“You don’t need to prove anything to anyone,” Hansen said.
“I want him to,” Evan argued.
“You won’t even remember this tomorrow morning.Come on.I’ll take you to bed.”
Evan paused, then wiggled his eyebrows.“Oh, that’s a good idea.”
Hansen rolled his eyes.“That’s not what I meant, but sure.Let’s act as if you’re not going to fall asleep the second your head hits your pillow.”
“I have more stamina than that.”
“Usually, you do, but with how many beers you drank tonight, I doubt it.”
“I’ll show you.”
“Sure you will.”Hansen turned toward Matthew and Franklin.“We should do it again sometime, although I’ll make sure Evan doesn’t drink as much if we do.”
“It was fun,” Franklin said.
Hansen nodded.“It was.I’ll see the two of you soon.”
Evan was still arguing that he hadn’t drunk that much as Hansen pulled him away.Matthew watched them go, amused.
“They’re nice,” Franklin said.
Matthew snorted.“Even though Evan is convinced your siblings don’t exist?”
“I understand why he’s doubtful.You guys did find me in a lab, after all.I’m sure you hear a lot of sob stories from the people who work there.”
That much was true.Especially when they were begging for their lives, they always had an excuse for what they were doing in the labs—they needed money, their mother was sick, they’d been forced to do it.Moore and the mutants always investigated the motives, and more often than not, they found lies.
Matthew really hoped that Franklin wasn’t lying.
“We do, but usually, they’re not shifters,” he pointed out.“I’m still amazed they hired you.”
Franklin shrugged.“I’m not.The hunters wouldn’t want to work with shifters, but the people in the labs don’t care.Actually, it’s kind of the opposite.They want shifters because they’re stronger than humans.They’re better at controlling the shifters in the cages, and the doctors don’t care if those shifters attack the guards.”
“That’s horrifying.”But not surprising.To the people who worked in the labs, most lives were expendable.That included their guards, especially if they were shifters.
“I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of horrifying things during your time in the labs and after you escaped.”
Matthew nodded.“I have.It’s one of the reasons I do what I do.”
“Maybe once this is over and I’ve found Leah and Gareth, I could join your group.I realize I’m not a mutant, but maybe you’d be willing to make an exception.”
“I’m not the guy in charge, but as long as you can get Moore to trust you, it shouldn’t be a problem.I hope we find your siblings soon.I’m sure your mother misses them.”
Franklin’s smile dropped.“She’d miss them if she were still alive.”
Matthew had firmly stuck his foot in his mouth.“I’m sorry.The way you were talking about her earlier, I didn’t think she was, well...”
Frankly nodded once.“She was killed when my siblings were taken.They were with her.”
Shit.Matthew understood even better why Franklin had found it necessary to infiltrate the labs now.He didn’t only want to find his siblings.He probably also wanted revenge for what had been done to his mother.
Matthew didn’t blame him.None of the mutants would.They understood what it was like to lose people they cared about because of the labs and the people who worked in them.Franklin might not be a mutant, but he wasn’t that different from them.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
