Vital Found (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  At the sound of movement on the other side of my door, I set the book aside and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, then paused. Zara was up, but I wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to see me.

  When the guys dropped me off the day before, she still wasn’t back. She hadn’t arrived until after I’d eaten dinner, tidied up my room, and read half the latest issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics waiting for her. She’d let herself in quietly, pulling her suitcase inside as she backed through the door.

  “Oh.” She straightened when she saw me on the couch. “Didn’t think you’d still be up.”

  “Of course I’m up.” I went straight to her, giving her a tight hug. She stiffened for a moment, then returned it.

  When we separated, I saw her eyes were as misty as mine, her jaw clenched. She didn’t make eye contact, fidgeting with the handle of her suitcase and letting her silky red hair fall over her face.

  “So”—I cleared my throat, trying to speak around the lump in my throat—“how was your flight?”

  “Fine. Delayed.” She rolled her eyes, then dragged the suitcase into her room, hefting it onto the bed and opening it to rummage inside. “I’m actually really tired. I think I’ll just have a shower and go to bed. Can we catch up tomorrow?”

  She gave me a tired smile as she held up her toiletries bag.

  “Of course.” I smiled back, and she shut herself in the bathroom. The sound of the shower starting reminded me I was still standing in the middle of the room, staring at the bathroom door.

  I wished Beth were there.

  I’d gone to bed, telling myself Zara needed space. Losing her best friend, having her own life put in danger—it was a lot to handle. Coming back to where it had all happened couldn’t have been easy.

  Which is why I was now hesitating, unsure if she wanted to walk to breakfast together.

  I got dressed in jeans and a loose T-shirt, and as I was braiding my hair, she let herself into my room.

  “Hey, ready for breakfast? I’m starving.” She leaned on the edge of my desk.

  I smiled, relief and longing fighting for strongest emotion. She and Beth used to both barge into my room like that. Beth would have been flipping through the clothes in my wardrobe by now, second-guessing her own outfit.

  Zara was looking at the same spot.

  “Yeah, let me just brush my teeth.”

  She gave me a weak smile before leading the way out of my bedroom.

  Fifteen minutes later, Zara and I were walking toward the cafeteria. We enjoyed the lightness of our bags while we could; in a few weeks, we’d be buried in so many assignments that all the books we needed wouldn’t fit inside them.

  It was obvious things had changed, both with Zara and on campus. With the beginning of the semester, the bulk of the student body—those who had not hung around for summer classes—had arrived at Bradford Hills Institute, and at a quarter to nine on the first Monday, everyone was on their way somewhere. Several people had their faces in giant campus maps, looking a little overwhelmed, and I smiled to myself, remembering my own attachment to my map only a few months ago.

  In a few weeks, the new students would be obsessing over the results of their Variant DNA tests, but for now, everyone’s focus was on the heavily armed men making their presence known all over campus. Bradford Hills had always had its own campus security, posted at the gates and occasionally patrolling, like any other college in the country, but the new black-clad groups of hard-looking men were impossible to miss.

  Melior Group had descended on Bradford Hills in the days following the invasion, and they hadn’t left. The Variant community didn’t take the safety of their best and brightest lightly. It had been officially announced that Melior Group would be handling increased security on campus for the foreseeable future. With Bradford Hills Institute offering free counseling to all staff and students, the two organizations were working closely to make sure their people were supported through this tough time.

  I knew the frowning men and big guns were meant to make us all feel safe, but all it did was painfully remind me of why they were necessary.

  Doing our best to ignore them, Zara and I took our time walking the curving paths of Bradford Hills, enjoying the morning sunshine peeking through the trees lining the laneways while we chatted about anything other than Beth. Now wasn’t the time. I asked Zara about her summer, but she didn’t give me much; she’d probably spent most of it grieving and closed off to the world.

  “We should swap schedules,” Zara suggested as we rounded the corner to the square containing the cafeteria building, “so we know when the other one is free.”

