Thorne sat in the same conference room. The room where he'd received nothing but bad news: learning he'd have to fight in the cage, accepting Drake's help, watching Valeria's betrayal roll out on the screen.
And now this. His mother's self-imposed absence.
Tatiana Gable sat across from him, her eyes taking him in with a small, sad smile.
He was sure it was his demeanor that kept her glued to her seat.
Thorne didn't know whether to hug his mother or remain cold and aloof. For twenty years, she'd never contacted him. H778...his mother had been his handler for the last five years. Why didn't she reach out, give him a sign?
He remained focused and keep his expression impassive. He didn't come after Jeannie had fallen into a deep and sated sleep to hear more lies. He was after the truth. And if his mother wanted forgiveness, she'd better have a good story to go with his giving it.
"Why did you give Jeannie the key? Why not tell us what you wanted at the party?" He hoped for her sake, Tatiana wasn't planning on roping Jeannie into a mission.
That would only happen over his dead body.
"Don't you want to know why I've been absent from you for so long?"
He shrugged. He wanted to know, desperately, but Jeannie was more important. "Tell me, H778. I want to know...now."
At the use of her agency name, her face crumbled in on itself. After a moment, she smoothed it out to become expressionless. "I gave Jeannie the key, knowing you would know what it means."
"I've used one ever since I completed my training here. In fact, I used it to come into the building." He took the card key and shoved it across the table. "I will not work for this agency again."
"The Source is not asking you to. I'm asking you to complete one last mission. I'm asking you to help me vanquish the man that killed your father, the man that kept me a prisoner, before and after you were born. I'm asking you to help rescue your sister."
Thorne's limbs grew weak and his heart pounded in his chest. "Sister? What do you mean? I have a sister?"
Tatiana cleared her throat. "It started that night. That Christmas Eve when I was taken from you. Do you remember?"
Thorne waved an impatient hand. "Yes, Yes, I remember." All too well. He didn't talk to anyone for weeks afterward. Not until he entered the boys home and realized his mother would never come get him.
"Demetri and his thugs, Anatoly and Svetlana had found us. They looked all over for you." She gave him a beaming smile. "You'd hidden yourself well Thorne, just like I had taught you." Pride carried in her voice as she fondly looked at her son.
He nodded, softening his face. While he stayed hidden in the "secret place" he'd shivered as the thunder boomed and lightning flashed. Following his mother's orders had saved him from a life under Demetri's rule.
In his mind, he heard Jeannie's voice saying, "Open your heart Thorne. Your mother has saved you from a life under Demetri's rule."
Momma Diana was nothing compared to the hell he could have faced. With his mother's next words, he was sure.
"They isolated me in Demetri's home. Hoping to break me. I didn't speak a word. After a year, when the furor over my disappearance died down, they smuggled me to Romania. There I lived for five years under lock and key, undergoing procedure after procedure until I became pregnant."
Thorne's eyes widened. He thought Tatiana used the ruse of a supposed sister to get him to come to The Source. He didn't expect her story to be true.
"Demetri had tried IVF with his own issue, then reluctantly, that of your late father's he still had frozen. It took only one try before I became pregnant. Your sister, Yana, named after your father's mother was born. I had her for a week before she was taken from me."
Tatiana took a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at her eyes. She stood as Thorne came to her arms outstretched. He hugged her as if he was trying to take her sorrow for his unknown sister into himself.
"I'll help. I'll help rescue my sister and we'll put an end to Demetri once and for all."
"Jeannie? Jeannie, wake up, sugar."
At first she smiled, then she frowned. It was still nighttime, wasn't it? She looked at her alarm clock. The blue digits indicated it was 04:47 AM. She reached out and turned on the light.
She took her husband in with bleary eyes. Thorne didn't have on his jogging clothes. The black clothes he had on was the same gear he had worn when Demetri captured her.
Dread filled her heart. She knew the key had meant something. She had intended to ask Thorne what exactly, but when their guests had left, he had distracted her... for a long, long time.
"I need to leave for a few days, Jeannie. I have to...help someone."
Jeannie gave Thorne a measured look while she studied the strain around his eyes and the tightness of his unusual lips. "Whatever it is, Thorne. I'm coming with you." She jumped up and got dressed.
Thorne had to move quickly to avoid Jeannie running him over in her haste. Jeannie's strength and quickness always marveled him. She was so soft and giving, he often forgot just how strong she was.
What will the baby be like?
Strong and Intelligent? Or...
