I reclaimed my seat on the other bed. Cool and calm. I can do this. “The last time you saw Julia,” I began, “you threatened to tell your mother that Julia helped a zombie escape and killed a Saberton lab guy. You scared the shit out of her, and because of that, she figured her only options were to go under your thumb forever or smash you in the face and run for her life.” I paused for effect. “We know how that turned out.”
His glare dissolved into anguish. “You don’t think I feel the guilt of that every goddamn day?” he asked, voice cracking. “I’m her twin. Was her twin.” He reached out with his bloody hand as though to touch something, then closed his fist on empty air. “I can’t even let her go because it feels like she’s still right here.”
Was that because of the twin thing? Maybe on some level he knew she wasn’t dead? “Andrew, we’re not going to fuck with you anymore over this,” I said. “Your mother is a piece of work—more than you can possibly know.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Julia knew your mother wouldn’t rest until your security people caught her,” I said. “Your sister didn’t fear death. She was scared shitless that she’d be lab zombified and used as a specimen. The threat was very real to her, and she couldn’t live like that.”
“I know,” he said, voice sharp with grief. “She should’ve trusted that I’d keep her safe.”
“Pietro figured locking her away for protection would’ve been a waste, a different sort of death for her,” I said, picking my way through how to tell him without blurting it out. “Apart from that, there was only one way to stop your mother from hunting her down.”
Hate burned in his eyes. “What are you saying?” he asked. “Ivanov had Archer kill her out of some sorted twisted sense of mercy?”
“We killed Julia Saber,” I said carefully. Andrew was a prime asshole, but this shit was real, and I didn’t want to botch the words. “But that’s only a name.”
The color drained from his face. “What are you saying?” he asked again, barely able to get the words out.
“Julia Saber was only a name.” I relaxed a little. “She did okay with cutting all ties with the family and the past. Except for you.”
He stared at me for a moment as the implication set in, then lunged, teeth bared as he swung his bloody fist. I gave a startled yelp and scrambled backward, but in the next instant Brian body slammed Andrew back onto the bed and pinned him with a heavy hand on his upper chest.
“One more stunt like that,” Brian said softly but distinctly, “and I’ll lock you down so hard you won’t be able to flinch when I eat your fucking brain.” He leaned into Andrew’s chest. “We clear?”
Andrew gasped for air and nodded. Brian straightened and stepped back. “You good, Ms. Crawford?”
I stared stupidly at him for a second before recovering. “Uh, yeah. Yes. Thanks, Brian.” Or was I supposed to call him Mr. Archer? I straightened and did my best to pretend nothing had happened. “Sit up, Andrew,” I said, then added, “Please.”
He slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “I’m not going to fall for your emotional blackmail bullshit,” he snarled. “Whatever it is you want, you’re not going to get it that way.”
What now? I sure as hell didn’t want to get into an argument about whether or not his sister was alive. I started to give Brian a What the fuck do I do now? look, then caught sight of Pierce eavesdropping in the hallway. Oh, right. I knew shit that Andrew didn’t. I could use that.
“You’ve made it pretty clear you don’t want to listen to me,” I said with a shrug. “That’s fine. How ’bout we cut the bullshit.”
Andrew’s shoulders eased a bit and caginess replaced the fury in his eyes, as if I’d finally stepped onto his turf. “You want Ivanov.”
“Pietro? Nah.” I shook my head even as I watched his face for reaction. “I guess you’ve been out of the loop. Your people don’t have him anymore.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said after a heartbeat of hesitation.
“Whether you believe me or not doesn’t change a damn thing.” I tilted my head and smiled. “Saberton had an insider, and Pietro’s out. How do you think we knew y’all have Marcus?”
He quickly covered his surprise with a steely frown. “What insider?”
My smile widened. “Pierce Gentry.”
Andrew stared for a second then let out a laugh. “Insider? You hauled him in here in handcuffs. God knows what you people did to him to get that tidbit of information.” He snorted. “Pierce Gentry is hard core Saberton. Second generation.”
With that absolutely perfect setup, Pierce stepped into the doorway. Dressed in black tactical pants and shirt, and with a big ass knife in a belt sheath on his hip, he sure as hell didn’t fit the vision of a tortured prisoner. “You’re wrong, Saber,” he growled. “About me. About a lot of things.”
It was like watching a movie and being in it at the same time. Andrew’s mouth fell open, and something that was probably supposed to be “why?” came out a strangled croak instead.
“Because Saberton crossed the line when it fucked with zombies.” Pierce pulled a baggie of brains from his pocket and slurped down the unmistakable contents.
Andrew drew a noisy breath as he fought to make sense of this new reality. “You . . . no. We would’ve known. You can’t be one of those . . .”
Pierce’s face went hard. “One of those animals? Monsters? Vermin? Freaks? I know all the shock team’s pet names for ‘specimens.’” He moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Brian. “I can be one of them, and I am. Looks like you’re wrong again.”
Hot damn. I knew where to go with this. “Here’s the deal, Andy,” I said quickly. “We’re going in to get our people back. And you’re going to help us.”
He dragged his eyes from Pierce to me. “What?”
“You heard me.” I fought down a gleeful smile. “You’re going to help us. Pietro’s out, but his nephew isn’t.” I paused. “Your mother thinks forcing Jane’s hand is a good business plan, but you don’t.”
“I stand behind Saberton,” he said with a frown.
“Yeah. Whatever.” I waved a hand. “You hustled Jane out of Saberton Tower before your mother changed her mind, and I could’ve sworn you looked relieved when I said your people didn’t have Pietro anymore.”
He didn’t protest or try to correct me. “If Pennington pulls the strings needed to secure the defense contract, it’s suicide for Saberton,” he said, expression grim. “We’ll make more enemies than allies in Congress, and turn our competitors into cutthroats. We might get a contract, but we’d go down hard later.” He drew a breath. “When I escorted her out, I told her I’d be in touch with her shortly. I planned to offer her an alternative. Of course, that never happened.”
“What alternative?”
He grimaced. “I didn’t have one yet. I was trying to stall her before she followed through with the deal.”
“The good news for you is that the original deal is blown now that you’ve lost Pietro,” I said. “Bad news is that Jane isn’t going to sit on her hands as long as y’all still hold Pietro’s nephew. She’s all set to fuck Saberton over six ways to Sunday, and you know she won’t hold back.”
A pained expression flashed across his face. Ha! One point for Angel! Pleased, I leaned back on my elbows. “Look, we both want the same thing here. So how ’bout you make it easy on everyone and work with us.”