Origin (Lux #4)(8)

He flinched, but his green eyes met mine. “There’s nothing I can say that’s going to change your mind?”

“Nope.”

He stepped back, rubbing his hand down his jaw. Behind him, Beth sat in the chair, her arms wrapped around her waist, her gaze going everywhere except toward us.

Dawson leaned against the counter. “You going to make me beat you into submission?”

Beth’s head jerked up, and I laughed. “I’d like to see you try, little brother.”

“Little brother,” he scoffed, but a faint smile pulled at his lips. Relief was evident on Beth’s face. “By how many seconds?” he asked.

“Enough.” I tossed the water bottle in the garbage.

Several moments passed, and then he said, “I’ll help you.”

“Hell no.” I folded my arms. “I don’t want your help. I don’t want any of you taking part in this.”

Determination set his jaw. “Bull. You helped us. It’s too dangerous to do it on your own. So if you’re going to be stubborn and ignore the fact that you kept me on a leash, which you are, I’m not going to let you do this by yourself.”

“I’m sorry I held you back. Now, knowing exactly how you felt, I would’ve stormed that damn place the very same night you came home. But I’m not going to let you help. Look at what happened when we were in this all together. I can’t be worried about you guys. I want you and Dee as far away as possible from this.”

“But—”

“I’m not going to argue with you.” I placed my hands on his shoulders and squeezed. “I know you want to help. I appreciate that. But if you really want to help, don’t try to stop me.”

Dawson closed his eyes, his features pinching as his chest rose sharply. “Letting you do this by yourself isn’t right. You wouldn’t let me.”

“I know. I’m going to be okay. I’m always okay.” I leaned in, resting my forehead against his. As I clasped the sides of his face, I kept my voice low. “You just got Beth back, and running off with me isn’t right. She needs you. You need her, and I need…”

“You need Katy.” He opened his eyes, and for the first time since the shit went down at Mount Weather, there was understanding in his gaze. “I get that. I do.”

“She needs you, too,” Beth whispered.

Dawson and I broke apart. He turned to her. She was still sitting at the table, her hands opening and closing in her lap in quick, repetitive movements.

“What did you say, babe?” he asked.

“Kat needs him.” Her lashes lifted, and although her gaze was fixed on us, she wasn’t looking at us, not really. “They’ll tell her things at first. They’ll trick her, but the things they’ll do…”

It felt like all the oxygen was sucked out of the room.

Dawson was by her side immediately, kneeling so that she had to look at him. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “It’s okay, Beth.”

She followed his movements almost obsessively, but there was a strange sheen gathering in her eyes, as if she were slipping further away. The hair on the back of my neck rose, and I stepped forward.

“She won’t be at Mount Weather,” Beth said, her stare drifting over Dawson’s shoulder. “They’ll take her far away and make her do things.”

“Do what?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Dawson shot me a look over his shoulder, but I ignored it. “You don’t have to talk about this, babe. All right?”

A long moment passed before she said anything. “When I saw him with you, I knew, but you all seemed like you knew, too. He’s bad news. He was there, too, with me.”

My hands curled into fists as I remembered Beth’s reaction to seeing him, but we had shut her up. “Blake?”

She nodded slowly. “All of them are bad. They don’t mean to be.” Her focus drifted to Dawson, and she whispered, “I don’t mean to be.”

“Oh, baby, you’re not bad.” He placed a hand on her cheek. “You’re not bad at all.”

Her lower lip trembled. “I’ve done terrible things. You have no idea. I’ve ki—”

“It doesn’t matter.” He went down on his knees. “None of that matters.”

A shudder rolled through her, and then she looked up, her eyes locking on mine. “Don’t let them do those things to Katy. They’ll change her.”

I couldn’t move or breathe.

Her face crumpled. “They’ve changed me. I close my eyes, and I see their faces—all of them. I can’t get them out no matter what I do. They’re inside of me.”

Good God…

“Look at me, Beth.” Dawson guided her face back to his. “You’re here with me. You’re not there anymore. You know that, right? Keep looking at me. Nothing’s inside of you.”

She shook her head vigorously. “No. You don’t understand. You—”

Backing off, I let my brother handle this. He talked to her in low, soothing tones, but when she quieted, she stared forward, shaking her head side-to-side slowly, her eyes wide and mouth open. She didn’t blink, didn’t even seem to acknowledge him or me.