thought.â
âSo tell us what weâre missing,â Daniel said, his voice low, calm. âClue us in.â
Ash shrugged. âLater. Maybe. Point is, sheâs not going to help. She didnât want her dad mixed up with the St. Clouds or their genetic projects. Blames them for his death.â
âThey killed him?â I asked.
He looked ready to shoot back a sarcastic response, then checked himself. âNo. It was a heart attack. She blames them because he was working for them. Working both sidesâemployed by the Cabal, but helping some of the Project Phoenix parents. So she blames us, too, which is why she isnât going to help. But she did decide it was her duty to pass on your email to me and tell me you phoned from a Vancouver number. She knew you were my sister. Acted like she was doing us a huge favor. She shouldnât have been passing out your contact info without asking you. Like I said, dumb bitch.â
âSo she told you I called, gave you the email address, and you decided to come meet me?â
âYeah.â
He was sitting there, barely able to look at me, barely able to speak without snapping at me, yet heâd dropped everything, paid God knows how much for a plane ticket, and crossed an international border to track me down. I didnât know how to reconcile that. I would have been sure it was a trap except, if it was, he wouldnât be nearly so pissy about the whole thing. Heâd be all, âHey, Iâm your brother and Iâm here to help.â
âYou know Danielâs a benandanti, and you know weâre supposed to be dead, and you know there are two Cabals after us. Did Mitchellâs daughter tell you that?â
He snorted. âShe didnât tell me nothing. I already knew about the crash and the escape. There are a few parents out there who left Project Phoenix, like our mother. Theyâve kept in contact with me. One of them contacted me after the crash. She had a Google alert on Salmon Creek. She told meââ The briefest hesitation. âShe told me you were dead.â
âOh.â
âThen I get this call from Sylvia Mitchell. So I made another call, to another parent, and found out you survived. This guy knew how to contact me, knew that I thought you were dead, and never even bothered to phone when he found out otherwise. Said it wouldnât do any good. That I was better off thinking you were dead.â
âNice,â Corey murmured. âSo Iâm guessing these parents arenât going to be helping us anytime soon.â
âYou guess right. The one who told me you were dead is okay but useless. Just wants to protect her daughter.â He paused. âCanât blame her, I guess. The other guy is even less helpful, though he knows more. He has contacts. Wonât share them, though. Might endanger his kid. Cyril was in charge of this little network, but when he died, it just fell apart. Heâs the only one who would have helpedâor made them help.â
âOkay,â Daniel said. âSo who can we get help from? Your mother?â
Ash snorted. âYou know where to find her?â
âUm, no, I thought you . . .â Daniel looked my way again.
I cleared my throat. âI was told our mother separated us because the St. Clouds would be looking for twins. She left me at a hospital in Portland, but she kept you. Raised you.â
âYou heard wrong.â
âOh.â I paused. âSo she abanâLeft both of us?â
âAbandoned. She abandoned both of us. You at the hospital as a baby, me with some so-called friends when I was five.â
âOh.â
âYeah, oh . I havenât seen her since and I donât want to now. If youâre going after her, count me out. Iâll suggest you save yourself the trip, though. She doesnât give a damn about either of us. Dumped us on strangers to save herself.â
I sat
Daniel Silva
Judith A. Jance
Margaret MacMillan
Davide Enia
E. D. Baker
Debbie Mazzuca
Laurey Bright
Sean Kennedy
Hilary Dartt
Brett Halliday