Page 44 of Blade's Battle
“That’s not the same thing as creating them or unleashing them as part of biological warfare. A vector delivers foreign DNA into a cell. Viruses are effective vectors in some cases, but they’re used on one person at a time, in a controlled manner, to affect a particular outcome in a gene. That’s it.”
“Then why does Drake think you work for the WSSO? Ravirez said you’re one of them. He probably has Liam’s entire pack convinced of it by now.”
“I never told you why the WSSO tried to kill me. A week after I turned down their offer, they broke into my lab and started stealing everything. And I do mean everything. My notes, my samples, even my damn equipment. I ran them off with cleaning solvents, throwing the chemicals in their faces, but they got away with my computer. All the information they needed.”
He stepped up to her and lightly traced the scar under her ribs. His touch, the way his eyes devoured her as if she were the center of his world, felt wonderful. She deserved none of it.
“You could have been killed,” he said with a growl that sent a shiver through her.
He cared. He really cared about what happened to her.
She tried to ignore the growing tension in his body—and her own. God, the way he was angry on her behalf was downright sexy, but he needed to understand what was at stake.
“This was my work, Blade. I couldn’t let them take it. It was too vital. I considered going to the police, but the WSSO had its hands in too many government agencies, including law enforcement. Still does, I’m guessing.
“I grabbed what was left of my files, my specimens, everything that couldn’t be replaced, and ran. Fortunately, I made daily backups to a thumb drive which I kept on my keychain, so I had a copy of everything that was on my computer.
“As for why everyone now thinks I was part of the WSSO team that created the virus, that’s simple. Every presentation the WSSO had with their investors or papers they published on the work their scientists were doing. . .” She tried to hold the tears in. After everything she’d been through with Kurt, this part still hurt. Years of hard work to establish herself, to do good, and still, she felt so powerless. “They published my name, listing me as part of their team. They even deposited money into my bank account.”
“What the hell for? To blame you if the government objected to their activities?”
She shook her head. “They were determined to ruin my name so no one else would hire me. They thought that would leave me no choice but to go running to them for work.”
“That explains why Drake thinks you’re part of the WSSO.” Blade ran his hands through his hair, messing it up. She wanted to run her hands through his hair to feel the soft texture.
“What happened next?”
“I teamed up with an activist. Katy. It’s everything I didafterKurt died that got the WSSO pissed off enough at me that they tried to kill me.”
“You take too many risks, Angel.”
“Only when I’m mad.”
“Then I’ll have to keep you from getting mad.” His mouth captured hers in a not-so-innocent and very determined kiss.
How was she going to give him up? His kisses, his touches were beyond divine. Even now as his tongue parried with hers, her body molded to him as if she were a perfect fit.
She bet they would be. Thoughts of him sinking into her flesh, of finding a slow, sensual rhythm together went right to her pussy. Already, she could feel the wetness there.
Another languid swipe of his tongue along her lip drew a moan from her. “We can’t—”
“It’s not easy resisting you,” he said, with the slightest of growls as he pulled away. “What exactly was this research you were doing that the WSSO wanted so badly?”
“I identified the genes that control a shifter’s ability to shift from human to wolf. When the researchers at the WSSO learned about my work, they thought they could keep shifters from accessing their wolves by destroying the CLSB1 and CLSB2 genes. That’s why they created the virus.”
There, she’d told him the ugly truth of how her research had been used as the basis of genocide. For all the good intentions she’d had in the hope of finding a way to repair the damaged genes of weak shifters such as Kurt, it didn’t matter in the end. She hadn’t helped Kurt or anyone else. Instead, she’ had inadvertently provided the missing piece a bunch of madmen needed to carry out their twisted mission.
Blade’s expression darkened. His respect for her was dwindling as the information sank in. She felt as if the WSSO had thrust a knife into her soul, thrusting so deep she would never be able to remove it. Tears clouded her eyes and dampened her cheeks.
Two fingers on her chin tilted her head up, coaxing her to face Blade. With the pads of his thumbs, he wiped her tears away. “They used you.”
His jaw tightened in silent fury at the WSSO, not her, as Blade pulled her into a deep hug. She sank into his arms. All the frustration, the fear of rejection, and now the freedom of having told him finally sank in.
“Thank you,” she whispered against his chest as his hand sifted through her hair.
“For what?”
“For believing me.”
