Reg watched the graceful flow of Faith’s body as she ran for her quarters. The way she moved was pure poetry, and he felt his body responding. What would she feel like crushed against him, mouth on his? Would her body look as amazing as he suspected with high, tight curves and long, lean lines?

He shook his head hard to clear tumbling images of a naked Faith, lips swollen with passion, nipples puckered, and labia slick with her arousal, but the imagery was so seductive, it refused to leave.

Not the time for that. Maybe later, but not now.

To redirect blood away from his swollen cock, he broke into a jog, heading back toward the infirmary. He wanted to trade his bloodstained clothes for something clean before he subjected everyone in the dining room to his presence. Blood didn’t bother most agents, but the freaks’ senses were much sharper than normal humans’ were, and he didn’t want to ruin anyone’s supper.

Years of strict discipline took over and he forced himself to focus. The plot Frank and Tony had unearthed was deeply troubling. Nothing quite like a cadre of trained agents to come up with ways to sow distrust and dissention. That they’d been in the arena expressly to add to their ranks was damned disturbing. That they’d chosen to be there at the same time the women were on the posted schedule worried him even more.

The reason Frank and Tony had held silence was because they’d only worked their way through around seventy percent of the thousands of computers at Langley, and they’d cautioned Milton they hadn’t checked more than a quarter of the agents’ cell phones.

Which meant the group determined to rid themselves of proximity to the genetically altered might run far deeper than the nine men they’d apprehended so far. They’d be interrogated, but agents were trained not to crack under pressure, so the odds of them spilling names wasn’t all that great. Reg wondered if Milton would even gather enough to expel everyone in the group from the CIA. It depended exactly what data Frank and Tony had collected.

A sharp lawyer would argue the information had been obtained illegally, and the men’s cases could be tied up in the courts for years. During that time, they’d be on administrative leave. And still on the CIA payroll, which was an egregious waste of resources.

Not my problem.

He reached the infirmary and let himself in past a phalanx of agents guarding the building’s primary entrance. He nodded at one of the men he knew. “Is anyone stationed outside the ER door?”

“Yes, sir.” The agent nodded crisply. “By the fire escape too. No one will get in here that we don’t know about.”

“Excellent.” Reg hurried up to the second floor and checked on his patients, including both freaks and the man he’d operated on that morning. Everyone was doing fine.

“Hey!” Aaron called before Reg had cleared the room.

He turned back. “Yes? You’re healing nicely. Nothing to worry about.”

Aaron scrunched his amber eyes in annoyance. “I know how I’m doing. I instituted a healing sequence earlier. We need to leave, Ben and me.”

“I’ll clear you for discharge tomorrow morning if nothing’s changed.” Reg smiled pleasantly.

“You didn’t hear me, Doc. We’re not safe here.”

“Of course you are. Agents are posted all around this building. I can add a sedative to your IV if you’d like.”

“No!” Aaron thundered. “Last thing I need is to be knocked out. Agents are who attacked us. We already gave statements. Ben and I will be safer in our apartment building, surrounded by others like us. We’ll post our own sentries and sleep in shifts.”

“That’s scarcely necessary—” Reg began.

“What if I think it is? Look. I understand this is your clinic, but I’m not in any danger of dying or doing anything to repudiate your medical care. Release us. Please. Tonight.”

“I’d need to clear it with Milton,” Reg hedged. He didn’t want the injured men to leave before twenty-four hours had elapsed to rule out a host of complications that might arise.

“Our physiology is different,” Aaron hissed. “That twenty-four hour rule is for normal humans, not us.”

“You were in my head.”

“Of course. Easier to counter arguments if I know what they are ahead of time.” Aaron grinned, but with zero warmth.

“I’ll get you an answer presently.” Reg turned and left, taking the stairs to his office one floor up. The invasion of his thoughts was disquieting. What was more so was that he wanted to be able to do the same thing. For the first time, he considered the ramifications of taking the injections series and following it with Cortexiphan. He could volunteer to be one of Frank and Tony’s guinea pigs once all of them had come up with a safer configuration of the chemical cocktails.

Inside his office, he picked up the landline. It was scrambled, so it felt safer than his wrist computer or cellphone.

Milton answered on the first ring. “Did something else happen?” His words were gruff.

“No.” Reg cut to the chase. No reason to waste energy on pleasantries like asking how Milton’s last hour had gone. “The freaks here want me to release them.”

“Are they medically stable?”

“At the moment, but I always like to watch patients for twenty-four hours to make certain—”

“Spare me your medical CYA,” Milton cut in. “Unless you think they’re in danger of dying, let ’em go. I’ll send Frank over to round them up. He’s been nattering about exactly the same thing. For all I know, they’ve been in telepathic communication.”

