Ionic Attraction

By D.R. Rosensteel

Zach’s got a secret. The only reason he’s agreed to an internship at the Mastermind Complex, a high-tech academy for teens, is to use their supercomputer to find the person who framed him. He never stole anything but was locked up in juvie anyway. Now he’s out, he’s got a plan, and nothing will get in his way…not even the girl he’s been partnered with, who excels at proving opposites attract.


Jane’s got a secret. She was the informant who led to Zach’s arrest. Did she mean for that to happen? No way. And now she has to work with him to save the world. Because an “internship” at the Mastermind Complex is actually a program to train super-geniuses as soldiers in a war of the minds. Zach’s and Jane’s intellectual skills complement each other, making them an unbeatable pair.

She can’t resist their ionic attraction, but if he ever discovers the truth, she’ll lose him forever. And worse, breaking their partnership would mean sacrificing all the innocent lives depending on them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Jan 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781640638754

Book preview

To Brenda, the love of my life. Our attraction has been ionic from the day we met. You still take my breath away. Because of you, Darkside has no power over me.

Chapter One

Zach

The days of watching his back were suddenly over. So was the terror of the torture machine.

The neutron force field across Zachary Keen’s cell dissolved. The guard named Ace grudgingly waved him out. Zach grunted. He should have been thrilled at his unexpected early release, that he wouldn’t have to carry out his threat. He’d sworn to Ace that they’d have to kill him before they would put him back in the machine. And he meant it. But as he walked down the long, monitor-lined hallway in front of the jailer, his footsteps echoing, gibes coming from the other kids’ cells, two thoughts burned in his mind. One, how badly he’d disappointed Mom. Would she ever be proud of him again? And two—revenge on the snake that set him up.

Zach did a double take at the enormous wall monitor. That was him on the screen. His shoulders seemed wider, muscles tighter than he remembered. He’d lost count of the pushups he had done. To say that he worked out for his health was on par with calling the Tiananmen Square Massacre a difference of opinion.

The faux-hawk hair wasn’t bad. A transformation generously provided by the juvie barber, and a far cry from the run-your-hand-through-and-be-done hairstyle he wore in his high school sophomore days. Maybe the shorter hairstyle would make Mom believe he’d cleaned up his act. Seeing him in jeans and a tee instead of juvie orange wouldn’t hurt, either. She never said anything during her visits, just looked at him and shook her head. All his life, she’d told him how proud her boys made her. Then this.

The day they arrested him was a blur. The only clear part was the way they cuffed him and treated him like a serial killer. Humiliated in front of his whole family. His year in juvie was hell. It had changed him, he knew. He went in naive, a geeky sixteen-year-old. He came out bitter and scarred.

Zach missed his family, couldn’t wait to see them. He hoped they felt the same.

I don’t want to see you back in here, the warden said when Zach came to the end of the corridor.

Ace sneered and filled his lip with snuff. Zach flinched when he reached out to deactivate the cuffs.

No, sir. Zach kept his head down. He had learned that lesson on Day One. Never look authority in the eye, or your life would be miserable. On Day Two, he’d learned another one.

Trust no one.

Somebody pulled strings, the warden said. You’ll finish high school at the Mastermind Complex with your brothers. The thought of seeing them again put a lump in his throat, but he wasn’t about to give Ace the satisfaction.

He and his brothers were geniuses. Zach’s quantum physics prowess had earned him accolades from the science community, but none of it mattered once Ace shoved him into that cell. Ace owned him. High school bullies were amateurs next to prison bullies. Being a genius put a target right square in the middle of his back, so Zach had to learn to fight. Like everything else, he learned quickly, and he learned well. It became his super power on the inside, and the only thing that kept him alive. His brothers knew all the details of juvie life. The bad food. Laundry duty. School work. The fights. Everything.

Except the machine. There was nothing they could have done about it anyway. It would have just stressed them.

Record’s expunged. Nice second chance, Keen, don’t you think?

Yes, sir. He knew that. Didn’t know who did it or why.

You and your brothers close?

Yes, sir. Extremely.

Triplets, right?

Yes, sir.

Do you have that mind bond thing that triplets are supposed to have?

They did. They called it the Bro Link. And it was strong. No, sir. That’s just a myth.

Keen?

Sir? Zach shrugged off the impulse to look up and instead stared at the warden’s shoes.

Good luck. You don’t belong in here.

He nodded and left the warden’s office. When they got to the prison gate, Ace smirked. You’ll be back. Your kind always comes back. Then you belong to old Ace again. Remember that, boy. He spit black tobacco juice onto Zach’s shoe and shoved him out the door. Zach stumbled but caught himself. He glared at Ace then turned away. Spitting on him was the nicest thing the man had ever done to Zach. Scads nicer than shoving him in the machine. As the locks clicked behind him, Zach wiped his shoe on the grass and took his first breath of free air. Smelled wet. It was raining. Papa was supposed to pick him up at the gate, but the street was empty. His first day of freedom wasn’t off to a good start.

