The Storm That Is Sterling by Lisa Renee Jones Read Free Book Online

that said it was exactly noon, only five minutes later than the last time he’d checked.
    “Damn it to hell,” he mumbled, eyeing the leather sofa, full kitchen, and entry to a bedroom complete with a king-sized bed that made up his new prison cell. One might think he was a welcomed guest if not for the locks on the doors. He should be wolf bait inside the coliseum, where he’d be mangled until he healed, and mangled all over, until he told the Renegade secrets. So why wasn’t he? Why… when Adam had Becca’s ICE addiction, did he think he needed Becca’s help? Unless… Adam was using Becca to get to him. He didn’t have time to contemplate the many ways Becca might be used against him, before the door burst open and Becca was shoved inside.
    Tad filled the doorway behind her. “Take care of her,” he said. “Or I’ll enjoy doing it for you.” He barked out laughter and pulled the door shut. A glow of red lights appeared on the knob as he activated the electronic locks.
    Any thought he’d had of her rushing to his side glad to see him faded when she leaned against the door, leaving several feet between them, and accused, “You’re one of them.”
    She still wore the same black dress, one side of it ripped, one section matted with blood, his blood . The dark length of her silky hair rested in disorderly waves around her pale face, where not a drop of makeup remained. And she was beautiful, absolutely freaking beautiful. There was just something about Becca that called to the man in him, even before he’d fully been one.
    “I’m not one of them, Becca,” he promised.
    She shook her head, rejecting his answer. “You were bleeding to death. They shot you at least a half dozen times.” Her voice lifted, cracked with anger, and turned to a shout. “You should be dead right now.”
    Okay, he hadn’t seen that one coming. She was pissed he was still alive? “Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but I’m not dead, nor do I intend to be anytime soon.”
    “Don’t say it like that,” she said. “Don’t say it like I did something wrong. I cried for you. I… took that damn drug for you.”
    Understanding washed over him, the reason Adam needed Sterling’s help. Either Becca was a damn good actress, or she not only wasn’t happy about being an ICE addict, but she now thought he’d been part of an elaborate scheme to make her take it.
    “I’m one of the two hundred men injected by Powell at Area 51 before Adam Rain got power hungry and took it over. That makes me a GTECH, and yes, I heal quickly, among other abilities. But I am not, nor will I ever be, one of Adam’s men.”
    She studied him a moment, her gaze sharp, but her body eased slightly, melting against the door. “So you work for the army?”
    “The Renegades,” he said. “A private Special Operations group composed of both GTECHs and civilian human members.”
    “Human,” she repeated.
    “Most GTECHs don’t consider themselves human.”
    “Do you?”
    “No.”
    She seemed to digest that a moment, accept it, before moving on. “They want me to help them with the drug,” she said. “Just like you did.”
    He didn’t miss the slight hint of accusation to the statement. “For different reasons with the same outcome,” he said, starting to realize the opportunity they had before them. The DNA source was here, where he could destroy it if she could come up with an antidote. “So people don’t die.”
    “They gave me the drug.”
    Cautiously, he moved a few inches closer to her, encouraged when she didn’t object. “It cured your cancer.”
    “It made me an addict and a slave to whatever that man wants of me. That’s not a cure.”
    “We’ll find an antidote.”
    “More than an antidote,” she replied vehemently. “I’ll make an immunization that keeps ICE from working. I’ll make sure he doesn’t turn anyone else into a slave at his mercy, if it’s the last thing I do on this earth, so help me God.”
    Sterling