Her gaze lifted to his slowly, but not slow enough for him to miss the flash of fear that she fought to hide.
“Sure, Taber.” He didn’t like that slow, tight smile that crossed her lips. “I’ll be more than happy to, the very minute you answer my earlier question. Turn about, baby.” She nudged his waist with her elbow in a deliberately forced playful mood. “You just let me know when you’re ready to talk.”
She turned then, moving quickly for the stairs again and taking them with quick, almost running steps. She was fighting to escape, to hide, just as she had always done when she was younger and rushed into the night with only her senses to guide her. More often than not Taber found her lost and frightened each time. He wondered what he would find when he followed her this time.
“Taber, we might have a problem.” Callan stepped closer, pulling a small, ultra-sensitive receiver from the pocket of his slacks. “I picked this up from the office when Merc informed me who he had.” The receiver was a handy little bug locator given to them by the U.S. military. “Good oldReginald was wired for sound to hell and back. Our only problem now is figuring out who hired him.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“The best way to figure out what he’s up to is to keep him from Roni as long as possible,” Taber told the men assembled in the large office downstairs early the next morning. Callan, Tanner, Merc, Kane and several of his brothers were watching him quietly.
“You knew him better than we did.” Callan shrugged. “What do you think he’s up to?”
Taber grunted. “Reginald is low-level sleaze. He doesn’t have the brains to mastermind anything but a good drunk and some petty theft, so I’m going to assume it’s one of two things. He wants to weasel money out of us, or someone has him on a chain. He doesn’t do too badly when he has instructions, but he doesn’t improvise well.”
Taber frowned as he considered the scrapes he knewReginald had been in throughout the past decade. He had been his most wily, his most dangerous, when working for others.
“It would be my guess he’s on a chain then,” Kane spoke up. “I pulled his record last night after Merc took him to the barracks. After that, I pulled in some favors and got a little added info from my own sources. Mr. Andrews has worked with some very heavy hitters in the past. Men who wouldn’t care a bit to use him to gain access to his daughter. If they got hold of her, I doubt it would be pretty.”
They were all aware of the fact that the Council was now desperate to learn the importance of the mark Merinus carried on her shoulder, and the significance of the tests they had managed to attain from the scientists who had examined the Breeds after their surprising announcement to the world three months before. The hormonal changes that had shown in her blood work and other tests had thrown the scientists into a tailspin. The discovery that she could conceive, despite the small amount of human sperm Callan’s body normally produced, had shocked them further.
The truth their own doctor had found would have astounded them even more. It wasn’t the sperm contained in the ejaculation of his c**k that was so potent. It was the sperm contained in the small, thumb-like barb that only became engorged during sex with Merinus that allowed the conception.
“For some reason, he must think he can gain her cooperation.” Merc sat stiffly in his chair and Taber could sense his impatience, his discomfort. Merc had been trained in almost complete isolation. There had been no Pride to sustain him, no friends, no confidants in the lab he had been found in. Being closed up in the office with the other men wasn’t easy for him.
“What makes you say that?” Taber asked him carefully. It was no more than he had sensed himself the night before.
“The man is pretty impatient to get to her. Keeps demanding to see his little girl.” The Breed sneered the last two words. “He’s not her father, by the way.”
Taber stared at him in surprise. “He told you this?”
“He didn’t have to tell me.” He snorted. “You can smell it if you take the time to try. There’s no relationship there. Scents are all off.”
Taber looked at Callan. His leader hadn’t mentioned this ability the newest member of their Pride had. Callan only lifted his shoulders in reply and gave a short shake of his head. Evidently, he hadn’t known either.
“How are the scents off?” Taber asked, watching him curiously. The other man leaned forward in his chair, a frown crossing his lion-like face. “Anyone born of the same blood shares a unique scented bond with their most immediate family. You just have to be able to detect and separate the varied smells to understand it.Reginald Andrews does not share this with the woman he claims as his daughter. He is no relation to her.”
It made sense. Suddenly, more pieces of Roni’s life were beginning to come together.
“So he’s no relation, which means there’s not a chance in hell of any bond keeping him from harming her,” Kane pointed out.
Taber snorted. “There never was.Reginald would sell his own mother to slavers if it would bring him enough money. His only bond is the one he has with his wallet and the bottom of a liquor bottle.”
He rose from his chair, pacing along the room. He was aware of Callan’s gaze following him and the concern from the other members of the meeting.
“How is your relationship with her working out?” Callan asked. Taber shook his head. He wasn’t about to discuss that with any of them. Hell, he wasn’t sure he understood it himself.
“She didn’t seem too pleased with him last night.” Tanner chuckled. “Sounds like he’s holding out on her. Let me guess, you didn’t tell her about the little buddy your c**k has.”
Taber shot his younger brother a withering glare.
Tanner wiped the smile quickly off his face but it lingered along the edges of his lips. Kane chuckled. The damned man was working quickly at getting on his bad side. He was finding too much amusement in this situation.
“Whoever has a leash on Andrews wouldn’t be far away,” Callan spoke up, bringing the conversation back on track. “They would have to be somewhere close.”
“And he’ll have to make contact pretty often without the little bugs that shirt of his carried.” Merc’s voice was hard, lethal. “Those buttons were state of the art, let me tell you. Too bad it got thrown in the wash. Guess he shouldn’t have left such expensive material laying around.”