She crouched over 416. His beautiful but angry dark gaze focused on her. Rage burned in his intense glare. She swallowed the bile that rose at what she had to do to him next. “I’m sorry. Really. I have to do this to you.”

“I’ll kill you,” he rasped. One hand flopped on the floor next to her. “I swear this!” His throat worked. “I will kill you with my bare hands.”

Fear gripped her that he would do just that, he had obviously started to regain control of his body. She looked down to find the injection site that Jacob had used. She jabbed the needle in, the suppressor already locked down from the original injection, and then lurched to her feet without giving 416 another glance even as he snarled from the pain she’d just inflicted.

She yanked up her kit, ran at the wall next to the door, and turned her face at the last second before she slammed into it. Pain exploded down her cheek. Her knees threatened to buckle and the taste of blood filled her mouth. She didn’t have a mirror but it reminded her of the observation room. What if someone had stepped in there and witnessed what had taken place? She figured, if that were the case, security would have already flooded the room to arrest her.

She hoped her face looked as bad as it felt. Her fingers shook as she punched in the code to the door. It beeped, the steel rods inside the door slid, and the door popped open as she desperately jerked on it. She stumbled out of the room, the door slammed automatically behind her, and the sharp buzz confirmed that it was locked. She collapsed to her knees in the hallway, turned her head to locate the security camera, and screamed.

“Help! Oh God! Help!”

Seconds passed and seemed to grow to a least a minute before the sound of running, booted feet reached her ears. Four security guards turned into the corridor, coming at a dead run. The men panted when they slowed and stared at her in confusion.

“I walked into the room to take a blood sample,” she sobbed. “Jacob was sexually assaulting the test subject. He attacked me.” Her hand rose to her face where it throbbed. “I think I passed out and when I came around I saw 416 break his arm chains free. Jacob stabbed him with a needle but whatever he gave him didn’t take effect fast enough. I think he’s dead! I think that thing killed him before it collapsed to the floor.”

God forgive me, she silently prayed as her mouth closed. The security guards grabbed for their Taser guns, one of them fumbling to press in a code to get the doors open, and then they rushed inside 416’s cell. The door sealed behind them. Another security team arrived, along with some of the medical staff. It was Doctor Brennor who treated her in one of the employee rooms. He looked grim as he cleaned her mouth.

“You’ll be fine.”

She nodded. “What will they do to 416? I can’t believe Jacob was doing that to him. It’s wrong.”

Anger tightened the redheaded doctor’s mouth when he frowned. “I know. We made these things to find cures for diseases that animals are naturally immune or resistant to. And to prevent diseases from crossing from animals to humans ever again. Do you know how much damn money they cost us create? The staff should use hookers if they want to get off, not expensive test subjects.”

Ellie had to lock her jaw and lower her gaze not to show him how disgusted, horrified, and enraged his cold assessment of living, breathing people made her.

“Now we’re making a bundle off them testing drugs we’ve cooked up to enhance the military and fitness freaks.” He turned away to tear off his gloves. “Have you seen how damn big we’ve made them? How strong? We trained them to fight just to show what is possible to do to humans and how much damage they can take with the new batch of rapid-healing medicines. Do you know how many billions of dollars in contracts we’re looking at? How much money we’ve already made so far? They are our prototypes. Showing what we can make them do, how fast, strong, and lethal they are is going to be the research for Mercile that blows our competitors out of the water. Every guy will want to buy what we’ve stirred up. That damn Jacob could have cost us a prime one. He’s too valuable to take risks with.”

Her eyes closed to hide her relieved tears. They wouldn’t kill 416. She’d made the right choice. He may hate her for framing him for murder but he’d live. Now she just needed to leave after her shift, hand over the evidence she’d stolen, and save him the only way she could. She would help bring Mercile Industries to justice.

“Hey,” Doctor Brennor sighed. “Sorry. I’m talking about money and you just survived a traumatic experience. Why don’t you go home? You should take the rest of the day off. Hell, call in sick tomorrow.”

She opened her eyes and met his gaze, hiding how desperately she hated him. “Thank you.” Her voice trembled. “I was scared.”

He gripped her arm, rubbed it, and smiled. “I could visit your home to check on you later.” His gaze lowered to her br**sts. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

“I have a boyfriend,” she lied again.

He released her. “Fine. Go. I’ll tell security I’m sending you home early.”

He spun away, walked to the phone, and Ellie watched him. She hoped he got life in prison. It would serve him right.

Chapter One

Southern California

Eleven Months later

Ellie sighed and adjusted her headphones to a more comfortable position. Heavy metal music poured out of the MP3 player she dropped into the front pocket of her cotton capri pants. The warm temperatures made her sweat even at eleven o’clock at night, despite the very slight breeze that fanned her skin. She glanced toward the open windows. The air-conditioning system of the dorm had gone out again. The maintenance teams were still fixing glitches on the newly constructed building.