Interesting that her searches, mainly across the dark web, had brought her back to this rather clear beacon. Even for a carefully laid trap, there was something sloppy about it.
The men she’d created in test tubes, even the ones she hadn’t personally raised, had extraordinary intelligence ranges. Not one of them would make a mistake like this one. So that prompted questions: Had one of her creations lost his mind, or was somebody else looking for her?
Interesting.
She quickly texted Todd to come see her. He was training his pseudo Protect army down at the barns. Truly, she couldn’t wait to terminate her association with them.
If this beacon led where she hoped, that would happen sooner rather than later.
She clicked over to another screen, this one password protected. Methodically working her way beyond the encryptions, she noted the progress of her newest lab. Excellent. Another couple of weeks, and it’d be operational.
Destiny shone bright and hard before her.
Sheriff Cobb strode into the room.
Isobel sat back behind her glass desk and studied him. Much, much better. She’d reached out to him months ago, and surveillance videos had shown him to be almost portly. The man had let himself go in the years they were apart, and he was only forty-five years old—ten years her junior. Yet now he looked like the mean fighting machine she remembered from years ago. Ripped muscles moved beneath his pressed uniform, and he walked with the angry grace she remembered from their time together. Obviously he’d started working out the moment she’d contacted him. “Thank you for coming. It’s time we brought the Lost boys back into the fold.”
“I’ve been trying to find them for years,” he countered, his eyes glittering with a primal light as he leaned against a tall file cabinet. “The assholes killed my brother.”
She shifted in her seat. While she’d had many lovers through her life, the sheriff had always held an edge that fascinated her. “When my lab is up and running, I’d like to do some tests on you.”
“Why?” His gaze dropped to her chest.
“I’d bet my slush fund that you have the warrior gene.” As did all of her creations, she was sure.
He frowned. “Isn’t that the one psychopaths have?”
“Sometimes.” She smiled and stroked his ego, truly intrigued by him. “You’re not a psychopath.” He was most likely a sociopath, which would work nicely with her plans.
“I like that you like all of me.” Vulnerability, rare in him, shone in his eyes. “That you’re not turned off by my darker urges.”
“I like dark urges,” she said, lowering her voice. “You know that.”
He shuffled his feet, looking endearing and dangerous all at once. “I’m glad you called me a few months ago. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too, and appreciate your coming so quickly when I called.”
He cocked his head. “I never figured we were quite finished with each other.”
She smiled and leaned back to stretch her neck, not missing when his eyes flared. “We aren’t, but I need you to keep that between us until I’m finished with Todd and his forces.”
The sheriff lifted his chin. “You’re sleeping with him.”
“No,” she lied. “Yet he seems to have a bit of a crush, and I need to use that for the time being. He’s such a moron, but he does have a fighting force.”
“So when we’re done with him, you’re fine if I slice open his jugular?”
She smiled. “Of course. I’d appreciate you taking care of me that way. Did he show you to your quarters?”
“You mean, my room?” Elton patted the grooved wooden wall. “This is more like a cushiony lodge than a training facility.”
Wasn’t that the truth? “The soldiers and I use that term loosely. All bunk down in the barracks, which used to be barns.” The only hitch in her plan would be if Todd and the sheriff started fighting over her, especially since Elton would kill Todd, and she really needed Todd’s fighting forces. Her own force was at an all-time low since the depot in Utah had been blown up. “I need you to act as if you’re here as an advisor to bring the Lost boys back in, and not because of me. Temporarily.”
Elton rubbed his hand across his jeans. “Fine, but you’re gonna have to earn my cooperation.” His tone was gritty and thick with dark promise.
She’d figured. “Yes?”
“My room, midnight.” Without another word, he pivoted and disappeared from sight.
Apparently the good sheriff had gained a backbone in the years they’d been separated. She’d be smart not to underestimate him.
Heavy footsteps clomped down the hallway, and Todd came into view. “You texted me?”
The man moved like an elephant. She couldn’t help but compare Sheriff Cobb’s hard abs and lack of conscience with this soft, silly pretend soldier. Soon she’d be rid of Todd and his bizarre quest to rid the world of science. Even so, she forced a smile. “Yes. I had an alarm go off, and I think I know where a couple of my test subjects are. Cisco, Wyoming.”