Greg sat back, a myriad of expressions crossing his face. “She’s a super smart neurobiologist who studies kids with high IQs and special gifts. She studied me and my brothers in a kind of military school in Utah.” He gave quick coordinates, and Ryker typed them in.
He read the screen, his instincts flaring hot and fast. “Those coordinates lead to a former military depot that was used for storing vehicles and weapons.” He scrolled down. “There was an explosion last year, and the place burned down.”
Greg swallowed. “It was also a training and research facility. I lived there with my brothers.”
Ryker narrowed his gaze and studied the kid. “You and your brothers.”
“Yeah,” Greg said. Emotion, dark and deep, echoed in his low tone. He glanced toward the nearest exit, and his body stiffened.
Being truthful scared the shit out of him, now, didn’t it? Ryker wanted to protect the boy, but first they needed answers. How could they get him to trust them?
“Where are your brothers now?” Heath asked.
“Dunno. You find Madison, and you’ll find them,” Greg said. Hope and despair crossed his face, and he visibly struggled to subdue all expression.
Ryker sat back as images of the exploding army depot filled his screen. Could be a cover-up. “Since you really want us to find your brothers, why not give me their names? I could search for them and skip the doctor.” But he was sure as shit going to find that woman, and not just for Greg’s sake.
Greg shook his head. “There’s no record of me or my brothers. You’ve already tried to track me down, right?”
“Yeah,” Ryker said. How could the kids not exist on paper?
“Find anything?”
“No.”
“Exactly.” Greg ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “Believe me, you won’t find them either.”
Denver entered the room and leaned against the door frame, his gaze thoughtful. “There have to be records from before you went to the depot.”
“Nope. Not even birth certificates,” Greg said.
Ryker frowned and tried to click facts into place. The kid seemed to be telling the truth but definitely not all of it. “Let me get this straight. You and your brothers were put into a training and research facility because you have high IQs, and this Isobel Madison studied you, and for some reason she had your histories wiped.”
“Yes.” Greg seemed to be barely breathing. It was costing the kid to be honest. What did he fear so badly? What he was saying was beyond belief.
“Did they hurt you?” Ryker asked, anger beginning to take hold for the lost boy.
“No.” Greg didn’t move. His eyes hardened.
Lie. That was definitely a lie. Ryker let it go, not wanting to flay the kid open any more than he already was. “Where are your parents?”
“Dead.”
Ryker tried to concentrate on the kid’s emotions, but they were so jumbled he couldn’t get a grasp. “When did they die?”
“When I was too young to know the difference.” Now the tone turned matter-of-fact.
Lie or truth, Ryker couldn’t tell. “All right. So Madison somehow found you and your brothers and took you to some weird depot in Utah.”
“Pretty much.” Greg kept his gaze level.
Lie? Yeah. That was a lie. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me everything.” Ryker eyed the burning metal on his screen.
“Sure you can. I’ve told you plenty,” Greg said, his voice low.
“Who’s the commander?” Ryker had been holding that one close and he almost hated to spring it on Greg.
Greg swallowed and looked younger for just a moment. “He’s the guy who ran the depot and dated Madison. Well, I don’t know if they dated, but they were together, if you know what I mean.”
Ryker nodded and bit back a wince. Hopefully Greg hadn’t seen the same stuff Ryker had with Madison and Cobb. Seemed to be her MO, considering she’d screwed Sheriff Cobb. “What exactly did the commander train you to do?”
Greg’s lids lowered. “Hand-to-hand, weaponry, hacking skills. You know, your basic military school shit.”
Something told Ryker it was a hell of a lot more than that, and his chest ached for Greg. “If Madison tested Heath, Denver, and me…all at a boys home, that’s weird, right?”
“Not really,” Greg said. “I’d bet anything she had a hand in you guys all three ending up at the same boys home. No way is that some sort of weird coincidence, you know? She loved her experiments.”
Nausea swirled in his gut. Were they all experiments? Ryker clenched his jaw and tried to find a controlled place inside him. Had Madison messed with his life like that? Had she maneuvered his entire existence into where it was right now? Bile rose in his throat, but he kept his face stoic and decided to underplay for the kid’s sake. “This is getting beyond odd.”
“Saying all this is true, how did you get free?” Heath asked.
“I didn’t. I went on a mission, failed, and Madison left me on my own overseas. Said I could get back myself or just die.” Greg hunched into himself. “I made it back, but the place was already destroyed. I have to find my brothers.”
“How many brothers do you have?” Heath asked, kicking back in his chair when his vibe was anything but relaxed.