“And how am I seeing it?” she sounded distracted, her eyes still glued to the screen.

  Peter shrugged. “We hacked their system.”

  Marco reached out to slap Rooney’s palm. “Attaboy. I knew you’d be useful someday.”

  Rooney’s lips twisted in a wry smile. Everyone stared at the screen, once again silent.

  “But why?” Jane whispered, and cleared her throat. “Why go to all this trouble just to avoid us? Look at it, it’s insane.”

  Peter held up a finger. “Not just to avoid us. I believe that’s how they got our men, too. They used it to ambush those who came out alone in deserted areas. It’s also the last place we’d look for them, especially if they were using the abandoned exits.”

  “So, are you going to take it down or what?” Jane asked.

  Peter smiled, and Pain shook her head. “No. He’s going to use it to find the Commandos.”

  Dave perked up at that. “How exactly are you going to do that?”

  “Well, for once, we’ll know where to expect them. We tried to get the drop on them before, but we were stretched too thin and never got close enough in time. All we have to do now is sit tight and wait for them to show up in the tunnels. We’ll have a few teams in wait, follow them, and ’poon them straight to the lab.”

  Dave blinked, locking his gaze with Rooney’s, and the hacker produced a matchbox-sized device from his pocket and dropped it onto the table. “A simple harpoon. GPS and magnet, sticks to a passing car if triggered in time.”

  Peter nodded, perching on his desk with his arms crossed. “Any questions?”

  “Are we bringing the allies with us once we’ve found the place?” Pain asked.

  “Only some of them if we need help. They’ve provided really helpful intel at the start, but now, I don’t want anyone screwing this up. We’ll have one chance to shut this down once and for all.”

  “Who’s the target, and what about the civilians and officers?”

  “Only their leader. Those civilians don’t know what they’re doing. Our goal is to shut this down, not slaughter humans.”

  Dave dropped his gaze, his insides slowly twisting into a knot. After everything they’d done, after Elena, they still got a free pass just because they were human.

  He was the first to leave the office once everyone was done asking questions, and headed straight to his room. With the door locked and his laptop in hand, he sprawled on the bed and took a minute to remember where he could find the location of the second warehouse. He did have the list he needed, it turned out. It only took a few seconds to find the very same address in the Recorp Holdings file.

  Dave put the laptop on the bed and stared out the window. Both warehouses—the one where Marco got tased, and the one where they nearly killed him and Pain—belonged to Recorp Holdings. It couldn’t be a coincidence. One of the three shareholders had to be funding the Commandos, with their labs and jeeps and dangerous tech.

  Now, he just had to figure out which one.

  Chapter 38

  “And don’t forget your pills.”

  “Got it.”

  “And swing by tomorrow before breakfast. I’ll need to take more blood.”

  “Before breakfast, okay.”

  “And stop scratching your back.” Doc swatted at her arm, and Pain stared at him.

  “Why so angry? It’s not your back I’m scratching.”

  He glowered at her, sharp nostrils flaring. “If anything, anything feels strange, come down here and wake me up. Got it?”

  She nodded, suppressing the desire to roll her eyes for the tenth time, and glanced at Chad. The corner of his mouth curled up in a tiny smile.

  “And no funny business, you two,” Doc snapped, making her flinch. “Don’t go at it like there’s no tomorrow—take it easy.”

  “Gee, could you say that three more times? Because the first three weren’t embarrassing enough.”

  Doc held out a bottle of pills, his index finger pointed at her. “One more word, and you’ll spend the night here in the infirmary, cuffed to the bed.”

  She took the bottle with a sharp, fake smile. “Thanks, but that’s something I only do in his room.”

  Before anyone had a chance to recover, she grabbed the red-faced Chad by the arm and ran out of the infirmary, mingling with the crowd that was trickling out of the canteen.

  “What—”

  “Look, there’s Jane,” she cut him off. Ryan’s head stuck out of the crowd next to her sister, and Pain darted after her, only to be yanked back by Chad.

