Read Payback for Free Online Page B

pain. She sucked in a sharp breath and dug her nails into her palms, focusing on the small pain to force back the images. “How long—” Her voice broke and she had to clear her throat or risk crying. “How long until the subjects die?”
    “A few months after treatment is started.”
    Faith’s stomach unknotted itself. “Toby has been missing only a little over a month. Even if…” She cleared her throat. “Even if they break from their established criteria and put Toby in the program, he still has time.”
    “Maybe. Maybe not. There are rumors of a new, accelerated program in progress,” Mark added. “With perhaps a quicker rise to standards and then a quicker decline.”
    She bit her lip and crossed her arms over her chest as her stomach took a nosedive.
    “Of course, you don’t know that Jamieson ordered your brother kidnapped. He might not be in danger of becoming one of the altered soldiers.”
    Was that actually sympathy she heard in his voice? The chill that had settled over her at the thought of Toby becoming a victim of the program slowly thawed.
    “What do you know about the selection process?” Mark asked.
    Faith shrugged. “Toby had a list of criteria for subjects.” She explained about the different parameters and why she believed her independent brother didn’t fit their need for subservient men. “Do you think they’d break precedent and add Toby to their roster?”
    “I don’t know. I’m not privy to that side of the program.” He stared out the window and Faith couldn’t read his mood. Was he processing what she’d said? Planning to kill her?
    “Where are you staying?” He made it more of a demand than a question.
    She blinked at the abrupt change of subject. “That’s none of your business.”
    “Yes, it is. I’ve been working to take down Kerberos and Jamieson from the inside. Your brother’s information will help me achieve that. I need to keep you safe from Jamieson in the meantime.”
    “I can take care of myself.”
    He gave her a condescending little smile. “Not good enough. You’ll stay at my safe house.”
    “Excuse me? I may have confided in you, but that doesn’t put you in charge of my personal safety. You’re still a stranger and I don’t fully trust you. I’m safer on my own.”
    “No, you are not. I can’t guarantee that Jamieson’s guards didn’t get a good look at you back at the restaurant.”
    She shrugged. When he frowned over her lack of concern, she bit back a smug smile.
    Mark’s eyes narrowed and he studied her with new intensity.
    “Is that your real hair?”
    He reached out to touch it, but she knocked his hand away. He let his hand drop, and she wondered if she imagined the flare of disappointment in his eyes. She hoped he hadn’t been able to read on her face the anticipation she’d felt as his hand moved toward her. The longing to feel his touch had been so powerful, it had scared her common sense into reasserting itself.
    “Again. None of your business.”
    “Faith, Jamieson would kill you just for knowing about Kerberos. Kill you twice for knowing he’s the force behind the program. The best way to bring him down is to work together. In order to do that, I need to make sure you’re staying where he can’t find you. I have a safe house you can use.”
    “ You have a safe house? Not the CIA?”
    He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “Should something happen to turn my colleagues against me, I want someplace to hide that they don’t know about.”
    “Hmm…” The similarity to her brother’s thinking regarding the need for an escape plan made her trust Mark a little more. Still, she had no intention of staying where he could find her. For all she knew, as soon as she was out of sight he’d call up Jamieson and order her killed. “My answer is still no.”
    He glared at her, but she was beginning to think he was all bluster. Or maybe she just wanted to believe that what she saw behind his eyes was concern.