Jasper's gaze turned sharp. "And whoever mapped out your route wasn't some random bidder. It certainly wasn't a bunch of brain-dead mercenaries looking for a quick buck."
Jerrick followed the logic immediately. His expression darkened as he looked at Serena. "The administration?"
A slow, darkly amused smirk curved her lips. "Who else?"
"The bounty in The Predator's Den explicitly demanded you be taken alive," Jasper pointed out.
His voice dropped an octave. In the dim lighting, the grinning mask looked exceptionally sinister. "A stipulation like that means one of two things. They either want to interrogate you..."
He glanced down at the sleek medical case in her hands. "...or they want to steal whatever it is you have."
Her performance with Specimen Seven back at the auction had been too spectacular.
Not only had she diagnosed a catastrophic flaw with a single glance.
But she had physically overpowered a genetically enhanced killer.
She had bypassed the ship's multibillion-dollar neuro-restraints and forced him to his knees.
To the ship's administration, she was a massive wild card-and an asset of incalculable value.
They couldn't afford to let her interfere with Specimen Fourteen's extraction, but they were too greedy to put a bullet in her brain.
The obvious solution was to bag her before she ever reached the vault.
A low, dark laugh escaped Serena's lips.
Spreading into a gorgeous, dangerous smile.
If they had predicted her exact movements and staged a trap.
It proved one vital point...
Specimen Fourteen was vastly more important to them than she had initially calculated.
And they were absolutely terrified of her getting anywhere near him.
But fear makes people sloppy.
They wanted her chemical formulas. They wanted her control techniques.
They probably even planned to brainwash her into working for them.
Their greed was staggering.
She just wondered if they would actually live long enough to enjoy the spoils.
Rolling the beacon between her
fingers, she lifted her gaze to
Jasper. You're
tel
to get inside
the vault?"
FindNovel.net
"Obviously," Jasper replied without a second of hesitation.
Tracing those coordinates hadn't just been about finding out who was putting hits
out on his sister.
He needed to get inside that room.
He needed to know exactly what horrifying secrets Project Zero-Transit was guarding so fiercely.
He was going to wipe out every single threat on this ship before it could touch Serena.
Her smile turned razor-sharp. "Well, you just found your ticket in. Do you have the guts to play the hand?
you play tell
Jasper paused.
A slow, wicked grin spread beneath his silver mask.
Pure, unadulterated adrenaline and reckless defiance flared in his eyes. If you're dealing the card sweetheart, I'm all in.
He cocked his head, throwing a deliberate, mocking look at Jerrick.
"Unlike some people who need to be begged to join the fun."
Jerrick gave him a dead-eyed stare, utterly refusing to take the bait.
Serena tuned out the testosterone-fueled posturing.
She focused entirely on Jasper. "Consider this your buy-in. I need you to do something for me."
Jasper's interest peaked. "Name it."