  “Yeah, sure.” I smiled widely, happy she wanted to hang out with me. I’d been so worried about our friendship fizzling out, unable to withstand the pressure of losing Beth and two months of distance.

  I was watching Zara’s profile, so I saw the exact moment her eyes narrowed, her jaw clenched. My own body tensed in response, and I turned to see what she was looking at.

  Sitting on a picnic bench facing us was Rick. The man who’d killed Beth was leaning his elbows on his knees and staring at the ground as people went about their morning around him.

  “Why the fuck is he here?” Zara hissed between clenched teeth.

  “I don’t know. Come on.” I pulled her by the elbow, trying to move toward the cafeteria. I didn’t want to see him, didn’t want to speak to him, didn’t want to be reminded of his existence at all. But Zara was frozen to the spot, and Rick looked up and spotted us.

  He sat up straight, eyes widening, and rubbed his hands down the length of his thighs a few times. When he rose and started walking in our direction, I gave up trying to drag Zara away and threaded my arm through hers. If we had to face him, I was glad neither of us was doing it alone.

  The investigation into what had happened on the day of the invasion was still ongoing. With so many casualties and no surveillance footage, it would take a long time to unravel—to figure out who died by which gun, which Variants killed which humans in self-defense. Tyler was helping as much as he could with questioning the assailants they had captured. Alec was helping with the interrogations too. I tried not to think too hard about the kind of interrogating his particular skill set would be used for.

  But Beth’s death had been solved early. Zara’s account of what happened, coupled with the electric burns on Beth’s body, painted a clear picture. Plus, Rick had handed himself in almost immediately.

  Had he walked up to the investigators looking as disheveled and tired as he did walking over the green grass now?

  He came to a stop before us.

  No one said anything.

  Rick gazed intently at the ground, his shoulders tight, his breathing ragged. My eyes couldn’t seem to settle on one thing; they flitted from Zara’s profile to Rick’s furrowed brow to the treetops swaying in the warm breeze to the people around us starting to slow down and take notice.

  But Zara’s eyes were glued to Rick. Her rigid body pressed up against mine as she watched him, not saying anything, her gaze almost daring him to.

  “I want you to know that . . .” His voice broke. He swallowed, cleared his throat, and finally looked up. “That I am sorry. If I could go back and take her place, I would. I am so, so sorry.”

  He took a shaky inhale, his wide shoulders trembling as his eyes filled with tears.

  Zara’s voice didn’t tremble. She lifted her chin and spoke with finality. “Fuck. You.” She extracted herself from my hold and walked away.

  “Zara . . .” I tried to call after her, go after her, but my knees were weak, and she was so fast.

  “Eve . . .” My name sounded like a plea as Rick gave in to the tears completely.

  I swatted at my own tears before turning away. I didn’t have the strength to move, so I hugged my chest, breathing heavily, feeling cold and alone in the warm morning sun.

  I missed her so much. I knew, logically, his intention hadn’t been to kill her, but he was still the
reason she was gone, and I couldn’t look at him.

  A hand touched my shoulder, but I didn’t recoil from it; I knew the touch of one of my Variants. The loafers peeking out under neat trousers and the smell of expensive aftershave told me it was Josh.

  I leaned into him, pressing my forehead to his shoulder, and his arms wrapped around me. We shouldn’t have been hugging in public like this, but I needed him.

  “Rick.” Josh’s voice reverberated through his chest. It was a comforting thing to focus on, and I tucked my face farther into him, circling my arms around his waist. “Maybe now’s not the best time, yeah?”

  Rick sniffled and coughed, trying to get himself together. He didn’t say anything, but I heard footsteps retreating.

  For a beat, Josh just held me, crushing me to his chest. Too soon, his grip on me loosened, and my knee-jerk reaction was to tighten my hold on his waist, telling him wordlessly I wasn’t ready to let go.

