Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(60)

“Me?” Ryker spit blood off his lip, his chest heaving out. “What about you? Jesus. You been training since diapers?”

Greg stilled. “Yeah.”

Ryker blinked and lowered the kid to the ground. Shock slowed his movements. They’d made the boy learn to fight before he’d walked? How fucked up was that? “Listen. We’re in this together, whatever it is. Dr. Madison tested all of us, and there had to be a reason. Do you have any idea what it was?”

“No.” Greg stuck out his chin.

Interesting and twice as heartbreaking. “You’re lying.”

“Prove it.” Greg shook out of Ryker’s hold. “There’s no trap for Madison that will capture her. She won’t come.” He shrugged. “Unless the commander is dead, which is totally unlikely. He runs the military side of their little fiefdom.”

Ryker stepped back to give him some room. “All right. Let me get this straight. You and your brothers were raised in a military-type school where they trained you to fight.” Only size and strength had allowed Ryker to keep Greg from hurting either one of them. When Greg reached adulthood, he’d be one dangerous motherfucker.

Greg blinked. “I take it you weren’t trained?”

“Madison studied only our IQs and conditioning. We were taught for free by a local martial arts expert and then attended a military training camp,” Ryker said. For the first time, he wondered if it had indeed been free. Had Madison arranged for them to be conditioned to fight? “We learned a lot on our own through the years as well.”

Heath cocked his head. “I wonder why we were trained at all. I mean, this is all so damn confusing. We have to find that woman to get some answers. It’s the only way.”

“I can’t stop you,” Greg said. He stepped toward Ryker. “But take some advice. If they come for you, they’ll come at your weaknesses. They’ll come at what you care about. Cut Zara loose now.”

The words spoken by such a young face sent chills down Ryker’s back. Anger tried to take hold, and he forced it back, needing to stay calm and in control for Greg. “I can take care of Zara.”

Greg wearily shook his head.

“Greg, you have to trust us,” Heath said. “We’re trained, too. We won’t let anybody hurt you or Zara.”

“Poor stupid sap,” Greg murmured.

“She studied us, too,” Denver said, finally chiming in.

Heath nodded. “She might be the key to our pasts and our families. This isn’t just about you.”

Greg shook his head more wildly. “Don’t you get it? You have family right here and now. You guys are brothers, which is all anybody ever needs. Anything else you find out is just gonna hurt in a way you don’t even understand. These are not good people. If Madison is involved in your past, then believe me, you do not want to know a damn thing about it.” His eyes filled with tears, and he angrily brushed them away. “Live your very good lives and stop looking back.”

Agony swelled from the kid along with a strong shimmer of fear.

Ryker tried to calm his system. No matter what happened, he wouldn’t let anybody hurt this boy ever again. Right now he needed cooperation to make that happen. “How about we show you the plan to draw in Madison or her soldiers? If soldiers show up, they can lead us back to her. It’s really the only way.”

Greg dropped his head forward. “You’re all gonna end up dead.”

“We’re tougher than you think.” Ryker gently slid a hand along the kid’s nape and tugged him to his side. “How about we all work together on this?”

Greg’s shoulders slumped. “Fine, but don’t ever say I didn’t warn you. For now, please distance yourself from Zara. She doesn’t have any clue what’s out there, and it’s your job to keep it like that.”

“I know. But she has her own issues going on, and I need to cover her on that side, too,” Ryker said.

Greg’s head jerked up. “What issues?”

Man, the kid had a crush, didn’t he? “I’ve got it covered, pal.” Ryker nudged Greg back into Denver’s office. He would try to protect the kid as much as possible. “So here’s the plan. We have a safe house across town, and there we can set a trap for Madison or her soldiers or whoever shows up.” Grabbing a notepad from the corner, he started to sketch. “Feel free to jump in with ideas.”





CHAPTER


21


Zara shifted beneath the covers and tried to find a cool spot for her feet. Ryker put off a lot of heat at night. He lay on his stomach, taking up most of her bed, breathing softly into a pillow.

It felt right, ending their day together.

She swallowed. Her throat ached. Man, she was thirsty. Gingerly, she slid from the bed and drew on her fuzzy pink robe. Chances were Greg was dead asleep, but just in case, she didn’t want to freak out the kid in her Minnie Mouse shorts and tank top. She shoved hair away from her face and padded quietly through her bedroom and out into the living room.

Cool air hit her.

Good. She’d have to start sleeping with the window open if Ryker kept staying over. At least if there was a long-term heat outage, she’d be toasty warm every night with him.

If he stayed. The idea gave her warm tingles through her abdomen.