  “Let her go,” he said, arm wrapping around her waist.

  “What? Why? I need to talk to her.” She tried to pull away, but Chad’s grip only tightened as he pulled her to the other elevator.

  “I saw you two in the office. Something happen between you earlier?”

  “No,” she drawled with a grimace but gave up when she saw his disbelieving stare. “She just was really weird, and ran out before we could finish the conversation. Something about boyfriends? I don’t really remem—” She glanced over her shoulder as Jane and Ryan disappeared in the elevator—in a manner very much like she and Chad were walking.

  His arm fell from her waist when she stopped in her tracks. “Yeah, about that…” His voice barely registered with her.

  “Is she…? Are they?” She was unable to finish the sentence, while Chad watched her with a troubled expression, as if not sure what to say.

  At last, he mumbled, “Yes, they are.”

  “What?!” Everyone around them jumped at her volume, and she dropped her voice. “How am I the last to know?”

  “Well, you were in a coma, you know. And it’s only been a few days. Don’t tell me you’re surprised.”

  “No, but why now?” Chad pulled her toward the elevator again, and this time, she followed. “What, they waited for me to be in a coma to do this?”

  He chuckled. “Pretty sure it just happened, okay? We’ve all been… a little out of it. Give her some time. I’m sure she’ll tell you everything eventually.”

  She frowned but silently agreed with him. Jane was nowhere in sight as they walked to Chad’s room. Once inside, she kicked off her sneakers and put her pills on the nightstand.

  “You sure you’re not hungry?” she asked as Chad sat on the bed.

  “I’m beat. It’s been a long day, night… week?” He took off his t-shirt and hooked an arm around her, pulling her down with him. “This is all I want.”

  She smiled, rolling over to look him in the eyes. “I won’t be able to sleep so early.” Her thumb traced his cheekbone, sharper than it used to be.

  He blinked, his every motion weary. His hand wrapped around hers, and he kissed her palm. “It all seems like a bad dream now,” he whispered. “I can’t believe I thought I’d lost you.”

  “I know.” She pressed her forehead against his, her voice barely a whisper. “Sorry. I never wanted you to feel that.”

  “Don’t apologize.” His lips pressed to hers, slow, careful, as if reacquainting himself with her.

  “Love you,” she whispered against his lips.

  “Love you more,” he said, tucking her head into his neck.

  He fell asleep in a minute. She watched him for a while, his face strained even as he rested, before slipping out of his arms to undress. Her back itched, and she winced as she held herself from scratching it. At least her scarred head didn’t bother her.

  With Chad’s old t-shirt on and the window cracked open, she returned to the bed and slid under the covers.

  Already, there were rumors about her miraculous recovery and speculations on her healing superpowers. She would’ve swept them aside—if she had some kind of explanation for everything that had happened.

  And so her own speculations kept going in circles in her head until she fell into restless, troubled sleep next to Chad.

  * * *

  She knew she was dreaming from the moment the darkness enveloped her.

  Vast and silent, this darkness was familiar. She had this dream every time she came close to dying. And every time, it changed just a little.

  She took a step in no particular direction, and a light flickered on in the distance. The darkness was a tunnel now, so Pain turned to the light and started walking. It didn’t do much good—her feet could barely move, as if the air had turned to syrup. But it didn’t matter. She knew what the light was.

  “Patricia,” a voice called out.

  “Mom?” she called back the same second.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” the voice answered. The same words as before, same as every time.

  Pain started moving again, stubbornly trying to get closer to the light—the voice. “But I am here.”

  “You have to go back. To your sister.”

  “I can’t.” Her feet refused to move through the thick air. She gave up, falling to her knees. “I can’t go back.”

  “Of course, you can,” the voice softened but barely. “You don’t have a choice.”

  “But I’m tired,” she breathed, suddenly too weak to even speak. The strange world around her began to fade in and out of focus. “I’m so tired.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You have to go back now,” the voice said. The light began to dim.

