She forced herself to bury the memories of watching those poor creatures nearly kill themselves to get to her in the dark depths of Elliot's second home—Pearson Labs.
“So you were never given shots growing up? Never given odd medicines or vitamins?”
“No. Elliot was very careful that I only ate healthy foods. No junk foods, no pills or medicines of any kind. Not that I ever needed any,” she murmured, thoughtful.
Evan looked troubled. “Paige, you've never
changed
, have you? You know what that means?”
“I do. And no, I've never
changed
. I'm totally normal. Well, mostly. In the last few years, I seem to have developed several Circ traits that you wouldn't know about unless I told you.”
“Like?”
“I'm pretty strong. I can see, hear, and smell better than most people I know.” She debated whether to tell him the rest but felt a need to confide in him. It felt right. “And I can control the Circs sometimes. The mutants and I seem to have a special bond, I guess you could say.”
“How so?”
“I don't know how to explain it, but I can release a certain scent, and they do what I tell them. That's how I've avoided them for so long since my escape from Pearson Labs.”
“Your father actually imprisoned you there?” Evan asked, horrified.
That Evan seemed more passionate about her imprisonment than her abilities soothed a knot of tension she hadn't realized was building. “Elliot never physically imprisoned me. I had a home away from that horrible place. But he threatened to incarcerate me there if I didn't do what he said. You've seen the men working there. I didn't think I had much choice.”
“My God, you really are Subject 31, aren't you?”
“How do you know about that, anyway? I thought Elliot's files were totally secure.”
“I read things he didn't know I had access to. Elliot was proud of your accomplishments. He thought you were the future of the Circs. But he said you needed tweaking. He said you were too undisciplined, too willful.” Evan smiled at her, and she smiled back. “At least he had the sense to protect you from the…unpleasantness there.”
“You mean from the beatings, rapes, and torture imposed on the rogues.” He shifted and glanced away from her, his voice a mere whisper. “Yes. A few months ago when I found out I had a niece and that you were one of Elliot's subjects, I was terrified of what he'd done to you. I still am, if you want the truth.”
“Hey, I'm still alive. And I'm here.”
“You can't know how happy I am about that.” Evan gave her a tremulous smile. It slowly died. “There's something else you should know. There's danger out there for you, Paige. From all that I've studied since I realized you were, in fact, alive, it seems Elliot had specific plans for you.”
“For his breeding program. I know.”
“You
know
?” Evan stood and began pacing. “I wish Elliot were here right now, so I could wring his neck. To treat his own daughter like this… I think it's highly likely that he took your mother away because he wanted her to die. Miranda would never have agreed to what he did to you, Paige. From what you've told me, I believe you were born a Circ. Elliot must have infected your mother, which is how you came to have so many abilities without the problems the Circs in Project Dawn had.”
“So how is it your guys are still okay? I mean, from what I know, Circe's Recruits are the only surviving members of the original project.”
“I have some ideas, but honestly, I'm not sure why the squad survived the initial failure of the project. But they're not the only ones, you know. Caitlyn is like you. She was born a Circ. Kelly was injected with the serum at a young age. And Sabrina recently became Circ, saved from madness by Derrick, her mate. We're a special group here Paige. Like you.”
And McKinley, she thought but didn't say.
“Paige, if you don't mind my asking, how did Elliot realize you'd turned Circ?
What was it that first alerted him to your abilities? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I have to admit, what you've described doesn't seem to mirror what Caitlyn went through. Elliot had worked with her since she was born. She'd exhibited Circ traits right after puberty.”
“I don't know about that.” Interesting. Paige had an urge to talk to Caitlyn and the other women, to see what they thought about the men here and about their experiences with Elliot. Her instincts told her that she could learn a lot about herself among those of a like nature. She could be safe here…with Hale.
Shaking off the worrisome thought, she hurried to explain herself to Evan. “I lived a pretty normal life up until the last five years. Before then, in Elliot's eyes, I was normal. A failure. So he left me alone, until I matured and got careless. I was twenty-three when I made a big mistake. I'd just started to notice subtle differences. I'd become really strong. Small scratches healed within minutes, never leaving a scar. My senses exploded, like I could smell my roommate's perfume minutes before she walked through the door.
