Page 65 of Remnants
Cassandra kneels awkwardly with one arm still in a sling, then places her free hand on the side of his face and closes her eyes. Her brows pinch, lips pressed together. “He’s alive. Barely. I’ll do as much as I can to get him stable.”
“I’ll bring him to the infirmary when you’re done.” Aiden’s gaze circles to everyone else. “The rest of you, get back to training. It’ll be at least a day before he recovers enough to give us some answers.”
“Are we sure he shouldn’t be locked up next to Harvey?” Dane questions, his expression serious. “This guy lied to us from thebeginning. He said that he and Tinsley joined GE a while back. And he had no information to give us about locations because he’d been portaled everywhere.” He jabs a finger at Reid. “Heis the closest connection we have with the CEO of Gifted Enterprise.”
“He’s the reason we’re here right now,” I remind him. “If not for his gift, Charles would have killed me and locked you away in a lab where no one could find you.”
Dane releases a frustrated sigh and runs a hand through his hair. “I get that, but what if he disappears on us again? What if he gets healed like he wants, and then teleports away without another word?”
“You volunteering to hold his hand until we can talk to him?” Kellan drawls, a grin stretching his lips.
“He’s not going anywhere,” Aiden smoothly counters. “He tried on his own, and this is where it got him. Back to us. We’ll let him recover first and then we’ll get answers. For now, all you need to worry about is training.”
Cassandra withdraws her hand, the glow fading from her eyes as she peers up to Aiden and nods.
I exchange a look with Dane, who still looks nervous that Reid will run the second he has a chance to. I hope Aiden’s right, and he’ll stay. He’s been the reason the guys have been able to save me as many times as they did. I owe him for that.
Two days pass before Aiden calls us to the Guild infirmary to talk toReid. He’s sitting up in the twin bed at the far end of the room right next to the window. He’s wearing a plain navy shirt, his legs hidden beneath the white sheet and blanket, as he stares out the window. Aiden sits in a folding chair on one side, his suit jacket off on the bed behind him and his tie hanging loose.
Reid’s head spins toward us at the sound of our footsteps. His blue gaze stops on me, and the small crease in his forehead clears.
Aiden unfolds another chair next to his and looks at me, silently but clearly indicating I should sit in it. Once I do, Jackson perches on the bed behind us, lying on his side with his head resting in his hand. Dane leans against the footboard of the bed across from Reid while Kellan takes up a spot in front of the window.
Aiden stashes his phone away in his pocket and laces his fingers together. “We’re all here now, so you can begin.”
Reid pulls his stare from me to Aiden. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” Dane replies.
Aiden doesn’t look away from Reid. “The truth.”
The teleporter nods solemnly. His eyes return to me. “I’m assuming they told you already that I’m your half-brother.” I give him a small nod. “My mother died in childbirth, so I was raised by a nanny and Charles. He had me go with him nearly everywhere since I was five years old so I could learn the business.”
“You daddy’s heir, then?” Kellan asks.
Reid blinks, glancing his way to answer. “If his first plans failed, then that was probably his last resort.”
“What do you mean?” I speak up, confused.
“If things go his way, and they usually do, he’ll find a way to become immortal. To never die. There would be no need for an heir, then. Just a right-hand man to carry out the work he gets tired of.”
Dane rolls his eyes and scoffs. I agree. What big bad doesn’t go seeking immortality to keep everything they’ve spent a lifetime to build? I haven’t heard of a gifted person with that ability yet, but it’s a big world. And Charles’s annoying ability to steal gifts makes something like that even more possible.
“We should find anyone with a gift like that and keep them hidden before he finds them,” Dane remarks.
“No,” Jackson immediately responds, and Dane frowns at him, but it’s Aiden who elaborates.
“We could lead Charles right to them if we go looking too. It’s better to take him out as quickly as possible before that person is found.”
“Hopefully there’s not more than one of them out there,” Kell says.
“Hopefully there’sno oneout there with that gift right now,” I add.
“What else can you tell us about him? About Gifted Enterprise?” Aiden steers the questions back to Reid.
“He’s ruthless. And calculating. He’s always one step ahead of you, no matter what you try. He maps out every possible scenario and comes up with plans for each of them. When one plan doesn’t work out, he moves to the next one. And so on. His contingency plans have contingency plans. Even if his plan doesn’t take the original direct route to get there, he’ll still have enough backups in placeto get him to his end goal regardless.”
Well, fuck.
