Battlefield, p.14
Battlefield, page 14
Devyn’s tense body suddenly relaxed, and Gerard could hear her breathing steady. Though she was still unconscious, this seemed like a good sign.
“Okay,” Ted said once he had finished, and spun around in his chair once more. “Here’s the thing. Apparently the people at IGL are working on some new kind of technology that would allow a gamer to control an actual human – a player. The player would be ‘put under,’ which means they release all control over themselves and their thoughts, and when they are ‘disconnected,’ they don’t remember what has happened to them.”
“So Devyn isn’t…” Gerard cut himself off. To say he was happy would be erring in diction, but he wasn’t too disappointed. Upset, hell yes, but he couldn’t be completely angry when there was a chance that her current state wasn’t permanent. “She’s fine?”
“I disconnected her from the server, and they can’t reconnect her without her there,” Ted said. “Fine wouldn’t be the word I would use, however. If she’s been on this drug for the past few days, it needs to get out of her system before she’s ‘normal’ again. What she needs right now is rest.”
“And after the rest?” Gerard persisted, his brow pushed together. It was as though he wanted to hope, but was afraid that such a feeling would be all for naught, and this entire situation would be more complicated than it seemed. “I mean, once she’s done resting…?”
“She should be fine,” Ted told the genome. “Obviously, she shouldn’t indulge in strenuous behavior, and if she does, she needs to be wary about it, but if she wakes up, if she takes it easy, she should be fine.”
“When you say she’s connected and that you had to disconnect her,” Rachel said, sliding her fingers through her dark hair as she regarded Ted with intensity, “what does that mean exactly? I get the whole concept of, okay, they want to be able to control a genome and whatever, but how, exactly, is that achieved? I mean, I know Devyn, and she wouldn’t willingly agree to this, whether she told Hall she would or not.” There was a high possibility that Hugh might soon be on the same software if he wasn’t already, and she wanted to know as much as she could about it as possible.
“My guess would be,” Ted said, and then quickly added, “and, you have to remember, it’s just a guess – I have no idea what could have happened – but if Devyn is as stubborn as I think she is and that you make her out to be (and I mean that in the best way) – then I assume that Hall needs to restrain her in some way. Maybe she was tied down to a medical slab, maybe she was restrained by the Whitecoats. I don’t know. But once that shit was in her system, it was easier and easier to get the software in of her.
“You see, what Hall did was actually ridiculously genius. Somehow, he developed a software in a liquid form so it could enter the human body and work as though the human was a hard drive, a computer, I guess. The only way to get rid of a program would be to uninstall the software, and in this case, it would be to wait until this shit goes through Devyn’s body naturally, like a sickness.”
“Devyn couldn’t be the only test subject,” Rachel stated, an idea suddenly flashing before her eyes. “She couldn’t be. Hall has to have Class 2 genomes already waiting. She was…”
“The test subject,” Gerard finished, his eyes flashing emerald. “Hall couldn’t risk testing his shit on the Class 2 genomes because it really would take forever – twenty years at least – to make more. He always had this plan, he always had more genomes so there wasn’t any reason for Devyn to stay behind.” He clenched his hands into fists at the thought of it, of everything Devyn had endured.
“Hey,” Rachel said, her eyes focused on Gerard. “I’m just as pissed as you are. Who knows what could be happening to Hugh right now? But before we do anything, Devyn needs to get some rest. Ted, in case you weren’t sure, we’re crashing tonight. Gerry, you should take Devyn into the bedroom and stay with her. Me and Ted will start working on a plan to get Hugh back and destroy that fucking hell.”
Gerard’s first instinct was to argue, but he refrained because, honestly, there was no reason to. Without another word, he slid his arms underneath Devyn and picked her up with ease, and headed to the spare bedroom.
Chapter 28
She sat up straight, her breathing heavy, her eyes snapped open. She wasn’t where she normally was. She wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Her eyes searched the unfamiliar grey room, hoping to see something or someone she recognized – anything that would give her some kind of clue of where she was and what she was doing here.
“Hey.”
The soft voice caused her head to turn swiftly in the speaker’s direction, but her eyes softened when she saw a familiar pair of pale green eyes. She tilted her head to the side, her brow pushed down in slight confusion. “Gerard?” she asked, her voice rough and raspy due to the fact that she hadn’t spoken in a long while. “What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here at IGL.” Suddenly, her face was taut, her eyes filled with worry. “Did they get you? Hall promised me he wouldn’t go after you.”
“Devyn,” he whispered from the bedside. He was kneeling down, leaning over her, his sharp eyes going over her face, her eyes, just to make certain that she was, in fact, all right. “Your name is Devyn, correct?”
Devyn furrowed her brow even more so than she already was. “What, did you meet a slew of women and forget my name or something?” she asked dryly.
Gerard’s look turned flat but his eyes danced with happiness. “Yeah, that’s you all right,” he mumbled to himself.
“I don’t understand,” Devyn said, responding to his dry retort. “Where are we, because this doesn’t look like IGL, and no offense, but I don’t think Hall would just give me up to you of all people.” She tilted her head back, still looking for a way to find out where she was in case Gerard wasn’t going to tell her. Not that he would ever do something like that, but she wanted to get a clear understanding of what had happened because, for the life of her, she didn’t know.
