Page 49 of Dark Rebel's Mystery

It was the effect of the drugs she'd been given.

When more footsteps echoed, this time from the stairwell, Kyra uttered a silent curse. Her time was up, and she needed to get out of there.

Leaping for her cleaning cart, she clutched the handle and then forced her racing heart to slow down and her feet to assume the shuffle she'd affected before. Once she reached the storage room again, she got inside and leaned against the door to take her first deep breath since she'd left its relative safety earlier.

A faint pang of remembered pain ran through her lower back where she'd once been struck by a bullet, yet within minutes, her body had expelled it, and her flesh had knit back together.

If the woman had healed just as quickly, she would have been another product of the same program that had changed Kyra from a regular human to something more.

What was she supposed to do, though?

Rescuing the woman was impossible, with the compound being guarded by elite forces who seemed to have undergone the same type of transformation. For all of Kyra's strength, she wasn't a match for an entire unit of enhanced soldiers.

A confrontation would be suicide.

She closed her eyes, mind sifting through potential strategies.

They couldn't keep the woman imprisoned here forever. This wasn't an asylum, and prisoners came and went. Perhaps her team could snatch the woman when she was being transported to another facility.

It would be much less risky than attempting to storm this place.

If the woman was a fellow rebel, she could join Kyra's team, and with her enhanced abilities, she could become an invaluable member. Hopefully, she could also fill in some of the missing pieces of Kyra's shattered past.

33

KIAN

Okidu knocked on Kian's office door before pushing it slightly open. "Mistress Syssi requested I inform you of the guests' arrival."

Kian had heard the doorbell, so sending Okidu hadn't been necessary. He just needed to finish reviewing the counteroffer Shai emailed him Friday night.

"I will be right there," he told his butler.

"Of course, master." Okidu probably bowed, but since the door was only opened a crack, Kian couldn't see him. "I shall inform Mistress Syssi."

The counteroffer was for a prime piece of land that could be developed into a gated community the size of a small town, and Kian was considering the option of building a new place for his people. There was really no need for a new location, and the village was big enough for their needs. Still, most of his business decisions were based on gut feelings rather than logic, and even though the price was more than what made sense to spend on an undeveloped parcel of that size, the location was perfect for theclan's needs, and his gut told him to go for it. Perhaps he would just sit on it and let it appreciate. He could always decide later what he wanted to do with it.

Reluctantly, he closed his desktop computer, rose to his feet, and headed for the living room. He would take another look at it later.

As he stepped into the family room, the first thing that struck him was the easy camaraderie between Jasmine and Max. It seemed that they had ironed out whatever animosity had lingered between them, and they now looked as if they were the best of friends.

"Good morning," he said as he sat on one of the armchairs. "How was your flight back?"

"Great," Jasmine said. "Thank you for the first-class tickets. I slept for four hours straight, which is all I need now. Being immortal rocks."

She seemed upbeat, considering the emotional visit to her father's cabin. Then again, Jasmine was an actress, and putting on a face was as easy for her as breathing.

"I'm sure everyone wants coffee." Syssi walked in with a carafe in hand.

"Please," Max said. "I didn't sleep during the flight, and I need it."

Kian was surprised that Syssi had opted for a simple drip instead of showing off her cappuccino-making skills, but he didn't mind the drip. It seemed appropriate for the occasion.

"Okidu is warming up croissants," she said as she poured coffee for their guests first and then for Kian and herself.

He took the cup, impatient to be done with the small talk and the pleasantries so they could be done with the report, and he could go back to go over the counteroffer and decide whether the land was worth the money.

Oh, hell. Who was he kidding? He'd already made up his mind about buying it. The only question was whether he would sit on it, build a new place for his clan, or develop it for sale.

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