The doctor gave her an oily smile that made her want to rush to take a shower. “Call me Richard, Ms. McGowen.”
She cast her gaze around the room, her eyes flying to anything and everything to keep from meeting his ever watchful eyes.
“Richard,” she said, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath and exhaled, hating that she had to put up this pretense to keep these people off guard. “The man is barely human as it is. If you do that to him, he may lose what little he has left of his humanity.”
“This would be a bad thing, how?” he said with a chuckle. “Don’t tell me you care that much about him.”
She saw the disbelief wash over his face and shook her head. “Of course not.” She fought the urge to snort. “I care that much about the innocent strangers he’ll hurt if you change him.”
“You have nothing to worry about, Ms. McGowen. He’s never going to leave this place.”
So, what else is new? You aren’t going to let me go when you’re done with me either. Don’t you think I know that? Carly had to concede the fact that Robert most likely wasn’t aware of this new turn of events. What she would give to be a fly on the wall...
Chapter Thirty-five
“He’ll live and he’ll like it, Aunt Elena,” Bastien said when she stepped into his arms and rested her head against his shoulder.
“What’s to stop him from trying again? I don’t think my heart can stand another scare like that.”
“We’ve taken all of the sharp objects from the place.” He looked around with a frown. “We’ve taken all of the metal utensils and replaced them with plastic so he can’t try to stab himself with a fork or butter knife.” Stepping back, he ran a hand through his hair and looked around the room for anything they might have missed. “We’ve even removed just about everything he could use to hang himself with. The cords we left have been stapled to the floor every four inches or so. It’s going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to move them.”
“Why did you leave any? Why not take them all?”
“He needs the electronics, Aunt Elena. He’d certainly go mad without them.” If all of those precautions didn’t deter him from another suicide attempt, nothing would.
“Oh, yes. I suppose you have a point.”
Bastien took his aunt by the shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I have to go find Dimitri and the others. Will you be okay?”
She nodded, turning to stroll over to her son’s bedside. She looked back and smiled. “Go find your mate, sweetheart. I’m almost as anxious to meet her as your grandparents are.” She turned back to Luke, sat down on the chair next to the bed and took his hand.
Needing no other encouragement, Bastien turned and raced up the passageway to the study. “Have you found anything?” he asked, striding into the room.
They had to catch a break soon. The waiting was interminable and not knowing what had happened to his mate was even worse. What if they had given her a lethal dose of something and she lay dying somewhere? The only comfort he could derive from the situation was that she was still alive. Otherwise, he himself would be gone from this earth.
Dimitri looked up from the monitor he’d been studying. “I’ve found a few references to some of the other facilities, though nothing gives an address.” He slammed his fist down onto the desk and shook his head. “I can’t seem to make heads nor tails of most of this stuff.”
“Why do you suppose Luke grabbed this in the first place?” It didn’t make sense. He was working for them. Why did he grab an entire computer before destroying the facility? Had he been planning to blackmail them? If so, his cousin was crazier than he’d originally thought. Only an idiot worked both ends against the middle with the government.
Dimitri shrugged. “Maybe he intended to blackmail them. Or, more likely, he thought it was a way to ensure his safety. He probably thought if he had information that could implicate them, they wouldn’t double-cross him.” He released a breath. “I suspect there aren’t very many people that these guys don’t double-cross.”
“I imagine you’re right, but that doesn’t help Carly.” Bastien moved a chair closer so he could watch the screen while Dimitri worked.
“It might. I’ve sent for Charity.” He continued at Bastien’s curious look. “Another of her brothers is a computer whiz.” He chuckled. “And that’s putting it nicely. He was arrested three years ago, when he was fourteen, for hacking into the mainframe at the Pentagon.” He looked back down at the monitor in front of him. “If anyone can get the information we need out of this computer, he’s the one who can.”
Bastien wasn’t sure what he had expected, but it certainly hadn’t been Charity’s entire family flying into the airport. He didn’t care that he had agreed to pay for the flight. There was no cost too high for Carly’s safety. He just found it strange to be around so many humans who knew what they were. It put him a little on edge.
Randy pushed past him, strode up to his sister and gave her a hug. “I’m glad to see you’re still okay.”
She grinned up at him. “They wouldn’t dare try to take me with dad and Cameron around.”
“Hey!” He reached up and ruffled her hair. “What about me?”
“I know they’d never get me from you either, but you weren’t there.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
“Okay, I guess I can let you off the hook.” He looked past her to his father. “Sir.” He reached out, waiting for his father to take his hand in a firm grip.
“Son.”
A short blonde woman pushed past James senior, put her hands on her hips and scowled. “James Randolf MacDonald Junior, since when do you go off on a mission without telling your mother goodbye?”
Randy’s face turned beet red. Bending down, he gave his mother a hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am. It won’t happen again.”
Dimitri coughed behind him, making a noise that sounded suspiciously like mama’s boy.
Randy turned around and glared at him. “What did I tell you, dog boy?”
Charity stepped between them, a hand on each of their chests. “Won’t you two ever stop?”
