Chapter Ten
MILLIONS, BAILEY SAID? That explained the amazing hotel suite and fancy SUV.
“Problem is Lang stole even more than we did, so not only is he connected, he’s funded again. We need your help to find Gideon’s friend, Ollie. You ever hear Oliver Torelli’s name mentioned?”
Kennedy shook her head. “I wish I had, but no.”
“But if you were there when we asked Lang or Smith about him, could you rifle through their thoughts and find us the information we need?”
“I could try, that’s if their shields aren’t too high.” She paused in thought. “I connect really easily with Alex. And sometimes he hears me thinking things I didn’t send on purpose.”Which is odd.“I saw Gideon’s images because he projected them to me.” She blushed and fanned herself. “Okay, I admit. They were sexy.”
Bailey grinned.
“I haven’t tried to read Carter or you. But Eli… I kind of brushed my mind past him yesterday and got nothing. But I didn’t want to push, so I didn’t.”
“Really? Sometimes I feel like my empathic ability floats right past him. He acts like I’ve made him feel better, but I think it’s more he takes his cues from the guys.”
“Huh.” As they both pondered Eli, Kennedy realized it had quieted down.
“Be right back.” Bailey returned looking satisfied. “They’ll clean it up.”
Kennedy envied Bailey her confidence and contentment. “You’ve been Circ for how long?”
“Hmm. Close to three months now? Feels like forever. We had our first Circ Thanksgiving two weeks ago. Man, they—we—eat a lot.”
Kennedy smiled, thought about Charlie, and fought the urge to cry. “I spent Thanksgiving with my cousin and the other women at the lab. We had the same meal as always. Then Duane Smith came and took the girls away, sending them to their new mates, as in plural.”
Had Charlie been given to a group yet? Would she survive?
“My cousin told me then what I had to do. She can see small bits of the future, and she saw my freedom with Alex. She’s why I’m here with you.”
“Oh, honey. It’ll be okay.” Bailey leaned forward to give her a hug. “I swear, we’ll find her.” She pulled back. “But there’s no point in sticking around any longer. Dr. Lang cleaned house. There’s no trace of anything at the lab in Red Oak. They moved fast. But we have ways of finding them. And we will. We haven’t given up on Ollie. We won’t give up on Charlie either.”
Kennedy smiled through unshed tears.
“Now I want you to relax, not stress, and think about coming with us. We live near Seattle, but we’re outside the city. We have a lot of land, and it’s safe. Carter’s security is ridiculous. I’ll show you everything I know about being Circ. You can figure out what you want to do, and we’ll pool our info on Lang. I know Gideon will have more questions too.” She paused. “We have to stop Dr. Lang from hurting anyone else.”
“Yes. He’s awful. I don’t think he sees us as people anymore.”
“If he ever did.”
“And we have to stop his breeding experiment.” Gideon had looked furious earlier when she’d mentioned it, and she had to say it again, to remind herself she now had a responsibility to more than Charlie. “He makes Circ babies he plans to dissect and use for parts.” She felt sick remembering what she’d picked up from him. “I read from one of the women there that she was carrying a Circ baby against her will. Bailey, she’d been raped, repeatedly, by her ‘pack’ and couldn’t stop it. And it’s even worse because she felt like she wanted it even though she really didn’t. That’s what she was thinking, I mean. The Circ inside her was crazed. It was bad.”
And something that still scared Kennedy. What if the beast inside her made her do things she didn’t want to? She had enjoyed Alex and Eli, she wouldn’t lie. But she didn’t see herself just being with any Circ. Heck, if left to the human side of her, she wouldn’t have jumped Alex after just meeting the man.
I mean, I’d have given it a few days at least…
“I can feel your stress, honey, but it’s okay. You’re Circ now. Your beast knows what’s best for you both. You feel together to me, two parts of one being, if that makes sense.” Bailey paused. “You weren’t abused by anyone, were you? Like any of the unstable Circs with Dr. Lang? Alex told us about Myers and Yates still being around. I really hate those bastards.”
“No. I’ve only been with Alex and Eli as a Circ. They were great.” She flushed. “I, ah, we all were together willingly.”
“Good.” Bailey blew out a breath. “Not that the guys would ever force you to do anything you didn’t want, but Myers and Yates, those two, they’re dangerous and sick. I think rape gets them off. And don’t get me started on Sheer and Caldane.”
“I haven’t met Caldane, but I did meet Sheer. He’s really scary. It’s even worse now. After you left, Dr. Lang apparently pairedmeup with them. Yates thinks I belong with them.” She wished she could forget the memory of Yates and Myers in her room,
“Oh man.” Bailey made a face. “I’m so jealous.”
Kennedy found herself laughing.
