Cornered (The Corded Saga #2) Read online

  The first few days after the fire had been only about survival. But as the days drew on other concerns set in. Bigger, more far reaching concerns that weren’t as easily solved.

  But we had a plan. We’d discussed it. Kayla had seemed to understand we needed to find Denver so we could get into Central safely. I only waited because I knew we had to. Nothing would be achieved if Kayla was captured.

  I thought over every conversation we shared since leaving the club after the fire. One stood out more than any of the others, and I found myself lost in the memory.

  It had been night, and I’d put my hands on either side of her face. Her skin was so soft—which seemed at odds with her years spent under the hot sun of the Rurals. “I can’t lose you.”

  “You aren’t going to lose me.” Her eyes had been wide and so full of emotion.

  “There is a very good chance I will if we go through with our plan.”

  “It’s a good plan.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not a good plan, but it’s our only plan.”

  “That makes it a great plan.”

  I loved the way her mind worked. She understood survival, and she understood doing whatever it took to reach a goal. At the same time, she got that not everyone viewed the world that way.

  “Denver is our ticket in. Otherwise they’ll never believe us. We need someone with connections so they will agree to our terms.”

  “I agree completely.”

  “But if we do this, if we go back into the city, I need you to promise to listen to me.”

  “Listen?” She balked. “That implies you are in charge. We are not at—”

  “I am well aware I’m not in charge, Kayla, but of the two of us I’m the less emotional about the situation.”

  “And being emotional about my sister and niece is bad?”

  “Being emotional isn’t bad, but it makes you susceptible to making mistakes.” Maybe that sentence had been where I went wrong. Maybe she’d interpreted my words to mean I wouldn’t trust her to make the decisions.

  Either way the damage was done, and my only hope was finding her before she got herself in even greater trouble.

  I hurried through the woods while attempting to also stay quiet. The sun was on its way up, and it was impossible to know who else was lurking on the edges of the city.

  I reached the city with no sign of Kayla. Either she’d had hours of a head start on me, or she’d hidden out. Considering her fear over wasting even a minute of time, I assumed it was the former. I’d slept deeply and longer than usual. It wasn’t like me, and I’d never forgive myself for letting Kayla slip away undetected. All of the other nights before I’d forced myself to stay awake to keep watch. Why had it been that night when I’d given in to the lull of sleep? Why couldn’t it have been one night later. She would have left the next day then. I couldn’t ignore that truth. Kayla knew what she wanted, and she would have waited until the exact right moment to go for it.

  I was a mess. My suit was in ruins, and I would stand out like a sore thumb. No worse than Kayla I reminded myself. I thought over my options. She would have gone straight to Central. She didn’t know where Denver lived, and she had no other allies. She would have recklessly turned herself in to Central for a chance to find her sister.

  Turning her in had been part of the original plan—but not like that. Not without the guarantee she would walk out the door with me when it was all over.

  I could head right for Central, but if she was already inside, I had no leverage to get myself inside or to get her out. No, I had to go to Denver first. He knew enough people. He would find a way to get me in.

  I got quite a few stares as I maneuvered my way around the city. I had money, but it was mostly big bills—the cash I’d grabbed on our sprint from the Club. I knew breaking one of the hundreds, particularly considering how threadbare my clothes were, would bring unwanted attention. I searched my pockets and found two crumpled bills. It was enough to get on the train once. I pushed through the densely packed crowd and onto the equally crowded train. I tried not to make eye contact as I read through the headlines on the newspapers several men were holding. The front page headline was still about Sray burning down. My name was bolded under the section of the missing, but thankfully my picture was absent.

  “What a waste. I heard they didn’t find a single one of the girls.” A young man with a grey coat pointed to an article inside the paper.

  The man holding the paper folded it. “Probably because he took them all with him. I heard he started the fire himself so he could steal the girls away from the men who actually did the work in Sray.”

  “I’m sure that’s it.” The first man shook his head. “He’ll get his due. No way he can hide that many girls on his own.”

  “There’s also a few members of the Circle missing. He might have help.”

  “Either way they’ll get caught. Just wait and see.”

  I turned away from both men, trying to choke down the anger boiling inside me. As if I would have started the fire myself? Still, a sliver of hope ran through me. If none of the girls bodies were found, maybe they were all alive.

  I tried to tune out all the chatter for the remainder of the train ride. I couldn’t afford to let anger get in the way of common sense. Time was of the essence, and getting myself into a brawl could slow me down for days.

  I waited by the door as the train pulled up to Denver’s stop. I jumped off and hurried toward the dilapidated red brick building where he lived.

  The last time I’d knocked on Denver’s door I had been in a completely different position. I had wanted help getting into Central, but not to save Kayla—to save her sister and niece, two people I didn’t know. Knowing Kayla was safe in my room had made the task easier, even if I still worried constantly about her. I would spend the rest of my life worried constantly about her.

  I remembered the knock sequence Jarret had instructed me to use the first time. Three long and two short.

  I heard the sound of locks moving and the door opened. “Get in.”

