Deadly Genesis (Boomers Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

mortality.
    “She’s going to ask; do you want me to lie?”
    Michael ignored the pointed snark in the Cajun’s drawled question. “Decrypt the rest. We’ll review the material and decide on a course of action before we bring it to Rory’s team.”
    “Hey, Captain, not going to tell you your business…” Rex pushed out of the chair and stood.
    “Then don’t.” Michael didn’t like it, either. But Rory didn’t appreciate a chain of command. Her feckless behavior could get her killed. He couldn’t live with that. He wouldn’t.
    “…yeah, here’s the thing. I had a wife. You can tell yourself all the stories you want about protecting her, but if you start lying to her and keeping secrets, you’re inviting a lot of problems into your relationship. If you think it’s hard now, wait till she doesn’t trust you at all. Then where will you be?” Rex tapped two more keys. “Think about it. I’m going to go check on our guests and then help Drake with repairs.”
    The shifter didn’t wait for a response from Michael and left. Curling his fingers into a fist, Michael stared up at the ceiling. He usually hated being away from her, but as angry as he was with her at the moment, it seemed a more prudent course of action to keep his distance. He’d been ten minutes away when she took off for Canada. If he hadn’t planted a tracker in her boots, the team would have been too far away when her call for help came in.
    She didn’t understand the risks she took. Insisting on maintaining her patrols in the city, she went out regularly and dealt with everything from random muggings to researching disappearances. It’s what heroes are supposed to do, Michael. We fight the fights that need fighting.
    Heroes.
    The word held very little meaning for him and maybe, just maybe, that was the problem. The Boomers kept themselves isolated on purpose. They didn’t want to change too much in the past or reveal themselves to anyone who might stop them—like Rory and her team of heroes. The blind streak of idealism flowing through her was remarkable and quaint. But there was no time for it, the Boomers’ mission parameters were clear. Stop, at all costs, the rise of Hans Geiger to power, the outlawing of heroes and the incarceration of anyone with mutations.
    Her actions flaunted her abilities to the world. If she wanted a good look at the consequences, she needed to spend more time with her rescued friend. What if they take her next time? The very thought filled him with rage, matched only by the fury he experienced when her friend Josh had swept her away from the warehouse in a swirling cloud of air. He still didn’t particularly care for Josh and the feeling remained mutual.
    Without a doubt, he would bring Rory home—as long as there was a Rory still alive for him to find. A headache inched around his skull, a constricting pressure that threatened to crack the bone. Simon?
    I can look into her mind, but that violates her privacy, Captain. The gentle rebuke killed the question before he could even ask it.
    She doesn’t understand. But then how could she? Michael didn’t understand it, the visceral, gut-churning need to be with her and the almost homicidal urge to keep her safe at all costs. The doctor had discovered elements of Rory’s DNA encoded in the bioware chip in Michael’s brain. She theorized the genetic compatibility linked him and Rory together, but this went beyond science or human chemistry. He’d never felt this way about anyone, not even his team and they were owed his first loyalty.
    No, she questions our certainty with reason. She lives with the hope for the future every day, the promise of possibility. Weren’t you trying to embrace that philosophy?
    He wanted to. By all that was holy, he wanted to feel that way. I try, and then I remember the cells we found Garrett in the mass graves, the burnt out buildings, and the empty silence where life used to be. I can’t have a promise for the future until I