“Julia knew your mother wouldn’t rest until your security people caught her,” I said. “Your sister didn’t fear death. She was scared shitless that she’d be lab zombified and used as a specimen. The threat was very real to her, and she couldn’t live like that.”
“I know,” he said, voice sharp with grief. “She should’ve trusted that I’d keep her safe.”
“Pietro figured locking her away for protection would’ve been a waste, a different sort of death for her,” I said, picking my way through how to tell him without blurting it out. “Apart from that, there was only one way to stop your mother from hunting her down.”
Hate burned in his eyes. “What are you saying?” he asked. “Ivanov had Archer kill her out of some sorted twisted sense of mercy?”
“We killed Julia Saber,” I said carefully. Andrew was a prime asshole, but this shit was real, and I didn’t want to botch the words. “But that’s only a name.”
The color drained from his face. “What are you saying?” he asked again, barely able to get the words out.
“Julia Saber was only a name.” I relaxed a little. “She did okay with cutting all ties with the family and the past. Except for you.”
He stared at me for a moment as the implication set in, then lunged, teeth bared as he swung his bloody fist. I gave a startled yelp and scrambled backward, but in the next instant Brian body slammed Andrew back onto the bed and pinned him with a heavy hand on his upper chest.
“One more stunt like that,” Brian said softly but distinctly, “and I’ll lock you down so hard you won’t be able to flinch when I eat your fucking brain.” He leaned into Andrew’s chest. “We clear?”
Andrew gasped for air and nodded. Brian straightened and stepped back. “You good, Ms. Crawford?”
I stared stupidly at him for a second before recovering. “Uh, yeah. Yes. Thanks, Brian.” Or was I supposed to call him Mr. Archer? I straightened and did my best to pretend nothing had happened. “Sit up, Andrew,” I said, then added, “Please.”
He slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “I’m not going to fall for your emotional blackmail bullshit,” he snarled. “Whatever it is you want, you’re not going to get it that way.”
What now? I sure as hell didn’t want to get into an argument about whether or not his sister was alive. I started to give Brian a What the fuck do I do now? look, then caught sight of Pierce eavesdropping in the hallway. Oh, right. I knew shit that Andrew didn’t. I could use that.
“You’ve made it pretty clear you don’t want to listen to me,” I said with a shrug. “That’s fine. How ’bout we cut the bullshit.”
Andrew’s shoulders eased a bit and caginess replaced the fury in his eyes, as if I’d finally stepped onto his turf. “You want Ivanov.”
“Pietro? Nah.” I shook my head even as I watched his face for reaction. “I guess you’ve been out of the loop. Your people don’t have him anymore.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said after a heartbeat of hesitation.
“Whether you believe me or not doesn’t change a damn thing.” I tilted my head and smiled. “Saberton had an insider, and Pietro’s out. How do you think we knew y’all have Marcus?”
He quickly covered his surprise with a steely frown. “What insider?”
My smile widened. “Pierce Gentry.”
Andrew stared for a second then let out a laugh. “Insider? You hauled him in here in handcuffs. God knows what you people did to him to get that tidbit of information.” He snorted. “Pierce Gentry is hard core Saberton. Second generation.”
With that absolutely perfect setup, Pierce stepped into the doorway. Dressed in black tactical pants and shirt, and with a big ass knife in a belt sheath on his hip, he sure as hell didn’t fit the vision of a tortured prisoner. “You’re wrong, Saber,” he growled. “About me. About a lot of things.”
It was like watching a movie and being in it at the same time. Andrew’s mouth fell open, and something that was probably supposed to be “why?” came out a strangled croak instead.
“Because Saberton crossed the line when it fucked with zombies.” Pierce pulled a baggie of brains from his pocket and slurped down the unmistakable contents.
Andrew drew a noisy breath as he fought to make sense of this new reality. “You . . . no. We would’ve known. You can’t be one of those . . .”
Pierce’s face went hard. “One of those animals? Monsters? Vermin? Freaks? I know all the shock team’s pet names for ‘specimens.’” He moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Brian. “I can be one of them, and I am. Looks like you’re wrong again.”
