Chapter Thirty-One
Lawrence
I’m pacing, a gun loaded with Green Hornets in my hand, when Jocelyn explodes into the lab, panting out her reprimand. “I told you not to use those bullets until after Red Dart was in place!” she shouts at me. “He’s connected me to you! He’ll connect me to Red Dart if he hasn’t already!” She sucks in a shaky breath, no longer yelling but still irritatingly shrill. “I told you Creed would know where they came from. We’ve had this technology for years. He was a stockholder. He saw the reports. My son is ten times more dangerous than his father ever was. He’ll help Julian take over the world. He will. And he’s going to come for Taylor Industries. He’ll take my research. I don’t know why he hasn’t already.”
Holy hell, she’s crying, tears streaking her cheeks. I’d wanted her to fear Creed, to see him as a threat, and to use her guilt over her past sins as motivation to save the world now. And I knew her money motivation would take control if I gave her the chance to be a hero. And my plan worked. Maybe too well. A hysterical female is the last thing I need right now. “Control yourself, Jocelyn, and act like—”
“A soldier?” she snaps. “I am not a soldier. I’m the woman you promised—”
I set the gun on the desk, then grab her and shake her. “Get a grip on yourself, woman. I would not be foolish enough to use those bullets and show my hand before we’re ready. Think about what you are accusing me of, Jocelyn, and you will see it’s insanity. Someone deceived us.”
“I thought you made sure that couldn’t happen. You said you had ways to take care of business.”
I set her away from me and run a hand through my hair. Who the fuck is double-crossing me?
“General—”
“Shut up, Jocelyn,” I snap. Now I remember why I hated involving women in important matters. “I cannot think with your incessant chattering.” A look of shock registers on her face, and I turn away before I’m forced to endure another wave of tears sure to follow.
I rotate to face the bed where West rests. West was the only one who’d had contact with Zodius. The only one who had access to artillery logged in at the base. And the only man who knew what a certain “top-secret” unit contained.
“It was West,” I say, fury forming inside me. I snatch a letter opener from the desk and walk through the open glass door framing West’s bed, and I don’t stop until I’m driving the letter opener into his leg. The dirty, lying betrayer gasps and tries to sit up, his eyes bugging out of his head as the confines hold him down.
“Oh my God!” Jocelyn screams, grabbing my arm. “What are you doing?!”
I flick her a furious look. “Control yourself before I have you controlled.”
Shock filters through her expression, and her grip loosens and falls away. I yank the blade out of West’s leg, pleased to find his face contorted with pain. “You know what I love about a GTECH?” I ask. “All the pain and damage I can cause without killing you. I inflict injury. You heal. I cut some more.” I slam the letter opener back into his leg. And I leave it there. “I know you gave Zodius the Green Hornets. Why?”
“I didn’t do it,” Brock gasps. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“Lies make me want to cause more pain.” I rip the blade out of him again.
“I didn’t do it! Please! No more! I hate Lucian. I want him on his knees, begging for mercy. I would not help Lucian! ”
I believe that shit about as readily as I would stick my hand in a tank of piranhas. I shove the blade back into Brock’s leg, reveling at his grunt. Pain will teach him to control himself. “You’re lying, and I intend to make you pay.”
I rotate to find Dr. Chin standing beside Jocelyn. “Don’t even consider stitching him up. And leave the blade in his leg. I want it to heal there. A little reminder about what will happen when he crosses me. Otherwise, we continue as planned. We’ll use Red Dart to break him.”
I cast Jocelyn a cold stare. I despise weakness. She’s proven today that she is best kept beneath me, not beside me. “Make sure you’re ready with Red Dart when Chin says ‘go.’”
“What about Creed?” Her voice quavers slightly.
I arch a brow. “What about him?”
“He’ll come back.”
“And we’ll be ready,” I assure her. “In fact, we will welcome the visit. If Creed so kindly makes our job easy by coming to us, we don’t have to hunt him down. I hope he brings others with him. He will be tagged with Red Dart, then broken and controlled, like all the GTECHs. They will become our protectors, not our captors. It seems only appropriate that Creed be the first to fall, considering the hell he made both our lives.” My lips twitch. “His fall will give us another reason to celebrate.” My attention shifts to Chin. “Call me when we’re ready to begin.” I glance at my watch, calculating the time needed to test Red Dart and prepare before the next nightfall. We don’t dare delay any longer. “You have ten hours.”
I walk away, my mind on my plans. The more I think of Creed, the more I look forward to bringing that man to his knees.