“I kept it to myself. I knew Elliot would want to know about it, and it made me feel good to keep that news to myself. It would have pissed him off, big-time.”
“Oh, yes,” Evan agreed.
“I'd begun dating a nice guy at the office where I worked. I'd never been very interested in the opposite sex, but Simon was nice, handsome, and fun to be with. Until one night when he wouldn't take no for an answer. I put his face through my front door.”
“Good Lord.”
“You said it.” Paige smiled, comfortable enough with him to share parts of her past. She still didn't understand why she felt so at ease with him—a virtual stranger—
but he seemed to genuinely care that she'd been mistreated. He knew all about Circs, so she didn't have to hide the truth of what she was. And he'd known her mother. The picture she still held in her hand was priceless.
Evan grimaced. “Let me guess. Elliot had you spied on.”
“Yeah. By my boyfriend, it so happened.” She shook her head, annoyed she hadn't seen that one coming. Then again, she'd been so out of her mind with lust at the time, she would have nailed anything that moved. She'd been a late bloomer. With no interest in sex, she'd resisted a ton of dating requests. Then she'd met Simon and dated him more to fit in than because she'd wanted male companionship. During the course of their courtship, her libido began a strange rhythm, turning her almost insane with lust. Which made her beast's rejection of Simon so confusing. When he'd refused to back off, her inner beast had reacted. Badly.
“I'm so sorry.” Evan reached out as if to touch her. But he kept his distance and put his hands in his pockets.
“It was a long time ago.” But the betrayal still hurt. “Elliot had watched the whole thing. He was pretty angry when he learned I'd been keeping things from him. I think my only saving grace is that he feared hurting me would hurt his research. After that, he kept me tied to his experiments. I wasn't a prisoner in the labs, even though I was.”
“I understand. Elliot could be devious to get what he wanted.”
Understatement of the year.
“How did you escape?”
“I had help. A friend of mine made sure guards looked the other way when I left.
A lot of computer files disappeared, but enough apparently remained if you knew about Subject 31. I've managed to stay off the labs' radar for nearly a year. All in all, it's not a great life. But I'm free.”
“Unless the PPA finds you and brings you back,” he guessed.
“There is that.” She wondered if he'd suggest she stay here. Or if she should take part in his own experiments with Circe's Recruits. A part of her wanted him to offer her the choice, while another knew it would only make him seem more like Elliot. Using Paige to further science. The story of her life.
“Paige, I want you to know how sorry I am I didn't save you myself.” She hadn't expected that. “How could you? You didn't even know about me.”
“I knew your mother was in some kind of trouble. I should have paid better attention.” He smiled, and in that moment, she could readily believe that he cared about her.
Amazing
. “Paige, I know we don't know each other, but you're my niece. Whatever I have is yours, no strings attached. If I can help you in any way, just name it. I'm not like your father. Everyone who's here, right now, on this compound, is here because they
want
to be. I won't practice medicine on the unwilling, and I don't play God with people's lives.”
She watched him, captivated by the commanding tone of his voice that hadn't been there before.
“The people here are my family. But you, Paige, are blood. I can help you deal with the Circ side, if you want me to, and
only
if you want me to. You can live here or anywhere else I have a home, and I have several. We can protect you from Pearson Labs until we finally bring them down. It's been slow going, but I have no doubt what the end result will be.”
“So you're trying to destroy Pearson Labs?”
“When I left them years ago, I pledged myself to help the men affected by the Circe serum. My men are good people. We've taken care of many of Elliot's mistakes, and we've been trying like hell to bring Pearson Labs down. They have contacts that are difficult to uncover. Sabrina brought us some files that have been instrumental in helping us. But there are a few mystery people in the organization who might give us trouble.”
“Like who?” She wanted to help Evan destroy the labs. Hell, it was her sole mission in life.
“Do you know who's in charge? I've been hearing that it's a top government official, but security there is incredibly tight.”
