I was more than a little uneasy about this. Hughes literally terrified me.
Noah reached across the car and squeezed my hand. “We’ll take him down, Shannon. He won’t stand a chance against eight dregs. We have to do this. If we take him down, then there will only be one shareholder left. We will be that much closer to our freedom.”
While I’d only met two other dregs—Ryan and Luke, who were indeed impressive—and I imagined the other dregs were equally impressive, what if they couldn’t take Hughes down? What if something went wrong? What if Hughes outsmarted them? What if he killed Noah?
Noah turned back to the road. I turned and stared out my window again. I had landed myself smack dab in the middle of the biggest story ever. The most unbelievable story ever. I’d wanted the truth, but I was getting way more than I’d bargained for.
We finally reached Eatonton. My car was still parked along the edge of the woods. Noah followed me as I drove my car to my work in Atlanta. So far, no one had followed us. An hour later, I reached my work and left my car in the lot. Then I got back in Luke’s car with Noah, and we headed to my parents’ estate. So far, so good. Where was Hughes? Had our plan worked? Was he following Luke in Noah’s Jeep instead of us? Or had he not even realized we’d left yet?
We reached my parents’ estate about fifteen minutes later. When we arrived, Noah made me wait in the car while he went in, making sure the property was vacant. Then Noah came back and told me the place was clear and it was safe for me to enter. Luke and Ryan showed up, and they all hid their cars in the giant garage that was attached to the house.
No one had seen any sign of Hughes.
Our plan seemed to be working.
Ryan and Luke moved their stuff into the main house, while Noah and I carried the computers into the guesthouse out back. Noah quickly set everything up, then logged into the property’s main security system. Then he, Ryan, and Luke went outside and set up additional surveillance, trip wires, and other technical equipment and things. Hughes wasn’t arriving without their knowledge. Noah assured me that if anyone stepped foot on this estate, he would know it.
While Noah was outside doing his thing, I searched the recruit files, looking for my father, wanting confirmation that Noah and I weren’t related in any way. I was pretty sure my father hadn’t been a recruit, but I had to be sure. I planned to help expose those men for who they were and make sure they were punished for all the horrible things they’d done. I was going to help take Hughes down, and any of the others who were still out there.
An hour passed. I got up once to use the restroom, then returned to my position behind the computer. Another hour passed. Then I made it to the end of the files on the recruits.
My father wasn’t a recruit. None of the boys could have been him. A relieved sob burst out of me. Noah and I weren’t related. Thank God. My feelings for him were too powerful to just shove aside. He was working his way into my heart, and it both scared and thrilled me. I’d never been in love before. I’d never had such strong feelings for a man before. Could Noah be ‘the one’?
What would happen over the next several days? Would Noah still want me after we dealt with Hughes?
I couldn’t think that far ahead just yet. It was too overwhelming after everything I’d gone through these past few days.
One day at a time, Shannon. One day at a time.
I opened my laptop and turned it on, setting it on the desktop. Then I pulled my written notes out and began typing them in. I added more thoughts and questions that had come to me on the drive here. More dregs were coming, and soon, I would meet them all. This was the most incredible story ever. Would anyone even believe it? Would Noah and I survive it?
Noah finally returned as I was heating up something to eat in the microwave. The guesthouse was fairly large at two thousand square feet. It contained three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and large dining room area, and an enormous living room with an office/den off to the side. The layout was square, with the bedrooms on the outside corners, the entryway in front, the main living room in the middle, and the kitchen and dining area in the back. My bedroom faced the hedge maze south of the house. The front of the guesthouse faced the back of my parents’ estate. There was a stone walking path that led to my parents’ back door.
Noah paused in the doorway, taking me in. “You look tired,” he observed quietly.
I turned, hesitated, then blurted, “My father wasn’t a recruit.”
He came forward, stopping before me. “I knew he wouldn’t be.”
He had?
“How?”
