“H-how did you heal so fast? Does it have anything to do with the animal DNA?”
“Yeah. And all the tests and injections and experiments…all of the dregs ended up with superior strength, extreme adaptability, a high tolerance for pain, faster healing abilities. We all have heightened senses, like an animal.”
“So that’s how you see so well in the dark.” A moment of silence stretched. “Do you have other documents that link my father to this super soldier company?”
I motioned to the monitor. “I’m working on that. The business document you saw earlier is the first written proof I’ve found so far. But there’s more in there. I just have to crack through all of the encryptions to get to the truth.” I understood her need to have more proof. I’d just shattered her world, dispelling her belief that her father was a good man.
She lowered her gaze. “I’m willing to believe you were one of those recruits, and that horrible things were done to you.” She paused, then lifted her gaze to mine. “I really am sorry that you had to go through all of that, but I know the last thing you want is my sympathy. You’re…obviously tough to have survived what you did.” She cleared her throat, then trudged on, “If my father was truly involved in what was done to you, then I apologize for his actions. But you have to understand how difficult this is for me. The man you described is not the man I knew. So I’m still struggling with what you are saying is the truth.”
“Fair enough.” I bent, reaching for my shirt where it still lay on the floor. She watched my movements, her cheeks turning pink, before she glanced away.
A sudden pounding at the front door caused us both to jerk in surprise. I yanked the shirt over my head and glanced at the surveillance monitors on the desktop.
Ryan and Luke were at the front door, making faces at the camera.
I snorted, then strode away to let them in.
Shannon stared after me, the heat of her gaze burning into my backside until I disappeared around the corner. Damn, she affected me way more than she should. Letting her stay here probably wasn’t the smartest idea.
But how else could I keep her safe?
She might not wholly accept the truth about her father right now, but she would soon. I vowed to decrypt all of those documents. I vowed to expose her father and the others for what they truly were.
I didn’t want to hurt Shannon, but she was right that she deserved to know the truth. And the truth would inevitably hurt her.
I unlocked and opened the front door.
Ryan and Luke swaggered in.
“She here?” Luke asked, glancing around.
At that moment, Shannon entered the room and came to stand beside me. She hesitated, taking them in, then stepped up beside me. Ryan glanced from her to me, a question in his eyes. Luke narrowed his gaze on her, obviously checking out her vibe.
I cleared my throat. “I found something you guys might find interesting. I called Logan a few minutes ago and told him. A link between the shareholders and The Company.”
Luke tore his gaze away from Shannon and focused on me. “Let’s hear it.”
“I know you,” Shannon murmured, glaring at Luke. “You’re Steel Voice.”
Luke quirked a blond brow. “Steel Voice?”
“Yes. I recognize your voice from the other night. Cold, like steel. You’re the one who interrogated me.”
Luke nodded. “You have a good memory.”
She turned to Ryan. “And you’re the other one who was there that night.”
Ryan raised his hands. “Ah, you caught us.”
Shannon’s gaze zeroed in on Ryan’s prosthetic arm. “What happened to your arm?”
“I got too close to an IED.”
“Improvised explosive device,” Shannon murmured, nodding slowly. “How did it not blow off your leg?”
“Because I was crawling across the ground, not walking. My fingers brushed against the bomb and it exploded, blowing my arm off.”
“Dear God,” she murmured. “It sounds like you’re lucky to be alive.” She paused, then asked, “What recruit number were you?”
“Uh…” Ryan exchanged a long glance with Luke. “I was one-oh-four.”
Shannon turned to Luke. “And you?”
Luke held her gaze without flinching. “One-sixty-three.” Then he speared me with a harsh look. “What the fuck, man? You showed her The Company files?”
My defenses shot up. “She needed to know what kind of man her father was.”
Luke made a sound of disgust. “You don’t think she’s going to write a story about us, report about us on television now?”
Shannon cleared her throat. “I promised him I wouldn’t. It’s all off the record.”
