Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(45)

Greg nodded. “Madison is a doctor.”

Denver cleared his throat. “Is she your mom or something?”

“No.” Greg’s hand visibly tightened on the box until his knuckles turned white. “There’s no way, is there? You didn’t find her. This was just a trap.”

“Wait.” Ryker stiffened, one hand held out. “Just wait. Okay. Trust goes both ways, right? Here it is, kid.”

Greg focused solely on him.

Good. That was good. “We’ve seen the woman before. All three of us. She’d show up at the boys home, the one you know about, and test us for shit. But she went by a different name.”

The color drained from Greg’s face. “Bullshit, man,” he whispered, his voice going hoarse.

Denver moved closer to him. “You’re killin’ me. I can almost taste your pain. Jesus. Let it out.”

Greg blinked. “Wait a minute. Just wait a f*cking minute.”

Ryker had seen a wounded bear cub in the woods years ago. The little furball had been scared shitless and horribly furious, and it had kept striking out and retreating over and over. This kid was worse. Wild desperation glittered in his eyes, and resignation slumped his shoulders. “Wait, Greg.”

“Why?” the kid sputtered.

“Because I’ll help you find her. I swear to God, if you tell me the truth, I’ll help you find who you’re really looking for.” Ryker took a step toward him.

Tears filled Greg’s eyes. “If she tested you, she’s everywhere. Don’t you see? We can’t win. I’m supposed to be dead, so I will be. That’s how it is.” He looked frantically around. “If she tested you, she’s watching you now. Don’t you see?”

“No.” Ryker took point since the kid was focused on him. Though Dr. Madison had studied him through the years, she’d obviously had a greater presence in Greg’s life for him to be so frightened. “Did she raise you?”

“Yes, and she can find us all,” Greg hissed.

Ryker shook his head. “We’ve changed names several times, and we’ve been on the run. She can’t watch us anymore.” Who the f*ck was the woman?

“I found you.” No triumph and only sad fact lowered the kid’s tone.

“You found us because of what we do now: We find the lost. We’re f*cking great at it, and you know it. She doesn’t know that about us, about me. She never really figured out what made me different, although she tried.” Ryker went on instinct and kept talking. “Did she find out what made you different?”

“No.” Greg paused. “She never did.”

Okay, don’t push. He was getting through to the kid. “She would show up out of the blue and have us take a bunch of written as well as physical tests.”

Greg glanced at Heath and Denver. “Them too?”

“Yeah. Then she’d run us through different obstacle courses and do a series of medical tests,” Ryker added.

Greg turned then, his focus slamming into Ryker. “Did she teach you to kill?”

Ryker’s chest compressed. “No. Somebody else taught me that.”

“The commander?” Greg whispered.

Ryker studied him and, once again, went with the truth. “No. Who’s that?”

Greg licked his lips. “If you don’t know, then you don’t need to know.”

“Okay. At some point, if you really want to find Isobel Madison, you’re gonna have to trust us with the entire truth. You know we can find her. But I have to know all of it.” Ryker took another step toward the kid.

The door to the stairwell opened. “Ryker? Your phone—” Zara gave a startled “Eep” as Greg grabbed her around the neck, his arm banding around her larynx, the knife close to her jugular. He was at least three inches taller than a barefoot Zara, even at his young age.

“No,” Ryker yelled, stiffening. Pure panic exploded in his chest, but he sucked in air and went cold. He needed to think without emotion.

If the kid knew what he was doing—and the kid really did look like he knew what he was doing—he could crush her windpipe before Ryker could get to her. “Let her go,” Ryker said calmly.

Greg’s eyes grew wild again.

The detonator was in his other hand, which was down by Zara’s thigh.

“Listen, Greg. That’s Zara, and she’s a really nice paralegal who likes to cook lasagna and wear funky shoes.” Ryker immediately set out to make her human to the kid, even as his ears started to ring. “I have a feeling you haven’t known many nice ladies in your life, and you need to understand that the one you’re scaring so badly is as nice as they come. Nice, soft, and unable to protect herself from you.”

Greg blinked, and his hold appeared to loosen a fraction. “I don’t want to hurt her.” His voice rose with a painful desperation.

Zara held perfectly still, Ryker’s phone still in her hand. “What’s going on?” she whispered, her face draining of color.

“Get the info on Madison, and do it now,” Greg said levelly. “I said I didn’t want to hurt your lady, and I don’t, but I’ll do what I have to do. I have to find Madison.” The stark emotion in his eyes matched his raw tone.

The knife at Zara’s throat glinted in the soft light. So close to her jugular. Ryker failed to banish emotion. “You hurt her, and I’ll rip you apart.”