Would Mom even come?

Suddenly the Bro Link triggered, and Zach was inside his brothers’ heads. Movies about twins and triplets had the mind bond all wrong. Zach couldn’t see what his brothers saw. He couldn’t hear their thoughts. It wasn’t like that. There were no images, no voices. There was just…knowing. And Zach knew his brothers were excited about something. About him.

A grin that he couldn’t control spread across his face. He couldn’t wait to see them. Ignoring the downpour, he looked up and down the street for signs of Papa’s SUV.

Zach!

Nolan’s voice made Zach’s heart leap. There, across the parking lot, his family was waiting in the August rain. Mom… And Papa, Mikey, and Nol. They were all there. Like Zach, his brothers were thin with black hair, piercingly dark eyes, and light porcelain-like skin, but Mikey’s hair was pompadoured, while Nolan had a buzz cut. Zach took off at a dead run and dove into open arms.

Hey, buddy! Papa pulled him into a tight hug. Mom and both brothers joined in, and Zach squeezed hard. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Mom began to sob, saying his name over and over. She reached up and touched his cheek. Zach hadn’t felt that for a year, and it sent waves of comfort through him. Mom didn’t hate him. She’d come for him. He was rescued.

I missed you. Zach buried his face against her cheek. Then Papa broke down, and Zach’s brothers lost it, too. The whole family held one another, sobbing silently, warm rain drenching them, until the tears stopped.

You grew muscles, dude, Mikey said when they finally pulled away. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. And got a new do. Aren’t you afraid it’ll ruin your geek image?

Hopefully. Zach grinned and scrubbed a hand through his brother’s black pompadour. Compliments of the Quantum City Detention Center for Juvenile Offenders, greatest rehab center this side of Chicago.

You’re still using words with multiple syllables, Nolan said. That’s a good sign. I figured your brain would be fried after all that time hobnobbing with the criminal element.

Fried brain. A tremor passed through Zach at the memory of the machine. Best that his brothers didn’t know. The machine even blocked the Bro Link. It blocked everything. You have no idea.

Mom kissed him on the cheek. Let’s go home, honey. I’ll make your favorite.

You’re the best. They don’t serve dim sum in jail. Home. Zach hadn’t seen it in so long. The first thing he would do is settle in and enjoy his missed family time. The next thing…

His eyes met his brothers’ as they climbed into Papa’s SUV. The Bro Link clicked. Mike and Nol scowled at each other then nodded at Zach.

Gotcha, dude, Mikey said. We already have a plan.

Nolan’s jaw clenched. The jerk who set you up is going down.

Chapter Two

Jane

He’s perfect. Jane Lew leaned into the War Room table, pleading her case.

Her dad’s expression was hard as iron. No, Zachary Keen is a train wreck.

Which is why no one will suspect. Jane tossed her head back, glaring in frustration at the ceiling. Why was he making an already difficult situation harder? She didn’t want to do it, but it was the right thing. I think it’s a good idea, Dad.

He straightened his tie and scowled toward the conference room security cameras hanging from the ceiling. Jane, please. You know better.

She followed her father’s gaze to the base of the camera. No flashing green light. The camera’s off. It’s okay. You can be ‘Dad’ in here.

Her father’s eyes narrowed. We’ve discussed this. I can’t.

Jane lowered her head and stared into the polished tabletop, but seeing her reflection didn’t help her mood. She hated the pixie cut and the new color. Part of the change her father had forced on her to make her less recognizable. All it really did was point out the obvious—Jane was adopted. Different than the rest of her family. Why not change her eyes instead of making her hair brown? Sorry. I just think bringing him in is a good idea…Mr. Parker. The mission can use him.

"The mission is going to use him, thanks to your bleeding heart. Dad shook his head. I called in a lot of favors to get him released early. Against my better judgment."

And I appreciate it.

He slid a manila folder across the table toward her. Have you even looked at his profile? He’s distrustful. He’s combative. He’s arrogant. He has issues with authority.

I would probably be profiled the same way if I’d been tossed in jail for something I didn’t do.

No doubt, he grunted. But I can’t trust someone like that inside HAVOC. You of all people should know that.

HAVOC. The name stressed her. Jane had stumbled on the terrorist group when one of its members kidnapped her. After her escape, her father insisted she leave public school to attend the Mastermind Complex’s private high school. For your own safety was his reasoning.

For my own safety, I am not allowed to attend the school I grew up in. For my own safety, I had to cut off the long hair I’ve had all my life.

