Project Chimera: A Ryker Group Book

by S. M. Dapelo

  Project Chimera

  A Ryker Group Book

  S.M. Dapelo

  Wilder Words Publilcations

  Copyright © 2020 Wilder Words Publications

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Cover image by: Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  Books By This Author

  Chapter 1

  “Sugar, you need to wake up,” a deep voice caused me to attempt to open my eyes, but I flinched from the sun and closed them again.

  “What’s going on? Who are you? Where am I?” My voice was horse and my head pounded, while my hands wanted to draw up into themselves. I heard myself whimper.

  “Samantha, listen. I need to know what you remember,” the voice crooned. “Can you focus on my voice? Keep your eyes shut if the light’s too bright.”

  I let my eyes shut. God, I was tired. Everything hurt. I tried to think, “Was I driving a car?”

  A pause. “Yes, there was an accident.”

  My heart was pounding, “Did anyone get hurt?”

  “You. It doesn’t appear any bones were broken, but you’re slashed up and have a heck of a bruise on the side of your face.” The voice hardened, “Samantha, what do you remember about the Sacristy?”

  I tried to think, “Isn’t that part of a church?”

  I heard him huff out in exasperation, “Not that type of sacristy. Do you remember anything?”

  I thought again, then gave a small shake to my head. Ow. “No. I barely remember driving. I was going fast, wasn’t I?”

  There was another pause. “Yes, you hydroplaned and wrecked. We got you out. Do you recognize my voice?”

  “No.” I clenched my teeth. I tried to put my hands to my head; only the right hand reached it. “What’s wrong with my arm?”

  “Let me see.” A hand probed my shoulder. “It’s weaker. It might have been damaged by the accident. I’m going to pick you up and get you back to the compound. We’re close to it. We’ll have you examined there.”

  I opened my eyes to steel gray ones, “Who are you?” The man’s dark blond hair was a bit on the longer side along with a five o’clock shadow on his chiseled jaw, giving him a tussled appearance.

  His eyes searched my face. “Sugar, I’m Ethan. Your husband. Now let’s get you to safety.” I went weightless as I was picked up and carried.

  “Where are we going?” I whispered.

  “I already said: back to our place. We have some things we need to go over.” I heard a car door open.

  “What’d she say?” A deep growl asked causing me to shiver. It didn’t sound kind.

  “She doesn’t remember. Get us away from here,” Ethan commanded.

  I tried to open my eyes again, “Ethan, who’s that?”

  “Just Tanner, Babe. Your older brother,” Ethan informed me.

  Tanner gave an audible exhale, “You honestly believe she doesn’t know anything?”

  “I didn’t say that. I said she doesn’t remember anything. She’s got an obvious concussion, but I don’t know how bad. The memory loss is probably temporary. We need to take care of her right now.”

  “How about a hospital?” Tanner asked.

  “You saw that place. We need to know exactly what the Sacristy was after before we go there. They could be waiting,” Ethan continued.

  I felt the car start up and my stomach lurch, “Ethan, I think I’m going to…” my eyes shot open. I reached for the door and flung myself out of the vehicle. Luckily, it hadn’t started moving yet. I emptied my stomach into the grass. I detected a hand on my back and noticed black leather boots in front of me. I also noticed I was completely covered in blood. I could feel it matted into my hair and my hands were so scratched up it looked like I dunked them into a vat of red paint.

  “Thought she was taking off,” Tanner confessed from in front of me.

  “No, it’s the concussion,” remarked Ethan as he rubbed my back. “Sugar, we need to get you out of here. Do you think you can travel?” He was so calm. Why was he calm with all this blood?

  I swallowed down the bile, “I think I’m okay now.” I took a handkerchief that was handed to me, keeping my eyes slightly open, “Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault. Plus the car’s a loner, so we’re good.” Ethan helped me back up and got me into the vehicle, “You need to try and stay awake.”

  “I don’t think I can,” I slurred as my eyes closed and I fell asleep.

  I woke to someone patting my cheek, “Come on Red. Sammie, wake up.”

  “Don’t call me Sammie. It’s either Samantha or Sam,” I swatted at the hand.

  “Well, you can wake the fuck up.” I opened my eyes to gaze at who I assumed was my brother. He was taller, with mahogany brown hair, and hunter green eyes. He stood with his hands on his hips and his legs splayed. “What happened with the Sacristy? Whose blood was that at the warehouse?”

  What the heck? “Why do you guys keep grilling me about a church?” I snapped.

  “You know, Ethan might believe you lost your memory. I don’t.” His nostrils flared, “What the hell did you do?” I could feel the anger pulsing from him. His eyes shone with either fear or hatred, but it was a close call on which.

