Page 54 of Hunted to Be Mine

My skin tightened. He knew me. He knew what I’d been doing. I stepped in. “Who are you?”

“She speaks.” Gray Coat showed a gold tooth. “The famous Dr. Crawford, breaking all the rules. Dresner is very interested in your methods. Or, more accurately, you.”

“Dresner can go to hell,” I said before I swallowed it.

“Oh, he lives there already.” His gaze stayed on me. “But I escaped. Like your friend.”

Something changed in Specter. Recognition, or a piece sliding into place. His grip on the man’s throat tightened.

“Last chance,” he said. “Who are you working for?”

“You already know,” Gray Coat rasped. “You just don’t remember. Check my left wrist.”

Specter hesitated, then yanked the sleeve up. A brand marked the inside. A simple K in a circle.

He went very still. “Kruger.”

The name hung in the cold. Gray Coat—Kruger—smiled wider despite the hand at his throat.

“The memory protocols still hold,” Kruger said. “You don’t fully remember, but your body does. Instinct. That’s why you followed.”

I stepped closer, drawn by the collision I’d tried to prepare for. “You were his handler at Oblivion.”

“Handler?” Kruger laughed, harsh and short. “I built him. Training. Conditioning. The killer. My work. From raw material to final product.”

Specter’s face didn’t move, but a muscle jumped in his jaw. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” Kruger’s eyes lit. “Then why chase me? Why are your hands shaking?”

I looked. They weren’t.

“Your mind doesn’t remember,” Kruger said. “But the body never forgets. Pain responses. Muscle memory. Deeper than thought.”

Specter’s voice dropped. “If you made me, you know what I can do.”

“Better than anyone.” No fear in his tone. “That’s why I’m here. I’m offering an alliance.”

“An alliance,” Specter said, voice flat.

“Dresner is hunting us both. You need what I know. I need cover.”

“Why should we trust you?” I asked.

Kruger locked onto me. “Because I can tell you what happened at St. Elisabeth’s. I can tell you why the children are in his head. Why they won’t let go.” He looked back at Specter. “I can tell you your real name.”

The alley went quiet except for the city beyond. Specter’s face gave me nothing, but something sparked in his eyes. Want. Fear. Both.

“You’re lying,” he said again, softer now.

“Lennox,” Kruger said.

Specter jerked as if struck. His grip loosened. Kruger slid down the wall until his feet were solid.

“That’s not possible,” Specter said. “That’s not my name.”

“Then why react?” Kruger straightened his coat and rubbed his throat. “The blocks are cracking. That’s why Dresner wants you back or gone. You know too much.”

I watched Specter and the fight behind his eyes. “Specter—”