by Sam Cheever
“Come on, Nicola,” the little girl pleaded in a high pitched whine, “...pick another one.”
Nici squinted over her hot chocolate. “The last one called me fat. I’m afraid.”
Bridget covered her mouth with a pudgy hand and giggled. “Don’t be such a sissy. Besides, I’m pretty sure the next one will say Pretty.”
With a theatrical sigh that made Anshelle smile, Nici pointed to a number on the brightly colored paper fortune teller Bridget held.
“Four!” Bridget exclaimed gleefully, as if she knew what the number would bring. She counted it out and dissolved in a puddle of glee. “Ugly! It says you’re ugly.” She shrieked as Nici grabbed her around the middle and tickled her into an even messier puddle on the floor. “You didn’t put anything nice in that thing, did you?”
“I did!” she shrieked, laughing. “I promise.”
Elena tried to grab the fortune teller. “Let me see it.”
Bridget snatched it back, her giggles dissipating like a drop of water on a hot plate. “No. It’s mine. Mom!”
Anshelle shook her head, giving Elena a small frown. “Let her be, Lena.” She stood up and offered Bridget her hand. “Come on, cupcake. I think Ciara baked some chocolate chip cookies this morning. I’m feeling the need for a couple with a big glass of milk.”
Bridget surged to her feet, snatching the fortune teller back as Elena made a grab for it and sticking her tongue out. Then she grabbed her mother’s hand and skipped after her. “Can I have three?”
“I don’t think so, darling. Unless you want to end up like Nicola...fat and ugly.” Anshelle threw Nici a wink over her shoulder.
The little girl’s peals of laughter reverberated through the house, growing softer as they neared the kitchen.
Right on cue, the door to the study opened and Hank stuck his head out. “We’re ready for you, Martin.”
Franco shoved away from the wall, dread making his steps heavy as he strode across the room. As he reached the door, one soft hand landed on his right shoulder and another on his left. He turned to find Nici and Elena smiling at him.
Franco shook his head. “Not a chance. I need to do this alone.”
“Not happenin’, boss,” Elena told him. “You wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for me.” She shrugged, “Besides, I need to be there as a stark reminder that you did what you were told.”
He sighed. “Nice try, brat. But I don’t think your dad’s gonna see it the way you do.”
“Then he’ll just have to be convinced,” Nici told him. “I for one don’t appreciate his calling you off. If you hadn’t come for me I would have probably ended up like poor Betty.” Sadness darkened her gaze and Franco couldn’t resist giving her forehead a chaste peck. She’d talked a little bit about her temporary roommate in the bunker since they’d brought her home and it was clear she felt responsible for the girl’s death. “We’ll get the person responsible for killing Betty, Nic. I promise.”
“Damn straight,” she said, nodding. “Which is why we can’t let Gordon fire you. He has the resources we’ll need to find whoever it is.”
Franco sighed, shaking his head.
The door opened again and Hank stood glaring at his sisters. “This is a private meeting, no women allowed.”
Elena shoved past Franco and stomped on Hank’s toe, shoving him into the room as he growled in pain.
Nici showed signs of fighting a grin as she followed her sister in and Franco, not even bothering to fight his smile, patted Hank on the shoulder and walked on past.
Gordon DeVitis didn’t look surprised to see the two women. He shook his head. “Lena...”
“I’m not leaving, Dad. Franco saved our lives and I can’t let you fire him.”
The look Gordon DeVitis gave his daughter made Nici uncomfortable. Franco could tell because she started twining her long fingers together. He’d figured out she did that when she was nervous. But despite her obvious nerves, she nodded, stepping toward the desk. “Mr. DeVitis, Franco has saved my life many times since he...erm...found me.” She threw Franco a look and he chuckled.
“Thanks for cleaning that up, Nic.”
She shrugged. “You did kidnap me at first but I realize now how you made the mistake.”
Doug was sitting in a brown leather chair to the side of Gordon’s desk. He leaned forward in his chair and frowned. “You girls don’t understand what’s going on so you need to stay out of this.”
