disappeared just as fast as it had appeared, leaving her to wonder if she’d really seen it at all.
“Is Ivy okay now?” Declan asked, his voice a little thick, and Kendra knew he was fighting to get his fangs and jaw to shift back to normal.
“Yes. As okay as one could expect after what happened to her. But she’ll never forget what they did to her or what they took from her. And when she finds them, they’ll pay.”
“Is that what she and Landon have been doing all those times when their missions ran over or they got delayed in transit, trying to find those doctors?”
Kendra tried not to look shocked, and thought she’d managed it, until Declan chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“How long have you noticed this going on? Have you told anyone else?” she asked.
If Declan had noticed—or pointed out—what Landon and Ivy were doing, they were screwed. Did John know? Or worse, Dick? If so, the Committee almost certainly knew as well. Her pulse began to beat out of control.
“Relax and breathe.” Declan reached out to place his big hands on her shoulders. “I noticed a while ago, but I haven’t told anyone. And I’m pretty sure no one else has realized what’s going on, so you can calm down before you start to hyperventilate.”
She took a deep breath, then another while Declan sat there with his hands on her shoulders, waiting patiently.
“How did you figure out what was going on?” she finally asked.
He took his hands away. “I’m big, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I pay attention to the little things most people could care less about. Like when I noticed Landon chewing a piece of gum from a pack with airport markings for a tiny island in the Philippines, even though they were supposed to have been in Japan. Or that box of real Belgian chocolate Ivy left on your desk a couple of weeks ago, though they’d supposedly just come back from Moscow. Little things, but I noticed them often enough to figure out the two of them were doing some off-the-books traveling. I figured it was none of my business, so I didn’t tell anyone about it.”
Kendra was shocked—and embarrassed. She’d never thought of Declan as being that perceptive. Stupid of her. She knew he was smart—MIT smart. It shouldn’t be surprising he used that intelligence to see things around him other people missed. And since he was so quiet, it wasn’t like he’d broadcast what he picked up on. Had he already figured out Ivy and Landon were a couple, too?
“Do you think anybody else noticed the same things you did and figured out what Ivy and Landon are up to?” she asked.
“Like John? I doubt it. He is way too busy keeping the DCO going. He’s so big picture that the day-to-day stuff isn’t even on his radar.”
“What about Dick?”
Declan snorted. “Dick isn’t around any of us field agents enough to notice stuff like that. He’s too busy spending all his time in the offices up on the Hill. He’s the least of our worries. No, the only one who might be on to you is that Russian doctor—Zarina. She’s sharper than anyone realizes. She runs around with her nose stuck in her lab notes, but trust me, she sees everything. If there’s someone you need to worry about, it’s her.”
Kendra smiled. Nice to know that while Declan was observant enough to see some things, he didn’t see everything. “Don’t worry about Zarina. She’s not a problem.”
“More secrets?” he asked, then held up his hands. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. Let’s just focus on why those hybrids were trying to stick that needle in me.”
Good idea. She didn’t want to spill any more of her friends’ secrets. “That needle tells me it’s likely the doctors who tortured Ivy are here in Costa Rica looking for DNA material from more real shifters to improve their hybrid process.”
Declan frowned, considering that. “Maybe that’s why we were ambushed—so they could get their hands on me.”
“I thought that, too, but then why shoot at you when they first came after us? I don’t think you were their target.”
“Okay, but then what changed?” he asked. “The doctors Ivy and Landon have been chasing certainly have the intel to let them know I was out here. Why go from trying to kill me to wanting to grab me?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. There’s obviously something going on here we don’t