  I wasn’t surprised by Denver’s greeting, and I did exactly as he asked. Immediately Denver relocked all six padlocks.

  “Mason?” It wasn’t Denver who said my name but a light female voice. “Mason? Where’s Kayla?”

  I stepped into the dark room. “Addison? Is that you?”

  The dark haired girl ran toward me. “Where’s Kayla?” Even in the dim light I could clearly see fear on her face.

  “That’s why I’m here.”

  “What do you mean? Jarret told me you had Kayla. He promised.”

  “I am sure Mason has an explanation.” Denver rubbed his long unruly beard. “I cannot imagine he would lose a girl.”

  “Is Jarret here?” I let my hopes go up.

  “No.” He shook his head. “He went out to search for the other girls. He never came back.”

  “But he left Addison here?” I glanced around the dark entryway.

  “He told me I’d be safe.” Addison wrapped her arms over her chest. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and men’s pants folded several times at the waist. Clearly she had borrowed clothes from Denver.

  “And you are.” I looked at Denver. “Isn’t she?”

  Denver shrugged. “No girl is ever truly safe in the world today, but she is safer in here than she’d be almost anywhere else.”

  “You have a bunker in here, don’t you? With years of supplies?” I didn’t know Denver the way Jarrett did, but I knew he was a survivalist.

  “Of course.” Denver half-smiled. “I am not reckless.”

  “I know.”

  “Where’s Kayla?” Addison asked again. “Tell me, please.”

  There was no point lying. “She ran away.”

  “Why would she run away?” Addison’s eyes widened.

  “To find her sister I assume?” Denver led the way into a small and cramped living room.

  “Yes. I was going to take her. I had a plan. A dangerous plan, but
one that at least had a chance of working, but she wouldn’t wait for it to unfold. I guess she didn’t trust me.” It was hard to admit all that out loud, but there was no avoiding it.

  “She might have trusted you, but she trusted herself more.” Denver took a seat on a couch.

  “Where is she? Her sister is in Central…” Addison sat on the arm of a chair.

  “I assume she’s tried to get in already. I need a way in so I can find her. That’s why I’m here.” I wasn’t particularly interested in sitting, but I chose an armchair so I wasn’t looking down on the others while I asked for help.

  “What was your original plan?” Denver tapped his fingers on the arm of the couch.

  This part was even harder to say out loud. It sounded awful. “To have you broker us a deal. She was willing to be tested by Central only under the condition I came in with her, and she would be released with me. Her personal Cording would give us some rights.”

  “Not a bad idea, and it might have worked.”

  “That’s what I told her, but I knew we had to be patient. It wasn’t safe to go into the city yet.”

  “In other words, you weren’t ready to let her go yet?” Denver rubbed his beard again.

  “Yes.” There was no sense pretending otherwise. I needed his help even if I wasn’t exactly sure how that was going to happen.

  “I’ll help.” Addison sprang to her feet. “I may not be personally Corded to you, but I’m Corded to Sray. Even if it’s burnt down, the Cording still has power. Right?”

  I shook my head. “I can’t let you do that. It’s too risky.”

  “I’m not doing it for you, Mason.” Addison frowned. “What I said about the Cording doesn’t mean I feel beholden to you at all. I am doing this for Kayla. I know how important her sister and niece are to her. And I know how important she is to me. I want to do this.”

  “It might work.” Denver shrugged. “I’ve seen crazier things work in a person’s favor.”

  “Do you realize what you would be stepping into?” I appreciated her dedication to Kayla, but I wasn’t sure it was truly worth putting herself in harm’s way.

  “And what is my other choice?” Addison sighed. “Hide out here for days? Weeks? Years?” She turned to Denver. “No offense, Denver, I appreciate your hospitality.”

  He leaned back against the couch. “Who has time to be offended anymore?”

  “What if they won’t let me stay with you, Addison? Have you thought of that possibility?”

  “But they might let me.” Denver’s lips twisted into a light smile.

  “Wait. You’d leave your house?” I had been hoping Denver would use some of his contacts, but I assumed he would do it from home.

  “I’m not a hermit.”

  “I realize that—”

  “Do you?” He stared me down.

  “I do now.”

  “How does this work?” Addison sat down beside Denver. “What’s the plan?”

  “Are you absolutely sure?” I still didn’t like the thought of her getting involved.

  “Do you realize what my life has been like? Do you truly think this is the most frightening thing I have ever faced?”

  “No.” I hated knowing how much she’d been through at such a young age. Although saving Kayla was still my highest priority, I now understood I needed to save anyone I could. I was done standing back. Hesitation had cost me Kayla temporarily—I wouldn’t lose her, or anyone else, permanently. I would be the man Kayla needed me to be. “We will find you a better life after this.”

  “Do you really believe a better life exists?” Addison’s expression moved from determined to sad.

  I couldn’t lie, but I refused to give up. “I sure hope so.”

