Chapter Thirty-Seven
Brock
I blink awake. Hanging onto the dim recesses of slumber with a hazy out-of-body sensation has me gasping for air and clawing my way through the decay of darkness. With a hard internal pull of my upper body, I sit up, hands braced behind me on a cold, hard surface. My eyes flutter with the impact of a slice of light—long, black lines fading in and out of focus. I blink again and again, refocusing until I realize I’m staring at bars. There are bars all around me.
Holy fuck, I’m in a cage with cameras pointed at me.
Slowly, my chin lowers, and in stunned disbelief, I find myself naked. I suck in another harsh breath and scan the area, memories beginning to rebuild themselves. The bridge. The injection. Jocelyn. Her sultry feminine curves, those big, blue eyes. The instant her image finds me, my dick is ramrod stiff.
I grimace as I flash back to Lawrence jamming the letter opener into my leg. I reach down and touch my leg, finding nothing, then laugh. It’s done. I’m a GTECH.
But any joy I feel fades with another memory: Lawrence demanding I admit I’d given the Green Hornets to Julian when it had been that idiot, Lucian. Adrenaline rushes through me, licking at my muscles with a sudden burst of energy. I flex my hand several times—strength chasing each movement, strength coursing through my veins. Leveraging my weight on my palms, I push to my feet. Power surges through me, and I tilt my head back and roar with the sensation. This is what I’d been waiting for. This is the beginning of greatness.
So why the fuck am I locked up?
I peer through the bars to find computers lining the walls. A long lab table faces my cage, with electronic equipment all around it.
I’m naked. I’m imprisoned.
The high of my transformation churns to a grinding halt.
Lawrence.
This is one of his mind games. A control thing. Fine. I’ll play his game until I can turn this around—and I will.
A sudden jolt of tingling awareness rushes down my spine an instant before Jocelyn sashays into the room, a rush of sexy curves and long, dark hair. “I see you’re awake,” she observes, setting a stack of files down on the table facing the cage. Her gaze travels over my body, settling on my cock. Already half-hard, it twitches to life.
“And naked,” I say. “You come for the peep show or what?”
“I came to finish what I started,” she says, leaning on the desk, her blue eyes blazing at me.
“Which is what?”
“To make Red Dart a success, starting with you.”
“What about Red Dart requires I be naked?”
“The general wanted it to be clear to you that you’re being reborn a new man.” But she likes me like this. I can see it in her heavy-lidded stare.
Something about Jocelyn rips through me like a raging storm and settles hard in my chest. Suddenly, a memory of Lawrence and Jocelyn bursts into my head.
“You’re fucking him,” I say, vowing never to allow that to occur again.
Her expression flashes with surprise before she judiciously counters with, “The minute you’re free, you’re going to turn on him.” Her arms fold over her full breasts.
“If I wanted to fuck Lawrence, I’d have joined Julian,” I say. “But if he touches you again, I’ll do one better. I’ll kill him.” I have no idea why the idea of Lawrence touching this woman destroys me, but it does. Just the idea has me considering how I might rip the bars away.
“Why would you say such a thing?” she asks, a curious tilt to her head. “You don’t even know me.”
“I wanted you before. I want you more now.”
“Hmmm, well, this must be some reaction to your transformation,” she concludes. “I’m going to call the doctor.”
More memories assail me. Things I overheard and felt. “Is Creed your son?”
She sets the phone she’s now holding down with a thud equal to a concrete block hitting the ground. “What does Creed have to do with anything?”
Bingo. Hit a nerve. A raw one, too. “Everything, it appears. He is your son, is he not?” The uneasiness that flashed in her face is all the answer I need. “Lawrence’s popping you, and your son is popping his daughter. That’s a little freaky, even for me.”
“What?” she asks. “Creed is dating the general’s daughter?”
“Apparently they have a long history.”
“But Creed is Zodius.” She shakes her head. “No. That makes no sense. Lawrence’s daughter would not be seeing a Zodius soldier.”
“Creed was Zodius, or he pretended to be, to fuck things up for them. He’s a Renegade. One of the good guys, supposedly, but then no one really knows whose side Creed plays on, from what I can tell. And really, who are the good guys?”
This earns her ire. “Creed isn’t one of the good guys.”
Creed sure has a way of twisting everyone into a pissing little wad , I think. “And Lawrence is?”
Her defenses bristle. “He’s trying to protect this country from Julian.”
More like control the world, but I don’t care. Not when I am part of that control. “Guess you know Lawrence hates Creed then. Suppose it’s expected with Creed getting down and dirty with his daughter and trying to kill him.” I lift an eyebrow. “You hate him too, don’t you? That’s interesting to me. I mean, the general turned him into what he is against his will. He lied to him, but you’re on his side, not your son’s. Why?”
“Are we ready to get started?” Lawrence’s voice ricochets through the room a moment before he steps into view, with Dr. Chin by his side.
Jocelyn whirls on him. “Is Creed with Zodius or the Renegades?”
Lawrence’s gaze flickers over me with disapproval before returning to Jocelyn. “He is a GTECH, Jocelyn. They are all GTECHs, and they must all be controlled.”
“But he’s working with Julian,” she presses. “You said he’s working with Julian.”
“Don’t go and get a wild maternal hair to save your son, Jocelyn,” he chides. “He’s far more dangerous than his father ever was, and failing to deal with him, I assure you, will result in the loss of innocent lives. And we both know you have more blood on your hands from supporting his father than you can bear as it is.” He flips a vague gesture toward the computer. “Show me your brilliant work with Red Dart, my dear.”
“I’m not sure it’s safe,” she comments and eyes Dr. Chin. “Brock is having a reaction to the transformation. He’s aggressive. Possessive.” She hesitates and adds, “Oversexed.”
“Whatever he was before the injections, he is more so now,” Dr. Chin informs her. “Those are not reasons to be concerned. If he has any adverse reaction, I’m here to intervene.”
I clutch the bars until I think they will break. I am not oversexed. I am not aggressive. And I don’t want anyone intervening. I want the full conversion done and over.
“Do whatever you are going to do and get me the hell out of here!” I scream, shaking the bars. “He’s right, Jocelyn. We are all GTECHs. And I am their future leader.”
“Get on with it, Jocelyn,” Lawrence orders.
She hesitates fretfully, but says, “I need the crystal.”
Dr. Chin pulls a thin silver box from his jacket and opens it. A glowing red light emanates from the crystal. Jocelyn removes it from the box and sets it inside the electronic device by her computer. Her gaze lifts to mine, a tormented look in her eyes. As if I didn’t ask for this.
I did.
She hits a button, and a cranking sound follows as the barrel of a long gun is extended. I turn toward the weapon, ready for whatever is necessary to finish my conversion and offer me my freedom.