Elena’s mouth twisted with disgust. “This. This is why I left. I’m sick to death of being treated like a delicate flower and kept in the dark. I know what’s going on, Dad. I figured it out. And if you don’t start treating me...” she glanced at Nici, reaching out and clasping her hand. “...treating us with some respect, we’re going to leave again and we’re not coming back.”
Nici frowned at the idea of leaving. Franco could see she’d already started to form an attachment to her new family, but she nodded, accepting Elena’s threat. “I have no idea what’s going on, Mr...”
Gordon lifted a hand. “Please, figlia mia. I understand dad or father is too much to ask, but at least call me Gordon. I’d like to think blood has earned me that.”
Nici inclined her chin, clearly uncomfortable. “It won’t matter what I call you if you fire Franco because I’ll be gone. Out of your life. This man saved two of your daughters. You claim to care about what happens to us, yet you want to punish him for saving us.”
Gordon expelled a frustrated breath. “Of course I’m not punishing him for that.” He stood up and walked over to a large window overlooking the grounds. “He disobeyed a direct order and I can’t let that slide.” When he turned back his face had lost some of its arrogance and, though he was addressing his daughters, he looked directly at Franco.
Franco nodded. “I understand, sir.” He offered Gordon his hand. “It’s been an honor working for you.”
Gordon eschewed the handshake and stalked back to his desk. “I’m not firing you, Franco.” He dropped into his chair and scrubbed both hands through his thick, dark hair. “You’re like a damn son to me. And the girls are right. You saved their lives.” He looked up, smiling for the first time. “Technically, I did tell you to find Elena.”
“And here I am!” Elena said brightly, clearly sensing a chink in the wall of rules her father had built.
“So I’m not going to fire you.”
Franco was stunned. “Thank you, sir.”
“But as of right now, you’re on half pay until I say otherwise.” He gave Franco a belligerent look, as if daring him to object. But something in the man’s dark blue gaze seemed hesitant. He was afraid Franco would leave. The realization made Franco’s pulse slow for the first time since coming into the room. “Thank you, sir. That’s very fair.”
Gordon looked down and when he lifted his head again, the uncertainty Franco had seen was gone. The strong as steel, bulwark against all obstacles head of the DeVitis family was back. “Good. Now that that’s behind us...” he stood up again and paced over to the window, but he didn’t look outside, he turned to Franco and the two women and inclined his head. “Tell me what we’re up against.” His gaze slid to Elena. “And what you learned about The Foundation.”
Elena nodded. “I’ve been stalking Phillip Osgood for days. I’m sure you know by now he’s been meeting secretly with Doctor Ainsley?”
Gordon crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. “Unfortunately, yes. Nici’s experience was my first clue that we’d lost the good doctor to the dark side. It’s a horrible breach of trust and one that will have dire consequences for this family.”
“Doctor Ainsley seems to have Osgood’s ear. But I have no idea why our personal doctor would be an advisor to the head of The Foundation.”
“What exactly is The Foundation,” Nici asked her sister.
Elena sat down on the edge of Gordon’s desk, extending her long legs and crossing them at the ankles. “It’s supposed to be an aid foundation, taking contribution
s for and providing money and aid to countries that need help.”
“Help with what?” Franco asked. From what he’d seen and heard of The Foundation, the only group they seemed to want to help was themselves.
Elena glanced at Gordon. Her father responded to Franco’s question. “On the surface, The Foundation is organized around a mission statement of helping after natural disasters. They profess to provide infrastructure, food and medical help to ailing geographies.”
“On the surface?” Franco asked.
“I’m pretty sure you’re smart enough to realize that hit squad that intercepted you and Nicola wasn’t interested in providing aid the other day,” Gordon said with a smile.
“There were no tsunamis in that park,” Nici said dryly.
Hank chuckled. “Yeah, the aid aspect of the place is a thin veneer over what appears to be a criminal enterprise. They seem mostly interested in helping countries that have a lot of glittery natural resources...if you know what I mean.”