  Four

  Maverick

  I wasn’t prepared for the admission. I had been up all night watching Quinn. It was a bad habit, but one I couldn’t break. I’d never met anyone like her before. At first it was her physical appearance that called to me. She had such long blond hair, like nothing I had ever seen before. And her crystal blue eyes were so innocent, despite the evident fear. Clearly she wasn’t completely innocent. She’d borne a child, yet she had been sheltered and protected in a way I was unused to seeing. But it was the mystery behind her eyes that I felt I needed to solve. There was so much passion and determination laying just beneath the surface.

  I was positive she knew I watched her. She’d caught me once, but she’d closed her eyes again and fallen back into sleep. I’d left that night, but I’d come back every night since.

  I was nothing if not a creature of habit. I checked on Bailey twice each morning even though she wasn’t on my service. As a child, she was under the supervision of Dr. Tolerson. Still, I needed to make sure she was okay. She meant everything to Quinn. The only time Quinn ever smiled was when her daughter was with her.

  The new admission brought all sorts of new questions, questions I was afraid to answer.

  “Hello, my name is Dr. Morton.” I greeted the new admission the way I always did. Polite, but professional.

  “Hi.” She barely looked up.

  “I see you have been Corded. How did you come to be here?” I tried to make eye contact, but she wasn’t having it.

  “I was separated during the fire.” She looked down at her hands when she spoke, and I got the sense she was lying.

  “The fire at Sray Club?” I led her, but it seemed like the only way I was going to get any answers out of her.

  “Yes.” She nodded.

  The girl was stunning, yet familiar. She had hair just like Quinn’s, same color and texture. They also shared the same nose. There was no question the two girls were related. I had read over Quinn’s records dozens of times. There was no mention of a sister, but that didn’t mean one didn’t exist. “Why did you come here?”

  “I was turned in for the money.” She still stared down at her folded hands.

  “Yes… I see here.” I glanced at the manila folder holding her records. “But how did you come to be in the company of the boy?”

  “I already told you. I was separated after the fire.”

  “Yet you appear completely unconcerned to be here.” In fact she seemed almost relieved to be here. Maybe it was because her situation at Sray had been particularly bad, but considering her resemblance to Quinn, I had my own hypothesis about the situation.

  “Where else would I go? The Reine? At least you aren’t going to beat me here. I mean I assume you won’t.” Genuine fear crossed her face.

  “No. No. Of course not.” I didn’t like to see her fear. She was a relation of Quinn. I was nearly positive. Whether she was a sister or cousin was left to be determined, but either way I would make sure she was safe.

  “According to your intake, you are unaware of your breeding status?” I doubted two in one family could be breeders, but then again if they were actually sisters their family genes were rare already.

  “I have never conceived, but I have only had the potential for one cycle. I don’t think that’s enough time to make a determination.”

  “One cycle? You were only at the Sray that long?” The timing fit Quinn’s so closely. “Where were you before you moved to Sray?”

  “In the Rurals.”

  “Oh? Is that so?” Her answer matched Quinn’s. We’d already sent representatives out to the area she described. There was no one there.

  “And how did you come to leave your home?”

  “Kidnapped by traders. How else would I have ended up in the city?”

  “Sray doesn’t buy from traders last I checked.”

  She paled slightly. Another lie. I didn’t press her and instead waited.

  “I knew someone who was able to get me to a better club.” She ran her teeth over her lip.

  “And this personal Cording?” I gently lifted her arm. “Is it possible the man who branded you truly let you get lost in the shuffle?”

  “With all due respect, sir. Why does that matter?” She finally lo
oked up at me with blue eyes.

  I tried to hide my reaction, but the resemblance between her and Quinn was uncanny. “Because we need to understand your history.”

  “Understand my history? Or what? If you don’t like it, you’ll just let me go? I am free to roam around?”

  “No, of course we will not turn you out. We are here to—”

  “Then what do you care about my history other than my breeder status?” she interrupted.

  “It is important to know of any specific abuse or—”

  “Oh really? You want to know about past abuse before you abuse me?”

  “I already told you, you are safe here.” I was exhausted, so my temper was running on a short fuse.

  “Save it. I am here for one reason and one reason only.”

  I braced myself, knowing full well what she was about to say. “And what reason is that?”

  “To save mankind.”

  I blinked. What? I was expecting her to mention Quinn. Quinn, and maybe Bailey if she knew about her, was why she was here. I was sure of it. “Are you sure that’s why you’re here?”

  “Is there another reason to be here? Is there something else you do here I’m not aware of?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but we must know as much as possible about our patients.”

  “Patients?” She clasped her hands together. “Is that what we are? I never knew I was sick.”

  “You aren’t sick. It’s only terminology.”

  “What happens next?” She adjusted her pillows to sit up.

  “You get some rest.” I reached over to help with the pillows, but her expression made me step back.

  “After that.”

  “We will do some initial testing.” I kept my words as vague as possible. I didn’t want to needlessly worry her.

  “What does that testing involve?”

  “You have a lot of questions.”

  “Yes I do. Is that okay?” She stared me down again.

  She was fiery. That was for sure. I’d dealt with other women with an edge since working at Central, but this girl was different. She didn’t even pretend to have a softer side.