Cross Waves, page 15
He returned his coffee cup to the saucer. Victory was so near. He would not allow Cynthia to screw it up for them.
She took a small bite of her eggs. Not enough to keep a mouse happy. “How many more stones must we make?”
“At least fifty. Any more than that, and he’ll turn.” He paused and took his sunglasses off so she’d know he meant business. “We’ll have to kill him. If he turns, and we let him loose, he’ll track us and murder us in our sleep. But not before leaving a bloodbath in his wake. I have no desire to let a psychopath loose to come after us or wreak havoc on the world.”
He tried a bite of his omelet. Soft and fluffy as expected. The twitching slowed in his left eye.
“What about the girl?”
He frowned. “What about her? That ship sailed long ago. They work together, but Geneva Ericksen doesn’t want anything to do with Rolf. Word is she detests him.
Cynthia reached for her water glass and raised it to her lips to take a small sip, eyeing him over the rim. “His female companion told me Rolf retrieved a memory of Geneva, despite the pain.”
Gemcatcher stilled, the terrible twitch resuming its godawful jerk in his left eyelid. He took a few deep breaths to control himself before he did something stupid, like rip the damn water glass out of her hands, attracting the attention of the other patrons in the crowded restaurant. “How is that possible?”
Cynthia set her glass on the table and leaned toward him. “It’s not. No one else has done it.”
“Oh, for God’s sake. You’re proud of him. I can read it in your eyes.”
“I’m not proud. But even you will admit it’s impressive.”
He growled. “The only thing I’m impressed with is his ability to earn us millions of dollars. Anything more is a liability. You need to keep that in mind the next time you feel like making googly eyes at him.”
He crumpled his cloth napkin. His stomach gurgled and heated. He raised his hand, and the waiter arrived with their bill. He opened his wallet, pulled out a wad of cash, and placed a hundred-dollar bill in the waiter’s hands. “Keep the change.” He flashed the lucky Joe his million-dollar smile.
“Excellent, sir.” The waiter departed with a small bow.
Gemcatcher returned his attention to Cynthia. “Let’s increase the amount we take from him on Friday. Finish the job. It’s evident we need to end this fascination you have with our patient before it turns ugly. You have no idea what Rolf Jorgensen is capable of.”
He adjusted his tie and rose from the table.
“You exaggerate.” Cynthia grabbed her purse and stood. “Rolf would never hurt me. He was assigned to protect me. And once we erase his memories, he will have no idea he has a beef against either one of us.”
“That’s precisely what concerns me. If he’s able to retrieve his memories despite the drug we’ve given him, how do we know he won’t have a few other surprises up his sleeve? We can’t take any chances. Let’s trap his energy in the stones and be done with him.”
“What about Geneva Ericksen?
Gemcatcher grabbed Cynthia’s elbow, plastered a smile on his face, and escorted her out of the restaurant. “What about her?”
“He’s obviously attached to her. And now she’s poking around, asking questions. Makes me wonder if she’s as angry at Rolf as we think she is. What if she figures out where we’re hiding him? The woman’s got some serious tracking skills.”
They walked into the bright sunshine. Not a cloud covered the clear blue sky. He turned Cynthia toward him to avoid bumping a couple passing to the left. “Yes, I’ve been thinking about Geneva. She’s more resilient than I thought. The CMU, however, is now suspicious of her. Two men connected to her have died in the past week. It wouldn’t take much more for the government to turn on her.”
“What do you mean? What are you thinking?” Cynthia’s beautiful blue eyes were filled with both admiration and something else. Something he suspected was fear. Good. Much better than the lust for Rolf she’d displayed earlier.
He smiled, the first genuine smile he’d felt for some time. “It’s unfortunate everyone she comes in contact with seems to wind up dead.”
29
Near Miss
Rolf reared his upper body on his cot, his heart revving like his old Harley. “Geneva?”
He searched the space in front of him, lifting his hand to make physical contact with a form. Of course, none existed. He closed his eyes, willing a response. “Geneva, what’s wrong?
