Page 4 of Raze
“You’re wrong, Dane,” she shouts back. “They are the ones who saved me. Who have helped me. Now I’m going to help them. And you can help them, too. We can do it together.” Her smile sharpens. “Come with me, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
“And what about us?” Aiden steps forward to draw her attention. “He’s not going anywhere without his brothers.”
“You’re not his brothers,” she spits. “He’s mine, and he can go wherever he wants.” Vera shoots Dane a pleading look. “See how they want to control you? They’re all manipulating you. Come with me and you’ll be free.”
“Are you kidding me?” I snap at her. “Thatwas the most manipulative thing I’ve ever heard. What do you want, Vera? Just tell the truth for once. You’re not here out of any love for your brother.You’re here as a GE goon to kidnap Dane.”
I reach for his arm. “Dane, you can’t trust—”
“Don’t!” He yanks his arm from my grip and finally looks at me. His face is pale with shock, his gold-green eyes wide and shimmering with emotion. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t care. My sister is alive and I’m not leaving here without her.”
Vera smirks at me. “Come on, Dane. Let’s go.” She extends her hand out, beckoning him to her. To Gifted Enterprise.
To a lab where I know she’ll stop at nothing to achieve her goal for Gordon. Even if that means killing her own brother.
Kellan moves between us and Vera, and she takes another step closer to the helicopter. “What’s this? No love for an old friend? I thought we meant more to each other than this,” he teases.
“Stop it, Kell. You’re scaring her.” Dane reaches to grab him. Jackson follows behind and pinches the side of Dane's neck. “What are—” His eyes shutter closed, and he drops.
“Dane!” I lunge forward, but Jackson catches him with air so he’s hovering a few inches from the ground.
Aiden stands beside Kellan to face Vera. “You know that none of us can go with you when that means going back to GE. Butyou cancome back with us. You’re still family, Vera. We won’t hurt you. You can fight with us or just live whatever life you want. But we all missed you and want you home.Danewants you home and safe.”
Vera scoffs at the barrier they’ve created between her and a now unconscious Dane. Now, there’s no way she’s going to get him out of here on her own. “You’re all fools going against GE. They’re fighting for people like us. I’m as safe as I’ll ever be. So, thanks, butno thanks.” She turns and runs to the helicopter.
“Can you stop it?” I ask Jackson, pointing to the spinning blades. He regards it with the tilt of his head, then raises his hand.
“Stop!” Aiden knocks his hand down. “We can’t take the chance if something goes wrong and Vera gets hurt. Just let her go. Knowing she’s still alive has to be enough for now.”
Maybe they’re relieved to see she’s alive, but I know that this only means more trouble is coming for us. The helicopter disappears from view, and I'm filled with with an ominous sense of foreboding.
We make it back to the safe house and I bee-line it to Jackson’s room with my phone. I’d tried calling Portia and Elias on the way back, but neither of them answered. I need to hear her voice to know that she made it out of there and is okay. Now I’m pacing around Jack’s room while the phone rings in my ear for the hundredth time.
“Come on. Pick up. Pick up!” Portia’s voicemail clicks on, and I end the call. I switch over to Elias’s number. If I had Noah’s number, I’d be calling him, too. Any chance that someone might pick up and tell me what’s going on.
Why isn’t she answering? If they got her out, what could they be doing that they can’t take a call?
“Aiden says they got out,” Jack says calmly from where he’s leaning in the doorway. His hands are tucked into his front hoodie pocket, his hood up and shadowing his face. But the darkness can’thide his piercing blue eyes that are trained on me.
“Then why isn’t anyone answering their damn phones?” I snap, frustrated. This entire mission was to rescue Portia. I can't rest until I know she's safe.
I spin around to the escape hatch in Jackson’s room that’ll take me to the roof. I can start with Hype and ask around if anyone knows where Elias went.
“Rae,” a tight voice speaks into my ear.
I freeze. “Elias?! Where’s Portia? Why isn’t she answering her phone? Aiden said you all got out.”
There’s a heavy sigh on the other end. “We did. But…whatever they did to her brought back all her memories of the past. Once we left, she gave us all the slip. Left a note and told us not to follow her.”
Fear for my friend squeezes my chest. “You’re not going to listen, not after what just happened, right? It’s not safe for her to be alone right now. Not while GE knows about her.”
“Of course not. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get her back.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “How can I help?”
Silence.
“Elias?”
