“Kinky.”
Reyna snorted. “Not like that. I mean he knows where I am, even from long distances away, and when I wake up. He’s worried that if he has the ability, Harrington might also have it. He thinks it’s something in my blood, and we’re checking it out.”
“Whoa. That’s freaky.”
“Yeah. It’s fine if Becks has that capability, but I don’t want anyone else to have it. It’d be like having a beacon over my head.”
“True. So, you think you can figure out what’s happening?”
“There’s a doctor here who’s looking into it. I thought I’d check on his progress. He said I could come anytime and be his assistant.”
“And you trust him?” Jodie asked skeptically. “I wouldn’t want to set one foot in that medical wing. No matter what Meghan says or does for me.”
“Beckham trusts him. And I trust Beckham.”
“Let’s hope vamp boyfriend knows what he’s doing.”
She understood Jodie’s fears; they mirrored her own. She was still having panic attacks and flare-ups of her PTSD from what she’d endured. The thought of donating blood, of working with her blood, of any of that nonsense, made her sick. She knew she couldn’t keep running from her fears, though. She needed to face them if she wanted to get answers.
Despite Jodie’s feelings about the medical wing, she followed Reyna into the empty med bay. It was so sterile and silent. Only the slow whir of machines and the air-conditioning kicking on broke up the stillness. Reyna headed to Washington’s office. The door was propped open and the room was empty, so she moved from there to the lab where she had last seen him. Success.
He was wearing his usual white lab coat, staring into a microscope. Petri dishes and graduated cylinders and pipettes and tongs and a bunch of other equipment were scattered all around him. She was sure there was some order to it, but she couldn’t begin to navigate it.
“Dr. Washington?” she said, rapping on the door to announce their entrance.
His head popped up, and he smiled brightly. “Ah, Reyna, have you finally come to help me with all this work?”
“Yeah. And I brought Jodie with me.”
Reyna gestured to her friend, but when she looked up into Jodie’s face, she was pale with terror.
“Jodie?”
Jodie shook her head. For once, words failed her.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Reyna asked, reaching for her. Jodie shuddered away.
“Miss Gardner,” Washington said. He took a step forward.
Jodie took a step back. “Don’t.” Her voice rasped, and she withdrew even farther.
Reyna’s gaze moved from one to the other. “Do you know each other?”
“You’re a fucking monster,” Jodie said savagely. “How dare you stand there as if you’re part of this rebellion. And if you really fucking are, then this entire thing is a sham. I knew it was all too good to be true. How could I have ever believed this wasn’t going to end exactly where it started?”
“Jodie,” Washington said. A look of absolute despair crossed his face.
“Fuck you! Just fuck you!” she spat and fled the room.
Reyna’s eyes widened, and she dashed after Jodie. She was already out of the medical wing and down the hallway before Reyna caught up with her.
“Jodie.” Reyna grabbed her shoulder and hauled her to a stop.
Jodie slapped Reyna’s hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
“What happened? Tell me what happened. You know Washington?”
“Know him?” Jodie hissed. “He was the monster who started the experiments on me!”