He strained his mind for the touch of her voice. Nothing. Silence. A dream. That’s all. His heart seemed to shrink in his chest. For a moment, she had been so clear, so real. God, he wanted her. His body ached for the feel of her hand on his chest, her lips on his. His mind yearned for her voice in his head.
He straightened his shoulders on the pillow and sighed, a large and ragged sound. Wonderful. Not only was he trapped in the dark, he was losing his mind, hearing voices where there were none. Not the time and place to go mad. He must keep his wits about him if they had any hope of escape.
“What’s the matter?” The cot sunk next to him, and the woman laid a cool hand on his arm. “Is it her? Your girlfriend?”
“No. I don’t know. Maybe.”
“You heard her? She spoke to you?”
He shook off her hand. “I dreamt about her. She spoke to me in my dream.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked me where I hid.”
“Would she come here?” The woman said. “To rescue you?”
“Yes, she would come. If she knew where to find me.”
“Have you tried talking to her? If you can hear her, maybe she can hear you?”
The woman was right. The first stirrings of hope rose in his belly. He focused his mind. “Geneva, it’s Rolf. Can you hear me?”
For a second, he did hear something—a swoosh—his lungs pushing out air. He clenched and unclenched his fists. The dream, and his constant fear for Geneva’s safety, stirred emotions in his gut and exacerbated his fragile state. Energy moved on the dark end of the spectrum. His own tormented shadow. It pulled and prodded at his self-control, driving him toward violence.
The dark in him always knew and responded to Geneva’s fear. He protected her. Maybe he should have linked with her? If he’d placed a portal in her mind, staking his claim, and she’d accepted the offering, their minds would link. They could talk at will. He’d be able to calm her fears and reassure himself she lived. Not sit here imagining her hurt or dead.
A muscle twitched in his cheek. Instead, he lay trapped in the dark, buried in this dark tomb with no sign of rescue.
“Anything?”
The woman’s soft voice interrupted his thoughts. He had forgotten her presence. “Nothing.” His voice rumbled, harsher than he’d intended.
“Maybe something’s happened to her?”
The woman voiced the fear haunting his mind. She sounded hopeful, damn her. For a nanosecond, Rolf could not contain the ebb and flow of his energy. Dark tendrils rushed out and in like waves crashing the shore, denying the woman’s reasoning. He grasped his hands and bowed his head. Not right. He didn’t want to hurt her.
The woman jumped. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
A drumbeat sounded in his chest, a slow and rhythmic chant. He reared his head.
The woman fled. Did he blame her?
“Geneva, it’s Rolf. Can you hear me?”
Geneva grasped the bedcovers, panting. For a moment, she thought she was still in Chicago in her hotel. Then she remembered Julia’s father had called with great news last night—Nonna had fully recovered and was released from the hospital. The doctors claimed she’d had a mild stroke, although they could find no solid evidence confirming the diagnosis. Geneva suspected Nonna’s illness had been caused by the Gemcatcher, but she had no proof. Julia had wanted to get home as soon as possible to see Nonna, so they’d returned to Cleveland on a red-eye.
She flicked on the light and rubbed her eyes, certain what she saw was a leftover remnant from her dream. Wisps of green energy clung to the corner of her bedroom in her Cleveland apartment, then dissolved and disappeared.
“Rolf? Is it you?
The silence in her head mocked her distress. She scrambled out of bed, ramming her psychic senses on full throttle and leaping over a pile of discarded clothes to get to the green fog. Colors rushed her, creating a familiar electrical surge, but none of the energy she attracted belonged to Rolf.
She slumped into the chair at her vanity table, cradling her head in her hands. There was no way Rolf’s energy could materialize in her bedroom in Cleveland. Was there? Of course not. Not unless his body was nearby. That fueled a line of questioning. Perhaps the government was hiding him in Cleveland? But she and Rolf would also have to be linked, and they were not. She could not control the shiver racing through her body, making her scalp tingle. Unless he had turned.
