Chapter 7

"And the walls kept tumbling down

In the city that we love

Great clouds roll over the hills

Bringing darkness from above

But if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

Nothing changed at all?

And if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

You've been here before?"

-from Bastille's "Pompeii"

Growing up at the Centre Jarod had been raised on a strict diet of essential vitamins and minerals to develop a healthy mind and body. Taste had not been factored into the equation. He hadn't escaped from the ruthless think tank until he'd been an adult, but he still embraced every new culinary discovery with childlike delight. He'd learned how delicious some of the most ordinary food items were, like ice cream and spam. But not coffee. He'd never developed a taste for that.

Jarod took another sip of the hot beverage and grimaced. It may not be his drink of choice, but right now he needed the caffeine. After staring at a computer screen for a couple of hours, scrolling through row after row of test results, all he wanted to do was put his head down on the kitchen table and take a nap. He raised bleary eyes to focus on the clock on the wall across the room. It was past midnight. Given the time difference between here and London that meant he'd been awake for over twenty-four hours. Still, he'd remained alert for much longer periods during past simulations and even a few live Pretends when he'd been on the run. Plus, his mind should be reeling with the revelations of the past day, making it impossible for him to sleep. Miss Parker, who should have been dead on her feet, was still full of nervous energy when he'd almost had to shove her up the stairs to bed a few hours ago. Her anxiety was understandable since they still were no closer to finding her daughter.

Their daughter.

When would he be able to think of Katie as his child? Shouldn't he be as frantic as Miss Parker, knowing his daughter was in danger? How could he even think of going to sleep at a time like this?

He forced down another swallow of coffee and returned his attention to his laptop. He needed to develop a drug to bring Sydney out of his coma as soon as possible.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you'd be… I don't want to disturb you…"

The sight of Miss Parker wearing only an old black tee shirt of his provided more stimulation than he could get from ten cups of coffee.

She hesitated in the doorway of the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind," she said, with a quick self-conscious glance down at her outfit. "I found this shirt in one of the dresser drawers, and since I wasn't in exactly the right frame of mind earlier to think to pack something for overnight…"

"No, that's fine." Jarod cleared his throat. "Did you get any sleep?"

She came the rest of the way into the room. Anyone else would be shuffling or stumbling at this hour, but she moved with her usual grace. Jarod tried not to stare at her long bare legs. "About an hour, I think," she replied slowly, her back to him as she stood at the counter, "before I…woke up."

"Bad dream?" He could imagine what terrors her slumber might have held. He could imagine it, but his mind veered away from doing so.

"No, I actually slept soundly." She sounded surprised by that fact. She paused a beat then added quietly, "But waking up was hell. I felt sick when I realized this wasn't all one hideous nightmare." She bowed her head over the sink as if she'd physically be ill at any second, her hands tightly gripping the edges of the formica counter.

All inappropriate urges vanished, but he had to resist the impulse to go over and take her in his arms. Miss Parker had never been one to admit weakness and he knew she would rebuff any attempt of his to comfort her.

"I need a drink," she muttered.

He deliberately misunderstood. "I think I have some chamomile tea," he offered. "That should soothe your stomach and help you to relax." He was thankful he didn't have any liquor in the house – alcohol was another adult beverage he'd never learned to like – because that was the last thing she needed.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Never mind. I know better than to drink during a crisis. I learned that lesson a long time ago."

He knew she was referring to the crisis he'd created when he'd faked his death five years ago. She'd turned to alcohol to help her cope with the grief, which had made her vulnerable to Lyle. Then she'd overcompensated for her momentary weakness by pulling a gun on her own brother… and pulling the trigger. Jarod would never forgive himself for the role he'd played in making that happen.

She straightened and turned to face him. Her weariness was evident in every line and shadow on her face, but her voice was strong when she said, "I need to keep a clear head to find Katie."

