Wrong Place (The Wrong Series) Read online

  “Wait a minute. I just don’t buy that. How do we even know you can read anything or anyone? I’m going to need more than just your word to actually believe you,” Michael said.

  “Well, let’s do you then, Michael. Judging by your three hundred and eighty-seven posts on Nathan’s web page and the fact that Jess enters your apartment in the late hours of the night, I would say that if any emergency ever happened, you would probably run to Nathan or have Jess simply come to you. Your past mental instability indicates that you may not care about any physical harm I could do to you, so if I wanted to make you tell me any privileged information that you may have in your head, I would simply threaten to hurt either Nathan or Jess. I think you’re outwardly simple, but inwardly you’re very complicated. Judging by the bandage on your hand and your history of mental illness, I would say that you’re a threat, but not to anyone other than yourself.”

  Lee looked amazed. How could she tell that much about Michael just based off a few records and a bandage?

  “I would say she pretty much has you figured out,” Lee said in amazement.

  “Oh, do you want to go next?” Trish asked and smiled.

  “No, that’s quite all right.”

  Michael was now officially feeling depressed. Is it really so obvious that I’m pathetic, Michael wondered.

  “So why would you get out of that line of work, considering how good you are at it and how much you enjoy it?” Lee asked.

  “Every person I ever captured and interrogated was killed. I didn’t have to kill them or even have to lay a hand on them, but I brought them back to the people who eventually disposed of them. That never sat well with me. I’ve been looking for a way out of this life ever since I finished with my first solo interrogation and found out the fate of the man I had captured.”

  “I see. I think I might be able to forgive you for Tasering me now that I know who you are and your whole situation,” Lee said.

  “Well, I’m so glad that I have your approval,” Trish said sarcastically.

  Nathan returned to the van with all the supplies. Before he got in, Jess pulled him to the side.

  “A lot of the things that I’m about to have to do will probably hurt her really badly. If the need arises, I might need you to hold her still,” Jess said.

  Nathan nodded. He really hated the idea of seeing Sam writhing in pain, but if someone had to help her through this, it was going to be him. The two of them got in the van and crawled back to Sam.

  “This is probably going to hurt, but I need you to be as still as you can,” Jess told Sam.

  She grabbed her left arm. After investigating the injury, however, she found that she only needed to put the arm back in place. Sam’s arm had only been popped out of its socket, as opposed to being broken. Nathan took Sam’s other hand and squeezed it encouragingly. In one swift movement, Jess popped the arm back in place. Sam winced in pain, but after everything else she had felt that day, this seemed minor.

  “All right. I’m going to need you to try to keep that arm straight and still. You probably have some torn ligaments. Nathan, take the alcohol and cotton balls out and disinfect any open cuts while I work on getting this glass out.”

  Everything was finished but one thing.

  “I noticed a pretty bad gash in your leg. What happened?” Jess asked.

  “He stabbed me.”

  “It’s a good thing that the knife missed your femoral artery. We need to disinfect this and get the wound closed up. Hand me the butterfly bandages, Nathan. I think we might be able to close this up with just them. It doesn’t look too bad.”

  After many flinches from Sam, it was done. The wound was finally disinfected and closed.

  “Hey, we’re back,” Lee said.

  “We brought you guys some food,” Michael said.

  “Thanks,” Jess said while grabbing the takeout bag.

  “Hey, do you mind driving for a while?” Jess asked Trish.

  Trish turned and looked toward Lee as if to ask, “So do you trust me enough to know that I’m not going to drive us straight into a trap?” Lee nodded back at her to show his approval. Jess was confused by the strange exchange of looks she had just witnessed.

  “Well, will you drive?” Jess asked.

  “Yeah, I don’t mind,” Trish said while taking the keys.

  “Okay, let’s hurry up and get out of here,” Jess said.

  Three hours later everyone stopped to stretch their legs and grab some drinks. Nathan stayed in the van. He didn’t want to leave Sam alone.

  “Go ahead and stretch your legs. I’ll stay with Sam,” Lee said while sticking his head back in the van door.

  “No, it’s okay. I want to stay here.”

  “Go. You can get me a drink. I know that your legs have to be killing you by now,” Sam said.

  His legs really were hurting. The small back seat didn’t exactly agree with his 6’2” frame.

  “Okay, but I’ll be right back,” Nathan said and exited the van.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Michael asked after noticing that his friend still looked dizzy.

  “Yeah, my head is just killing me. I don’t really know what hit me back at the hotel, but whatever it was, it left its mark.”

  “Yeah, we really need talk about that,” Michael said nervously.

  “What? Do you know who hit me?”

  “I might know who did it, but I’m pretty sure they are sorry,” Michael said while looking down at the ground.

  “Well, who was it?”

  Nathan was angry. He just wanted two minutes alone with whoever hit him. He didn’t care who it was. He was about to hurt someone.

  “It was me,” Michael said quietly.

  The anger in Nathan subsided. Why would Michael hit him? It had to be an accident.

