Page 40 of In Another Lifetime

“None of us had abilities, either,” Kale offered. “I grew out of my Superman fantasies when I was seven, because it was very clear I couldn’t fly. You don’t remember that Vale, but I jumped off the roof, just to prove I could—you know like pushing someone into the deep end to make them swim? I didn’t fly. I broke my arm. Then in the Marines—which SEALs are not part of, by the way—I learned I could be a superhero.”

“Oorah,” Biter said in an undertone.

“Oorah,” Kale and Prick echoed.

“So…I could have this gene?” I asked.

“You do. You’re my twin. That’s why we only need to check Day—if he wants.”

“Is this part of DARPA?” Day asked, asking about the government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

“No. They wish. I wasn’t kidding about how deep state this is. The X-24 program’s agency isn’t on any of the books, but they’ve got multiple research facilities running, in multiple countries. All with one objective: super soldiers.”

I looked over at my man who’d been listening intently to my brother, his hand clamped around mine.

“And you’re telling me why…?” he asked.

“You’re with my sister, and you can be an asset. You’d still be taking down bad guys. You’d just be fighting with a new team.”

“And if I do, and if I then decide to have this serum—which I’m assuming is the pathway—what should I expect? That?” Day gesture over his shoulder to indicate the fight.

Kale steepled his fingers and regarded us. “The treatment is multiple sessions over the course of months. It’s not like getting stuck in some Captain America machine and coming out…different a few minutes later. And I can’t tell you what abilities you’d have. Super speed, super strength. You’d have those. The rest… Everyone is different.”

“That’s if you even have the gene,” Biter said, from where he leaned against the wall beside the door.

“True,” my brother conceded. He raised a brow at Day. “So we let Prick take the samples? Then we can get down business. Even if we forget X-24 for now, we need to discuss your ex-partner.”

Dayton held out his arm, looking at Prick. “Go for it.”

“You don’t have to,” I said.

“I do. I’ll do anything to protect you. From anything and from anyone. If I could do that, what we saw out there, no one will hurt you.”

My heart melted, and I loved him even more.

“For what it’s worth,” Kale said while Prick quickly drew several vials of blood and swabbed Day’s cheek. “I think you picked a good one, sis.”

“I did. He’s the best.”

Kale slapped a hand over his heart. “I’m wounded.”

I rolled my eyes. “I highly doubt that. You’re invincible, right?”

“Not quite.”

“So, what about Dutch?” Day asked all business as he cut across our teasing. His hand wrapped mine again, fingers twining through mine. “What did you find out?”

“He’s a high-level soldier for a drug cartel out of Brazil.”

“The Marreta…” Dayton growled. “We were investigating them a few years ago before they went to ground. A joint operation with the DEA and to a lesser degree the Justice Department. My department suspects they’re back but that they’ve turned to meth and fentanyl. DEA thinks it’s a local problem, though.”

“It’s not,” Biter supplied. “And they know it. We’ve been investigating the Marreta, too.” His brow raised. “It’s so funny how your investigation and ours intersect, huh?”

“Biter…” Kale warned.

“Whatever, boss,” Biter replied, uncowed by the reprimand in Kale’s tone.

“Dutch made a fatal mistake. He threatened my sister. The Ghosts have other priority missions, but when one of our own is targeted, our sole mission is threat elimination,” my brother continued.

---