Dimitri grinned and wrapped his arms around his mate. “He takes the bait so easily, darling. How can I resist?”
She turned and gave her husband a quelling look. “You can, Dimitri, believe me. It’s easy if you try.”
“He’d better resist, if he knows what’s good for him,” Randy snarled. “I’m sick of his shit.”
“Junior, really!” his mother said, looking around them, her face red. “I know I raised you better than that. You don’t use that kind of language in a public place.”
“Yeah, Junior, listen to your mother,” Dimitri said with a grin.
Randy turned. “I’m gonna—”
Another of their brothers, Nathaniel, stepped forward, handed a blanket-wrapped bundle to Dimitri, then slapped him on the back good-naturedly. “I think you need to hold Bastien a bit before Randy tries to rip your head off.”
“That’s it, hide behind a baby, you piece of shit.”
“James Randolf!”
“Sorry, Ma’am.” Randy actually looked cowed.
Bastien fought the urge to grin at the sight of a grown man, a trained killer, brought to heel by a woman nearly half his size.
Dimitri grinned, then offered the bundle to Bastien. “Would you like to hold him?”
Bastien stared at the baby, wondering what his and Carly’s children would look like if they ever got the chance to have them. He could only hope. He shook his head. “I’d love to, Dimitri. However, I’m a bit preoccupied and nothing should be on my mind other than the child. I’m afraid I can’t do that right now.”
“Yes, of course,” Dimitri said, quickly handing the baby to Charity. “We should get back to Luke’s and that computer.”
“Yes, we should.” Bastien nodded. “We have no idea how long it’s going to take to retrieve the information on tha
t disc or even if it can be retrieved.”
Another of Charity’s brothers stepped forward, offering his hand. “I’m Andrew, the ex-con of the bunch. Please, call me Drew.” Grinning, he winked at two women who walked past them, smiling. “Hello, ladies.”
His mother slapped his arm. “Now is not the time for flirting, young man.”
His face reddened. “Yes, Ma’am.” He shook his head. “I mean no, Ma’am.” He turned to Dimitri as if looking for help.
“Don’t look at me. You got yourself into that mess. Get yourself out of it.” He picked up a bag. “Shall we go?”
The others nodded their agreement. Each of them picked up their bags and followed Bastien from the airport.
“What kind of information are we looking for?” Drew asked, reaching into the bag of chips he’d stashed next to the monitor.
“Names, locations, anything we can use to find out where they could be hiding their prisoners,” Dimitri said as he handed the young man a glass.
“Thanks.” Drew took a long swallow, then set the glass down next to the half-empty bag of chips. “There are a lot of encrypted files.” His fingers flew across the keyboard. “I’m isolating them to make it easier to pick them out of the crowd. I figure these are the ones that are going to give us the info we want.”
He squinted at the screen. “My guess is, your guy couldn’t hack them so he only used the information they wanted you to see.”
“Or he was told to feed us that rot.”
“You could be right. I forgot about him working for the other side.” He shook his head. “Man, that just straight sucks ass. If you can’t trust your own family, who can you trust?” He turned to Bastien. “Did you say your company made this equipment?”
“Yes, the entire system was,” Bastien answered, unsure where he was going with this new line of questioning. “Why?”
“Weeeell...” He paused to study Bastien for a moment. “Don’t take this the wrong way, I have to ask. It has been my experience that most companies leave themselves a backdoor on a system. A sort of master key they build into the computer so they can access information if they want.”
“Not my company. That would be dishonest. Once a computer is sold, it belongs entirely to the individual or organization that purchased it.”
Drew’s shoulders slumped. “Well, it was just a thought.” He flicked a side look to the screen. “I can do this. It’s just going to take a while.”
“IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE you want?” Richard asked as he took the camera from the bathroom. It was a good faith gesture on his part. Or, so he said anyway. He had to know Carly was close to changing.
Beads of sweat formed on her upper lip as she continued to hold the change at bay. Her insides felt like someone was taking a white-hot branding iron to them. Her skin itched where the hair would soon start to grow on her body. The tips of her fingers and her gums ached with the need to lengthen her nails and teeth. She was losing the battle fast and she knew it.
“Is there anything else you want?” he asked again.
She shook her head. “Get out,” she said through her clenched teeth.
Richard bristled. “Listen here, Ms. McGowen, I’ve done nearly everything you’ve asked. That approach is no way to gain my trust or goodwill.”
Carly turned toward him, her pupils growing larger, her eyes taking on a strange red, predatory glow. “I said get out. I can’t control it any longer.” The last came out on a growl.
His eyes widened and understanding dawned at the sight of her lengthening canines. “Oh, yes, right.” He turned and hurried from the room.
Carly refused to undress. She would let him watch her change, however she would be damned if she was going to let the jerk see her naked. Lying down on the bed, she curled into a ball and tried to remember what Bastien had taught her about changing the last time.
He’d said something like, Reach out and embrace the change. Fighting it only makes it hurt more and last longer. Picture your humanity.