Thorne pushed the unthinkable away. Given both he and Jeannie were engineered, he had to face the fact that the baby might not survive. He tried not to dwell on it much, but thought often came to him as he lay awake, worrying until dawn.
He wanted to give the baby a fighting chance. Jeannie needed to stay at home.
"You're not going, Jeannie." Within two strides he was on her, plucking a black bra from her hand. It was one of his favorites. He liked how the red lace trim sat tantalizing against her beautiful mahogany skin. If time wasn't of the essence he'd let her put it on.
Ugh!
What was he thinking? He had to go. The plane taking him, his mother, and Drake to the mission would leave at 5:30 sharp. If he didn't leave in the next few minutes, he wouldn't make it.
"Thorneâ"
"No, Jeannie. You can't go. I need you here. Safe. I can't go into detail now, but I'll tell you everything when I get back."
"You promise. You...you promise to come back?"
Thorne was glad of the low lighting. The soft glow of the lamp helped to hide his worry.
"I promise." His eyes moved from her face to her rounded stomach where he placed his hand. "I promise you."
Demetri didn't like the sun. It burned his fair skin. He wore white and wearing a wide straw hat. He blended in with the other tourist on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, just as he intended.
The girl, his target, worked the bar at an upscale hotel, much too expensive for Demetri to stay at. She was tall, like her father had been. She also had the features of her brother and mother. The same green eyes, the same unusual lips.
When he got her to Romania, he would test her DNA against the samples he had taken from Aleksei and Tatiana. Looks alone proved she was their daughter, but he wanted to be sure.
He took a seat at the bar. Signaling her to come over when she finished with her customer. Demetri took off his hat, using it to fan his face. It did little to help cool him down. The weather was balmy, and the air tinged with salt. A cool drink would go down well.
The girl came up to him. They were already familiar. He had been in the bar three times this week. During the month he'd been on the island, he'd slowly insinuated himself into her daily routine. He figured tonight would be a great time for him to make his move.
After midnight, when she left work, Demetri planned to walk her to her apartment. For $500 dollars he had arranged to be "robbed" in front of the girl. When she stooped down to help him from the ground, two men would grab her and shove her into a waiting van. Then they would drive to the harbor where he and the girl would take a boat to another island, catch a cargo ship to Europe, and then he would make his way to Romania.
Romaniaâwhere his lab equipment waited for them.
He'd get his child. One way or another.
"What will it be, Darren?" asked the girl. She expertly twirled a cocktail napkin then placed it on the bar.
"The same as always, my dear," said Darren/Demetri, taking out his wallet.
"Don't worry, Darren. First drink is always on me."
"My dear," said Demetri, purposefully softening his ice-blue eyes. "You are all heart."
Darren had gallantly offered to walk her home. He really was such a sweet old man. With his lean frame, she doubted he could protect her if anyone accosted them, but she wasn't worried. The walk to her apartment wasn't far, and she usually passed a patrol car at least once during her commute home.
She pushed any doubt into the back of her mind to concentrate on her conversation with Darren. They chatted away until they turned the corner and three figures emerged from the shadows.
One grabbed her, clamping a hand over her mouth before she could scream. The other, a large man grabbed Demetri in a chokehold, squeezing his neck until he passed out. The slender one took out two syringes from a backpack. The girl attempted to scream and kick at her captor, but to no avail, and stabbed each of the victims in the arm.
Demetri woke to the sound of drilling. No not drilling, whirring. Was he in a helicopter? He opened his eyes. Yes, yes, he was. The door was open, and the wind was ruffling his hair. A strong smell of tangy salt, the ocean, assaulted his nostrils.
"Good, you're awake." Thorne hauled him to his feet. "It's about time I got to take out the trash." Before Demetri could protest, before he could beg for his life, Thorne pushed him from the doorway. He screamed, the wind whipping it from his mouth before it reached his ears. As the flat blue ocean approached, Demetri screamed once more. It cut off as his body broke apart in the waves.
The girl thought she would be next. She trembled in the bonds tying her hands and feet, tears running down her face. "What did I do? What did Darren do? I just met him. I know nothing. Please don't hurt me."
The big man sat down across from her while another of her kidnappers sat next to her. They took off the thin masks covering their faces. Blond hair like her own and green eyes, the same shape and color, as hers focused on her.
The girl blinked. Her mouth opened and closed. The two kidnappers that stared at her were so familiar. Looking at them was like looking in a mirror.
What is going on?