Page 17 of Revenant

Now that I know he didn’t abandon me, that hechoseme, I’m afraid my heart will break if he pulls away from me now.

“Our main priority was to find you,” he admits a bit sheepishly in response to my question. “We’re in some sort of research facility, but we couldn’t find anything about it online. The guards are retired military personnel, which means it’s either run by the military or someone with connections. Ellis is trying to hack into the different government agencies for more information.”

My eyes widen in surprise that they went through so much effort to get me back, and my insides turn gooey as I realize they really do care…maybe even as much as I care for them. I find myself petting his chest, unable to be near and not touch him. “Just make sure you’re careful. There is something dark and sinister woven into this place. The last thing I want is for the people in charge to target any of you. For now, I’m valuable to them. If they discover you digging into their secrets, they might decide you’re expendable.”

My heart threatens to implode at the thought, and my control slips for a second. An icy chill engulfs my soul, something that tends to happen when I draw power from the other side of the veil. When Gunner shivers, then snatches me close and peers warily around the dark corners of the room, I take a deep breath and pull it back.

After a moment, the temperature gradually returns to normal. When I open my eyes, I find Gunner glancing down at me. Instead of fear, a sad smile curls his lips. “You have been learning how to control your abilities.”

It isn’t a question, but I nod anyway and shrug. “Not much else to do these last few months.”

I stand a little taller that he noticed. I put a lot of fucking effort into learning about myself, and it’s finally paying off. Then my brows furrow when I realize something important. “Since they moved me to my new room, I haven’t seen one ghost.”

It’s only now that I realize my mind is also eerily silent.

Sure, I can block them now after weeks of trial and error, but I can usually still sense them on the fringes of my awareness.

It’s like I’ve entered a dead zone.

Even the smallest traces of them have vanished.

Logically, I know I should be thrilled—I’ve wished to be normal for years—but now that the ghosts are gone, I only feel profoundly uneasy.

“Are you safe?” Gunner immediately asks, his shoulders flexing as if he’s seconds away from tossing me over his shoulders and walking out the front door, consequences be damned.

To answer his question…

Fuck if I know.

At this point, I’m more worried about Dr. Hershamn than the dead, but I don’t dare admit that out loud. For his safety, I lie my ass off. “For now.”

I hold up my hand when Gunner opens his mouth to protest, his arms tightening possessively around me. “We can’t act rashly. We need to have a plan, or none of us will be able to escape this fortress. I’m a new toy right now. They’ll want my cooperation, so we’ll have some time. We need to use it wisely.”

He blows out a heavy breath, but his dark blue eyes are stormy at the thought of anything happening to me. “You said you just moved into your room? What changed?”

I shiver at being the center of his very focused attention, my response so visceral that it’s all I can do not to crawl up his body and demand he give me another orgasm. One wasn’t enough. Just being near him makes me feel special, and I can understand why people find sexual attraction so addicting.

Tangling my fingers together to keep from reaching for him, I’m more than happy to switch to a subject that has nothing to do with my abilities. “I was being housed in the main part of theasylum. It’s only when I met with the doctor this morning that my accommodations changed.”

I feel foolish for not putting things together sooner. “My guess is, they had me transferred to this building to keep an eye on me. They must be observing other hospitals for people with special abilities. When I met with the doctor, I must have passed some sort of test. I was immediately sent underground. The others upstairs are potential candidates that must have failed their exams.”

I take a deep breath and glance away from him, licking my lips nervously. “There is something different about this institution, something dark and wrong lurking in the halls. I believe they’re hunting for people like me, people with gifts, and collecting us all in one place.”

As much as I want to beg the guys to leave while they still can, I’m a selfish bitch. I want to see them one more time—one last memory to keep me sane. I won’t survive without them, but I don’t wish this life on anyone else.

Before the men came into my life, my thoughts were so dark that I imagined what it would be like not to constantly struggle to just survive. I didn’t care if I lived or died, as long as I escaped my father.

That changed when I met my men.

They opened my eyes to a whole new world.

Now, I don’t want to die before I’ve had a chance to even live.

Just knowing they came for me is enough to bolster my confidence.

They didn’t abandon me.

They’re risking everything to fight for me.

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