Apollo (10 page)

Titus moved to her other side. “But it happened when you were a teen?”

She nodded.

“Fuck,” Sol whispered and sat on the couch. His head was planted between his hands like he was trying to block out what she said.

“How did you escape?”

Her head whipped over to Apollo. It was the first thing he had said to her since he caught her, and it felt more like an accusation than a question.

“I didn’t,” she said simply. “They let me go.”

He gave a sharp bark of a laugh. “The Horatius Group? They just let you go?”

Val frowned. She wasn’t really sure how she thought he would take this, but that wasn’t really what she was expecting.

Erica picked up Cassia and smiled at her. “It is a little out of character for them.”

Val snorted and ignored the comments. This was going to go the only way she could tell it. In the order she knew it.

“As all this started to happen, I wondered about my parents,” she continued on, her voice stronger than before. “I wondered if maybe I had something genetic. So I went to the only person I could.” She turned her gaze on Sol. “Sally Anderson.”

“Is that our mother?” Sol asked quietly.

“No,” she said. “That’s the woman that signed off on my sealed documents.” She gave a sweet smile. “It took some convincing, but it wasn’t long before Sally saw things my way.”

“Did you force it from her?” Rachel asked. It was far more matter-of-fact than she would have thought.

“Let’s just say I found a nice little account that Sally didn’t want anyone to know about,” she said and leaned back. “When I confronted her with the information, she gave me the few papers she had. We were supposed to meet later.” She looked away as she remembered the woman. “She never showed.”

“Ran off?” Erica asked.

Val shook her head and let out a sigh.

“Single shot to the head,” she said and looked at the group around her. “Amazing how someone can commit suicide with a shot to the back of the head.”

She could feel their understanding.

“What papers did she give you?” Apollo asked.

Her eyes found him, and she stared for a moment before going on.

“I had a brother,” she said. “He was adopted by the doctor who delivered us. An Italian man who also saw fit to give me the name Valentine,” she sneered. “The files are under my mattress.”

“And our parents?” Sol asked. He was looking up now, his eyes on her watching every movement.

“That’s all that was in the files,” she said and leaned forward a little. “But it’s what she told me that counts.”

The room went silent, and she took a deep breath. Breaking bad news wasn’t something she was much good at.

“Our mother was a part of a program,” she said quietly. “It started when she found out she was pregnant. A poor junkie on the street, just hoping for her next fix and easy ride. And that’s just what they were counting on.”

Apollo’s stomach rolled. He should have expected as much, but the truth of it stung. His throat burned as he watched Val continue. Her eyes were glassed over. This was a story she had told herself many times.

“When we were born, they didn’t get the right results from me. Our mother died during birth, so I was quickly placed into the system by kind Sally,” she said, sneering. “Well, for a hefty fee.”

Anger burned inside for her. For all of them, but he quickly pushed it down. It wouldn’t do anyone any good.

“They were looking for results,” Rachel said and started pacing the room. “But why didn’t they keep you? It’s obvious that you developed something.”

Val looked to him. She kept doing that, and the looks were eating him up inside. He didn’t have the answers. What was he supposed to do? Apollo looked away. He could hear her sigh.

“None of this came until I was eighteen. Up until that day, I was totally normal.”

He cringed at the word normal. Like he even knew what that was. From the start they had all been different, and she had been able to skirt under the radar. Jealousy was a nasty thing, and yet there it was.

“So you said you were in the system before?” Rachel prodded.

He looked back to her when she didn’t answer. Val’s cheeks had grown paler than they already were, and she looked like she was going to be sick.

“Yes,” she said. Her tone was clipped, and it was clear she didn’t want to talk about it.

“And when Sally was found dead, that was the end?” Titus asked this time.

Everyone hung on her words. It was more than any of them had heard. Any lead that helped explained the how of their existence was one more step in the right direction.

