Maya Banks - Whispers in the Dark

Now he could do the same for her. He’d love her every single day of his life. He’d never take for granted just how precious she was to him, and if it took everything he had, he’d make damn sure she felt safe and loved every single minute of the rest of her life.

NATHANand his brothers looked up as they heard a knock on the outer door to the war room. Nathan sighed. “I’ll get it.”

The others chuckled as he went to let Shea in. She had an access code specifically assigned to her, but she always knocked, unable to get over her hesitancy of just barging into the KGI headquarters.

He opened the door and for a moment drank in the sight of her standing there looking so beautiful and…happy. There was a lightness to her eyes that had been absent for a long time. Her skin held the first bloom of a tan, a testament to how much time she spent outside.

Then he took her hand and pulled her inside. “You have to start using your code, Shea. We gave it to you for a reason.”

“I know. I still feel like I’m intruding, though. Maybe I’ll just knock and then use the code. That way you know I’m coming.”

Donovan chuckled as Nathan and Shea joined the others. “I hate to break it to you, but we knew you were here when you got within twenty yards of the building. Just use the code and come on in.”

“Has there been any word from Rio?” she asked anxiously.

Nathan slid his hand along her back in an up-and-down motion. Donovan’s face softened with regret. “No, honey, I’m afraid not.”

Shea tried to hide her disappointment, but she failed miserably. His brothers all grimaced because they hated to see her sad for any reason. They all went to great lengths to treat her with the utmost care even though she improved greatly with each passing day.

“We do have some further information and we’ve also fielded a request from Resnick. Why don’t you have a seat and we’ll fill you in,” Sam said.

She smiled at Sam and then included the others in her acknowledgment before she went to sit on one of the couches. She perched on the edge and appeared serene, but Nathan could feel her nervousness as well as her deep disappointment—and worry—that Grace hadn’t been found yet.

We’ll find her, baby. We won’t stop until we bring her home to you. I promise.

Her features softened and her eyes glowed. It was like a fist to his gut how she lit up when he spoke to her telepathically. They didn’t often communicate that way in front of his family. Shea still wasn’t entirely comfortable with how well her abilities were received, but she was getting there.

I know you will. I have faith in you and your brothers.

“If you two are finished sending telepathic kissy faces,” Garrett said dryly.

Before, Shea would have likely blushed, ducked her head and felt horribly conspicuous. But she was growing more comfortable with his family all the time, which thrilled Nathan.

She raised her chin and smirked in Garrett’s direction. “I was just telling Nathan that I needed to remember to tell Sarah how many F bombs I overheard you dropping yesterday.”

Garrett sighed while everyone else dissolved into laughter.

Sam grinned and then dropped into the chair across from the couch while Nathan settled beside Shea. The others gradually chose spots to sit, but Swanny hovered in the background. He still hadn’t reached his comfort zone but he was fitting in nicely. He was going home in a few days, but Nathan knew Sam had extended a job offer, and while Swanny had said he wanted time to think about it, Nathan figured he’d go home, settle things, and be back. He hoped so at least. Swanny was adrift. He needed KGI. He needed a purpose just as Nathan had when he’d returned from Afghanistan.

“Resnick asked if you’d be willing to meet him, Shea,” Sam began.

Shea’s mouth dropped open and she automatically inched toward Nathan until she was pressed tightly against his side. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed.

“Is he crazy?” she demanded.

“There’s a lot you don’t know, but know this before we get into all the whys and wherefores. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Period. If you say the word, the man will never set foot in this compound. Understand?” Sam leveled a look, catching her gaze and holding it. “You’re in the driver’s seat. We’ll only do what you want us to do, okay?”

She smiled and nodded.

“Now, he wants to meet you because he was conceived in the same lab where you and Grace were born.”

Shea went completely still, so still that for a moment Nathan worried they’d upset her already.

“Then why?” she whispered. “Why would he do that to me? Why would he allow it? He knows. He has to know what went on there, doesn’t he?”

Nathan kissed her temple and stroked a hand down her hair. But he remained silent so Sam could give her the details as unemotionally as possible. Nathan couldn’t be objective. He still couldn’t even think about Resnick without wanting to kill the bastard. He couldn’t forgive the fact that, if not for Resnick, Shea wouldn’t have been captured a second time.

“He wasn’t the one who handed you over to the people who hurt you. I know it seems that way. He took you from us because he wanted to protect you. It was stupid. But I don’t think he ever meant for you to be harmed. There’s more. He believes there’s a good possibility that he’s your brother.”

This time, Nathan felt her shock roll through him. Their pathway was open and he could feel all the conflicting emotions. Her anger. Sadness. And her confusion.

“He was an experiment too. A failed one, by his account. He doesn’t have special abilities like you and Grace. He’s the one who helped the Petersons when you moved to Oregon. He finally tracked them down after they disappeared with you and Grace years earlier. He funded their efforts and directed them to call on him if help was ever needed. He asked them to tell you and Grace the same but evidently they didn’t trust him or maybe they just didn’t want you to know the truth about their roles in your birth and the fact that they weren’t your biological parents.”

“Does he know who wants Grace and me so badly?”

“He hadn’t given us all the information, but Donovan did a little hacking and we have access to all his files,” Sam said with a satisfied grin.

Shea glanced to Donovan, her eyes wary.

Donovan sent her a reassuring smile. “I don’t want you to worry. Okay? Promise me that.”

“Tell me,” she said softly.

“He spoke of two Russian scientists, so I went in search of information regarding them as well as anything else I could find out about the purpose of the experiments and their intended uses. I was able to track down one of the scientists, who still lives here in the U.S. despite Resnick thinking or at least saying that he’d returned to Russia.”

Shea went still and leaned forward, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

“In the beginning this was solely a military-funded and -backed research subject. Highly classified. Furthermore, there were other successful test subjects besides you and Grace. There were other children born with psychic talents. But once they discovered that they’d been able to produce the ability to heal, the others were discarded, adopted out, dropped from the program.”

“Grace,” Shea whispered. “It was about Grace all along. Why keep me then?”

“Because you have that ability too, Shea,” Donovan said gently. “Yes, it would seem that your abilities differ, but think about what you did for Nathan. Now consider how you and Grace could operate as a team. Remote healing. We talked about this before, remember? You could communicate with and take the pain and suffering from someone. Grace healed Swanny through you. Now think about how the military would use gifts like these. Indestructible soldiers. They get injured on the battlefield and are healed telepathically. They get captured and tortured for information? You take their pain and suffering and shield them from it. They’d be like machines. Never breaking. Imagine it from a rescue perspective. Just as you did for Nathan, you could communicate with the prisoner and lead a rescue team to him. These are talents that, yes, the military would kill for.”