He refrained from suggesting again that she try to get some rest. He couldn't force her to go to sleep. She was running on pure adrenaline, trying to cope with the horrible uncertainty of her child's fate. Any mother would feel the same way.

Or any father. Again, he found himself wondering why he didn't feel the same dread that held Miss Parker in its unrelenting grip. What was wrong with him? Was he still suffering from the effects of the Triumverate mind control? Had he become incapable of experiencing emotion?

He must have let some of his distress show on his face, because Miss Parker asked sharply, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the drug for Sydney?"

"No, I'm making progress," he hastened to reassure her. "Broots already e-mailed me the results of Sydney's last physical. Plus he hacked into Sydney's medical records at the hospital and forwarded me his latest test results. I've already started going through the numbers and should have a formula worked out soon. In the morning I'll pick up the drug components I need and get to work on mixing up a protocol."

Miss Parker nodded. "Good. And I'll head over to the Gage Institute."

"Broots also sent me a link to the Institute's website." Jarod brought it up on his computer screen. "Looks like a pretty fancy place."

She was at his side in an instant, peering over his shoulder. "Amenities?" she read. "Is this a hospital or a spa?" She reached out and tapped the down arrow key to scroll through the list of conveniences offered.

Her arm was brushing against his shoulder. Her hair, a shining golden-brown curtain, fell in front of his face and smelled faintly of shampoo from the quick shower she'd taken upon arriving here at the farmhouse a few hours ago. He was suddenly reminded of the shower they'd enjoyed together five years ago - on "the morning after" as she'd called it.

Damn. He was more tired than he thought if he couldn't keep his mind from drifting into areas he decidedly did not want it to go right now.

"Let me get you that tea," he said, standing up and snatching his coffee mug off the table before he crossed quickly to the counter.

Still intent on what was displayed on his laptop, she didn't seem to notice his abrupt withdrawal. She took his seat at the kitchen table and continued to study the institution's website.

As he filled the blue tea kettle with water, Jarod heard her say, "I notice there are no prices on here, but a place like this has to cost a lot. So who's been paying for Lyle's stay? And who's financing him now?"

Jarod put the water on to heat. "Well, what happened to Lyle's money when he… died?"

"He didn't have a will as far as I know. My father and I weren't exactly on speaking terms after I… after what happened, so he never mentioned anything to me about putting my brother's affairs in order."

Jarod started to rummage in one of the overhead cupboards. "He might have had a lot of his money – especially any illegally obtained funds - stashed in a Swiss bank or some off-shore accounts."

"You're probably right. I'll have Broots look into that."

"About that…"

"Don't worry, Broots can get some help from his lady friend in accounting at the Centre."

Jarod wished he had time to delve into the subject of Broots having a "lady friend," but he had something he needed to tell Miss Parker – something she wasn't going to like. He set the box of tea on the counter and turned around to face her.

She was still engrossed with whatever was on his computer screen, tapping keys and clicking on the built-in mouse. He hoped she was still on the Institute's website. At least all of his private files were password-protected. The window with Sydney's latest test results was still open, but if she wanted to study his WBC, RBC, Creatinine, BUN, TSH, Lymphocils, Eosophils, and so on, that was fine with him; it might just help her fall asleep.

"I agree that Broots could use some help." He paused and took a deep breath. "Which is why I spoke to a friend of mine. She's not the computer whiz Broots is, but she knows her way around the internet and is great at tracking people down who don't want to be found."

Miss Parker's fingers stilled on the keyboard. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. "You brought a stranger in on this?"

Her voice matched the coldness of her gaze. "She's a friend of mine. Her name is Kim and she's a bounty hunter. She's good at what she does, Parker. She's the one who found you for me, so she already knows about Katie." When he'd called her earlier, Kim had been happy to learn her hunch about the little girl had been right – then shocked when he'd filled her in on his daughter's current situation. She'd offered her assistance right away, and he'd been unable to turn her down.