  Ethan stepped in front of Tanner, “You need to see what Berto found. Then I need you to deal with it.”

  “What do we do with her?” Tanner was still glaring at me.

  “I’m taking her upstairs to our room,” Ethan reached in and helped me out of the car. When my legs collapsed under me, he picked me up, cradling me like I weighed nothing. “I’m putting her into bed and calling Richard.”

  “You can’t believe…” Tanner started, his arm swinging wide.

  “Check out what Berto has. Then we’ll talk in my office and plan.” Ethan stared down Tanner, who looked away after a moment.

  “You realize Rich is going to want her br
ought in,” Tanner carped.

  “Yes, but I’m going to insist he come to us. Right now, we can’t take the chance. You saw what was in that warehouse. Also, make sure the guys are doing regular patrols around the town and have them check out anyone new to the area. Plan on moving quickly if we have to,” Ethan commanded. Tanner huffed and walked into the building.

  “Why’s he so mad at me?” I laid my head on Ethan’s shoulder.

  “Your brother has anger issues caused by deep-seated guilt,” he stared after Tanner. “It’s only going to get worse. At least until he deals with our new problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’re lucky to be alive; the car was totaled.” He walked us up the stairs, “Let’s get you checked out, then you can rest.”

  Chapter 2

  We cleaned most of the blood off me, then I had a CAT scan done in the medical wing of the house. What house has its own medical wing? Now I was trying to sleep in a soft king-sized bed. I could hear voices murmuring on the other side of the door. The doctor, Richard, walked into the room and sat next to me. His hair was a honey-brown, he had baby-blue eyes, and was easily twenty years older than Ethan. “Samantha, do you remember anything before the accident? Anything tingling, flashing lights, or wavy lines?”

  “I don’t remember anything. Just going fast. I don’t remember anybody, either. Ethan had to tell me who he and Tanner were.”

  “The scan is showing some weird things and it’s pretty blurry. There was a lot of damage on the left side of the brain and you have a massive concussion. Ethan insists you stay here, or I’d have you admitted. I don’t know if the memory loss is permanent or temporary, the brain can be tricky. I’ll take another scan in a few days after some of the swelling recedes, you’re not in any danger from that.

  You might have had a transient ischemic attack or TIA. It’s like a stroke, but not permanent. You had complained about weakness in one of your arms, but it seems to be better now. It’s a warning. You’re young for these, so we need to keep a close eye on you. I want to collect some blood later. Give you a little time to heal.” He turned to Ethan, “Do you know what medication she’s been taking?”

  Ethan’s face remained calm as he handed the doctor a file, “These are her medical records. It appears she only takes vitamins and gets a shot every three months.”

  “For what?” Richard took the file and started focusing on it. His brows went up, “Oh, birth control. Well, that goes along with my theory.”

  “What theory?” Ethan crossed his arms.

  “Right now, I’m thinking she had a blood clot hit her brain.” Richard kept analyzing the file, “She has a prothrombin mutation. She should never have been on Depo. Her chances of developing a thrombus increased with that combination.”

  “What about the memory loss?”

  “There’s massive injury to the recall section of the brain. Hopefully, it’s only temporary, but I’ll study the CAT scan in more detail when I get back to my office. If she’s staying here, you need to keep her resting and her stress down.” He glanced up at Ethan. “Which means lowering Tanner’s intensity. I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t want to. But he’s one word away from an explosion.”

  Richard kept browsing through the file, “Her last shot was only four weeks ago, so watch her. If she gets any sudden weakness, if one side of her face droops, if she stops making sense when she talks; call me right away.”

  “Why would they give her that?” Ethan was staring at the doctor.

  “They might not have known or checked out her genetic makeup. It’s not unusual to prescribe a birth control method. A prothrombin mutation is sort of rare, and birth control is common. She’ll need to switch in two more months. I’d suggest an IUD, there’s no elevation in risk of clotting with that.” He shrugged, “Depending on how soon she wants to have children. They last between three and six years, but they can always be removed.”

  Ethan’s lips compressed, “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, I’m worried about her memory.”

  “Of course.” The doctor bit the side of his cheek, “I’ll be back in three days to do another scan, or you could bring her into the clinic.”

  “We’ll know what we’re able to do shortly.” Ethan glanced over at me, “I’ll keep her in bed and call you if there are any changes.” They both walked out the door, and I closed my eyes fighting off nausea, until I had to bolt into the bathroom to dry heave.

  Chapter 3

  Later that night I could hear Tanner and Ethan arguing outside the door. It opened, and they walked in. “I’m telling you, it’s the flu. It’s all over the news and the ERs are full,” Tanner crossed his arms.

  “Just take her temperature, we’ll go from there,” Ethan said in a bored voice.

