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Cursing softly, Thorpe opened the first file on the SD card Sean looked over his shoulder Together, they began to read

Chapter Seventeen

AFTERNOON had coone when Sean and Thorpe finally stepped into the little galley Callie had long ago stopped pacing, stopped trying to recall the terrible night of thethat her

As they stepped into the s at her with a gravity that scared the hell out of her, she stood and felt her stomach drop to her toes "You knohy someone is after me? Why they killed my family?"

"We think so, yes," Sean said heavily

"How bad is it?" No sense in dancing around the truth or letting them BS her So, of not knohy her life was in sha how all her tomorrows had fallen apart at once

If she was reading their faces right, anything thatbut a pipe dream

"Sit down, lovely," Sean said softly

So whatever they’d discovered was not just bad, but awful

"I don’t want to sit down I’ve been doing that for hours Dalanced at Thorpe Though Callie wouldn’t have thought it possible, he looked even rim Her caretaker for the last four years fir hih her bloodstrea the hell out of ave you an order, Callie" Thorpe pointed to the chair

Did they think she was going to faint? She plopped down into the little alulared

Before she could demand that they spit it out, Sean dropped to the floor in front of her and took her hands in his He sed "How much do you know about the research your father paid for when you were a child? What was Dr Aslanov supposed to do exactly?"

"Find a cure for cancer That’s all Dad ever said Is thisabout the research?"

Sean hesitated, so she looked up at Thorpe He nodded "Your father didn’t just want to find a pill or treatment that would make cancer disappear He told Aslanov to find a way to cure it genetically to ensure that no one ever had to hear again that they or a loved one had a disease that would eat away at them from the inside Aslanov wasn’t just a researcher; he was a controversial young Russian geneticist He had theories ht And wrong"

"Aslanov figured out how to genetically prevent cancer fro?" Callie had to pick up her jaw Was that even possible?

"Not exactly," Sean hedged "If we’re reading your father’s notes right, Aslanov took the principles of genetic engineering used in fields like agriculture and medicine and expanded them with enetic research as the ‘lawless frontier’ of science But he didn’t know that’s what hisuntil it was too late"

"What do youin knots "Aslanov killed hied another cautious look that made her heart stutter

"No," Thorpe finally supplied, looking as if he had more to add But he clanosis, she apparently wasn’t given hteen months to live Your father searched for so at least to put her in re to bypass all the safety precautions and governulations to test their solution on your , he veered in another direction and found Aslanov In the previous five years, the Russian had been to some third-world countries that wouldn’t bind hi to Aslanov, he perforreat success He told your father that with a little research and funding, he ht be able to save your mother Of course, that didn’t happen"

"Her cancer progressed faster than expected"

"But Aslanov insisted he was close, so your father continued funding hilanced at Thorpe again, whosethis speech in your head, don’t," she demanded

"We’re not, pet," Thorpe proht, then How did this research lead to the killing of itated Thorpe took over the storytelling "In researching to cure cases like your es that your father wouldn’t be interested inbut others would"

Callie frowned "What others? Spit it out I’ve waited nine years to find out what the hell happened to the fa over my shoulder every five minutes because someone wanted to kill--"

"Aslanov had a wife and three children--and financial proble for your enetic structure of a person to ith, and even their intelligence No idea if that was true, but he sold that bill of goods to someone else, we think in the ation on a ca done to soldiers using some of the initial research But exactly as behind that isn’t so your father outlined"

None of what Thorpe said co mewhat? That Aslanov sold his research to someone in the military, who later killed my family?"

"I’ve always said that you’re quick" Thorpe nodded "Eventually, yes"

"But why?"