Therian Promise(29)

Roberto sighed and shook his head. “Which means all of the established programs come grinding to a halt.”

“We were unprepared this time,” Tias admitted. “It will not happen again. I’ll reroute all established supply runs and shuffle vendors wherever possible. We will not waste energy bemoaning our loss. We will move on and learn from our mistakes.”

“And allow this aggression to go unanswered?” Milliner looked as if he wanted to reach through the screen and shake her. “This was an intentional provocation. I will not allow—”

“You got greedy!” Tias managed to look every bit as intimidating as her male counterpart. “We are not going to waste time and resources on your pride.”

Defiance blazed in Milliner’s gaze, but he said nothing more.

“I agree that our goals are more important than teaching Nehema her place,” Roberto began, “but these Abolitionists have become more than an annoyance. If an opportunity presents itself, we should permanently solve the problem.”

So Nehema was the leader of a group called the Abolitionists? And this group knew about shapeshifters. How odd. How many other groups of humans knew about the Therians? Maybe a better question was, are there other quasi-human species mixed in with the unsuspecting population? She shivered and released her tension with a deep breath.

After agreeing with Roberto’s compromise, Tias looked at Carly and prompted, “You asked to speak with us.”

The fact that they’d discussed backer business in front of her made her feel important, but she wasn’t foolish enough to believe she was one of them. She was a tool, and when her usefulness had ended, they would dispose of her like any other tool.

“The guards discovered a couple of hikers, one male and one female,” Carly began in a calm, clear tone.

“We were told.”

If they weren’t upset about the incident, she could just imagine what they were told. “Who submitted the report and what did they tell you?”

“Barns submitted the report,” Milliner told her. “We were led to believe that the guards verified that the hikers were no one of consequence and then drove them a safe distance from the complex. The hikers believed they were rescued by two forest rangers.”

No wonder they’d recruited a spy. How long had Osric been lying to them and how often did Barns help him falsify reports? “The truth is a little less tidy, I’m afraid. The hikers were not released. They overpowered the guards and took off in their Jeep.” She waited until shock registered on their expressions but didn’t give them time to reply. “And that’s not the worst of it. Osric thinks the female hiker was Ava Seymour and the male was Kyle Lashton.”

“Ava has been desperately eluding capture to avoid coming here.” Roberto drew her attention away from the screen. “Why would she venture so near Osric’s stronghold?”

“That was my question as well.”

“And did he tell you?” Tias’ expression remained cautious, but Carly heard hope in her soft tone.

She’d only been spying on Osric for a short time, but the backers had hoped for better results. Well, she was about to prove her worth to her demanding superiors. “Osric had no idea why Ava would intentionally put herself in such a vulnerable position, but he’s pretty sure Kyle was attempting to rescue his sister.”

“Osric is hiding his rival’s sister among the test subjects?” Tias exchanged meaningful glances with her partners then muttered, “That sly bastard.”

“He didn’t intend to tell me who she is, but—”

“It’s Devon.” Carly wasn’t surprised that Tias anticipated the punch line. She was shrewdly intelligent and every bit as ruthless as the men. “It explains his arrogance as well as his obsession with the girl.”

Devon was in her mid-twenties, hardly a girl, but Carly didn’t correct her supervisor. “He was infuriated by the near disaster and intended to interrogate Devon, to find out if she was somehow signaling her brother.”

“Did he damage her?” Milliner scooted closer to his camera, clearly upset by the possibility. “We’ve accomplished more with Devon than any other test subject.”

“Yes sir, I’m aware. That’s why I’ve kept Devon sedated until I could speak with you.”

“Then he hasn’t harmed her?”

“No sir. Intimidation is lost on someone who’s unconscious. He’s impatiently waiting for Devon to ‘metabolize the new formula’. I told him it could take several more hours.”

“Excellent work.” Tias offered a rare smile. “I knew you were perfect for this position.”