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Brian’s nostrils flared slightly. Scenting truth or lie. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
Andrew shot him a baffled look. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means, when I’m deciding whether or not to kill you, it might factor in.” Brian folded his arms. “It was a waste for that girl to die, but it had to be done.” I had to hand it to Brian. He knew which buttons to push on Andrew.
Andrew’s jaw trembled as his composure crumbled. “Why?”
I leaned forward, completely on track with Brian. “What part? Why was it a waste, or why did it have to be done?”
“I know why it was a waste,” Andrew snapped. “She was talented and clever and full of life. I didn’t always agree with her choices, but I respected her drive and skill.” He fixed his gaze on me. “I want to know why the hell Ivanov had this goon kill her.”
Well, damn. This whole faked death thing looked a lot different up close and personal. No wonder Andrew hated Pietro. Part of me wanted to cave in, comfort him, and tell him his sister was fine, but the rest of me knew I had a job to do. Other people’s lives depended on my staying strong here. I drew a breath to steady myself. “Because she knew too much. She was desperate to get away from Saberton, but your mother had her so terrified we couldn’t risk her going back.”
For a second I thought Andrew was going to throw up, then he smashed his free fist into the headboard. His words came out between clenched teeth. “My mother is a desperate, manipulative, heartless woman, and Julia had good reason to be afraid of her.”
“No shit.” I did my best to kept my voice even and steady. “What about you, Andy? How’d you pick up such a cruel streak?”
He flexed his bleeding knuckles then grabbed the sandwich and took a vicious bite to cover his angry frustration. And fear. And to avoid answering. And to get some food while we were in the mood to feed him. Darn useful sandwich.
“You broke Heather’s—I mean Julia’s—heart,” I said, correcting my intentional use of her cover name. “You know, when she watched a video of you right alongside Nicole being all okay with cutting up a live zombie.”
He paled, and I thought he might crack, but he pulled his act together and lifted his chin. “It was that or abandon my grandfather’s company and have no say whatsoever in its future.” He placed the rest of the sandwich on the plate and shoved it away. “My mother knew Dr. Charish’s Zoldiers project was a long shot, yet she wanted to mine anything salvageable from it. Saberton provided only minimal resources. There were other projects but all were beyond my ability to stop or control. I told Julia that.”
I stood, jaw clenched tight as my calm went out the window. Those minimal resources had fucked up my life, terrorized my dad, crippled Philip, and killed an innocent man.
“Interesting.” Brian drawled the word. “You’re saying that, if you were in charge, you’d put a stop to the vivisection, torture, and experimentation?”
Andrew squared his shoulders. “If I was in charge? Yes.” He hesitated as if about to say more, but didn’t.
“Why don’t I believe you?” Brian picked up the plate with the unfinished sandwich. “Your sister had a real affinity for zombies. You and your mother set her up with John Kang, then t
ried to turn her against him—her best friend. And you call us monsters.”
With that he strode out of the room. I really wanted to stick around and punch Andrew, but I followed Brian instead, though I did slam the door behind me.
Brian walked a short distance down the hallway. “We’ll let him simmer a bit while you get yourself together,” he told me in a low voice.
“I almost lost it,” I confessed. “Dude pissed me off.”
“I get it,” he said. “But you want him to be the only one off-balance. You’ve accomplished that. Now it’s time to drop the bomb about his sister, then fish for information. We’ll play it by ear as it unfolds. You lead again, and I’ll take over if you need a boost.”
“Got it,” I said. “Learn by doing and screwing up.” An odd thrill of excitement and nerves shivered through me, but I took a deep breath and made myself chill. The urge to punch someone faded, and I returned to Andrew’s door and opened it gently. He still sat on the edge of the bed, his good hand locked over the injured knuckles as he glared at us.
I reclaimed my seat on the other bed. Cool and calm. I can do this. “The last time you saw Julia,” I began, “you threatened to tell your mother that Julia helped a zombie escape and killed a Saberton lab guy. You scared the shit out of her, and because of that, she figured her only options were to go under your thumb forever or smash you in the face and run for her life.” I paused for effect. “We know how that turned out.”
His glare dissolved into anguish. “You don’t think I feel the guilt of that every goddamn day?” he asked, voice cracking. “I’m her twin. Was her twin.” He reached out with his bloody hand as though to touch something, then closed his fist on empty air. “I can’t even let her go because it feels like she’s still right here.”
Was that because of the twin thing? Maybe on some level he knew she wasn’t dead? “Andrew, we’re not going to fuck with you anymore over this,” I said. “Your mother is a piece of work—more than you can possibly know.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Julia knew your mother wouldn’t rest until your security people caught her,” I said. “Your sister didn’t fear death. She was scared shitless that she’d be lab zombified and used as a specimen. The threat was very real to her, and she couldn’t live like that.”
“I know,” he said, voice sharp with grief. “She should’ve trusted that I’d keep her safe.”
“Pietro figured locking her away for protection would’ve been a waste, a different sort of death for her,” I said, picking my way through how to tell him without blurting it out. “Apart from that, there was only one way to stop your mother from hunting her down.”
Hate burned in his eyes. “What are you saying?” he asked. “Ivanov had Archer kill her out of some sorted twisted sense of mercy?”
