, pressing the muzzle of my gun against his temple.
He flinched. "Yes, but... it's not easy. You'd need specialized equipment, someone who knows what they're doing. If you fuck it up, you could fry her brain."
"Lovely," I muttered, meeting Cam's gaze over Rose's trembling form.Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. We were in deep shit and sinking fast.
Cam's eyes narrowed, that familiar glint of determination sparking to life. I felt an answering surge of adrenaline, a grin spreading across my face despite the fucked-up circumstances. Walking up to him, I reached towards his face on my tiptoes, giving him a chaste kiss.
"Well," I giggled. "Looks like we've got ourselves a little project."
He smirked, all cocky bravado and dangerous charm. "You thinking what I'm thinking, darlin'?"
I nodded. “Yeah, let’s get the information out of him on how the fuck to get that tracker out. I’m sure he knows something that he’s not telling us.”
The asshole’s gaze darted from me to Cam, a type of fear settling in his eyes. "You... you can't... I won't tell you shi—"
Rose ran up to him and decked him right on his broken nose, effectively rendering him unconscious. “Shut the fuck up, Beaver.”
I looked at her. “His name is… Beaver?”
She giggled, “I mean, no. He probably has a real name, but the girls called him Beaver because of his gnarly front teeth. You didn’t notice the chiclets he has going on? Yeah. Could probably eat through a tree with those. Hence… Beaver.”
Cam spoke, nudging the guy’s shoe with satisfaction. “Well, I’ll be damned. Alright, when this asshole wakes up, let’s get what we need and take him out to the woods. Kill him at the cliffs so we don’t have to dump anymore bodies. If anyone starts checking the dumpster, we’re gonna be in for a shit storm.”
"Tonight just got a whole hell of a lot more interesting than that dream I was having," I said, grabbing Cam and dragging his face to mine, sealing our excitement with a kiss that tasted of blood and promise.