  “It was you? Why in the world would you hit me?”

  “Well, Trish was coming up behind you, and I thought she was going to hurt you. I had a baseball bat, so I took a swing at her. She moved, and guess who my bat hit.”

  “Okay . . . I guess I should say thank you for the intent . . . I think.”

  “Are you mad about it?”

  “No, not at all, but from now on just make sure you don’t come around me with a bat or any other weapon in general actually,” Nathan said and laughed.

  “Okay. I’m so glad that we got that talk over with. The usual?” Michael asked.

  “No. Definitely not. Don’t you remember the last time we gave Sam an energy drink?”

  “Hey, it was a pretty funny experience to me,” Michael said while laughing.

  Nathan and Michael walked into the store and bought some drinks. After they exited the store, a question came to Michael’s mind.

  “So what exactly is the deal with you and Sam? Are you guys a couple or what?”

  “I really like her, and I’m pretty sure she likes me, too, but just like with any relationship, it’s complicated. Okay, maybe it’s very complicated in our case.”

  “What about you and Jess? Is that going anywhere? I could tell that you really care for her.”

  “Yeah, I do, but for some reason, she just doesn’t see me that way,” Michael said while showing a hint of sadness.

  “Don’t worry about it too much. You’ll change her mind soon enough.”

  “I don’t know about that, man. Jess has seen me at my worst. It’s kind of hard to change someone’s mind after they’ve seen that.”

  “You wanted to be a Marine, and in spite of everyone’s doubts, that’s exactly what you became. When you set your mind to something, you’re capable of much more than you believe you are.”

  “You know that’s a sore subject for me. Why would you even bring it up?” Michael asked.

  “I brought it up because it’s a perfect example of the strength and determination you have inside of you. It’s understandable that you lost some of that determination in that desert, but when the day comes that you find yourself again, Jess won’t be able to help herself.
There’s no way she won’t respect and want to be with such a driven person.”

  Michael, for the life of him, couldn’t understand how Nathan saw him in such a way. He had always been a screw up, or at least that was what he thought. Sure, he had his moments where he pushed himself farther than people thought he could go back when he was in the military, but even that ended up being for nothing.

  “I hope you’re right,” Michael simply said in order to end the conversation.

  “Hey, I need to talk to you guys back at the van,” Trish said while walking up behind them.

  * * * * *

  Back in the van, Lee had been sitting with Sam while everyone else stretched their legs.

  “Hey, you look pretty bad,” Lee said while noticing just how beat up she really was.

  “Thanks a lot,” Sam responded.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just concerned.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “I have a question for you.”

  “What is it?” Sam asked.

  “Are you and Nathan a thing? Like, are you two together? I mean, it’s none of my business, but I was just wondering.”

  “Yeah, I think we are.”

  “Well, just do me a favor, and be nice to the guy. I’ve known him since we were kids, and he’s had a lot of rotten luck with women. He’s a great guy, and I’m only asking because I’m his friend.”

  “You have nothing to worry about. I mean, I’m far from perfect, and he probably deserves a lot better than me, or at least a more normal woman, but hurting him is simply not an option for me.”

  “Thank you,” Lee said.

  Just then the door swung open.

  “Hey, guys. Trish wanted to talk to us all about something,” Michael said.

  “I need everyone’s phones,” Trish said plainly.

  “Why?” Lee asked.

  “Every time that Nathan made a call or texted any of you, we knew about it. That’s how we found every single one of you.”

  Nathan was beyond embarrassed. He felt stupid. Had all of this been his fault?

  “I don’t know what to say. I’m really sorry, guys,” Nathan said.

  “It’s okay,” Michael said instantly.

  Everyone passed up their phones up to Trish except for Sam.

  “What about you? I know you have to have a cell phone,” Trish said.

  “It’s a government phone. Trust me; no one is tracing this one,” Sam answered.

  “Fine, you can keep that one if you want to, but I still wouldn’t suggest making any calls on it.”

  Trish then threw all the phones out onto the pavement and began to drive away. The computer tech inside Lee could barely stand the sight of any device being destroyed, much less one of his own.

  “So how about that drink,” Sam said to Nathan.

  “Here, do you want a soda or some water?”

  “What, no energy drinks?”

  “Very funny!” Nathan said.

  Chapter 18

  The group finally found their way to Orlando late that night, but something appeared to be wrong.

  “This is just a storage facility,” Nathan said in surprise by what was at the location of Sam’s supposed safe house.

  “Is it?” Sam asked with a smile.

  They all entered this huge facility. After walking for a little while, they stopped at a certain storage unit.

  “This is it. Number thirteen,” Sam said.

  There was a passcode at the front of the unit. Sam punched in the code and Nathan lifted the door. To everyone but Sam’s dismay, there was nothing there.

  “What’s going on?” Michael asked.

  “Look in the back right corner,” Sam said.

  Michael walked to the back wall and examined it for a moment.

  “There isn’t anything here.”

