Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(99)

Man, the kid could be tough. But Todd was armed, and from the sound of things, he’d be just fine with shooting Greg. “Please sit back down,” Zara whispered.

“That’s not necessary,” Madison said, rising from her chair. “Take them to different buildings this time.” She tilted her head to the side. “Sheriff Cobb and I will meet you, Zara, in yours after suppertime. He likes to inflict pain, and I’m finding myself looking forward to seeing how much you are able to endure.”

Zara glared at the woman and shoved down fear. Her knees shook. God, how long would it take Ryker to get to her once he pinged her location?

How much time did she have?





Chapter





36




Heat exploded in Ryker’s chest, and part of him wanted to run fast and hard in the other direction. “Family?” He stared at them, noting their gray eyes and tightly packed bodies. “You’re f*cked up.”

Jory cut a look at Matt. “Jesus. Where to start?”

Matt had jet black hair and square features. Jory had dark hair and a more angled bone structure. “With his name,” Matt said. “I’m not calling you Fred.”

“Ryker.” Ryker’s knees itched, and he really wanted to sit down. “Why are you calling me family?”

Jory blew out air and shook his head. “Dude. I need a beer for this conversation.”

Ryker edged toward the door.

“Stop,” Matt breathed out. “Get your phone, Jory. I saw you taking pictures during the ski lessons the other day.”

Jory grabbed a phone from his back pocket and scrolled through it quickly. He tossed the phone to Ryker. “That’s Nate. He’s our brother.”

Ryker easily caught the phone and stared into a face way too similar to his own. His stomach clenched and rolled. “What the hell?”

“Your eyes aren’t gray, so we probably don’t share a father.” Matt glanced at Jory. “Maybe they share a mother? They’d have to, right?”

Jory rubbed what looked like a damn strong jaw. “That’d be my guess. Dr. Madison liked to experiment with our lives, and I guess it makes sense she’d use genetic material from women to make brothers, too.”

“It’s like she threw a bunch of sperm in a salad spinner and just went for broke,” Matt muttered.

“We should check his back,” Jory murmured.

Matt eyed Ryker. “Think so?”

Ryker took a step in the other direction. Sperm salad? “Excuse me?”

Matt strode toward him, maneuvering around broken furniture. “Dr. Madison planted kill chips near our spines in order to control us, and we deactivated them. I doubt you’d still be alive if there’s a chip in you, but how about we just make sure?” He reached Ryker and grabbed the bottom of his shirt.

“Hey.” Ryker slapped his hands. “Knock it off.”

“Don’t be a baby.” Matt flipped him around and jerked his shirt up.

Jory chuckled. “Get used to it. Unless you’re older? How old are you?”

“Thirty-two.” Ryker kept still, mainly out of shock, as Matt probed his upper spine.

Matt lowered the shirt. “Then you’re the same age as Nate. Maybe you’re twins? Fraternal since you have different eye color. You’re fine. No kill chip.” He turned Ryker around. “We have a lot to talk about.” As if he couldn’t help himself, he yanked Ryker in for a hard hug and a slap on the back before moving away. “I can’t believe we found you.”

Ryker eyed Matt, his entire body short-circuiting. “You were looking?”

Matt nodded. “A few months ago we discovered we might have other brothers, and we’ve been searching since.”

“We?” Ryker asked.

Jory grinned. “There are four of us. Matt, me, Shane, and Nate.”

“Five now. Don’t forget Chance.” Matt ran a broad hand through his hair. “He’s quite a bit younger, and we found him a while back. Plus, he has other brothers as well. Dr. Madison liked to experiment with family units—so she created them. We’ll explain it all over drinks.”

Experiments. Ryker leaned back against the wall, needing something solid to hold him up. “This is too much.”

“Just wait,” Jory muttered. “How about we do this over a beer? Or a bottle of tequila? Just not here in this shithole.”

“No. I have a job to do.” Ryker ran a hand through his still-wet hair, Zara filling his mind. “I do want to talk to you guys, but I’m only here because I thought you’re breaking in would give me information I need right this second. Give me your number and we’ll talk when I’m done.” Zara and Greg were his priority, and time was ticking away. He tossed the phone back to Jory.

Matt frowned. “What kind of a job?”

Ryker studied him. He didn’t have time to bring somebody new in, but the guy seemed to know a lot more about Madison than he did. “Dr. Madison has kidnapped one of my clients as well as my, ah, my woman.” The word girlfriend seemed wimpy, and even though woman seemed a bit much, she held his heart and soul in her hands, so my woman was the absolute truth.

Jory drew back. “What? Why?”

“I don’t know. Just tell me what you know about Madison, please.” He tried to keep the panic out of his voice.