Luke let out a snort of disbelief. “Right. And cows can fly.” He stepped toward her.
Shannon lifted her chin and held her ground as he paused before her. “I’m not a liar. And I’m not easily intimidated. So bring it on.”
Luke’s hard gaze held hers. Damn, Shannon was holding her own against Luke. Not an easy thing to do, as he could be quite intimidating. Fascinated, I stood there and watched, waiting to see who would back down first.
Ryan stepped forward, wedging himself in between Luke and Shannon, ending the feud. “Easy guys, let’s see the information Noah was telling us about.”
A muscle ticked in Luke’s jaw, indicating he was not pleased. While I didn’t exactly trust Shannon yet either, Luke needed to lighten up sometimes, and not be such a hard ass.
“Back off,” I told him. “She’s not going to write about us.”
Shannon gave a small start, as if I’d taken her by surprise. Suspicion swept through me. Was she really going to write about us? Or was she just surprised I was defending her? She turned her head and met my gaze briefly, but the look in her eyes said it all. Guilt.
She’d flat-out lied to me. She had every intention of writing about us.
The little bit of trust I’d started to give her evaporated in a swift rush.
“The vibe I’m getting from her says otherwise.” Luke’s words were cold, accusing. “She’s playing you.”
Color flooded into her face. “What are you, some kind of mind reader?” she demanded. “And I’m not playing him.”
I must have had a disgusted look on my face, for she reached for me, touching my arm. “Noah, I’m not playing you, I promise.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.
I pulled away from her. It was too late. My distrust was back in full swing. No one could lie around Luke and get away with it, because he knew. Trying to ignore the hurt in my chest, I turned away. Damn her.
I led the way back into the office area to show Ryan and Luke the business document linking the shareholders to The Company.
Ryan whistled softly after he read it, while Luke remained silent, contemplating. Shannon hovered a few feet away from us, watching, listening, but not joining in our conversation. Was she deciding how much of our conversation to write about? Was her devious mind running a story about us through her brain right that very moment?
She caught my gaze briefly, then looked away. She was playing me. Anger surged forward. I shouldn’t have trusted her. I’d been swayed by pretty blue eyes and a gorgeous face. Now she could destroy us all.
Luke frowned, glancing from Shannon to me. “How long you planning on keeping her around? I know you haven’t forgotten she’s the senator’s daughter. And I know you’re not an idiot. You should just dump her off somewhere and be done with her so we can get the hell out of here.”
He was right. I should.
But I wouldn’t. Call me a fool for refusing to get rid of her, but I couldn’t let The Company hurt her. I had to keep her safe.
“If I drop her off somewhere, The Company will kill her.”
Ryan nodded his agreement, glancing at Luke. “He’s right. She’s in danger now.”
Luke snorted. “She could be another Darcy, and you know it. We can’t trust her.”
<
br /> Shannon perked up at that, a question in her eyes. “What’s he talking about?” She directed the question at me. “Who’s Darcy?”
“No one.” I couldn’t trust her with any more information right now. Maybe Luke was right. Maybe I should just drop her off somewhere and wash my hands of her.
She turned to Luke. “What do you know about my father?”
His gaze hardened. “He was a sadistic son-of-a-bitch who got off on torturing others. His favorite method of torture was using brass knuckles on his victims. If you saw what he did to Logan, and then Noah…” He shook his head in disgust.
Shannon recoiled, her gaze darting to me, then back to Luke. I didn’t say anything. Luke didn’t sugar coat anything. While I’d wanted to be somewhat gentle while revealing the truth about her father, Luke just told her how it was.
She closed her eyes briefly and swallowed hard. I could sense her shock. Her disbelief. She opened her eyes. “Did he torture you with these ‘brass knuckles’ the night you almost died?” Her gaze bored into me now, challenging, daring me to deny it.
