Conspiracy Game (19 page)

She inhaled and knew immediately there were no vitamins in the syringe. “Back off, Dr. Sparks, I’m not getting a shot of anything.” She was in danger, every sense on full alert. Adrenaline flooded her body, rushing through her veins with certain knowledge.

“Don’t be silly, my dear; this is necessary and it’s just a small stick. You’ve had stitches and far worse than this.”

“Maybe, but I’m leaving now
without
a shot. If I need vitamins, I’ll get them the old-fashioned way—over the counter in pill form.”

Dr. Sparks raised his voice. “Luther, will you come in here, please?”

The door burst open and Luther blocked the only exit. He was big, and Briony knew immediately he was enhanced. Maybe it was his scent, but more likely she simply sensed the enhancement in him the way she had in Jack. Briony inhaled sharply and found herself frowning. There was something about Luther that repelled her.

“Sit still, Briony; we don’t want to make this harder than necessary,” Dr. Sparks said smoothly, still smiling at her.

Luther grinned at her.

The ape and reptile
, she thought a bit hysterically.

Briony held up her hand as if to ward off the doctor, her gaze on Luther, mind racing to figure a way out of the room. “What exactly is that? And don’t tell me vitamins. What’s going on?”

“I can’t have you running out and getting an abortion. I think we’ll just calm you down until you’re more reasonable.” Sparks stepped closer.

“I’m more than reasonable,” Briony said. “I don’t understand.” She lowered her hand as if in surrender, but kept her gaze on the huge man in the doorway.

“That’s a good girl.”

“Incubator you mean,” Luther said with a little smirk. “I even volunteered to be the donor.”

Dr. Sparks glared at Luther. Briony kicked out hard as Sparks turned his attention from her. She wrenched the syringe from the doctor’s hand as he went down, screaming, clutching at his groin.

The smirk fading from his face, Luther rushed her, leaping over the doctor, his arms outstretched to wrap her close. She was grateful for her smaller size—one that allowed her to perform all kinds of aerial tricks, and to slip through small spaces. She used the gurney to kick off of, going up and over the arm reaching for her, and stabbing at Luther with the syringe. She couldn’t push the plunger to release the liquid—liquid she was certain was a knockout drug—but she managed to complete a full somersault in the air and kick out, going feet-first through the window. She protected the baby with one hand and her face with the other, although her feet pushed most of the glass out onto the street.

She landed in a crouch, and was up and running toward the parking lot. Luther was too big to get through the window, but strong enough to smash the frame out. She heard him swear as he hit the pavement.

“Start the car, Jebediah,” she yelled, putting as much urgency and command into her voice as she could.

Fortunately Jebediah, sitting in the driver’s seat, threw his newspaper, started the car, and pushed open the passenger door.

“Go! Go!” She ordered, gesturing with her hands, running at top speed toward the car. She dove into the seat as he pulled away from the curb. Slamming the door, she glanced back to see Luther racing toward a vehicle with two men in it. He had a gun in his fist and fury on his face. “Hurry, Jeb! He’s coming after us. He’s got a gun.”

Jebediah didn’t ask questions, but reacted the way she knew he would, grim-faced, driving like a pro, turning off the main street the minute he could and taking a back route through narrow streets toward the circus grounds.

“What the hell’s going on, Bri?” Jebediah demanded when they were racing down the highway.

“Sparks tried to drug me,” she said. “I don’t know what he wants, but it has something to do with the baby.” She pressed both hands over her stomach.

He glanced at her sharply, shock written on his face. “The
baby
? What baby?”

“I’m pregnant.”

“You can’t be pregnant. You’re never with anyone. Where the hell have I been? And why would Sparks drug you for your baby? Look in the small compartment under my seat and get out the gun and ammo. Hurry, Bri.”

“I don’t know, Jeb, but he asked me if you were with me and I had the feeling you would have been in danger too.” Briony found the gun and hastily slammed the clip in. She handed it to her brother. There was a certain comfort in being swamped with his emotions. There was no doubt Jeb loved and wanted to protect her. “Something isn’t right about my adoption and the story they gave Mom and Dad. I think whoever these people are, they murdered Mom and Dad as well.” She kept her gaze glued to the back window. “Because of me.”

