BirthMark (10 page)

A few seconds later Silas and Tyrese entered the room. Jaree and two other guards stood in the corridor and the blinds were drawn. Jasmine knew without asking that Hank and Brad were lead security with the babies, and that they had been moved to a secure location.

“Rose, I am going to ask that you do not contact your brother or give him a hint of your distress. I need to talk to him, and my mate,” Silas' eyes flicked at Jasmine, “has already given her word he will not perish because of this. I have sent security to bring him to my office where I will talk to him, do you understand?”

The tension in the room was volatile. The heat of it brushed against her skin, reminding her of when she had first met Silas. The man could blow out the walls of a room with his anger. But this was a family matter, and even though having a family was new to him, she had faith that they would work through this just fine. She looked at the twins and sensed their inner turmoil.

Tyrese had saved Rose and Thorne from an attack by rogue wolves and brought the teen into the compound. After what happened with the spy who'd exploded earlier today, she knew her son was feeling some kind of responsibility for what happened with Thorne as well. Tyrone was scared for his wife’s mental being. Rose held a high security level and was privy to most of Silas’ personal and private information. If her brother was selling them out, then she could become suspect as well. And Silas…her man was nearing the end of his tether with so many things flying at him at once. She rubbed his arm and smiled when he glanced at her.

The tic in his jaw stopped and the air in the room lightened a bit.

“Yes Patron, I understand,” Rose said quietly.

Silas pulled up a chair and sat next to Jasmine, taking her smaller hand in his. “Tyrese check the mechanics of this thing, I want to be sure it hasn’t been tampered with.”

Tyrese nodded, took some sort of device from his pocket and turned it on. A few moments later he grinned. “Got it. Let me fix a few things and we should be ready.”

“What was wrong,” Tyrone asked, still standing near the door and holding his mate.

Tyrese looked at his twin and his grin widened. “Smart kid. He fixed the system so the women would know whenever someone was watching or listening in. A small beep emits in the cell every time you turn on the equipment.”

“So they’d know not to speak freely. Makes sense,” Tyrone said.

“Yeah, let’s hope we discover something that will answer some of the questions piling up around here,” Silas said, squeezing her hands.

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. Their eyes locked for a moment and she was pleased his eyes were now a lighter shade of blue and not the dark blue they had been when he had walked in. “Love you,” she mouthed.

He smiled crookedly. “
You should
,” he said through their link. “
I let you get away with way too much.
”

“
Hmm, I wonder why
?”

He shook his head. “
Hell if I know
.”

She punched his shoulder.

“Tyrese get this thing started before your mother hurts me,” Silas said, straight-faced.

There was a pause and Rose laughed. Next the twins joined in. Jasmine just shook her head and leaned against him for a quick kiss.

“It’s ready,” Tyrese said, tapping a few keys. “I’m recording their current conversations on that monitor over there and I’ve cued this one to replay Thorne's past conversations with the women. There are only three. So this is relatively recent.”

“Good, glad we’re getting on it early. Start with the first tape and bring it forward. I’m interested in how they recruited him,” Silas said as he waved to the empty chairs in the room. “Rose, Rone, sit down, I need all eyes and ears on these screens in case I miss something.”

“I wanna hear what Julie has to say when she comes back in the cell,” Jasmine said, releasing Silas’ hand. She scooted her chair closer to the monitor displaying the cell area. Picking a pair of headphones, she placed them over her ears, and panned the camera so that she had a similar view as when she was in the room with them. Rubbing her hands together for warmth, Jasmine watched as Siseria lay on the bed looking up at the ceiling. The sound of footsteps caused a reaction in the woman on the bed.

Standing, Siseria pulled herself into a stooped position and resumed the same vacant expression she had worn earlier with Jasmine. When Julie became visible, Siseria played the role of an ashamed, weak woman.

“I hope you didn’t say anything,” Julie snapped.

“I didn’t. I was scared,” Siseria whimpered. Her actions sickened Jasmine now that she knew what was going on.

The guard opened the cage and Julie walked in, scowling at a cowering Siseria. He locked the cage and turned to leave. Siseria looked at him hungrily, even reaching out a hand to touch the man until Julie yelled, “Stop, you don’t want to do that.”

Siseria snatched her hand back from bars and started licking her lips. The guard shook his head and strode out the room.

“Now what bitches?” Jasmine’s eyes flicked from one woman to the next, neither spoke or moved.

“He’s gone,” Siseria said, stretching as she straightened. “You okay? They didn’t bother you did they?”

“No, I just got some rest. Wasn’t too bad,” Julie said.

“Come on, come on, talk about me,” Jasmine murmured.

Julie sat on her bed facing Siseria. “She looked good, I thought he was abusing her. Harming her and the babies in some way.”

Siseria shrugged. “You’re right, she looked good, at least as far as we could tell. Women hide scars all the time, there’s no telling what’s really going on with the two of them.”

Jasmine flinched at the spasm of pain that crossed Julie’s face at the mention of scars. “You are such a bitch,” she murmured to Siseria.

“None of the children are marked. Isn’t there supposed to be a mark?” It seemed like Julie had taken her time alone to reflect on some inconsistencies. Good for you, Jasmine silently cheered.

“Yes, everything we’ve been taught says the child will have a birthmark. But really, do you expect her to tell us the truth about that?”

“It’s not just her, the boy also said he overheard the nurses talking and there was no mention of birthmarks.”

“Did anyone ask the question, are there birthmarks on any of the babies?” Siseria snapped. It was obvious she didn’t appreciate this line of questioning.

“I don’t know but people talk. If there was a mark, I believe someone would have said. Maybe, maybe the child’s not in the first litter. Maybe he’s in the next.”