  “I can’t!” Pain lurched forward, back on her feet again. “I don’t have it in me.”

  “It’s in your blood,” the voice grew distant with every word. “Go. Find your sister.”

  “Mom, no!” She stumbled, although there was nothing to stumble on, and felt the ground slip from underneath her. “Don’t go!”

  The light flickered—and died. And like every time before, a part of her died with it. But the darkness began to pulse now, pushing down on her, squeezing, as if trying to eject her from this plane. She kept hearing the words though, the ones that were new, that hadn’t been there before.

  It’s in your blood.

  Chapter 39

  She awoke with a start, her breaths fast and shallow, her heart hammering in her chest. Light barely penetrated the curtains—the sun hadn’t even risen yet. It took her a long minute to get her thoughts in order.

  Sleep evaporated as a realization dawned on her.

  Chad’s arm slid off her when she slipped from under the covers. The t-shirt was long enough to cover her bottom, and she didn’t bother with clothes, tiptoeing out of the room. Only on the second floor did she notice her bare feet. But Doc’s room was only a few steps away, so she kept going.

  She knocked on the door, once, twice, until she heard hurried footsteps and a muttered curse. The door flew open, revealing Doc’s alarmed face and soap-covered, tattooed chest.

  “What?” he snapped. “Who’s dying?” His dark eyes searched the hall, before flashing back to her.

  “No one’s dying, let me in.” She pushed her way into the room, only to halt when she saw the mess inside. She snapped her jaw closed. “We need to talk.”

  Doc stared at her, eyes wild, water dripping on the floor. His left hand clutched a towel around his hips. “What, now?” He pointed at the wall clock. “It’s six AM!”

  “Yes, now! It’s urgent. I need to tell you something, or I will explode.”

  He threw the door wide open. “Do explode—just not in here.”

  She didn’t move from her spot, only glared at him, trying to find a good way to say what she had to say.

  There wasn’t one.

  “There’s something wrong with Dave’s blood,” she said at last.

  Doc scoffed. “Oh, I’m sorry, Doctor. Have you been secretly running tests in my laboratory?”

  “No, you have. Look at all the good it did you, if you haven’t realized it by now.”

  “Realized what?” Doc threw up his hands.

  “The towel, Doc, the towel!” She grimaced as he grabbed the towel at the last moment and tied it on his trim waist. “Here’s a question for you: How many days did I spend in the infirmary after getting shot full of bullets?”

  “You know exactly how many. Six days.”

  “And how many days did Marco spend healing after…” she cringed, “I saved him the same way you saved me?”

  Doc shrugged, fidgeting with his towel. “I don’t know, two weeks?”

  “Two weeks. With much simpler injuries. And what was different between the two of us?”

  “Everything!” He sighed, exasperated. “It’s not exactly scientific, you know. What happened with you and Marco was accidental, and you didn’t even realize you’d had a breakdown because of it. It was Chad who told me about it, not you. I could’ve done it in a whole different way, for all I know. I passed out afterwards, and my hands are still shaking.” He held out a tattooed, trembling hand.

  She took a step back, her mouth snapping shut. “I didn’t know that,” she said after a moment.

  Doc didn’t even seem to hear her. “I’m all… all over the place, and I can’t even make a shield. If men could PMS, it would be like this. Look!” He pointed at the mess around them. “I can’t focus for five minutes to get my stuff in order.”

  She just looked at him, for once out of arguments. He rubbed his tired face and stared out the window.

  “It’ll pass…”

  “You don’t know that,” he cut her off. He turned back to her, eyes desperate, and she changed the topic.

  “Even if it was just you, I would’ve healed right away and woken up. Why the six days? Except if something was working its way through my system. Think about it. You kept me from dying, but it was Dave’s blood that made me heal so fast.”

