Page 82 of One More Chance

Walter let go of his pant leg and straightened. “We cannot leave.”

Jax shook his head. “I refuse to believe that. We can find a way to get those off you.”

She picked up where he left off. “I have a friend who knows about devices like that. We can get you free of them.” She pulled out her phone again, looking for a connection. The app Maiziehad designed worked whether the phone had signal or not and whether there was internet nearby or not—even though she had no idea how that could be, other than some kind of Bluetooth connection. She opened it and sent a ping, asking for Ramon and Bruce to back them up.

“There’s nothing you can do to help us.” Walter moved past Jax, padding slowly on those canvas shoes. He reached out and touched the back of his hand to the bookshelf on the left, following it all the way almost to the end, where he crossed to the fireplace. When his feet hit the tile in front of the empty grate, he reached up and found the mantel.

Walter hooked two fingers around the corner of the framed image of a human body—with labeled parts—and swung it out.

Behind it was a safe.

Jax said, “I don’t suppose you know the combination.”

“Lorin can open it for you.”

The device parroted out, “Are you certain, old friend?”

Walter tipped his head to the side, in the direction of where Lorin stood. “It’s been a long time. But it’s over now. We’ve been discovered, and you know why we can’t be free. Why we will never be free—except in one way.”

She flinched. “I’m not going to let you kill yourselves.”

“It isn’t up to you, Kenna.” Walter turned to her with those unseeing scars. “We all make our own choices, and this is mine. Lorin can choose his own way.”

“I’m not leaving you,” the device said.

Information shouldn’t have to come at the cost of two men’s lives. This macabre scene was enough to give her additional nightmares to accompany the ones she had. But living with the knowledge that she could have set these men free and hadn’t been able to convince them to choose life would haunt her more than their disfigurement.

“We aren’t leaving.” Jax folded his arms across his chest. “Not unless the two of you agree to come with us.”

“We’re not coming with you,” Walter countered. “Take what you came here for and leave. Take the others with you.”

And then what would happen to these men?

Kenna took a step closer to Walter. “We can take down Doctor Buzard. We can stop him, but we can’t do it without your help.”

“My help comes in the way I choose to give it. I choose my last act of defiance.” Walter motioned to Lorin. “Open the safe so these people can leave.”

Jax moved to Walter, while Kenna shadowed Lorin and watched him open the safe.

Jax said, “There are people who will want to know what happened to you. They want to see you.”

“My family can continue with the memories they have of the man they remember. Not this man you see before you.”

“You’re FBI. You need to make a statement and tell the bureau what happened so we can investigate. Arrest the person responsible.”

Walter replied, “And if that person is me?”

Lorin reached into the safe and slid out a hard drive and a single envelope.

Walter said, “Now, the two of you leave.”

“Please listen to me,” Jax said, trying one more time.

She could honestly say she understood wanting to live life on your own terms. They didn’t seem to be under duress now. They knew they couldn’t leave, not without disabling the devices on their ankles. But it was like they didn’t want to live.

They didn’t even want to try.

“Don’t give up.” Her voice sounded thick. “Please.”

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