“I just did.” His gaze searched mine. Then he cleared his throat and stepped back. “What are you making?”
“Just a microwaved meal. Sorry, I’m not a cook like you. You want some?”
He shrugged. “I guess. I’ve never had a microwaved meal. What’s in it?”
“I don’t know. Probably processed junk. It might make your big muscles sag.”
Our gazes clashed again. Awareness snaked between us, the air crackling with sexual chemistry. I stared, fascinated, as Noah’s natural eye darkened, the blue gradually overtaking the green. It was something phenomenal, something I’d only ever witnessed with him. Something uniquely Noah.
We each took a step closer. And then I was in his arms, and he was kissing me, and I was kissing him back. And the magic flared between us like it always did. I pressed closer as his hands moved over me, cupping my ass, molding me against him. No man had ever made me feel this way before. One kiss. One touch. And I went weak in the knees. My breasts ached as I pressed them against his chest, my nipples hard with need.
Noah hefted me up, depositing me on the kitchen counter. He stepped between my legs, his mouth hot and wet on mine. He yank me forward, my core coming flush with his erection. Heat speared me. I whimpered and rubbed against him, making him groan.
The microwave dinged, but neither one of us paid any attention. I ran my hands over his shoulders, down his chest, over his abs. God, he was so beautiful. So sexy.
He kissed along my jaw, down my throat…
I tilted my head back, leaning on my arms, allowing him better access, my body hypersensitive to his every touch.
More, please.
I thrust my chest forward, my breasts tingling with a fierce ache. He leaned over me, pulling my sweater up, and lifted my bra aside, his mouth settling over my breast. I moaned, arching into him, heat stabbing in my center. He licked, sucked, and gently nipped, over and over while his other hand moved to my jeans, quickly unzipping them, his fingers delving inside, seeking. I lifted my hips with a soft moan, pressing into him.
“Noah.”
He stepped back long enough to free himself and slip on a condom, then he was back, yanking my jeans down and pulling me toward the edge of the countertop.
His gaze smoldered with lust as it locked on mine. My pulse accelerated. Need and anticipation swept through me.
And then we came together eagerly, our mouths meshing in sweet oblivion. Noah pressed into me, slowly at first, sinking deep, dragging a moan out of me. He withdrew, and came back, sliding in deeper, and I arched forward to meet his thrusts, again and again. He kissed me hotly, his tongue intimately mating with mine, while he took my body right there in my kitchen. It was wickedly erotic, our bodies joining in heavenly bliss. I’d never had wild countertop sex before. It was so hot. And I loved every second of it. He quickened his thrusts, his hands gripping my ass, his mouth returning to devour mine and wring soft gasps from my lips. Exquisite pleasure arced between us with each thrust of his hips. He filled me completely. His body. His essence. He owned me, every little piece of me. I shuddered, clinging to him, whimpering as he moved his hand down, his fingers teasing and stroking, helping me reach my release, before he plunged into me one last time and reached his own climax.
It was over quickly, both of us gasping and heaving against each other in the aftermath.
“Holy moly. That was…incredible,” I gasped
out. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”
Noah leaned his forehead against mine. “That was a first for me, too. Fuck, I lose my head when I touch you.”
I smiled, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Me, too. This thing between us is amazing.”
“I’m not arguing.” He kissed me long, slow and deep, then drew back. “Let’s eat.”
I snorted softly, sliding off the counter. Let’s eat?
He turned away, disposing of the condom and readjusting his pants. Then he turned back to me. “Later, we can have round two.” His gaze filled with wickedness. “We’re both going to need nourishment for what I have in mind for later.”
Heat pooled in my loins. My pulse skyrocketed. I was anxious for whatever Noah had planned for later. Anticipation swept through me. Later. God help me, I was falling hard and fast for this man.
“Where did you get all these condoms if you haven’t been with anyone since you left the facility?” I teased. I had wondered about it earlier but hadn’t dared ask.
