Page 55 of Atone in Darkness
19
It was a good thing the two strange men had such a tight grip on her. Otherwise, Marisol would’ve been in a boneless heap on the ground. She’d fought hard to convince them she should be the one to take care of Chase. When she’d tried to shove her way past them to get to him, these two had pulled her back to a safe distance and kept her there.
Instead the combat medic was fighting like crazyto keep Chase alive. He was doing everything right, but his efforts would be futile. Even with IVs pumping fluids into Chase’s veins as fast as possible, his blood continued to pour out just as quickly.
She wasn’t the most religious person, but that didn’t keep her from pleading with the universe to show mercy just this once. “Please don’t let him die. Not again this soon.”
The long-haired manon her right asked, “What do you mean?”
She tore her attention away from watching Chase’s struggles to meet the man’s cool pale gaze. “The guards killed him repeatedly over the past few weeks. The last timeit happened, I was there when he revived.”
She shuddered at the memory. “His eyes flashed this weird orange color, and he acted like he didn’t even recognize me, like I was prey or something.Then, when his eyes cleared for a few seconds, he ordered me to get out of his cell and lock the door, said that he was a danger to me.”
By this point, her whole body was trembling. “He told me later that he’s afraid the next time he dies that he won’t make it back. At least not as the same man I knew.”
The one she loved.
The man appeared even more grim. He looked over her head to his companion.“Eli, stay with her. I may have to intervene if it looks like Chase won’t make it.”
The other man looked confused. “But what can you do that Doc hasn’t already tried, Larem? It looks like he’s doing everything he can for him.”
Their conversation had drawn the attention of another of their companions. “Larem, what’s going on?”
“Chase might need my special talents.”
The other man looked sick.“Are you sure? You know how much your weird-ass magic creeps us out.”
Larem pulled a knife out of the sheath on his belt and tested the edge of the blade against the pad of his thumb. “I won’t do anything unless it’s absolutely necessary, but the lady says they’ve been killing our boy on a regular basis.”
The newcomer approached her, looming over her with his fists clenched and cold fury radiatingoff his huge body in waves. “I’m Lonzo Jones, and I’m in charge of this mission. Exactly who are you and what happened to him back in that compound?”
He was deliberately blocking her view of Chase, but she knew it would be futile to try to get around him. He was scary, but she’d face down the devil himself to help Chase. “I’m Dr. Marisol Riggs. Annulus Development Corporation hired me to researchthe significance of a particular marker in human DNA. I originally worked from the blood samples they provided and followed up on the work started by my predecessor.”
She kept her gaze pinned to Lonzo’s chest, finding it easier to talk that way. “They never told me where they got the samples. I’d already been there for a few weeks when all the guards I’d known were suddenly replaced by new ones.Shortly after that, Chase appeared in the cell in my lab with no explanation given. The guards would take him away sometimes for a few hours. Other times, he was gone for a day or more. He always came back injured. I did my best to take care of him and monitor his health.”
With some effort, she dragged her gaze back up to meet Lonzo’s. “Believe me or not, I had no idea until right before we escapedwhat was really going on. All I knew was that Chase had exceptional abilities to heal. I’m guessing that’s true for most of you, as well.”
He didn’t bother to confirm or deny her assumption about him and his men.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried as much as she had over the past few days. Right now, she just ignored the tears and kept talking. “It wasn’t until the day we escapedthat he told me that they’d been killing him over and over again. I have no idea how many times, but Chase was afraid that it might have used up all his chances.”
Lonzo cut loose with a long stream of curses, not that she blamed him. Finally, he walked away to join the one Chase had called Jarvis. With him no longer blocking her view, she turned her attention back to the drama still playing outon the ground in front of them. From where she stood, it was hard to see what was going on through all the large men now surrounding Chase. She could see his feet, which weren’t moving. The increasingly grim expressions on everyone’s faces didn’t help.
Another man moved up to stand next to her. When she glanced in his direction, she was startled to realize she recognized him. He’d been one ofthe original guards at the compound when she’d first arrived.
He must have sensed her scrutiny. Offering her a small nod, he said, “Doctor, it’s been a while.”
The man on her other side spoke up, looking at both of them with suspicion. “Tyson, how well do you know her?”
Tyson? That wasn’t his name. Before she could say anything, he looked over her head at the other man. “Eli, she’s not theenemy.”
The man grunted in response, clearly not convinced. Meanwhile, she leaned closer to the former guard. “That’s not the name—”
He cut her off. “I go by Tyson Dahl these days. You’re not the only one on the run from our former employer.”
Okay, she got that. Besides, now wasn’t the time to celebrate reunions. The discussion around Chase was getting loud and angry. For sure, his brother-in-lawwas clearly agitated as he and Larem exchanged heated words. Finally, they both stopped arguing long enough to look at her. Beforeshe could figure out what she’d done to draw his attention, Jarvis was up and headed straight for her.
He loomed over her, probably intending to use his size to intimidate her. It worked. “You stood by and let them kill him over and over again? What the hell kindof doctor are you?”