“That I don't know. But I've seen Senator Kuntz at the labs. I know he and Elliot never got along, so I thought it odd that a United States senator had anything to do with Pearson Labs after Project Dawn disbanded years ago.” Evan started. “Senator Richard Kuntz?”
“He's the only bigwig I know.”
“Kuntz,” Evan said again. “Well, well.” He studied her with a smile. “I can tell this is going to be a productive day.”
“I think so.” She wouldn't trust him completely, not just yet. But she'd definitely thawed in her attitude toward her uncle. “So, um, would it be okay if I called you Evan?
Uncle Evan seems a little childish. Or do you prefer Doc?” He smiled. “Either is fine. I'm just happy to have you here to call me anything.” He crossed to her and waited while she stood. Then he shocked her by stepping into her personal space. He moved slowly, giving her every opportunity to rebuff him, but she didn't. He pulled her close. She was a few inches taller than the slight man, but the powerful comfort in his hug brought tears to her eyes. “I'm so glad you're okay, Paige.
So very, very glad.” He quickly stepped back, his eyes glassy and his cheeks flushed.
“Now tell me. What would you like for breakfast, Niece? I don't know about you, but I'm positively starving.”
* * * * *
McKinley waited and watched. It was late afternoon, and still no sign of Paige.
Several of Circe's Recruits had come and gone. Roane Weston and Derrick Packard had just left in a dark SUV. A pregnant Kelly Malloy walked between her mates into a smaller house behind the main one. Caitlyn Chase, Hale Rogers, and Doc remained unaccounted for. Now might be the ideal time to check the main house. He could handle two Circs and one older scientist without too much trouble.
Just as he rose from his crouch in the woods surrounding the small compound, Paige walked out of the main house with Doc by her side. Relieved, he hid himself again. Paige grinned at something Doc said. Evan Dennis glowed. He looked as if he'd just been handed a gift, and with the introduction to his niece, he had.
At least Paige seemed safe and happy. Doc guided her toward another smaller home next to the one Kelly and her mates had disappeared into. They walked onto a covered porch. The door opened, and Paige spoke softly to someone inside. He listened hard. The name Caitlyn rang a bell: Roane's mate. As soon as he thought about the picture he'd once seen of her, a splitting headache assailed him. Immediately, he centered himself and focused on breathing.
Shit
. He hadn't had one of these attacks in years. Standing on enemy soil left him vulnerable in more ways than one. He didn't need to lose his faculties now. Swearing to himself, McKinley decided to make good use of his time.
He shook off his headache and quickly loped in the direction of the main house.
Having earlier disabled Doc's piss-poor security system, he moved along the grounds and entered the house without setting off any audible alarms. He wasn't sure about the whole of the interior, however, so he had to move fast.
A quick study of the house showed him an open floor plan. A large kitchen overlooked a family room on one side and a dining area on the other. A doorway to the left led to a hallway, which he entered. There, he cautiously allowed himself to open his senses.
The scent of Hale Rogers stood out, and he followed it, unable to help himself.
When the corridor branched off into another hallway, he stayed the course. Down the hallway and up the steps, past a second floor to the third. The damned house was huge, and this level had three doors.
He smelled traces of Packard and Sabrina at one doorway. Past that, he noted a bathroom, and then another closed door that smelled like vanilla and made him instantly hard. He twisted the knob quietly, tense because he knew what he'd find.
Opening the door, he took in the dim room before him with Circ eyes, narrowing on the unmoving figure in the middle of a king-size bed.
Closing and locking the door behind him, McKinley moved on autopilot. His beast quickly seized control as he stared at Hale Rogers, soundly sleeping. His dick hardened to the point of pain, and McKinley studied the male, wondering what to do next. His beast wanted to fuck Rogers, to take what it thought it owned. McKinley fought for control, clenching his fists tight as his claws lengthened and bit into his palms.
Where the hell was this hunger coming from? Apparently, his forays into rough sex the night before had been for naught. His balls ached, his shaft twitched, and it was all he could do not to flip Rogers over and mount him like a dog in heat.