“Gold,” Elena nodded. “Which is why they want Nici and me. To force DeVitis Pharmaceuticals into giving up some of our gold reserves.”
“You have gold reserves?” Nici asked, her eyes going wide. “Why?”
“Nanoparticles,” Gordon answered. “For fairly new and still emerging research on cancer identification. I’ll explain the process to you some time. It’s fascinating.”
Nici nodded. “Okay, so if this Foundation kidnapped me for gold, then why did they take me to that horrible bunker? And why were they injecting me with stuff?”
Gordon paled. “What types of things did they inject you with?”
“I have no idea. But poor Betty...”
“Who’s Betty?” Doug asked with a frown.
“She was my roommate in the bunker. She...” Nici shook her head and Franco placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. Nici swallowed. “She died a horrible death.”
“They tried to inject Nici with something really nasty but she turned the tables on the guy and injected it in him instead.”
Nici’s eyes went wide as if she’d had a revelation. “He managed to get some of it into me before I got away.” She turned a horrified gaze to Franco. “He died fast and violently.”
“But you didn’t. You’re fine.” Franco said in an attempt to reassure her. Somehow his words didn’t have the desired effect.
Nici turned to Gordon, her fingers twining frantically. “What’s going on with the doctor and that horrible place? Why did they take me there? Why didn’t I die from that injection?” She shoved hair off her face, her gaze sliding frantically around the room. “Why don’t I ever get sick?”
Gordon met Nici’s gaze and then slid a look toward Doug and Hank. For the first time, Franco realized that Perry and Pierce weren’t there. He wondered why.
“You know my thoughts, Papa,” Doug said. “They have a right to know why they’re in danger.”
When his father’s gaze slid to Hank, he shrugged. “If it were up to me we would have told them a long time ago.”
Franco’s pulse started to pound again. He didn’t like the direction the conversation was progressing in. “What’s going on, sir?”
Gordon sighed, staring down at his desk as he appeared to be considering whether to share what he knew. Finally, he looked up but he didn’t look to his daughters. He fixed Franco with a look that was half glare and half plea. “If I allow you to hear this with Nicola and Elena, I’m putting my daughters’ lives in your hands.”
Franco frowned. Not because he was unequal to the task...but because Gordon seemed to have concerns about his loyalty. “Sir, have I ever given you one moment’s doubt about my loyalty or my desire to keep this family safe?”
Gordon shook his head. “No. But I’m learning that my judgment is not without flaw. I would have staked my life on Brenda Ainsley’s loyalty too.”
Franco inclined his head. “Understood. But you have my word that I’m even more committed to your daughters’ safety than before.” He forced himself not to slide a look toward Nic, fearing his eyes would give him away.
Gordon scrubbed a hand wearily over his face. He addressed Doug. “We’ll need to do some damage control. If Ainsley goes to the press...”
Doug nodded. “I’ve already got an emergency plan in place. If we can’t find her within twenty-four hours I’ll plant a cover story that should mute anything she tells them.”
Nici and Elena shared a look. Elena clasped her sister’s hand and turned to her father. “Just so you know. I’ve already figured out part of what you’re about to tell us.”
His eyes narrowed on her. “Is that so? Why don’t you tell me what you think you know?”
She dropped into a chair and crossed her long legs. “I know this has nothing to do with money. I know The Foundation is targeting me and Nici specifically because we have something they want...not to force your hand.”
Gordon sat back in his chair, his expression neutral. “Go on.”
“I know it has something to do with our blood. Because we never get sick.”
Nici’s eyes went wide. “You too?”
Elena smiled. “I thought I was a freak.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It sucked never being able to miss school.”
Nici laughed. She sat down in the chair next to her sister. “So I’m guessing we have strong immunities? That’s good for us but why would The Foundation care?”
