After that, the conversation quickly turned into a brainstorming session on how William should handle his takeover of the DCO.
“You need to be subtle,” she warned. “There are several agents who bear watching, and I don’t just mean Donovan and Halliwell. As Thorn discovered, to his unfortunate demise, those people are dangerous if you rile them up. The situation calls for a deft and sure hand.”
William smiled. “As I’m sure you remember, I’ve always had a very soft touch.”
She returned his smile, only partially out of a desire to manipulate him. William truly had always been good with his hands. She remembered that quite clearly.
“And Dr. Mahsood?” he prompted. “Have you decided what you’re going to do about him? The last time I talked to him, he assured me that with the research and DNA samples he was able to take with him out of the facility in Maine, combined with the genetic material from Thorn’s latest hybrid variety, he could have a functional serum very soon.”
Rebecca considered that for a moment, knowing what she had to do, but hating it at the same time. “I believe Dr. Mahsood has exceeded his usefulness. He, and all evidence of his research, need to disappear.”
William frowned. “Seriously? We’ve been funding his work for a decade. Now that he’s close to finally producing a hybrid that’s able to completely blend in with the rest of society, you want to cancel the program and kill him? I thought you two were friends?”
Rebecca sighed. In many ways, William was a brilliant man. But in other ways, he lacked vision. And sometimes, he was too sentimental for his own good. “I want to end the program because we don’t need it anymore. Now that we control the DCO, we have access to the very best covert agents in the world. The only thing that can get in our way now is our past. If Landon Donovan discovers proof that we were actively involved in hybrid research, we’d lose everything we’ve gained. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen. That means we have to make Mahsood disappear. I feel terrible doing it to a friend like this, but it simply must be done.”
William leaned back in his chair and sighed, fully aware of how the game was played. “So, what do you plan to do about Ashley? Aren’t you worried about your daughter being on the loose?”
Rebecca abruptly realized she hadn’t given her daughter a single thought since hearing about the events up in Maine. Then she took another sip of juice and reminded herself to check her blood sugar level after William left. “Not really.”
William frowned. “Perhaps you should be. According to Mahsood’s report, the girl is psychotic and hates you with a passion. She’s bound to turn up at some point, probably at the worst possible time.”
Rebecca waved away his concern. “The girl is too unstable to come after me. She’s probably lost in the forests of Canada, scratching fleas like the animal she is. If she hasn’t frozen to death already.”
William didn’t say anything for a while. But then he shook his head. “Sometimes I think you forget that Ashley is your daughter, and that she carries the same cold-blooded, vindictive DNA that runs through your veins. I think it would be a serious mistake to simply leave her out there on her own.”
She considered that for a time, then decided William was right. If she was going to clean up the loose ends, she might as well take care of all of them at once. “Okay, deal with her. The same way you’re going to deal with Mahsood.”
He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t dare say anything. Finally, after regarding her in silence for a while, he glanced down at his watch. “I’ll take care of everything, after I stop by the DCO.” Getting to his feet, he came around the desk to give her a peck on the cheek again. “I’ll let you know what my impressions of the organization are later this evening.”
She nodded. “Do that.”
Rebecca turned her attention back to her computer, expecting William to leave, but then she realized he was standing by the door looking at her. “You never told Ashley about me, did you?”
Rebecca regarded him for a long moment, then laughed. “Why? Are you worried she’ll come hunting for you if she knows you’re the father who had her locked away in a psych ward her entire life to protect her mother’s political future, simply because she was born out of wedlock?”
William didn’t seem to find her question amusing, which only made it even funnier. Scowling, he walked out, closing the door behind him. Suddenly, Rebecca wished Ashley did know who her father was so she could make the man sweat a little bit more. Not that it really mattered, since the girl wouldn’t be around much longer.
For more Paige Tyler
check out the SWAT series
Wolf Hunger
On sale December 2017
Keep reading for a sneak peek at the next book
in Paige Tyler’s pulse-pounding SWAT series
Las Vegas, Nevada, June 2012
Max Lowry heard the shouting coming from inside the house before he stepped onto the porch. It didn’t matter that all the windows and doors were buttoned up tight in an attempt to keep the barely cool air from the cheap air conditioner inside the run-down north side apartment. He could still hear his father’s hoarse voice clear as day. It was barely noon on a Saturday, and from the sounds of it, his old man was already in one of his foul moods.
That wasn’t surprising. A kneecapper for one of the off-strip bookmakers downtown, Carl Lowry was a mean, nasty SOB at the best of times. But when the weather got hot, his temper took an even more violent turn. Which kind of sucked for Max, his younger sister, and his mother, since they lived in Las Vegas. It was over a hundred degrees, and summer was officially still a few days away.
Max almost turned and walked away, even if that meant staying out in the stifling heat. Since graduating from high school two weeks ago, he’d been working as much as he could simply to stay out of his old man’s sight. His father had always enjoyed taking his anger out on Max and had been beating on him as far back as Max could remember. That’s why Max had pulled a twelve-hour shift at the convenience store last night, then worked another six hours this morning. He hated going home. But he was exhausted and needed to crash for a few hours or he was going to pass out. Of course, with his father acting like the a-hole he was, Max doubted he’d get any sleep—unless one of his old man’s haymakers knocked him out cold.