“About that…” Reg’s voice trailed off.

“About what, doctor? I’m swamped here.”

“Nothing. I’ll get Aaron and Ben unhooked from their IVs and machinery. They’ll be good to go in about a quarter hour.”

After a non-verbal grunt that could have meant anything, Milton disconnected, and Reg ran back downstairs. “You’re leaving,” he told Aaron. “Frank will be here soon. Meantime, I’ll get that IV out of you.”

“Thanks.” The harsh look in Aaron’s eyes softened. “I appreciate you taking care of us. I know you wanted to give us the best medical oversight possible.”

Reg didn’t know quite what to say. Apologizing for the attack that had landed Aaron and Ben here was too little and too late. “We’ll get to the bottom of this,” he promised and winced at how lame his words sounded.

“Maybe we’ll leave in the meantime. We’ve been talking about it, but the group is undecided.”

“Did you include the women in that discussion?” Reg drew his brows together. He did not want Faith leaving. And he was certain neither Roy nor Milton would approve of their women living anywhere but with them. Charlie too, but he and Hope wouldn’t be back for a week. Events unfolded fast in war zones, so maybe the current spate of problems would’ve settled before then.

An uncomfortable look flitted across Aaron’s sculpted featured. “Erm. No. Probably a big omission on our part. I’ll alert the other men.”

“To what?” Frank stuck his head in the doorway with Ben standing next to him. “I unhooked him.” He tossed a glance Ben’s way. “They’ll need something to wear.”

Energy crackled across the small space. Reg had seen enough of it when Tony and Hope were pulling Charlie back from the gates of Mordor to understand they were talking telepathically.

“None of that,” he snapped.

“None of what?” Frank inquired blandly.

“I want to hear what you’re hatching up.”

“Just planning on getting together with the rest of the men once Ben and Aaron are ready to leave,” Frank replied.

“I’d asked about the women,” Reg persisted.

“No decision’s been made yet about them.” Frank spoke stiffly.

Reg finished with Aaron and turned to face Frank. “You can’t make decisions for the women. Not anymore. They make their own choices. Plus, all of you signed contracts with the CIA. You can’t just walk out on them.”

“We can if you’re trying to kill us.” Frank met Reg’s unrelenting stare head on.

“It’s only a small subset intent on your destruction,” Reg clarified. “I’m certain all the agents milling around here will be reassigned to guard your quarters.”

Frank spread his hands in front of him. “I respect you, Doc, but you’ll excuse me if I’m suspicious of the CIA’s protection. I understand a splinter group was behind today’s attack—and the earlier sabotage of the chopper Charlie and I were in. I also know Tony and I weren’t finished checking the extent of the scheme to bring us down. Until we know more, it’s in our best interest to remain vigilant.”

“I get that. I do. But when you work with us—rather than pitting yourselves against the world like you’ve done for the last seven years—you provide a far stronger base to fight back from”

“Say more,” Ben spoke up.

“You can’t go it alone,” Reg replied. “You’ve been on the run for seven years with inadequate food and supplies. Eventually, you’d have all died out because instabilities in your genome would have caught up with you. This way—”

“I fixed the genome problems,” Frank cut in.

“To some extent,” Reg said, “but it’s not perfect.”

“Better than what the scientists stuck us with,” Aaron said. “Besides, what would you know about that?”

Reg shrugged. He’d said too much and was quick to clear his mind of anything that might give away his earlier role at the breeding farms. “I did some research into the problem when I got back from Afghanistan.”

“I want to know what you came up with,” Frank said, “but not just now. Where can we find clothes for Aaron and Ben?”

“Closet next to the ER downstairs has an assortment of sweatpants, shirts, and jackets.” Reg glanced around Aaron’s room. “Your shoes are right there.” He pointed. “Ben’s should be in his room.”

“Yup. I got them,” Ben said.

“We’re on our way out of here,” Frank said and turned to go.

Aaron sat on the edge of his bed for a moment before standing.

Reg watched him closely. “You feeling dizzy?”

“A little, but it’s passing.” He walked to his shoes and scooped them up. “I’ll put them on downstairs after I’m dressed.”

“Good plan.” Reg left the room and hollered after Frank who was disappearing through a stairwell door. “Hold up, soldier.”

Frank turned. “I assume you mean me.”

“Yeah. Sorry. Old habits die hard.” Reg hurried to where Frank stood half in and half out the door. “Listen up. What’s coming next is an order.”

“That so?” Frank furled his dark brows.

“Yes. Any plans you make tonight are to be shared with Roy, Milton, or both. In other words, do not leave the CIA campus without their express permission. Do I make myself clear?”

“Abundantly,” Aaron said from behind them.

“What happens if we ignore that?” Frank asked, his tone bland as yesterday’s egg whites.

