Page 82 of Unnatural
“No. I never met with him in person,” Sam said woodenly, confirming what Mark already knew.
“I don’t suppose you still have the phone given to you by the program?”
“No. It was confiscated when I was…dismissed.”
“They expected you to commit suicide, didn’t they, Sam?”
Autumn sucked in a small breath, looking at Sam with equal parts shock and dismay.
Mark knew enough to know that if you were dismissed from the program, you were removed in shame. The final mission was to take your own life. And thus far, from what he knew, all of them had obeyed. But these people were brainwashed and terrorized in countless ways.Tread carefully,he reminded himself.Triggers abound with men such as Sam.How could they not?
“Yes,” Sam said. “I was going to… I kept meaning to…”
“Sam,” Autumn whispered, her knuckles turning whiteas she squeezed his hand.
“What stopped you?” Mark asked.
Sam looked at Autumn with the same worshipful look Mark remembered Jak giving Harper so many years ago, not to mention the last time he’d seen them. “She did,” Sam answered.
“I see.” He studied them, noted the way they continued to lean into each other. “So you two met at the hospital? That’s how you know each other?” That was one part of the puzzle he hadn’t been able to figure out until now. Until Sam had told him he too had been under Dr. Heathrow’s care. Although knowing what he knew,carelikely wasn’t the appropriate term. But there was still lots of digging to do concerning that.
Autumn confirmed, telling him about the newer building she’d lived in next to the lab, which had also been Sam’s home. Her eyes cast to the side as though she wasn’t giving him the complete story, but again, now was not the right time to push. Mark was holding a few things back too.
The lab.Mark had a million questions about the lab, and he wanted to start volleying them at Sam right that minute. But he knew from experience that patience must reign.
“We have a lot to talk about and a lot to try to work through,” Mark said. “I sense you need a team. And I’d like to be part of that, if you’ll trust me.” He looked between the two of them again. So young. So deeply uneasy.Autumn hopeful, Sam guarded.Mark was hopeful too, and in anticipation of this meeting, he’d made a few arrangements that he knew would make things easier. “I called and asked Jak, the man I told you about, the first one rescued, and his wife, Harper, to meet us at a house on the river. It’s only a thirty-minute drive from the town you live in, Autumn.Will you both come with me? We can all figure out what to do from here.”
Sam glanced at Autumn. “You can keep her safe? No matter…what happens?”
Mark paused.No matter what happens.What he meant, Mark surmised, was if Sam was harmed or chose to leave. Mark would not lie to this deeply distrustful man, not when trust was so tentative. “From what I’ve gathered, Autumn’s identity isn’t known. Law enforcement doesn’t have her name or a photo of her.” He looked over at her and then back at Sam. “We’re dealing with very dangerous people, Sam, but I have no reason to believe anyone except you might be a target. And this safe house we’d head to isn’t listed in any official databases. We wouldn’t stay long—just long enough to gather more information and figure out next steps.”
Mark saw Sam’s expression settle into resolve. Autumn and Sam shared a look, and then Sam turned to face Mark, appearing somehow both certain and defeated. Autumn’s safety was obviously essential to him. His own mattered much less.
“Yes, we’ll come with you.” Sam hadn’t said he’d trust him, but Mark hadn’t expected him to.
That’s okay, Sam. I don’t mind working for that.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The beautiful vacation home was situated on the edge of an inlet, the water only separated from the house by a small,sloped lawn. Sam and Autumn stepped onto the deck, looking out at the bare trees and the icy water. There’d been a deck overlooking water at the cottage where they’d stayed for weeks, but this one felt world’s different, and not only because this one was expensive and multilevel.
Because everything’s changed, Autumn thought, glancing at Sam. He hadn’t said much on the journey there, and he was still silent. Sullen. They’d stopped once after Mark had asked them if he could test a small vial of each of their blood. It could wait, he had told them. If they were averse to being poked by even one needle, he would let them choose, but it would help to provide some answers. So they’d both agreed and stopped at a clinic where they’d had blood drawn, two vials that Mark had sent to a lab he trusted. Autumn hadn’t asked what precisely he was looking for, but she welcomed any answers he might be able to give. She’d been looking for answers for a long, long time.
She’d called Bill and told him they were leaving the cottage and why, but not the details of where they wereheaded. Then she’d called Sheriff Monroe as well, who sounded relieved, which made her glad of their decision to trust Agent Gallagher.
When they’d pulled up to the house, her lungs had expanded slightly. Perhaps in the back of her mind, she’d held out in giving Agent Gallagher her complete trust until the moment he delivered them to the place he’d described.
She sensed in her gut he was a good and decent man, but she was also in a situation she’d never expected to be in, one that was changing and morphing into something different by the moment. She was struggling to keep up, having trouble categorizing her thoughts and feelings, so she simply held tight to Sam’s hand. Her anchor. She vowed to be one for him as well.
“I put your bags in the room right there,” Agent Gallagher—Mark as he’d asked them to call him—said, pointing to the room that overlooked the river.
“Thank you, Mark.” Autumn gave him a small smile. They hadn’t had much. Just the things Bill had brought for them, Sam’s duffel bag, which looked practically empty, and the few medical supplies Sam still required. Although required wasn’t the right word, at least not as it related to Sam. He would heal on his own now. The supplies wereherway of continuing to care for him in a tangible way.
There was the sound of a vehicle arriving at the front of the house, and Mark headed in that direction. “That’ll be Jak and Harper,” he murmured. “I’ll be back.”
Autumn walked to where Sam was standing at the edge of the deck, looking out over the lawn and the few barren trees. The water beyond was gray, reflecting the bruised sky overhead. She leaned against him. “You okay?” She wanted to talk about so much with him. About the program, aboutwhat he was thinking regarding what Mark had told them about the others, about the fact that they were involved in an ongoing investigation but shockingly not the one they thought they were.
“Yes,” he said simply, even if there were a thousand other words in his eyes.Later. We’ll be alone later.
