Ava

After I nearly had a stroke and a heart attack, everyone left me alone except for Rhett. He led me back to the other room. He scooted two chairs on the floor, facing each other.

“Let’s talk it through. What are you thinking?”

“I-I-I don’t know. These abilities ... these abilities women have. It’s something you’d see in a movie or on TV shows. What Zen said, it doesn’t seem real. How can Verlot ...?” I clutched my hands together in my lap, trembling under a mountainous rage. Too heavy. Every word I wanted to express clogged in my throat.

“I know. It’s hard to take it all in.” Rhett stroked a hand down my hair. “It’s okay if you want to wait, but sometimes talking about it helps. You know what I mean?”

“Yes.” I pressed my lips together, attempting to coerce my thoughts into words that were somewhat cohesive. Rhett said we could talk later, but I was so far beyond furious I had no hesitation. “These women have the right to know. It’s their bodies. Their minds. They should’ve been told. Women finally got equal pay and job opportunities, but keeping this knowledge from them is like taking away all those rights. To say it’s wrong would be too kind. ISAN, the entire network, is based on taming the power of these girls, girls like me. They didn’t want us to know the truth. They wanted to use us.” I laughed. “Because nothing ever changes.”

My face burned. No, my entire body shook. All the deception, oppression, and wrongdoing by Verlot.

“Taking memories away and leaving behind bullshit lies. I can’t even put into words.” I fisted both hands in my hair and suppressed a scream. “How could they? Why? I can’t stop wondering what memories are real and what’s ISAN filth. And what if I didn’t have the ability to ... what if I never remembered my life, or you?”

I peered up to meet his gaze, just as concerned and furious as mine.

“I know.” Rhett cupped my hands between his. “This is a delicate matter. We can’t just announce what ISAN did, especially since ISAN doesn’t exist. And if it got out, I’m worried how society would handle it. Will they look at every woman and wonder if they are special? How would others treat them?”

I eased my stiff shoulders and sighed. “I know. You’re right. We need to respect their privacy. If I were a citizen living a normal life and I had the mutation, I wouldn’t want others to know, just so they wouldn’t treat me differently or be afraid of me. There must be individuals out there showing signs of superhuman powers and keeping it to themselves because they’re afraid. We need to reach out, set up a secret organization to help them, or at least help them understand what happened to them.”

Rhett patted my hand and kissed the back of it. “You’re right. When this is all over, we’ll set it up together. And I know our friends will want to help.”

Though this knowledge would haunt me, knowing we could do something about it made me feel a whole lot better. First things first—we had to bring down ISAN.

“I’d like that. Together.” I smiled, a thin-lipped one.

Rhett tilted his head as if he suddenly remembered something. “I have a question I’ve been wanting to ask. You stopped those bullets at Mitch’s apartment, didn’t you? You saved our lives.”

I had tried not to think of what I’d done that day, but the way Rhett looked at me with reverence and not suspicion or disgust had me almost smiling.

I dropped my hands to my side. “Yeah. I did, but I don’t know how I did it. I think desperation and fear. The thought of you, Oz, Reyna, and Cleo falling to your deaths ignited something inside me. I never had the chance to explore it after that.”

Rhett nodded his understanding. “It’s okay. When you feel up to it, you should try again. Not stopping bullets of course. Something small, like moving a chair or taking a gun away from me, and then move to something bigger. Doing more than your body is ready for might cause you to faint or lose control.”

Yeah. I know the feeling.

“Okay.”

He nailed it. I recalled fainting, but I didn’t mention it.

“I have good news to share in light of all that has happened.”

“What is it?”

“We were able to save some of the southern rebels, and you’re not going to believe this, but they’re young. Very young. Like twelve and thirteen.”

My mouth widened, unexpected joy filling me. I’d wanted to ask about them when I had a chance, but he’d beaten me to it.

“That’s wonderful. Mr. Novak made it sound like he wiped them out. But he likes to make himself seem invincible.”

Rhett drew his eyebrows together, pain in his eyes. “There were deaths, too many, but we did save lives. One of the girls is kind of a pain in my ass sometimes, but very brave.” He let out a light chuckle. “She said something to me. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but she said she didn’t need Helix and that she had natural ability. I saw her in action. Quite impressive. We should talk to her when you’re ready. Maybe we can get some questions answered.”

“Okay.”

Rhett spread out his legs to pull me in closer. “Are you ready to find out who your twin is?”

I met his warm amber eyes that put me under his spell every time. I could lose myself in them and float away.

“Yes. I’ve been ready. But a part of me doesn’t want to know. I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but I’m so scared.”

Rhett pulled back, looking at me as if I were a stranger. “Ava, scared? Now that’s a first.”

Rhett chuckled, his chest shaking. It took every bit of my will to push away the image of us in our pretend home, and the urge to kiss him at that moment. His sinister grin and the five o’clock shadow lining his jaw overthrew my rational thoughts.

Rhett matched his forehead against mine and dropped his voice. “I thought I’d lost you. You gave me a huge scare. You’re going to owe me for that.”

I lifted my chin and draped my arms around his shoulders. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m going to give you plenty.” My flirtatious attempt fell totally flat, and from the somber expression on Rhett’s face, I knew he felt it.

“Brooke is going to be okay. We’ll go together and get the things Zen needs tomorrow. It’s almost nine. You need your rest.”

“Okay.”

Rhett gave me a beautiful smile. “I’m so happy. I can’t believe you’re here for good.”

I opened my eyes, breathless. “Yes. I’m happy, too.”

I sounded like a lovesick fool, and though I felt guilty for having these wonderful feelings while Brooke was in a coma, I told myself Rhett deserved it at least. He had gone through hell and back for me. He merited my attention, my affection. He deserved to be happy. I didn’t want to kill the moment.

He stroked a knuckle down my face. “You must be hungry. I’ll get you something to eat. Would you like to come with me?”

“Could we do something first?” I shivered, the cool damp air caressing me. The comfort of freedom, not the perfect temperature at ISAN.

“I’m guessing you want to talk to Zen.”

I stroked his cheek, traced the length of his nose, and glided my finger along his bottom lip. For a moment, I lost myself to him.

“Yes. I should speak to him first before I eat.”

“I’ll be waiting for you right outside the door. Unless you want me to come, too. Together. We do this together. The good and the bad. Whatever it takes.”

“Yes. Whatever it takes.”

I’d finally made it home.

No more ISAN. No more Helix. No more protein drinks. ISAN didn’t own me anymore. I was free. And in due time, ISAN would fall.