“I told you this doesn’t happen quickly,” he warned her. “Those labs are not exactly easily accessible, darlin’. We’re doing our best. And if your Coyote friend is as smart as I suspect she is, then she knew the wait would be a long one.”
“Breeds are being rescued all over the world,” she argued fiercely. “Labs just as secure have been penetrated.”
“And many, many lives have been lost,” he warned her. “For the moment, your labs are safe from the killings that are everyday business with the other Breeds. They don’t kill Coyotes unless they begin to show mercy. So far, those in your group are too young to be in much danger.”
“They are already starting to transfer the older ones.” Her fists clenched at her side at the memory of the group that had gone out over a month ago. “We can’t continue to wait like this.”
“Six were transferred, and once they cleared Russian borders, they were extracted. Three died for warning their guards that they were being rescued as we made the attempt.” He lifted the camcorder from the desk and switched it on before setting it in front of her. “I believe you knew them.”
Shock, betrayal. Anya’s eyes widened as she stared at the recording. Three of the Coyotes that she and Sharone had protected countless times had betrayed the others as the rescue group moved in. They had turned weapons on their fellow Breeds. Their eyes hard, they spouted Council bullshit in cold voices.
“The other three are alive and safe at the moment,” he promised her when the video finished.
“Get the girls out like that.” She jerked her gaze back to his in desperation. “I can arrange their transfers.”
He shook his head. “Aren’t you leaving something out, little Anya?”
He surprised her with the question.
“What do you mean?”
“Your father had those girls assigned to you as protective detail. I believe you’ve received an offer from the Genetics Council itself to head an office that would coordinate the admistrative and security duties involved in keeping their organization more secretive.”
She frowned. She had received such an offer, but how had he known?
“Doctors Chernov and Sobolova have requested that I stay assigned to the current lab until I’m twenty-two.” She let a smile tug at her lips. “They offered proof to the GC that I’m not nearly as proficient in the new programs as they had hoped I would be.”
It was deliberate, of course. Her father had warned her such an offer might arrive, and Anya had made certain she began to appear to be lagging in certain areas.
“Indeed,” he drawled. She suspected there was a wealth of mockery in that single word. But this man was often mocking, and always hard. But, sometimes, she saw amusement, perhaps a hint of softening.
“Indeed.” She rolled her eyes. “Which is totally beside the point, I could arrange for the girls be transferred. It would be simple enough.”
“No.” His voice was hard. Firm. “Here are three pictures. Do you know these men?”
She frowned down at the photos and pointed to one. “This is Aleski Dornovo, he’s a Breed trainer, ex-Russian Elite hit squad. He was sort of black ops for many years.” She tapped the next one. “Graco, he’s one of the older Breeds at the lab. Very quiet. Colder than the others. This is Cavalier. He’s dead on the inside,” she said sadly. “He came from another lab just ahead of the rescues. I heard it was a brutal lab to be in.”
“And yours isn’t?” he asked her.
She shook her head slowly and lifted her eyes to him, feeling the pain that filled her at the thought of what the Breeds suffered. “No. Doctors Chernov and Sobolova believe that loyalty begins with loyalty. They begin training with rewards for proper behavior. They refuse to conduct experiments on the Breeds they created, citing that it would begin a breakdown in that loyalty. They’re very high ranking within their fields. The Council rarely refuses them whatever they ask. They kill as example only.” She felt the tears that edged at her eyes. “But still, they kill.”
“You’re too softhearted,” he scoffed. “Death happens every day. “This man,” he tapped Cavalier’s picture, “watch him closely.”
“Is he an enemy?” She stared up at him, feeling her heart clench. She liked Cavalier. She never talked to him, she wasn’t allowed around the male Coyotes, but there was something haunted and sad in his eyes.
“Enemy or friend, I haven’t decided yet. Have Sharone watch him closely. She interacts with the male Breeds more than you’re allowed. Correct?”
“Correct,” she said heavily. “You’re not coming for them yet, are you?”
“Not yet,” he told her. “We’re going to weed out the chaff before we come in for the harvest. There’s no other way to do this, Anya. Not and maintain your safety as well as the female Breeds you’re trying so hard to protect.”
Sharone had warned her that to do this right, it would take him years. She hadn’t believed it. She did now.
“Graco is certainly a spy,” he warned her then. “We have proof of it. Have him transferred if you can do so without suspicion.”
She nodded. “Father and the scientists make that decision. They normally follow Father’s recommendations though.”
Her father was head of security and training, and he listened to her opinion, he valued it. The fact that she was betraying him haunted her often. The fear that he could pay with his life for her actions was a constant.