Free Blindsided by Tes Hilaire Page B

blinked, but otherwise remained perfectly still.
    “Of course, even when treated the disease results in early death.”
    Her shoulders tensed.
    He waited for more of a reaction. When it became apparent she wasn’t going to show any more, he pushed on, his voice ruthlessly toneless. “Rapid systems failure. Normally between adolescence and full adulthood. Your mother lucked out and beat the odds for a while.”
    Another blink.
    “But when it does catch up with you? Here one day,” he snapped his fingers, “gone the next.”
    She flinched.
    He paused, giving her opportunity to lob the ball back in his court. Her reaction to this and the next big play would determine how the rest of this game went. Come on, Aria, show me some real emotion. I need to know what your motives are in all this.
    She sat up straighter, seeming to draw into herself. “I’m aware of my family’s health history. If you came to enlighten me on the subject, it was unnecessary. As you can see,” she spread her hands. “I’m still alive.”
    “I see that,” he conceded. “Alive and beautiful.”  
    She turned her head away and to the side, cheeks reddening…and throwing him out of sync. What the hell was happening to him? All she’d done was blush.
    He ran a hand across his head, scrubbed his hair, pulling the roots slightly in hopes that the mild pain would keep him focused.  
    “Your mother’s sister also happened to be a research assistant for Dr. Viadal, a noted geneticist. It was claimed that she and Dr. Viadal were very close.”
    Her head snapped back up, the blood draining from her face. Something—fear?—made her pupils widen. An answering sickness pooled in the pit of his stomach. Shit. He’d hoped she was clueless about her aunt’s profession. But she’d just confirmed what he’d dreaded. She was well aware of her aunt’s questionable relationship with the good doctor. Of course, how else would she have known who and what Garret was? And she did know. He didn’t doubt that. Just like she must somehow know that someone was killing Viadal’s progeny. Why else had she come to Garret’s house?
    The question now was how did she know? Aria’s auntie dearest had worked for Viadal between the years of 2068 until his death in 2077. She might have had the means possible to track down and instigate a conspiracy with one of their “creations,” but she’d died less than a year and a half after Viadal and couldn’t be involved in their current problem. Was Aria? Or did she simply have an old family contact somewhere high up in the government who would have known and alerted her to the fact?
    “Again, nothing new.” She gave him a toothy smile. “Will that be all?”
    “Not quite.”
    He strode over and plopped down into one of the chairs across the desk from her. Even knowing she was concealing information and might even be some sort of traitor, he was having a hard time not reacting to her. She was dressed simply, elegantly. The gauzy pant suit clung to her body and the low V-neck showed the tasteful lace of the camisole beneath. He itched to come up behind her, lay his hands on her shoulders, let one dip down the suits lines and into the opening…cup her breast. Sitting down seemed the smarter decision.
    “I’m interested in knowing more about your twin brother. Finding any information on him besides pretty boy pictures and tabloids is difficult.” He leaned forward toward the desk. “Did your brother really die in a personal chopper explosion?”
    “I assume you’re asking if he died of this hereditary disease,” she said. “If it was covered up. The answer is no. On March 7 th , 2093 my brother’s helicopter exploded, less than five miles from my boarding school. Does that answer your question?”
    “Not really. Just because his chopper exploded doesn’t mean it wasn’t a cover up.”
    Her brow furrowed. Frustration? Pain?
    “My brother did not die from a genetic defect,” she finally said.
    Well, that