He flushed. “Ryan shoved a box of them into my hand that first day. I was so embarrassed that I quickly hid them, not wanting you to see.”
My heart melted. Noah was definitely unlike any man I’d ever been with before. Despite his rough edges and all he’d gone through, there was a gentleness inside him, a hint of innocence that was rare. I liked that I was his first girlfriend. I liked that we’d experienced countertop sex together. I wanted to experience many more firsts with him.
I stared into his eyes and smiled. “Remind me to thank him later.”
He chuckled softly, holding my gaze. Happiness swelled in my chest. Noah made me feel so good. Just being around him felt right.
I cleaned up and readjusted my own clothes, then pulled the microwaved meal from the oven. Noah snagged the container, smelled it, wrinkling his nose in disgust. He tossed it in the trash.
“We’re not eating that shit.” He yanked open the refrigerator, searching, then pulling out items. “Go sit down, Shannon. I’m fixing you some real food. As long as you’re with me, you’re never eating that prepared shit ever again, got it?”
I let out a soft chuckle and slid into a chair at the table. I watched him as he moved about, preparing the meal. There was something incredibly sexy about a man who knew his way around the kitchen.
He finished preparing the meal. Twenty minutes later we were eating cheesy pasta and asparagus. It was delicious. Addicting. As delicious and addicting as Noah. I was hooked on this man. On everything about him.
Afterwards, we cleaned up, then loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.
“You ready to search through the recruit files now to see if we can find Hughes?”
“Yes. Let’s do this.”
We went into the living room where Noah had set up the computers. I began scrolling through the recruit files, searching for one that might be Hughes, while Noah checked his email.
“Hughes hasn’t responded to my last email,” he informed me. He spent a few moments checking all the security feed from the surveillance he’d set up. “And he’s not here yet, which surprises me. I’m going to invite him to come finish this war.”
Noah typed on his keyboard, then leaned back and motioned for me to read his email.
What’s the matter, Hughes? Did you get scared and run? Come on, you bastard! I’m waiting for you. If you haven’t figured it out yet, we’re at the Collins’ estate in Atlanta. Get your ass here. Let’s finish this. Show me you’re more than just talk. Show me what you can really do.
I swallowed hard, meeting Noah’s gaze. I didn’t like this at all, but we had to take Hughes down, and Noah seemed to know what he was doing.
I breathed in deeply, then exhaled. “Okay. Send it.”
Noah sent the email, reaching over to squeeze my hand.
“Now we wait for Hughes.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Noah
For the next several hours while we waited for Hughes to show, Shannon and I worked side-by-side. She, scrolling through all the files on the recruits, searching for one that might be Hughes; me, trying to decrypt more of The Company documents.
“Here’s another recruit named Jonathan,” Shannon said, turning to look at me. Then she sighed and shook her head. “Never mind. He’s deceased as well.”
That was three Jonathans she’d found so far. But all of them were deceased.
Had Jonathan Hughes even been a recruit?
“Keep looking,” I encouraged her gently.
I decrypted another file shortly thereafter. It was an employment contract between a Dr. C. Ross and Super Soldiers, LLC. The contract stated that Ross was to provide his scientific skills and expertise in exchange for a salary. Was this the man who had prepared those injections that had been administered to us over the years? Another useful document that could help take The Company down, I saved it in the folder where Shannon and I had been saving all the other documents for the FBI.
“Did you find anything useful?” Shannon asked, glancing over at me.
I shrugged. “Just an employment contract between a doctor and Super Soldiers, LLC.”
She nodded and went back to searching through the recruits.
Then I decrypted a second file. My heart pounded as I read over the document. It was a scientific study involving the injection of certain animal DNA into human embryos. All of the embryos perished within days—some within hours—except for one. The surviving embryo lived to be implanted into a human female. The child was born via cesarean section and became Recruit Number 308. Excitement surged through me. Waters had stated that none of the embryos had survived long enough to be implanted into humans. Either he’d lied. Or he hadn’t known. Had his scientist, Dr. Ross, kept this information from him? Where was Dr. Ross now? Was he still living? If we could find this Dr. Ross, what would he tell us about The Company? C. Ross. Why not a full name? Was he leery about being caught?