Her doorbell rang, shaking her from her thoughts. She checked the time on her cell phone. Six a.m. A little early for someone to be calling.
Geneva closed her eyes, placing herself in the zone. Familiar rays of violet light, dotted with red and gray, exploded on the psychic plane. Julia. A distressed Julia, if she wasn’t mistaken. Geneva rushed to open the door. Julia fell into her arms, sobbing.
“What’s the matter?”
“We’re in danger. The man told me. The man in my dreams.”
Geneva placed an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “Julia, it’s okay. Everything’s fine. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. Come inside.”
Geneva tugged Julia through the doorway and led her to the couch, where she pulled her friend into her arms to stop the shaking. “Shhh. You’ll be okay. Let it go. It’s a dream. Your dreams are one possible outcome. You know as well as I the future’s uncertain. Not even a dream man can predict with one hundred percent accuracy.”
“Yes, but this—this is different. The man, I know him. He’s been appearing in my dreams since I was a child. Several times his warnings have saved me. He’s usually right. This time he, he, he…told me…” Julia’s chest heaved.
“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe. I promise. Get a hold of yourself. Take your time.”
Julia swallowed, her sobs subsiding. “He said my life’s in jeopardy.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re fated to die.”
“Yes, but the man knows things. He warned me of Percy’s death. Told me he was connected with the crystals. Now he tells me my life is threatened. Only one thing can save me. But that’s not the worst of it.”
Geneva gazed at her friend, watching the play of color cross her aura. She’d never seen this mix of violet with spikes of dull red. Julia was close to a nervous breakdown. Geneva rubbed her back, removing some of the negative energy waves, and schooled her voice to an even tone. “There’s worse?”
Julia nodded. “Yes. Yes, there is.” Her brown eyes were wide in her face. Tears leaked from the corners. “He told me—he said whoever has Rolf would use him to kill me.”
A cold spike of energy passed through Geneva’s heart. “No. The dream man is wrong. Rolf would never agree to hurt you, his sister.”
“I know it. I do. But the dream man never lies. He warned me my life is in danger from Rolf.”
“But he told you something can save you. What?”
Julia gazed at her, eyes wide, uncertain. “You. He said you’re the one who might prevent my death.”
Geneva sighed and squeezed Julia’s hands. “That settles it. You’ll stay with me. I’ll keep you safe. I promise. On that, I agree with your dream man.”
She thought that might make Julia smile, but her expression remained scared and serious. Geneva studied her aura. Gray flecks mixed with violet. She grasped Julia’s chin and lifted. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Julia sniffed. “Damn that talent of yours. It’s…well, you may also be killed in the process. He says you will make a choice. And there’s no telling whether you’ll make the right one.”
“What choice?”
“I don’t know. I asked him. He said he was forbidden to say. You have free will, and he cannot influence your decision.”
Geneva snorted. “Sorry, but that’s convenient. If it’s a choice between saving your life or mine, you have nothing to worry about. I’ll choose yours. What now?”
“I’m worried for Rolf. Do you really think the government is forcing him to use dark energy?”
Geneva sighed. She couldn’t lie. “I don’t know. One thing I do know is Rolf’s strong and stubborn. He’d never let anyone tell him what to do. But who knows what his captors are capable of doing to him? The government has all sorts of ways to coerce a patient to accomplish a task. We need to find him.”
“Rolf, where are you?” Geneva called to him for at least the hundredth time. And for the hundredth time, she didn’t get a response.
Where was Rolf, and why wasn’t Peter doing more to find him? Come to think of it, Peter hadn’t spoken to her about Rolf since she’d arrived back in town. That was out of character. Could it be Peter knew where Rolf was being held but was unable to tell her? Or maybe—an ache twisted in her stomach. The truth ripped through her mind, a lightning flash obliterating every other question in its path.
Peter believed Rolf had turned rogue.
30
Plan
“So you’re saying Rolf’s a sociopath?”
