Chapter 25

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

Cement filled Tori's lungs.

If only she'd thought to grab something to defend herself with . . . maybe she could have at least bought herself some time as she fended off the bad guys.

Now she'd be at the mercy of whoever was in the room with her.

She wanted to press her eyes shut. To disappear.

If only that were possible . . .

Footsteps stopped in front of her.

Time seemed to pause.

All she could hear was her heart beating.

Who was standing there, mere feet away?

Gage? Kai? Or someone with sinister motives?

Her lungs froze as she waited.

Please, God . . .

She forced her eyes open.

Gage's face appeared.

The air left her lungs in a whoosh.

It was him. He was okay.

Thank You, Jesus!

But what about Kai?

Gage reached out his arm. "We need to go. Now."

Tori grabbed his hand, and Gage pulled her from under the desk. Together, they dashed from the office and down the hall.

A few seconds later, Kai appeared, running beside them.

She glanced at the floor at one of the men who'd infiltrated the office. He lay unconscious, blood drizzling from his forehead.

She carefully stepped over him. But Gage moved fast. Really fast. She hardly had time to think about anything.

The next instant, they were out the door. Gage grabbed the camera. Then they sprinted across the parking lot.

They jumped into Gage's SUV and squealed away from the building.

Tori's thoughts could hardly catch up with her actions.

Before they could have any real conversation, Gage pulled off the highway down a less-traveled road. Then he turned again and again until finally they were on a country lane. He pulled between some trees, out of sight from anyone passing.

He cut the engine and turned to them. "Everything okay?"

Tori nodded, even though she wasn't sure at all that everything was okay. Her head was still spinning. "Who were those guys?"

"There'll be time to ask questions later." Kai pulled something from his pocket. "First, I need you to remove the trackers from me and Gage."

Her eyes widened when she saw the scalpel in his hands. Panic fluttered through her.

Had she heard him correctly? "What?"

"You heard me. I need it out of me." Kai glanced at Gage. "We need to tell the rest of the guys about this also. We're all being tracked and are at the mercy of whoever is behind this . . . this . . . this experiment."

The impact of his words hit Tori, making her heart stammer even more.

Kai handed her the scalpel he must have grabbed from the doctor's office.

Her hands trembled as she held it.

Could she do this? What if she messed up somehow and made things worse?

As Kai stared at her, Tori realized she didn't have much time to figure out exactly what she wanted to do.

As they stood on the side of the country road, surrounded by woods, Kai's thoughts raced.

He had to make Tori realize just how important this was. Now that he knew this chip was there, he couldn't go another moment with it implanted inside him.

He turned to face her more fully. "We'll never get away if we have these chips inside us. They'll be able to find us anywhere. They'll be able to find us right now."

Tori stared at him with wide eyes. "It's not going to feel good."

"I can handle it," he reassured her.

"I . . . I don't have any other medical supplies. We need some antiseptic or something to clean you up. And I'll need to stitch you up afterward?—"

"We can worry about that later, after the chips are out."

She hesitated another moment before offering a shaky nod. "Okay."

Relief swept through him. Kai knew she was reasonable, that she'd be able to see the importance of this.

He just wasn't sure how long it would take her to have that realization. Thankfully, it had come sooner rather than later.

"We're going to need to sit in the back of the SUV," she told him. "I'll need some space and a steady hand. And what about tweezers? Do either of you guys have something I could use?"

"I don't have tweezers, but there's an old pair of pliers back there," Gage said. "Would that work?"

"An old pair?" She swallowed hard again. "If that's all we've got, then I guess I can make it work. But they have to be sterilized first."

"I grabbed some alcohol wipes, so I'll clean it up," Gage told her.

They walked around to the back, and Gage opened the hatch. Kai sat on it and pulled his shirt off. The dome light from the vehicle fell softly on his shoulders. Then Gage pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

Tori was still trembling as she turned to Kai.

He understood where this would be unnerving. But they had no other choice.

"You can do this." Kai believed those words. Tori could do this. She was more than capable.

"I know, it's just that . . . without anything to numb this?—"

"You don't worry about me." Kai turned and locked gazes with her. "All I care about is getting this out. You can understand that, right?"

She sucked in a breath before nodding slowly, seeming to center herself. Then she ran her fingers over his collarbone and shoulder.

"You feel anything?" he asked quietly.

"I don't." She took an alcohol wipe and sanitized the scalpel. Then grabbed another wipe and ran it against Kai's skin. "The X-ray showed it was in this area. It must be in there pretty deep."

"I'll be okay," he tried to reassure her.

But her breathing was a little too shallow for his comfort.

"Here goes," she murmured.

The scalpel sliced into his skin.

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.

Yes, it hurt.

But Kai would bear whatever pain necessary if it meant getting this chip out of him.