Conspiracy Game

CHAPTER 7

“You’re pregnant.”

Briony stared at the doctor in shock. “That’s impossible. I’m on birth control pills. You prescribed them yourself.” She detested the man; the way he looked so reptilian, she often thought scales would erupt all over him at any moment. He had the coldest smile, almost a smirk when he looked at her. She didn’t trust him-had never trusted him. Even as a child, she had wanted to run screaming from the room whenever he entered. When she left the office, she was going to go out to the car and wring Jebediah’s neck for calling him. She’d only agreed to come because she wanted a few answers. This was definitely the last visit she would ever make to Dr. Sparks.

“You’re pregnant, Briony, about eight weeks. Perhaps you forgot to take a pill when you should have.” His shark-toothed smile flashed at her, but never once reached his eyes. “The father will be overjoyed.”

A shadow slid into her mind. Her body went into alert mode-she felt the alarm shooting through her, but she maintained her shocked look and swung her leg back and forth in agitation. “Tony? I’m sure he will. He’s wanted to marry me forever and this will be his big chance. My brothers will all get out shotguns and side with him.”

For the first time his smirk slipped. The eyes grew even colder. “Tony?”

She shrugged, trying to look casual. “One of the tiger trainers. We’ve had a steady relationship for a while now.” She looked him straight in the eye, determined to carry off the lie just to see his reaction, because something wasn’t right and she had a very bad feeling that she was in more trouble than just being pregnant.

Pregnant? Was it really possible? Was he lying to her? She was sick all the time, unable to keep any food down. He didn’t feel as if he was lying, but she never could tell with the doctor, almost as if his mind was shielded from hers.

Sparks cleared his throat. “I thought you told me you couldn’t stand to be touched and doubted you’d ever have a relationship. Has that gotten better?”

She rubbed her temples. Funny, with the doctor she didn’t get pain, but a strange buzzing noise in her mind always persisted when she was close to him. “The exercises helped a lot and I’ve been working with biofeedback and meditation.” That part was true, but no amount of meditation would free her from pain enough to allow a close relationship with anyone other than maybe Jack-and she wasn’t going to ever think about trusting him with her heart again. She tried a small smile, pursuing the lie. “For some reason, when I’m with Tony, it’s not nearly as bad, although I don’t know about marrying him.”

“Will you want to keep the baby then?” Dr. Sparks asked, watching her closely.

She fought back her first reply. Of course she was going to keep her baby-she wanted the baby, even if its father was a complete bastard. She was quite capable of taking care of a child on her own. She shrugged again. “I’ll think about it. I hadn’t thought in terms of having a baby right now-or ever for that matter. My brothers are going to go psycho on me and Tony will lose his mind too, all wanting me to do the right thing and marry, so I’m not going to say anything to anyone until I decide.”

Dr. Sparks turned away from her and opened a cabinet. “Let me know, Briony, and I can certainly help you with whatever you decide. In the meantime, you’ll need prenatal care, just in case you decide you want to keep the child.” With his back to her, he glanced over his shoulder, busying himself with a syringe. “Did any of your brothers come with you? Perhaps if I spoke to them they’d understand that it would be difficult for you to remain in a relationship for any length of time.”

“No, I came alone.” She had no idea why she lied. Jebediah drove her, afraid she’d be too sick to stay on the road, or-more likely-afraid she wouldn’t actually see the doctor. Her eyes were on Sparks’s face as he turned, and her heart jumped with fear. His reptilian features seemed nearly alien, twisting with a kind of fanatical glee as he approached her with the needle. Briony drew back. “What’s that for?”

“Vitamins, for you and the baby. You look a bit pale to me. You don’t want birth defects if you decide that you’re going to have the child after all.”

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.”

She took a deep breath and glanced toward the animal cages where the crowd had converged. “You hurt Tony?” They had to have, or she wouldn’t be so violently ill. Blood began to trickle from her right ear.

“Worthless piece of trash. You could have had the pick of a dozen men to father your baby. Men worth something. Why the hell you picked that gigolo is beyond me. He screamed like a girl.”

Briony’s mouth went dry. “Why would you hurt him?”

“He had no right to touch you.”

“He-” She broke off abruptly. She didn’t dare tell them Jack Norton was the father of her child. They might decide to kill him. “This is crazy. I don’t understand any of this.” She wiped at the small trail of blood at her ear.

“Come on. You don’t want your brothers hurt,” the other man said, a trace of sympathy in his voice. “Just come with us and no one else is going to die. We’ll explain everything to you. You can’t take much more of this. What if you have a seizure? That would hurt the baby.”

“Don’t play nice with her, Ron, she’s a hellcat,” Luther warned.

“He’s dead? You killed him?” Tony was a handsome man with a ready smile who pitched in without complaint wherever needed. “Why would you do that?” She rubbed her pounding head. Of course they’d done it, because she’d named him the baby’s father. She’d aimed a gun at Tony’s head with her thoughtless statement. “Why does Whitney want my baby?” She was going to be sick in another minute if the pressure in her head didn’t let up. Her vision was beginning to blur.