“You’ll be back on the run. The CIA isn’t a revolving door. Either you’re here and on board with us. Or not.”

“I’ll make certain the men know,” Frank said.

“One more thing,” Reg said.

“Yeah?” Aaron sounded surly, but he probably had a hell of a headache from the blow he’d taken to the back of his head.

“Leave the women out of your plans. They’ve settled in nicely here.”

Something sharp jabbed the side of his head. Kinetics. “Stop that!” He leveled his gaze at all three men. “Just because you can cull thoughts doesn’t mean you should, and whoever did that was clumsy as hell.”

“Sorry,” Ben muttered. “It was me. Guess I’m off my feed from the attack. Why do you care so much about our women?”

Heat began in Reg’s chest, moving upward. He opted for covering his real feelings with faux anger. “I outrank you. This is my clinic, and you will not question me. You don’t trust us. The women don’t trust you, and I don’t want them put in an uncomfortable position. Their lives have been hard enough.”

“Got it,” Ben said sullenly. Pushing around Frank, he bolted down the stairs.

Frank sent an odd, calculating look Reg’s way before turning to join the other man. Aaron padded down the stairs after them.

Reg trudged into the stairwell, moving up, rather than down. He still needed to change clothes. The stench of dried blood clung to him, mingled with antiseptic and the peculiar plastic smells of monitors and medical equipment.

Should he call Milton and share his concerns the freaks would bolt? Aaron and Ben had been intransigent about leaving, so much so he suspected they’d have pulled their own IVs and been gone before morning no matter what he thought about it.

He made an effort to sort through why what happened to them was so important to him. It ran far deeper than his Hippocratic Oath responsibilities. He didn’t have to dig far before he ran into a sense of responsibility mucked up with failure. If he hadn’t left for the Middle East, had been stateside when things went south with V2, he might’ve made a difference. By the time he returned the dye was cast, and it was too late to do much but watch from the sidelines.

Not that he was the only competent scientist assigned to the project, but the others, fearing for their lives, fled at the first hint of rebellion. Maybe because of all the time he’d spent with bullets flying over his head, he’d have stayed the course, no matter the personal consequences.

Yeah. The rest of them probably had families. Reasons not to put their lives at risk.

He reached his office and looked at the phone, still considering whether to call Milton. He’d sounded so grumpy and out of sorts, leaving things well enough alone might be the wisest course of action.

As if it sensed his indecision and stepped in to solve the problem for him, the phone blatted the annoying klaxon burst that meant Milton was calling. Reg crossed the room and snapped up the receiver.

“I was just going to call you—” he began.

“Saved you the trouble.” Milton was in prime form, forging through other people’s sentences.

Reg didn’t bother to say anything else. He just waited to see what his boss had on his mind.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Milton demanded.

Reg rolled his eyes. “Why? You’ll cut me off before I’m done. What did you need? I’m late for dinner.”

“Dinner might not happen. There’s been an incident—”

The sound of running footsteps pounded toward him right before someone beat a fist against his door. “Hold on, Milton, someone’s here.” Reg moved to the far side of the room and pulled the door open.

Faith and Charity burst into his office.

“You have to come,” Faith cried.

“Five men with hoods attacked us on our way to the dining room,” Charity snarled.

“Why are you here?” Reg asked. “Why not find Roy or Milton or Tony?”

“Milton’s building is locked,” Charity hissed. “Our kinetics couldn’t blast the lock. I can’t find Tony. Something’s up. I—”

“Which women are there?” Milton demanded.

“Faith and Charity. Let me put you on speaker.” Reg pushed the button and held the phone between them, saying, “It’s Milton.”

“Why the hell is your building locked?” Charity demanded.

“Was anyone hurt?” Milton demanded. “I heard the part about the attack.”

“Yeah.” Faith drew her lips back from her teeth in a snarl. “The men are dead. All five of them. We ran for your office, but couldn’t get in. Charlie’s gone. Jesus! We’re in the infirmary because it was the only place I could think of to go.”

Another set of footsteps pelted toward them. Charity screeched, “Tony,” and ran down the hall.

“Thank God you’re all right,” Tony’s distinctive bass boomed from outside Reg’s door.

“First off,” Milton’s voice was steel, “I did not purposefully lock anyone out of my building. Roy and I have been here for hours interrogating the nine men from earlier. Frank was here until he headed your way. Tony left as soon as word of the attack reached us.”

He and Charity walked into Reg’s office. Fury rolled off Tony in thick waves that even Reg could feel. “That Milton?” He gestured at the phone. At Reg’s nod, Tony moved closer and said, “Someone jammed the locks in your building between when Frank left and when I did. They obviously wanted to keep you and Roy in there—”

“How’d you get out?” Milton interrupted.

