The Cure by Teyla Branton Page B

all.”
    I swallowed hard. “But you did help. You saved all of us with that illusion.”
    “What are you . . .” He stopped. “That was real? I thought I was hallucinating.”
    “You didn’t think it was strange they looked like those actors in that show you watch every week?”
    He gave me a weak smile. “Does this mean I’m part of the group?”
    “You always were.”
    “No. I was useless.”
    I sighed. “We all felt that way in the beginning.” Who was I kidding? I still felt that way most days. It only meant I had to work harder.
    Clattering down the hall diverted my attention. Lifting my gun, I aimed at the door, releasing a sharp breath as Jace’s head came into view. He nodded at me and began checking the Unbounded.
    Ava appeared moments later, several syringes in her hand. She tossed one to Jace. “Give ten mils to each. That should hold them at least twenty-four hours.”
    “That one’s human,” I said, knowing ten milligrams of Ava’s cocktail would kill a mortal.
    Jace checked his pulse. “Won’t matter. He’s dead.”
    Dead.
    My eyes burned as I stared at the inert form, knowing his death represented how far I was willing to go to protect my family and friends. Saving them should make seeing his lifeless body easier, but somehow it didn’t. “All of ours okay?” I asked.
    Ava knelt next to me, uncapping a syringe. Curequick gel by the thickness of the needle. “Everyone’s fine except Gaven. I’m sorry, but he’s dead.”
    I lifted eyes that wouldn’t focus properly. Gaven? Only hours ago he’d been calming Mari in the park. He’d survived government black ops and years with the Renegades, but now he was gone. “What about Mari?” I choked.
    Ava began injecting Stella near the worst of her wounds. “I’m not sure. She disappeared during the fighting.”
    “Do you think they have her?” Mari was an innocent. There was no way she could protect herself.
    “I don’t think so, but it is a possibility. It all happened so fast. We were defending ourselves when we heard you come in downstairs, and when I looked around, she wasn’t there.” Ava sighed. “Ritter’s searching for her now. Look, I need you to get Stella and Oliver and the kids out of here. Go to Stella’s. I can’t send anyone with you since I need the others to clean up here, but you can call Chris and tell him to meet you there. He should be finished fueling the plane by now. I’d planned for him to stay there in case we decided to fly out tonight, but Cort and Dimitri are going to have to be on their own for a while. We’re not leaving any of these bastards to fight again.”
    There was no venom in her voice, only a determined calmness, but her choice of words chilled me. Ava never swore. Few of the older Renegade Unbounded did. They’d been raised in a time where gutter words signaled poor education, children respected their elders, and marriage meant a lifetime commitment.
    That was one of the reasons I’d trusted Ritter’s promise.
    “Okay,” I said, taking a syringe from her. I should use it on myself, but Oliver needed it worse than I did. He’d collapsed again and seemed to be struggling for breath. One of the bullets must have clipped his lung. Besides, there should still be enough curequick in my system from earlier to help me recover now.
    “I may need to call someone to look at them.” I told Ava, as I inserted the needle into Oliver’s chest. He flinched but didn’t open his eyes. Both he and Stella would eventually heal without help, though getting out bullets and stopping the bleeding would speed up matters. Besides, I was worried about the baby.
    “What about that doctor you have working with your dad?” Ava put her arms under Stella and lifted the shorter woman.
    I nodded. Dimitri would be better, but Wade Crampton would do in a pinch. The doctor worked at the local university teaching and conducting research on transplants with government grants. I’d hired him on the side to