Gordon pinned them with his dark blue gaze. “To say you have strong immunities is a vast understatement. You two quite literally have super immune systems. To date we haven’t found anything your bodies will succumb to. And recent events have led me to believe you’re able to adjust to new diseases on the fly and kick them off in a matter of minutes. Do you have any idea how valuable that ability would be on the world market?”
Franco noted the flush rising into Nici’s cheeks and the rigid set to her shoulders. “You’ve been testing us?”
“Not like you think. We’re certainly not treating you like lab rats, drawing blood when you sleep or anything like that. But we made an agreement with your adopted parents to have you see only Doctor Ainsley as you grew up. She would take samples of your blood when you came in for the standard things, like checkups and inoculations, and we’d test the blood against every disease we could think of. She wasn’t privy to your situation but she’s been drawing the blood and giving it to us so my private lab could test it.” He frowned. “She must have decided to keep a sample and test it herself.” He shook his head.
“But why now, Dad?’ Doug asked, frowning. “Why do you suppose she’s suddenly targeting the girls?”
Gordon frowned. “Maybe Phillip made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Maybe she’s doing it for personal reasons. I don’t know, but I hope we’ll find out when we get hold of her.”
“Maybe it’s because I stopped coming to her,” Elena said. “It’s been over a year. I’ve just been going downstairs for anything I needed.”
When Nici frowned, Elena explained. “We have a fully functioning lab in the basement of DeVitis Manor. I’ll show it to you sometime. It’s really kind of cool.”
Nici nodded. “I haven’t gone to her either. Not since I moved out on my own. I haven’t needed to,” she told them.
Gordon nodded. “If her supply of blood was cut off, that would explain why the drastic measures now.”
Nici shook her head, feeling as if she’d stepped into an alternate reality. “I really had no idea what was going on around me. I feel so stupid.”
Gordon reached across his desk and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry we couldn’t be more honest with you, Nicola. But we were hoping we could keep the situation quiet so you could live a normal life.” He sighed. “It hasn’t quite gone that way.”
She frowned at him. “I had a right to know.” She glanced at Elena. “We did.”
“I don’t think you understand what your condition means, figlia mia. Can you imagine how much money and power the first company to harness y
our blood, turning it into a super cure, would be awarded?”
Elena sat forward, her pretty face darkening with rage. “You were trying to make money off us!”
“Of course not, Lena. Take a deep breath. We’ve only been trying to protect you. But I’m afraid your secret has been harder than we thought to contain. Already others are suffering because of it.” Gordon’s face turned sad.
“The street kids.” Franco said as the pieces came together.
“Yes. I’m afraid so. We’ve been trying to figure out who’s doing the testing. We assumed that Phillip Osgood somehow got a sample of the girls’ blood and was trying to turn it into a global cure.”
“He’s doing a bang-up job of it,” Hank said with a frown. “He’s killed a half dozen kids already.”
“More than that,” Nici said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. “We saw several more in that bunker.” Her eyes filled with tears and Franco couldn’t stop himself from going to her, touching her shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Nic.”
She shook her head, sniffing. It was clear she didn’t believe him.
“I’ve been watching The Foundation, Dad,” Elena said. “There’s been no activity that would suggest they were involved.”
Gordon shook his head. “If they were using that hospital bunker where Nicola was taken you wouldn’t have known.”
“I guess.” She bit her lip. “Well, at least we know now how he got hold of our blood.”
“Doctor Ainsley,” Gordon agreed, nodding. “We need to get her. And we need to force her to implicate Osgood.”
Franco shook his head. “Sir, I’m with you four hundred percent, but interrogating Ainsley is a job for the police.”
Gordon’s answering glare told Franco that he had no intention of giving Ainsley to the police if he found her first. But Gordon nodded. “Of course. Let’s find her and then we can talk about what to do with her.”
Franco decided in that moment that he would have to find Doctor Ainsley first and make sure Pam was notified. Aside from not wanting to be part of the torture or worse of a private citizen, he didn’t want Gordon or his sons to do something they’d regret out of a sense of duty or passion. “You’re forgetting something, sir.”