  “Oh, come on. Does the girl with the hurt leg have to do everything around here?” Sam exclaimed as she limped to the back of the unit.

  She slid her hand across the back of the wall until she felt a switch. Then she flipped it. A small doorway began to open up on the back wall. The newfound doorway led to a staircase.

  “Well, come on, everyone. The door automatically closes after one minute,” Sam said.

  They all made their way down the stairs and found that they were in a small two bedroom apartment.

  “How is any of this possible?” Lee asked.

  “The CIA owns this facility, and unit thirteen is coincidentally always full,” Sam said.

  “This is pretty impressive. We should be safe here for quite some time,” Trish said.

  “I hope so. Look, I’m going to write down the passcode for the main door down right here,” Sam said while motioning to a piece of paper on the counter of the apartment’s kitchen.

  The place was fairly nice. It wasn’t really designed to house six people, but it would have to do for a few days.

  “So we need to talk about sleeping arrangements. There are only two beds, and there are six of us. I’m sleeping in here,” Sam said while motioning to one of the bedrooms.

  “I call the other room,” Jess said.

  “Well, I’m definitely with you then,” Michael said.

  “Oh, no you’re not.”

  “What? Why not?”

  Let’s just say that I would be more comfortable without someone of the opposite sex in my bed. How about you Trish? Would you like to share the room with me?” Jess asked.

  “Sure, why not,” Trish said.

  Michael then turned toward the couch, only to find that Lee was already asleep on it. Lee was exhausted. He had only slept a couple of hours in the last two days.

  “Great! Where am I supposed to sleep?” Michael asked.

  “There are some covers and pillows in the closet near the bathroom. You can take the floor tonight, and maybe Lee will let you have the couch tomorrow night,” Sam said.

  Nathan felt a little bad for Michael. He always gets the short end of the stick. Where am I going to sleep, though? I could sleep with Sam, but it’s not like I can be the one to suggest it. That might seem odd to her, Nathan thought while staring at Sam. What is he thinking so intently about, Sam wondered.

  “Nathan, are you coming or what?” Sam finally asked.

  “What?” Nathan asked.

  “Oh come on. You were always going to be in here. It’s not like this is the first time we’ve slept together,” Sam said casually.

  “What!” Michael asked in surprise by what he had just heard.

  “She didn’t mean it the way it came out. We truly have only slept together,” Nathan explained.

  “Sure, sure,” Michael said while winking at him and then giving him a thumbs up.

  Nathan no longer knew what to say to Michael, so he just walked into the bedroom with Sam and shut the door.

  “What did he think I was talking about?” Sam asked.

  “Think about it Sam,” Nathan said.

  “I don . . . ” Sam said before being cut off.

  “No. Really think hard about it, Sam.”

  “Oh! He thought . . . ”

  “Yeah, he did.”

  A long silence engulfed the room. Finally, Sam broke the silence.

  “Why did you come back for me today? You could have gotten yourself killed, you know. You picked the worst possible time to raise your gun. He was pointing his gun straight at you when you raised yours.”

  “I could never leave you, and you’re wrong. I picked the best possible time to shoot.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I waited until he turned the gun away from you. I didn’t really care where it was aiming as long as it wasn’t aiming at you.”

  “Nathan, that was very stupid. You know that I’m the one who should be protecting you.”

  “You have protected me before, and I’m confident you will again, but you have to know that I will always protect you, too,” Nathan said while wrapping his arms around her.

  His arms were bigger and stronger
than Sam had initially thought they were. Somehow, she really did feel safe in his arms. She slept more peacefully that night in his arms than she had been able to since this whole ordeal began.

  * * * * *

  Back in Jess and Trish’s room, they were talking.

  “So what’s the deal with you? What’s your story?” Jess asked.

  Trish told the same story she had previously told to Michael and Lee.

  “Wow! That’s amazing! So can you read me?”

  “You might not like what I tell you. I don’t think your friend Michael did when he asked me to prove that I could really read people that easily,” Trish said.

  “Oh, well what did you tell him?”

  Trish then told her about her own assessment of Michael.

  “He really is broken, isn’t he? I worry about him a lot. I wish I could help him somehow.”

  “Broken things can be fixed,” Trish simply said.

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that if you are truly this guy’s friend, then you shouldn’t give up on him.”

  “You’re right. Okay, now tell me what you can read about me.”

  Trish stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts.

  “I think that you’re a natural born caregiver. You are excellent with Michael. You took care of Sam back in the van, and you gave me a way out of the life I was living, even when I didn’t deserve it. You’re the best kind of friend a person can have because you give without ever keeping a mental record of how much you’ve received. You’re picky when it comes to romance, though. You want the person you’re with to be well put together in most areas of their life. Someone like Michael, in his current state, would be an embarrassment to you. You secretly hope that one day he’ll be more put together, or at least more mentally stable, so there may be something between the two of you. He’s someone you could be with for the rest of your life and be happy with, but he’s not someone you would be proud of, and therein lies the problem.”