“Einstein only researched atomic weapons because he wanted to harness that deadly technology before the Germans did.He regretted it when he realized the Germans never succeeded in developing an atomic bomb.”
“You’re trying to pay for the sins of your father?”I want to understand him, but he’s still such a mystery to me.
“My father didn’t inject me with the formula, and Keaton’s was an accident.You’re right that our parents wouldn’t have experimented on us.But after Keaton’s accident, he all but disappeared.”He shrugs as he goes on.“Me?I injected myself.”
“So that you could have those abilities?”
“No, to try and understand why it killed my father,” he says, dropping one of his own little bombs.That’s not what was on the report when Gray’s father died.“We still don’t know why it can affect some one way and others another.I’m still trying to understand what it does to me.I thought I had myself under control, but now I’m understanding why Keaton locked himself away.”
“What does that mean?”I scrunch my nose.“Something’s changed?”
“You could say that.You bring out something that’s deep inside of me.At times, it makes me feel out of control.”
Whoa.That explains a lot about the way he acted when he pulled me from the trunk of his car.He was all over me, and while I thought he was sniffing me, I told myself I was being a nut.
“So you’re still trying to figure it all out?”
“Honestly?I’m at a standstill.Do I keep digging or let it go for someone else to create?Then what?”
“Holy shit, Gray.That’s a lot of pressure.All we can ever do is what we feel is right.”
When I thought about the abilities Gray and Keaton both possess, it blew my mind.They were superhuman, but in reality, even without them they are still superhuman.Their minds are their true power, and it’s a power Gray wrestles with daily.
“If only it was so easy.”He pushes back from his chair.“Are you finished?”I nod, taking his offered hand.“Let me show my little mouse what she’s so curious about.”He leads me through the house and back up the stairs.When he pushes the painting aside, he nods toward it.“Go on.Put your hand on it,” he encourages.
“It will work for me?”
“Yes, I had you added after I saw you poking around.”
I glance over my shoulder at him.“Why?”
“Because this could also be used as a safe room if needed.It is one of the most secure places in the world.”I reach out and put my hand on the screen, and it lights up as it outlines my hand before flashing green.“Drop your hand and lean in.”I do as he says and step closer so it can scan my face next.
“Access granted,” the house says, and Gray pushes the painting back as the doors open on their own.
“What the heck?”I step closer only to see a metal room.
“In.”He gives my ass a smack, and I jump as I step into what I now realize is an elevator.
The doors close, and then it feels like we’re going underground.When the elevator stops, the doors slide open on their own, and my mouth falls open.
“I knew it!”I’d been right.“You do have a secret lab.”
ChapterTwelve
GRAY
“What is all this?”Jade asks as she looks around.
“Years of research.”I follow behind her as she goes over to one of the large screens where I keep notes while I’m working.“This was my father’s, and when he became worse, I took over.Then after I dosed myself, it became the place where I could hide.”
“That must have been so lonely.”When she turns to face me, I see the pity in her eyes, and I don’t want her pitying me.
“It was my choice.Besides, what options did I have when I wanted to study the drug myself?I couldn’t exactly run out in public after I took it.”I turn on the screen so she can see the huge panel of notes I’ve written.“I’ve come a long way in isolating the components, but I still don’t have a way to predict their volatility.Giving myself Formula X wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve done.”
“You think?”Jade’s voice is dripping with sarcasm, but she softens it by sliding her hand into mine.I could have died the same as my father.Back then, I hadn’t cared.I didn’t have anything to lose.
“But in doing so, I’ve gotten more data, which in the long run benefits science.”