“It’s a really, really long story,” Gerard said, and before Devyn could say anything, he reached up and grabbed her hand in order to emphasize his point. “Trust me on this one, okay? You need to shower and clean yourself up. I promise to tell you over breakfast, but you can trust me when I say that we’re somewhere safe, we’re not at IGL.” Devyn opened her mouth once again, no doubt to argue with him, no doubt to tell him that she wanted to know everything right then, but Gerard quickly interrupted her. “You haven’t eaten since I don’t know when and you’ve been unconscious for two days. Please do this. For me.”
When he saw Devyn’s shoulder slump forward, he knew that he had won, and he grinned triumphantly. “Here,” he murmured, taking the hand that was still within his and placing it over his broad shoulder before using his arm and wrapping it around her waist. “Let me help you to the shower.”
Devyn scrunched her nose. “God, I probably smell,” she muttered to herself.
Gerard smiled. “You do,” he told her, getting a good hold on her before Devyn stood up. “But it’s okay. Everything is okay because you’re okay.”
“Could you at least tell me where we are?” Devyn asked, gripping onto Gerard’s shoulder to keep from falling. She was weaker than she had originally thought.
“It’s part of the story,” Gerard promised. “But it’s somewhere safe.”
Devyn looked as though she wanted to ask more on the subject, but refrained. Instead, she allowed Gerard to lead her to the nearby bathroom, and then eased her onto the toilet before leaning over and starting a bath. “Okay, here’s a towel,” he said once he had become satisfied with the water temperature. “To, you know, dry off with. There’s a brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, all that hygiene stuff. And here’s a change of clothing for you. Rachel got them, so if you don’t like them, you can’t yell at me.” He turned and headed for the door, but when he got there, he stopped and turned around. “Promise me you’ll be careful, okay? I don’t want to have to come in here and find you unconscious because you decided to stand too long, fell, and hit your head on the side of the bathtub.”
“Thanks for your faith in me,” Devyn retorted, rolling her eyes as she did so.
There was an enigmatic smile on his face due to her words at that moment, and he took a couple of steps forward. Surprisingly enough, he leaned down and gave Devyn a lingering kiss on her cheek. “I’ve always had faith in you,” he whispered. The smile was still on his face even as he exited his room.
Devyn was still frozen, could still feel his lips on her cheek, and couldn’t help but have a mirrored smile on her face as well. Deciding that the faster she did what he told her to do, the faster she would learn everything, she stripped herself of her clothes and carefully entered the bathtub after, of course, plugging the drain in. The moment her body hit the water, she felt her muscles collectively relax, and it was only at that moment did she realize how tense she had been.
It was a good forty-five minutes before Devyn emerged, and Gerard jumped up from his sitting position to offer her support so they could both walk over to the kitchen.
“Hey!” Rachel exclaimed with a big smile once the two entered the kitchen. Devyn smiled at seeing her best friend, but raised a cool brow upon seeing Ted at the dining table. Rachel followed Devyn’s quizzical gaze and waved a dismissing hand. “Oh, don’t worry about him, sweetie. H’s a good guy. A man, but a good guy. In fact, he kind of saved you.”
“I haven’t told her anything yet,” Gerard said as he helped her sit at the table.
“Why not?” Rachel asked placing a ham, cheese, and broccoli egg white omelet in front of Devyn.
“He told me I smelled,” Devyn cut in as she grabbed a fork, looking at her food with a hunger she hadn’t felt before.
Rachel smacked Gerard on the shoulder. “Geez,” she said. “Nice, much?” She took a seat across from the table. “Okay, quick introductions, Ted this is Devyn, Devyn, this is Ted. Ted is, like, in love with you, sweetie, in the most unobsessive crazy way.”
“Oh,” Devyn said, looking at Ted who had yet to speak yet. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Anyways,” Gerard said, cutting in with a brisk voice. “Let’s get the whole catching up thing over with, okay? I’m starving since someone only cooked Devyn food.”
“She cooked me food as well, actually,” Ted said, looking at his empty plate. “I just ate it fast.”
When Gerard looked at Rachel, she shrugged her shoulders. “There’s cereal in the cupboard,” she told him. “Okay, so anyways, here’s what happened…”
The entire explanation took a good half an hour, and then Devyn’s questions and their answers took another half an hour. She had finished her food halfway through the story, and even though the pieces began to fall into place, when they did, Devyn still couldn’t believe it. They had rescued her and they had been successful. Even more than that, she was glad she couldn’t exactly remember what had taken place when she was “connected to the software,” as Ted had said.
“Wait a minute,” Devyn said after a moment, her eyes taking in the three people seated around her. “You haven’t told me something. Where’s Hugh?” When Ted, Gerard, and Rachel’s faces all dropped, when they started to look away, Devyn felt her stomach tighten. It was as though she already knew the answer, but she needed them to say it. “Tell me. Where’s Hugh?”
