Free Impostor by Susanne Winnacker

who’d taken their daughter away from them. Even if I couldn’t give Linda and Ronald Chambers their daughter back, I could at least try to give them justice. We turned another corner and they disappeared from view.
    Hawk-Face leaned against the wall a few steps from us. He straightened when he saw us. Major let go of my arm. I hadn’t even realized he’d been dragging me along.
    “Why are they still there?” Major’s scowl made the man recoil.
    “I’m sorry, sir. They should be gone any moment.”
    “They’d better be.”
    Major started pacing and I busied myself with counting his steps. His legs weren’t long but his stride made him look tall. Hawk-Face peered around the corner, then turned to us and gave a quick nod.
    We walked back to Madison’s room, my mouth as dry as sawdust. Hawk-Face marched ahead and opened the door. Major beckoned for me to enter. There was no turning back now.

CHAPTER 7
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    T he silence of the machines hit me.
    No beeping.
    No intake of breath.
    I wished I had my iPod with me; anything to drown out the silence in the room. Madison lay on the bed. Nothing had changed—except for her missing heartbeat and the stillness of her rib cage.
    “Can I have a moment?” I asked. The words sounded muffled, like they were spoken through a layer of cotton. Major hesitated. Did he have to question everything I did?
    I set my jaw, keeping my focus on Madison as I waited for him to leave. When he finally did, I moved to her side. Her eyes were closed, as if she were asleep. I’d always thought that death would be ugly and ghastly and forbidding. Instead it masked itself with peacefulness and quiet.
    I reached out, my fingertips stopping an inch from her hand, then closed the gap and touched her cold skin. I sank down beside the bed, my forehead coming to rest on the cool blanket beside her body. There was no sound.
    The small ball of unease that formed in my stomach when I first heard about the mission had now turned into a pulsating fear beneath my skin. Looking at Madison’s still form, I was forced to confront the truth. A killer would be after me; someone who cut
A
s into the skin of his victims, like an artist signing his work.
    Just then, the door opened without warning. I stumbled to my feet, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill over my eyes. I wanted to snap at Major for giving me so little time.
    But it wasn’t Major.
    Alec gently closed the door behind him. I turned away and perched on the bed, my fingertips resting on Madison’s hand. Why was he here? Shouldn’t he be off saying goodbye to Kate?
    He moved closer. “How are you feeling?”
    “How do you think I’m feeling?” His eyes rested on me, kind and understanding, and I had to press my lips together to keep myself in check. I couldn’t risk breaking down now, in front of him.
    “I know it’s hard for you.”
    I stumbled to my feet. “How would you know? Are you about to lie to a family? Are you about to smile at them, laugh with them, all the while pretending to be their dead daughter? Do you have to look into their faces and see the joy of having their daughter back, all the while knowing that it’s all a lie?” More words threatened to spurt out; the truth of how scared I was, the worry over making a rookie mistake and ending up dead. But I swallowed them back. If Alec knew just how scared I was, his annoying protectiveness would only skyrocket.
    Alec reached out to pull me into his arms but I pressed my palms against his chest. I didn’t want his pity, his consolation. He didn’t let go. The feel of his hands on my arms, warm and comforting, broke my resistance. I let him embrace me, let his woodsy smell envelop my senses, let it carry away some of the pain. I felt my pulse slowing with his touch, felt my muscles relax for the first time in days.
    “Tess, nobody expects you to be perfect, to go through this mission like a machine. You’re allowed to be angry and frustrated. And you’re allowed to