“Why are you here, Angel? Tell me your excuse to kill children.”
“I’m telling you, we aren’t here to kill children,” Angel repeated.
“I would believe you, except the owls have excellent hearing. Shaker did give the order to kill everyone but Lily and Daniel, didn’t you, Shaker? There really isn’t any way to get around that.”
Angel swore under his breath. “Jonas Harper murdered Shaker and Tusker’s brother, Oliver. They told everyone he died in the cages, killed by Whitney’s enemies, but that wasn’t how it happened. No one even speaks of him now.”
No doubt Tusker was the unknown man who looked so much like Shaker. He had to be the one able to use the animal sense of smell or hearing. Maybe both. Tusker was another name used for “elephant,” and elephants had an exceptional sense of smell. She sent the slightest of breezes toward the meadow, just enough to move the fog around the two men. They stood back-to-back. Shaker’s eyes scanned the rocks and trees repeatedly, covering Angel. His brother watched the helicopters, still uneasy that something was close to them, unseen in the dense fog.
Jeff and Kyle both had an instant reaction to his statement. Like Jonas, there was a partial withdrawal from her. They moved from the four-person telepathic communication they were using to a three-person one, leaving her out.
There was no doubt Angel told at least a partial truth. His voice rang with honesty. As much as she didn’t want to, Camellia had to accept that he believed what he was telling her.
Jonas, who is Oliver?
Her question was met with silence. She didn’t say anything. She was patient. Two could play the same game if need be. Finally, Jonas sighed, stroked another caress in her mind. She didn’t want caresses. She wanted answers.
He’s dead, Camellia.
That doesn’t tell me anything.
Again, Jonas remained silent.
“Harper and Oliver were best friends, like brothers. They went through boot camp together. Trained together. Went through Army Rangers training together. Then applied for and were accepted into the GhostWalker program. Both were enhanced with practically the exact same genetic material.”
“You can’t know that.”He couldn’t, could he?she asked Jonas.Was he? Was Oliver enhanced in the same way as you?
Jonas’s reply was terse.Yes.
“He talked to his brothers when things began to go wrong. He was worried about Jonas. Worried about himself. Worried someone was trying to kill the entire team. He had a strong protective instinct,” Angel continued. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared straight at her. “You may as well just let me see you. I swear to you, if you don’t want to come with me, I’ll let you go.”
“That’s your word and not the others’.”
“We speak for one another. We’re in this together,” Angel insisted. “You can’t stay still that long. You have to trust someone.”
Isn’t that strange, Jonas? That’s exactly what you said to me. I have to trust someone. Yet we’re right in the middle of the enemy’s camp, surrounded by them, and you, Jeff and Kyle went into your huddle, leaving me out. Was that so you could get your story straight? That doesn’t feel like trust. That feels like betrayal.
Camellia, don’t. I can’t come to you. I can’t move. Not unless we decide to try to kill them all right here. Angel is on you, so that might be something we wait on until he backs off.
I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’ve been doing it for a long time now.
“I gave up trusting anyone the night I was betrayed, and Whitney killed Ivy because I tried to escape. Just say what you have to say,” she told Angel.
The men close to Jonas, Kyle and Jeff might’ve seemed as if they were looking for her, but she didn’t think they were really serious about it. Like Angel, they believed her to be right where she was. How? What had given her away other than Blue? Blue may have given Angel her direction, but not her exact location.
Kyle and Jeff are worried about what you’ll think of me if you hear Angel’s account before I have a chance to tell you what happened,Jonas said.I should have told you, Camellia, but this kind of thing isn’t something you spring on someone you’re trying to get to fall in love with you.
Tusker watched the helicopters, believing someone was close to them. Lewis and Gorman were in the forest, knowing—knowing—someone was there. Kyle had nearly been stepped on. It wasn’t owls. Gray would have told her. Lowell and Pops were on full alert. Camellia had to figure out what they were using to find them. If Angel knew she wasn’t alone, he wasn’t buying into her story at all. He had to know Jonas was with her. Still, he believed what he was saying.
“At first, as they discovered the various enhancements weren’t just psychic, they worked together to develop them. They foundthey were unusually fast. Enormously strong. The two of them shared information. They had friendly competitions, pitting their abilities against one another in order to develop their skills for missions.”
So far, it all sounded sensible to her. As Angel told his story, she searched the fog for anything that might have given her and the others away to Tusker. She was certain he was the one communicating with a creature. If she could find a way to connect with him without his knowledge, she might be able to figure it out and stop the communication. That way, he wouldn’t be able to hunt them. Right now, no matter what they did, Shaker’s men might have the advantage.
Are you going to say something, Jonas?
What’s there to say, Camellia? So far, he’s doing an okay job of telling what it was like.
He wasn’t there. You were. Hearing the story isn’t the same as going through it. Discovering each separate genetic temperament you have to deal with and learning to use and control it.
