Cross Breed (Breeds 23)

“What is he talking about?” The grief she could sense pouring from Dog had her stomach clenching in dread.

“While the Breed rescues were deemed complete, we knew it wasn’t over.” Dog sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck as he moved to the bar and accepted the drink Dane poured for him. “Our first indication that there was a problem was when a young man showed up at Sanctuary about ten years ago. He said he’d learned a Breed child had been killed to provide the heart that he’d been given as a transplant when he was younger. As he began to mature, and the heart matured, his parents were killed in an effort to get to him and destroy him before anyone learned of the changes he was going through from that transplant.”

“He died of his injuries a few days later.” Dane grimaced. “Fucking brave as hell he was, but t

he wounds were too severe to save him.”

Children. A Breed child had been killed to provide a human child with a heart?

“What changes?” The horror creeping through her was destructive. The monsters that were still operating as men of science were going beyond the evil they’d originally begun with.

“Breed changes.” Dog finished his drink before pacing to the other side of the room. “He was beginning to show anomalies at the DNA level. It’s taken me years to find the right people in the right place or to get the right people in place and locate the labs holding the Breeds being used for the transplants. Amazing what a person will agree to in an effort to live. That kid’s parents knew a Breed child would die to supply that heart and they allowed it. Paid a small fortune for it.”

Cassie pressed one hand to her stomach, sick inside at the thought of the horrors Breed children had faced. What had happened to science that some of the world’s most intelligent minds were involved in this?

“We located the final lab several months ago, but access and the ability to infiltrate took a while. We finally managed to identify several scientists and techs willing to help us. We were preparing a plan when Kenzi was taken, just after Rhyzan stated his intent to Jonas to push the chance of a mating to you.”

And a child had been lost because Rhyzan had decided to force something that he would have sensed wasn’t a true mating. A compatibility showed up on many tests, but so far, the tests were highly unreliable when it came to an actual Heat rising between the Breeds tested.

“You’ll have your teams back within twenty-four hours,” Dane promised. “The children are being taken to the Leo’s estate; the lab techs who aided in their rescues are with them. Jonas is having the scientists who cooperated with us transferred to Sanctuary. Those who didn’t will be dealt with.”

Jonas was amazingly practical. If he couldn’t use the scientists in one way, he’d do so in another. He rarely executed the scientists if it was possible to apply their abilities to the survival of the Breed community as a whole.

“What do we have in terms of information?” Dog’s voice was a terrible rasp of fury.

And Dane’s smile was savage. “Top-level scientists, Dog. The cream of the Council crop. My teams are moving into place to grab as many as possible who escaped, kill those we can’t acquire. With any luck, we’re getting closer to the bastards funding this. Jonas’s enforcers are joining my teams within the hour to begin downloading information and gathering evidence within the labs. Everything they had. They didn’t have time to destroy anything. Their soldiers followed the escapes, deserted the labs. My teams moved in and secured them, thinking there was no way they could track the others. We were wrong.”

The Genetics Council. The twelve-member Council hadn’t been identified; even pinning down suspects had proven impossible in the eighteen years since the Breeds had announced themselves to the world.

In all the years since the world had learned of the Breeds, every time a new lab had been discovered, records and information storage had been damaged before the Breed enforcers could get to it. They’d never managed to acquire a facility with all records and information storage undamaged.

“Rhyzan’s been apprised of all this?” Dog asked; then at Dane’s nod Cassie watched Dog’s eyes narrow warningly. “And he’s still determined to enforce his petition? Even with the knowledge that I’m no rogue, but a member of the Bureau instead?”

“So it would seem. Hence Dash Sinclair’s rage.” Evidently, that made no sense to Dane any more than it made any sense to her or to Dog. “Rhyzan has demanded a full Cabinet meeting at the Window Rock Bureau for tomorrow afternoon. Jonas is having the required Cabinet members flown in tonight.” He turned to Cassie. “Determined chap, isn’t he?”

“So it would seem.” Rising to her feet, Cassie rubbed at her arms, frowning in confusion as she left Dog and Dane to continue discussing the mission that had played out as Dog fought to hold his place in her life. The very fact that Rhyzan was still alive amazed her.

Dog wasn’t known for his patience in the face of anyone attempting to steal so much as a cigar. The fact that he hadn’t killed the assistant federal director himself amazed her.

There had to be a way to neutralize him short of killing him, because hiding didn’t set well with her.

Sitting back in her chair as she tapped the fingers of one hand on the upholstered arm, she narrowed her eyes on the old-fashioned clock hanging on the wall across the room.

There was too much going on right now to stay hidden like this, not just for Dog but for herself as well. And it wasn’t as if Rhyzan’s stand would hold with the knowledge of Dog’s position. Besides, it wasn’t the first time compatibility had shown between siblings to a single mate. It had occurred several years ago—two Bengal brothers, but only one had been the mate …

She stilled, frowning at that thought, information suddenly connecting, forming the answer she hadn’t been able to come up with since learning of the compatibility tests.

She sat up, the answers pouring into her mind as she quickly went through each angle, each objection Rhyzan could make, each counterobjection. And still, there was only a single conclusion to draw.

“Cassie?” Dane’s voice filtered through her thoughts.

“We need to go back—”

“Like hell,” Dog grunted.

“If we stay hidden I won’t be able to argue clarification on the Reconsideration and I won’t be able to argue for another mate if this happens again. They’ll always call into argument the fact that I hid myself rather than following the articles of Breed Mating Law.” That she wouldn’t allow.

“Fuck Breed Law,” Dog growled. “Cassie, that assistant director will die if he attempts to take you out of my sight.”