Sweet Revenge

Epilogue

Matt leaped off the helicopter and headed toward the ranch house, his strides long and sure. The Colorado raid had been a success. An easy one, which concerned him. Sure, they’d gone in under the radar as soldiers, and they’d blended right in. The security had been complex, but they’d easily maneuvered into secured locations to find information.

Not a shot had been fired.

In fact, there was a chance the commander hadn’t known the Gray brothers had infiltrated Colorado.

But Matt didn’t believe in chance.

Laney slipped onto the porch followed by Josie. “Did you find anything?” Laney asked.

Matt nodded. “We copied a cache of files and will start going through them tonight.” He tugged her close, and her vanilla scent wrapped around him. Comfort and home.

She levered back to study the healing scab on his arm. “I can’t believe how strong you are in just a week. Seven days ago, I was sliding your arteries around.”

“We heal quickly.” Good thing, too. They had only five weeks until the chips detonated. He took in her clear green eyes. “What were you up to today?”

“Practicing dummy surgeries to remove the chips.” She frowned. “And I lost at gin rummy with Josie.”

“Josie cheats,” Nate whispered as he strode past them with several flash drives in his hand.

Laney glanced over her shoulder as Josie slipped outside. “You cheat?”

Josie opened big blue eyes. “Of course not. Geez.”

Matt pressed a kiss to Laney’s forehead. “Yeah. She cheats.” He took Laney’s hand to go inside, where Nate was already inserting a flash drive into a computer hooked up to a flat-screen. A day of sitting close with Laney beat any other day, even if he had to go through data.

Tons of data.

They read reports, flipped through pictures, and watched videos showing the commander’s plan. Through lunch, through dinner, through a popcorn fight Shane started. At one point, Laney dropped off to sleep, tucked into his side. Josie fell asleep an hour later.

About three in the morning, Matt stretched his legs onto an ottoman. “This is informative, but we already knew about funding. And research.” Frustration lit down his spine. There hadn’t been one mention of Jory. Not one. Nor had there been any concrete data on any of the Gray brothers or the genetic splicing that had occurred to create them. He’d love to find that data. Maybe he’d destroyed it all in his bid for freedom. If so, he could live with that.

Nate popped his neck and inserted another USB. “This is the last one. So far, nothing.”

Dr. Madison took shape on the screen, from about twenty years previous. Even back then, the intelligence in her cobalt eyes overshadowed her classic face. With her black hair pulled back, she even looked like a scientist.

Matt shifted on the couch. God, he’d hated her. Always watching, always taking notes. Even when they were hurt, she took notes, never offering a moment of comfort. Until they’d grown into young men, and then she’d offered too much. Now, years later, he forced himself to watch her personal journal. From the beginning when she discussed the conditioning she and the commander had created for soldiers.

No mention of their names.

Had they been human to her?

Maybe not. Matt cut a look at Nate. He watched the screen, eyes hard, jaw set. Nate had fallen in love with Dr. Madison’s daughter, Audrey, and she’d nearly destroyed him. As an experiment.

As the years wore on, faint lines appeared at Madison’s hairline. Then near her eyes. Finally, she discussed an experiment in young love.

Nate stiffened, a veil dropping over his eyes.

Matt glanced at Shane, who looked beyond pissed off. Yeah. He agreed.

The final entry was Madison smiling into the camera, nearly giddy. “I have incredible news. I’m going to be a grandmother. My Audrey is pregnant.” The screen went blank.

Nate leaped to his feet.

Shane’s eyes widened. “What was the date on that?”

“Right before we broke up.” Nate ran a rough hand through his hair. “This isn’t real. It can’t be.”

Matt swallowed. “You’re right. There’s no way this clip was left by accident. They meant for us to find it… and to go after Audrey. Or Madison. It’s a trick, Nate.” But was it? Madison and the commander had tried repeatedly to use the genetic material from the Gray brothers for a second generation—with no luck. If they’d succeeded, they would have certainly hid that from the brothers.

Nate turned toward him, torment in his dark eyes. “I have to go after her.”

“I know. We’ve always known she was the way to get to Madison… and to the commander. They know it, too.” Matt had known this moment was coming from the moment they’d escaped. Nate would have to get ahold of Audrey. With a sigh, Matt glanced outside as the sun poked above the horizon. “Let’s get a little sleep, and we’ll come up with a plan.” God. How the hell was he going to protect Nate from this? From whatever they discovered?

Matt didn’t want to find hope there, but what if? What if they actually could have kids? Was it possible?

He stood and lifted Laney. “Three hours, and we meet to start planning.” Without looking back, he headed down the hallway toward his bedroom. He laid her down on the sprawling bed and tugged off his shirt.

“I do love your chest,” she mumbled sleepily, holding her arms out.

He slid a knee onto the bed and allowed himself a moment of peace. Temporary, for sure. He banished the fear of the future, the terror of something happening to Laney, the ever-present threat to his brothers—the ones he’d vowed to protect. “I was going to let you keep sleeping,” he whispered, slipping his hands beneath her shirt.

Her pupils focused. “And now?”

He tugged off her shirt to reveal the prettiest breasts in existence. “Ah, baby. Now you’re gonna have to earn sleep.” He moved over her, covering her, balancing himself on his elbows. Those yoga pants of hers were coming off next.

Her smile was slow and so sexy his cock flared to life. “Good thing I’m a hard worker. Maybe I won’t let you sleep.”

Who the hell needed to sleep? He lowered his head and kissed her, diving deep, trusting completely. When he finally lifted up, her eyes had gone unfocused, and her lips were so nicely swollen he groaned. “I really do want to marry you. Soon,” he said.

Her breath caught. “Name the time and place. I’m there.”

God, he hoped they had forever. “I’m not easy, Laney.” She needed to know what she was getting into.

Her small hands smoothed along his shoulders. “No kidding.”

He chuckled. “No. I mean I’m bossy, protective, and I hold on too tight. Way too tight.” It was the only way he’d known to keep his brothers alive through the years. Now his life centered around one small woman he couldn’t lose. He wouldn’t lose.

She shifted against him, creating a more comfortable home in the vee of her legs. “Hold on as tight as you need, Mattie. I’ve got you.”

And she did. He had no idea what the future held, but he’d do his damnedest to make sure they survived it. “I’ll give you everything. I promise,” he said.

She smiled. “You already have. I have you… and a family. Trust me.”

“I do. Completely.” He kissed her again. For his entire life, he’d never broken a promise. So he gave her one. “Forever, Laney. I promise.”