Winters chuckled. “Oh, it’s Dr. Winters now, is it?”
“How did you do it?”
“Do what?” Winters asked as he went about arranging surgical tools on the silver medical tray he must have placed on the cart beside Dex when he’d passed out. There were four guards with tranq rifles now posted around the room and four medical staff. Seeing as how Dex couldn’t see behind him, there was no telling how far ba
ck the room stretched or who else was there. Since he couldn’t see any kind of door, he had to assume it was behind him.
“How did you spend day after day, month after month, year after year acting like you gave a shit? Consoling us, offering advice, spending hours talking, laughing, being our friend.”
“I’m very good at what I do. It wasn’t so much pretending as playing a role, one I used to my advantage to gather intel. Other than Themis, who else at the THIRDS could gather as much sensitive information as I could? No covert ops needed, no sneaking about or trickery. All that was required on my part was patience, and the information would come to me. Fortunately patience is something I possess in spades.”
“You really think you’re going to walk away from this? TIN will find the mole.”
Winters’s laugh sent an icy chill through Dex. “Oh, sweet, naïve Dexter.” His grin curdled Dex’s blood, but not as much as the words he whispered when he leaned in. “I am the mole.”
Dex’s heart almost stopped, and he stared down at Winters. “You… you’re TIN?”
Winters returned to add more tools to the tray, including a bone saw. Dex swallowed hard, pretending he hadn’t seen it.
The smile dropped from Winters’s face. “When I was infected by the virus, I thought I was going to die, and after I was given the vaccine, when I shifted, I believed I had been cursed. I was treated like a rabid animal. Shunned by my family, friends, and peers. It was a dark, painful time in my life. Then I was approached by the THIRDS, and the thought of working with others like me, in a healing capacity, was enough to give me purpose. That’s where I met General Moros. We became very good friends, and I realized I wasn’t alone. He taught me I shouldn’t be ashamed of what I was, that I wasn’t cursed but blessed. That we had evolved past Humans, were better in every way, and why should we allow ourselves to be branded and spit on by a species weaker than us?”
Winters turned his back, and Dex cast Sloane a glance, thankful to find Sloane had his head turned in his direction, watching him. Discreetly, Dex lifted his gaze to his hand and stretched out his clawed finger. He moved his index finger before tucking it back against the restraint. When he lowered his gaze back to Sloane, Sloane’s eyes were closed, and he winced in a way that was all too familiar to Dex.
That’s it, baby. You can do it. Stay with me.
Dex turned his attention back to Winters just as the man returned to the tray. What the hell did Winters plan on doing? Actually, he didn’t want to know. “So, if you’re TIN, why didn’t Sparks know?”
Winters moved the tray closer to Dex and lined up several syringes filled with foggy liquids. One of his cronies wheeled over a gurney with numerous straps hanging off the sides. “What happened to the boring monologue and charades?”
Dex glared at Winters, and Winters laughed.
“Now who’s being a spoilsport? Sparks doesn’t know I’m TIN because my clearance level is higher than hers.”
Fuck. “How much higher?”
Winters met Dex’s gaze. “There are five high-ranking officials with national security clearance higher than even that of the POTUS. They run TIN. I’m one of them.”
No wonder Sparks didn’t know.
“No one knows my identity as Dr. Winters other than my four colleagues, and none of them know I’m the Chairman. After Moros and I formed the Makhai, I was made an offer by TIN. I accepted immediately. Moros and I needed to know what we were up against, and it was worse than we thought. TIN didn’t want to put Therians in power. They wanted to ensure equality between Humans and Therians. They wanted to make certain Therians didn’t abuse their power. The absolute gall.
“We couldn’t have that, so I spent years moving up the ranks, keeping the Makhai informed and one step ahead of TIN. My hope was that one day the Makhai would be strong enough to overpower TIN, and TIN operatives could be convinced to join our fight.” Winters shook his head. “But soon it became apparent the disease within TIN had spread far and wide, taking hold of exceptionally talented Therians. Certain operatives had to be taught a lesson. When Sonya and her team got too close, we made an example out of them.”
“You were behind the ambush that killed Tucker?”
Winters smiled. “Yes. Wolf—Fang at the time—was too much of a threat, too good an operative. I needed to act quickly. Operatives can’t afford to form attachments, or someone will try to exploit it. I knew what Tucker meant to him. Wolf made it so simple. I had hoped Sonya would meet her demise along with Tucker, but unfortunately Wolf intervened. A minor setback. Sonya made the same mistake as Wolf. She truly believed we would never find out about her little secret family. I put an end to that quite quickly. She arrived in time to watch her home explode with her husband and child inside. It was a shame about the child. I do dislike extinguishing Therian life, but the Human mate had to go.”
Oh God. A husband. That’s what Winters had meant when he said history repeating itself. Dex thought he was going to be sick. The only thing keeping his dinner in his stomach was the fact that Sparks’s daughter was safe, thanks to Wolf. As long as the Makhai believed she’d died in that explosion, she’d be safe. How could Winters justify what he’d done? How many had he killed to pave the way for the Makhai?
“You can only hide the truth from them for so long,” Dex said, feeling the leather cuff tear. If his claws could pierce aluminum, they could sure as shit cut through leather.
Winters tapped at the syringe before turning to Dex with a grin. “By the time my colleagues discover the truth, it’ll be too late. Are you done trying to buy yourself more time? I’m a little disappointed in you, Dexter. Surely you don’t think I’m that much of an amateur. We have all the time in the world to chat. By the time your friends discover where you are, they’ll arrive to find nothing but an empty lot. I never spend longer than I have to in one place, so my men are making arrangements to move us as we speak. Now this will hurt quite a bit. It’s a little concoction that will paralyze you but keep you awake while I slice into you.” He called for a couple of his men and motioned to Sloane. “It’s time.”
The lion Therian who’d been shocking Sloane turned the setting up on the machine. What did it take to be that coldhearted? Did the Makhai pay that well?
Dex glared at the lion Therian. “You’re an asshole.”
The guy arched an eyebrow at him before turning his attention to Sloane, who started murmuring something.