Gareth sighed as he shook his head. “No. And Matt has no idea about what goes on here. When I first came, the lab was only a third this large. The rest of this has developed since then. The children are new to me. I’d say Randall Crane made them just before he moved to Alaska.”
“Was your DNA used to make these children?” Brandi asked, nodding her chin at the room.
Gareth frowned, but paled at the thought. That was something he hadn’t considered. He stepped closer and looked into the room. Surely that couldn’t be the case. Wouldn’t he have some sense of it if the children were his? Sheldon might have some old frozen blood samples somewhere, but didn’t he say Randall was the one who had stolen the kids?
“Unless Sheldon helped his brother, they’re probably not mine. Plus, I think I would know.”
“I don’t get it, Gareth. Why would you agree to help this nut case? Shitty Sheldon’s almost as bad as his crazy brother. His motives might be slightly better, but his enjoyment of his work is pretty damn evident. Was it because of your mate—that woman they mentioned? Did you let Sheldon Crane blackmail you because of Lily?”
“There’s nothing we need to discuss about her,” Gareth said tightly.
Brandi snorted and then shrugged. “Fine. Don’t tell me. It wouldn’t absolve you of this crap anyway. I was just trying to understand what hold Crane had on you.”
“Sheldon has nothing. Life is not as black and white as you seem to want to think it is,” Gareth declared.
“You might be right,” Brandi agreed, “but this place is about as dark gray as it gets before rolling into the black. I don’t see any white here at all. Those kids shouldn’t be kept in a room with an armed guard all day long. Even at their age, they’re going to eventually see it as a prison. And they’re going to continue to try to escape until they finally do… just as you and I would. Inside, they’re more wolf than Shitty Sheldon is willing to see. I can sense what they are. I’m betting you can too.”
Gareth looked away and then so did she. Was she the only person who thought this place was evil times ten? Brandi dropped her gaze to her shoes, wondering what Sheldon Crane was going to bribe her with to get her to do his bidding.
And more importantly, what would she be willing to do to protect Ariel and Heidi? What would she do to protect Reed?
And how in the hell was she going to leave this place running now that she knew about it?
The answer, of course, was she was going to do anything she had to do. Ariel, Heidi, and Reed were her family now. They were hers to protect.
She looked back into the room. Hell… maybe the children were hers to protect too. Someone needed to be looking out for them. Brandi snorted when she saw them dancing excitedly around Crane.
The biggest epiphany of her life chose that moment to hit her. And it was that her agent status no longer meant anything to her purpose in life. It had just been a job after the military anyway… and not even a good job. She saw that now too.
And Sheldon Crane had confirmed her damn job was the reason she’d been set up for the destiny she was now forcefully living. She shook her head at the irony of her life. Yet at the same time there wasn’t a damn thing she would do to change her connection to Ariel, Heidi, or Reed.
Her sigh of resignation echoed off the wall as she accepted her destiny was changing every second.
“Are you okay?” Gareth asked.
Brandi snorted. “Sure. I’m quietly planning how to blow this place up. Ask me how I plan to do it later.”
“Brandi.”
“Gareth,” she replied, mocking his warning tone.
The idea of taking out this lab appealed highly to her sense of justice, but she knew the government would just build it back. She also suspected another Sheldon Crane was out in the world right now waiting for the opportunity to become the number one nut case scientist for Uncle Sam.
Experience had taught her trading out bad guys never worked. Hadn’t she seen that throughout her career in every criminal field? Her department had tried it with drug lords and dealers. It had failed miserably each and every time.
So when the second mad scientist she’d met in her life finally stepped out of the children’s room, she followed him when he motioned for her to do so. Brandi trailed behind him back the way they came without complaining. What the hell else could she do down here?
She needed to see the sky again. She needed time to think, but figured that would have to wait no matter how upset her wolf was with her inaction. Being apprehended and stuck in one of their study rooms would only complicate things. She sure couldn’t count on Gareth to get her out if anything like that happened.
Travis might be doing the wrong thing for the right reason, but he was too young and stupid to see through this bureaucratic shit. She could well imagine him smiling at her through the bars of her cage, gleeful to see her confined. And he had a right to be afraid. She at least owed him an ass kicking for the tranq job even if it did look like he was now protecting Reed.
The truth was stark, but there was no sense pretending. She was more apt to be rescued by Fallon and Lars. The cat men at least seemed to genuinely care about her, if only for their personal amusement purposes. She glanced at their tall, blonde profiles. What was Crane holding over their heads? It must be damn good to make them stay.
The five of them entered a conference room near the exit which had excellent sound proofing. The zoo-like noise beyond its doors faded away to silence as they took seats around an oval table. Fallon and Lars took up their sphinx stances by the doors, but Brandi wasn’t sure if they were keeping her inside or others out.
