Indestructible Read online

  He struggled in the shallow water to free the log from the surrounding branches. “Try to think of this as a whitewater rafting trip. People pay good money for those trips.”

  “Because they have guides and inflatable vests. Oh, yes, and rafts.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Come over here and give me a hand.”

  She waded toward him. Trusting him was one thing. Hurling herself over a waterfall was quite another. But she didn’t want to be caught. Blue would deliver her to Sykes, and that terrible man would not only hurt her, but he’d also experiment on her baby. That couldn’t happen.

  They wedged the log free. The weathered chunk of wood wasn’t as big as she’d thought, probably only four feet in length. It bobbed in the water like a raft.

  Drew shoved the log away from the shore. “Hang on before the current catches it.”

  She swam up beside him. Her arms clung to the chunk of wood. Her legs stretched out behind her. “You know this is crazy, don’t you?”

  “Hearing you say that makes me feel nostalgic. You haven’t called me crazy in hours.”

  The expanse of lake that stretched before them was twice the length that they swam to reach the spit of land in the middle, but their forward progress was a hundred times easier because the current was stronger. If she hadn’t been freezing cold and running for her life, she might have enjoyed the view of rugged hillsides, shimmering waters and blue sky.

  “We can do this,” Drew said. “We’ve got the advantage.”

  Not unless desperation counted as a plus. “How do you figure?”

  “Blue is just a henchman. But you and me? We’ve got motivation. We’ve got everything to live for.”

  “And?” she asked.

  “We’ll make it.”

  With all her heart, she wanted to believe him. She clung to the hope that they’d come out of this all right. They needed luck, needed for Helga the troll to watch over them and keep them safe.

  The rumble of the waterfall grew louder.

  She paddled with her feet. Her sodden jeans rubbed together, chafing her legs. “When we get to the falls, what should I do?”

  “Don’t fight the current. Let it pull you along.”

  “Well, gosh, I should be good at that. Ever since I met you, that’s what I’ve been doing. Letting you pull me along.”

  “I haven’t steered you wrong.”

  “Say that again on the other side of the waterfall.”

  He turned her face toward him and gave her a quick kiss. His face was pale, and his wet hair stuck to his forehead. Even so, he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

  When she faced forward, she glimpsed the churning white water. Anticipation rose within her—anticipation and dread and the beginning of screaming panic. There was nothing she could do but hang on and pray.

  The closer they got to the falls, the faster they were pulled through the water. Drew had told her that he liked to go fast; he was probably enjoying this ride.

  “When we go over the ledge,” he yelled over the noise, “hold your breath.”

  Second thoughts nearly overwhelmed her, but there was no way to turn back now. The force of the water was too strong to fight. Whether she liked it or not, she was committed.

  The rushing water whipped them over the edge. Clinging to the log, she was propelled forward. The drop was four or five feet, but it felt like a mile. Roiling water crashed over her head. She submerged. Didn’t know if she was upside down or right side up. Her hip banged against a rock.

  Then she was breathing again, still hanging on to the log.

  They’d made it over the falls. Drew was still beside her. And the white water continued to pull them downstream.

  “Are you okay?” he yelled.

  “I think so.”

  They soared through the water, swept along at an amazing speed. The log bashed against rocks. They entered a canyon with a rock wall on one side. Swooping, they raced over another smaller waterfall.

  Her squeal of panic turned into laughter. Excitement rushed through her. This was fun. Still, she didn’t want to push their luck. “We should get out.”

  “Not yet. The water is moving faster than we could walk.”

  The creek narrowed, and they encountered more white water. More speed. Still fun. But her fingers were numb; she was losing her grip on the log. “I can’t hold on.”

  He repositioned himself so his arm held her against the log. Under the white water, her leg whacked against another rock. She felt the pain but knew there would be no bruise. She was invincible. They both were.

  The creek stretched into a wider space and the water calmed enough for Drew to pull her toward land. Her knees dragged against the bottom.

  As she released her grip on the log, Drew supported her weight and lifted her to her feet. Together, they staggered from the water.

  Though she hadn’t planned to kiss dry land, her legs gave out, and she dropped to her hands and knees. From there, she sprawled face-first onto the rocky earth. She’d survived. Unbelievable. And her Swiss Army watch was still ticking.

  She rolled to her back and stared up at the sky. The sun had climbed higher. She closed her eyes, and allowed the warm rays to beam over her.

  Drew sat beside her, casting a shadow. “How are you doing?”

  Good question. She hadn’t sustained any serious injuries. “It feels like I’m still in the water. Rushing along. We were going pretty fast.”

  “We were,” he agreed.

  Blinking, she looked up at him. “I liked it. The speedy part. Not that I’m planning to make this a hobby. But rocketing over the waterfall and down the creek was kind of, um, exhilarating.”

  “I’m glad.” He raked his wet hair off his forehead. “If our child takes after me, you’re in for a lifetime of thrills.”

  There were worse fates than being the mother of a hereditary daredevil. “First, I’d like to take a nap.”

  “I know you’re tired,” he said. “Your body is working at healing itself. But we need to keep moving.”

  “I know. Claudia said we should find a road where they can pick us up.”