Hot damn. I knew where to go with this. “Here’s the deal, Andy,” I said quickly. “We’re going in to get our people back. And you’re going to help us.”
He dragged his eyes from Pierce to me. “What?”
“You heard me.” I fought down a gleeful smile. “You’re going to help us. Pietro’s out, but his nephew isn’t.” I paused. “Your mother thinks forcing Jane’s hand is a good business plan, but you don’t.”
“I stand behind Saberton,” he said with a frown.
“Yeah. Whatever.” I waved a hand. “You hustled Jane out of Saberton Tower before your mother changed her mind, and I could’ve sworn you looked relieved when I said your people didn’t have Pietro anymore.”
He didn’t protest or try to correct me. “If Pennington pulls the strings needed to secure the defense contract, it’s suicide for Saberton,” he said, expression grim. “We’ll make more enemies than allies in Congress, and turn our competitors into cutthroats. We might get a contract, but we’d go down hard later.” He drew a breath. “When I escorted her out, I told her I’d be in touch with her shortly. I planned to offer her an alternative. Of course, that never happened.”
“What alternative?”
He grimaced. “I didn’t have one yet. I was trying to stall her before she followed through with the deal.”
“The good news for you is that the original deal is blown now that you’ve lost Pietro,” I said. “Bad news is that Jane isn’t going to sit on her hands as long as y’all still hold Pietro’s nephew. She’s all set to fuck Saberton over six ways to Sunday, and you know she won’t hold back.”
A pained expression flashed across his face. Ha! One point for Angel! Pleased, I leaned back on my elbows. “Look, we both want the same thing here. So how ’bout you make it easy on everyone and work with us.”
Pierce folded his arms across his broad chest. “I can get us in, Andrew, but it would be smoother with your cooperation.”
“And if I cooperate?” Andrew asked, eyes narrowed. “What then?”
“You see this through, and we let you go back to your mommy.” Pierce’s gaze intensified to predator focus. “You don’t, and we find out if there’s anything special about a Saber brain.”
Fear flickered for an instant, but then Andrew’s jaw set in defiant pride. “Agreed,” he said. “It’s best done soon, before my mother decides to move them to Dallas.”
Pierce gave a sharp nod. “A plan to move the prisoners is good. Except it will be your idea. We’ll discuss the final preparations as soon as Ms. Crawford finishes with you.” With that he gave me a barely perceptible wink, turned, and strode out.
Finishes with him? Oh, right. Naomi. “By the way,” I said, then snapped my fingers to pull his attention away from the doorway and back to me. “Andrew, I’d bet my left tit you didn’t hear all of the shit that came through that thing in my arm.”
His mouth pulled down in a scowl. “What makes you think that?”
I let out a soft sigh. “Because if you’d heard everything, you wouldn’t have accused us of emotional blackmail.”
“Julia,” he said softly, then shook his head. “I don’t understand what the bug has to do with my sister.” No anger or cockiness anymore. We’d put him through the wringer, an
d now he simply looked drained.
“Because anyone who listened to the whole broadcast would know that we killed the name ‘Julia Saber,’ but not the woman.” I paused. “And, yeah, I can prove it.”
“She’s alive?” He tried to stand, then sat again heavily. “Julia’s really alive? Where is she? Is she all right?”
“She’s fine,” I said, even as I heard a soft thuck swish which I suspected was Naomi crutching her way up the stairs. “Pietro made sure she was safe from your mother,” I continued. “Plastic surgery, new identity, the works. But he couldn’t take into account the damn bug.”
New, scary anger lit Andrew’s eyes. “My mother knows?”
“Unless someone else screened the bug and called the shots.”
“Her assistant listened and provided transcripts of relevant information to her, which were then forwarded to me. Or so I thought.” He forced the words through clenched teeth. “My mother called the shots and obviously passed me only crumbs. It’s all about fucking control with her. I’ll kill her. I swear to god, I’ll kill her.”