  Tanner stuck something on my forehead and waited a moment. When it beeped, he glanced at Ethan, “One-oh-two. They don’t want anyone in the ER until they’re at one-oh-three.”

  “I’ll call Richard and let him know. I want to make sure it can’t complicate matters because of the concussion,” Ethan was in a staring contest with Tanner.

  “You know I can hear you,” I muttered. “I agree with Tanner. It’s the flu.”

  Ethan studied me for a moment, “Were you like this before the car?”

  “I don’t know.” I tried to lay still so I didn’t get sick again. “I know I feel like crap now.”

  “Have some broth sent up here.” Ethan kept his gaze on me, “I’ll stay with her, you deal with our other issue. I need to know everything.”

  “If she appears to be dehydrating, we’ll have to take other measures.” Tanner was studying me like a science project at the same time I was jumping up and heading into the bathroom again.

  “I’ll send up the broth and a case of bottled water,” I heard Tanner say as the door opened. “I’ll call you and let you know how everything goes.”

  Ethan walked into the bathroom, moving my hair away from my face, “You are getting hit left and right. First a concussion, then a possible stroke, now the flu,” he held my hair back from my face. “Sugar, I haven’t seen luck this bad since Katie.”

  “Everyone gets the flu,” I remarked. I slowly got up and went to the sink to wash my mouth out. Then did a double take. “Ethan where’s my toothbrush?”

  “I haven’t unpacked your stuff yet. We were on vacation when everything went to hell.” He hesitated and opened a cabinet. “Use this one for now,” he handed me a wrapped one.

  I started brushing my teeth, “Where did we vacation at?” I narrowed my eyes at him trying to get a read. What I was expecting I didn’t know.

  He cocked his head to the side, “Vegas. It’s where we got married. We go every year.” Something was off, but I couldn’t tell what.

  I swished my mouth out, “Oh. Did I like it?”

  He smiled softly at the memory, “We saw the Blue Man Group. You loved it.” He put his hand to my back, “Let’s get you back in bed so you can sleep. I’ll wake you when the soup shows up.”

  “Okay.” I threw the covers over my head and quickly fell asleep. Ethan woke me up at least once to force some broth in me, which didn’t stay down. I woke up to voices again.

  “This might help her,” I heard Tanner saying. “All I can come up with is high dose vitamins. Since she’s tossing everything up, we’ll have to inject them. You know, people pay a lot of money for these through IV therapy.”

  A shiver ran down my back and my eyes bolted open. “No,” I pointed at Tanner, “No shots. No way, no how.” I started crab walking away from him to the other side of the bed when I hit a solid chest.

  “Sugar, we’re trying to get you better. If you keep throwing up, you’re going to need an IV. You’re starting to dehydrate.” Ethan tried to reason.

  “No needles.” I tried to swing past him and get to the floor, but Ethan quickly wrapped his arms around my waist, trapping my arms with them. I kept pushing against him, trying to get
away.

  “What the hell happened?” Ethan muttered as Tanner stared at us, “She’s shaking like a leaf.” He whispered into my ear, “You get shots at least four times a year. What’s going on?”

  “She needs this.” Tanner’s jaw was set as he took the cap off the syringe, “Hold her down and I’ll give it to her. I told you she was goanna be difficult.”

  “NO!” I was struggling to get free. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I had to get away. I let myself go limp for a moment and when I felt him relax, I pushed my legs with all my might, throwing the two of us off the bed. His arms loosened as he took the brunt of the impact. I rolled away and scrambled toward the door.

  “I’ve got her,” I heard Tanner say.

  “Don’t hurt her,” Ethan’s voice was calm.

  Tanner threw the syringe on the nightstand got between me and the door. At the last minute, I fell and swept his feet out from under him, still trying to push myself through the door. He cursed and grabbed my ankle. I reached for the syringe and stabbed it into his right butt cheek, causing him to roar and let go. Yes, I was going to feel sorry later, but not now.

  I got to my feet and rushed down the hallway, hearing footsteps right behind me. Suddenly arms wrapped around me again. “Dammit, calm down,” Ethan seethed into my ear. I was getting hysterical and continued to try to break loose. He slammed his back against the hallway wall forcing us both to the ground, wrapping his legs around mine so I couldn’t leverage myself. A twenty-something man with tanned skin and coffee-colored eyes raced down the hall to us, followed by a small, waifish girl with short dark hair and green eyes.

  “What’s going on?” the man asked, eyes wide.

  “We’re trying to give her a vitamin shot, and she’s suddenly afraid of needles,” growled Ethan as Tanner stalked down the hall.

  “She fucking stabbed me in the ass,” yelled Tanner.

  “Don’t you two read anything I give you?” the man rubbernecked between them.