Run With The Devil

A Step Ahead

Deon's pov

The morning sunlight filtered through the tinted windows of the SUV as we drove back to the mansion. Lyra sat beside me, quiet but observant. I caught her eyes darting around, taking in everything outside, the world beyond the sterile walls of the lab. Every now and then, she'd glance at me, her thoughts unreadable. I knew she had questions-about who I was, about what came next-but for now, she stayed silent.

When we finally pulled up to the gates of the mansion, I noticed her eyes widen slightly. Even after everything she'd been through, the sight of the sprawling estate seemed to take her by surprise. This wasn't the cold, confined world of cages and control she had known all her life. This was something entirely different.

As we stepped out of the car, I nodded toward Marco, one of my more trusted men. "Marco," I said, "give her the grand tour. Show her around the mansion."

Marco gave a small, respectful nod and turned to Lyra. "This way, Miss," he said, his tone polite but firm.

Lyra glanced at me, uncertainty flashing in her eyes. I nodded back. "Go ahead. Make yourself at home. I've got some things to take care of."

With a hesitant look, she followed Marco inside, her steps slower than her usual speed. Even with all her power, she seemed unsure of this new world she was stepping into. She didn't know yet, but this was a world far more dangerous than any lab.

I watched her disappear into the mansion before heading to my office. There was work to be done, and I needed to move quickly. Once the door closed behind me, I went straight to my desk, pulling up the latest reports on the lab.

The fire had consumed it entirely. The building was nothing more than ash and twisted metal now. I watched the footage of the flames eating away at the structure, black smoke curling into the sky. Whoever had been running that operation lost everything, and I couldn't help but smirk. The evidence was gone, the trail burned to the ground with it.

Perfect.

But that didn't mean the threat was gone. The people behind that lab were still out there, and they weren't going to stop just because they'd lost one facility. They'd come looking for her eventually. Lyra wasn't just any experiment. They had kept her alive for 18 years when so many others had died. There had to be a reason. Something about her made her special-different. I intended to find out what that was.

I turned my attention to Lyra, tapping into one of my deeper sources, trying to dig up anything on her background. But the more I searched, the more I realized just how little there was. She wasn't listed in any public records. No birth certificate, no medical history-nothing. As far as the system was concerned, Lyra Morgan didn't exist.

Because she had been born in that lab.

The realization hit me hard. Everything about her life, from the moment she took her first breath, had been controlled by them. No family, no home, no outside world. Just tests, injections, and endless isolation. She wasn't just a subject-they had made her. She was their creation.

But she's not theirs anymore.

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the screen. Her abilities-the speed, the way her body handled the serums when others died from them-there was something unique about her biology. But why? What was it that kept her alive when everyone else failed?

I pulled up more files, reports on other subjects from the lab. Each one was listed as deceased, their bodies unable to withstand the experiments. But Lyra, subject 019, was different. She had survived.

I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to it. Something they had planned for her. And if that was true, then the people behind that lab weren't done with her yet.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. Marco stepped in, his expression respectful but serious. "The tour's done," he said. "She seems... unsettled, but she's adjusting."

I nodded, already knowing that this world was as strange to her as the lab had been. "Good. Make sure she has everything she needs. Keep her comfortable."

Marco hesitated, his brow furrowing slightly. "Do you think they'll come for her?"

"They will," I said, my voice cold with certainty. "But when they do, we'll be ready."

He nodded and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk, and stared at the blank screen. Lyra had no idea how deep this ran. She didn't know what the people who created her were capable of, or how far they'd go to get her back. But I did.

I'd seen this kind of thing before-people in power, using others like tools, like disposable assets. But Lyra wasn't an asset. Not to me. She was a person, and no one was going to take her freedom from her again.

I shut down the laptop and stood, feeling the weight of the task ahead settle over me. I had to protect her. But more than that, I had to uncover the truth about what they had planned for her.

Whatever it was, I'd make sure it never saw the light of day.

Because from now on, Lyra wasn't their creation. She was mine to protect.

And I never let anyone take what's mine.