Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(55)

“Yes,” Wynn added, “but I’m not positive they were my parents. They died thirteen years ago. The people I saw were too young. They didn’t look middle-aged. But it was dark and I didn’t get a good look at them.”

“I saw a woman outside Wynn’s house in Cheyenne,” Angel said. “I also didn’t get a good look at her, but she looked like Wynn’s mom in an old photo she had. The Omnis attacked us there. The guys I fought were hyped up on something. They burned Wynn’s home down.”

“So Jafaar has her parents?” Owen asked. At Angel’s nod, he looked at Addy. She knew he was thinking they might have the antidote to whatever had been done to her.

“We put a tracker on Jafaar’s car,” Ace said, “but it hasn’t moved from the motel. He was with Wynn’s parents in some warehouses east of Cheyenne, so he’s got the use of multiple vehicles.”

“How did Jafaar get Wynn’s parents?” Owen asked. The room went silent. “You said you saw a woman who might have been Wynn’s mom,” he said to Angel. “And then Wynn saw them with Jafaar after she was kidnapped. How did he get them?”

“That’s something we don’t have an answer for,” Kit said.

“Grams said she saw them while she was at Jafaar’s,” Wynn said. “I just thought it was a dream her meds had tricked her into thinking.”

“They must have gotten away from the Omnis at some point,” Rocco said. “Jafaar wanted me to turn Wynn in—I guess as bait for your parents, so he didn’t have them at that time.”

“After Grams’ funeral, I left,” Wynn said, sending Angel a regretful look. “A man began following me around. He said my parents sent him to find me before the Omnis did. Maybe he gave them to Jafaar. He also said that you all would kill them before giving them a chance to be heard.”

“That guy was an Omni operative,” Angel said. “He was fishing for info on your parents, which means the Omnis also didn’t have them at that point.” He looked at Owen. “So if the Omnis didn’t have them and Jafaar didn’t, then they were loose when I saw your mom at your house, only I didn’t know it was your mom at that point.”

“If it even was,” Wynn said to Angel. “The people I saw at the warehouse weren’t old enough. Maybe they were just made to look like them.”

“And maybe they were them,” Owen said. “We know the Omnis fake the deaths of people who go into their world. They did it with Blade’s dad, maybe my dad, with Addy.”

“Either way, he’s got them now,” Ty said. “It’s unlikely Jafaar would go to the WKB for the lab he wants, being on the outs with them like he is.”

“The tracker didn’t show him moving when he had Wynn at the warehouse in Cheyenne,” Kit said. “Rocco, get with Yusef and see why. See if Wynn’s parents have been at the motel, too.”

“Roger that,” Rocco said. “Jafaar told Yusef, my CI, that I was a Fed. That may be something we have to deal with down the road.”

“How did Jafaar know that about you?” Owen asked.

“That’s unclear,” Rocco said.

“In other news,” Val said, “my father popped in for a visit. He brought the library from his secret room…and dumped a bombshell on us.” Val looked at Kit, then Kelan and Lion. “Not only did he kill my mom, but he fathered both Fiona and Lion. And he was responsible for their mothers’ deaths. Fiona and Lion are my half-siblings.”

“We checked their DNA—” Owen started.

“And we retested our DNA. Daddy dearest said he fucked with the CODIS database.”

“Where’s Jason now?” Owen asked.

“In the wind,” Kit said. “We tried to hold him here until Lobo could take him, but his lawyer made a visit to the sheriff, and we were forced to hand him over. Of course, the lawyer got him out of jail. Lobo’s looking for him now.”

“He also said this whole thing was a game,” Val said. “No idea what that means to him or to us. Don’t think it’s a game to everyone involved. The bastard did say that he’d called everyone to come in, that it was all over.”

Addy looked at Owen. They’d talked about this whole mess being a game. It still didn’t make sense to her.

“Shit. I was only gone a couple of weeks,” Owen said.

“Yeah, two critical weeks,” Kit said.

The emotions Addy saw on the faces of the men and women around the table seemed genuine. A group this large couldn’t all be acting, could they? Owen started pacing at his end of the room. She tensed every time he walked behind her. He stopped once, stepping up to his chair, his gaze sweeping both sides of the table. Instead of speaking, however, he resumed his pacing. No one spoke, though she doubted any conversation would have disturbed his concentration. At last, he broke his silence.

“It’s all connected,” Owen said. “Someone knows everything that’s going on. We don’t know who that is, but it’s likely that it’s Jason, the Jacobs, Jax, or Edwards. Maybe even my dad.”

“My dad told us the game was over and people were being recalled,” Val said.

“To where?” Owen asked.

“That’s the sixty-four-million-dollar question,” Ty said.