Ron held out his hand. “Come on. You know they aren’t going to let you run around loose when you’re so valuable to them.”

Briony pushed back her rain-slicked hair and rubbed her eyes to try to clear her vision. “That’s right. I’m valuable. The baby is valuable. I guess that means you can’t use your gun on me.”

“I could shoot you in the leg,” Luther warned, “and after that stunt you pulled with the syringe, I’d enjoy it. Get your ass over here right now.”

Briony shook her head. “I don’t think so. Come and get me.”

“No one wants to hurt you,” Ron said. “Let’s just get this over. Get in the car and we’ll sort it all out.”

Luther pulled a gun and aimed it past Briony. “Your brother is coming this way, and I sure as hell don’t mind shooting him. Get in the car now.”

Briony turned her head to see Tyrel hurrying through the downpour toward her. There was no time for anything but action, and she took it, somersaulting across the ground and going in low to sweep Ron’s legs out from under him. As he went down, she came back up and stomped hard on his wrist, reversing to kick him in the knee, hoping to incapacitate him.

The gun went flying and she dove for it using a second somersault. She was able to scoop it up and continue forward her motion toward her brother. “Catch!” She tossed the gun. With the tremendous reflexes gifted to the Flying Five, Tyrel picked the gun out of the air, shoving his sister behind him as they backed toward their own trailer.

“We can’t get trapped, Tyrel,” she cautioned.

Luther dragged Ron into the cover of the bushes and sent a warning shot that sprayed leaves all over them. “Just hand her over and no one will get hurt,” he called.

“Did they really kill Tony?” Tremors wracked Briony’s body from the violence rushing into the spaces around her. The emotions choked the breath out of her and pounded at her head. She bent over and vomited, unable to stop the cramping in her stomach.

Tyrel kept pushing her back behind him with one arm as they retreated.

“Someone hit him over the head and threw him in with one of the tigers,” her brother answered grimly.

“Damn them. I told them Tony was the father of my baby. I shouldn’t have done that, Tyrel. I shouldn’t have said anything at all.” Deep inside she was crumbling, going to pieces, screaming even. She was directly responsible for Tony’s death, and a big part of her was certain she was connected to the murder of her parents. “Maybe I should go with them. If I stay with you, they’ll try to kill you, Seth, Ruben, and Jebediah.”

“Pull yourself together,” Tyrel snapped. “Do you think for one minute we’d let them take you away from us? Get as far away from this as you can. You’re already sick. In another minute you’re going to go down, Bri, and I can’t watch over you and keep them off of you.”

Briony backpedaled until she reached the edge of the trailer. She wouldn’t allow her disability to compromise Tyrel’s safety. She took a deep breath, let it out, and ignored the shards of glass piercing her skull. She loved Tyrel, and Luther could just go to hell if he was counting on her crumbling under the pressure. She glanced up at the roof while Tyrel exchanged another shot with Luther. Someone would hear the shots and come running right into the middle of a war zone.

“I’m going over the roof, Tyrel, and get behind him.”

He glanced back at her, his expression furious-protective. He could see the sweat on her body, the toll of violence already ripping at her. Pain shot through Briony, but at the same time she was humiliated to think that in spite of her all special gifts, her capabilities, her brothers had to protect her because she was unable to use her speed and agility or marksmanship.

“No, you’re not. These people are playing for keeps. Seth and Ruben and Jebediah will be here any minute and we’ll get you out of here. Just stay put.”

Luther was moving, trying for a better angle on Tyrel. Briony couldn’t stop to think about it, the emotions of all the men swamping her. Anger. Resolve. Luther had an eagerness to destroy-to kill. He was really angry with her-not because of the syringe, but thinking Tony was the father of her baby was somehow a blow to his ego. It made no sense to her, but he was broadcasting loud and clear.

Briony crouched and leapt straight up to the roof, bending low to stay out of sight, running lightly and leaping to the next roof and then the next. From her vantage point she could see the crowd gathered around the tiger’s cage and Randall, the other trainer, inside. Jebediah stood outside with a tranq gun and the tiger lay, sides heaving, head lolling from the knockout shot. Randall bent down to pull Tony’s body away from the big cat.

Below her and just to her right was Luther. He lay flat on the ground, gun in both hands, arms extended, determined to line up a shot on Tyrel.

Beside him, Ron cursed and moaned, holding his kneecap. “I think my leg’s broken. She broke my leg, Luther.”

“Idiot. Why do you think they picked her to mother the kid? I warned you, but you had to fall for her big brown eyes,” Luther spat contemptuously. “Go to the car and get it running. We’ll need to get out of here fast. She can’t hold out much longer, and when I shoot her brother, she’ll go down hard. I’ve been studying her for a while.”

Luther had been studying her? He thought her knew her capabilities and her weaknesses? Briony wiped a smear of blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. He didn’t know the first thing about her determination. The man wasn’t killing her brothers, and he sure wasn’t getting her baby. She lay flat on the roof, anchoring herself as the wind and rain slashed at her, making the roof slick.

