Page 47 of Hacker Unknown

When Antonio stepped to the side, I hurried behind Sawyer as he jogged to the car. Neither of us spoke as he weaved through traffic. A nurse was at the front waiting for Sawyer when we walked in. “It’s bad. The EpiPen worked to delay it, but his organs are shutting down. The doc wants to know your decision.”

Sawyer turned to me. “You have to decide. We have one option to save him. If you want, we can use you, but I also know he was adamant about not doing the treatment.”

He would hate me, but I wasn’t going to let him die. “Use me. Where do you need me?”

“This way.” He guided me toward a long hall with a locked metal door at the end. He placed his hand on a small screen, and it slid open. “I’m going to need at least a pint of your blood.”

I slid into the chair and rested my arm on the white armrest. The room was setup like the one my mom would use to draw my blood as a kid. One difference was the equipment was moremotorized than what mom had, but test tubes lining the shelves on the wall were identical to mom’s lab. Three medical beds were lined up on the far wall and next to each one was a tray with stainless steel medical instruments. Sawyer washed his hands and put on a pair of gloves. “You’re drawing the blood?”

“Yes, I did spend a lot of time in the lab with Mom. It was the only place I could see her since Dad didn’t want anyone drawing connections to us. He worried it would put me in danger. Flex your hand.”

I pumped my fist, and Sawyer slid the needle into my arm, letting my blood flow through the tube.

“Is she still alive?”

His brows furrowed. “I already told you she was. That nurse was the leak—she worked for the government and was after Mom. So, I had to get Mom out of the country.”

Sawyer reached behind the chair I was in and reclined it a little.

“Did you send her to the UK?”

“Why would you think I sent her there?”

“Because you are a member of the Royal Bones Society.”

“Antonio spoke to Bryson.” Sawyer rubbed a hand over his face. “What else did he tell you?”

“That this company was originally funded by that society. Are Mom and your dad part of it?”

His eyes softened. “He’s your dad as well.”

But he wasn’t. He was a sperm donor who wanted nothing to do with me.

“You didn’t answer my questions.”

“This is information you shouldn’t know, but Bryson and his brothers are high up in the society, and they started the leak. For a long time, the society decided who people ended up with relationship wise. Even though Dad loved Mom, they never approved of their union. Dad’s current marriage is based on the old rules.”

Sawyer reached over, opened the fridge door near the medical chair, pulled out a juice box, and pushed the straw into the hole before handing it to me. The sweet flavor washed over my tongue.

“Then why did you send her there if she is not part of the society?”

“Mom has always worked on cutting-edge research. Even though the Society didn’t want her married to Dad, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t follow her. So, when she got into trouble all those years ago, they helped her disappear if she continued her research for their facility. Her latest project had a breakthrough, which that nurse leaked. She had also took a picture of Mom. The CIA has been after mom’s research for years. In the wrong hands, it will link back to?—”

“You,” I finished for him. “Which was why Devon willed you all the research. Did he know about all of this?”

“Everything but the society, and they will do anything to protect Mom.”

“I still don’t get why she targeted Paolo.”

“I’m not sure, but we will figure it out. You’re almost done. I will run it through the process and have the doctor give Paolo the treatment. It should take about an hour for him to feel better.”

“It used to take longer than that and used a lot more blood.”

“Years of research and the process changed.”

He pulled the needle from my arm and wrapped a pink bandage around the wound. “Rest here while I work on the treatment.”

On the counter was a pad of paper. I grabbed it off the counter and scribbled down Paolo’s name to start. There was no way he would understand her decision. A tear dropped on the page as I wrote the first line. I poured my soul into the letter, hoping he wouldn’t hate me.

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