Page 4 of His Asset
I turned right and hobbled through the dense foliage that concealed me from above, freezing as the helicopter approached and flew straight over me before it continued onward.A pity its noisy rotors had cloaked the barking of approaching dogs.
Shit.
Adam wasn’t going to let me leave.He was putting all his resources into getting me back.
What would he do to me if hedidcatch me?
A cold shiver trickled down my spine.I didn’t want to find out.Though he’d mostly shown me his gentlemanly, kinder side, I’d also been witness to his ruthlessness.He had a low tolerance to anyone who didn’t conform to his ideals.
My mind drifted back, recollecting a time I’d rather forget, a flashback that seemed like hours but was mere seconds in my mind.
I wrapped my wings around my nakedness as my teeth chattered, my skin covered in goose bumps.But though I was trying to keep me warm, I was also attempting to cover myself from the lustful eyes of the two scientists who watched me—leeredat me—through the unbreakable flexi-window of my cell.
They were testing the limits of my endurance.Yesterday I’d been close to being cooked alive from heat exposure.My throat had become unbearably parched while my skin had burned and blistered, my vision blurring.
I looked down at my arms and almost laughed.Though my skin was blue from the cold, there were still parts of me that were red and scalded from my previous ordeal.I might have enhanced healing ability, but with my body using all its resources just to stay alive, I’d yet had a chance to fully heal.
The tinny and nasally voice of one of the scientists infiltrated my cell as he spoke through an intercom.“You’re tougher than you look, Q27.But though you survived scorching desert temperatures, will you endure a full-on arctic winter blast?”
I scowled at the fool.Didn’t he realize I could have heard his every word even without the intercom?Lord only knew they’d done enough tests on me to understand I not only had superior healing, but also heightened vision and hearing.
He pushed his wire-framed glasses up to the bridge of his nose before he exchanged a wide smile with his white-coated, sandy-haired contemporary.“We can’t wait to find out.”
A fog of icy-cold air immediately wafted in through the vents, far colder than what I’d endured so far.I stood tall and defiant.I wouldnotsuccumb, not to these idiots disguised as scientific geniuses.A pity I was beginning to shake uncontrollably and swaying on my bare feet.
The door next to my cell swung open and a man in a black suit and ruby tie stepped into the observation room with the two scientists.I blinked.I remembered him.Adam.I’d seen him at least a dozen times in the past couple of years.
He wasn’t exactly easy to overlook.He commanded whatever room he was in.His presence was electrifying, magnetic.Though he’d mostly kept silent as he’d observed me, I’d been overwhelmed by how my body responded to him.I’d wanted to look away and hide my wings, even as I’d wanted to stare right back and flaunt them.
He towered over the scientists, his height made even more impressive by the white-coated men’s less than average size.Though I was hyperventilating, the shivers wracking my body intensified under his gaze that was locked onto me, evaluating my predicament before his eyes narrowed, then settled onto the two scientists.“What the fuck is going on?”
The wire-framed scientist’s throat bobbed before he finally found his voice.“We’re carrying out tests on our subject, sir.Seeing how far we can push her before—”
“Beforewhat?”Adam interjected.“You kill her?Destroy my billion dollar investment?”
Despite the chill, my chest suddenly burned, my heart savaged by the truth.He was just another scientist getting all he could from his venture...his asset.That he clearly helped to finance this project—financeme—turned my attraction to him straight into revulsion.
As if aware of my turnaround, Adam stiffened, then ground out, “Bring her room back to a normal fucking temperature.”His eyes were colder than the air in my cell when he swung back to view me, assessing me far more carefully.I lifted my chin and his hands fisted at his sides when he noticed my seared throat.“You’ve burned her, too?”
The sandy-haired scientist flicked a nearby switch, cutting off the icy air even as he babbled, “We tested her ability to withstand heat without hydration.She was remarkably adaptable.What would have killed an ordinary mortal only mildly damaged her.”
Adam’s jaw compressed, his stare still fixated on me.“Are youtryingto take out my most valuable resource?”
I briefly squeezed my eyes closed, my chest compressing along with my throat.I’d been right.I was nothing more than an asset, a possession to this man and others like him.I meant nothing to him personally.I was his business venture and probably his biggest gamble yet.
“Haven’t I made it clear?”he added harshly.“She’s worth more to me than a thousand of you two.”
Wire-frame stiffened, his jaw jutting out.“We’re doing our jobs, sir.Testing our subject’s physical and mental limits.”He tugged the lapels of his white coat together.“Just be glad we haven’t touched her intimately.She might be a freak but she’s—“
Adam exploded with a primal motion that was both beautiful and terrifying.Spinning high, he sliced his arm down, hitting wire-frame’s throat full-force with the side of his hand.Adam was already spinning again, kicking the throat of sandy-hair before wire-frame had even crumpled to the floor.
The second scientist’s eyes were already empty of life when he collapsed next to his dead colleague.
I blinked, but otherwise stood motionless and emotionless.
I’d learned not to show any thought, any reaction whatsoever to what happened inside the lab, though fear pulsed through me along with disbelief as Adam straightened his tie, then glanced dismissively at the two bodies.Pushing an intercom button on the far wall, he said, “We have casualties in observation room 7D.I require the removal of two bodies.Discretion is advised.”
He didn’t wait for a response.Instead he approached my cell, his eyes softening ever so slightly as they caught and held mine.I inhaled sharply.It was pointless hiding anything from this man.He seemed to read deep into the depths of my soul, unravelling my every thought, my every defense.