"It makes sense to have someone from outside the Centre working with us on this," Jarod went on in his calmest, most persuasive tone. "She can do a lot of the leg work. Broots can't be absent from work too much or it will be noticed. And Lyle won't be expecting us to bring in outside help."

"True." She sounded thoughtful and Jarod wondered why she wasn't giving him more of an argument. But her next words showed she was thinking about something else entirely. "You hired someone to find me. Why?"

Jarod didn't know what to say, even though he'd prepared for that very question during the flight over the Atlantic Ocean. But even he, the master of possible scenarios, had not anticipated this situation. He couldn't reveal his true feelings now, not while she was grappling with the current crisis. That conversation would have to wait until this was all over. Once she was reunited with her daughter…

He wouldn't even contemplate anything other than a happy ending.

The tea kettle whistled. Grateful for the reprieve, Jarod quickly turned back to the stove and busied himself preparing their drinks. But he could feel Miss Parker's eyes on him while she waited in silence, and he knew she wasn't letting him off the hook. He slowly poured the hot water into the mugs and then took his time stirring extra sugar into his coffee.

The tone sounded on his laptop that indicated the delivery of a new e-mail. Alarmed that she might see something she shouldn't, Jarod spun around, but Miss Parker had already opened the message. "It's from Broots," she said, and he felt his heart rate return to normal.

She frowned at the screen. "Seems our tech genius can't hack into the patient records at the Gage Institute. But he did confirm that Lyle – under the name of Bobby Bowman – huh, the name his adoptive parents gave him – was admitted to the Institute five years ago. The admitting doctor was Sydney Green." Her scowl deepened. "He should have left him to rot in some state-run hospital." She paused. "I thought he was rotting in his grave." She ran a hand through her hair. "Damn it, Jarod, what the hell happened?"

He carried their steaming drinks to the table, taking the seat across from her. "We'll know more once we can talk to Sydney."

"Will we? You really think we can trust what he says?"

He wasn't sure if she expected an answer, but he realized he wasn't sure how to respond.

"Because I'll tell you what I do know, Jarod," she went on. "I know that five years ago I walked into that Centre parking garage and put a bullet in my brother at point-blank range, and I walked out thinking he was dead because Sydney told me that he was." Her fierce gaze wavered. "Things got a little fuzzy after that, but I do know that you showed up at my house later, conveniently back from the dead yourself."

Now her bitterness was aimed at him. He said nothing in defense of that drastic choice he'd made back then; he'd learned to live with the guilt of what his actions had put into motion.

"Do you realize how crazy this conversation sounds? Talking about people coming back from the dead as if it's the norm?" Her sudden trill of humorless laughter had a slight edge of hysteria to it. "The sad thing is that this is my life. No, this was my life. I escaped from all that insanity to keep my child safe."

Our child.

The thought came unbidden to his mind, which he thought was a sort of progress. Maybe he was starting to think like a father, after all.

"And look how well that worked out," Miss Parker added miserably. "Only three people knew about Katie – Ben, Broots, and Sydney. And Sydney put her in danger."

Jarod felt he could solidly defend his former mentor this time. "I'm sure he never meant for this to happen."

"He knew that Lyle was a threat, and yet he still chose to lie to me for all of these years. Why would he betray me like that?"

Only Sydney could answer that, but Jarod put forth his best guess. "Perhaps he was trying to protect you."

"Protect me? Lyle's the one he's been hiding!"

"Yes, to keep you from taking drastic action again."

"Well, gee, Jarod, if Sydney was so concerned about my emotional well-being, don't you think he should have clued me in on the fact that I actually hadn't killed my own brother?"

She spoke flippantly, but Jarod knew how much she'd been tormented by what she'd done. They'd had that discussion in this very kitchen five years ago, when he'd finally gotten her to open up about her conflicting feelings. He could understand the anger and confusion she was experiencing now; why had Sydney, who'd seemed so concerned about Miss Parker's fragile state back then, chosen to let her believe she'd murdered her twin?