  With a groan, she sat up. He caught hold of her hand and brought her to her feet. Squinting against the sun, she looked back at the white water. Far in the distance, she saw the waterfall. “It doesn’t look anywhere near as treacherous as it felt when we crashed over it.”

  “Those were some serious rapids,” he said. “I’d call it class four, maybe even class five.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Ratings given for rafters and kayakers. This stretch of white water was expert level.”

  “Wow, I’m an expert. That should look good on my resume.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, molding her to his chest. Their wet clothing stuck together. She was grateful for his strong arms holding her up.

  “Melinda, can you forgive me?”

  “For what?”

  “I’m supposed to be protecting you. Instead, I put you directly in the line of fire.”

  “It was my choice to come along.”

  “I should have known better,” he said.

  Though it was imprudent and irrational, she really was glad to be here with him. This escape could have turned out badly, but that didn’t happen. She had an experience that she’d never forget—something to tell the grandchildren. Their grandchildren. “Actually, I want to thank you.”

  “Okay.” His voice sounded a wary note. “I’m not exactly sure why.”

  “All my life, I’ve been a good girl.” A librarian, for goodness’ sake. Nobody would ever call her a risk-taker. “I’ve been reliable and sensible and safe. But not anymore.”

  With his thumb, he tilted her chin so that she looked up into his eyes. “Who are you now?”

  “A wild, exotic woman. Fearless in the face of danger. I’ve turned into the kind of woman I used to read about. And I like it, Drew. I like the new me.”

  “So do I.”

  His kiss wa
rmed her and gave her strength to face the next challenge. Or the next disaster.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Finding an accessible place to wait for Jack and Claudia to pick them up wasn’t too hard. After about fifteen minutes of hiking, Drew spotted a gravel two-lane road that wound through the forests, following the twists and curves of Spiney-Piney Creek. He wasn’t surprised. People tended to settle near water, which meant they needed access. He assumed there were cabins in this area.

  Though Melinda put up a good front, he knew she was exhausted and headachy. After years of experience, he had less trouble adapting to the aftermath of self-healing. Sure, he wanted to sleep and to quell the hammering inside his skull. But he could keep going.

  At the edge of the road, she balked. “If this is the only road in the area, Blue will find it.”

  “You catch on fast.”

  When she looked up at him, her eyelids drooped with the effort of staying awake. “What do we do?”

  “Hide.”

  He found them a nest on a cliff overlooking the road. They were hidden from view by a craggy rock and a couple of trees. He snuggled Melinda against his chest. Within minutes, she was sound asleep.

  Though he kept watch, he relaxed his muscles and emptied his mind, putting himself into a meditative state that mimicked sleep and facilitated his recovery to full strength.

  He came alert only once when a truck drove along the road. From his vantage point, Drew glimpsed the driver. A young man with a thick black beard.

  Not Blue. Not Sykes. Was it the other person he’d seen on the shore? He couldn’t exert the mental energy to think about that now. But he needed to know what they were facing.

  Even with the implanted GPS chip, it took Jack and Claudia over an hour to locate them. Their SUV stopped just below their hiding place on the cliff. Both Jack and Claudia emerged from the car and looked around.

  Drew roused himself and waved. Melinda was still zonked out, and he carried her down the sloping hill.

  “Is she all right?” Claudia asked.

  “She needs sleep.” As he tucked her into the back of the SUV, he explained, “In the self-healing process, blood rushes to the injury, depriving the brain. The result is exhaustion and a headache.”

  Claudia still looked concerned. “Melinda was injured?”

  “We went over a waterfall and got banged around on the rocks pretty good.”

  She gaped.

  “Over a waterfall?” Jack gave a short laugh. “You’ve got an amazing ability. Want to trade?”

  “I wouldn’t mind.” He climbed in beside Melinda and arranged her on the seat with her head on his lap. “I’d like to have more brain power, at least enough to remember what happened to me when I was a kid. That’s why we went to The Facility. I was hoping to spark some kind of memory.”

  “Did it work?” Claudia asked as she gave him a couple of blankets.

  “Not much.” Drew covered Melinda with one of the blankets. Their clothes were still damp, and he placed the second blanket on his thigh to make her a pillow. She snuggled until she got comfortable. Though still asleep, a smile curved her lips.

  Gently, he stroked her shoulder. Never again would he put her in danger. Never.

  Jack got behind the steering wheel. “Where to?”

  Drew noted the time on the dashboard clock. It was already after noon. Too late for his rendezvous with Harlan? His foster father had promised to wait for him, but Drew wanted to take some time to rethink their plans. His impulsive dash to The Facility had almost cost them their lives.

  Though he hated to share the location of his cabin, he trusted Jack and Claudia. “We’re going home.”

  He gave them the nearest crossroads for the cabin, which Claudia plugged into her self-contained GPS system. Then she turned around in her seat to face Drew. “Tell us what happened when you went to The Facility.”

  As he related the events, he realized that his headache was mostly gone. His body had healed itself, and he could only hope that Melinda’s body had responded in the same way, which meant the baby was unharmed.

  Drew ended his narrative with what, in his view, was the most important piece of information. “Someone was with Blue.”

