“Seven monsters just like Whitney oversee those labs for him. You took down Braden, but that leaves six more. I don’t have those locations, but I know they exist because I’ve heard Whitney talking to the men and giving them orders. I know he flies to them whenever he feels like it. He gets help from so many people in power. If I get to be vice president, I can find those people and get rid of them.”

Ask her who set our team up to be ambushed in Afghanistan, Joe commanded. He was still feeling the effects of his injuries.

“Who sent our team into an ambush in Afghanistan?” Trap demanded. “And tell the fucking truth because we’ll know if you lie.”

She raised her chin. “He did that. Not me. He wanted Wyatt home.”

That’s a mixture of truth and lies, Cayenne whispered into Trap’s mind.

“But you knew he was doing it, didn’t you?” Trap snapped.

Violet shrugged. “I couldn’t stop him.”

Cayenne hesitated for the first time. I think it was Violet that did it and Whitney knew, but honestly, I don’t know for certain, only that she was very aware and feels no remorse. At. All.

“But you could have warned us all,” Wyatt said. “Just tell us why you brought us here so we can go. Being in your company offends me.”

“Is that so?” Violet’s gaze narrowed on him. “You live with a snake and your best friend lives with a spider. Your children are venomous creatures, and yet you can’t be in my presence because you say it offends you? Do you have any idea of the monsters he’s created?”

“I’m looking at one,” Trap said, “so yes, I do. Tell us your fucking plan or I’m walking right now.”

Cayenne’s fingers curled around his and then brushed the back of his hand. Slowly. Gently. There was something beautiful to him in her gesture. She wasn’t in the least bit affected by Violet’s vile prejudice. He could sense his teammate’s reactions to Violet’s bigotry. They all loved Pepper and the girls. They were beginning to have affection for Cayenne, and in any case, she was theirs. They looked after their own, and all of them were offended on her behalf. Cayenne remained the calmest of all of them, her gaze on Violet, her hand in Trap’s.

“I want to bring together all the top scientists we have to work on cancer research. I have Whitney’s research.” She sounded triumphant. “Everything he’s compiled over the years. I know you’ve been working on producing some kind of molecules to surround and strangle cancer cells. There are so many breakthroughs happening right now, so many people coming up with ideas, but Whitney’s tried all sorts of experiments. He documented them all. Flame wasn’t the only woman he gave cancer to. She was the only survivor, but his research provides a platform for all of you to start from. It will advance your work by years.”

“Why haven’t you assassinated him yet?” Trap asked.

She swallowed hard. “I can’t do that. There’s no way. It’s impossible.”

Because she’s paired with him. She isn’t strong enough, Joe said. Get this over so we can all get the hell out of here.

“You’ll have all the funding you need, Dr. Dawkins, I can guarantee that. You’ll have access to the work of the greatest minds we have in the United States. I know curing cancer is doable. I know absolutely you can do it. You and Dr. Fontenot. When the two of you published your paper on protein and sugar molecules and the possibilities of what they could do to fight cancer, so many other researchers jumped on that. You opened new doors. This platform will ensure that we will win the election. Once I’m in power and I can ferret out everyone who supports him, I can take him down.”

She’s lying, Cayenne said instantly.

Are you certain?

She wants to win the election and she intends to hunt for Whitney’s supporters. There was truth there. She genuinely wants a cure for cancer. That’s truth enough, although her reasons are self-serving. But taking down Whitney was a lie. I think she wants power over him, but she doesn’t intend to destroy him. More, she is involved with others, people in power, I can feel their influence on her, ones who would destroy Whitney’s GhostWalker program. Others who have her same prejudice.

Cayenne, Joe broke in. Are you absolutely certain she’s lying about destroying him? Absolutely, without a doubt, certain.

Yes. There was no hesitation on Cayenne’s part. Her voice changes pitch when she’s lying. I can hear the difference. Also, there are changes in her body, physical changes that are so minute, you can’t see them, but I feel them.

Trap, tell her that you’ll think about it. The idea of seeing Whitney’s research is certainly intriguing, Joe said. And then get out of there. This is turning my stomach.

“I can’t pretend the idea of seeing Whitney’s work isn’t huge,” Wyatt said, when Trap remained silent. “We’ve worked on various ideas for curing cancer, but his work might really advance ours by years, Trap. If she can bring other researchers together, and we have more funding, we really might be able to make this happen.”

Trap pulled Cayenne up and turned his back on Violet as he strode toward the door. “We’re in, but there better not be any more attacks on our families.” He turned his head and pinned Violet with his ice-cold gaze. “You’d better fucking hear what I’m saying to you, bitch. I’ll kill you. If I don’t get you, one of the others will. In case you don’t believe me, you remember what happened in this room, and right now, you have a fucking phantom behind you who could snap your worthless neck in seconds.”

Gino emerged behind her, his arm dropping and then locking around her neck.

“Right now, this moment, you’re one second from death.” Trap paused to allow her predicament to fully sink in. She’d all but forgotten Gino was in the room. He’d been too still, too quiet, fading into the background. She had no idea when he’d come up behind her, because she hadn’t heard him – or smelled him – or felt him and she had a built-in radar for trouble. “You will have every GhostWalker from every team coming at you, not Whitney, if there’s an attack on any GhostWalker again. Do you understand what I’m saying to you? It won’t matter that you’re the vice president or the president. No one, nothing will protect you from us.”

Gino let her go and moved away from her, not even looking at her when she turned her head toward him. She touched her neck with shaky fingers. “I can’t control Whitney. You know I can’t.”