They could stay up the rest of the night trying to figure out Sydney's motives, but that would do nothing to solve the present problem. Time to plan strategy. To help get his neurons firing, he took as big a swallow of coffee as he could stand and ventured, "I think we should forget about why Sydney did what he did. For now," Jarod added hastily as he saw the flash of blue fire in Miss Parker's eyes. "We need to concentrate on getting the answers that will lead us to Katie."

"I intend to get some of those answers from the Gage Institute in the morning," she said, her eyes still smoldering with determination.

"It won't be easy," Jarod cautioned. "That's the kind of place that guards its patients' privacy even more zealously than other hospitals. As you said, even Broots hasn't been able to hack into Lyle's records."

"They'll talk to me," she said grimly. "I'm family."

"Doctor-patient confidentiality still applies, which means you're not going to get anything out of the psychiatrist who treated Lyle during the week or any other time when Sydney couldn't be there."

"Then I'll concentrate on the staff. Someone at the Institute had to have helped Lyle, and I'm going to find out exactly who that person is."

"Lyle will have warned his accomplice to expect you."

She jabbed a long painted fingernail at him. "If you think for one minute I'm going to let someone else – like your bounty hunter friend – go out there in my place –"

"No, no, you should go," Jarod quickly reassured her. "Since that's what he expects, it might be good to let him think everything is going according to plan." Lyle was bad enough when he was cold and calculating, but he knew a desperate Lyle was even more dangerous. "And you may be able to pinpoint who helped him by seeing who is reluctant to talk to you." He paused. "If you approach them right. They have to want to answer your questions."

"Well, the Institute obviously caters to a wealthy clientele," Miss Parker said, "so I'll just play the rich bitch. I should have no problem doing that." She arched a perfectly sculpted brow at him.

Jarod knew better than to respond to that comment. Instead, he pointed out, "But you also need to convince them that you care about your brother."

He figured the face she made was in response to his statement and from the sip of tea she'd just taken. "Don't worry," she said shortly. "I'll find a way to get the answers I need, if I have to talk to everyone in that place from the head honcho all the way down to the cleaning lady." She returned her attention to the computer. "I think I'll check the Institute's website again, see if the administrator's profile is on there. I should know as much as I can before I go there tomorrow."

Today, actually, Jarod thought wearily. He reached out and gently closed the lid of his laptop. When Miss Parker sent him an angry glance, he said firmly, "That can wait until morning – when the sun's up. You'll retain the information better if you get some sleep first."

She'd opened her mouth to protest but closed it now and stared at him in silence for a minute. Her expression remained neutral, but he knew the internal struggle going on as her heart no doubt was demanding she ignore the needs of her exhausted body. The wall clock seemed very loud as it ticked away the seconds. "Alright," she said finally, quietly. She reluctantly took one more swallow of tea before pushing herself to her feet and walking away.

Jarod stared tiredly at his laptop and wondered if he had the energy to even open it up again.

"Jarod?"

He turned. Miss Parker had paused in the doorway, striking what could only be described as a provocative pose. "Care to join me?" she asked huskily. "Remember, we always slept best in each other's arms."

"What?" He blinked and the enticing vision vanished, replaced by the sight of a very real, very tired Miss Parker leaning heavily against the doorjamb as if she needed it to hold her up.

She still had enough energy to send an irritated look his way. "I said you need to follow your own advice and get some rest, too. You look like hell."

After making that blunt – but unfortunately accurate, Jarod knew – observation, Miss Parker exited the kitchen, leaving him with a bitter taste in his mouth that had nothing to do with the coffee he'd forced himself to drink.

If he was so tired he was seeing things, he was definitely in no shape to make complex computations. With a sigh, he rose and took their mugs over to the sink where he dumped the contents down the drain. Even though it had done nothing to curb his exhaustion, all that caffeine in his system would probably give him more vivid dreams than usual.

Although, he wouldn't mind if those dreams were anything like the hallucination he'd just experienced.