“I’d say the violet eyes were cool, but since you do in fact look like you want to kill me I’ll go with unusual instead.” Rose’s small smile faded, and she grew frustrated again. “So you all have weird names that I'm assuming none of you were born with,” she said with a huff, but he noticed she sank back against the pillows Voodoo had piled up behind her, relaxing slightly now she had some intel to focus on.
“You're assuming correctly, little ladybug.”
That earned him an eyeroll. “Just because you guys all like nicknames does not mean I'm in the market for one. And if I were, it certainly wouldn't be ladybug.”
“It’s pretty cute as far as nicknames go,” Voodoo teased her.
“Exactly. And cute is the last thing I am.”
As far as he was concerned, that was up for debate. Rose was adorable with her bottom lip stuck out in a pout, waves of red hair tumbling around her shoulders, and a smattering of freckles just visible beneath the bruises marring her perfect skin. She was more than cute, though, she was sexy enough that it was all he could do to control himself from throwing her down, ripping off her clothes, and thrusting inside her.
Much as he’d love to do that, consequences be damned, it would only make Rose hate him more than she already did, and that left an uncomfortable tightness in his chest that made breathing difficult.
“Strong is what you are,” he murmured as his hands began to absently massage her feet. From the way she squirmed, he knew the skin there must be tender, not just from running but from the cold. It was lucky she hadn't gotten frostbite. If she’d been out there much longer, she likely would have. If she’d spent eventhe night outside, she’d have been dead from hypothermia by sunrise.
Something softened in her gaze, and her tone was less defensive when she spoke. “I want to know what Ridge did.”
With a sigh, Steel kept working on her feet, needing something to do to keep him from stripping her off and dragging her into his arms, even if it was just to hold her. “We’re all former military,” he began. Not only was he the team leader, but he was the one finding himself obsessed with her. It was only right that he had to be the one to try to make her understand why they needed her help. Why they’d felt they had no choice but to take her to use as bait.
Maybe then she’d stop hating him.
Anger he could handle, even enjoy, but he didn't want her to hate him.
“Ridge isn’t in the military,” Rose said. “He has PhDs in chemistry and biology. How did you meet him?”
“Seems your brother was working with the military under the guise of running an experimental program,” he explained.
“Your special skills,” she said, a statement, not a question.
“We were all right out of special forces training, chosen specifically because we were the best of the best. When we were approached by our various branches about joining a special task force, we all said yes. We trained together, worked together for a year before we were approached about participating in a medical trial. It was supposed to be something that would enhance the skills we already had, such as strength and speed. It was supposed to give us better stamina to survive heat and cold, and to need less sleep. It sounded too good to be true.”
“Nothing with Ridge is ever as simple as it seems,” Rose said softly.
“Things got worse pretty quickly. Hours after the first shots, we all started getting this anger we struggled to control. Dr.Gardner insisted it was normal, just our bodies adjusting to the drugs. That the anger would pass. We talked about pulling out. Something felt off, but we all liked the idea of being bigger, stronger, better than everyone else. We were egotistical young men, and he used that against us.”
“Ridge always uses your weaknesses against you.” There was so much understanding in her words that Steel wanted to force her to tell him everything her brother had done to her so he could make sure Ridge suffered sufficiently before they killed him.
“We decided to persist, but within days, we were all but consumed with rage, and battling suicidal thoughts. Dr. Gardner insisted that we come in so he could monitor us more closely, adjust the dosages, and determine why we were having these negative reactions. Instead, he lured us into a remote facility and locked us up in a reinforced glass cell. We were kept there for three years before we managed to escape. Throughout that time, your brother kept us naked and locked up twenty-four hours a day unless he was performing tests or using us as his own personal super soldiers. If he sent us out, it was with shock collars that even I couldn’t break, locked around our necks. We were watched constantly, our cell had gym equipment, metal beds with no bedding, a table and chairs, a single toilet, and a showerhead embedded in the ceiling. We survived only because we had each other.”
“You formed a family, and it made you stronger than what my brother tried to do,” Rose said.
“When we escaped, we spent a year constantly on the move. We knew there was no way your brother was going to let us go, not after he’d put all that time and money into making us what we are. You know I have enhanced strength. Blade has enhanced hearing, Dragon enhanced smell, Lion enhancedvision, Thunder enhanced speed, and Voodoo … he can save people when they shouldn’t be able to be saved.”
Rose gasped, her gaze darting to the man sitting by the fire. “That’s why I'm still alive. Thank you.”
Voodoo nodded his acceptance of her thanks.
“I don’t get it. If you knew where my brother worked, why didn't you just stay there and kill him when he came?” Rose asked.
“We waited, but he never did come. No one did. Cameras must have alerted them to our escape and massacre. They abandoned the facility,” he replied.
“You still could have gone after him,” Rose insisted. “You were free.”
“Back then, we didn't know your brother’s name, he just called himself Doctor. We didn't know who was safe to approach in the military and who was involved, so when no one showed up at the facility after two weeks, we just disappeared. Eventually, we approached Eagle Oswald of Prey Security, and now we work for him. It’s because of Prey’s resources that we eventually managed to get your brother’s name.”
“So why not go after him?” Rose asked.
“Because we can’t find him. Wherever he is, he has money backing him to keep himself hidden. He knows that if we ever find him, we’ll kill him, and we’re not easily stopped. He knows what’ll happen if we ever get to him.”