“Blew my way through a door. What are you going to do to keep my people safe?”

“Good question, son.” Milton sounded tired. “I just sent a cleanup crew to pick up the dead. It will be instructive to see who they are. It might help Roy and me get more intel out of our captives, who’ve been amazingly close-mouthed. So close-mouthed, I’d bet money they knew about the attack the women stymied and were running out the clock.” He made a disgusted, clucking noise. “I’ll raise maintenance to work on the busted door—and the locks.”

“What about our safety?” Tony repeated his question. “I can keep Charity safe, but there are twenty other women—”

“Faith and Charity. Did you know any of the men who attacked you?” Milton asked, ignoring Tony’s demand.

“No,” Charity said. “And I pulled their fucking face coverings off once they were dead.”

“Was it just the two of you?” Milton asked.

“No. Ten of the new women were with us,” Faith replied. “Honor was there too. In truth, there was no contest at all. Once we saw their knives—and heard them say they were going to kill us for being freak bitches—we sent kinetics to stop their hearts. It was over in minutes.”

“Where are the other women?” Milton asked.

“I sent them back to their quarters,” Faith replied. “Not Honor, but the rest of them.”

“With strict orders to dismantle the elevator mechanism and seal off the third floor with kinetics,” Charity added in a growl.

“I’m truly grateful you can protect yourselves—” Milton began. “Hold up. Honor just got here. Charity said you were there tonight—”

“Yes,” Honor cut in. “I was there. I helped kill those fuckers. We have to fix this. We’ll never—”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“Don’t yell at me,” Honor shot back.

“Milton.” Reg broke in before the argument could escalate. “Next steps? Faith, Charity, and Tony are still in my office.”

“I’m calling an emergency meeting in the big conference room in ten minutes. Everyone’s attendance is mandatory,” Milton growled.

“What’s that going to accomplish?” Tony asked, his words lined with bitterness, as if he’d given up.

“Your job,” Milton inserted as if Tony hadn’t said anything, “will be to use your kinetics. Delve into everyone’s minds. Even those you think you know. If you sense anything that even hints at someone being part of this conspiracy, I want to know right after the meeting.”

“You want all of us involved, right?” Charity cut in.

“Right,” Milton said. “Every single freak. Split up the room and check everyone’s motives. Twice. I’m going to cut this thing off at the knees, and that starts now.”

The line developed the hollow buzzing that meant Milton had disconnected. Reg looked at the grim-faced group. “You heard him. Ten minutes. We need to get moving. Use telepathy to let the rest of you know we need your particular talents tonight.”

“Nice to have permission,” Tony muttered. Linking an arm through Charity’s, he hauled her through the door.

Reg glanced at the bloody lab coat he still hadn’t changed out of and slipped it off his shoulders. His sweat top could do with a pass through the laundry too, but at least the blood didn’t show on black material.

“I’ll wait for you just outside so you can change,” Faith said and moved into the corridor.

“Thanks,” he called after her.

Reg didn’t chide her for being in his mind, just grabbed fresh clothes and threw them on before joining her. “I have to check on a patient, and then I can go,” he told Faith. “You don’t have to wait for me.”

“I want to. You must have missed dinner. I know I did. Is there a stash of chips or something here that we could bring with us?”

He liked the sound of we when it rolled off her tongue. “Sure. Meet you downstairs. There’s a small kitchen next to the ER. Help yourself to whatever you want and get double rations. I’m not picky. Whatever you choose will be fine.”

She nodded sharply. “See you by the front door.” Turning, she hustled down the hall toward the stairs.

Reg followed her, stopping on the second floor to make sure the man he’d worked on this morning was still stable.

A dark-haired nurse was taking vitals, and she smiled at him. “Evening, Doc. Our guy’s doing great.”

Reg lifted the blanket and noted a fresh dressing. “You just changed this.”

The nurse nodded. “I did, and the wound was clean. No evidence of infection.”

“I won’t disturb it.” Reg shook the man’s hand. “Have a quiet night. You can return to your quarters tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry I let my leg go for so long.” The man rubbed his whiskered chin ruefully. “Kept thinking it would get better, but it never did.”

“No worries, soldier. That’s why I’m here.”

Reg left the room. Despite the horror unfolding on Langley’s campus, he was eager to join Faith. She could’ve left without him, but she hadn’t. It had to be a good sign.

Maybe it just meant she didn’t want to brave the campus by herself.

If he were in her shoes, he’d go armed to the teeth. Since he was passing the clinic’s gun safe, he spun the combination and plucked a .38 semiautomatic off a shelf along with some clips and a shoulder holster. He didn’t have kinetics to deploy, but he’d be damned if anything happened to Faith because he couldn’t defend her.

Who am I kidding? Tonight proved she can defend herself, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help.