Kylo, who’d cleared his plate in record time, eyed the food Conrad had hardly made inroads to. Lifting the plate, he moved half the remaining food to Kylo’s plate, getting a feeling of approval from his mate that warmed Conrad right to his core.
“Thank you.” He hesitated a second, then came forward and nuzzled into Conrad’s neck and placed a chaste kiss there before returning his attention to the food. “She was never prone to them before.”
Kylo spoke around a mouthful of food, making Conrad grin as he ate the remaining food left on his plate, giving some thought to what Kylo had said. When both plates were cleared, and they had a fresh coffee, Conrad twisted a little on his seat, hooking his free arm over the back of Kylo’s chair, his fingers running up and down Kylo’s arm below his T-shirt sleeve. “Do you think her previous behavior was an act?”
“What do you mean, an act?” Kylo pushed a little closer into Conrad’s touch.
“Think about it. They had to have taught her the same as the other assassins. Or that’s what makes sense to me, otherwise, she would be dead. The scientists wouldn’t have cared she was a girl, only in what her abilities were.”
“Go on,” Kylo encouraged when Conrad paused to think about what he’d witnessed, what Nico and Teilo, Ben’s mate’s had experienced at the hands of the trainers and scientists in the jungle.
“We are expensive assets. They created her in a test tube from James’ DNA for a purpose. They can manipulate DNA to make—”
“Fuck, created… you mean they wanted a girl!” Kylo’s alarm came across clearly in their link, along with his distress.
Conrad was sorry for causing his mate so much stress. “Yes. That’s exactly what I think.”
“To what end?” Kylo questioned, his anguish increasing.
“Manipulation? You tell me. I’d heard that she’s beautiful. Delicate. Folks just want to look after her. Protect her. Are those her assassin skills? Slip under everyone’s radar, gain your trust, and then use you?”
Kylo’s skin was ashen as a shaky hand picked up the mug of coffee, and he drank deep as if to rid himself of a nasty taste in his mouth. “That’s what she did to us!”
“Clever of her and those who trained her, then. No one would suspect.”
“No one fucking did until it was too damn late!” The scowl aimed at Conrad, he found just as attractive as Kylo’s smile.
“Exactly. A perfect little assassin in the disguise of a vulnerable female with no voice. Do we even know that she can’t speak for real? Did the guy who took her in even get her checked out?”
“It’s too late to ask him now. Duron killed him.”
Conrad kept his amusement to himself at the way Kylo wanted to kick his cage brother in the ass for that. “Is there any way to get access to hospital records? It might be a place to start while we wait for her to make her next move. Having as much information on her background would help us figure out what they trained into that pretty little head of hers.”
Before Kylo could answer his cell phone rang. He reached into his pocket, and another scowl appeared.
“What?”
“Felix! He’s probably pissed I took his SUV.” Kylo’s sigh was heavy as he accepted the call.
Conrad’s thoughts drifted as he stroked Kylo’s arm and recalled just how good it was to hold Kylo all night long. It had to be one of the best experiences in Conrad’s life. And he couldn’t wait to do it again.
How long would Kylo need to stay at the police station?
The sudden tension pouring off Kylo got Conrad tuning in to his mate’s thoughts. What he found was fear. A deep in the gut kind that stole his breath as he met Kylo’s terrified gaze.
“What’s happened?”
He handed the cell phone to Conrad with a trembling hand. Conrad took it and pressed it to his ear. “Felix, what’s going on?”
A shiver ran through his mate. Vulnerability came through, and then panic as Felix answered. “Our parents… Selina has kidnapped our parents!”
Chapter Twelve
Kylo
Most of the drive back to the house, Kylo was doing his level best to keep his breakfast down and his eyes on the road. All he could think about was what Conrad had said the previous day, after he’d been shot. That Selina—the woman he’d once thought about having a relationship with—had told Conrad that they would pay.
At the time, when Conrad related what Selina’s supposed voice said to him and his brothers, Kylo had imagined she’d meant to magically attack him, his mate, or his brothers directly. In a million years, he never would have believed she would touch his parents. His mom loved Selina and had always treated her kindly.