  “People are looking, baby,” he whispered, sounding pained. “I want nothing more than to just hold you, carry you away from here, but . . .”

  But I was supposed to be Ethan’s girlfriend—not all of their Vital. That was a secret we still had to keep. I pulled away, nodded, and wiped my tears with the tissues he handed me.

  Josh stuffed his hands into his pockets—something he was doing more and more when we were together in public—and we walked the rest of the way to the cafeteria in silence. He sat me down at a table in the corner, and while I rested my head on my hands and tried to get my emotions under control, he got me some breakfast.

  I was halfway through the eggs when Ethan bounded up, loudly greeted us, and plonked himself in the chair next to mine, stealing a bite of my toast. When neither of us returned his greeting as enthusiastically, the bright look on his face fell.

  “What happened?” He lowered his voice, draping a protective arm over the back of my chair.

  As Josh explained, I leaned into Ethan’s warm, strong body until I was practically in his lap. I took long breaths of his smoky smell and focused on the pressure of his hands holding me close.

  Having some contact, even if we were still careful to avoid skin contact, helped clear the dark clouds Rick had brought with him.

  The boys walked me to class and reluctantly left my side. Most of the early classes consisted of introductions and get-to-know-yous, the professors answering questions and going over the coursework. I was already ahead in most of it, so I tuned out to check in on Zara.

  I sent her a message in our “roomies” group chat—the one Beth was in too. It made me feel closer to her, as if at any moment the little round icon with her smiling freckled face would zoom to the bottom, indicating she’d caught up on all the messages.

  Zara said she was fine, that she only had a few classes that day, and since they were introductory ones, she was going to go catch up with a friend instead, get away from campus for a bit.

  I hoped I wasn’t one of those things she needed to get away from. I hoped our friendship wouldn’t fall apart without Beth there to keep us together.

  Summer was holding on, and the mornings were still hot, but I didn’t have time to lie in bed and enjoy it. My first class started at nine.

  I dressed in jean shorts and a loose tank top with a photo of Einstein sticking his tongue out on the front. I tried to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to disturb Zara; since our run-in with Rick a few days ago, she’d been especially withdrawn.

  But when I tiptoed out of my room, she was already gone. Pushing the sadness aside, I rushed through my bathroom routine and pulled my hair up into a messy ponytail so it wouldn’t stick to my neck. Then I grabbed an apple to tide me over until I could go to the cafeteria.

  Slinging my light backpack over my shoulder, I opened the door and came face-to-face with Ethan, his fist raised and ready to knock.

  “Hey, sugar.” Ethan smiled with his whole being. Most people would pull their lips up at the corners, maybe show some teeth. When Ethan smiled, his face lit up, his dimples appeared, his amber eyes sparkled, his shoulders rolled back. It was like a breath of fresh air you couldn’t help inhaling, making you smile back whether you wanted to or not.

  “Hey, sunshine.” I leaned in for a quick peck on the lips.

  “Hey, snookums,” Dot cooed in a high-pitched voice, popping her head around Ethan’s frame.

  “Hey, you weirdo.” I laughed, giving her a hug. “What are you guys doing here? I have to get to class.”

  “Yeah. Biology. I have the same class.” Dot leaned on the doorframe. She’d put her black hair in pigtails and was wearing what looked like a basketball jersey sewn up at the sides so my petite friend could wear it as a dress. Paired with the heeled Chuck Taylors (where did she even get those?), it looked perfect on her.

  It was the first crazy, uniquely Dot outfit I’d seen her wear since Charlie was taken. There was still sadness in her heavily made-up eyes, but I was happy to see her doing something to make herself feel better—to feel more like herself.

  “We went to the bookshop yesterday. Picked yours up too.” Ethan held up a bulky-looking bag, then leaned around me to dump it just inside the door.

  “Here’s the biology textbook.”

  I shoved the heavy book Dot handed me into my bag while taking a bite of my apple. “Fanx,” I said around the tart fruit in my mouth. “Les go.”

