Free PS02 - Without Regret by R.L. Mathewson Page B

could tell them to go to hell.
    “What I’m about to tell you is probably going to scare the hell out of you,” he said, pausing to gauge her reaction. There was
    none other than annoyance. She really couldn’t think of any bullshit line that he could give her that would convince her to give
    him her program and she had absolutely no doubt that’s what this was about.
    “There’s more to this world than you know, Isabella.”
    He paused, probably for drama, she thought as her eyes drifted towards the partially open door, wondering if she could make a
    run for it. “I’m sure you’ve realized by now that you’re different than everyone else,” Chris said, drawing her attention back to
    him.
    She just barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes when she realized what he was doing. Of course he was giving the “Join
    our cult” speech. What better way to get their hands on her program and probably her money as well than to have her join
    them?
    They’d probably orchestrated this entire thing, she thought bitterly as she ran her fingers over the two pin size scabs on her
    neck. Part of her felt flattered that they went through so much just to get her hands on her and her program, but the other part of
    her was pissed to be played with.
    “There’s a good explanation for the way you feel, because you are different,” Chris said. “What I’m about to tell you is going
    to sound crazy, but please hear me out.”
    “Sure,” she sighed, gesturing lazily for him to get on with it. The sooner he was done the sooner she could get some sleep, she
    hoped, so she could clear her mind and figure out a way to get herself the hell out of this mess.
    “Look, I know you’re probably really pissed about being here and scared,” he said, licking his lips, “but you don’t need to be.
    The first thing you should know is that I will never let anything happen to you. You’re safe.”
    Because he thought she was his wife, she reminded herself, wondering if she could use that against him.
    “I know this is going to be a lot to take in at once and I wish there was a better way to do it but right now there’s no choice in
    the matter, Izzy,” he said and she just barely stopped herself from correcting him about her name. If she wanted to get some
    time to clear her head then she needed him to hurry the hell up with his little sales pitch.
    “The first thing you need to know is that you’re not human,” he said, sounding so damn serious that she had the hardest time not
    rolling her eyes at him.
    “You’re a Sentinel,” he announced, giving her an expectant look.
    She carefully blanked her expression as she stared back at him. When she didn’t react in any way he shared a look with his
    “father” before proceeding. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that you’re faster and stronger than the people around you,” he said and
    Isabella couldn’t help but wonder if the man was high.
    Stronger? Her?
    Um no, she thought. If anything she’d always thought of herself as weaker than most people. She’d always been smaller than
    everyone else, even as a baby. When her mother had been pregnant with her and her brother the doctors expressed their
    concern that she was too small and probably wouldn’t survive. After a second and third opinion her parents had resigned
    themselves to her loss.
    They hadn’t even bothered buying a crib or clothes for her. All of their focus went to her unborn brother. Her father had
    decorated the nursery into a boy’s dream room with exotic animals painted all over the walls, dinosaurs toys and sports
    memorabilia. Her mother filled the drawers and closet full of little boy clothes and actually started a pregnancy journal for
    him. She wasn’t even mentioned in the book.
    When her brother hadn’t survived the birth her parents had been distraught. She knew they’d never expected that outcome and
    that her brother’s death had hurt them because they’d fallen in love with him the moment