The Other World_A Reverse Harem Series Read online

  Alexis

  It’s amazing how one single sentence can make you question everything about your existence. And honestly, if I hadn’t experienced so much strange stuff today, I may not have believed Steel. But a part of me is wondering if perhaps what he’s saying is correct.

  “You were a drug test subject?” I ask, feeling West’s grip on my hand constrict.

  Steel nods, his expression blank. “Up until I was about ten. Then I was rescued. A few years later, I entered the agency.”

  “How can I remember my childhood, though, all the way back until I was about three, if you’re telling the truth?” I ask. “There’s no way you could recognize me now.”

  Steel raises a broad shoulder. “I don’t have all the answers. I just know that I recognized you.”

  “We’ll get some answers, though.” West slips his fingers from mine and cups my cheek, angling my head to the side. “It’ll take some time and some work, but there should be records of you, if you were a test subject.”

  All I do is nod.

  I can’t even wrap my head around it. How can this be possible? How can I have once been a drug test subject? If it’s true, did my parents know? Are my parents even my parents? What’s real about my life? Who am I? Where do I belong? Is this why I’m suddenly feeling what West is feeling? Is that why I saw light in my eyes?

  No, this can’t be real!

  But, what if it is?

  So many questions are racing through my mind that my head starts to throb.

  “I feel sick,” I mutter, lowering my head toward my legs.

  “Take deep breaths,” West says, rubbing his hand up and down my back, causing more of his worry to flood through my veins.

  “I don’t think I can when you’re touching me,” I utter, lifting my head. When I see the hurt reflecting from his eyes, I add, “I don’t mean that you touching me is bad. It’s just …” I stare at my hands. “I think that, whatever happened to me in that bathtub, might have messed me up.”

  “What do you mean?” West asks cautiously.

  I don’t answer. I’m not even sure why, other than I’m afraid that the moment I utter the words aloud they become real.

  When I glance up again, I find that Blaine has crouched down in front of me,

  “Do you remember that time, a few years ago, when West, you, me, and Masie went cliff diving?” Blaine asks.

  “Yeah?” Confusion laces my tone. “Why?”

  “Because it was the day I realized how tough you are.” Blaine offers me a small half-smile. “Everyone was freaking out. Even West and I. And while we were all arguing over who was going to go first, you jumped. You didn’t even tell anyone. You just walked up and leapt over the edge. It scared the shit out of all of us.”

  West nods in agreement, a trace of a smile playing at his lips. “Honestly, I never thought anyone would get the balls to jump. It was so fucking high.”

  I gape at them. “Then, why did you guys suggest we go?”

  They trade an amused look.

  “To mess with you and Masie,” Blaine explains musingly. “The plan was to take you up there, and then have you guys bargain your way out of it. It was sort of payback for that water balloon stunt you pulled on us.”

  “Joke was on us, though,” West muses, nodding at me. “Because this little daredevil decided to jump.”

  I arch a brow. “So, you never actually wanted to go cliff diving there?”

  “Fuck no. That cliff was fucking high,” West says with a grin, and Blaine chuckles. “But then, after you jumped, we felt like assholes, so we ended up jumping.”

  “Yeah, I remember,” I tell him. “Masie never did, though.”

  I can feel Blaine’s gaze burning into me at my mention of Masie. I think back to what he said earlier, about the kiss being part of his job. Was he telling the truth? Why would he have to kiss Masie?

  Do I even care anymore?

  “That’s because Masie isn’t a badass.” West brushes strands of my hair out of my face. “You are.”

  “You always have been,” Blaine adds. “For as long as I’ve known you.”

  I sigh heavily. “I know what you guys are doing, but whatever, I’ll tell you.” I take a preparing breath. “When we were in the shower, I started feeling emotions that I don’t think belong to me.”

  “You’re feeling other people’s emotions?” Ellis asks, his forehead creasing.

  I waver. “Not really people’s so much as West’s.”

