Stygian nodded to the two high-level enforcers before staring back at Jonas with silent demand.
“Your boss lied to us,” Audi stated as he moved to stand behind Ray Martinez as he cast a short glare to Jonas. “He attempted to downplay the danger that our daughters are facing, as well as the reasons for it.”
“You should have expected that.” Stygian suspected that was exactly the reason they were all there now.
Jonas hadn’t expected Johnson’s return, Stygian knew. He’d clearly believed Liza’s father would bow to his wisdom and stay put in New York where he couldn’t interfere or begin calling in his own contacts or instigating his own investigation.
“I returned for a reason,” Audi grunted.
Jonas, as arrogant as always, sat uncharacteristically silent, his expression curious as he watched the two men behind the desk.
“This is not a situation I appreciate,” Audi Johnson stated, his gaze encompassing them all.
“Liza needed your return for the sake of her heart, not for her safety,” Stygian inserted, wondering if the other man intended to try to pull his daughter from Breed protection. And he could, Stygian feared. Liza trusted her parents above anyone and everyone, and it would be a stupid man that doubted that. “My life stands before her and any danger that could stalk her, Mr. Johnson.”
He wasn’t certain what to say or how to say it. He was a Breed trained to kill in silence, not to seduce or to trick. He wasn’t given to flowery statements nor was he given to reassuring anyone in any way. All he had was his strength and the truth. The pure determination to ensure his mate survived, no matter the obstacles.
Both Ray and Audi watched him carefully, though they said nothing.
In Liza’s father’s eyes, Stygian saw an easing, slight though it was, of the antagonism that had gleamed there.
“Very pretty,” Jonas murmured, though his words lacked his customary mockery, before he turned to the other two men. “Are we finished now, gentlemen?”
The president glared back at him. “Director Wyatt, this Nation is not your personal playground,” he stated with icy disdain. “And I resent your attitude that it is.”
Jonas rose slowly to his feet.
Tension increased tenfold as his expression tightened. Expressionless, his mercury gaze lacking emotion, he was the Breed he had been created to be: merciless, powerful, expertly engineered manipulator with a full agenda where the Navajo were concerned.
These two men had every right not only to distrust him, but also to be highly suspicious of any and all motives Jonas may present. He was a man fighting for more than his own life, or the survival of the Breeds now. And he had been dangerous enough with those agendas. Now, he was fighting for the life of his child, and that child was more precious to him than even his own soul.
Audi Johnson’s gaze narrowed as the Navajo president slowly followed suit and rose to his feet as well.
“My daughter lies with a fever high enough to kill another child.” His tone was so harsh, so grating, Johnson and Martinez flinched. Stygian stared back at him, surprised to see him laying his cards so clearly on the table. An unheard-of move for Jonas. “My child lies in pain and stares up at me, gentlemen, and asks, as only a two-year-old can, why it hurts so bad and why Daddy can’t fix this.” For a second unheard-of occurrence that Stygian knew would never be mentioned, Jonas’s gaze gleamed with the dampness of an emotion that went far beyond tears. “So don’t think for one moment that I won’t be here, taking over where I can, testing your weaknesses and betraying whoever I have to betray to save my child. Just as you would. So let us not misunderstand each other now, nor in the future. That child is more important to me than your entire fucking Nation, and your lack of cooperation is something I find not only reprehensible but immoral.”
Stygian felt his chest tighten. He’d seen it himself. Seen the pain and fear in the little girl’s eyes when the feverish episodes descended on her. And he knew, if that child were his and Liza’s—his by adoption or by blood would make no difference—he would do whatever it took, however he had to do it, to ensure that pain was never felt again.
“There’s nothing we can do.” Ray Martinez’s voice rang with the truth as a sudden angry conflict seemed to battle inside him. Understanding gleamed in his gaze, was emphasized by the clench of his fists and the frustration in his voice. “We’ve made the request of the people and none have come back with an agreement. I don’t have the access codes into the database, Director Wyatt. I cannot access it for you.”
“I want Honor Roberts and Fawn Corrigan.” The kid gloves were off as Jonas made the demand. “Fuck your database, Mr. President. I couldn’t care less about it, any more than Gideon Cross could. He’s here for the same thing, and by God, if I don’t find those girls first, then he may kill them once he does find them.” He leaned against the desk, palms flat, his expression savage. “Is that what you want?”
Both Johnson’s and Martinez’s gazes flashed with fear before they could hide it.
There was no way Jonas missed it. And Stygian had no doubt the director wasn’t certain exactly what that fear was. What Stygian did know was that, somehow, the pair was hiding something.
Liza’s father straightened his shoulders. “Twelve years ago,” he stated heavily, “there was a crash in the desert several nights before our daughters crashed into a high ravine in the desert. Two girls died in that first crash.”
Jonas’s growl was rife with violence. “There was no report of it.”
“A young Breed was traveling with them. He told us the girls were running from the Genetics Council and begged us not to report it. No one else knew of the crash or the deaths. We elected to follow the Breed’s request to give him time to run. When no one came looking for them, we decided to keep it out of the reports. Until you arrived, Director Wyatt, no one seemed to care.”
Stygian narrowed his gaze.
They weren’t lying. There was the scent of truth and overwhelming sadness, almost of grief, as though they had known the girls. But there was no reason to believe they were lying.
Jonas stared between the two men; both Rule and Cavalier watched them closely as well.
“What did you do with the bodies?” Jonas’s voice sounded strangled.
“They were incinerated in the desert, presumably to hide their existence there,” Audi stated. “The young Breed walked away that night and stated that even his own past was gone. We assumed the two girls were Breeds as well, and from the same lab as he.”
“And you are only now telling me this, why?” Jonas asked.
“Because you’re only now telling us the truth of why you’re here,” President Martinez stated implacably. “Had you been honest to begin with, Director Wyatt, perhaps you would have been told sooner.”
“I want to see the area where the bodies were burned,” Jonas informed them, his tone implying he wouldn’t be denied. “We’ll leave at first light in the morning.” He turned to Stygian. “I’ll need you there, but to ensure Ms. Johnson’s protection, perhaps you should bring her as well.”
“There’s no need for that,” Audi Johnson rejected the idea instantly. “I’ll take care of her while he’s gone.”
Jonas’s smile was cold. “You’ll be with us. And so will she.”
With that, he turned, motioned to the two Breeds with him and stalked from the room.
As the door closed rather loudly behind him, both men turned to Stygian, their gazes accusing, as though it were his fault they had been forced to face the director.
He gave a quick shake of his head. “I rarely agree with him, but I wouldn’t go head-to-head with him, so I rather doubt the two of you would have any luck with it.”