Toys - James Patterson [16]
“He’s human. This man is a skunk.”
Book Two
THE SECRET LIFE OF SKUNKS
Chapter 21
I WAS BEING chased by commandos and trained wildcats. If the cats got to me first, I’d be torn to pieces.
On and on I ran through a murky landscape, the color of dark blood, with the ground endlessly collapsing beneath me and my leaden legs scrambling desperately to stay ahead of God only knows what kind of danger.
The strength I had always depended on was gone—I was weak, helpless, someone who didn’t matter anymore, someone who couldn’t fight back.
Shadowy terrors clutched at me, and everywhere I turned, hateful faces loomed close, screeching those awful words I imagined I’d heard:
He’s human.
The worst thing by far was the terrible shame of the words.
This man is a skunk.
I could feel the wildcats now—so close—and hear the sound they made, like a high-pitched drill.
Chapter 22
I HAD NO idea how long my horrible fugue state lasted, but I finally woke soaked in my own sweat. I must have been thrashing terribly because the bedding was twisted around me like restraints.
Then I realized it wasn’t bedding at all; it was restraints. I was being held captive for some insane reason that I couldn’t comprehend.
Did someone think I might harm myself? Why would I do that?
Faces above me blurred in and out—from dream to reality—until they solidified, glaring down. Not wildcats. One was my partner, Owen McGill, and the other my boss, Jax Moore—except there was no mistaking them for old friends now.
For the first time, I noticed how cold-eyed and thin-lipped Jax Moore’s handsome face was, and how McGill’s macho, chiseled jaw could have a brutal, almost mechanical look to it. Elites could certainly appear that way, more machine than man.
“Well, well, our traitorous skunk’s awake,” Moore said, wrinkling his nose as if I were offal he’d accidentally stepped in. “How are you feeling, Hays? We haven’t given you anything for the pain. Why should we?”
McGill glowered with outright hatred. “When I think about how I fucking trusted you all these years. The deceit you showed is astonishing.”
He leaned close—and then Owen McGill spat in my face. That ended any remaining hope that I might still be dreaming. The sentiment hurt and the spit shamed, but it also pissed me off, big-time.
“What the hell are you saying?” I yelled, struggling to break free. “Have you both gone crazy?”
“There’s nobody crazy here,” Moore said grimly. “Just two honest cops—and a dirty traitor who will soon be facing the slow death.”
“I’ll say it again: Are you crazy? I’m the best agent you’ve ever had! How could I be human? How could that possibly make sense to either of you? Somebody’s tricked us! This is a setup!”
“I don’t know who you’re working with, skunk, but we’re going to find out in a hurry. You sick bastard.”
“Lizbeth!” I raised my voice suddenly. Where was she? Were they holding her too? “What have you done with my wife? And my girls?”
Moore very coolly replied, “Lizbeth and the poor girls are in a safe place. She fainted in my arms when she found out the truth. Then she went home and tried to scrub her skin off—because she had touched you.
“And your daughters… they’ll have to go to a new school to try and escape the stigma and shame. Didn’t you ever think about what this would do to them? What kind of monster are you?”
Moore stared coldly at me while his words sank in. My wife, my beloved partner in life, she was going along with this? And what would happen to April and Chloe? I didn’t want them hurt by vicious accusations against me, no matter how ridiculous and untrue.
“I don’t know how you managed to pull this extensive masquerade off, Baker, but we’re going to find out.” Moore continued his rant. “The doctors want to watch you one more night to make sure you’re strong enough for a full interrogation. Then you’re coming with us, and believe me, you’re going to tell us everything you ever did, from the minute you were born.”
Having