  Ethan slammed my door shut, then frowned at it.

  “Is that the only lock that thing has?” he asked as we moved toward the elevator.

  “Yeah . . .” It was a simple round door handle with a self-locking mechanism. It was basic, but if someone could make it past the armed, trained men downstairs, no door was going to keep them back.

  “Hmm. Not very safe,” he mumbled, pulling his phone out, probably to message my other overprotective boyfriend to complain about my door. I rolled my eyes at him.

  Our walk to biology took us past the admin building, where Melior Group had set up a base of operations in the back rooms of the ground floor, much to the ire of the busy receptionists. One of the frowning, hard men clad in black was Alec. You could even say the asshole was the frowniest and hardest of them all, and he happened to come down the stairs just as we passed. Three identically dressed men followed close behind him.

  I tried to pick up the pace, but Alec came straight for us, avoiding my gaze but waving Ethan down.

  “Hey, Kid,” he called out, “what do you mean her door is not safe?”

  I turned to Ethan, shocked. I thought he was texting Josh about my “unsafe” door. I never would have guessed it was Alec on the other side of the message.

  “Just has one standard entry handle, and the door isn’t reinforced. Dunno.” He shrugged. “Just seems flimsy. You’re the security expert.”

  “My door is not flimsy.” This was getting out of hand. “And anyway, with all the heavily armed men around campus . . .” I gestured to the men who had caught up with Alec and were listening in on our conversation, but Alec ignored me.

  “Nah, good call, man. I’ll make sure Gabe gets someone out today to deal with it.”

  I turned my shocked expression on Alec. I couldn’t believe he was buying into Ethan’s paranoia and even getting Tyler involved.

  “Holy shit, it’s Hawaii girl!” one of the men standing behind Alec called out, slapping one of his companions lightly on the chest.

  Alec reacted immediately, speaking a little too fast as he turned to his Melior Group friends. “We should get to our post, guys.”

  But the one who’d spoken walked right past Alec to stand in front of me. He was of average height with straight black hair, cut very short—the standard among Melior Group employees. He reminded me a little of a teacher I’d had when my mother and I lived in Japan, only about ten years younger.

  “You look much better than the last time I saw you.” He smiled warmly, his intelligent eyes challenging me to remember.

  I frowned. “Thanks? Have we met?”

  �
�Well, you weren’t really conscious, so technically we didn’t really meet.”

  “OK. Well, that’s creepy.” I laughed nervously, taking an exaggerated step back. Neither Alec nor Ethan was going into protective Variant mode, so I was pretty sure this guy wasn’t an actual threat, but not being able to figure him out was bugging me.

  “Don’t blame you for not remembering. It was dark and cold and wet. And you wouldn’t have seen my face.” He smiled again, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

  “Uh, getting creepier by the . . .” Then realization dawned. I looked from the smiling man in front of me to Alec, who was frowning at us with his arms crossed, to the two other men behind them.

  Images of water lapping at my face and the sensation of stabbing cold in my limbs came back to me as I finally understood: I was standing in front of Alec’s team.

  These were the men who had saved my life.

  I inhaled sharply as my hands flew to my mouth.

  “I think she remembers us.” The man chuckled, turning to his teammates.

  I rushed forward, regaining the distance I’d put between us only a moment ago, and threw my arms around one of my saviors, holding him tight around his middle.

  He froze in surprise, but then his arms gently tightened around my shoulders.

  “Thank you.” I kept it simple but made sure to say it fast. The last time I’d tried to thank someone for saving my life, he’d made it outrageously difficult. “Thank you so much.” I squeezed again to punctuate my statement.

  “You’re welcome. It’s all part of the job, kitten.” He was still holding on to me but letting me take charge and decide when the hug ended. I liked him already.

  “Kitten?” Alec huffed, clearly bothered by my display yet unable to do anything about it. “You going to let another man hold your girl like that and call her ‘kitten’?”