Jebediah’s jaw tightened. “Whoever murdered Mom and Dad is responsible, Bri, certainly not you, and I never want to hear you even imply that again. They loved you every bit as much as they did all of us. There were no regrets adopting you. None whatsoever, not for them and not for us. Damn it, Briony.” He hit the steering wheel with the flat of his palm. “I should have picked up on this. You knew something was wrong. You always knew. I didn’t want to know.” He swore again. “How many with guns back there?”

“I only saw the man Sparks called Luther with a gun, but Sparks probably has one as well. I’ve always detested that snake. He gave me the birth control pills. All my medications came through him, not a pharmacy. How can I get pregnant on birth control pills? Doesn’t that bother anyone but me? Why would a doctor fly in to see me every time I managed to catch a cold?”

“You didn’t get colds, Briony. You’ve never had one in your life; that’s why I was so worried about you being sick now. You don’t get the flu and you didn’t get childhood illnesses. Mom and Dad agreed to allow Whitney’s doctor to have your full health care. That was part of the adoption agreement, and I’ve always insisted because you’re so different and another doctor might not be able to treat you adequately. Sparks knows your history—knows how to treat your special circumstances.” All the while he talked to keep her calm, Jebediah drove through the streets with the precision of a race car driver, the gun at his hip.

“And that’s another thing. Why am I so different? He knows my history all right, a lot more than he ever told us.”

“Both Whitney and Sparks said you have a form of autism, that’s why you can’t connect with people.”

“I connect, Jebediah. I love you and Mom and Dad and the other boys. You know I do. I feel pain when I’m too close. I can tell what you’re thinking, not exactly, but your emotions. Right now you’re afraid and feel guilty and you’re really pissed off because Sparks tried to kidnap me. You think you should have seen the danger a long time ago.”

“Well, I should have.” He spun the wheel and took them onto a dirt road out away from the city. “I’ve got a few connections, Briony. I’ll see what I can dig up on Sparks and Whitney both. Mom and Dad kept all the original papers pertaining to your adoption in the safe in the trailer. We can take a look and see if anything in the papers will help us sort this out. And who the hell got you pregnant? I didn’t know you went out on a date.”

She shrugged, careful to avoid meeting his eyes. “I was curious, thought I couldn’t get pregnant, and slept with a hot guy just to see what it was like.”

“That doesn’t sound like you. Who are you protecting? Tony? Randall? Which one? They have to assume some responsibility.”

Briony burst out laughing. “Do you know how ridiculous that sounds when we have someone trying to drug and maybe kidnap me? The big man called me an incubator.” She closed her eyes briefly. “He said he volunteered to be the donor.”

Jebediah hit the steering wheel with the flat of his hand. “This doesn’t make sense, Briony. What do they want with you?”

“My differences maybe. Jack Norton told me that Whitney is supposed to be dead, that he was murdered last year, but we were still sending updates to him, and Dr. Sparks still came as well. Remember, last year when he told me it was so important to work harder on my water skills? And right after Mom and Dad were murdered, they ordered me to go to Colombia for something stupid. I refused. It was the first time I ever refused them anything, but I couldn’t function after finding the bodies.”

Jebediah glanced at her. “I was afraid for you. You were nearly comatose. Of course I told them no. And later, when we did the water training, you nearly drowned staying under water so long. I was a wreck. Why the hell didn’t I question any of this? What was wrong with me?”

“Mom and Dad allowed the training; you wouldn’t ever question their judgment. A better question would be why was my training so important to them? They want me for something, Jebediah.” Her hand massaged her stomach. “Or my baby.”

Her brother shot her a sharp glare. “And what would Jack Norton know about Whitney? You aren’t corresponding with him or seeing him, are you?”

“I don’t have a clue where he is and haven’t seen him since he left Kinshasa. We talked a lot, that’s all.”

“He’s not a man you want to be around, Briony,” Jebediah cautioned.

“I thought he was your friend.”

“Men like Jack Norton don’t have friends. We know one another. I respect him, but he’s dangerous and I don’t want him anywhere near you.”

“I’ve never understood why you use that word whenever his name comes up. Does it mean he suddenly erupts in rabid rages and shoots people? I’m already pregnant; it’s not like he’s going to want to have mind-blowing sex with me.”