Gerard and Rachel exchanged looks, but Rachel looked as though she was going to say it. In fact, she felt as though she had to say it. “When we went in to get you,” she began, but had to cut herself off so her voice wouldn’t hitch. “He, uh…”
“He fell behind,” Gerard said, shifting his eyes from Rachel and over to Devyn. He immediately noticed that her face had paled which was exactly why he had wanted to prevent telling her this for as long as possible. He should have known better than to assume Devyn just wouldn’t notice. “But,” he added, “we’re planning on getting him back.”
“Good,” Devyn said, standing up. “Good.”
“But after much deliberation, you’re staying here,” Gerard said, standing as well.
Devyn laughed, a low, hollow sound. “You’re kidding, right?” she asked, but when she saw Gerard shake his head solemnly, her eyes narrowed. “I’m going, and that’s all there is to it. We’re going to get Hugh back as a team. You can either include me in the plan or I can figure everything out on my own.” With that, she headed to her bedroom, slamming the door once she was safely inside.
“It’s just like she never left,” Gerard muttered, deciding to follow her.
Rachel hid a smirk, and she secretly shared a look with Ted as they watched Gerard disappear down the hall.
Chapter 29
He supposed it was the fact that she was crying that caught him off guard the most, though he had never seen her look this vulnerable – not even when she was worried about life during the Game – was also there. Her back was too him, and she was sitting down, her knees curled up to her shoulders as she looked out her window. Gerard wasn’t exactly sure what Devyn was looking for, exactly, but then again, he highly doubted she knew what she was looking for, if she was looking for anything at all.
He absolutely hated seeing her cry because there really was nothing he could do to make her stop. Though Gerard was experienced when it came to physically pleasing a woman, he had yet to learn the tricks and trade of pleasing her emotionally and spiritually. The male inside of him wanted nothing more than to find Stewart Hall and snap his neck while simultaneously rescuing Hugh so everything would be all right. But he was slowly starting to realize that women didn’t want their problems fixed, per se. In fact, there have been times when Devyn had talked to him about something she was clearly upset about, and after he offered her numerous and excellent solutions, she ended up leaving more upset than when she got to him.
For the life of him, Gerard would probably never understand women completely. But when it came to Devyn, he wanted to try. Very badly, he wanted to make her feel better, and though he knew nothing could be done regarding Hugh until the next few days, he didn’t want Devyn to suffer for that long. Whatever she needed from him, he would give to her. Even if it wasn’t solutions to fix the problem.
After he gently closed the door behind him, he walked over to Devyn and slowly kneeled in front of her. Though her cheeks were stained with tears, it was the eyes that killed him. Devyn had the kind of eyes that were easy to read, and all Gerard could see in them right now was pain. And he hated that.
“Listen,” he said in a soft tone, his Scottish brogue not as rough as it usually was. Devyn lifted her head and looked at him. The tears were still coming, but at least she was somewhat distracted. “I’m not good at… comforting people. I’m good at fixing things. But… I don’t think you want me to fix anything right now. The thing is… I really don’t know what to do to make you feel better, so if you could just tell me, I would be incredibly grateful.”
Though Devyn felt like smiling, she was in too much pain to make the effort to even try. But at least her eyes sparkled a bit, showing Gerard that what he said was incredibly appreciated. “I’m coming with you,” she told him, her voice steadier than she had expected. But it was just as well; it would help her cause and only enhance her determination. “To get Hugh. It’s my fault he’s there, and I want – I need – to get him back.” She clenched her jaw, exhaling slowly. “For Rachel. For all of us.”
“None of this is your fault,” Gerard whispered, and before he could stop himself, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek, hoping to kiss her tears away. He only lifted his head so he could move a fraction and place another kiss on another tear. Moments later, he reached up and took hold of her chin, turning her head so he could kiss her other cheek much easier.
When he finished, he rested his forehead gently on her own, biting his bottom lip as his eyes descended down to her mouth. God, how he wanted to kiss her again. Once just wasn’t enough when it came to Devyn. His thumb reached up from resting on her chin, only to caress her bottom lip with his fingertip. Gerard’s eyes widened when Devyn’s lips pursed, as though she was kissing the pad of his thumb. At that moment, nothing could stop him from delving into his temptation and claiming her lips with his own.
The kiss was soft and lingering, tender and loving. Gerard didn’t want to take advantage of her state, and yet, when Devyn reached up and lost her fingers in his hair, he couldn’t help but tilt her head back to deepen the kiss. His tongue took an excruciating amount of time exploring the contours of her mouth, tasting her, memorizing her, losing himself in her. He probably should have known that one passionate kiss wasn’t enough, and Gerard knew that it was selfish of him to want her so fully.
Yet Devyn seemed to want them same thing. Her tears had dried, and now that she was able to focus on something that had nothing to do with the International Genealogy Laboratory, she took advantage of it. She pulled Gerard closer to her, dropping her hands until they slipped underneath the material of his shirt and rested on the muscles that made up his stomach. He inhaled sharply, breaking their kiss when he felt her touch his bare skin. His muscles twitched in response, only arousing Devyn, as though only her touch could illicit such a response.
