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Jonas smiled at that. “Ely, sweetheart,” he said gently. “Do you think you know anything that could harm me or my job? If you do, you’re welcome to list it in your petition of complaints.”
His voice was smooth. There was no warning, no sense of worry or nerves. It was like watching Dane work. Of course, Jonas had enough secrets to sink Sanctuary, the Breeds and himself. But like his brother, he would never give one person enough information to do more than irritate him if it were ever revealed.
“You think so little of me?” Ely was staring back at him, hurt. The conflicting emotions surging through her were reflected in her expression, and in her scent, Ria assumed.
The Breeds were all tense, watching her closely, the smallest hint of confusion in their eyes.
“I think something’s wrong, Ely,” Jonas finally said gently. “I believe perhaps we’ve allowed you to be under too much stress, or you’ve overstressed yourself. I think you need to rest, and think about the steps you’re taking. How many Breeds will ever trust you should the knowledge of what you’re attempting to do become known?”
“You think you’re so damned smart.” Her hands slid from the pockets of her lab coat, the fingers clenched in fury as a flush rose to her cheekbones. “You’re risking everything. Not just Sanctuary and the Breeds, but Mercury himself, and you know it.”
“Enough, Ely.” Callan’s voice was as sharp, as demanding, as the lash of a whip, causing the doctor to flinch in response. “Return to your office or to your quarters. That’s an order.”
“Pride Leader—”
“That’s an order, Ely!” His voice never rose, but something in it, some primal growl, had the doctor jerking in reaction.
Ely shuddered then turned on her heel and stalked past them, moving through the hall and away from them as something rumbled in Mercury’s throat.
He turned back to Callan. “There’s something wrong here,” he finally admitted. “That’s not the Ely I know.”
Jonas shook his head, watching the doorway the doctor had slipped through. “It’s not the Ely I know either, but just as with you, until we can deem her a hazard, we can’t force her into testing.”
“Why try to force her?” Ria asked. “Do to her as she did to Mercury. Trick her.”
“We would first need a scientist with the ability to run the tests.”
Ria crossed her arms over her breasts. “You kidnapped a Council scientist just last month, didn’t you? Jeffery Amburg? He was never released from your custody despite repeated attempts by several governments to learn what happened to him.”
Jonas’s brow lifted. “We released him. We have proof of it. What happened to him after he left Sanctuary isn’t our concern.”
Ria stared back at him mockingly. “Give that line to someone who doesn’t know better. I know about the cells beneath the labs here, and I’m betting Amburg is resting quite uncomfortably there. Put his ass to work.”
“And ensure the safety of this facility, how?” Callan asked her coldly. “He’s a Council scientist, Ms. Rodriquez, not an ally.”
Mercury watched the exchange quietly before turning to Jonas.
“Put Blade on him. Blade has enough medical experience and strong enough senses to keep an eye on him. If Ely’s sincere, then she’ll agree to her own testing first. Tell her if she’ll do it, then I’ll submit to one more round of samples taken.”
He felt Ria’s shock, watched Jonas’s eyes narrow. “Are you sure you want to do that, Mercury?” he asked.
No, he wasn’t.
“Something isn’t right here, Jonas. Ely’s not a traitor. I’ll take the risk if she will.”
“And what makes either of you think Ely needs testing?” Kane bit out. “She’s scared. She’s running scared and panicking.”
The head of Sanctuary security was less trusting than most Breeds when it came to the internal security of the estate.
“We can’t lock her in
her rooms, Kane,” Jonas growled. “Ely’s emotions are raging too strong beneath the surface, and her scent is altered just enough to concern me.”
It was something Mercury had caught as well, though he’d kept silent. His sense of smell was growing marginally stronger, and the proof of that concerned even him. He’d lost those senses when the feral displacement had been “cured” in the labs. That it was returning was further proof that he had cause to keep a careful check on his anger and his emotions.
“Is there any way she could have been compromised?” Mercury asked then.
Jonas shook his head. “The Council never managed to develop a drug that could control us, Mercury, not to that extent. Even the one used on you for the feral displacement didn’t completely control you. And one of us would have scented any biological or chemical imbalance in Ely by now.”