Now that she thought about it, For your own safety was the reason her last name was Lew and his was Parker. Someone might make the connection, he’d reasoned. We can’t take that risk.

Shouldn’t be a problem. Different last names. I look like Awkwafina. You look like Indiana Jones. Nobody will realize that I’m your only daughter. I wonder if you even do.

She understood the dangerous nature of his work. It had always been classified. But since he’d taken over this top-secret division of the Mastermind Complex, he was a different person. Dad, the man who had so lovingly adopted Jane when she was orphaned, was the love of her life. She was a total Daddy’s girl. But Mr. Parker was impossible. And it was her fault. If she hadn’t been kidnapped, she could still call him Dad in public. Now, he always seemed angry with her, like she was a burden.

All her life, he told her how much he loved being her father. Until the kidnapping. Did he still love being her father? Did he still love her? Or was she simply an obligation? His hair seemed grayer and his face more lined than a man his age should have been. His blue eyes were still bright, but there was sadness to them. She should have let him send her away to his relatives in Montana like he wanted to after the kidnapping.

She needed to not screw up this time. She would prove she could do it…this mission would come off without a hitch and she would right a wrong. She wanted to be more to her father than an obligation. Even if that meant trusting success to a complete stranger.

She closed the folder. I’ll go inside with him, Da—Mr. Parker. I’ll keep him on track.

Her father’s eyes widened. No, Jane. That’s not even up for discussion.

We can’t send Zachary in alone.

Mr. Parker’s grim face told Jane that he wasn’t budging on this one. "This mission is bigger than any we’ve taken on, and I need you on the outside. The well-being of an entire city depends on it. As does my sanity. He will be the one who goes inside. That’s the only reason I agreed to getting him released. You are not going in. She started to protest, but he raised a palm and kept going. Why does everything have to be an argument, Jane? Why can’t you just do as I ask? You know our intel is 100 percent accurate. We don’t need you to go with him. You can work with Anna. Or Mina."

But Jane wasn’t budging, either. She knew the intel wasn’t accurate, because she could see logic holes that no one else seemed to notice. That was her thing—making unlikely connections. And Zachary filled a gap that no one had seen but her. The success of their mission depended on Jane and Zachary working together. She tapped her finger against the folder. Zachary Keen is a genius. Exactly the type HAVOC likes to recruit. They’d finger Anna and Mina in a minute.

Mr. Parker gritted his teeth. I’m not comfortable using someone that inexperienced in a dangerous undercover recon.

You always tell me I’m the best trainer you know. I’ll make sure he’s ready. Keen is a fast learner.

He frowned. I would prefer to put him in one of the Special Programs like we said in his letter.

Jane shook her head. Please—

I know you, Jane. This isn’t about Zachary’s profile. His voice softened. You still blame yourself for his situation.

Yes. I do. That has nothing to do with it. He’s the best choice for this and you know it’s true.

His shoulders sagged. All right. But how exactly do you expect the introduction to go? ‘Hello, my name is Jane Lew, I’m the reason you went to juvie for a crime you didn’t commit’?

Jane’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. This was really happening now. We’ll just have to make sure he never finds out, then, won’t we?

Chapter Three

Zach

Not feelin’ the Mastermind thing. Zach shrugged out of the headlock Mike had him in. I think I’ll just hang out here for the rest of my life.

After an amazing dim sum breakfast, Zach had spent his first day back home lounging in his room with his brothers. Hanging out with them was the thing he missed most while in prison. And wrestling. Lounging always turned into a wrestling match. It used to be pretty even, but after a year of having to defend himself for real every time the warden turned his back, Zach had the advantage now.

What did they feed you in there? Mike said as Zach flipped him onto his back. You go in Clark Kent and come out Superman.

Incoming! Nolan flew off the bed and landed on his brothers, pinning them both to the floor. Be on the alert for friendly fire.

Zach laughed. He was home.

You don’t have a choice, Zach. Mom poked her head through the door.

Suddenly Zach’s temper darkened. She was right. He didn’t. I know, condition of my parole. Ruining the mood, Mom. He crawled out from beneath the brother pile and sat on the floor. How do you always manage to walk in just in time to hear what I don’t want you to hear?

Mom power. She came in the rest of the way. Hey, at least you get to finish your senior year studying under the most brilliant scientists in the world. You even get to live in their Student Residence Center. I would have preferred to keep you home, but at least I’ll be able to visit any time I want. Mastermind Special Program. Sounds impressive.

Zach huffed. "Yeah. Special, as in ‘specially made for ex-cons.’ Mikey and Nol get to be in the internship program, but I’m stuck in some special program that says ‘This dude was in jail.’ Forgive me if I don’t do backflips."

You’re not an ex-con, Zachary. Mom’s voice softened. "You are a juvenile offender who has done his time. Once you turn eighteen, you won’t even have a