  A long minute passed in silence. Doc processed what she’d said, still as a stone, then blew out a weary breath. He ran a hand through his wet hair, looking out the window again. “No, it can’t be. 1942, Dr. Andrew Stennard—”

  “I know, I know. There’s nothing in our blood to make us different from humans physiologically. But how about energetically? What if it’s something you can’t see through a microscope? You used it on me—you should know.”

  Doc opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. The stubborn set of his jaw sent worry racing through her. She saw it in his eyes, how he put it all together and realized she was right. When he blinked and switched his gaze somewhere else, it was too late. She had already guessed what he was thinking.

  “You saw it,” she whispered. “You saw it that night, and you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  “I don’t,” he bit off.

  “Stop lying. We have to talk it over before we tell Dave anything.”

  “I’m not— Wait, what? You’re gonna tell Dave about this?” He stepped closer, his wide eyes demanding an answer, and she couldn’t help but back away.

  “Don’t you think he should know about this?” Doc only spread his arms wide, his face incredulous. “Why?”

  “It’s not safe for him!” His voice lowered to an urgent whisper, since the door had been left carelessly open. “Someone will find out, and they’ll hunt him for the rest of his very long life. There’s no place in the world safe for a universal donor with… miracle blood.”

  She stiffened, shocked at her own stupidity. His blood type, of course. She hadn’t stopped to think when she’d run out of Chad’s room. And now, she was just glad she hadn’t blabbed about this to Chad the moment he woke up.

  But still, the way Doc had put it didn’t sound right.

  “We have to tell him,” she muttered, making Doc take another step forward. “I get it, okay? I agree with you, but dammit, he deserves to know something so huge about himself!”

  “Why? What difference does it make, except putting him at risk?”

  She backed off again, only to find herself trapped between the wall, Doc’s looming form, and the wardrobe. With a sigh, she continued anyway, not hoping to win the argument by now. “We will only tell him, no one else. He won’t need to tell anyone. I already know about it. He can talk to me if he wants to.”

  To her utter shock, Doc laughed, the sound hoarse and a little bit psychotic.

  “What?” she growled.

  “He? Talk to you?” he managed to say between laughs. “I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, screw you!”

  She shoved him away, suddenly outraged at the whole situation. But before she could slip out, Doc’s arm flew up to trap her against the wall.

  “Not so fast. Promise you won’t tell anyone. Not Dave, not Chad, and not even your sister.”

  Eyes wide, she looked down at the fingers gripping her elbow. “I can manage myself,” she hissed in his face. “Let me go.”

  “Not until—”

  “What’s going on here?” Her breath caught at the sound of Chad’s voice.

  “Oh, crap,” she muttered.

  Doc’s fingers dug into her arm, and she looked up to find Chad standing in the doorway, wearing jeans and a scowl.

  Her eyes turned back to Doc, and she mouthed, “Let. Me. Go.”

  “Promise me!” he growled, so that only she could make out the words.

  “Fine, I promise! You have my word, now let me go.”

  He rocked back on his heels, and she dashed to the exit, only to bump into Chad as he stepped inside. He ignored her, his gaze locked on Doc. Shit.

  She grabbed Chad’s arm and pulled him to the door. “We should go.”

  He shook her off and didn’t move from his spot. “No, we shouldn’t. Not until you tell me what all this was about.” His stiff voice turned her blood cold.

  She turned to Doc, desperate for help.

  What she found was even worse. While Chad was all fury and temper of a twenty-three-year-old, Doc simply looked like he’d had enough, and killing someone right about now would be a very tempting way to find release. He gazed back at Chad with focused, unblinking calm, but she knew what he could do, and the last thing she wanted was him taking it out on Chad.

  “I can explain everything to you on the way back to your room,” she found her voice again, trying to lock her gaze with Chad’s.

  “No, I want him to explain what he’s doing half-naked, at six AM, with my girl in his bedroom.”

  Doc took a step forward, standing face to face with Chad. “Your girl,” he spoke in a scarily quiet voice, “wouldn’t be here at all if not for me. It would do you good to remember who you’re talking to. Leave. Now.”