Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(50)

Todd rubbed his smoothly shaven jaw. “How did you find that out?”

“I hacked their systems,” she said smoothly. It had taken less than five minutes, actually. While Todd’s pseudo-military group had a nice cache of weapons, they lacked computer resources. For now, she needed their might, not their brains. “Our Protect group must continue the mission and purify this land, right?”

“Of course.” He studied her. As the leader of the Protect group, he felt it his duty to end all scientific genetic experimentation and purify the world, especially the men she’d created in test tubes to be. . .more. “Though that’s not your only mission, is it?”

Sometimes he seemed smarter than he looked. “You know I want to find the anomalies I helped to create and set things right.” Her life’s work had been to create supersoldiers, super beings, in labs and see how they functioned in the world.

“By ending them?”

“Of course,” she lied. Only a couple of the men she’d created in test tubes and helped train through the years needed to die. The rest could go back to working for her and being studied by her. It was time for the next generation to be born and trained. She might not be God, but she was damn close, and she needed their genetic material to keep her experiments going. “As soon as I find the men we made, you can take them all out.” She wondered if she’d have to kill him. While she’d ordered deaths, she’d never actually killed anybody personally.

“What about the three boys you told me about? The murderers?” Todd asked.

She glanced back at her computer. “I’ve been trying to find them for years, as has the sheriff from that town. At some point they’ll make a mistake.”

“You’ll let me kill them?”

She forced a smile. “Of course. I’m with you to atone for my mistakes, as you know. I believe in your mission, Todd.” The second she no longer needed his forces, she’d forget he ever existed. After she found her boys and got back to work. The boys from the home had been created with different genetic material, mostly, than her other experiments. Maybe they could have children, and she needed their genetic material to find out.

It was time for the next generation to be tested. Someday she’d have the perfect soldier.

Todd stood and overwhelmed the small office in the mountain compound. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

“Of course.” She leaned over so he could look down her shirt. “We will get rid of all genetic experimentation and test subjects. Life must be pure.”

Zara eyed the men happily eating around the living room, all on the floor with their backs to walls, none of them talking. Way too busy chewing.

She’d found paper plates in one cupboard as well as some plastic forks. If Ryker was staying in town, he needed supplies and furniture. They were all well on their way through seconds, and if she didn’t miss her guess, Greg was about to head to the counter for thirds.

“So, Greg. Where are you staying?” she asked, dishing more cheesy eggs onto his plate when he approached.

“Here and there.” He nodded when she pointed to more bacon.

When was the last time the kid had eaten? She dropped a bagel onto his plate as well. “Will you be in town long?”

He shrugged, his gaze on the food. “It’s starting to seem like it, but I’m hoping your man gets me my info soon.”

“I have a spare room at my house,” she murmured.

Ryker’s head snapped up from across the room. “Not a good idea.”

Greg turned to retake his place by the door. “Unfortunately, I agree. It’s better if I stay away.” He slid down, his gaze remaining happily on his eggs. “I’m fine where I am.”

“No.” Zara slipped the spatula back into the eggs. “If Ryker is helping you, then he will find your information, but you can’t just wander around town underage. Where’s your family?”

Greg paused with his plastic fork almost to his mouth. “No parents, and Ryker’s supposed to be finding my brothers.”

Eesh. Another orphan. She knew how he felt, and her heart turned over for him. But the good news was that the kid had family. Hopefully he had one brother over the age of eighteen who could be a guardian and protect him. “Then I insist you stay with me until your brothers are located.” She waited a beat. “Meals come with the extra room.”

Greg shoveled eggs into his mouth and chewed as if he hadn’t eaten in days, temptation in his eyes. He glanced toward Ryker.

Ryker studied him and then gave a short nod. His gaze shifted into something warm. “It’s a nice place to stay, and I’ll be there, too.”

Zara opened her mouth and then shut it.

“But if I discover you’re in any danger, you’re staying here, not at Zara’s place,” Ryker finished.

Greg wiped his hand down his jeans. “Nobody knows about me, so I’m not in danger as long as you don’t screw up the search. If you get found out and they discover I’m, ah, around, then all bets are off. Danger doesn’t come close to describing the situation.”

“We won’t screw up the search.” Heath leaned forward and wiped his mouth on a paper napkin. “But you might need to be more forthcoming with information.”

“You know all you need to know,” Greg mumbled, reaching for his bacon.