Siseria marched to the side of her cage closest to Julie. “Is that why you told her how to control her body? We are not supposed to help her. She refused our offer.”

Julie shrugged. “She made a valid point, she did not know us. Very few women, rational women anyway, would have responded differently.”

“You have changed your mind about our cause?”

“No. I just don’t think the path we are on is the right one. More flies with honey, that kind of thing. For instance, since we do not want harm to come to her babies, why aren’t we helping her? The easier she controls and understands her body, the more likely she will listen to our suggestions on how to raise the new leader.”

“You suggest we become her friend,” an angry sounding Siseria bit out.

“We are already her friends, she just doesn’t know it. Why antagonize the only person who can assist us in reaching our goals.”

“She sees me as a retarded fool,” Siseria said, turning away.

“No. I see you as a liar,” Jasmine said softly while watching the drama on the monitor.

“That is who you showed her. I am at peace with my mission, but I fret over the lack of progress. The rebellion is growing—”

“The number of breeds outnumbers them three to one,” Siseria said smugly.

A look of sorrow graced Julie’s face. “They won’t all fight in this war, many still hide in fear of their lives.”

“The Patron’s hiding his pups like full bloods have been doing for decades. Once the Patron shows the world his litter of pups, the breeds will come out of hiding and unite. When everyone knows the Patron’s pups are half-breeds and he accepts them, we will begin.”

“The war you mean,” Julie said, not sounding as happy over the idea as her cellmate.

“Of course, that’s the beginning of the Patron’s downfall. It’s what we’ve worked for all these years.” Siseria returned to the bars and looked at Julie. “What’s wrong? Did someone say something to you while you were in the other room? Let’s talk about it.”

Jasmine held her breath waiting for something monumental.

“No. I have been thinking and going over the little bit we know of this cause. It’s been going on for so long I have forgotten the origins and what we actually believe.”

“Julie!” Siseria sounded shocked.

Julie waved her down. “It’s true. I don’t even remember Nicromja and what his role is in all this. It’s like fairy tales being passed down through generations.”

Siseria’s hand flew to her mouth and she looked up as though an appearance from an angry deity was imminent. “Careful Julie, that’s blasphemous.”

“No it’s not and stop being so dramatic. All I said was I don’t remember him or her or it. It has been a long time since anyone has remotely connected him to this mission.” Julie sighed and scooted back a bit. “I want to help those children. I want them to survive the fallout unharmed.” She looked at her partner. “That has always been my assignment.”

Siseria nodded. “I know. Just as you know my assignment is different, and one I will die completing.”

A chill slid down Jasmine’s back at the woman’s words. She sat staring at the woman who had all but admitted to being a part of Silas’ demise until her knuckles cracked beneath the pressure. She hadn’t realized she was gripping the arms of the chair until Silas covered her hand with his.

“
It’s okay. Others have tried and failed, before. We will survive to see another day
,” he said through their link, easing her fears.

Jasmine released a sigh and continued watching the monitor. “Separate them. Leave Julie in her cell and place Siseria in the bomb shelter or something similar. She needs a 'come to Jesus' moment, maybe she’ll find it in the silence of that space.”

Silas nodded and gave the instructions to the guard near the cells. Jasmine watched as Siseria spun around at the sound of the guard and sunk into her persona. Without answering Julie or Siseria’s questions, he opened the cell, tore the dress from Siseria’s quivering body and scanned her with a device. There were a few sharp pins in her hair that he removed and placed in a bag. Her slaps and punches against the huge wolf went unnoticed as he identified something that wasn’t visible. He picked up the naked female and carried her away.

Everything had happened so fast. Julie stood looking at the closed door open-mouthed. After a few moments she slid down the bars and sat on the floor with her face in her hands. Jasmine turned off the audio as the sounds of weeping filled her ears. She split the screen and watched the two guards take a screaming Siseria through the tunnels and then to the bomb shelter.

By the time they reached the shelter, Siseria was crying and begging them to release her. Heedless to her cries, they dumped her in the barren room, fresh from its recent scrubbing and disinfecting.

Faint sounds could be heard coming from the room, but Jasmine hardened herself against it. Tyrese touched her shoulder. “Her ultimate assignment is to destroy your mate. She mentioned it on one of the other tapes. She’s locked and loaded like Boggs. Only this time we’re going to get a chance to look at it before it blows. You did the right thing, Mom.”

Jasmine heart raced. She couldn’t swallow past the sizable lump in her throat. “I was talking to a woman with a bomb inside her?” She felt nauseous.

“I’m sorry, Jazz,” Silas said. “You know I would never allow you to be in any danger. That’s why what you did is so impressive. On a visceral level you sensed she was the dangerous threat and separated her from everyone in the compound. I filled the room with gas before she could trigger the mechanism. Right now I’m pulling a team together who will be able to identify and hopefully disable the device. We need to understand how to detect these things before we allow anyone else in or out of the compound.” He kissed her gently. “Thank you. I thank you and my people thank you.”

Choked by the intensity of his gaze, she tried to speak and couldn’t. She nodded and leaned forward until her head rested on his chest. The strong beat of his heart eased her fears.

“Sir,” Tyrone said quietly.

Silas sighed as he looked up. “Thorne’s gone?”

Tyrone exhaled. “Yes. They can’t find him.”

Silas nodded, patted Jasmine’s shoulder and stood up. “Make copies of those tapes and place them in the safe in my office” he said to no one in particular and left the room.

Jasmine stared at the sad faces in the room and knew nothing she said would make a difference. They were responsible for bringing Thorne into the compound, and by extension were responsible for his actions.

“I’m sorry,” Rose whispered before turning her face into Tyrone’s chest. He closed his eyes and held her tight.