Carly took a deep breath and tried to ignore the inferno in her stomach. It was as though lava poured through her veins, incinerating her from the inside out. She reached for the animal she felt gathering strength within her. Feeding it her energy, she pictured the she-wolf in her mind.
Her nails and teeth burst out. Hair grew on her arms, legs and face. She howled in triumph when she forced the change so quickly. The fire was already receding, giving her a much-needed respite from the burning pain.
She lay on the bed, panting, and glared up at the camera in the corner of the room. Now that she had kept her side of the bargain and changed for him, Richard had better not go back on his part. Looking through the window, she winced inwardly at his smile of triumph. God help anyone Richard decided to use the serum on next.
Chapter Thirty-six
“I’ve got it!”
The shout of triumph brought Bastien from his dark thoughts. He stood up quickly and rushed to Drew’s side. “You’ve got what?”
Drew reached over to the printer, which was still spitting out pages and waved a handful of paper in his face.
“This. These pages represent the fruits of my labor. These are the personnel records for Walker-Wright Laboratories.”
“That’s a local company! The bastards are hiding right in plain sight.”
Randy, Cameron and Dimitri walked in. “Isn’t that the best way to hide?” Cameron asked. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people walk right by me or step over me even. They never expect you to hide right where they can see you. Think about it. Would you have suspected them otherwise? Like certain terrorist organizations that once owned stock in major corporations. They were legitimate for the most part, to stay above suspicion.”
The others nodded their agreement.
“Does it give a list of their holdings?” Randy asked.
Drew made a face. “If you hadn’t just barged in here and interrupted our conversation, you’d know.”
“Watch it, dweeb. They train us to eat little pieces of shit like you for breakfast.”
“You guys eat shit for breakfast?” Drew asked, deadpan.
Randy lunged for him, only to have Cameron block him.
“Let me at him, damn it!”
“Leave the kid alone, Randy, and lighten up for fuck’s sake.”
Randy glowered at his brother. “One of these days someone is going to beat the shit out of you, boy.”
“Why, so you can eat it?” Drew yelped and jumped out of the way as Randy lunged for him again, dragging Cameron behind him.
“Come on, you two. Cut the crap already,” Bastien snarled, his attention darting between the three of them. “I’d like to get my family back.”
“The man’s right, Randy, back off,” Cameron said, still holding his brother. “Drew, get your ass back to what you were doing and keep the smartass comments to yourself.”
Drew hurried back to the desk and looked over the pages that had finally stopped printing. “They have several locations here in Michigan and one near Chicago,” he looked up. “We’d better keep a closer eye on Charity and the baby when they visit from now on.” He glanced back down at the sheets. “They have several more here in the States and at least fifteen other holdings overseas that aren’t listed as laboratories.”
“Where are the closest ones?” Dimitri asked, leaning over Drew’s shoulder to get a look at the list.
“This one here in Detroit and this one in Walker,” he said, letting his finger wander down the page. “There’s also this one just outside Cleveland. There are a couple more, though I think you blew one up already. The one you visited the other night is listed as a storage bunker.”
“We still have to investigate that one. I say we take another stab at it. I don’t think they’ll be expecting us this time now that their informant is incommunicado,” Randy said, looking at his brother. “You game, Cam?”
“I’m always game. I’m just glad we could help. It’s great to be able to pra
ctice our moves while on leave. I don’t know about you.” Cameron paused and gave his twin a shove. “But it keeps me from getting rusty.”
Randy snorted. “I don’t get rusty. I get better.”
“Yeah, whatever you say, big brother.”
Randy slugged him on the arm. “Watch it. I’m older than you by what, five minutes?”
Cameron shrugged. “You’re still older.”
Bastien shook his head, resisting the urge to rub his temples. “Do you guys ever stop bickering?”
“Well, yeah,” They said in unison. “When someone dies.”
Great. That was wonderful news. Bastien appreciated the help, however these guys were driving him nuts. It was hard enough to keep going without all of their damned distractions.
“If we’re headed back to that storage bunker, we need to have a plan. We cannot leave the women unprotected. They took our men out too easily last time.”
“You care about our mother and sister?”
Bastien shot them a glance. “Of course, I care what happens to them. The protection of our women comes first. It always comes first. I just wish I would have known about Luke’s duplicity before. If I had, Carly wouldn’t be in their hands now.”
Dimitri put his hand on Bastien’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault, old friend, stop blaming yourself.”
Bastien turned on him. “Who should I blame then, Dimitri, you?” He pointed at Randy. “Him?” He turned to Cameron and Drew. “Them?” He shook his head. “No. It was my right, my responsibility to keep my mate safe and I failed. I put the lives of my father and my sister on the same level as my mate and left her here to defend herself.”
“You did no such thing. You left guards here to protect her. If you want to blame someone, blame that piece of shit cousin of yours.”
“I left weak guards. I never should have left her. I should have stayed and protected her with my life.”
“So, you could both be dead?” Dimitri snarled. “You know as well as I do that the others died because we had a traitor in our midst, not because any one of us failed to do their duty. If you had stayed behind, they would have killed you, not knowing of your bond, and you would both be dead to us now. At least we know she is still alive.”
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