Griffin cleared his throat. Even so, his question came out as a croak. “My dad … Orson, I mean, his name is … Tobias?”
Tracy nodded. Her mouth, painted in a conservative raspberry, curved downward in empathy. “Tobias Andrew Dole. For a while, he tried to get me to call him TAD, based on his initials. He thought it sounded cooler, but it never took.” She grimaced.
“I told you I had plenty of proof,” Chase said.
He observed all of us from his seat in the hot tub. Both Tracy and Fanny behaved as if Chase doing business from there was a common sight. If I were a man with more money than time, I suppose I’d be inclined to conduct my business from a hot tub too.
“If you agree to study here,” said Chase, “to work with me, I’ll show you all the evidence you can handle.”
Oh boy. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask for the real names of my fake-ass parents, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to take that on yet. I was still reeling from seeing my friends die, thinking I might be a goner, and then waking up to all of this. Give a girl a minute to catch her breath, dammit!
But soon, very soon, I’d need to know. I had to know their real names so I could properly cuss them out. I’d want to know it all.
Tracy studied me next. I returned the favor. Her slim, athletic frame was a close enough match to Griffin, but the rest of her? Not so much. Her hair was a rich, wavy auburn. Her skin was pale, her eyes a flat brown, and her cheeks round despite a thin face. She even had freckles. Griffin, with his olive-hued skin, dark hair, and chiseled features, didn’t even look related to her. And now I understood precisely why we all lacked features in common with ourparents.
Hunt sidled up behind me so that his face popped up above mine and asked Tracy, “Were you also involved in these experiments that, uh, created us, I guess?”
Tracy glanced at Chase, who shook his head at her silent question and sat up straighter in the tub, exposing more of his torso. From what I could see, the dude even had six-pack abs, and I didn’t think it was possible to purchase those. The man had to work for them just like the rest of us.
“You’ll have your answers soon enough,” Chase told us. “I wanted you to meet Tracy since she was conveniently here. She’s still in the process of moving over from the other lab to this one.”
In answer to the question that immediately sparked in my mind, Chase continued, “Though my head researchers disappeared on me with everything we’d worked so hard to achieve, we kept going. We persevered. Didn’t we, Tracy?”
Tracy scowled, apparently as put out by the betrayal of ourparentsas Chase was. “That we did, Magnum. That we most certainly did. I can’t wait to see Tobias again.” And then the pleasant, almost gentle-looking woman bared her teeth. When her face scrunched up, it revealed lines around her eyes and bracketing her mouth that I hadn’t noticed before.
“He owes more than just these kids a major apology,” she insisted.
Chase smiled, the expression reaching his eyes only to chill them to ice despite the warmth of the water he was sitting in. “Not even a hundred of their sincerest apologies will be enough.”
“Are you planning on killing them?” Layla asked, and I started at the question I hadn’t even contemplated.
Chase didn’t. “I haven’t decided yet. It depends on how useful I find them. They have a whole hell of a lot to make up for.”
Well, at least the man was predictably blunt, I had to give him that.
“They most definitely do,” Tracy chimed in. The woman I’d mistakenly believed to be soft didn’t balk at the thought of her employer murdering a bunch of scientists.
I glanced at Fanny. Her expression was steady, blank. In that moment, she reminded me of a mix between a seasoned Judi Dench and a Helen Mirren, when playing their most kickass roles. She’d seen it all already and didn’t shirk from whatever life was going to throw her way next.
To us, Chase added, “You’ll be seeing lots more of Tracy. When you decide to stay here, you’ll be working with her closely.”When,notif. “Now, Fanny, please take them to their new house. They look exhausted.”
No, we looked shot at, pissed the fuck off, and like our brains were on overload. After all that, once the smoke drifting from our ears settled, then we probably looked as tired as we felt.
“I think you’ll find we gave a lot of thought to your space,” Chase said. “I hope you like it.”
Then he turned toward his computer monitor, waking it from sleep mode.Dismissed.
Without another glance at their boss, Tracy and Fanny walked toward the elevator, expecting us to follow.
Without anything better to do, we did.
Don pulled up in front of “our new house” just as the sun was about to set, and immediately scanned our surroundings. Above the tree canopies that enveloped the structure, their branches soaring toward it, the sky was slowly tingeing a beautifully riotous pink.
With her usual agility, Fanny jumped from the cart, her long skirt flaring for a second. My friends and I were slower to follow. This time, it had less to do with our steady healing and more with the building that no reasonable person would ever describe as just a house.
“This is a fuckingmansion,” Layla said with a whistle, this tendency of hers so similar to Brady’s, reminding me they were twins.
Fanny chuckled fondly, as if her boss was just so dang cute. “Yes, I’d also describe it as such. Magnum doesn’t do anything halfway.”