Val gave a laugh. “Hardly. Not that I got much further,” she said bitterly. “I had the doctor. I knew he went back to Italy, but the tracks ran cold. Everything that I could dig up just seemed to get more muddled than before. These people…” She found his eyes again. “The Horatius Group, they were good at hiding. And I had to be careful. I was fully aware at this point that people who dug too deeply were only digging a grave.”

Something pulled at his heart. A panic rose in him as he thought of the danger she put herself in.

“I had nearly given up when I saw him on my TV.” She pointed to Sol. “I knew.”

The two stared at one another. The air shifted, and a sweet smell filled the room.

The rumble in his chest was out before he could even stop it. That smell was pissing him off. What was worse was the growl Sol replied with. It set the hairs on the back of his neck on end and made him ball his fists. Apollo was out of his chair before he even knew what was happening.

He breathed in deeply. Small warm arms wrapped around him, holding him as tight as they could.

“It’s not like that. He’s my brother,” Val whispered. “Please.”

He looked down at her pale blue eyes. They were so clear he nearly lost himself in them. It was like staring into an endless lake.

“Fuck this,” Sol growled and stomped out of the room.

Whatever had happened, the moment was gone as he watched the other males leave.

Erica stared at the two of them for a moment and then followed after her angry man.

“Well,” Rachel said after a moment. “Didn’t see that coming.”

Chapter Eleven

Apollo stepped out of the car in front of Jenna’s little house. Just like yesterday, Val sat on the porch, drinking her coffee. She stayed where she was as he made his way up. They hadn’t stuck around long after Sol left. Actually, he’d left about as soon as he could. His reaction had been weird. They had all been weird.

But he didn’t want to think about that. They still had a damn job to do, and until they could confirm the truth, she was on constant watch.

Apollo didn’t know if he could just believe what she’d said. The Horatius Group had altered their tactics before.

“Doctor Miller wants to see us both this morning,” he said without much ceremony.

She frowned and took a large drink off the steaming mug, not bothering to look at him. The slight pissed him off.

“Why?” she asked.

He stared at her there in the morning sun, and he was struck by just how beautiful she was. Her cheeks and lips were flushed from the heat of the mug. Her eyes were like pretty blue crystals as they stared out at the forest line.

“She wants to do a few tests.” He stumbled and said the first thing that came to mind. “Why are you out here so early? Aren’t you cold?”

Val turned her face toward the sun and closed her eyes. The mist rose from the trees, and he turned back to her.

“It’s amazing here,” she said, eyes still closed. “Not exactly something I get in the city.”

He looked back out at the land that was somehow now home. The idea of not being able to see this made his heart hurt.

When he turned back, she was staring at him so hard that it made his neck burn. “Rachel wants to talk to you about the chips,” he said.

Val wrinkled her brow and seemed even more confused.

He sighed and sat down next to her.

“Most of us had them, and we think it means something,” he said and pointed to his head. “Mine is here.”

Her soft fingers reached out and stroked the tender bump.

“Does it hurt?” she asked. Her breath stirred his hair, and it was only then that he realized how close she was.

Apollo shook his head to pull himself away from the close intimate touch.

Despite what he wanted, his head turned and there she was, filling everything in his vision.

Her breath came out short, and for a moment, he wondered if she wanted him to close the distance between them. His body certainly wanted him to.

He still keenly remembered the first kiss they shared. It had been hot. He ran a tongue over his tender lip and frowned. The kiss last night hadn’t been near as hot, but still, it felt more like a love bite than anything. She had kissed him back at the start, and that was all that really mattered.

Something about her touched him, filled him with all the need that he so rarely expressed. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, there was a piece of her that filled the void in his life. But he didn’t want to be like the others, love sick and with no control over what happened to him. He didn’t survive everything he had just to risk it all for someone else. The enemy was still out there. He wanted love, but he didn’t want it to destroy him.

Abruptly, she pulled away and stood.

“Just let me gather my things,” she said, refusing to look at him.

Something ached inside as she slipped away, and he had to clamp his fist to keep from pulling her back.

