The Eve Genome by Joanne Brothwell

Author:Joanne Brothwell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Joanne Brothwell
Published: 2013-09-22T05:00:00+00:00

(There is) strong evidence that evil behavior—mass murder, armed robbery… might be caused by the right set of genes interacting with the wrong environment.

-Scientific American

CHAPTER NINE

KALAN KANE

“I never want to get out of this bed,” Adriana said from across the room.

My back ached from sleeping on the fold-out sofa bed and my feet hung off the end.

“I wish I could say the same.”

Three loud raps at the hotel door rang out.

“Who would that be?” Adriana whispered.

I jumped out of bed, threw on my jeans and went to the door. Adriana disappeared into the bathroom to get dressed. I looked through the peephole.

The door blasted in and slammed into my shoulder so hard it propelled me backward against the wall. My neck wrenched from the impact.

“What the hell—”

“Hello, brother.” Marcus stepped into the room. He wore jeans, a black leather jacket and protective eyewear. His eyes glittered, his mouth curled up in a smug half-smile. Tait stood right behind him with a blank expression. Was he under Marcus’s control? “Sorry about the door.”

“What the…? Why are you here, Marcus?” I asked. My shoulder still ached from where the door rammed into me.

Marcus chuckled and walked in. He glanced at the bed, the rumpled sheets. “I got tired of waiting, and I saw a text on Tait’s phone that you and Adriana were here looking for our mother behind my back.”

The bathroom door opened. Adriana came out, her eyes narrowed, her mouth a hard, thin line.

“It wasn’t behind your back,” I started, “We found something—”

“Yes, yes. You found the picture at Uncle Les the Molester’s house.” Marcus smiled and his white teeth gleamed. “I already know this.”

Adriana surveyed Tait. “Hey. Tait? Are you okay?” His vacant eyes spoke volumes. She reached out and snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Tait?”

Tait’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead and he blinked. “What? I’m fine.”

“Where is Zoe?” I asked.

Tait looked at Marcus, who gave him a barely perceptible nod. “At home. Where else would she be?” Tait said.

Marcus didn’t give either of us time to respond to Tait. “The point is, you and Adriana went to find our mother without me,” Marcus’s nostrils flared. “That was not part of our agreement, Kalan.”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” I said. “Obviously, I misjudged.”

“Obviously,” Marcus sneered.

Adriana glared at Marcus. “Is he under your control?” She gestured to Tait.

“Perhaps,” Marcus said with a wave of his hand. “Now, I’d like a quick run-through of everything you’ve discovered so far. No more secrets. No more skulking around behind my back.”

“It wasn’t like that,” I said.

Without warning, Marcus grabbed my throat and squeezed. My throat closed in on itself and my whole body convulsed. I grasped at Marcus’s fingers to pry them off as a gurgling noise erupted from my mouth.

Adriana shrieked. “Stop it Marcus!”

Marcus let go and the relief was instantaneous. I leaned forward and gasped for breath. Fuck. Why had I allowed myself to trust him when every gut instinct inside of me had

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.