When everyone was still, she turned her full attention to Crane. He was the only one that mattered. “What do you want in exchange for leaving the three of us alone?”
“Ten years of service, starting with the completion of a current job before you return. You’ll have a regular paycheck during the entire time of your contract which will negate you having to do something menial for a living when you’re not working for me. Face it, Agent Jenkins. It would be a shame to waste the training our government spent so much money on.”
“What happens after the ten years are up?” Brandi watched Crane lift a shoulder in reply.
“After ten years, you’ll be technically retired, unless you voluntarily come back like Gareth has. But at any point you become incapable of working due to a breakdown of your biology, I want your dead body for my research. I’ll take it in human or wolf form. Non-negotiable. In exchange, you and those you care about will be left alone, so long as it is in my power to make that happen. I don’t need their dead bodies to get my answers. I just want yours.”
Brandi could tell it was his best offer, but she wasn’t done asking questions yet. “What kind of current job are you talking about me doing?”
“I believe it will be the rescue of some bear hybrids from a research facility hidden in the Maine woods. Sasquatch sightings are on the rise there and I’m pretty sure those are escapees.”
Brandi looked at him and shook her head. “Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds? You just told me someone is making Bigfoot. Who the hell would do that? Why?”
She heard Sheldon sigh as he raised a hand to his forehead and rubbed. It reminded her of her own habits when stressed. Finally, he brought his guilty gaze to meet her disgusted one.
“Because I think it may be my sister Diane doing the work.”
Stunned and at a loss for words, Brandi blinked. There were three known mad scientists and all from the same family. What the holy hell was happening to the world?
“My sister worked for NASA before the space program money was reduced. For years, she studied bear hibernation hoping to develop a way for humans to survive extended space travel. Her conclusion is that a fully human body will never be able to enter the proper state for natural hibernation.”
“So she decided to make bear hybrids.”
“Yes. After she left NASA, I believed Diane made a side deal
with some coalition group out of Canada for funding. You have to understand… this is not a year’s worth of effort. She’s been trying to mix bear and human DNA since college. However, I think she’s finally succeeded.”
“Does she send you photos and research notes?” Brandi asked, not really wanting to hear the answer, even though she had to know to do the job.
“No. Unlike Randall, Diane doesn’t feel the need to brag. She’s not in it for the money… or at least not as far as I can tell. I’ve never really understood Diane’s motivations completely, but her goal of making extending space travel possible has never changed. I get the occasional communication about how her research is going which is why I suspect it’s her.”
“Given what I know about you and your brother, I would say your guess is good. Got any other mad scientist siblings I need to know about?”
She wanted to be offended when Sheldon Crane grinned at her demand, but she was beyond being pissed. What she had learned so far was horrible and overwhelming. All she wanted was her ignorance back, even though she knew it was way too late.
“No. There were only the three of us. But I can’t let Diane turn unsuspecting people into Sasquatches. I want you to find the hybrids and bring them in for study while also taking out her lab facility. I would appreciate it though if you might find it in yourself to leave her alive during the process, Agent Jenkins. I still have hopes of talking Diane into using her intelligence more productively.”
“Sure. Got it. Don’t kill your mad scientist sister. Bring in the Bigfoot clones.” Brandi shook her head. “Are you out of your freaking mind, Sheldon?”
“No—though sometimes it does feel that way. Do we have a deal, Agent Jenkins? Or should I send my people to collect Dr. Jones and see if I can persuade her to come work here? Perhaps she might think more of your life than you do of hers.”
“Guilt? Really? You’re trying to guilt me into doing this?” Brandi snorted when she saw him shrug.
“I use whatever works,” Sheldon declared.
Brandi took one moment to look at Gareth and wondered what it would have been like to have not walked into this government freak show so blind. He was as bad as Lane. Why was it all the men in her life kept betraying her? She was the least gullible female she knew.
Well, she would never know now if being prepared would have helped. All she could do was what Sheldon Crane asked until she figured out a way to break her damn contract without risking her pack.
“Okay. You’ve got a deal for now, but I’m going to look at this assignment as my probationary period with your department. If I don’t like this shit show, or you try to backstab me like Lane did, we’re going to have a long dangerous talk when I get back. That discussion might not end so well for you, Dr. Crane.”
“Do you think you’re the first hybrid who’s threatened my life?” Crane asked.
“No, but then I’m not a hybrid. For better or worse, at least temporarily, I’m a real damn werewolf. And what I said was not a threat… not even a little one. It was a promise to take your life if you fuck with mine or anyone I care about.”
Brandi pushed back from the table and rose. She turned and walked to the door like she had every right to do so. Fallon and Lars didn’t glance at Sheldon Crane before stepping aside. It was a tiny validation, but appreciated.
