Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
“She is. Apparently she’s had very little pregnancy sickness. She doesn’t show at all. I wasn’t too happy when I found out she was pregnant, especially when I found out how far along she was. She didn’t say a thing, not even to the other women. Nonny would never give up a confidence. She actually went on two missions with us in her condition. I’m not sure how Trap got her first, to stay behind, and then to leave with Pepper and the girls, but he managed it. Now we’re all paying for it.”
“Sorry about that,” Draden said, half genuinely sympathetic.
Joe shook his head. “Fight hard, Draden. And you’re finished going after these MSS bastards. The Kopassus are planning to take them down. You’ve done your part, now rest and let your body fight this thing.”
“Does Trap really think it’s possible?”
Joe hesitated.
“It’s easier to know the truth, Joe,” Draden said. “We have to be prepared. If I go down and Shylah’s left, she has to have a plan and vice versa.”
“Trap plays things close to his chest. He and Wyatt have been working night and day. They barely eat. They don’t talk unless they’re barking orders to one of us. I’m staying close to you with a couple of the others, so communication with them is not in person. Gino’s taking the brunt of their craziness. Malichai and Diego are backing me.”
Draden could hear the caution in Joe’s voice. Their eyes met in understanding. Joe, Malichai and Diego were staying in the vicinity to protect Draden and Shylah just in case someone in the government decided they were too big of a threat and decided to kill them.
“If we’re cleared, Shylah will continue hunting Whitney’s three scientists and Montgomery. I would like to accompany her and also ask that our team help us in any way they can lend support.”
“I expected as much. Given her penchant for pointing weapons at innocent substitutes, I figured she’d want the chance to go after the real thing.”
Shylah’s soft laughter slid into Draden’s mind. Warm, like honey, filling him up when he hadn’t known he was empty. He had never been known for his sense of humor, but being around her, that mischievous amusement had managed to feed that side of him. He smiled a lot more and, to his shock, laughed with her.
Draden talked for a few more minutes with Joe and then watched him leave. He could feel the soldiers who had surrounded the clearing, but he couldn’t spot them. That made him uneasy. He didn’t trust them. They weren’t part of his unit and they could get trigger-happy. He wouldn’t blame them. Many had families. If they had seen the effects of the virus, they would be terrified of it being unleashed on their population. They had to be nervous. He just hoped that those guarding the area had nerves of steel.
Shylah leaned against the wall, her eyes dancing when he came back inside. “Your commanding officer has a sense of humor.”
Draden nodded. It was impossible to resist her when she was in this mood. “He says we’re done going after the MSS.”
“I heard, but I’m not convinced he’s right. Did you notice each time they hunted us, their circle has been cast wider? Tonight, they very well could make it to the ranger’s cabin.”
“They’d have to go through the line of soldiers between us.”
“The soldiers I’ve observed are more concerned with keeping us confined than paying attention to anything coming at us.”
That much was probably true. Again, he couldn’t blame the soldiers, but it made for an opening the enemy could slip through.
“Call Whitney, sweetheart. We may as well get this over with. Once he’s on, just hand me the phone and then, no matter what I say, stay quiet. And, babe, expect me to lie.”
She had her cell out and she glanced up at him and gave him a faint smile. He could see she was stressed. She didn’t want any contact with Whitney at all. He was the boogeyman. He’d held absolute authority over her for her entire life. Defying him was difficult. It said a lot that Shylah was willing to die—that she would choose a horrific death rather than go back to him.
She handed him the phone and then paced as far from him as the little room would allow. Draden put the phone on speaker.
“Peony?” Whitney’s voice was gruffer than Draden remembered.
“Not Peony, Whitney. Draden Freeman here. We don’t have a lot of time and I need answers to some questions. I’m in the remote lab. Peony has been infected with the virus. The fact that she has tiger DNA that has merged with human DNA has changed the structure of the cell, so the virus had a difficult time adhering to the cell. It takes longer to infect her, but the virus is taking hold. She’s going to die, Whitney. Trap needs to know her genetic makeup. All of it. You can’t leave anything out because we don’t have time.”