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“Phillips said something about it being rude to eat in front of house guests.” Luca shrugged.
And Reese hadn’t even noticed. How? “I—I guess I was distracted.”
“I figured you werethinking. That’s why I didn’t remind you to eat.” Luca shifted his gaze to the half-full plate of food.
Reese picked up his fork and shoveled in a mouthful of eggs—cold, rubbery, and he’d forgotten to put any salt on them—and forced himself to swallow.
Luca pressed his lips together, clearly not impressed.
“I’ll eat.”
Nash appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. His intense gaze remained locked on Luca as if nothing else existed. At least he wasn’t going to nag Reese about cleaning his plate.
“I’ll be fine. I promise. I’ll eat. Go.” Reese shooed Luca away with his fork.
He still didn’t look convinced.
“Okay, I won’t eat all of it, but I’ll eat the toast and a piece of bacon. The eggs are a little cold, so probably no more of those.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.” Luca went into the kitchen and Nash followed. Plates clinked, then the back door opened and closed.
Reese slumped in his seat. There was no way he’d be able to eat any more than he had without getting sick.
He picked up his plate and took it into the kitchen. There he stood over the trashcan for a good five minutes, staring at the toast and bacon he’d promised to eat before dumping everything. He put his dish in the sink and pushed aside the curtain on the window above it.
Luca and Nash were barely visible over the roll of ground as they walked farther away from the house, bodies pressed together so close they could have been one entity.
They’d both been through too much, and now they’d go through a hell of a lot more. If Seung was right and someone had sent those curs to kill Seung’s brother, then it was a matter of time before they sent more. And if whoever made them had figured out Reese was an attractant, they could use him to do it.
Leaving might slow the curs down, but Reese would never outrun them alone.
Let alone fight them off. He’d need an army to protect himself or at least an army to kill them off when they came looking for him.
The only place Reese knew he could find that was right where he didn’t want to be; Manitoba, held against his ethics, and under Grey Dekker’s control.
It was the Utah Facility all over again.
Except there’d be no letter of resignation allowing him to escape when he should have been finding a solution to help Koda, his betas, and himself.
This time a solution would help Luca, Nash, Johnathan, Seung… maybe it would even prevent a world disaster where Mah could transfer the ichor through a single scratch. That is if they could. It wasn’t like Reese had any real evidence, just the probability. Numbers that weren’t in favor of the worst-case scenario, just high enough to make it too dangerous to disregard it.
Access to the VrK would allow Reese to determine if a minor abrasion was enough. He could possibly develop a way to counteract it or reverse it all together but not endanger the Mah or Varu.
Reese would have to trust Johnathan enough to tell him his agenda because there was no way he’d believe Reese had just changed his mind.
He’d also need Johnathan’s help to stay away from his fellow Mah so he wouldn’t run.
Was it even possible?
Considering the stakes, Reese decided it didn’t matter. Whatever happened to him was irrelevant if he could prevent the loss of life.
After all, this was about standing his ground, not running like a coward.
“I can do this.” He would do this.
A shrill ringing in Reese’s ears swept over him. He stumbled, catching himself on the kitchen counter. Dust rose, feet clawed the ground.
Everything warped into a multitude of perspectives coming together like a facet. Black fur, sharp teeth flashed in and out of his periphery.
