“Who are you?” he asked.
She didn’t answer.
He blew out air and rubbed his temple. “Why are you here?” he tried again.
When she didn’t respond, he ran his fingers through his brown hair. “You’re rather irritating.”
Ellyssa’s brow rose slightly.
“You’ve been here for almost a week. We’ve fed you, Doc healed you.”
She stared at him.
“Look, are others coming?” Rein asked. “None of us want to hurt you, but we will if it comes to that.” When she didn’t answer, he rose to his feet and hovered threateningly over the end of the bed.
In less than a heartbeat, Ellyssa’s training came to the forefront. No emotion, only self-preservation. Her muscles tightened, waiting to respond at a moment’s notice. If Rein attacked, she would kill him.
Unmoving, they glared at each other. Then Rein threw his arms in the air and plopped back down in the chair. The wheels squeaked under his weight.
The threat removed, Ellyssa eased back. Warily watching him, she reached into his mind. Although Rein’s face read anger, his insides felt worry, fear, and uncertainty for his friends and family. He couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to them. He cared for them.
She’d never cared for anybody, nor had the emotion been reciprocated. Not by her siblings. Especially not by her father. To him, she was nothing more than a disposable weapon.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He wheeled his chair over to the side of her bed. “Did you say something?”
“Yes, they will send others to find me,” she answered, a bit more loudly.
He frowned. “Are you from Germany?”
Ellyssa thought that to be a strange question. “No. Why?”
“Your accent.”
She shrugged.
“Hmm,” he said, leaning forward. “Are you part of a search team?”
“No. I escaped.”
He leaned closer. “You escaped?”
Rein’s closeness was unexpected. She could feel heat radiating off him. Strangely, her heartbeat quickened. She nodded.
“From where?”
“From The Center.”
Disbelief slackened his jaw, and he scratched the side of his head as if perplexed by an unanswerable question. “The Center? In Chicago? Are you kidding me?”
Ellyssa shook her head.
The next instant, fury contorted Rein’s features as he rose to his feet. He reached for her, but she was already on her feet on the opposite side of the cot. Blinking in surprise, he turned and stalked to the doorway.
“Do you know what you’ve done?” Rein asked. “What I’ve done?”
Waves of dizziness sloshed in Ellyssa’s head from the sudden movement. Her muscles, not expecting the rush of adrenaline, trembled. Her vision swam, and her stomach tossed uncomfortably. She staggered back.
Closing his eyes, Rein ran his hand down his face. “I’m not going to do anything. Get back into bed before you hurt yourself and get me in trouble with Doc.”
Ellyssa edged closer until her knee touched the cot. She wanted to see his true intentions, but the jackhammer had returned and ricocheted inside her skull.
“Please, lie down.”
She hesitated for a second before doing what he asked. The scratchy canvas was welcoming, but the bed seemed to rock.
Rein stayed on the other side of the room, occasionally looking at her, mostly pacing. Ellyssa watched his blurry figure through slitted lids until she heard the doctor’s footfalls.
Doc entered the room and stopped, his gaze jerking back and forth between them. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Your patient found her voice.”
The older man’s mouth puckered. “Oh, really.”
“She’s from The Center. They’ll come for her.”
Doc sat in the chair Rein had abandoned and leaned over with his hands clasped in front of him. “Are you part of a search team?”
Skeptical, Ellyssa didn’t answer.
The doctor patted her hand. This time she didn’t withdraw. “Hon, no one is going to hurt you. We have to know.”
Rein paced behind the chair where the doctor sat, glowering at her as if she were a dangerous animal, worthy to be locked away in a cage. They had no clue how dangerous she could be. “She says she isn’t,” he interrupted.
Doc flashed the familiar smile she found herself growing used to. “Good. Why are you here?”
“She says she escaped.”
Doc tossed Rein a look over his shoulder. “Would you let her speak?”
Rein’s mouth popped open. Fighting back some remark dangling on the edge of his tongue, he pressed his lips together and folded his arms over his chest.
Ellyssa’s eyes moved from the towering male to the soft face of the one who took care of her. “I escaped,” she confirmed.
“Escaped? What do you mean? Were you in trouble?”
Her head felt cloudy, and the rush of words wanting to escape jumbled in her mind. She shook her head. “Not exactly,” she uttered.
Doc took her hand and, even surprising herself, she let him. He didn’t pose a threat, and his touch was warm, gentle…pleasing.
“It’s okay. Take your time.”
Ellyssa nodded.
“Why did you come here?”
“I was called,” she mumbled.
“By who?”
Her eyelids felt so heavy. Her mind whirled. “A man with dark hair.”
“What was his name?”
She felt herself drifting. “I do not know. He was special.” Her eyes opened to the doctor.
“Special?” The voice sounded far away.
“Please.”
“One more question. What’s your name?”
“Ellyssa.”
His grin broadened. “Nice to meet you, Ellyssa. My name is Mathew. Everyone calls me Doc.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. “Get some sleep.”
She heard the soft scraping of the wheels as the doctor stood. “Come with me,” he whispered to Rein. Light steps stopped at the doorway. Whispering voices reached her ears.
“We can’t keep her here. It’s too dangerous,” Rein said.
“She’s still not ready to move. Besides, she might have information we need.”
There was a long pause, and she started to sink into darkness. Rein’s deep whisper stirred her.
“Do you think she was talking about Jeremy?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
Who was Jeremy? A vision of the dark-haired man being carried away by the police wavered with a dream- like quality.
Shuffling footsteps went into the hallway and faded down the corridor. The doctor lingered at the entrance for a moment, before she followed his distinct sound to the desk. The chair sighed when he sat. The whisper of