“Hold that thought a minute, Hero,” Naomi said from the doorway.
Andrew’s focus snapped to her. Emotions tumbled over his face as his worldview did a reset. “Julia?” He lurched up and yanked against the chains on his wrist and ankle. “God damn it. Get this shit off me!”
“Brian, could you? Please?” Naomi said quietly without taking her eyes from her brother.
Face expressionless, Brian moved in and unlocked the chains, then leaned in close to Andrew. “One wrong bat of an eyelash, and I will hurt you.”
He barely had time to step back before Naomi swooped in and threw her arms around Andrew’s neck. I caught the discarded crutches before they crashed to the floor, then I stepped back. Maybe I should leave the room? I wondered then saw that Brian remained at his spot by the foot of the bed. He looked out the window beyond the two, but I had no doubt he was aware of every sound and scent and movement. I doubted Andrew would do something stupid like try to take Naomi hostage, but it made sense to keep an eye on him.
Still, I felt like a voyeur as Naomi and Andrew blubbered over each other, even though I tried to model Brian’s nothing-going-on-here face. After a couple of minutes the two finally pulled apart and sat side by side on the edge of Andrew’s bed.
Andrew scrubbed a hand over his face. “Even knowing how Mother is, it’s hard to believe she did this to me.”
“To you?” Naomi scowled. “Look at what I had to do to myself to keep her from coming after me!”
“That’s not what I meant—”
Naomi cut him off with a noise of exasperation. “None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t been a big bully and threatened to ‘tell mommy on me.’”
He stiffened. “You weren’t listening. I was only trying to shock some sense into you.”
“Yeah?” She shifted a few inches away in order to glare at him. “Well you got a broken nose for your loving support.”
“Plus another mess of yours to clean up,” Andrew retorted. “This time a fucking murder. I tried to keep your name clear of it, but she found out.” He edged back from her. “I don’t know what you’re so pissed about. You got exactly what you’ve always wanted.”
Naomi’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
I hid a grimace. So much for the happy reunion.
Andrew jerked his gaze away from her and out the window, but not before I saw the flash of pain in his eyes. “It means you coped with her bullshit a long time ago by staying as far away from her—from us—as you could. This time, you almost succeeded in making it permanent.” One hand clenched briefly on the blanket. “You left me thinking I’d driven you off to your death. You could have told me you were alive.”
“Right,” she snorted, though I heard the guilt behind it. “And risk one of your self righteous gung-ho-Saberton reactions?”
Brian shifted, muscles in his arms tense, and I had a feeling he was poised to put a stop to the bickering. I laid a hand on his arm and gave him a slight headshake. Sometimes the best thing for old, dirty laundry was a little airing. He frowned at me then gave a grudging nod.
“Someone has to watch out for grandfather’s company,” Andrew was saying. “But you could have had a little faith in me.” He turned back to her and shrugged, a hurt, bitter look on his face. “I don’t know why I expected anything different. You abandoned me before. You abandoned me again.”
Naomi’s jaw dropped. “I never abandoned you! I was off doing my job.”
“Which was chock full of the thrill you adored,” he replied with a sneer. “It was a bonus that it happened to help Saberton.” He waved a hand in our direction. “And now you’re off working with the people who are trying to undermine us.”
She gave him an Are you insane? look. “Zombies are being tortured and used. People have been kidnapped. My boyfriend has been captured.” She returned his sneer in force. “This isn’t about undermining anyone or anything. It’s about righting a despicable wrong.”
“Where do you draw the line at despicable?” he demanded. “Do you think it was all roses and lollipops for the people you lied to, stole from, tricked, or planted things on during your little spy games? And apparently murder didn’t cross the line.” She jerked as the last one hit home, and he lifted his chin. “As for zombies, Saberton wouldn’t have even known about them if you hadn’t stolen shit from Ivanov.”