“He did. And as Luke was saying, about a week before that, he nearly killed my partner, Logan, with those same brass knuckles. It wasn’t pretty. Logan’s face looked like it had been run through a meat grinder. And his heart stopped at one point, but luckily, we were able to bring him back.”
All the color drained from her face. She sucked in a breath, exhaling in a rush. “You’re lying.” She swayed slightly, as if she were about to faint. I instinctively stepped forward, ready to catch her if she started to fall.
She lifted her chin. “Don’t.”
I halted, waiting.
She hitched in a breath. “You guys are mean. Why are you trying to hurt me like this?” She turned on her heel and fled up the stairs. She reached the top of the stairs and turned back, her gaze locking on mine. There was so much pain and disbelief in her eyes that guilt stabbed through me. That hadn’t been a very tactful way to tell her about her father. We should have been less harsh about it.
She marched away, then a door slammed.
Ryan cleared his throat, glancing at Luke, then at me. “Looks like you’ve got some making up to do, bro. She seems really upset. I don’t think she had any idea what her father was like.”
My chest squeezed. Yeah. Me, neither.
Luke headed for the door. “I’m hitting the hay. Let us know when you find out more information about the shareholders.”
“Sure thing. You guys don’t mind staying here a few more days, do you? Just until I figure out what to do with her. It’s the best place to hide for now.”
Luke shrugged. “Fine with me.”
“Me, too.” Ryan followed him out. I locked the door behind them, then headed back into the office area.
I clicked on another one of the encrypted files and tried to concentrate, tried to let my brain scan for a possible decryption.
But thinking of Shannon upstairs all alone in her misery made it impossible to focus. I was the cause of her pain. Me.
Shit.
I shoved the chair back and bolted to my feet. Moments later, I found myself standing outside of the room where she’d gone.
I knocked on the door.
Silence. Then, “Who is it?”
Her voice sounded like she’d been crying. I couldn’t blame her. She was hurting. She’d just been told quite bluntly that her father was a sadistic bastard who got his kicks out of torturing others. That had to hurt.
“It’s Noah. Can I come in?”
A sniffle. A sigh. Then, “I guess.”
My lips twitched. I turned the knob and pushed the door open.
Shannon sat on the queen-size bed in the center of the room. Her eyes were moist with fresh tears. She turned away from me, color rushing into her cheeks.
I stepped into the room. I wasn’t sure what I was doing here, except I felt the need to make her feel better.
I cleared my throat. “I never wanted to hurt you. But we both know you would have kept at your investigation until you eventually discovered the truth. I just helped you find out the truth sooner than you would have otherwise.” That wasn’t exactly an apology. Maybe I should reword that and try again. Maybe I should just say I was sorry.
She drew in a ragged breath and turned her head toward me. “It still hurts,” she whispered. “He was never like that around me. He was always kind and loving, a good man. I don’t want to believe he was the way you guys described him.”
I slowly lowered myself onto the edge of the bed. “Then don’t. Just remember him the way you knew him.”
She stilled. “I don’t see how I can now, not after what you guys told me.” Fresh tears swam in her eyes. “How old were you when you found out your father was a monster?”
I heaved out a sigh. “I always knew he was a monster. But I didn’t know he was my father until a few months ago.”
“Then it sounds like we have something in common, doesn’t it? Fathers who were monsters.” She turned away, swallowing hard.
I hesitated. Should I pull her into my arms and try to comfort her? God knew I wanted to touch her, but my idea of touching involved naked skin and hot, wet kisses, lots of rubbing and thrusting, and all-over euphoria. I didn’t know how to deal with crying females. If I kissed her, would it make her feel better? Would she kiss me back? Or would she just shove me away?
Seriously, dude? You’re thinking about sex when she’s most vulnerable? What’s wrong with you?
Right. Get out of here.
I rose from the bed. “Why don’t you get some sleep? Tomorrow, we can figure out what to do with you.”