* * *

Val couldn’t help it. Despite the risk, she wanted nothing more than to go back to touching his head. But she could feel it, the rising tension coming from him. Despite how Apollo might act, he was very attracted to her. She could almost taste it in the air. But there were issues. Family issues. It almost thrilled her just to think it, but family complicated things.

She’d never even thought about it, but maybe Sol didn’t want a relationship with her, didn’t need a sister. All this time, she’d just wanted to meet her little niece. Now here she was but not able to get more than a few minutes. And she’d also learned that she didn’t just have a niece, but a nephew as well.

She felt pulled in two directions.

Her eyes sought Apollo from across the room, sitting on the exam table and looking far more innocent than she’d ever known him to be.

“He’s afraid I’m going to tell you about his chip,” Rachel said to her as she passed by on her way to the table.

Apollo huffed and turned his head away from them both.

Val swallowed as she remembered the small bump under the skin.

“The one by his eye?” she asked.

Rachel raised a brow as she turned to look at Apollo.

“That would be the one,” she said and gave a sly smile. “Interesting.”

“What’s it for?” Val asked.

Rachel turned back to her and opened her palm.

Val moved closer to see what she was holding. A tiny little microchip sat in the middle.

Without waiting to be told, she reached out and picked up the chip.

“A program?”

She held it up and examined it in the light. The little green chip was just like something you might find in any small device.

“Why would they have these inside?”

Rachel looked to Apollo and then back to Val. “We’re not completely sure, but this one was found in a hybrid and blocked out certain smells.”

“Sol?” she asked.

Apollo frowned at the mention of her brother.

“No,” Rachel said. “The men are very secretive about their abilities, so I won’t reveal his name. But that’s not really important. What is important is what they are capable of doing.”

Val looked between the two. “And you want me to find out?”

Apollo didn’t say anything, so she waited for Rachel.

“If you can,” Rachel said.

Val looked over to the angry hybrid and felt the irritation well up inside her as he refused to look at her.

“Why does he still have his?” she asked.

She raised her hand to touch it again. The skin was completely smooth aside from the hard bump. His rich spicy scent filled the air around her, and she leaned in closer. Something about his warmth drew her in.

“Apollo is special,” the doctor said. “His is wired to the eye. If I try to remove it, there could be permanent eye damage.”

She stared hard at the eye. Apollo shifted. His discomfort hung in the air.

“What?” he asked.

She shook her head. It bothered him, being vulnerable.

“I’m going to figure this out,” she said quietly. Not quite sure if that was for herself, Apollo or Rachel. “It will take time, but I will.”

“Good,” Rachel said and touched Val with something cold. She looked over and found her swabbing the inside of her elbow. “Now, I just need a little blood.”

Apollo growled, and Val placed a hand on his leg.

“It’s fine,” she whispered.

Rachel looked around her at the angry hybrid. She held up the needle in her hand and pointed it at him.

“You bite me, and I’ll make sure laxatives find their way into your food.”

Val wanted to laugh but was afraid it might set him off.

The poke was quick and relatively painless. It was clear that Rachel was more than capable at her job.

“How long will it take?” Apollo growled at her.

“Two to three days,” she said. “We have to send it off.”

“Three days?” he nearly shouted.

Rachel stared at him as if he’d just sprouted wings. “Welcome to science. You know, that’s actually very quick. I know someone who can skip us ahead.”

Apollo frowned, and Val had to admit, she was hoping it might be sooner. Still, just a few days, and she’d know if she was blood related to Sol.

“Now,” Rachel said, turning to Apollo. “Let’s do that other scan. Although I think it has less to do with a chip and more to do with a certain lady.”

Her smile said she was enjoying this maybe a tad too much, but who was Val to ruin her fun, especially if being bitten was actually a real concern?

* * *

Val had been working all afternoon, and he was impressed with how she dealt with the young hybrids. They worked hard for her and didn’t seem to mind the chill in the air as they did. He hadn’t seen them react as well to someone other than Hannah.