She hauled herself up and snagged the crutches. “This is all my fault?” Her voice remained steady, but I spied the quiver in her lip. She’d already been carrying the guilt of how Saberton discovered the zombies. “You’re blaming me for your attitude of ‘They’re not like me so I can screw them over all I want’?” Tears welled in her eyes. “You never used to be so hateful,” she said. “What the hell happened to you, Andrew?”
Regret shadowed his face before he steeled his gaze. “While you were off thrill-seeking, I was stuck taking care of business.” He didn’t have to add stuck with Mother. That came through loud and clear.
“Your business sucks.” She crutched to the door but when she reached the hallway she stopped and spoke without looking back. “No matter what you tell yourself so you can sleep at night, it’s not okay to kidnap people for profit. And, yes, zombies are people. So get over yourself, Andrew.” With that she hurried down the hall.
“The business was all I had!” he shouted after her, voice shaking with long pent-up emotion. “You found a way out and never looked back. Maybe I needed—” He broke off, turned away. “Fuck,” he breathed.
Needed . . . an escape? A way out? A new life? It was obvious he loved his sister and wanted out of his mother’s shadow. Andrew’s armor had a chink in it, though I had no idea how big of one.
I cleared my throat. “This is the perfect opportunity to walk away from Saberton, y’know.” His shoulders sagged. Maybe, I thought. Just maybe.
He drew himself up and faced me, his expression all cool business again. “Walk away from Saberton,” he echoed, voice stiff. “You believe this is a perfect opportunity for me to walk away from a career I love and my grandfather’s legacy?”
Crap. Me and my big mouth. I fumbled for anything to say that could possibly salvage the moment, but in the next instant his composure crumbled, as if he simply didn’t have the energy to maintain it.
“Saberton is my life,” Andrew said, voice rough. “It’s who I am. I can’t abandon it. I can’t—not even to get away from our mother.” A soft sigh escaped him. “Julia’s talents made it easy for her to stay away.” He spoke with soft precision, as if trying to win an old argument with himself. “My talents bound me in close. It’s simply how it is.”
A sudden wave of unexpected sympathy left me at a loss for words. Julia/Naomi had left her family behind but could still keep doing the covert ops spy adventure shit she loved. S
he changed employers, but the job itself remained pretty much the same. It had never even occurred to me that Andrew might love what he did just as much—probably because the whole financial-business-power-tie-boardroom thing seemed tedious and dry and dull to me. Yet for Andrew to “walk away” was a much bigger sacrifice, I realized with chagrin. I didn’t know a lot about the business world, but somehow I doubted he’d be able to step right into another high-level position anywhere else. Plus, anywhere else wouldn’t be Saberton.
A quick glance at Brian told me he’d realized the same thing, though there wasn’t much sympathy in his eyes. Sighing, I looked back to Andrew, but he’d managed to regain his bearing in those few seconds and spoke before I could.
“We have an agreement,” he stated. “I’ll help get Griffin and Marcus Ivanov out in exchange for my release. That’s it. And we have that only because I know it’s in Saberton’s best interests to not give Jane Pennington a reason to fuck us over, even though my mother doesn’t see it my way.”
Best interests? My sympathy vanished like a popped soap bubble. “Whatever,” I snapped. “You look like shit and need to get your ass cleaned up before we walk you into Saberton Tower.”
Brian gestured toward the door. “Come on, Saber,” he said. “Once we take care of that we’ll meet with Gentry to make the final plan.”
With that, I left the guys to their business and headed downstairs. Naomi sat on the sofa in the living room with her foot propped on the coffee table.
“Just like old times,” she said with a weak smile.
“You gonna be okay?”
“Sure. Old shit. New twist.” But she let out a long sigh. “We used to be so close. I played games with my grandfather that turned into real work. Andrew was the so-called responsible one, focused on boring stuff.”
“Boring to you,” I put in. “I get the feeling he really likes it.”
A grimace flashed over her face. “Yeah, he does. Now,” she added. “We were groomed for our talents—and our roles—when we were kids. I was lucky and loved mine. He learned to love his.” She bit her lip. “I never thought I’d abandoned him, but I guess in a way I did.”