Carly had those features along with her forehead jutting out and hair growing out of her face. But it wasn’t as thick as Rianne’s had been.
“What are you doing here?” Carly asked.
Jordyn’s shoulder was touching my arm as though she wanted me to protect her. “I vowed that if I ever got the chance to see you that I would punch you for breaking Junior’s heart,” she said through gritted teeth. “You’re a fucking evil bitch. How could you pick science over the man you married? He loved you, Carly. He died because of you. He would’ve burned down the world for you.” She guffawed. “Here you are, killing innocent humans. You have no soul. I hope you rot in hell.”
That was Jordyn—straight and to the point.
Carly frowned, her red eyes filling with tears. “I know you won’t believe me when I say I loved Junior. I know I’m going to hell. But I also know in my heart that I truly wanted to find cures for diseases.”
“That still doesn’t justify the pile of shit you and Adam started,” Jordyn snarled. “You think coming to the naval base to hand over files is your salvation? Do you even know that because of you, Junior’s father could die as well?”
Carly’s jaw dropped.
“That’s right,” Jordyn continued, her volume increasing. “My uncle has a machete to his neck right now, all because Adam wants his brother, who supposedly has a thumb drive with data from genetic experiments on it. Maybe we should hand you over to Adam.”
Jordyn had rendered Carly speechless.
“Do you know where Fred’s thumb drive is?” I asked, knowing she’d already told Sawyer she had no clue.
She darted her gaze at me. “I don’t. You can hand me over to Adam. I’m dead either way. And not that this makes a difference, but after I was injected with the serum, I took off to a lab I set up long before I’d met Adam. I wanted to experiment on myself and hopefully find a way either to reverse the process or block the change from happening. But I was starting to decline. One reason I came here was to share my work with Dr. Vieira. Maybe he’ll be able to discover a solution.”
It was clear she was seeking redemption, but it was far too late for that.
Petty Officer Peterson marched up from his spot about ten feet away. “Ladies, we have a shift change coming up. If you want to see Noah, now’s the time.” He twirled his finger at the camera, then got on his radio. “Close up cell three and open up four.”
“I truly am sorry,” Carly said as her door began to shut.
“Do you feel better?” I asked Jordyn as we followed Peterson to the next room.
“I do,” she said. “I’ve been carrying around this weight of the accident that Junior and I were in. And if I’m being honest, I’m happy she’s gotten a taste of the crap she created.”
I smiled, then was taken aback when I laid eyes on Noah.
Jordyn did a double take.
Noah was lying on his bed curled into a fetal position, not moving but looking directly at Jordyn and me.
Our handsome cousin, who’d had the ability to turn girls’ heads in high school with his dark hair that had curled around his ears, the smattering of freckles around his nose, and his big dark eyes framed by long lashes, was now unrecognizable. He was now all animal—hairy, sunken red eyes, talons that had to be three inches in length, and he was bony as if he hadn’t eaten in months.
My heart sank to the floor. I was glad his mom wasn’t here. Tabitha would break in two if she saw him. He and I had hardly gotten along, but I was about to cry. I could see why his father Jack had collapsed after seeing his son.
Jordyn was frozen next to me.
“Noah.” Emotion sliced my tone in half. “Your mom loves you. She wanted to be here.”
His red eyes shifted back and forth as if he understood me.
“Your dad loves you too,” Jordyn said. “I do as well, cousin.” She started to cry.
“And your brothers and sister,” I added. Noah was the second oldest behind Junior. “They wanted me to tell you that you were their favorite big brother.”
He climbed off his bed and swayed as he came over to the steel bars and tilted his head.
“He can’t speak anymore,” Petty Officer Peterson said behind us.
The best thing we could do was to end his suffering. I was at a loss for any more words, and I needed air. But one thing was certain—seeing my cousin only served to fuel that spark of rage I needed for the battle ahead. Granted, Noah was his own worst enemy, but we had to remove the head of the snake, and his name was Adam Emery.
31
