“Changed his mind?”
“When you were doing the publicity circuit all those years ago, Dyle was thinking that Waldridge might need a martyr scenario to drive him deeper into the Night Watch Project. The death of his pride and joy, supposedly committed by a hate group like the one who was fighting to make the government shut down the research? Anyway, you seemed to be the perfect candidate. He genuinely cared about you. But then Waldridge let you go about your merry way, and Dyle decided his commitment wasn’t strong enough to go through with it.” He smiled, his silver-gray eyes glowing with malice. “But that’s all changed now, hasn’t it?” He turned toward the door. “With an interesting variation. I wonder if Dyle will assign me to be the one who takes out your eyes…” A moment later, she heard the door lock behind him.
Shock on top of shock. “Dear God, Charles. Eight years? Even that far back?”
“I had suspicions, but no knowledge of this kind of … evil. I just didn’t like the feel of it. And I wanted you to be free to enjoy your life.”
“And you let me go.”
“It appears we were both lucky it was a joint decision.”
“Yes … lucky.” Shock and revelations and that last confrontation with Biers and Dyle were taking their toll. She felt limp now, her knees trembling. What good had any of it done? The situation was still basically the same.
No, it wasn’t the same. She didn’t feel as weak and ineffectual. Dyle couldn’t feel as all-powerful as he had before. Both were good results in a bad scenario. And she had now been able to gauge the depth of Jaden’s ruthlessness and the fact that he would never stop. Knowledge was also power. She needed any good results that came their way right now.
If you could call it good when her stomach was twisting, and she had to fight not to fall back into that pit of sheer terror.
Waldridge stepped closer to Kendra. “You’re shaking,” he said gently. “Don’t fall apart now. You were bloody magnificent.”
“I couldn’t let them have it all their own way,” she said unevenly. “I hate bullies, and I wanted to smack Biers when I realized what he was doing.”
“Well, you slapped him down figuratively. I would have liked to do a good deal more to him.” His expression was shadowed. “I was in a world where I could trust no one, and I allowed myself the bad judgment to trust Biers. He was so brilliant and enthusiastic. I suppose money and power can change people.”
“He’s weaker, but just as bad as Dyle,” she said, remembering Biers’s expression when he was looking at Waldridge. “And he’s jealous of you. I’m surprised you didn’t pick up on that.”
“We were colleagues. I celebrated any success he made. I thought he did the same.”
“And you trusted him,” she repeated. “But he belongs to Dyle now. He didn’t even get up off his knees without Dyle’s okay. He was the one who cut that GPS out of me. If Dyle told him to cut out my eye, he’d do it in a heartbeat.” Her lips twisted. “Of course, he might have to fight Jaden for the pleasure.”
He muttered a curse. “No way, Kendra.”
“I hope we can keep that from happening.” She had to stop this shaking. “I guess you know how I’d feel about that. Dyle managed to hit a bull’s-eye. No one can really know the difference unless they’ve been there.”
“I won’t let him touch you.”
“You might have to let him go ahead and do it if we have to find a way to stall.”
Waldridge took her in his arms and held her. Comfort. Friendship. Togetherness. “No, then we’ll find another way to stall.”
“How? You can’t give him what he wants. You said if you gave in, you knew it would only be signing your death warrant. Do you think he’d let me live afterward? Not likely.” She pushed him away and drew a deep breath. The shaking had almost stopped. She was getting better, that moment of realizing that she was not alone in this battle was helping. “You can’t do it. We’d both end up dead.”
He didn’t speak for a moment. “Quite possibly.” His lips twisted. “Then we’d best come up with another solution. Dyle believes he’s come up with the perfect mechanism to force me to his way of thinking. He knew what seeing you tortured would do to me. He was entirely serious about taking your eyes.”
She had known that, and the fear had nearly paralyzed her. Snap out of it. They could get through this. They had no choice.
“Tell me about the layout of this place.” She looked at the large, reinforced door through which Dyle had just exited. “Do you know where that leads?”
“Oh, yes. That leads to an office–sitting room and a kitchen.” His lips twisted. “And a small room where Dyle spent a number of hours trying to convince me of my duty to him.”