Free BirthStone by Sydney Addae Page A

“Ten years ago the
first flesh-covered bomb was created.”
    “Three. It came from another group.”
    Good, they weren’t that far behind. “Five
years ago the serum to change wolves was created.”
    “Eight. First shot.”
    He glanced at his notes. “A lot of the
chemicals in the compound weren’t discovered eight years ago. That
means this formula has transitioned from the first batch.”
    “Yes.”
    He jotted down the information just as his
cell beeped. “Excuse me, I have to take this call.” He walked out
into the hall. “Sir?”
    “I am on my way to the labs, I got a message
that it was time to approve the bomb detectors. Since the message
didn’t come from you, I'm calling to make sure you were ready.”
    “Yes, Sir. I was interviewing Asia. We came
up with a way for her to answer questions without causing her
pain.”
    “I want to hear all about it. I’ll meet you
in the demo area.” They clicked off.
    Dr. Passen had just typed in the code to
open Asia’s door when Dr. Matt Chism rounded the corner. He had
been so engrossed with Asia, he had forgotten the doctor was on his
way. He waved Matt over. “Give me a minute to say good-bye and I’ll
bring you up to speed.”
    Matt nodded and stayed next to the door as
Dr. Passen walked inside. “I have to meet La Patron, but I’d like
to finish this later.” He waited for her response, which was slow
in coming.
    “Yes, but you should know I wasn’t in any
pain because I didn’t think. I just answered. That must mean the
lock is somehow connected to the cognitive processes in my brain.
Unfortunately, I don’t know if the answers are real or planted
memories.”
    He nodded, remembered she couldn’t see him.
“You’re right, but there are ways to verify some things, and that’s
where we’ll begin. I really don’t want to do your forty-eighth
surgery unless it will give you peace without leaving you a
vegetable.”
    She smiled. “I learned some things about
myself today. First off, if this thing in my brain could kill me,
I’d be dead already.”
    Silently, he agreed with her.
    “Second… dang, I’m old.”
    He grinned and closed the door.
     

Chapter 7
     
    Lt. Jennings checked the address in the
folder again, and then gazed at his GPS. According to his device,
the large colonial style home in front of him belonged to the
Merriweather’s. He pulled out his file. Supposedly this family was
one of the richest in the state, but judging by the unkempt
appearance of the estate, he wondered if that report was true. His
car idled at the turn off into the driveway while he worked out the
contradiction in his mind. The building looked abandoned, although
he saw lights.
    Inhaling, he pulled onto the cracked
concrete masquerading as a driveway and inched slowly toward the
house. Overgrown grass and debris covered the front yard. He saw
loose boards on the wooden porch and wondered if it was safe. He
turned off his car, closed his eyes and inhaled, allowing his wolf
to check for danger. There was no response, which concerned
him.
    He inhaled again, but there was no tingling
of danger, no whimpering or barking. No tenseness in his gut like
it had been earlier when he talked to Merriweather on the phone.
Concerned at the lack of response, he started a mental checklist to
determine the status of his beast just as Merriweather stepped out
onto the porch with a large smile of welcome.
    Trapped, Jennings stepped out of the car and
put on his game face. “Mr. Merriweather, how’s it going?” He moved
closer but remained at the bottom of the steps, not trusting the
wood. His host was slightly under six feet, with a head full of
silver hair. The older man stared down at him with dark brown eyes
that in the waning sunlight appeared to have some sort of glow. Up
close, Jennings noted a thin metallic choker around the other man’s
neck, and the lower half of his face were filled with various sizes
of dark brown moles.
    “Come on in, we were just having a