“Check out Recruit Number 308,” I told Shannon. “He could be important.”
She scrolled through the files until she found it, then clicked on the file.
Recruit Number 308. Name: Jonathan. Age at time of recruit: embryo. Mother: egg donor 62. Father: Edward Waters.
I turned to Shannon. “Holy shit. This could be Hughes.”
“His mother was an egg donor?”
“Yeah. Only some of the recruits were kidnapped off the streets or brought in at puberty. The rest were produced at the facility, some even in the lab.”
I showed her the document on my computer, the one I’d just decrypted about the only surviving embryo.
Her eyes widened. “Oh my God. You think Hughes is this guy?”
“I don’t know. Let’s read the rest of his file and find out.”
Together, silently, we read the file. Recruit 308 had survived all the injections of experimental drugs. All the injections of animal DNA (and there had been a lot). While still an embryo, he’d been injected with shark DNA, which caused him to develop much faster in the womb. Recruit 308 was born after a gestation period of only six months. He’d been fully developed at birth, large for a human child, weighing almost twelve pounds. His mother had perished during the difficult delivery, and he’d ended up having to be delivered via cesarean section.
I glanced at Shannon. “Is Hughes a big guy? His report that Darcy gave us didn’t state his height and weight. If Hughes is big, then I would suspect he’s that fog guy who was here the other night.”
She paled. “He’s huge. Like six and a half feet or so. Bulging muscles.”
Bigger than me.
“This has to be him.” My gut told me it was him.
She shivered. “I’m scared, Noah. I keep recalling that day he snuck up behind me and how I could feel his evil. It makes me cringe even now.”
I gently squeezed her shoulder. “I won’t let him hurt you. I promise. Let’s read the rest of his file, okay?”
Recruit 308 had been a “miraculous creation”
, a “super fast-growing individual who surpassed everyone’s expectations at first”. He survived several horrific injuries that should have killed him—an arm blown off, a missile searing through the abdomen, a left eye taken out by a bullet (I could relate to that one), and a knee shattered by flying shrapnel. The arm had been sewn back on, the abdomen sutured back together, a donor eye and a new kidney each implanted, and an artificial knee inserted. The man was a modern-day Frankenstein. More robot than human, more monster than man. I was a little offended that Hughes had been given a donor eye, but I hadn’t. Instead, I’d been discharged, deemed worthless. Hughes must really be special. I couldn’t underestimate this guy. He had recovered and gone back out into the field, time and time again. When a normal recruit would have been discharged and executed, Recruit 308 was allowed to return to active duty and live on. It seemed his only disadvantage was that he aged more quickly than the regular recruits.
Though he’d been born a few months after I’d become a recruit, he was now nearly the same age as me, because his body aged faster. Technically, I was thirteen years older than he was, and he should still be a kid right now. But since he aged so quickly, he was about the same age as me physically.
Interesting.
Recruit 308 was discharged, released from active duty after a traumatic brain injury that had put him in a coma for many months. The file stated he’d suffered severe trauma to the brain from a car accident. Apparently, he’d been trying to commit suicide and had deliberately driven his vehicle head-on into a semi-truck. His body had basically been pulverized, but doctors had salvaged his brain, and surgeons had sewn him back together again, implanting donor organs. Amazingly, he’d lived on, his body slowly healing.
Holy shit. He really was a Frankenstein. No human could survive a crash like that.
Hughes’ condition had been monitored for many months, and when the coma finally broke, he wasn’t the same mentally, thus ensuring his discharge. But instead of being slaughtered, he’d been given a desk job as an IT guy for the Army. He obviously had recovered at least some of his mental capacity. His emails indicated he wasn’t stupid. But he did seem a little off mentally.
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