The questions came so fast that she couldn't have answered them even if she wanted to.
"I don't know!" she finally shouted. "All I know is that I was held in a big building in Tajikistan."
Dick smirked. "Was that so hard? That was exactly the information I was looking for. Now, I just need you to be a little more specific about the location."
Minka shook her head, not only because she didn't want to tell him, but also because she honestly did not know.
But Dick didn't want to hear any of that. He was obviously a powerful man, and she knew from experience that powerful men did not like to be told no.
"How can you not know where you were held?" he demanded. "You must have seen a landmark or a street sign. Something."
She was so tired of him pressing her that she probably would have told him if she could.
"I don't remember," she said, barely able to suppress a growl. "I was drugged and unconscious when they brought me to that place, and when I escaped, I wasn't myself."
Dick's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, not yourself?"
Minka knew she should be quiet and not tell him any more, but the rage was starting to build-and it was getting harder and harder to keep the beast in check.
"The animal in me took over," she snapped. "It stayed in control for three days. When I am like that, it's hard for me to know what's happening. By the time I regained control, I had traveled a very long way without remembering how I got there. I cannot tell you where the horrible place was because those memories aren't mine. They belong to the beast!"
Dick actually took a step back at the vehemence in her voice. But instead of looking scared, he seemed thoughtful, as if considering her words. "That's very interesting. I didn't realize hybrids could partition their memories. But while it's certainly fascinating, it will make it hard to get the information I'm looking for."
Good, Minka thought. Then maybe he would finally leave.
"Perhaps we're talking to the wrong half of the hybrid," one of the men near the door said.
Minka glanced over to see that they'd closed the door without her even hearing it. One of the men was standing in front of it, like he didn't intend to let her out-or anyone else in. The other man-the one who had spoken-came to stand beside Dick.
"Perhaps we should be talking to the half that has access to the memories we're interested in?" he suggested.
Dick gave the man a sidelong glance. "Powell, that has to be one of the more out-of-the-box thoughts I think you've ever had. I'm impressed."
Oh God. They were talking about bringing out the beast.
Minka shook her head frantically. "Please stay away. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone."
Powell grinned. "That's not going to happen."
She didn't know how he could be so sure-until he lifted his jacket and pulled out a strange-looking gun. She didn't know anything about weapons, but this one looked as dangerous and deadly as any other kind she had ever seen.
The beast reacted immediately to the implied threat. Her claws and fangs sprang out, and she felt the surge of strength that came when the beast was close to taking over. She couldn't believe Dick was so stupid as to think he'd be able to talk to the beast once it was in control.
Not that it mattered. Minka refused to give up the control she'd fought so hard to maintain the last three days, no matter how they threatened her.
She closed her eyes and shut out every sense she had. She stopped smelling, hearing, or thinking about anything except Angelo. She felt him nearby, imagined him stepping into the room and wrapping her in his big, strong arms.
The beast retreated but didn't go away.
Minka let her mind drift to last night, when she'd crawled onto his half-naked body to sleep and she'd felt his warm, hard muscles beneath her. She luxuriated in the memory, feeling the same sexual stirrings she'd had last night.
This time, the beast curled up, content to go to sleep again.
"Impressive." Dick's voice intruded on her thoughts. "I believe she's able to maintain control simply by closing her eyes and reducing outside distractions. I didn't think that was possible for a hybrid. In fact, if I hadn't seen her lose control a few days ago, I wouldn't know she's a hybrid at all."
Minka's eyes flew open. Dick and Powell were both looking at her like she was some kind of lab rat. It was the same way Klaus and Renard had looked at her.
The beast uncurled itself, urging her to leap at the men and claw the evil expressions from their faces.
"What made her lose control a few days ago?" Powell asked.
Minka felt a cold shiver pass through her. He was as bad as the doctors. He liked to have power over others-liked to see her scared.
Dick gave the man a smile. "Sometimes I forget why you got chaptered out of the army, Powell. You really are a twisted son of a bitch." He glanced at the man by the door. "Moore, you might want to have your weapon ready in case she reacts a bit more aggressively than we expect."
Moore snorted. "Shit, she barely weighs a buck twenty. What the hell is she going to do to us?"
Minka tried to take another step back, but there was nowhere to go. They were going to do something to her that she wasn't going to like. She could see it in their evil, hate-filled eyes. But even so, there was still a part of her that didn't want to hurt them.
But that part was rapidly disappearing.
Dick walked over to the built-in cabinets along the wall and opened the top drawer. A moment later, he closed it and opened the one underneath. Mouth twisting, he took out a syringe like the one Zarina had used to take some blood the other day.
"If I remember correctly, you have an issue with needles, don't you?" he said in a conversational tone as he closed the drawer. "Let's see how good your control is when faced with something you hate."
He came toward her, his eyes filled with what almost looked like amusement. The sharp tip of the syringe caught the light, glinting dangerously.
Minka's fangs came out so far she tasted blood.
"Angelo!" she screamed.
She didn't know how he could possibly hear her in the next building over, but she had to try. She would never be able to contain the beast without his help.
Her claws extended, making her fingers spasm and turning her hands into weapons that yearned to tear the men apart. Then her vision took on that extra-sharp definition, and she knew her eyes must be glowing red. Every muscle in her body tightened as the beast prepared to attack.
Please don't hurt them! she screamed in her head. But Minka's wants and desires were shoved roughly to the side, no matter how hard she fought to retain control. The beast reveled in the look of terror that crossed the men's faces, feeding on it and wanting more.
Powell and Moore lifted their weapons, but it was too late for that. The beast was free. There was no way to stop it now.
* * *
Angelo glanced at his watch as he headed over to the building where Zarina's office was. He hadn't wanted to make Minka nervous while she was taking the cognitive test Zarina had given her, so after making sure she was okay with him stepping out for a little bit, he'd spent the last hour with Landon and John in the director's office, talking about things that had left him conflicted and more than a little worried.
"I'd like you to stay until Minka gets a little more settled in and starts feeling comfortable on her own," John had told him.
Angelo certainly didn't mind staying to help, but he wasn't quite sure Special Operations Command would be pleased.
"Don't worry," John said as if reading his mind. "I've already cleared it with SOCOM and the 5th Special Forces Group. As far as they're concerned, you've been temporarily attached to the Department of Homeland Security for a classified project. They're completely on board with it. I've also made sure your records will be marked in a manner that will indicate impressive performance without actually saying what you're doing. It should only be for a few weeks."
Angelo wasn't thrilled with the director of the DCO mucking around in his personnel records. The guy had yanked Landon out of a Special Forces A-team commander position last year like it was nothing, and now he was temporarily attaching Angelo to the DHS without even bothering to consult him first. And that was on top of adding his name and security clearance information to the DCO's database months ago. People didn't casually make entries into the performance records of Special Forces soldiers. Angelo was all about helping Minka, but it was scary as hell being on the DCO's radar. John could end his military career as fast as he'd ended Landon's.