He paused, glancing back. “For when he arrives. I need you both functional for the reunion.” His eyes gleamed with anticipation. “And for the tests that follow.”
Then he was gone.
The door closed with a heavy metallic thud.
Silence pressed against my ears.
I was alone.
My face ached. Swelling starting, blood drying on my lip. My wrists were raw from fighting the bindings. The monitor beside me beeped steadily, tracking my elevated heart rate, my spiking blood pressure.
But none of that mattered compared to the crushing weight in my chest.
Xavier was coming.
And it was because of me.
I closed my eyes, fresh tears spilling over.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to the empty room. “I’m so sorry.”
But sorry wouldn’t save him.
Nothing would.
Chapter 25
Clare
The door crashed open.
I jerked my head up, pulse slamming against my ribs.
Two guards dragged Xavier into the room between them. His weight sagged against their grip like they were the only thing keeping him upright.
My pulse stopped.
Xavier looked like death.
Pale. Trembling. His head lolled forward, chin nearly touching his chest. Every few seconds his entire frame convulsed with violent spasms, full-body tremors that made the guards struggle to hold him.
“Oh God, no.”
This wasn’t right. Twenty-four hours ago, he’d been stable. Chip deactivated. Symptoms improving. He’d been healing.
What the hell happened?
Dresner followed behind, calm and clinical. Like he was observing an interesting specimen instead of a man barely clinging to consciousness.
“What did you do to him?!” I yanked against the restraints hard enough to feel cuffs bite deep. “Xavier!”
His head lifted slightly at the sound. Pupils unfocused, blown wide and uneven. He tried to speak, mouth moving, throat working, but nothing came out except a strangled sound that made my chest crack open.
The guards dragged him to the table beside mine. Medical table. Same restraints. Same monitoring equipment.
They dropped him onto it with zero gentleness.
Xavier jerked on impact. Another convulsion wracked through him, violent enough that one guard had to pin his shoulder down to keep him from rolling off.
