ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ Tethered ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Chapter 47

━━─── • ───━━━

• Luna •

Luna drifted into the void, oblivious to distress or other feelings, until a burning sensation broke through her happy reverie. The tingling started in her toes and moved up her legs and waist until it was a terrible cramp in her shoulders.

She could remember pieces of things. Her whole body, including her cheek, was pressed against a damp and cold surface.

Plaster? It made sense, given how icy and smooth it was.

When she forced herself to open her eyes and look around, her whole body hurt. A flickering light hung above, casting reflections on the cream-colored walls. She was inside a building, most likely a laboratory. She didn't know.

But she wasn't incapacitated.

And she knew that she would certainly wish for death to get away from whoever had her. She could guess it was Chase, but she didn't know.

Her stomach hurt so much that it felt like a storm cloud had come over her. Her lungs wheezed as she struggled to take another breath. Her forehead was damp with cool moisture.

Torture, lasers, and more serums ran through her mind like a roller coaster. There were so many alternatives, and each one made her heart beat faster, but she couldn't lose her temper. She had to get up and run away before more bad things happened to her, and not being able to use her abilities was the scariest thing she could think of.

They made sure she couldn't do anything.

Luna rubbed her hands along the floor and pushed with arms that were shaking so badly that she worried they might have done permanent damage to her muscles.

"Thank God you woke. We're in for a long night."

The sound of his silky, sophisticated voice made her heart skip a beat. She'd heard it for five years, memorized it, and prayed she could forget it.

Chase Marquette.

There was a deep laugh as if he knew what she was thinking. She sat up, cringing from the intense ache spreading from her ears.

"Why can't I . . . ?"

"Why can't you use your abilities, Lu?"

His voice sounded louder.

"We've given you something to subdue them. For the time being, at least. It's not enough to keep you from going ballistic on us, but it's enough to keep you stable. I like it when you don't have any control over me."

Luna raised her head, and her vision swam slightly before clearing.

Chase was only a few steps away, standing with his arms at his sides and his legs apart. He looked sharp in a black suit, and for some reason, she looked at the white paper in his suit pocket before shifting her eyes up.

When she had seen him a few days earlier, he seemed taller and lankier.

He looked like he hadn't slept. His blonde hair was spread out, and in the dim light, his bright blue-sky eyes sparkled. He was beaming down at her, 

as if he was thrilled that she had been brought to him. Even the thought of being in the same building with him made her stomach tighten.

She struggled to talk. "Where are we?"

Chase crouched, one lip pinched in revulsion once his knee brushed against the disgusting floor. "Does it really matter? Let me respond. No, it doesn't. You won't be found here. This time, you're truly invisible."

Luna thought of her husband, and Amir's name flowed into her mind. "My partner will not give up so easily. You're dead."

Chase shook his head back and laughed. "Do you think I didn't plan to give Amir something to do? Your husband is occupied. I doubt he'll show up before I'm done with you."

"His abilities have grown."

"Despite Amir's abilities, he won't be coming here," Chase said. "He would have had to go through my best men, and he would have struggled even if he didn't. That's a lot of work. They're loyal to me."

"You're wrong." She shifted her body away from him. "He's going to be here."

"You put your faith in him? Sickening," Chase growled, his face inches away from her. "Some of my guards are more powerful than Amir. He's just a disease I want to get rid of. He's not worth the dirty floor you're lying on."

She almost choked on her anger. "You think you are better than him?" She shook her head. "You're disgusting and—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Chase stabbed her in the arm with a loaded syringe.

While he put the needle cap back on, Luna's body went into shock. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. Her head hurt, and she couldn't swallow.

He tightened his grip on her chin and turned her head so she could look into his eyes. "Don't ever attempt to scold me again. Ever. If you want to stay alive, Lu, you will cooperate. I now have control over you, and what I say is final. Do you understand?"

Chase rose and let go. He used a tissue from his front pocket to wipe his hands, then threw the crumpled piece of cloth to the side. "You still don't get it even after all this time. You lack the intelligence to understand who is in charge. You always side with the weakest link and never take responsibility for your actions. You're in a worse position than the Defectives were when they all bowed to me and begged to live. I can't wait to hear Amir beg for his life. That will be both the beginning and the end."

