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“How about I let you help protect me?” she asked then. “Don’t discount me, Tanner. I’ve survived ten years on the Tallant estate. I can’t just sit back and wait for you to fix everything now. ”
“And I can’t handle the thought of you being in danger,” he argued. “Your father will stop at nothing to kill you, Scheme. He deals in positives. He didn’t kill a Breed without proof that he was a failure. He doesn’t kill his people without proof of betrayal. He knows you’ve betrayed him now. He won’t miss an opportunity to take you out. ”
“But it will have to be dealt with personally. I’m his daughter. He won’t tolerate another killing me now. Not after I escaped Chaz. Chaz was the only one he trusted to kill me with mercy, other than himself. He’ll have to do it himself, Tanner. Nothing else will satisfy him. ”
She had given it a lot of thought, had considered each possibility and the placement of the spy in Sanctuary. It was dangerous, and there was always a chance she could be wrong, but she had never been wrong before, despite her deliberate mistakes. She was a better profiler than even her father understood. And she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Cyrus would have to kill her himself. He might not realize it yet. And Tanner might not believe it. But when it came right down to it, it would eat her father alive. He would have to punish her himself. He was her father. No one else had the right.
“He’ll never get you out of Sanctuary,” Tanner swore.
She hoped he couldn’t. But she knew her father, and she knew he had managed to do many things that others had believed impossible.
CHAPTER 27
Sanctuary was a cross between a loose-knit community and an armed camp. All around the twelve-acre main compound was a thick iron fence posted with guards. Outside that area, small cabins sprawled in an orderly abandon into the mountains surrounding the main estate.
The cabins were built to blend into the forest, rather than forcing the forest to accommodate the small cabins. Everything was orderly and neat on the outside, but Scheme knew that on the inside, the souls of those who lived here screamed out at the horrors they had escaped.
Enough time hadn’t elapsed since the Breed rescues. Many still moved around as though uncertain of their freedom, always looking over their shoulders, crouching at the least sign of danger. And many were so young.
Most of the surviving Breeds had barely been in their early twenties when they were rescued. As Breeds aged, the Council had learned, they were much harder to control. It was extremely rare for a Breed of any species to survive past thirty. As though that age clicked some mental switch within them, they became deadly.
“The fenced area holds the house, communications, supplies, weapons and the garage. ” Tanner pointed out the buildings. “Seth Lawrence, the majority shareholder in Lawrence Industries, has supplied most of the building supplies. ”
“And Vanderale Industries supplies weapons, vehicles and satellite access,” Scheme finished for him. “That’s aside from the various corporations that donate money yearly for food, clothing, travel and other expenses. Sanctuary also lines its coffers with the exorbitant rate it charges for Breed support in a variety of operations both military and private. Sanctuary has learned that it holds several exceptional artists who, through their paintings and drawings, have depicted the horrors the Breeds endured in captivity for the world, gaining it multinational support. ”
Oh, how Cyrus Tallant hated those paintings and the high prices they brought.
“You’re very good. ” He sighed.
“Unfortunately. ” She stared around the main grounds. Behind the house, a pool, patio and small play area for the children had been covered with a camouflaging screen to allow a measure of safety for the inhabitants of the house. But nothing was foolproof.
“Why do you stay here?” she asked. “Vanderale offered the Breeds a sizable portion of land in Africa. The conflicts there have eased, and Vanderale land has always been safe. Why not relocate?”
“We have the right to live,” Tanner answered. “We shouldn’t have to hide, Scheme. Hiding will not further our acceptance in the world. ”
“Racial wars are never easily won,” she pointed out. “This war could become more brutal than any other in history. A lot of Breeds will die, Tanner. And there aren’t many of you left now. ”
“Could die. ” His expression turned predatory. “If done correctly, propaganda will do for us what it could never do in other racial conflicts. We’ll succeed. In the past several years we’ve begun talks with the Wolf Breeds in Colorado that we learned had escaped as well. With the free Coyote Breeds, they number several hundred. ”
“Three hundred forty-five as of last month. They’ve lost many of their numbers as well in the past few years. Together, your numbers fall far short of a thousand. The numbers of purists and supremist society members are only growing by the day. ”
“We’ll survive this battle, Scheme. Public support means everything, and we hold it. ”
“And you’ve decided this simply because it’s the way you want it to go?”
“Because we’re strong enough. ” He led her around the side of the house as Cabal moved in carefully behind them. “We’re strong enough to keep the support we have and to build upon it. We’re making ourselves important to several different governments and proving our humanity. We’re winning the battle. ”
“What about the children?” she asked carefully. “They’re isolated here. Callan’s son David is taught at home, and he doesn’t have the chance to interact with other children. That’s dangerous. ”
“What are you getting at, Scheme?” He was cranky and becoming more so by the moment.
Scheme restrained her smile. She knew exactly why he was cranky. She could feel it herself, the heat building inside her. If it could get this bad with the supplement, she wondered what would happen without it.
“My study of society, interactions and racial conflicts showed me one thing. Without real interaction, the Breeds will never become a part of society. Look at the past. When nations conquered each other, what’s the first thing they did? Soldiers married or raped those they conquered and bred their women. Breeds seem to be succeeding there. But to truly interact, to become accepted, it begins at childhood. The children of those nations mingled, interacted, worked together and fought together. You don’t have that. ”
“We have less than a half dozen children born of the matings. There’s no sense in building schools. ”
“They should be in public school. ” She stopped then and stared up at him. “Each Breed child should be in school and taught to interact. They shouldn’t be trained to kill; they need to be trained to avoid the conflict of racial, or in this case, species distrust. ”
