The leaders, oozing arrogance, weren’t difficult to identify.
Four men dropped dead. Seth’s work, Zach surmised.
And still the arrogance remained. A greedy glimmer even entered the eyes of one at Seth’s exhibition of power.
Oh, yeah. These guys were definitely in it for the money. “I wouldn’t come any closer,” one warned.
“I don’t have to,” Seth responded.
The man abruptly flew up, hit the ceiling hard, then fell to the floor in an unconscious heap.
One of the three left standing drew a tranquilizer gun and shot Seth with a dart.
Seth smiled. “You think it so easy to fell me?”
The mercenary frowned and shot him again.
“Oh, there’s nothing wrong with the darts,” Seth assured him. “They contain the right dosage. But no drug in your arsenal will affect me.”
“Who are you?” the mercenary demanded.
“The last face you’ll ever see.”
Seth pounced, grabbing the mercenary by the throat and shoving him up against the wall.
The other two scrambled to get away and met Zach and David.
“Do what you will to them,” Seth instructed, “but leave their memories intact.”
David knocked his unconscious.
Zach was tempted to play with his a bit, but reluctantly did the same.
“You can’t kill me,” the mercenary Seth held gritted.
“Can’t I?”
“I’m an international figure. Everyone knows me.”
“I doubt they’ll mourn you,” Seth replied, no emotion in his voice. “Who told you about the virus? Who gave you the tranquilizer?”
The mercenary glanced at David, then Zach, and smiled. He returned his attention to Seth. “I have information you need. As long as I don’t tell you, you won’t kill me.”
“Oh, but I will. I only asked you as a courtesy.”
The smug smile faded. The mercenary looked at Zach again. “What—?” His face contorted as Seth tore viciously through his mind and his memories. The man screamed, clawing his head in agony, pulling out clumps of hair. His feet kicked against the wall. Blood began to trail from his nose. His ears. His eyes.#p#分页标题#e#
Abruptly, his screams ceased, as did his heartbeat.
Seth dropped the mercenary’s lifeless form to the floor.
Zach and David stepped back as Seth crossed to the two men they had incapacitated and knelt. He placed a hand on one’s forehead.
Minutes ticked past.
He snapped the man’s neck.
The man Zach had knocked out began to rouse.
Seth grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him up as he had the other. Pain tightened the man’s features.
The golden glow in Seth’s eyes faded. “David.”
“Yes?”
“Take Lisette and Marcus and help Richart and Jenna keep the mercenaries away from the helicopters.”
Zach wanted to protest. He didn’t want Lisette out of his sight.
But just then, Seth dropped the mercenary and turned upon Zach a look he couldn’t read. “Close the door behind you when you leave.”
Zach glanced at Lisette. Brown eyes full of concern, she followed David and Marcus as they stepped out into the hallway and closed the heavy door.
The gunshots and explosions outside slowly diminished as the mercenaries’ numbers decreased and the battle began to wind down.
The silence stretched as Seth studied Zach, his expression unreadable.
“Did you see who leads them?” Zach asked.
“Yes,” Seth responded. “The mercenary leaders met with him shortly before we arrived.”
Relief rushed through Zach. Finally! “Who is it?”
A pregnant pause ensued.
“You,” Seth said.
Chapter Twenty
A sick feeling soured Zach’s stomach. “What?”
“The man with whom these mercenaries met bore your face.”
“That’s bullshit,” Zach snapped, his mind racing with the implications.
Seth held up a hand. “I know it is. Trust me. I’ve learned from recent mistakes.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it was you, but it wasn’t you. It was you the way you were before you met Lisette.”
Zach stared at him, uncomprehending.
Seth shook his head. “You don’t know how much you’ve changed since Lisette welcomed you into her home and her heart. And clearly whoever wants me to think you guilty doesn’t either.” He motioned to the unconscious man at his feet. “See for yourself.”
Zach leaned down and pressed a hand to the man’s forehead. As he did, a scent rose up to meet his nose. Shock shook him to his core. Fisting a hand in the man’s shirt, Zach yanked him up and drew him close. He inhaled deeply. “Shit!”
“It’s one of the Others,” Seth stated, drawing the same conclusion Zach had.