  West slants back. “You can feel what I’m feeling?”

  I waver again. “Sometimes.”

  “That’s odd,” Ellis mutters, reaching for his phone.

  West’s eyes are wide, worrying pulsating through him.

  Great. Now he’s afraid of me.

  “I’m sorry,” I say with a shrug. “If I could turn it off, I would.”

  “It’s okay.” He still appears a bit freaked out, but he doesn’t let go of my hand.

  “Are there any more symptoms you’re experiencing?” Ellis asks, pushing buttons on his phone.

  “Not really,” I say. “Well, I thought I saw this light in my eyes when I was looking at myself in the mirror, but I don’t know if it’s still there.”

  Ellis glances at me then sets his phone down and takes a flashlight out of his bag. “Do you mind if I take a look?”

  I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. Go ahead.”

  West release my hand so Ellis can squat in front of me. While he’s shining the light in my eyes, West and Blaine wander into the kitchen and start having a hushed conversation, then Blaine pats him on the arm.

  So much for not being best friends anymore.

  “Interesting,” Ellis mumbles, yanking my attention back to him.

  “What is it?” Steel asks as he sits down on the armrest of my chair and drapes an arm over the back, crowding my personal space once again, but I’m too exhausted to give a shit.

  “Her pupils are emitting light, not reflecting it.” Ellis clicks the flashlight off, tosses it into the bag, then focuses on me. “Have your eyes ever done this before?”

  I shake my head. “Not that I’ve noticed, which is something I don’t get. I mean, why am I suddenly having these strange abilities?”

  “It could be a side effect from the kiss of evil or the breath of ease.” Ellis hesitates, trading a brief look with Steel. “Or, if you were a test subject, it could be side effects from then.”

  “But, why would they surface now?” I question. “Because, up until today, I’ve always felt completely normal.”

  “They could’ve been dormant and the drugs from today made them surface.” Steel pauses, his gaze drifting from the hallway to Ellis. “You know what I find odd? That the day Hacker Hearts Anonymous attacked Alexis is the same day all her abilities surfaced.”

  “You think they did it on purpose?” Ellis questions with doubt. “Because I thought the hostage made it pretty clear they’re trying to kill …” He gives a panicked glance at me.

  “I think we should all agree that there’s no need to sugarcoat shit anymore,” I tell him. “Not after everything that’s happened.”

  Ellis nods, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “I think you’re right. We do need to start being more honest with you.” He glances at Steel. “So, like I was saying, I think our hostage made it pretty clear that HHA was trying to kill her.” He flinches as he says it.

  “I think they were.” Steel nods in agreement. “But maybe they weren’t doing it so she dies permanently.”

  Ellis’s eyes enlarge. “You think they were seeing if she’d go to The Afterlife? Why, though?”

  Steel dithers. “Well, Mel said that the scientists who were running The Afterlife experiment were searching for something. Maybe HHA wants to find out what that is.”

  “Who’s Mel?” I intervene, feeling so damn lost.

  “The guy who told us about The Afterlife experiment,” Steel mutters, rising to his feet. “I think I might need to have ano
ther round with the hostage; see if I can drag some more information out of him—”

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  As an alarm sirens off, I throw my hands over my ears. “What the hell is that?” I cry out.

  Ellis jumps to his feet and taps the screen of his phone as Steel strides over to the sliding glass door.

  “Either of you see anything?” West asks loudly as he and Blaine rush over to me.

  “Not from here!” Steel shouts, shaking his head.

  “Cameras aren’t picking anything up either!” Ellis yells over the sirens. Then his eyes enlarge. “Wait a sec …” He swallows hard, glancing from West to Steel. “There’re about twenty agents closing in on us.”

  “How come I can’t see them?” Steel asks, reaching to open the sliding glass door.

  “Because they’ve already gotten to the bottom floor of the apartment.” Worry crams in Ellis’s voice.

  “How the hell did they get past the alarms?” West asks as he folds his hands around my upper arms and draws me to my feet.

