Nothing Without You | Eric Coulter [2]

twenty-nine

They made sure to keep the three of us separate, taking us to completely different ends of the compound.

As far as I knew, there were only two areas that had holding cells here in Erudite, and I was headed to neither of those places.

With my hands cuffed behind me and the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of my head, I'm careful not to make any suspicious movements that would earn me a bullet through my skull.

I'm led into an empty room, where Spencer pushes me to my knees and orders me to stay. With no other choice, I did as he told me to and remained kneeled on the ground.

Just like its hallways, the room is entirely white and completely bare, save for an armchair in the corner.

Spencer doesn't say much else as he leaves through the only door in the room and it wasn't long before the sound of the door sliding open again caught my attention, followed by footsteps approaching us.

The moment the newcomer entered the room, I just knew that my mother had decided to grace us with her presence.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" She crouches down in front of me.

She reaches up as if to touch my face and I swerve to avoid the contact.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," Evelyn says, "But I didn't have a choice-"

"Bullshit," I hiss, "Where's Uriah and Eric? Did you hurt them?"

"They're safe," She reassures, "I promise they won't be harmed."

"Yeah, your promises don't mean shit to me right now."

She frowns at my words, shaking her head in disappointment. "When will you understand that I'm trying to do what's best for you?"

"What's best for me would be to end this!" I yelled in frustration, "If you truly believe trying to kill the man I love is what's best for me, then you must be fucked in the head."

"I am your mother, Vanessa! You do not speak to me like that!" She snaps.

I scoff at her lecture, "Hate to break it to you, Evelyn. But you lost that title when you decided to leave me and Tobias with that monster." I lean in conspiratorially, "And then you secured that when you tried to have Eric killed right in front of me. So, no. You're not my mother. That woman that I knew is dead."

Her eyes are wide as she looks at me, and then she lets out a self-deprecating laugh. "I don't know how we got here, but this was never my intention. If there was another way..."

"Don't lie to yourself, Evelyn. Even if there were, we'd still find each other in the exact same situation." I shook my head at her, letting my disgust show, "Nothing was ever going to stop you from trying to gain the power you think you deserve, was it? At the end of it all, that's what matters the most to you. Even as your children...we never stood a chance."

"I know you're angry at me, Vanessa. And when this is all said and done, I hope you'll see why I've done what I've done." She slowly rose to her feet, looking down at me like I was still the naive little girl that she'd left behind at Abnegation. She was wrong. "But there's nothing you can say that would make me change my mind. One way or another, I'm going to finish this."

My eyes searched her features, seeing the quiet determination behind them that made my gut twist with unease. Evelyn had already made up her mind about how she was going to end this war, and she was willing to trample over every single person who dared step in her way.

"Are you going to at least tell me what you have planned for us?" I come right out with my question, "After everything, I'd say you owe me at least that."

Evelyn's steps falter halfway to the door and I can see the hesitation starting to settle in her.

So, I seize the opportunity as much as it makes me guilty to think that I was manipulating someone's emotions.

"Mom..." I force the word out, hoping it comes across as sincere. "Please."

Her eyes grow glassy as she looks back at me, but I guess even sentiment wasn't on my side, because she leaves without so much as another look back.

Edgar barges in right after she clears the doorway, wearing a grin that looks too smug for my liking and I curl my hand into fists behind my back.

My scalp burns when the asshole grabs me by the hair and yanks me to my feet.

I grit my teeth, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me in pain.

"Don't worry, sweetie," Edgar mocks, using the term of endearment Evelyn had used on me. "It's all going to be over soon."

I frown at his words. Normally, I knew not to engage in this kind of taunting. But I also knew that Edgar was too much of an egotistical asshole not to seize the opportunity to gloat, so I took the bait.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"What? Didn't Mommy tell you?" He sticks out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout, "She didn't bother to let you in on her little plan, did she? Looks like you're not mommy's favourite after all."

Anger rises in my chest, and I would've given anything in the moment to take a swing at Edgar's extremely punchable face.

"What plan?" I asked.

Sure enough, Edgar doesn't even hesitate before he spills the beans. "Didn't you hear? Those memory serums sure do come in handy. Soon enough, we're going to make all of Chicago forget their own name."

The information makes my heart stumble in my chest, but I don't get the chance to dwell on it when my eyes catch on a flash of black clothing darting into the room through the open door, just as Lynn raises his gun and brings it down on the back of Edgar's head.

The hit knocks him clean out and his body drops to the ground unceremoniously like a sack of potatoes.

"You okay?" Lynn asks, rushing to free me from my restraints.

"I'm fine. Are you?" I checked in return, bending down to arm myself with Edgar's weapons.

"We're good," She tells me, "Zeke's gone to-"

Before she could even get her words out, a shrill alarm sounded through the compound.

"This is an emergency announcement, all units please assemble at the main hall. I repeat, all units please assemble at the main hall." The automated broadcast replays itself over and over, so loudly that I have to yell over the noise.

"I assume that's Zeke's doing?"

Lynn smirks at me and jerks her chin towards the door, "Come on, we'll meet them halfway."

I don't question my friend's plans and follow her lead. I decide it would be easier to brief all of them on what I've discovered when we reconvene.

All I'm hoping is that it won't already be too late when we get there.