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As she looked at him with those big dangerous Zoey eyes, he made her an unspoken promise. He’d find the assholes responsible. Even if it took him forever.
No one was going to hurt her kid sister again.
51
Oakley pulledthe vent closed behind her just in time. The door pushed open, and she heard footsteps. She pulled in a deep breath and held it. If Grandfather heard her, she’d be in so much trouble.
She hadn’t known he was coming here tonight.
Her hands were so sweaty.
She clutched the envelope and the sticker. She was supposed to put the sticker in the corner. It was aspecialsticker called astamp. And the address had to be on the front.
That was how Jilly Silly said you were supposed to address a letter. A letter was like an email. People used letters back during history.
Jilly Silly said it was really important to write the address exactly right. Oakley had copied the address she wanted down off the internet last time. She had it in her special book. Oakley would practice how to address letters on drawing paper when she watchedScraggle-Poppsthe next time.
WatchingScraggle-Poppsto learn stuff was a lot more fun than the workbook pages Grandfather said they had to do every morning after breakfast.
She hated workbook pages.
When she got the answers wrong when he was there, he’d smack the backs of her hands. Until they really hurt. He was starting to do it to Orion now, too. Even though Orion was really little. Orion didn’t do the answers as good as Oakley.
Their mommy wouldn’t make them do stupidworkbook pages. Their mommy wouldn’t hurt their hands.
Oakley just knew it.
“Not every damned surrogate you use must look like Dee. The damned babies share no DNA with surrogates, you idiot. They’re just incubators. Pack animals. Livestock. Shouldn’t you know that? Find a runaway after some cash and pay her, like you did the last eight. Don’t take those kinds of risks again. It’s not worth it.” The voice stopped Oakley right where she was. She curled up as quietly as she could. But…they were arguing too hard to hear her. She hoped. “I don’t know why you want any more of her children to begin with. They are not what you are hoping for. Trust me, I should know. Nothingperfectabout those little bitches at all.”
Oakley stayed right where she was, with her knees at her chest. Listening.
It was the really mean lady again. She smacked kids if they got in her way.
“My last embryo was useless. I need more oocytes.”
“Then I’ll get you some of the damned donated ones. I have fucking thousands. Millions. Sitting there, waiting to make good little babies for whoever can pay for them.”
Oakley flinched at the bad words. He always used the bad words when he was really, really mad.
Or she’d been really, really bad.
The mean lady used the mean bad words all the time.
The mean lady was very, very scary. Oakley didn’t like her at all. And when she’d grabbed Oakley the last time and just looked at her, it had scared her really, really bad. She’d said Oakley looked just like all the rest.
“No. They have to be hers. Or…her daughters’. I need one of her daughters to donate, to facilitate Phase II. That would be the simplest. You can help me with that. One of yours would be perfect. They are old enough and of the right intelligence levels. And in perfect health. It won’t hurt her, I promise. Just get me what I need. Or else.”
“Of course, mine are all in perfect health. I didn’t keep any of the damned sick ones. I made sure mine were healthy. You have those two kids in there now for your pathetic study on genetics. You don’t need to mess around with her damned eggs any longer. Move on. Before your obsession destroys everything we’ve worked toward for almost four decades. This is abusiness,Greg. Have you forgotten that? Do I need to remind you again?”
Oakley stayed where she was a really, really long time.
Until the mean lady was gone, and Grandfather left his office. She had to hurry.
If he caught her out of bed again…
She’d be in really big trouble.
She ran back to her room as quietly as she could. She shoved her envelope with the special sticker, the stamp, that she’d found in Grandfather’s top drawer, into her special hiding place.