Luna put her hand on the place where he'd stabbed her. There was no pain, just numbness, and a tingle. She was intimidated and angry, and she knew that she would have to follow his rules. It was a dangerous combination.

Her filters were absent from this party. "I think it will be you who bows to Amir. Not the other way around."

Chase chuckled. "We'll wait and see, Luna. You and Amir may think you are at the top of the pyramid, but you are actually much lower. Nothing can keep me from getting what I want."

"And what exactly is that?"

"My family back."

Luna scoffed, turning away. "You know that's never going to happen. I don't see why you keep doing this."

"Because it's fun watching you become powerless, Moon."

Chase then dug into his other pocket and brought out the key to her house and studio. Her stomach dropped.

He chuckled when he looked at them. "When my men took care of Elizabeth, I wanted to make sure your studio was in good shape when you returned."

Luna's hatred was fueled by her mother's death. "You asshole! You're the one who had her kidnapped!"

"And?" When Chase looked down at the key, his brows furrowed. "It's only one life, and it wasn't even a small drop in the bucket from what I remember."

She stared at him, sickened. "A life is a life."

"No. It is not. Another funny aspect about people like you. Everyone believes that all lives are equal. They're not."

Chase laughed, and the sound echoed from behind her. When Luna realized for the first time that they weren't alone, her hair stood up on the back of her neck. "Lu, not every life is the same. Some lives are more important than others, and some aren't worth living at all."

"Like your life?"

"Your antics bore me." Another near-perfect grin appeared as he stared at the keys. "I knew you would return to both of your favorite spots. Everyone told me you wouldn't because you and Amir didn't look at the house or studio while you were at Salvation Estate. No matter how naive they were, I knew you'd be even more stupid to look at them. All I had to do was wait."

She started to move when she noticed a slight whisper of movement around her.

In a blink, two hands landed on her shoulders, and she was quickly standing on her aching feet. Her nose was filled with the familiar smell of leather and seasoning. Sam.

Luna turned to try to get away, but he tightened his grip. Fingers dug into her arms and shirt, and she squeezed her mouth shut, but a gasp escaped.

"I figured you'd return to get closure before you went back into hiding." Chase walked up to her while holding the keys between two thick fingers. "If anything, you are predictable and moronic, but I find that fascinating. What did you want to get out of going to the studio?"

A sense of assurance washed over her head. She knew she wasn't walking away from them. She couldn't get ahead of them because both Sam and Chase were faster, stronger, and more dangerous.

Either she was going to die or she was going to be in their control from now on.

But she didn't have to make things easier for them.

Chase let out a soft laugh. "Now you're quiet? Funny."

He stopped right before her. She tried to move away, but Sam stopped her by staying still, and Chase ran the edge of her studio key down the side of her face.

"Lu, you are a very pretty woman. But the women we have with us are much more attractive," he said, moving the key to the other side. "Other than me, I'm sure many of my men would love to spend the night having fun with you."

Still staring at her, Chase laughed again. "Of course, there was Enzo, who you almost gave in to. Oh, yes. I also have people living underground with him."

Her mouth fell open at the gesture, which was made worse when Sam leaned in and ran his hands down her arms. "I'd be happy to go back to the good old days," he muttered. When Luna hissed, he grinned. "After all, we'd already made one life together. Perhaps we can make it . . . two?"

Chase's eyebrows went up. "Luna is filthy."

"And you think you are not, Chase?" she disputed.

"No. Anyone who sleeps with me is blessed," he replied. "I'm sure you remember how it was with us."

'I know you remember, Lu,' Chase's voice slithered into her thoughts.

In any other circumstance, Luna would have laughed, but she wanted nothing more than to lift her hand and start frying his body to pieces.

She had to use all of her strength not to break.

She sniffed. "That's the first time you've ever used telepathy to talk to me, Chase."

"And it won't be the last time," he replied.

"I remember it now."

"Remember what?"

"How I saw Sam in person before he called you. It was over four years ago. You started giving me medications to keep me out of my mind." She muttered something and shook her head. "You made me forget so many things."

Chase took a deep breath and kept staring at her. "That was the best thing I've ever done. Transform your life. You and Sarah."

When he said the name of her daughter, Luna's stomach tumbled, and she wanted to change positions but couldn't. Her limbs were paralyzed now. Completely numb. Whatever was in that serum made her immobile.

