“But we did, and I’m the name. We leaked my face to go with the name, not yours. You, John, and the others need to stay out of the spotlight. If things go wrong, you can still pick up our plans.”
Trish’s mouth went dry.
Seeing the action behind the scenes worried her more all the time. The Moon looked more and more as though it were run by bumbling incompetents, while the Earth leaders were well-organized and goal oriented. Trish wasn’t sure what the Moon’s government’s goal was, but obviously it had something to do with the wiped memories of the Wolf’s captives and—she was willing to bet—the collusion of some of the Moon’s government with the Wolf and others. And, apparently, part of their plan hinged on the Wolf being the only known quantity to leadership on the Moon.
If something happened to him, it sounded like Cora and John and the other leaders wouldn’t be inconvenienced much, but the Moon’s leaders would have no idea who to focus on in his absence. Maybe there was someone keeping an eye on Earth politics, but who was to say the Earthers weren’t several steps ahead of them?
The phone on the Wolf’s desk rang, and he hit a button on it.
“Yes?”
“We’ve isolated the changes.” The voice was familiar, and Trish frowned, trying to think of where she’d heard it.
“That was fast,” said Trace, also frowning, although Trish assumed it was because he didn’t understand how it had happened so fast.
The person on the phone snorted derisively. “They barely changed the formula. I mean, they changed it enough that we’ll need to make some adjustments to our serum as well, but I thinkit’s possible that even without the adjustments, some memories would return eventually unless further steps were taken. It’s shoddy, lazy-ass work. Just what I would expect since they’re still only working with Moon scientists who just want to finish their job so they can get back off Earth.”
The voice clicked in Trish’s brain—Dr. Margolis.
“The blocker we administered upon arrival will already inhibit the success of this new drug to some extent, especially over time, and we’re almost done formulating a secondary shot to administer, more tuned to the new variation if you want a chance for their memories to return sooner rather than later. I would also suggest testing it further while they’re still here on Earth, rather than leaving it up to chance.” The doctor’s tone was haughty, but it didn’t seem to bother the Wolf or Cora.
“Anything else that might help?”
“The mind often retains memories it associates with trauma or extreme emotions, as I’ve told you, but other than that… we’ll just have to see.”
Jordan’s hand on Trish’s leg began to move, sliding up under her skirt absently, caressing her inner thigh with his fingers. If it hadn’t been for how sensitive her skin still was, she wouldn’t have noticed. Trish had become used to Jordan’s caresses while he thought.
“Fine,” the Wolf said with a sharp nod. “Give them the secondary shot as soon as you’ve finished it. We’ll monitor the progress. You may have some time with Bella.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Shivering, Trish shrank against Jordan, not wanting to draw the Wolf’s notice after he’d carelessly given Bella over to the Doctor. There were times when Trish thought the Wolf cared a bit about Bella and Alex, and then there were times like this when he was so ruthlessly indifferent it was terrifying. Jordan’sarm around her body squeezed her closer, as if reassuring Trish she was his and not in any danger of being shared.
At least, not with the Doctor.
Just with Laura and Marek.
Alex’s limp body lay on cushions in front of the Wolf’s desk.
Trish constantly peeked at him, waiting for him to wake up, and kept pulling away from Jordan only to have him pull her back again and tuck her under his arm. He was losing patience with her constant, increasing distance, even if she never got very far, but Trish couldn’t stop staring at Alex.
Would the memory drug work? How much would he forget? Would there be any other effects?
She was also worried about Bella, though her worry was tempered with the occasional bit of judgement that Bella had brought her punishment on herself.
There was a reason Trish hadn’t gone into the passageways: the same reason she and Bella had cringed every time Alex had mouthed off or rebelled. What had he hoped to accomplish by going without food for so long when they’d first been captured? Since then, he seemed to be better at yielding when he had to, but it was always a fight. It would have allowed Bella to slide under the radar if the Wolf hadn’t realized punishing Bella was more effective at keeping Alex in line than a direct punishment.
A sharp swat to her backside had Trish biting back a yelp before Jordan yanked her back to his side.
He didn’t tell her to stop moving away from him; he didn’t need to. She knew why she’d been swatted. On her already tender skin, the swat stung twice as much as it normally would have, and Trish regretted having told Bella about thepassageways. Trish had been doing well with not earning punishment spankings. The other spankings Jordan gave her didn’t hurt in a bad way, and he always used the cream afterward so she didn’t have to suffer any lingering discomfort.
Trish planted her feet and took a deep breath, keeping her head ducked so she didn’t have to see Jordan’s warning glare. If she wasn’t careful, she would end up with another real spanking—and he might not take her somewhere private for it.
The room was mostly empty other than the Wolf, Alex, and two soldiers standing guard at the door to turn people away. Jordan might not consider this to be public, and the idea of being punished on her already-chastened ass… with the Wolf right there…
Trish needed to stay where Jordan had put her if she didn’t want more trouble than she could handle.
But it was hard not to keep checking on Alex.
