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Kade raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
Amusement touched Jack's green eyes. "There's no place the Directorate can't go if we so desire."
"Well, that's a little tidbit kept well away from the general population, isn't it?"
"And with good reason. Why were you in that place?"
"He's one of the shifters they were milking," I said, and added, just a touch impatiently, "I don't suppose you want to share Kade's background with the rest of us?"
"Right now? No. There's more important matters to discuss." Jack's gaze narrowed a little. "What do you mean by 'one of?"
Kade shrugged. "There were nine of us in there. I'm not sure what happened to the others after our break out."
"And they were collecting specimens from you all?"
"Yes."
Jack grunted and glanced at me. "And were they collecting samples from you?"
I shrugged. "It's all very hazy at the moment. All I can really remember is waking up in a small lane beside a dead man."
"The lack of memory coming from the drugs or the accident?"
I shrugged again.
"Probably the accident," Rhoan commented, looking at me critically. "The scar on her head looks as if the wound might have been bad enough to cause memory loss."
"What scar?"
My confusion was evident in my voice. I hadn't noticed a scar when I'd showered in the old house, but then, I'd been in a hurry to get to the kitchen and find some coffee. And I certainly wasn't prone to spending hours in front of a mirror. A quick glance was all that was usually needed unless I was going somewhere special and had to apply makeup.
Kade ran a finger from my temple to the back of my head and said, "That scar, sweetheart."
I frowned. "Is it nasty?" God, the last thing I needed was another scar to worry about. I had enough as it was, thanks to childhood mishaps.
"Your hair covers it, no probs."
"So this place is in a nearby town?" Jack said, in a voice that suggested little tolerance for slight deviances from the topic at hand.
I grinned, more than a little used to his impatience. "This place is a town. And a testing ground. They have mock buildings as well as concrete ones."
"Can you lead us back there?" he asked.
"I can," Kade said, before I could. "Riley was unconscious for some of the journey."
Which was so totally fudging the truth. Jack glanced at me, eyebrow raised imperceptibly. He knew the lie, but for whatever reason, wasn't going to argue it. Maybe he figured he needed a horse-shifter in his new task force. He glanced at the com-screen, said, "Area map," then looked at Kade. "You want to give us a rough location? We'll get some of our people to do a flyover."
Kade strode over and pointed at an area on the screen. "I don't think we can afford to wait for reinforcements. They'd have to realize our escape will put their position in jeopardy. I wouldn't mind betting they're pulling out even as we speak."
Jack glanced up at Kade, then at me. And I saw the question in his eyes, even though the words he said next were completely different.
"Do you think five of us is enough muscle to tackle that place?"
"No," Kade said. "But if you want to catch any of these bastards, then we have to take the risk."
And it was a risk. A huge risk, and everyone in the room knew that, including me. But it was one Jack was contemplating. Had to contemplate, if we were to have any hope of finally getting a proper lead on these maniacs.
I continued to meet his gaze, and mulled over the implications of his unasked question. Of giving him what he wanted - me on this raid, taking yet another step on the road to becoming a guardian - juxtaposed against the promise I'd made on the knoll outside Genoveve. A promise to see this through, to see it finished.
