Page 99 of Gorgeous Misery

“You’re gonna do it?”

“I think I have to—”

“You don’t have to, Merc. If you’re not comfortable getting involved, then just say no. I will tell Adam that I did my best.”

“It’s not quite that simple anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have since learned, from both Creepy Wendy—”

“Don’t call her that. She’s a grown woman. No grown woman wants to be called Creepy Wendy.”

“Sorry. I have since learned from both Gwendolyn and Nicholas”—she scoffs at me—“that there is... could be… maybe a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“With the girls.”

Sasha sits up. “What do you mean?”

“I would like to preface this with the disclaimer that we don’t actually know if any of this shit is true—”

“What shit, Merc?”

“That guy Donovan? He’s… twisted.”

“Yeah, I know. Carter.”

“Right. Carter. Well, according to Nicholas Tate—” She smiles. She can’t help it. I’m quite funny when I want to be. “He says that Carter had some breeding program going and that he’s been making Zero girls for the last fifteen years.”

“OK.”

“And Nicholas says that Carter is the father of my girls and has placed a trigger inside them. That he made them like Indie, Sasha. That one day my sweet girls will go off the rails the way that girl did. Which can’t be true, right? I mean, Daphne is such a good kid. She is, Sash. You know her. You’ve seen her. None of my girls are a problem. They’re perfect. And Daphne is almost sixteen and this Donovan guy is what? Thirty?”

“Hmm.”

I expect Sasha to agree with me immediately. Surely this asshole has not been fathering children since he was a teenager. Even for the Company, that’s fucked up. But she dithers. “What do you mean, hmm? I’m right, right? There’s no way some stupid teenager took over this bizarre sci-fi breeding program and started making assassins.”

“Well. I can’t say for sure, and here’s why. Donovan, and Carter by proxy, was not a normal kid. He was some kind of child genius. He went to medical school when he was fifteen. Medical school, Merc. Which means he was in regular university when he was like twelve. So yeah. It’s unlikely that what Nick said is entirely true. He claims he never lied to me, and if I had any leftover fucks to hand out to him and wanted to think this over thoroughly, I’d probably have to agree with that. But I think we have to assume that there is some nugget of truth in what Nick told you. Even if most of what he said ends up being flawed information.”

I let out a long breath and look out the window. “So it’s entirely possible that my girls came from this psycho’s program and he put a trigger inside them?”

“I think the part about the Zero program is accurate. They were part of that. But whether or not Carter fathered them or had the time to mess with their heads? That’s another story. Especially for Lily, right? She was so small when you got her.”

“I need to find out. I can’t just walk away from this. And I have another problem too. I—” But I can’t get the words out.

“You what? Don’t make me wait for it, Merc. What?”

“I kinda… miss this stuff.”

“What?”

“I mean, if I meet these people, and do this job… I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop. I retired early. I’ve been a good father and husband for almost a whole decade now. I kept everyone safe. But if this turns out to be true—if these assholes like Carter are still out there and not in control—then I have to do something about it. I can’t walk away from that.”

Sasha sighs. “Well. You were right. You did have a damn good reason for bringing me here today.”

I nod and lean back in my seat.