Geneva stood facing Peter in the downtown Cleveland headquarters of the CMU. She’d barged into his office first thing this morning, ignoring his refusal to see her due to some trumped-up emergency in New York. He should know better than to dissemble. Even with the blocks the government put in place, gray bled through his arctic blue aura. He kept secrets.
“It’s likely, yes.”
“I don’t believe it. Not…”Geneva’s voice shook, and she took a moment to disperse the energy waves coiling in front of her hands. “Not that I don’t understand what they say about dark energy. It may be hard for Rolf to love another. But I know Rolf. He’s an honorable man. He’s not a killer.”
She leaned her hands against the hard desk to stop them from trembling. Heat rushed up her spine and out through her fingertips. A clap of thunder sounded overhead, and the lights flickered.
“Remain calm.” The sternness in Peter’s voice cut through her anger.
He raised his iPad. A long crack ran across the center of the glass. He gestured for her to sit.
Geneva forced a breath, sucking the air deep into her lungs. “I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a new one.” She breathed out, drew her energy inward, pulled the chair out across from him, and sat. “Do you know where Rolf is being held? Don’t lie to me. I’ll know it.”
“No.” He leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “Not yet, anyway. Your brothers have been searching.”
“Where?”
“Arizona.”
“And?”
“He’s not there.”
“How do they know?”
“Danny hacked Grimshaw the day before his death. He spent five minutes in the doctor’s mind—enough to know Grimshaw sent Rolf somewhere in the Midwest.”
“Was the doctor suicidal?”
“Negative. There were no suicidal thoughts. Dr. Grimshaw believed his cause was just. He experimented on you in the name of science. Used a special serum to immobilize you and make your mind susceptible to suggestion. We believe he shared the serum with a silent partner who provided the synthetic crystals.”
“Someone higher up in the government?”
Peter shook his head. “We were wrong about the government being involved. They don’t have him.”
Her heart beat a furious rhythm. She gritted her teeth. “A CMU agent is kidnapped from a government-run facility, and you’re telling me the government has no idea where he’s being held or who has him? You must have some intelligence.”
Geneva watched Peter for any sign of deception. He met her gaze head-on. “Nate also managed to do some hacking. The more conventional sort. He broke into the CMU’s database and made a copy of Rolf’s classified file. According to the file, the government doesn’t know where Rolf’s being held. No one does. What’s more, Grimshaw’s death was made to look like a suicide. The government believes, as do I, that whoever has Rolf killed Grimshaw.”
“Anything else?”
“According to the classified file, before Grimshaw was murdered, he made a statement. He indicated the person who collected Rolf was a CMU agent with the proper paperwork.”
“Who?”
Peter’s grim gaze fastened on Geneva’s. “I have no record of any other CMU agent near Dr. Grimshaw except you, Julia, and Percy. Percy is dead. I believe you and Julia are innocent. If the CMU doesn’t know who the mysterious agent is, then we must assume it’s a private citizen.”
Geneva leaned forward. “Of course. It’s this Gemcatcher, like Julia and I both told you. You have no other leads on where he might be holding Rolf?”
Peter sighed. “No, I don’t.”
She flung her hands toward him. Her eyes blazed, fast and furious. The room took on a scarlet haze. “Dammit, how could you keep all this from me? You know I’m the best tracker the department has. Why wouldn’t you bring me in?”
Pens and pencils rattled in the canister on Peter’s desk. A gush of wind swept the pile of papers he had been working on, scattering them in every direction. Peter stood, clutching the few papers he’d managed to grab to his chest. “Get a hold of yourself. Now!”
Geneva didn’t waste time apologizing. She couldn’t afford the time it would take. She closed her eyes and focused on the tangled mass of energy flooding the space in front of her. She sucked in a breath and another and blew it out, working to calm her racing heart and eliminate the psychic bomb about to detonate in Peter’s office.
“This is precisely why I didn’t involve you,” Peter said minutes later, after Geneva had the situation under control. “You’re far too close to Rolf. It’s like lighting a match and firing a heat-seeking missile. You’re liable to get yourself and the rest of the crew killed.”