Jebediah winced. “The last thing any brother ever wants to hear is that his sister is having mind-blowing sex. Geez, Bri.” He pulled through the gates of the circus “town” and drove straight to their trailer. He signaled her to stay put and got out, leaving the car running as he surveyed the area around them. “Slide into the driver’s seat and if I don’t come out of the house in one minute, take off. Get away from here, and call this number.” He scribbled a telephone number to the United States on a torn napkin. “Don’t trust anyone else.”

Briony nodded and sat behind the wheel, anxiety rushing over her. For once Jebediah believed her, instead of insisting she was paranoid—and that was just plain frightening. She was relieved when he stuck his head out the door of the trailer and gestured for her to come inside. The moment she was in the house, Jebediah slammed the door closed and ordered Tyrel to keep watch outside.

“They’ll be coming for her,” Jebediah told the brothers. “Pack up now. We’re going to have to get out fast. Grab everything important and leave the rest. Seth, break out the weapons stash; we’re going to need them. Don’t say more than that. Briony, get moving, hon; we don’t have much time.”

“The rain’s beginning to really come down,” Ruben said. “That will help us if we get on the road.”

“What should we tell the others?” Seth asked.

“Absolutely nothing. We don’t want to put anyone else in danger,” Jebediah answered. “The big bastard pulled a gun. Our people here can’t tell them anything if they don’t know anything.”

“His name is Luther.” Briony’s hand fluttered to her throat. “Do you think he was going to shoot me?”

“No, hon, he was going to shoot me.”

Briony’s eyes widened with shock. “Jeb, I can’t stay with you—any of you. One of you could be hurt, or worse, dead like Mom and Dad.”

“Don’t get dumb on us, Bri,” Ruben said. “Whoever these people are, we’ll sort it out.” He threw files into a duffel bag and held it out. “Throw some clothes in here and let’s go.”

“She can’t be carrying anything heavy,” Jebediah objected. “She’s pregnant.”

“How?” Seth demanded.

“Who?” Ruben roared.

“Oh for heaven’s sake.” Briony rolled her eyes. “I’ll get my clothes.”

“Hurry,” Jebediah urged.

She hurried to her bedroom, ignoring Ruben shouting questions after her. As she stuffed clothes into a small bag, she heard her brothers arguing over where to go. Rain fell in a steady rhythm, adding to the dark gray of her world. No matter what, her brothers would protect her, and she had a terrible feeling that if Whitney really wanted her back, he wouldn’t stop until he had her—that he’d go right through every member of her family.

Screams pierced the night, and the tigers roared a challenge. Briony stiffened, adrenaline flooding her body. The rain beat down with hard strength, and the tigers continued, a constant unrest, their voices menacing, carrying through the circus town. Shrill screams grew louder, galvanizing her into action. She ran for the door.

Jebediah stopped her. “You stay here. Let us find out what’s going on. Tyrel’s making a sweep around the houses.”

Her brothers raced toward the animal cages to help with whatever emergency there was. As soon as they were out of sight, the back door crashed open. Briony didn’t wait to see what happened or who was there. She ran out the front after her brothers. She refused to call out, not wanting to draw Tyrel into possible danger. She was very fast and she had a good chance of catching Jebediah.

Rain poured down on her, drenching her hair and clothes as she sprinted toward the sounds of disaster. As she flashed past the wind-lashed shrubs, a huge man emerged from the bushes, streaking toward her.
Luther
. And he wasn’t alone.

Briony nearly ran into a second man, switched directions to avoid him, and found herself trapped between the men and the next trailer. She stopped moving and turned to face them, resolve on her face. She kept her feet beneath her shoulders, standing sideways to present the smallest target, one hand held loosely across her waist and the other up gesturing as she spoke. “What do you want, Luther?” She looked at her hands. They were beginning to shake and her head felt crushed, as if in a vise. The pain was too severe to be just the emotions of the two men, but she could feel the backlash from the crowd over near the tiger cages.

“You. Just come with us now and no one else has to get hurt.”

There was something vaguely familiar about him, something just out of her reach. “What did you do?” Her stomach cramped, and she pressed her hand protectively to the baby.

“Your boyfriend wasn’t feeling too good so we gave him a place to sleep it off,” Luther said. He rubbed his shoulder where she’d slammed the needle into him. “He isn’t going to be helping you with the baby, so you’d better make up your mind to come with us or you won’t have any of your so-called brothers alive either.”