9. Jax

9

Jax

The infirmary was a very different scene when we arrived. It was surrounded by guards, with Cruz and his men hauling the crates out. At the sight of London, they stopped. He murmured a few words to them, and they continued. A few shifters in the infirmary had gathered to watch. From their eyes, I had a feeling that they hadn't even known the crates were in there.

"Maria, I apologize for the inconvenience. If you and the others working here could just stay for a few minutes, Cruz will have a few questions for you. Then you'll all be allowed to take an hour-long break while we do some maintenance around the facility," London announced.

An older red-headed woman nodded and immediately began corralling some of the others. Cruz joined them, and London led us to one of the offices. He closed the door and used the phone to call his tech guy. It only took a few minutes for Saul to login.

"Are you sure we don't need to bring him down here? What if she tried to hide the files?" London said anxiously.

"I'm fairly adept with a computer," Saul assured him. "If I can't find what I'm looking for, then we can call him back. Besides, since you already asked her to look into it, there should be a file…ah, yes. Here we go."

We were all quiet while he sorted through the information. Anna pressed up against me to get a better look at the computer, and I used the opportunity to sling my arm around her waist and pull her close. Her eyes flitted toward me in annoyance, but I didn't pull away.

Part of me wanted to crow in triumph. She'd felt my momentary panic through the mating bond and came racing toward me. At every opportunity, she'd chosen me.

Even when she walked away with Emerson, she'd done it because of me. When she gave up on me, she'd hoped it was because I was happy with another.

Maybe Saul was right. Maybe I was being an idiot pushing her away. I've done everything I could think of to show her that she was mine.

Maybe I needed to do a little bit more.

"Saul," I sighed when London was starting to look more and more agitated. "You're doing that thing where you make noises but don't actually articulate anything."

"Right. Sorry. So it looks like Makayla did test the vial, as you instructed. She reported that she found the liquid cocaine, but nothing else. She reported that she ran three different tests on her first sample?"

London nodded. "Yes. On three different days. The infirmary was rather busy that day. We were doing training with our new guard recruits, and on the last few days of training, they were not required to pull their punches. We had some wounds and broken bones."

Anna wrinkled her nose, but we did the same thing. Short of killing, the new recruits and guards were required to give their sparring everything that they had. It was meant to train them for real combat.

"I hate that week," Saul said under his breath. "It looks like she actually ran a fourth test on the same day that she ran the third, and she found ampicillin."

"The antibiotic?" I asked. Saul nodded. "Why wouldn't that show up the first time she ran tests?"

"I'm sure it did, but this was the report she didn't send to London. I think she forgot to delete it since she wasn't sending it anywhere."

London growled. "Why would she hide this from me?"

"I think, to answer that question, we need to speak to someone else. Do you mind if I email myself all this information to go over it more thoroughly?"

"You may print it," London said after a moment of hesitation.

Saul opened his mouth to argue, but I put a hand on his shoulder. "There is a breach of security here, Saul. London is making sure the leak doesn't get any bigger. I'm sure that if you need to log back in at another time, he will allow it."

The printer lit up, and Saul stood. "There is not much more than I anticipate being able to do here today. If you find Makayla, I'd like to speak to her immediately."

Since there was nothing more that I could do here, I looked down at Anna. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, I just came from a bar. Where I ate," she grumbled.

"Then a nap," I decided.

"I'm not a child!"

"Don't worry." I winked at Saul. "I plan on napping with you."

"Actually, I haven't checked on Janelle or Cindy yet. Can we do that first?"

Personally, I wasn't sure I wanted to do anything with Emerson's witch or his sacrifice, but Anna seemed attached to Cindy. I hadn't gotten a chance to know her since she was completely shut down. I could have left her there, but I could feel Anna's anxiety. She felt responsible.

Once Saul had collected his paperwork and headed toward his room, his lips moving the whole time while he read, I walked Anna to Janelle's room. To my surprise, it took a few minutes for the witch to open the door, and there were sparks coming from her fingers. Once she saw that it was us, she waved her hand, and the sparks disappeared.

When I raised my eyebrows, she looked to the floor guiltily. "I'm anxious," she admitted.

"So I see. Has anyone done anything to make you anxious?"

"No. I'm just trying to keep to my room until we make it to Black Diamond. I just…I guess I'm just struggling with who to trust."

"Understandable," Anna said, and peered behind Janelle. "Cindy is visiting you?"

Opening the door wider, Janelle let us through. "More like bunking with me. She's having a hard time being alone."

"She can speak for herself," Cindy said, her voice raspy from underuse. "And if you want me to leave, I can leave."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," Janelle sighed. "We didn't really get along before I helped enslave her mind, and now she has a hate/need relationship with me that she's really struggling with."

"That kind of power shouldn't even be in existence," Cindy muttered, but she stood from the bed and bowed her head. She was dressed in the same pair of sweatpants and T-shirt that she'd been given on the boat. They sagged off her thin frame, and she looked like she hadn't washed or brushed her hair in days.

"I should have come to see you sooner," she said nervously as she looked at me and Anna. "To thank you. It's just…I'm having a hard time trusting my memories and how I feel. I know I've been trapped, and I remember Emerson ordering me to kill myself, but everything else is hazy. Some mornings, when I wake up, I'm not sure who's a friend and who's an enemy."

Anna looked at me, and I realized she was waiting for me to say something reassuring. "I imagine that will take time. Anna and Janelle can help you separate truth from fiction when you're ready."

"Are you leaving me here?" she blurted out. "London said there were people I could talk to, and I thought he was insinuating that I'd be staying, and I don't know anything about him. I don't know anything about you either. I just…I don't know where I belong now."

"It seems like Elonso will take you back—" Anna began.

"No," Cindy interrupted in a panic. "I can't go back. Please."

"All right. You can stay with us as long as you like, Cindy. Until you feel more settled and grounded and know where you want to go."

"But if you're going to stay on Black Diamond, you will have to swear allegiance to me," I interjected quickly. Anna looked up sharply and narrowed her eyes, but I kept my gaze on Cindy. "Despite what you have been though, you are still from what I now consider an enemy pack. However, if at any point you decide you want to sever that bond, I swear to do it gently and without question. You will not be trapped with me."

Cindy looked at me and then to Janelle. "You are taking her with you. Does that mean that you plan on using her?"

"Janelle was granted safe and temporary passage to my land in return for some information. I have not decided if she will stay. It is in everyone's best interest that you do not advertise what Janelle can do. It's not that I want to keep it a secret and use her but that I don't want anyone else to use her. Do you understand?"

There was still some unease in Cindy's eyes, but she nodded. "At least I'll have Anna. My memories might be hazy, but I think I remember us developing a genuine friendship. Is that right?"

"It is, but like you, I'm still not entirely certain where I fit in."

My insides tightened, and Cindy and Janelle frowned at her. "I don't understand," Cindy said. "Aren't you the alpha's mate?"

"Sometimes we can't always let our wolves decide."