"Let's get to the point," Chase began, turning around and looking down. "Where's your group? Titus, and the rest of them?"

When she didn't respond, his eyes lit up.

"You're going to shut up now? How funny. Did you think that I wouldn't want our baby to live with us? Did you think you could keep Sarah from me and Sam all this time?"

Luna's heart was beating so fast that even if she tried, she couldn't answer.

Chase and Sam exchanged gentle tsks before Chase continued. "Let's say you finished playing in your studio and went back underground to Sarah. Do you think we won't find you? For whatever reason, one of you would come to the surface. We'll grab you. BARDA has tens of thousands of people, but hundreds of thousands more are watching. All my bounty hunters." He smiled. "Your people can't hide forever. We'll find you."

He shook his head. "But you're willing to take that chance, right? You and Amir think you can live without me and Sam, but you can't. We will always be in each other's lives. One big happy family."

Sam laughed behind her ear, putting his mouth close to hers. "If we don't kill you both, Lu-Lu."

There was no more to it. Every part of Luna's body could feel it. Did they want to kill her quickly or take their time? Her body twitched.

Chase picked up a piece of her hair and then put it back down. She found the answer she was looking for in his piercing stare. He didn't care if she lived or died, but he did want to find Sarah. He only wanted to know where she was and how to get there. He knew what Luna would do because he had been watching her for five years and learning her habits.

She had been delusional to assume she could bargain their lives back, but Luna didn't regret what had brought her here. Even if a lot of people died along the way, she would rather fail than do nothing to bring the people who led the war to justice.

A Defective next to her pushed her back against his chest, and when she looked around the room, she saw more Defectives lurking in the corners.

Dozens of Defectives.

She tried to breathe, but her breath got stuck. Her sense of calm acceptance from before was gone. When she looked at Chase and Sam's faces, Luna knew—oh God, she knew—that her death wouldn't be quick. Fear overwhelmed her. She couldn't use her powers, and she knew that this could be her last moment on Earth. They planned on killing her now.

Sam's slow smile made her feel as cold as ice.

Her painful muscles tightened, and her brain shut down. She broke free from the numbness she felt and turned to the side. When she felt a man's grip get weaker, she tried to get away.

Almost out of nowhere, a Defective showed up in front of her. Then she looked at him more closely. The mayor, Rolland Pierce, who was Lily's uncle. "Hello," he whispered. "I never had the pleasure to meet you. But I did see your body at Dr. Kim's . . . unconsciously."

Luna turned around, yelling.

Another man stood behind her, and the red in his eyes was sharp.

When she jumped to the right, her feet left the floor because an arm was wrapped around her middle.

Someone laughed, and Luna hit the floor so badly that she slid on her side. Her spine burned from the blow, and she was briefly knocked out by the shock.

She was thrown on her back when air rushed inside of her. Her head smashed against the marble floor.

Behind Luna's eyes, starbursts erupted. Sam was on top of her, with one knee on each side of her hips. His hand was around her neck, and each finger was tightly pressing into her skin.

Chase was behind him, standing still. "You just have to tell us where they are, Luna. Then you can die without pain."

She didn't know where her family was, which was a problem. All she knew was that Titus had taken everyone to another underground facility, one he could count on. She was sure that Titus could read people's minds to make sure that no one still worked for BARDA.

Chase and the others didn't know where they were, and he had to be chasing Titus because he knew Titus wanted to kill him. Plus, Matthew was still hidden.

He inhaled deeply. "Lu, I'm getting tired of this act. I want Matthew and Sarah."

She forced her throat to move around the painful hold. "Go to hell. I will never tell you anything."

In the blink of an eye, Chase's eyes went from blue to yellow. "That wasn't a very nice thing to say, whore! I'll make certain that you feel—"

He stopped talking and turned his head up to the ceiling. "You've got to be joking."

Sam had halted above her, with his fist cocked to the side. His nose twitched as if he could smell something. All around her, she could hear sharp gasps of murmurs and see the eyes of people change from one color to another.

Even though she didn't feel anything, Luna was still conscious. She knew in her heart who was there.

She raised her eyes to meet Chase's startled gaze. When Luna smiled, her lips hurt. "Warned you."