“Hell no,” Sabrina argued. “I'm not about to let that man around my mate. No way.”
“Still got your claws, eh, Torrence?” McKinley drawled.
“Hell. Caitlyn, would you please take Kelly to our room for a bit?” Roane asked. “I promise, we'll get you both right back out here. But Ace and Zack are practically foaming at the mouth with the need to protect their mate.”
“Then maybe they should take Kelly away,” Caitlyn snapped.
To Hale's surprise, McKinley formed the semblance of a grin.
“Hellcat, baby, please?” Roane asked again through gritted teeth.
Hale knew he was going easy on her because of the new baby. “Roane, did you happen to mention—”
“Shut the fuck up, Hale,” Roane warned, which had McKinley and Paige growling right back at him.
“As entertaining as all of this is,” Doc said with a surprising smile, “I think Caitlyn and Kelly should leave for a time. I'll come to retrieve you myself, ladies. Please. We need some answers, answers we're not going to get with you two here. And I dearly want to hear what Mr. McKinley has to say about Diego.” Caitlyn looked like she wanted to argue, but she took a hard look at Doc and nodded. “Come on, Kelly. Let's go.”
Kelly muttered under her breath, glared at her mates to behave, then left with Caitlyn.
The minute they disappeared, McKinley raised his head and stared at everyone.
He gripped Hale's elbow with one hand and eased Paige over his lap with his other.
When Hale moved to rise, the Circ forced him to sit on the arm of the chair, and Hale surprised himself by not arguing.
Roane raised a brow but said nothing about the seating arrangement. “Guys, in here. Now.” He waited until Zack and Ace joined Derrick, Sabrina, and him on the sectional sofa. Doc sat with them as well, and everyone waited for McKinley to speak.
Paige's hand rested on Hale's thigh, and he subtly moved closer, pleased to feel her body heat and McKinley's so close to him.
“Where do you want me to start?” McKinley muttered.
“Tell me about Diego.” Doc hadn't been lying. He really did want to know about his lover.
McKinley sighed. “Diego misses you like you can't believe.” Doc started. “What?”
“He was assigned to watch over you at the beginning of the initial project. But he was never required to fu—” He paused to look at Paige and cleared his throat. “He wasn't supposed to get involved with you. He's in some serious trouble right now because of it.”
“Trouble with who?” Derrick asked.
Hale wanted to know that too.
“Right now, you have more pressing problems. General Kohl and Senator Kuntz are running Pearson Labs. Simon Dunn is on a one-way trip to hell, because he's doping with something that Eckles is giving him. They've successfully started the new breeding project, and I'd venture to say that as soon as Malloy gives birth, the labs are coming after you, here, at the compound.”
“My God,” Doc breathed.
Zack and Ace started swearing, Derrick growled, Sabrina gasped, and Roane glared at McKinley with murderous rage. Hale stared at McKinley, wondering at the even tone that delivered such earth-shattering news.
“Oh, and the new control drug they've manufactured is what's turning Circs into mutants. It's a compound based on my DNA,” he said over their voices to Doc.
“Robbie,” Paige whispered. “What are we going to do?”
“Yeah, what the hell are you going to do?” Hale asked, angry that his mate— this male, he corrected his beast—didn't seem the least bit affected by anything he'd just mentioned. To his surprise, the fury in McKinley's eyes took him aback.
“What am I going to do? Easy. I'm going to destroy Pearson Labs with Diego, my contact, and with General Mike Shields, who's been investigating Pearl, Kuntz, and Pearson Labs since it reopened. This time, the devil's going to get his due.”
Chapter Ten
Evan stared in astonishment at the giant sitting with his niece and Hale. It didn't take a scientist to see that there was much more to this McKinley than met the eye.
From what Doc had gathered from Sabrina's, Derrick's, and Hale's comments, McKinley was a puzzle. A Circ who didn't look Circ, but who possessed the capabilities of one.
And he worked with Diego.
Evan's heart pounded at mention of the man he loved like no other. He'd given Diego his heart and soul eight years ago. Love at first sight, an odd reaction for a man of science. But from the first, he'd felt an instant connection. When Diego had betrayed him, he'd felt as bad, if not worse, than he had when he'd learned about what Elliot had done to his Circs. Injecting men with a serum that would forever change them, turning most of them into murdering psychopaths, shouldn't have equated to having one's heart broken, but there it was.
He struggled to focus on the important things McKinley mentioned, yet his pulse raced at thoughts of Diego. “Diego misses you like you can’t believe.”
“Start at the beginning,” Roane demanded. “Where the hell did you even come from?”
McKinley shifted, his huge bulk a threat in itself. What intrigued Evan about him, however, was the gentle way he held Paige and the almost proprietary manner with which he regarded Hale. Very interesting.
The large Circ didn't blink, his yellow eyes fastened on Roane. “I was born to two loving people. They didn't know what Pearl had really done to them when they had me. That's another story not relevant to what you really want to know. Suffice it to say, I hold no love for Elliot Pearl. All I am is because of him.”
Paige squeezed her way closer to his chest, and Evan watched as Hale rested a hand on her shoulder.
“None of what Pearl's done is Paige's fault. She's as much a victim of his ego as the rest of you,” McKinley continued.
“We're not arguing that.” Roane glanced at her. “Paige, we're not angry at you, but we hold no love for your father.”
“Yeah, well, neither do I,” she said angrily.
“Good girl.” Derrick nodded. “Yeah, you'll fit in right nice here.” He gave Hale a meaningful glance, and Evan understood the team would be behind Hale's mating with Paige. With McKinley, he wasn't so certain.
McKinley explained, “When I joined Pearson Labs, it was after they tore Project Dawn apart. I'd been keeping tabs on Pearl for a while. I didn't know what he'd done to Paige, though. If I had, I'd have rescued you a helluva lot sooner,” he said to her.
“I know,” she murmured.
“But when I found him outnumbered and nearly brained to death by a few rogues in a killing frenzy, I took a shot and stepped up. I entered Pearson Labs as Elliot's bodyguard, a position he was hoping Hale would one day hold.”
“Hale?” Evan saw the confusion on Hale's face and turned back to McKinley.
“Why Hale?”
McKinley paused, his eyes on Hale with a tender understanding that stunned Evan. Evan glanced around the room and noted the resigned look on Roane's face and the incredulous expressions on the others.
“Oh, hell no. Come on, playboy. At least Sabrina's good-looking,” Derrick complained.
“Oh my God.” Sabrina stared, wide-eyed.
“No fucking way,” Ace and Zack said at the same time. More and more, the two of them seemed to finish one another's sentences. And when Kelly was in the same room with them, it was a toss-up to see which mate spoke for the other.
“Cut it out,” Hale hissed and nudged McKinley's arm. Evan caught the scent of evergreen and watched in shock as McKinley flushed and coughed to hide his embarrassment.
“Fine.” McKinley glared, his eyes eerily wild. “Rogers is a freaky psychic, and Pearl wanted to breed him with Paige. Happy now?” he asked Hale.