“As long as I get to do some of the wringing,” I said with a glower. “Anything besides Pietro’s change-of-body off limits?”
“No, that’s the only info that needs to remain completely hush-hush,” he said. “But you have plenty of other ammunition.”
“I know lots of shit that he doesn’t,” I said then looked down at myself. Baggy sweatpants and a T-shirt that swallowed me. Pretty unimpressive. “Let me throw my clothes in the dryer first.” The pants had a bullet hole in the ass, and the jacket and shirt were burned and melted in the back from when I got stuck beneath Naomi’s car in the Saberton parking garage, but it would still be a better look than my current one. I’d have to find a way to score some less-damaged stuff for the rescue raid though. Maybe I could be Naomi’s personal fashion doll again.
“I’ll make a sandwich for our guest while you do that,” Brian said.
“Don’t put anything weird in it,” I replied as I trotted off to the laundry room.
Brian’s chortle followed me. “Not promising anything!”
Chapter 31
With fresh clothing and a tough attitude, I headed upstairs with Brian. “Do we have a plan?” I asked.
“Get a feel for it,” Brian replied as we reached the door at the end of the hall. “Follow my lead if you get stuck.” And with that, he threw the door open.
Andrew startled so badly he rattled the headboard against the wall as he jerked his wrist cuff. After a few seconds of wide-eyed hard breathing he put on the toughest face he could manage, though it did little to hide how tired and scared he looked. “What now?” he rasped. “More threats?”
I followed Brian into the room, and when he didn’t respond to Andrew, I realized he expected me to start. Crap. “We don’t have any reason to threaten you,” I said, doing my best cool interrogator impression. “You’re in a world of shit, and you know it.”
Andrew shifted to the awkward half-sit the shackle and cuff would allow. “Yes, I know it.” His eyes flicked from me to Brian. His fear smelled like the tang of shorting wires, and a sheen of sweat broke on his forehead. He probably figured we’d eat his brain the instant he stopped being useful. A whisper of uncertainty passed over his face as he noted the sandwich and the glass of sparkling grape juice in Brian’s hands. Probably wondering why we’d feed him if we were only going to kill him.
“Hungry?” I asked as I took the plate and glass from Brian.
He hesitated, clearly torn about whether to be stubborn and hungry, or cooperative and fed, but after a few more seconds he gave a tight nod. I placed the sandwich and juice on the nightstand within his reach, then sat on the edge of the other bed.
Andrew mumbled thanks and wasted no time in taking a bite of the sandwich. I gave him almost enough time to finish chewing, then asked my question. “Why do you hate us so much?”
He froze, then swallowed the bite and washed it down with juice. “Your people murdered my sister.” His voice remained calm, but I felt the anger behind it.
Brian stepped forward. “I did that,” he said. “Though from what she said you two didn’t seem all that close.”
Fury flashed in Andrew’s eyes. “Who the hell are you to judge me on that?” he asked, not so calm anymore. “We didn’t always get along, but I still loved her. She was my sister.”
Brian’s nostrils flared slightly. Scenting truth or lie. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
Andrew shot him a baffled look. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means, when I’m deciding whether or not to kill you, it might factor in.” Brian folded his arms. “It was a waste for that girl to die, but it had to be done.” I had to hand it to Brian. He knew which buttons to push on Andrew.
Andrew’s jaw trembled as his composure crumbled. “Why?”
I leaned forward, completely on track with Brian. “What part? Why was it a waste, or why did it have to be done?”
“I know why it was a waste,” Andrew snapped. “She was talented and clever and full of life. I didn’t always agree with her choices, but I respected her drive and skill.” He fixed his gaze on me. “I want to know why the hell Ivanov had this goon kill her.”
Well, damn. This whole faked death thing looked a lot different up close and personal. No wonder Andrew hated Pietro. Part of me wanted to cave in, comfort him, and tell him his sister was fine, but the rest of me knew I had a job to do. Other people’s lives depended on my staying strong here. I drew a breath to steady myself. “Because she knew too much. She was desperate to get away from Saberton, but your mother had her so terrified we couldn’t risk her going back.”
For a second I thought Andrew was going to throw up, then he smashed his free fist into the headboard. His words came out between clenched teeth. “My mother is a desperate, manipulative, heartless woman, and Julia had good reason to be afraid of her.”
“No shit.” I did my best to kept my voice even and steady. “What about you, Andy? How’d you pick up such a cruel streak?”
He flexed his bleeding knuckles then grabbed the sandwich and took a vicious bite to cover his angry frustration. And fear. And to avoid answering. And to get some food while we were in the mood to feed him. Darn useful sandwich.
“You broke Heather’s—I mean Julia’s—heart,” I said, correcting my intentional use of her cover name. “You know, when she watched a video of you right alongside Nicole being all okay with cutting up a live zombie.”
He paled, and I thought he might crack, but he pulled his act together and lifted his chin. “It was that or abandon my grandfather’s company and have no say whatsoever in its future.” He placed the rest of the sandwich on the plate and shoved it away. “My mother knew Dr. Charish’s Zoldiers project was a long shot, yet she wanted to mine anything salvageable from it. Saberton provided only minimal resources. There were other projects but all were beyond my ability to stop or control. I told Julia that.”
I stood, jaw clenched tight as my calm went out the window. Those minimal resources had fucked up my life, terrorized my dad, crippled Philip, and killed an innocent man.
“Interesting.” Brian drawled the word. “You’re saying that, if you were in charge, you’d put a stop to the vivisection, torture, and experimentation?”
Andrew squared his shoulders. “If I was in charge? Yes.” He hesitated as if about to say more, but didn’t.
“Why don’t I believe you?” Brian picked up the plate with the unfinished sandwich. “Your sister had a real affinity for zombies. You and your mother set her up with John Kang, then tried to turn her against him—her best friend. And you call us monsters.”
With that he strode out of the room. I really wanted to stick around and punch Andrew, but I followed Brian instead, though I did slam the door behind me.
Brian walked a short distance down the hallway. “We’ll let him simmer a bit while you get yourself together,” he told me in a low voice.
“I almost lost it,” I confessed. “Dude pissed me off.”
“I get it,” he said. “But you want him to be the only one off-balance. You’ve accomplished that. Now it’s time to drop the bomb about his sister, then fish for information. We’ll play it by ear as it unfolds. You lead again, and I’ll take over if you need a boost.”
“Got it,” I said. “Learn by doing and screwing up.” An odd thrill of excitement and nerves shivered through me, but I took a deep breath and made myself chill. The urge to punch someone faded, and I returned to Andrew’s door and opened it gently. He still sat on the edge of the bed, his good hand locked over the injured knuckles as he glared at us.