Page 92 of Savage Mates
“What I also mentioned is that the remnants of his charred body were never found. If he wasn’t turned to ash, that means you and Dr. Zimmerman’s firms were working directly with him and his company all along.” When he didn’t say a word, I turned towardhim. Now I was angry. “Zimmerman’s company has been. Let me guess. He was an investor in Blackwell Industries.”
“Blackwell had several. This project has been very important to so many people, Lauren. Imagine the discoveries we’ve made, the advances in science. Everything from repairing damaged DNA to the cure for diseases. Even the ability to withstand poisons. It’s a miracle. The reports simply didn’t do our work justice.”
“It’s blasphemy if you’ve also created mutant beings.”
“What do you mean?”
I folded my arms, laughing sardonically. “Don’t try and fool me. I’ve seen the mutant lions being kept on this island. While the beautiful lioness we have suffering inside the medical facility appears normal on the outside, I can only guess how twisted her organs are, and do you want to know how I know this?”
He appeared smug and I fisted my hand, ready to punch him. That was all he deserved.
“Because I ran the DNA on every sample I had. Guess what I found?”
I’ll be damned if his eyes didn’t light up as if I’d given him a Christmas present. “We knew your tenaciousness would add so much to the team.”
“If you could control me. Right? Isn’t that one reason you brought soldiers with you? To make certain I remained a good little scientist? You baited me by sending me the information these lions existed. You knew from my background that I wouldn’t let it go.”
“And we were right.”
I couldn’t believe this. How stupid I’d been.
The lifeforms were angry. I felt it in my bones. This time when they threw themselves at the glass, the surface bounced. We were both shocked. Exhaling, I glanced over my shoulder.
A face peered back at me.
The blip was short, but I could see and feel it.
“They like you. They respond to you, which is also what we hoped. Your reputation doesn’t do you justice, Lauren. You aren’t just a lion whisperer. You can do that with every beast.” There was utter disdain in his voice and the lifeforms felt it.
And they hated him.
Just like I did.
I’d been brought here under false pretenses. “The lions you experimented on two years before refused to do what you wanted them to. Right? They wanted no part of your horrific tests.” I laughed when he didn’t answer immediately. “Along comes the lion whisperer. You gave me what I wanted by tossing away your earlier experiments, dropping them on this deserted island and luring me here by planting the initial photographs of the lions. You knew I’d go to great lengths to learn if the pictures were real and if so, exactly what I’d do. My God. I played right into your hands.”
“You can’t tell me that you weren’t eager. Don’t dare try and act as if you aren’t interested in the work we’ve been doing. I can see it in your eyes, Dr. Radcliff. You want nothing more than to work with these lifeforms and create new species, better creatures. You have no idea what we’ve been able to accomplish. It’s incredible.”
“Yet not perfected, which is why we’re all here. You brought new lifeforms to see if they could repair the mutant lions. Or maybe you simply wanted to experiment in different ways, encouraging these poor souls to create lifeforms that don’t exist in nature. Vampires come to mind.”
He smiled and I was nauseous. “As I said, you’ll make an excellent team member. Even if you’ll need to be strictly controlled.”
“You can’t control me. You won’t get away with this. The entire world needs to know you’re attempting to play God.”
Dr. Abbott half laughed and there was something crazy about the look in his eyes. As if he’d been taken over by the very lifeforms he’d been trying to control.
“We’re not attempting, Dr. Radcliff. We’re achieving. Now, unfortunately, plans have changed, but we will regroup.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I glanced around the room, furious that I’d left the hammer in the corridor. And where the hell was Dr. Douglas? Was he complicit in this as well?
“With the approaching storm, we’ll need to move our work elsewhere. Unfortunately, it’s been decided we can’t take every lion with us. However…” He walked closer, prompting me to take a giant step backwards.
The lifeforms went nuts, the colors now vivid reds and purples, shifting and ebbing, slamming against the glass.
I was shocked when he pulled something from his pocket. A fucking remote control. With a single button pressed, a spark of what could only be described at pure white-hot lightning was driven into what was little more than a prison to keepthe lifeforms from escaping. The color instantly faded, barely anything moving or pulsing.
“Stop. You fucking asshole! You’re killing them.” I flung myself toward him, but he held up the remote, issuing a tsking sound.
“If you want them to survive, I suggest you back away, Doctor. I assure you there are more of these creatures locked up in various containers, so they aren’t needed.”
