Free Her Rogue Alpha (X-Ops Book 5) by Paige Tyler

Jayson heard him saying something about the first phase of the test being very successful.
    Jayson was so focused on what Dick was saying that he didn’t realize Zarina had released his hand until one of the doctors who’d administered the serum came up and began poking and prodding him like he was a piece of pizza dough.
    “It’s been two hours and the results seem nominal so far,” the man said to Dick as the deputy director hung up the phone. “We need to move on to phase two and get him into a field environment as soon as possible. It’s the only way we’ll know for sure whether the serum worked.”
    The doctor didn’t even look at Jayson as he spoke. Why should he? To them, he was just a two-legged lab rat. A rat they anxiously wanted to get into the field in order to evaluate the success of their experiment. Normally, that kind of dismissive, condescending bullshit would have pissed Jayson off. But right then, he’d have liked nothing better than to go into the field. And he knew exactly where he should go—to meet up with Layla.
    * * *
    “I never thought we’d get in here so easily,” Ivy whispered to Landon as a member of Thomas Thorn’s security staff led them up the marble stairs to the third floor of the former senator’s home.
    “No kidding,” Landon muttered. “Though I have to admit, coming in through the front door almost seems like cheating.”
    On the way up the steps, she and Landon passed several plain clothes detectives, two uniformed police officers, and three crime scene techs. None of them looked happy to be there. From what John said when he’d called, Thomas Thorn was royally pissed that someone had waltzed into his heavily secured home while he’d been there and made off with a family heirloom.
    When they reached the third floor, the guard led them to a room at the end of the hallway. Thorn and his head of security, Douglas Frasier, were over by the far wall near a big picture frame that had been swung back on a hinge to reveal an open safe. A tall, dark-haired man in jeans and a leather jacket who exuded pure cop stood near the big window, and from the way he was clenching his jaw, he was obviously angry about something. He wasn’t the only one. Ivy could practically hear Thorn’s teeth grind together as he took in the empty safe. As for his paid muscle, Frasier looked like he was waiting for a live chicken to walk by so he could bite off its head.
    The detective frowned when he saw her and Landon. “This is a crime scene. I’m going to need you to step outside.”
    “That’s not necessary, Detective. I asked them to join us,” Thorn said. “These are Agents Donovan and Halliwell from the Department of Homeland Security. They’re here to help with the investigation.”
    Detective Hayes looked like someone had just handed him a lemon to suck. “DHS is working home break-ins these days?”
    “This is Detective Braden Hayes,” Thorn said, interrupting before either she or Landon could respond. Probably a good thing, since Landon would have almost certainly said something snarky in response to the sarcastic tone in the detective’s voice. “He handles major robbery for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department. You three will be working together.”
    Hayes’s eyes narrowed. “Burglary is a police matter. DHS has no jurisdiction here. Unless you’re trying to tell me that this case has terrorism implications that I don’t see.”
    “This isn’t an issue of jurisdiction or terrorism,” Thorn snapped. “This is about someone breaking into my home and stealing something that’s extremely valuable to me. You will work together, you will find the thief who took my property, and you will get back what they took. If you can’t do that, Detective, I can call the MPD brass and have someone else assigned to this case. Is that clear?”
    The detective’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything. Obviously, he was smart enough to realize this wasn’t a battle he