"Yes, I know." He tilted his head to one side. "You cared for him, didn't you?"
She dropped her gaze. "He was my friend." He might have been assigned to watch her, might have tried to use and kill her, but somewhere deep in his murderous heart, he had cared. Otherwise, he wouldn't have offered her the choice of joining him — something that had gone against his nature.
"And now?"
"And now I have only my work." And a partner who didn't want her.
"Sometimes it is better that way."
Only a workaholic or the dead would think that. But her private life was not something she wanted to discuss with this man.
"Jack said he got that information from Sethanon. Are you he?" If he was, she should be shooting him rather than talking to him. Especially when Sethanon was villain number one on both the SIU's and the Federation's hit lists.
"Sethanon is not a name I have ever called myself."
Truth or lie? She couldn't tell, and that worried her.
"Allars told me he was involved in a project called Penumbra. That four of the eight involved were a changer, a shifter, a vampire and a werewolf."
"And the other four were psychically endowed. Mike Shean was a strong telepath and empath. Jeremy Park was a fire starter. Rae Messner's gift was psychometry, and Fay Reilly was an emotive."
She stared at him. "How the hell do you know that?"
"Simple. I was there."
"You were one of the scientists?" She couldn't help the incredulous note in her voice. She could believe he might have been in the military, but a scientist? No way. This man was a killer, born and trained.
But then, with what she was beginning to learn about Hopeworth, maybe that wasn't so far off the mark.
He laughed. It was an oddly familiar sound that scratched at the back of her mind.
"Not a scientist. Not even a test subject."
"Then what?" If he'd been involved with security, surely he wouldn't have known so much about the project?
"Samantha, you have all the answers you need. All you have to do is look for them."
"So, we're back to the riddles again." She sipped at her coffee. It was strong, and sweet, with just a hint of hazelnut.
"Your favorite, I believe," he said softly.
This time he was reading her thoughts. She put her coffee down, and leaned back, crossing her arms. "Tell me your name."
He hesitated. "I go by many names these days."
"Give me your birth name, then."
He looked away, but not before she'd caught the hint of anger in his eyes. "I was never given a name at birth. The names I have are ones I've collected over the years."
"Give me a name, or I get up and walk away."
His hesitation was briefer. "Call me Joe Black."
"What are you, a funny man? Joe Black was a character in a movie of the same name."
He shrugged. "When you have no name of your own, you steal others that appeal. You asked for a name, I gave it to you."
"Okay then, Mr. Black — "