I gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. Jonas held his hands up in front of him and slowly skirted the hood of my rental car. When he was in the clear, I had two choices: floor it and spray him with wet gravel from the saturated parking lot, or let him have his say, then tell him to go home—and by home, I meant Palmyra. I didn’t need him getting involved with what was going on here in Portland. And I didn’t want him anywhere near Vance Carrington.
How the hell had he found me anyway? Lexi had mentioned that some chick Kyle was involved with could now locate any clone. Looks like Jonas had wasted no time getting to know her.
What do you want, Jonas? I mindspoke so I wouldn’t have to roll down the window and get wetter.
He stood outside my door and stared down at me. Rain dripped from his hair and off the end of his nose. At least it was warm out. I refused to feel sorry for him.
Hi, Red. We need to talk. Let’s go somewhere.
I looked from him to the windshield wipers that were waving back and forth. No. Here is fine. Say what you need to say. I have somewhere I need to be.
Oh yeah? You going to catch up with… What was his name? Vance?
I turned my head slowly. Are you jealous? I let my lips curl just slightly. I knew this was a dangerous game. I’d had no intention of using Vance to stir up more trouble with Jonas. Hell, I hadn’t expected Jonas to follow me to Portland, or anywhere for that matter. As far as I was concerned, whatever relationship I thought I had started with Jonas was over before it ever began. Now I just wanted to save the “working relationship” we needed to have by finding some missing clones.
Jealous? He laughed. Of a guy named Vance? Hardly.
I’ll ask again. What do you want?
I need to tell you what happened in Costa Rica.
You’re too late. Lexi already filled me in. I can’t wait to meet Raven. I hear she’s a perfect match for Kyle. Is that all?
No. I want to make sure you’re okay. Addison is close by, and she might mean you harm.
I knew Addison had been following me; she hadn’t made a secret of it. Hence the flying drink tonight. But so far, she’d done nothing that put me in danger. Really? I asked Jonas, deciding I’d keep my secrets for now. I’ve seen no sign of her. But thanks for the warning. Now, if you’ll excuse me.
I peeled out, spitting gravel in my wake and leaving Jonas scurrying backward. How had he gotten that close and not given me a signal that he was near? Did he really think he could just show up in Portland and everything would be fine? With no apology for what happened the last time we were together?
It didn’t matter. I had family business to deal with, and I didn’t need Jonas getting in my way. If and when I discovered anything that affected Palmyra Atoll, then—and only then—I would tell Jonas.
~~~~~
I pulled into the motel, the nicest I could afford with what little cash I had. I had already maxed out my private credit card on plane tickets. I could always use one of my dad’s credit cards, but that would let him know where I was—and besides, I didn’t want to use his money. Basically, I was broke, which meant I was nearing the time when I would have to confront my dad.
But I needed information first. And Vance was going to be my ticket inside Howard BioTech.
The motel was painted bright mustard with grass green doors. Half of Oregon seemed to be painted green and yellow after one of their beloved universities. I scanned the area for anything suspicious. The motel parking lot was quiet, except for a young couple who looked as if they were returning from a day of hiking. By the looks of them—mud caked to their hiking boots and smudged on their pants—they hadn’t let a downpour of Oregon’s liquid sunshine stop them.
I gave my head a shake. Addison had a knack for finding me no matter where I was; surveying my surroundings wasn’t going to help. And now, Jonas could apparently track me down as well, thanks to Raven MacMillan’s ability to pin down the whereabouts of every clone in existence.
I hadn’t believed it when Lexi called and said Kyle had discovered a ring of International Intelligence Agents manufacturing trackers in Costa Rica, and that some innocent girl that Kyle had just happened to fall in love with was innocently caught up in their illegal movements. Poor girl. It was bad enough to be born into this world not knowing you’re a pawn in your parents’ scheme to clone humans, but Raven had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. At least that’s what Lexi had said.
And now Raven was feeding Jonas my whereabouts. My first order of business after I washed Vance off my skin was to call Lexi and get this Raven chick off my tail. I didn’t care how nice or innocent she was, I didn’t need her or Jonas snooping in my business.
I headed to my motel room. As soon as I was inside, I left a trail of clothes on my way to a hot shower. My parents might be from the northwest, but my body was not acclimated to the cooler evening temperatures. I liked Kentucky’s summer humidity, and I would use the steam of a hot shower to feel normal again.
After a twenty-minute shower spent breathing in the therapeutic steam of scalding water, I towel-dried my hair and, by habit, tied another white bath towel around my body.
As I grabbed the knob of the bathroom door, I heard voices in the room outside, and the sound of a door slamming. Then quiet. I looked around the bathroom for anything I could use as a weapon, only to realize I had left everything on the bed.
But thanks to my genetically altered DNA, I had another tool at my disposal. Digging deep, I searched for the mind outside the door. When I found it, I controlled that mind, making it see me as a two-hundred-pound, six-foot man with a deep male voice. To complete the illusion, I wore my towel like a man, hanging loosely around my hips, then swung the door open and stepped out like I was going to kill whoever was trespassing in my motel room.
“What are you doing in my room?” my male voice boomed as I turned the corner and came face to face with… “Jonas! What the hell are you…”
Surprised by the sight of Jonas for the second time that night, I forgot to keep up with projecting the mental picture of being a large man. Jonas leaned back against the bed’s headboard with an elbow bent behind his head. A lazy grin slid along his face, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes as they drank in the sight of me. That’s when I remembered the towel that hung around my hips.
I darted into the bathroom, yelling every obscenity in my vocabulary—which was vast, apparently. I moved the towel back up and secured it there. Then I stormed out of the bathroom and over to my open suitcase. “I want you out.”
“Aw, Red! There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I wondered how long it would take to see you naked. Even if it was only partially.”
My face must have darkened ten shades of red. “Get out,” I ordered through gritted teeth.
“No. Get dressed.” He didn’t move. He just watched as I frantically tore through my bag for clothes.
There went my night of crawling into bed with flannel pajamas and a late night movie. I disappeared into the bathroom again and slipped into a pair of jeans and a black sweater. After running my fingers through my red waves and giving myself a warning look in the mirror, telling myself not to get caught up in Jonas’s smooth-talking or his insensitivity, I exited the bathroom.
This time Jonas wasn’t alone. Lexi, Jack, and Kyle were there too, plus a girl I didn’t recognize.
I studied her jet-black hair and bright blue eyes. “I guess you’re Raven, the human GPS monitor for all living clones.” My voice sounded bitchy even to me.
She nodded, then shot a nervous look toward Kyle.
Don’t blame her for me getting to see you naked… well, nearly naked. It wasn’t her fault.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. She moved closer to Kyle, nodding in acknowledgement. I slid my hard look to Jonas. You’re an asshole. I can’t believe I ever shared a single intimate moment with you.
A look of… guilt, maybe?… flashed across his face, surprising me, before he replaced it with his normal arrogant smugness.
“I don’t know what’s going on with the two of you,” Lexi said, looking back and forth between us, “but you need to put it aside for now.”
I crossed my arms. I wanted to tell her, “You’re not the boss of me,” but I mercifully realized how immature that would have made me sound. So I simply said, “Why?”
“You didn’t tell her?” Lexi asked Jonas.
“I was just getting to it. We were dealing with a couple of other… mounds of issues.”
If I’d had Lexi’s ability to turn a mind into zucchini, I would have done exactly that to Jonas.
Lexi’s face hardened. She faced me. “Raven has tracked a small cell of clones to Portland, and none of us knows who they are or if they’re dangerous.”