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Axel munched on his pizza and glanced over at me as if he wanted my opinion. I didn’t like to hear about ESCU, especially after all I’d been through because of them, but if Honor thought Axel was in danger, we should hear about the threat.
“Listen,” I advised, copying Honor’s voice.
Axel sighed and finished his pizza, dusting off his hands before crossing his arms. “All right. Let’s hear it.”
Honor drummed his fingers on the back of his chair briefly, considering Axel. “You remember how I said it wasn’t exactly true that Parker was dead?”
“And I told you that you were wrong,” Axel said firmly. “Charlie and Phoenix blew up the lab where they were growing the clones and destroyed them all.”
“Well, one must’ve escaped.” Honor gestured to Ziggy. “Me and Ziggy stumbled on an unauthorized base on the other side of the tear being headed by Colonel Jacobs.”
I growled at the mention of Colonel Jacobs. He came by to check on Papa’s research sometimes, and Papa was always upset after, always meaner. Jacobs was a bad man who smelled like lies and death.
“While I was in an interrogation room with Jacobs,” Honor continued, “Parker was there.”
Hope fluttered through me, quickly replaced by despair and confusion. Axel had told me Papa was dead. How could he have been alive again? The dead didn’t come back to life.
“You saw him?” Axel asked, jerking his chin toward Honor.
Honor shifted in his seat. “Well, I didn’tseehim, but I heard him, and I’d know that fucker’s voice anywhere.”
Axel frowned. If I could have, I would have as well. Voice identification was tricky, especially for someone who may not have known Papa well.
“And how did you know Parker?” Axel asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I didn’t work with the bastard, if that’s what you’re insinuating,” Honor shot back.
“Honor wouldnevercondone experiments on sentient beings,” Ziggy added firmly. “He risked his life to destroy that base and very nearly died.”
“Did die for a few minutes,” Honor grumbled. He looked away, so he missed the way Axel flinched when he said it.
“Alive now.” I pointed at him.
“Thanks to timely medical intervention and a little assistance from the Dominion,” Ziggy said with a nod.
“The Dominion? Did you happen to meet one named Cupid?” Axel asked.
“Yeah, of course I did.” Honor shrugged. “Actually, it’s a smaller world than you’d think. I met Hotdog, too. He’s engaged to Hopper now, if you can believe it. And your ex-boyfriend, Phoenix, is a fuckin’ pain in my ass. Helped him and his monster spouse get away from ESCU to raise their egg.”
Axel’s expression was blank, unreadable. I sniffed the air, but there were too many smells to make out anything useful about how he was feeling. Sometimes, I wished my mate had a colored lure like me to express how he was feeling. Then, communication would be easy.
He hopped down from the counter and went to jerk open the fridge. He grabbed another beer bottle and opened it before setting the bottle down roughly in front of Honor. The two looked at each other, locked in a non-verbal negotiation that I didn’t understand. Then, after a moment, Honor grunted and grabbed the beer while Axel sank into the chair next to him.
“How do I deal with these people?” Axel asked.
Honor shook his head, staring at the table between them. “You can’t negotiate with them. You can’t outrun them, and in a straight fight, they’ll roll over you like a fucking steamroller.” He picked up the beer and took a long drink before continuing. “I protected you for as long as I could from all this, but you’re going to have some tough decisions to make, Axel. Some of them are going to depend on whether they’re here for you or him.” He gestured to me.
I growled and hunched low. If those ESCU soldiers thought they’d ever put me back in a cage, they’d quickly learn the error of their ways. I’d rip them all apart. I’d die before I let them take me prisoner again.
And if they came for my mate, I would die fighting before I let them take him.
“We need more information,” said the t’chl.
“That means talking to one of these bastards,” Honor said with a sigh. “I still have some contacts inside. Maybe one of them will help us out?”
“Soldiers not help,” I snarled roughly. “Hurt Ghost. Hurt Axel.”
“Not all of ESCU is bad,” Ziggy said and gestured between himself and Honor. “We were with ESCU.”
