Page 65 of The Maverick (WaterFyre Rising #7)

CHAPTER SIXTY

VANESSA

My heart pounded so loud in my ears that I feared someone would hear it. Under the tarp, I glanced at the warm body next to me. It was a man in an athletic shirt. What kind of mix was in that so-called juice? It could’ve been in the water and appetizers too. Thankfully, I didn’t drink anything.

The boat motor roared, and my body shifted from side to side. I wanted to reach for my phone, which was in my back pocket, covered by the T-shirt, but I feared a slight movement would catch someone’s eye. I didn’t know who stood watch.

So I gathered my patience and waited.

“Pull under that warehouse canopy,” said Tiffany.

When the boat stopped, another boat cut its engine behind us. I swallowed the terror building inside me as someone lifted the cart and pushed it along. Based on the smooth movement, I knew there was probably a plank or level pavement for the wheels to roll without interruption.

I thought I heard sirens, but that could’ve been my wishful thinking.

Did anyone know I’d been kidnapped? Attikus had to know something was wrong when I didn’t return his texts or calls.

Willow was probably worried too. She’d have noticed my car and belongings were still at the gallery.

Even if she’d reported me missing, how would they know where I was?

I tensed as fear resurfaced. I didn’t know if I had phone reception. My phone battery was probably dead by now.

“Move the cart with that blond kid into the room. He’ll be the next testing subject tomorrow. Dump the others in the storage room,” Tiffany ordered. “Get the rest of the bodies, and we can go home.”

“When do we have to show up tomorrow to help with the serum?” a man asked.

“Six in the morning. Dr. Messina only has a few hours before his flight takes off,” Tiffany said.

My fingers curled, wanting to stab Tiffany with something.

My hatred toward her, Dr. Messina, and all these people working for the Modern Research Group intensified.

As anger rose, my fear faded. How could Tiffany dismiss people’s lives like this?

Then I remembered the gleam in her eyes when she showed me the keys to her fancy car. Money turned people into monsters.

We were lab rats for whatever they were trying to do. What was their agenda?

The door opened, and I sensed someone moving the man next to me. I heard a thump and forced myself to go limp as someone lifted my arms and dropped me onto a mattress. Something hit my right rib cage, and pain bloomed, but I bit my lip to suppress my moan.

When I heard the door click closed, I opened my eyes slowly to a dark room. The light from the window on the door cast a glow for me to see. When I didn’t spot any cameras, I looked at my rib cage and saw a man’s foot resting there.

I shifted away from him. My heart lurched when I saw about twenty bodies scattered on various mattresses. I reached for my phone—only one bar of reception.

I had several texts from Attikus and a voicemail. My phone had a little battery left, so I replied to Attikus—the one man I trusted to save me.

Vanessa: Help me. In some warehouse with a canopy over the canal dock. Suite 207. Modern Research Group. They drugged us.

A boom sounded next door, and I quickly tucked away my phone.

“Help!” a man shouted.

“Get him!” Tiffany shrieked.

Footsteps approached, and a scuffle occurred outside the door. I got up and peeked through the window, seeing two men trying to apprehend a man with a pale face.

“Get the fuck off me! What did you inject me with?” He kicked and punched the men with significant force.

They charged at him again, and he defended himself well.

“Did someone give him too much Serum99?” Tiffany cursed. “He’s too strong.”

“We gave him the new one, Serum100,” said one man.

“Fuck!” Tiffany barked. “You weren’t supposed to give him that until tomorrow, when Dr. Messina is here.”

“What the hell is going on?” a familiar voice demanded.

Tiffany looked scared as Brody Harris stepped into view and shot the madman.

“Sorry.” Tiffany jerked. “He didn’t react well to the serum.”

Brody glared at her. “Get rid of his body. Hurry and finish what you were hired to do, or you won’t get paid.” He turned and left.

I slowly made my way back to the mattress. The man whose sneaker had hit my ribs opened his eyes and looked right at me.

I put a finger to my lips.

He sat up, glanced around, and muttered a curse. “Come with me,” he whispered. “Hurry.” He had curly brown hair and a large build.

Could I trust him?

He crouched and moved to a cabinet filled with medical supplies, shifting it aside to reveal a vent. He removed the screen and gestured for me. “Go.”

What if this was a trick? What if he was pretending to be a victim like me?

I didn’t move. “Why should I trust you?”

“I discovered this evil research program a month ago. I had an interview scheduled with a news station but never got to it. Someone drugged me while I was at a restaurant.” He glanced toward the door, then back at me.

“Hurry. We need to get out to save the others.” He looked at all the unconscious bodies.

Intuition told me to trust him. I crawled through the dark space, and he was behind me.

“Keep going,” he urged.

“How do you know about this vent?”

“I helped renovate this building months ago. It’ll take you to the garage near the street.”

When I got closer, I heard a buzzing noise. A metal dragonfly with glowing eyes flew up to me. It moved past me to the man behind me.

“Shit,” he said.

“What?” I asked, crawling toward the street noises. Hope sprang to life.

“I think they’re spying on us. Move faster.”

The dragonfly lit up the crawl space, allowing me to hurry. As soon as I got to the street, I was going to run like hell to get help.

Sirens echoed in the distance.

I came to a metal grid and pushed at it. “It won’t budge.” The dragonfly flew out of the tunnel through the small space between the bars, leaving us in the dark again.

The crawl space was too small for me to move aside for the man. He should’ve gone first. Something hit the metal bars, startling me. Then someone unscrewed the metal grid and tossed it aside.

A face popped into the opening. “Vanessa?”

My heart leaped to see Attikus. He helped me out while Orion assisted the other man.

Attikus wrapped his arms around me for a long moment. I fell into his embrace as tears streamed down my face. I’d been in survival mode, and the severity of the situation was only now settling over me.

“You must’ve been worried,” I said into his wet shirt. “Sorry.”

He veered back and brushed my tears away. “We’ll discuss it later. The police will want your statement. Then we’re heading to the hospital to have you checked out.”

Attikus held up a hand as I opened my mouth to protest that I was fine. “Non-negotiable. You need to get checked. He does too.”

I looked at the man. “He helped me escape.”

With one arm around my shoulder, Attikus turned to the man. “What’s your name?”

I’d been so focused on surviving that I hadn’t asked his name.

“Jackson Hewitt.”

Attikus reached out his hand for a shake. “Thank you for saving my wife.”

More police officers arrived and spoke to Orion, and I recognized Detective Farmer.

Jackson shoved a hand through curly hair. “I hope the authorities get to all those people in there. This group is evil.”

Attikus nodded. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you some questions about the group. I want to catch those responsible for it.”

“Yeah, anytime.”

The two men exchanged numbers.

“If there’s anything you need, or if you need a lawyer to fight them for whatever reason, let me know,” Attikus said.

“Thanks for the offer. But I think I’m okay.”

Detective Farmer came to talk to Jackson while another officer spoke to me.

Throughout the entire conversation, Attikus stood beside me, listening. I had gone after Dr. Messina because of Attikus. I’d wanted to help him the way he’d helped me.

When I finished speaking to the detective, Attikus looked at me. “Just a quick visit to the hospital and I can take you home, okay?”

I nodded, but then my legs gave out, and I collapsed into his arms. He scooped me up and carried me to his car.