Briony focused on the gun in Luther’s hands. Ron began to inch his way back through the brush, toward the car running a few feet away. He dragged his leg, cursing every few feet. She refused to allow her mind to wander, holding to one thought, one action, her entire being focusing on the metal object Luther clutched so tightly.

The metal appeared dark in the rain and shadows, but as she continued to stare at it, it took on a slight glow. Luther suddenly swore and dropped it in the grass. The gun shone with hints of yellow and orange through the gray of the rain. Luther looked around, a small smile suddenly appearing. You’re good. Better than we thought-or hoped. Come home where you belong.

The voice was pitched low, and the vibration running through her body made her stomach knot. Alarm spread through her. What was he doing? It was an attack-but not on her-on the unborn child. Stop it. Feeling desperate, Briony pressed one hand to cover the baby and clutched at the roof with the other to keep from slipping.

The baby should be mine. Come with me or I won’t stop and the useless kid you’re carrying is going to die.

Briony didn’t bother to argue. She could feel Luther’s resolve. He wouldn’t stop until he had Briony. She blocked out her fear for the baby and for herself and concentrated once again on the gun.

You’d better listen to me. I know you can hear me. You were promised to me-meant for me. Get in the car or I’m killing your brother. You know I can do it too.

The gun wiggled in the grass, began to rise, and dropped back to earth. Briony took a deep breath and forced calm into her mind. It didn’t matter what he was thinking or feeling or saying. Only the gun mattered. It was the only thing in her world. It rose slowly, and swung around until the muzzle was aimed straight at Luther.

The most difficult part was to keep the gun in levitation while she focused on the trigger. She’d never actually fired a shot this way, but anything was possible.

Luther turned his head, the movement catching his eye. He rolled out of the line of fire, his hand snaking out so fast it was a blur, knocking the gun back to earth. You should have listened to me.

Briony saw the determination on his face as he slipped back into the bushes. He was going after Tyrel. Without hesitation, she rolled backward, straight off the edge of the roof, turning in midair the way she did during a performance, to land on her feet. Sprinting around the corner of the trailer, she raced back toward her brother.

Luther burst out of the shadows, slapping the gun out of Tyrel’s hand, knife gleaming as he sliced viciously at his jugular. The blade missed by a scant half an inch as Tyrel stumbled back. He did a series of back springs to put several feet between them, but Luther was just as fast, covering the distance in a single leap, the knife slashing fast, over and over, cutting Tyrel’s arms as he tried to defend against the unbelievably fast attack.

Blood splattered in all directions-drops hit Briony as she burst from the garden to strike Luther with the heel of her hand flat on his chest, putting her weight behind it and using every ounce of adrenaline and enhanced strength she had. He slashed with the knife as he fell backward. Briony felt the bite of the blade along her forearm, but she kept going straight at him, kicking at his hand to try to get rid of the blade. She missed his arm, but nailed him in the ribs.

As she attacked again, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Ron emerged, limping, gun in hand. Briony leapt at Tyrel, knocking him back as Ron fired off several rounds in rapid succession. Briony and Tyrel hit the ground, rolling away to shelter.

Luther rose and glanced toward the animal cages, where the people were beginning to turn heads. “This isn’t over,” Luther snarled. “And when I get my hands on you, you’re going to wish you were dead.”

Briony kept her head down, trying not to be sick, the pain squeezing her head almost as bad as the day she’d found her parents. Was it possible Luther could amplify what she was feeling?

Tyrel stroked her hair. “How bad, honey? Did he cut you?”

She waited until she heard the car leave before she pushed herself into a sitting position, rocking back and forth. “I’m going to pass out, Tyrel. I can’t have a seizure, I don’t know what it would do to the baby.” She raised her hand to press her palm against her head. Blood dripped steadily.

Tyrel swore. “That’s deep. You need stitches.”

“Maybe we should call Dr. Sparks,” Briony suggested a little hysterically and leaned over and threw up again.

Pounding footsteps announced the arrival of her other brothers. Seth reached down and plucked her out of the wet grass, while Ruben wrapped her arm in his shirt.

“How bad, Tyrel?” Jebediah asked. “You’re all cut up to hell.”

“They’re shallow,” Tyrel confirmed, “but Briony’s needs stitches.”

Jebediah swore. “Get her in the house. I’ll take care of both of you, and then we have to get out of here.”

“Where are we going?” Ruben asked. “Why are they suddenly after Briony?”

“She thinks they killed Mom and Dad,” Jebediah said. “And I’m beginning to think she’s right. Get everything out of the safe and let’s go now.”

“Jebediah.” Seth’s voice stopped them all. He was standing in the doorway of Jebediah’s room.

They turned slowly to stare at him. He stepped back to allow them to see the chaos in the trailer. The place had been torn apart and the safe door was open-the contents gone.

“There were three of them,” Briony whispered. “I didn’t even smell them.” She looked at her brothers with horror on her face. “Who are these people?”