22. Chapter Twenty-Two Lakey #2
"Wha—" his eyes narrowed as he studied our faces, and then something shifted.
The fear drained out of him, replaced by something else.
Recognition. And behind the recognition, a smile.
Not a scared smile. A knowing one. The air in the room changed.
This fucker seemed to grow in his chair as understanding swept over his face.
He wasn't afraid anymore. He'd figured out who we were, and instead of being terrified, he looked almost... proud.
"I know they're a pair of bitches, taking on more than they can chew."
Cam laughed. "Yeah, maybe. But how's about you humor us and tell us what you know."
The guy shifted in his seat, watching the letter opener as I tossed it back and forth between my hands.
"Fine. Cam Axley, 27 years old, born in a laboratory to some cunt that didn't survive the surgery.
Placed into foster care, bounced around, committed a crime and went to prison.
Fell off the map upon release. Until now. "
Born in a laboratory. The words hit me before they hit Cam. I could see them landing on him a second later, his jaw tightening, his shoulders going rigid. But he didn't interrupt. Neither did I.
"And me?" I pressed. I needed to know. Needed to hear the truth.
"Ahhh, Lakey. The Father's favorite little girl.
You know, he called you the prodigal daughter, right up until you escaped.
Stupid fucking nuns. I told them you wouldn't fit in there.
After your escape, he went nuts, but... then he wiped his hands clean of you.
Something else came up. Lost interest in finding the two of you.
Got what he wanted and the rest... but, man, just look at you.
You're stunning. A true masterpiece. The best we ever made.
Well, almost the best. The role has been... reassigned."
"The fuck you mean, 'made'?"
"Oh, you're not as bright as I thought you'd be.
Odd considering how fucking high your IQ scored in all the tests.
" He laughed, the sound grating against my skull.
"You and Cam were the result of several decade long experiments.
You were designed; each gene carefully selected until you were placed into your host. You were supposed to be something great.
Something... more. How disappointing to see that this is what you've become. "
What. The. Fuck.
I stabbed the letter opener through the armrest on the chair, into the flesh between his thumb and index finger. He shrieked. "Explain yourself. Now!" Cam was silent beside me, his body still, his breathing controlled.
He winced. "After you two... left, they destroyed everything... Thought they did, anyway. Word came down the pipes that someone ransacked the place. Suppose that was you two. Surprised you didn't fucking figure it out yourselves. It was all there."
I pulled the letter opener out, driving it into his thigh. "What. Do. You. Mean?"
He screamed, trying to grab at his leg as blood seeped out, staining his pants.
What a baby. It's just a fucking letter opener.
When you think about it, it really could have been much worse.
I could have stabbed his sweaty little dick.
Rolling my eyes, I opened my mouth to taunt him, but he heaved a sigh and started talking before I even had the chance to stab him again.
"Man, you're slow, aren't you? You are a byproduct of something greater.
Greater than either of you could ever picture, ever dream of.
I'd have given them my own daughter, if they could have made her into half of what they'd made you into, but they only want 'pure' stock.
Bloodlines, untainted." He breathed heavily as I pushed the letter opener in, pulling it out slightly and changing directions.
Blood oozed from the wound, dripping onto the floor.
"I am not lost, for I belong. And those who stray, I shall find. " He whispered, staring straight at me.
The words wrapped around me, putting me in a haze for a moment. Long enough to see his rotten teeth as he smiled. Shaking my head, I dispelled the feeling, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and drove my fist into his shocked face.
Guess he thought some weird fucking words would turn me into a blubbering mess. Wrong bitch, bucko. That shit meant nothing to me.
Except it did. Something in me had responded to it, and I didn't want to think about what that meant.
His whimpering grated on my last nerve. I'd had enough of his half-truths and vague bullshit. My smile twisted into a snarl as I leaned down.
"Listen here, you worthless sack of shit," I said.
None of it made sense. I have memories of a mother.
Didn't I? "I'm done playing nice. None of what you said makes sense.
You've got exactly ten seconds to spill everything you know about Chimera's plans, or I'll start peeling off your fingernails one by one. "
Cam came up behind me. "Lakey," he warned, but I was too far gone.
He blubbered on, his face a mask of pain as I stabbed the letter opener down on his leg again. "Please, I swear I don't know anything else! I only dealt with the kids. They keep us in the dark, compartmentalized—"
My hand shot out, gripping his throat and squeezing. "Wrong answer, sweet cheeks."
Cam's voice cut through. "Lakey, we need him alive—"
But it was too late. In one fluid motion, I jammed the letter opener into his jugular. Blood sprayed, hot and sticky, across my face and chest. The sudden silence was deafening, broken only by the wet gurgling of the dying man.
I stood there, panting, as the last twitches of life left his body. The rush of the kill sang through me, but beneath it, something else gnawed. We'd failed. We hadn't gotten everything we needed. And I'd let his words get under my skin, and the frustration of that had made me sloppy.
Cam's heavy sigh brought me crashing back. I turned to face him, blood dripping from my chin, waiting for the lecture that was coming.
His jaw was tight, but his voice stayed level. "Well, fuck me sideways. That's one way to end an interrogation."
He moved past me, brushing against my blood-soaked clothes. I watched, frozen, as he grabbed a cloth from the pocket of his jeans and began methodically wiping down surfaces. His hands, those same hands that could be so gentle with me, now efficiently erasing our presence.
"You gonna stand there catching flies, or you gonna help?" His voice snapped me out of it.
I blinked, realizing I'd been staring at the corpse. "I... I didn't mean to—"
"It's fine," Cam cut me off, tossing me a rag. "Start on the doorknobs. Anything you touched, wipe it down."