Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
West groans and lifts his upper body onto his hands, his face red and his eyes bloodshot. “What did you do to me?” he wheezes.
I kneel down to his level. “I didn’t do this. Jocelyn did. This was her invention.” I tilt my head and study him. “You said you would do what was necessary to be my commander. Now. Why don’t you tell me how Zodius got those Green Hornets?”
West snarls. “I don’t know.”
I hit the remote again, and West’s hands fall from underneath him, the shaking flattening him on the ground. I ease off and allow him to find reality again before I ask, “How did they get Green Hornets?”
West pushes himself up on his hands again. “I don’t—”
Again, I shock him, the wave on a slow simmer that keeps West flat on his face and shivering.
Jocelyn jerks on my arm. “Enough, General! You see it works. Enough!”
“Control yourself,” I warn. “Our agenda is bigger than one man’s pain.”
Defiance flashes in her eyes. “You have no agenda but playing God.”
“Careful now, Jocelyn, my sweet. You’re stressed and saying things you might regret later. Because if making weapons of mass destruction as Taylor does is not playing God, I do not know what is.”
But logic prevails. I need her. I turn to her and settle my hands on her shoulders, softening my voice. “I know how much you want to amend the past. We’re a peaceful nation. With super soldiers in our arsenal, we will force peace on others without ever lifting a hand. We are doing a good thing here. Circumstances simply demand we act swiftly.” The challenge in her eyes fades as I add, “We must know this man’s physical and mental limitations so that we properly gauge their effectiveness against the GTECHs.”
She hesitates, but shakes her head. “Yes. Yes, you’re right. Okay. I just…I can’t watch.”
“Then don’t,” I say. “Go to the other room, and we will call you when this is done.”
With an inhaled breath, she silently agrees, turning and walking away.
With her in check, I refocus on West, easing up on the remote. West’s body goes stiff, then limp. Brock abruptly pushes up on his hands again, blood trickling from his lips. “I was trying to protect our mission,” he hisses.
I arch a brow. “So, you did give Lucian those bullets?”
“They wanted proof that I could be trusted. I knew we’d seize the bullets back when we overthrow Zodius Nation.”
“So, you did betray me,” I say, hitting the remote and turning it to high volume. West’s body positively quakes.
I turn it off, and West screams, “No. I was trying to protect you.”
“What else are you not telling me, Lieutenant Colonel? Because when I capture Lucian and tag him with Red Dart, I will make him talk. He will tell me what you have not, and Lord, help you when he does.”
Inhaling sharply, West jumps to his feet and stands there naked and stiff at attention—prepared for pain. “Right before you called me to that bridge, sir, your daughter left her apartment with Creed of her own free will. Lucian believes she’s helping Creed try to find the Red Dart formula to destroy it, and Lucian’s plan was to use me as the middleman. Creed would convince Addie to find Red Dart, but I’d give her reasons to distrust him. When the time was right, I’d step in and save her from heartache, and she’d give me the information on Red Dart.”
Everything in my mind goes red. I hit the remote, and West falls to the ground like a stone block off a high-rise. Lucian will pay in pain for his plan to manipulate Addie. And Brock will live in pain for allowing this to happen.
I hate Creed—hate him for taking my little girl from me and destroying her trust. For holding that knife at my throat and making me beg for my life. But then, an idea forms.
A good general knows how to turn an enemy’s action to benefit. Creed is still a direct connection to Taylor Industries. He is still one of the most powerful GTECHs in existence. And he knows both Caleb and Julian well. With the influence of both Red Dart and my daughter, he’s the perfect commander of my army—on a leash, that is. I’ll capture Creed, break him, and then build him back up.
Ultimately, I’ll own him.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Addie
We have hot, wild, frantic sex that ends with us on our backs, panting, and him looking at me as he says. “No, Addie.”
“You know me going back and dealing with my father is the right move, Creed. You’re just being protective.”
“I won’t apologize for that.”
“I’m not asking you to apologize.” I reach up and touch his face. “I’m asking you to let me be as brave as you and try to make a difference.”