  “Sykes?” Jack suggested.

  “Could be. When I looked at the DVD, I remembered seeing Sykes while I was being pursued in Europe. He and Blue could be a team.”

  “Or he could still be in Europe,” Jack said. “Some of the people who are financing him are international.”

  “But Harlan says he’s here in the States,” Claudia said. “Should I call him, Drew? Tell him that you won’t be able to make the meeting?”

  “Make the call,” Drew said. “I’ll talk to him.”

  Though he still didn’t trust his foster father, Harlan was their best connection to Sykes. He took the cell phone from Claudia.

  When Harlan answered, Drew was terse. “I can’t make it.”

  “Are you all right, son?”

  Son? Why did he continue to make that connection? The whole time Drew lived with him, Harlan was a marginal father at best. “I’m fine. Melinda’s fine. And I’m not interested in playing any more games. Can you set up the meet with Sykes?”

  “The only way that’s going to work is if I can convince him that you’ve decided to quit running and turn yourself in. We both have to talk to him on the phone. Together.”

  “Not necessary,” Drew said. “We can patch together a connection.”

  “Sykes has top-of-the-line technology. He’ll know if we try to pull a fast one.”

  “Is he in the area?” Drew asked. “I’m not turning myself in to one of his henchmen.”

  “I don’t know for sure where Sykes is,” Harlan admitted. “When I contact him, he’ll give me the information. As long as I have you with me.”

  “I’ll meet you at the house in Lead, tomorrow.”

  “Sooner is better.” He chuckled. “You always were a procrastinator. Never did your homework until the last minute. I remember—”

  “Make it tonight.” Drew didn’t want to walk down memory lane. “Seven o’clock.”

  He ended the call and held the phone out to Claudia. “You’d better turn this off. I don’t want Harlan to be able to track our location.”

  “This is a satellite phone,” she said. “It can’t be traced, but I’ll turn it off anyway.”

  “I’ll meet him tonight at seven. In Lead.”

  While they discussed pros and cons, Drew decided that he was inclined to go through with the meeting as long as Melinda wasn’t involved. He wanted to keep her as far away from Sykes as possible, and he still didn’t trust Harlan.

  In the back of his mind, he considered taking Melinda and going on the run. He looked down at her as she slept, and a gentle warmth spread through him. Her safety was the most important thing—the only thing.

  A question from Claudia interrupted his thoughts. “When you went to The Facility, did you have any memories?”

  “I started to have glimmers, but we really didn’t get inside the cave.”

  “I have some other photos,” she said.

  He shrugged. “I’ll take a look.”

  “These are disturbing pictures,” she warned. “There were people who died at The Facility and were kept in a cold storage morgue. Do you still want to see them?”

  “I can take it.”

  She handed over a folder. “Most of these people have been identified using DNA samples. If you recognize them or have further information regarding their connection to the experiments, it would be useful.”

  He looked at the cold, dead face of a young boy who couldn’t have been more than eight. Only a child. “My God, how could this happen?”

  “That boy was abducted when he was five.”

  Drew forced himself to confront the photo. “I don’t recognize the boy.”

  Drew looked at another picture. A teenaged boy. In life, he might have been handsome. In death, his cheeks were sunken. His sk
in was ashen.

  “We don’t have an ID for this young man,” Claudia said. “Any information you can give us would help.”

  Drew shook his head. “I’ve got nothing.”

  “The next one is a woman. She was in the first trimester of pregnancy, and the fetus was removed postmortem. Her name is—”

  “Pamela,” Drew said. “Pamela Forbes.”

  He stared down at the picture of his New York girlfriend, the woman he’d proposed to. He’d bought her an engagement ring and told her he loved her.

  Pamela was dead. The fetus—his child—was dead.

  His heart stopped beating.

  All thoughts of running were erased from his mind. Drew would do whatever it took to bring Sykes down.

  AT THE CABIN, Melinda felt rested. As she changed into dry clothes in the bathroom, she inspected her legs and arms for injuries and found nary a bruise. The ability to self-heal made no sense whatsoever, but she was grateful for this gift. Without it, she’d have been battered and beaten and probably hypothermic.

  She slipped into a fresh pair of jeans and checked out her reflection in the mirror over the sink. Yikes! A matted mass of tangles sprang from her head. Too bad self-healing didn’t extend to making her hair look good.

  Dragging her brush through the snarls, she belatedly recalled that she hadn’t gotten conditioner when they picked up the other groceries. It was a relatively unimportant lapse of memory, unlike much of what had been going on.

  When she’d awakened in the car, she’d been surprised that Drew was willing to share the location of his secret hideout. Something about him had changed. He was dark. Brooding. Angry.

  When the bathroom door opened and he came inside, she dropped her brush and went to him. His jaw was rigid. His eyes burned with a dangerous fire. “What is it?” she asked.

  “Pamela.”

  It took a moment for her to make the connection. “Your girlfriend in New York? The one who left you?”

  “She’s dead.” He breathed hard. His nostrils flared. “They found her body in the morgue at The Facility.”

  She remembered that Pamela had been pregnant. “And the baby?”