Page 37 of Daddy's Little Sunshine

“Fuck. We’ve been made.”

“Turn right.” Edith pointed to a turn up ahead.

Accelerating, he spun the wheel, then slammed on the brakes, stopping just a few inches short of the boy standing in the middle of the road.

“Out of the way, kid!”

But the boy didn’t move. His gaze flicked to the commotion behind them, then back to the car. A slow smile spread across the boy’s face, sending chills down Donovan’s spine. The boy took two steps closer to the car, raised his fists, and slammed them down on the hood. The front of the car crumpled under the boy’s fists. He smashed the hood a second time and the engine died.

“Edith, run!”

The doors to the car were jerked open before he’d even finished the command. They were dragged from the car, with Ms. Edith kicking and screaming for all she was worth. Donovan elbowed a guard in the gut, grabbed a rifle from a second guard and had just leveled it at a third when he heard the softsnickof weapons engaging all around him. He looked around, expecting to see a dozen guns pointed at him. But every single weapon was trained on Ms. Edith.

A tall, thin man emerged from the fray, a small smile playing on his lips. “Hello, Mr. Carter. A pleasure to finally meet you.”

Donovan ignored the cold trickle of panic down his spine. “Who the hell are you?”

“Me?” The man’s eyebrows winged up in feigned surprise. “I’m nobody important. Just a humble servant to a greater cause.”

Donovan snorted. “Greater cause? Kidnapping innocent people and torturing them to death is a greater cause?”

“Science, Mr. Carter. Science is the greater cause.”

“Yeah, well, fuck your greater cause. Let Edith go.”

The man tilted his head to the side. His lips curved in a smile that froze the blood in Donovan’s veins. “No. I don’t think I will.”

There was a sharp prick in the side of his neck, and his vision began to waver. The last thing he heard before the world went black was Ms. Edith’s scream.

CHAPTER 16

Lainey

The guard carrying Lainey laid her down on an examination table with a gentleness that seemed incongruous with her current situation. Guard number two grabbed her arms and forced them to her sides while the first guard strapped her to the table.

Her throbbing, most likely broken leg was the only thing keeping her from kicking them in the face and escaping. That was what she told herself, anyway. It was easier than admitting she was too scared to fight them. “Please let me go. I won’t tell anybody what happened, just please let me go.” She pulled against the leather restraints, but they barely moved.

Her guards left without saying another word to her. Moments later, a short, fat man with the most horrendous comb-over she’d ever seen waddled into the room. His smile was a little too bright, a little too sharp at the edges to put her at ease.

“You must be Lainey. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Dr. Smythe. A little birdie told me you fell and bumped your leg?”

“It’s fine,” she answered with a scowl. “Just get me out of here!”

Dr. Smythe patted her foot, sending a jolt of pain all the way up to her hip. “Calm down. You’re not going anywhere, so no use getting yourself all worked up about it. Now, let’s see what’s going on with this leg of yours so we can get you fixed up.”

She flinched when he reached for her, but he didn’t touch her again. Holding his hands out over her injury, a soft, warm light appeared. Her skin began to warm, seconds before there came the most piercing, agonizing pain she’d ever felt. The pain ripped a scream from her throat. Any pretense of bravery fled. Nothing in her life had prepared her for this kind of pain. And just as quickly as it began, it ended, leaving her sweating and trembling on the examination table. “What…” She drew in a shaky breath. “What did you do to me?”

“I fixed your leg. You’re welcome,” he added with a satisfied smirk.

Lainey cautiously moved her foot, shocked when there was no flash of pain. “Holy shit,” she whispered.

Dr. Smythe waved his hand at her and waddled over to the intercom on the far wall. “That was nothing. You should have seen the guy they brought in before you. Poor man was at death’s door, but I managed to pull him back. Shame about his ear, though. Never could get the hang of regrowing body parts.” Before she could respond, he pressed a button on the wall. “She’s all better.”

“Doctor, please. You have to help me.” She tugged at the restraints again, but they still refused to give. Desperation welled up inside of her until it threatened to choke out every last bit of hope she had left. “Please, I don’t want to die.”

Dr. Smythe glanced back at her, one eyebrow raised. “Die? You’re not going to die.”

Shocked, she stopped pulling at the restraints. “I’m not?”

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