She purposely ignored the sighing man who rose to follow her out into the nightmarish chaos he’d help cause.
Chapter 8
Brandi opened the door of the apartment and walked in ahead of Gareth leaving him to secure the door latches. If there was one thing she had learned while they’d been together, it was how obsessive he was about doors and locks. He’d never let her checking be enough, so she left him to do it now.
She slipped her shoes off in the foyer and padded across the floor to the sofa. She plopped down on it and leaned her head back against the leather. It had been a very long day and total exhaustion was fast catching up.
When Gareth joined her, he came into the room, glanced around, and walked straight to the entertainment system. He found some soulful jazz music on the radio and turned it up until it was a tad uncomfortable for her ears. Since it probably was for his as well, she glared at his action only to be completely ignored. His jacket landed on a chair before he walked to her.
“Dance with me,” he ordered, holding out a hand.
Sighing reluctantly, she let Gareth pull her from her seat and into his arms. She knew it wasn’t really dancing on his mind, but rather keeping their watchers entertained while they talked. Since her chin didn’t clear his shoulder in her socks, Gareth dipped his head until his breath touched her ear.
“You don’t really live in this sterile place when you’re in town, do you?”
Brandi shook her head at the whispered question, and tipped up her chin until her lips nearly reached his throat. She had to work not to be happy to be touching him, and even harder not to enjoy Gareth being back in her arms. She couldn’t afford to want him—couldn’t let herself indulge again.
Setting aside the fact he was a lying bastard, the man was also a werewolf who was betraying his own kind. It wasn’t like her to wish for the impossible. Liking Gareth seemed more futile than if she’d had lingering feelings for Lane who’d set her up for a fall.
The truth of her situation was bitter… but too glaring to be ignored. She’d thought about nothing else on the whole ride back. If it hadn’t been for Ariel… and for Reed… she would have been a government pet by now… if she and Heidi had survived.
She sighed again when she realized Gareth was patiently waiting for a reply. “This apartment is a company landing spot. I don’t really have a place of my own. I was never in any town long enough to need one. I found it better not to be tied down by things.”
His arms tightened around her. The thought of Brandi’s vacant life bothered him greatly. He didn’t want to go back to that kind of life himself. “I didn’t have a home for a long time. It’s kind of nice though to go back to the same place and know it will still be there.”
Gareth could tell Brandi was still upset with him. He moved against her deceptively compliant body, his longer, stronger legs forcing hers to follow the movements of his. If there were cameras aimed at them, he wanted everything they did to look like his seduction of her. Too bad their relationship wasn’t so simple.
He stopped moving and pushed the jacket from her shoulders to toss it on the sofa. With one less layer between them, he started thinking about no layers at all. That probably wasn’t going to happen tonight. But tomorrow?
Gareth took Brandi back into his arms and started moving again, not wanting to think about anything beyond getting to hold her once more. “Everyone knows we came home together. It’s best they think it was for obvious reasons. We can talk so long as we keep the ambient sound loud enough to scramble their mics.”
“Let them surmise all they want about why you came home with me. It will keep them busy. Now tell me something real before I change my mind about playing nice and knee your balls up into your navel. And to clarify… me playing nice for the cameras doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. I’m still pissed about you turning me in.”
Gareth’s sigh was long. Mostly because he deserved to be on the receiving end of her efforts to protect herself. “Okay. Here it is. Randall Crane got successful in a way no one has before. Yes, I know Sheldon would like to know why. It would have been best to keep your conversion a secret, but the second best thing was to reveal it to the good guys. Whether you like it or not, that’s what Sheldon Crane is. He at least wants to constrain the hybridization efforts going on.”
Brandi pushed in close to whisper her question. “I call bullshit on your opinion. Let’s move on. What is their biggest hold on you?”
“I came to them originally and they helped me find my missing mate. To save her, and protect the rest of the pack, I joined them,” Gareth admitted. “Yes. They used me to try and create people like you. It didn’t work. Som
ething about Reed made the difference. Not one of the subjects who got my blood ever turned. They didn’t even get wolf capabilities. That’s why I don’t think I was used to convert the children… thankfully.”
Brandi swallowed her disillusionment. Did Matt know what his Beta had done? Gareth made Travis Black Wolf look like a boy scout. “What exactly are Fallon and Lars?”
“Humans with panther traits. They don’t turn. They can’t talk to their animal side. They just have heightened senses and some special abilities. They take monthly injections to keep being what they are because apparently hybrid traits like theirs wear off after a while. This is why Sheldon Crane instantly believed your story about your change being temporary. That’s the case with most hybrids to some degree.”
“So that’s their hook. Fallon and Lars have to stay to keep being cat men.”
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