  “Because they’re not HHA agents.” Ellis’s throat muscles work as he gives a firm look at West.

  “Wait. You’re not saying …” Blaine gapes at him.

  Ellis continues looking at West. “It’s our agency’s guys.”

  “What’s going on?” I demand as West pulls me to him so my back is lined up against his chest.

  They all choose to ignore me.

  “Maybe it’s just a drill,” Blaine suggests. “Or maybe they sent more men to protect Alexis.”

  “They wouldn’t without notifying us first,” West mutters, tightening his fingers around my arm.

  “What do we do?” Ellis asks West, glancing at his phone. “Because, if we’re going to do something, we need to do it now. They’re already climbing up to the second floor.”

  “We run,” Steel answers, twisting to face us with his arms crossed.

  Ellis’s and West’s jaws practically smack the floor.

  “You want to run?” West questions, wrapping an arm around my waist.

  I can feel his heart thudding against the back of my head and the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He’s worried—they all are. Well, except Steel. He looks calm.

  Steel nods. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re being swarmed only hours after Alexis visited The Afterlife.”

  “How would they even know?” Ellis questions. “I haven’t given our boss an update yet. And besides, even if I had, the agency would want to protect her even more.”

  “Are the agents armed?” Steel asks, but he sounds like he already knows the answer.

  Ellis swallows audibly then nods. “They are.”

  “Then we have to ask why. And why not inform us that they’re coming?” As the siren grows louder, Steel steps toward us and raises his voice. “Look, I don’t have all the answers. I just know that my gut instinct is telling me that, if we let those agents in here, things are going to end poorly.”

  “I’m with Steel on this one,” West agrees, skimming his finger along the sliver of flesh peeking out from the waistband of my jeans and my shirt and causing me to shiver, but in a good, confusing way. “Something about this isn’t right … I can feel it. And if we were following our training, we’d leave. That’s what we were taught to do when we feel like there’s something not quite right about the situation we’re in.”

  “We were also taught to trust our superiors,” Blaine chimes in, stepping up beside West.

  “You can do whatever you want,” West tells him. “You’re not part of this.”

  Blaine stares him down hard. “I thought we agreed in the kitchen that I was a part of this now.”

  West simply shrugs. “That was before all hell broke loose.”

  “I’m staying,” Blaine tightens his jaw.

  “Will you two stop acting like a couple of bitches?” Steel shouts. “We need to move. Now!”

  As if his words smack reality into all of them, they stop arguing and jump into motion.

  Ellis tucks his phone away and pulls out a silver ball from an ankle holster hidden underneath his pant leg, while West urges me forward so he can duck down and draw a knife from an ankle holster. Blaine reaches into his pocket and retrieves a strange-looking silver gadget that has knobs on the side and a screen on top.

  I shake my head, at a loss for words. “What are you …? Huh?” I glance at Steel to see what he’s doing, only to find him simply rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart; you’re with me.” Steel snags ahold of my arm and tows me with him as he strides for the hallway.

  “No way.” I dig my heels into the carpet. “I’m staying with West and Blaine.”

  “Lex, baby, you’ve got to go with him.” West appears beside me, gripping his knife. “You’ll be safest with Steel.”

  Panic sets in. While this whole situation is frightening, it seems like it’d be easier to deal with if I’m with West and Blaine, my friends who I know won’t hurt me.

  “Lex, you need to calm down.” Blaine moves up behind West and locks gazes with me. “Be the girl who jumped off the cliff, okay? Be the badass, brave girl I know and love.”

  Goddamn him and his stupid peptalks. He’s always been good at knowing exactly what to say to me.

  “Fine,” I grimace, jutting my lip out.

  “And stop pouting,” West adds, brushing his thumb across my lip. “We’ll be right behind you.”

  “You better be,” I warn in a dark tone.

  West only chuckles. Then, looking completely and utterly conflicted, he leans forward and brushes his lips across mine. “Be safe,” he whispers then turns and rushes toward Ellis.