She gave a slight nod, turning back to me as I headed for the door. “You’re a lot stronger than me. If I had to go through all the terrible things you did, I probably wouldn’t have survived the first day. I have a lot of respect for you. But I have to wonder, do you ever cry, Noah?”
I cleared my throat. Where did that come from? “No. They beat the emotions out of me years ago.”
She stared into my eyes. “Are there any emotions left in you at all? Do you feel things? Any-thing?”
I glanced away. She’d somehow turned the conversation away from her and around to me.
Because she’s a reporter. She knows how to do that.
I sucked in a breath, slowly puffed it out. “Yeah, I feel things. Why?”
She held my gaze. “I just wondered. Sometimes you seem so cold. But other times, you’re actually nice. After what you went through, I’m honestly surprised to see any kindness in you. I would expect you to be a monster, too.” She paused. “But you’re not. You’re a puzzling man, Noah. Did it hurt when you found out your father was a monster?”
I glanced away. “Yeah. It hurt. It still hurts. So I try not to think about it.”
It was time to leave. I’d already told her way more than I should. She somehow had the ability to pull the truth out of me. Make me vulnerable.
She whispered my name as I reached the door, but I didn’t stop, didn’t turn around.
I walked out, pulling the door shut behind me.
Effectively putting an end to that conversation.
But how long before the reporter in her wanted to know more?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Shannon
Noah was a fascinating man. I was beginning to realize there were many layers to him, that he wasn’t just a cold-blooded killer like I’d originally thought. He’d said they’d beat the emotions out of him years ago, and that he never cried anymore. But knowing his father had been a monster still hurt him. I wanted to see more of the Noah with feelings, the Noah who was kind.
He’d rescued me, spending a quarter of a million dollars to keep me safe, and the only thing he wanted in return was for me not to write a story about him and the other dregs, to drop the investigation into my father’s death. Was that really all he wanted?
Now I knew Noah had killed my father. He’d admitted it. And he’d explained that it had been s
elf-defense. There was obviously more to the story than that. I wanted to know everything. He and the other dregs had tried to make me believe my father had been a monster, a cruel man who thrived on torturing others. That wasn’t the man I knew. I didn’t want to believe that, but I was now starting to admit the truth. My father had lied to me. Kept secrets from me.
Noah had shown me that file on himself and those other recruits, letting me into the life he’d led as Recruit Number 89, and showing me all the horrible things that had been done to him. He’d made himself vulnerable to try to show me the truth. As disbelieving as it all was, my gut told me he was telling the truth, and that those documents of the recruits were real.
I didn’t hate him. Instead, knowing these things about him just made me more curious about him. I wanted to know more about this company and the men who ran it. If my father really had been a part of it, then what had his role been?
Dad was leading a double life, Shannon. As much as that hurts, you know it’s the truth.
As an only child, I had never lacked for anything in my life. My father had spoiled me from day one, lavishing me in affection and material possessions. I had never doubted he loved me. Ever. I had also believed he could do no wrong. He’d doted on me from the start, and we’d shared a close father-daughter bond. So was it any wonder that the thought of him being something entirely different than the man he’d shown me was so shocking? So disbelieving? So hurtful?
Noah’s words came back to me: Just remember him the way you knew him.
That had been Noah’s attempt at an apology. It was sound advice. But could I do that? Just pretend my father had never been anything except what he’d shown me? A loving father? A good man?
My heart pinched. I wasn’t sure if I could do that. Not now.
There was a story here that was much bigger than just the truth surrounding my father’s death. This went much deeper than that. This went clear back to Recruit Number 1 and the beginning of this company. I wanted to know the entire story. All of it. I would keep digging, get as much information from Noah as I could. And then decide what to do with the information. Whether or not I reported it remained to be seen.
It was now nearly three in the morning, but I couldn’t sleep. I was too restless, my mind swirling with questions. I rose from the bed and went in search of Noah. I was over my brief pity party. I needed answers. And right now, he was the only one who could help me.
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