  Blaine stares at me with his lips parted in shock. Then he tears his gaze off me and hurries into the living room.

  Steel tugs on my arm. “Let’s go.”

  Nodding, I turn and follow him down the hallway to the door that leads into their little torture chamber.

  “Why are we going in there?” I ask, slowing to a stop. “Isn’t that guy who tried to kill me still in there?”

  And the guy I tried to kill.

  God, I should’ve realized then that everything was about to crumble to shit.

  Steel nods, reaching for the doorknob with his free hand. “But he’s tied up.”

  I start to back away. “He was tied up the last time.”

  He strengthens his grip on my arm. “We don’t have another choice. It’s either go out this way or go the other way and face twenty agents.”

  “Are they …?” I gulp, loathing the shakiness in my voice. “Are they here to kill me?”

  “I honestly don’t know at this point,” Steel says straightforwardly. “But what I do know is that my gut instinct is telling me to run. And my gut instinct is rarely wrong.” He shoves open the door and steps inside.

  I make a choice then to trust him, even though I barely know him, and follow him into the room. I don’t know why I do it—I’m usually not so trustworthy. Maybe I’m just scared and this seems like the best option. Or maybe it’s something deeper. But I’m not ready to go there just yet.

  “He’s asleep?” I ask Steel when I spot the hostage lying limply on the floor.

  His arms are secured to the wall by chains, his feet are bound together with wire, and his face is bloody and bruised.

  “Passed out,” Steel corrects as he marches toward the far left corner of the room.

  “Because you knocked him out?”

  “Yep.” He stops by the wall and releases my hand. “I’d ask if that frightens you, but I’ve decided you aren’t afraid of me.”

  Am I not? I’m not really sure.

  Then again, I’m here so …

  “What are you doing?” I ask as he lines his palm to the wall. “And how are we supposed to get out of the apartment from in here? There’s not even any windows or doors—”

  The wall suddenly slides open, revealing a slender tunnel hidden behind it.

/>   “Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it’s not there.” Steel grabs my hand. “Never doubt me, sweetheart.”

  “I wasn’t doubting you,” I say as he pulls me into the tunnel with him. “And stop calling me sweetheart.”

  “West calls you baby.” Darkness smothers us as he shuts the wall then maneuvers us deeper into the tunnel. “How is that any different?”

  “I don’t let him call me that. He just does, despite my protests.” As my vision becomes limited, I grip his hand tighter, hoping he can see better than I can. “And I don’t even know why he started calling me that. He never has before.”

  He snorts a laugh. “If you really don’t know the answer to that, then you’re pretty fucking clueless.”

  Anger simmers under my skin. “I’m not clueless—”

  He slaps a hand over my mouth and shoves me against the wall. I wiggle my hands between us and push on his chest, panic flaring through my veins.

  “Shh …” he whispers, then grows quiet.

  When I realize he’s not going to try to hurt me, I press my lips together and hold still.

  Thump. Thump. Thump.

  Thump. Thump. Thump.

  Thump. Thump. Thump.

  What is that? I wonder.

  “It’s footsteps,” Steel answers, as if reading my mind. “It’s coming from just outside.”

  I swallow back a shaky breath. If the noise is footsteps, then it sounds like there’s a damn army marching outside.

  We remain motionless for a few minutes until the thumping fades. Then Steel pushes himself back, lowers his hand from my mouth, and grabs my hand again.

  “Try to be as quiet as you can from now on,” he whispers as he guides me down the tunnel again.

  I smash my lips together and breathe through my nose, keeping my footsteps light, which is fairly easy since I’m not wearing any shoes. I’m also not wearing a bra or underwear, and I no longer have my phone. Great. What am I going to do if I do make it out of here? I literally have nothing. Well, except for four guys who want to protect me for some reason. Which sounds good in theory, but people tend to get tired of me. When they do, I have no clue what I’m going to do.