was in charge of the mess knew exactly how to get me in line. Had my ex-boyfriend Sean filled them in? He’d always accused me of hero-worshipping my father and trying to live up to his expectations. Sean had always known exactly how to manipulate me like a puppet master with a puppet.
But I wasn’t going to do it. Sometimes standing up for what you believed in meant making sacrifices. This whole mess was a giant powder keg waiting to blow. Stravinsky and the military were nearly ready to unleash a weapon of mass destruction unlike any the world had ever seen. They weren’t going to kill people. They were going to turn them into mindless monsters to attack everyone in their path. There was no way I was issuing a retraction when there were thousands of innocent lives on the line.
Standing up for what was right, no matter how much it hurt, was the best way to honor my father’s legacy. I couldn’t back down.
But my brothers had no idea what was coming, and I had to warn them. While I waited for the elevator, I pulled out my phone and called Michael.
“You’ve stirred up a big pile of shit,” he shouted in my ear as soon as he answered the phone. I heard the hum of voices around him.
“You saw the report?”
“Saw it?” he barked. The background voices quieted. “Everyone came to Vincent’s bar to watch. Half the damn neighborhood saw it.”
I cringed. At five on a weeknight? The neighborhood where I grew up was full of blue-collar people and über conservative. “So you’re catching a lot of flak, huh?”
“You have no idea the shit we’re getting.”
I pushed out a breath. “Well, it’s about to get a whole lot worse.” I ran my hand over my head, grabbing my ponytail out of habit. “There’s big money behind this whole thing. They want me to denounce my story or they’re going after Dad.”
“Dad? How can they go after him if he’s been dead for years?”
I told him what Don had said. My brother was silent for several seconds.
“Is it true?” he asked quietly. “Are they really doing those experiments?”
I leaned my back against the wall. “Yeah.”
“And there really are vampires. You’ve seen them?”
I’d said that in the report, but I understood his need to hear confirmation from me. “Yeah. I’ve worked side by side with one. Lea. She helped expose this whole thing.”
“Then don’t you dare back down, Rachel Sambrook. You stand up and fight like your brothers taught you.”
A lump filled my throat. “Thanks, Michael.”
“You would have made Dad proud.” His voice broke.
I took another breath to steady my voice. “I really wish Dad had told me that. Just once.”
He released a soft chuckle. “You think he told any of us kids that to our faces? He worried we’d get swelled heads. But he used to tell everyone who’d listen his Rachel was going to grow up and face the monsters when she became a journalist. She was going to report corruption and save the world. So, no bullshit cover-ups. I’m telling you now, Rach—” his voice lowered, “—go fight those bastards. Your brothers have your back, and I will personally kick the ass of anyone who tries to discredit you.”
“I don’t know what to say, Michael. Thanks.”
I heard someone calling his name. “Gotta go, Rach. When this is all done, don’t be a stranger. Come home to visit. And you might want to bring a guy with you to appease Nana. She reminds all of us that you aren’t getting any younger.”
I laughed, suddenly homesick. “Yeah. I’ll see what I can do.” I hadn’t been home since my college graduation. Maybe it was time.
“Go fight the monsters.”
He hung up and the elevator opened a minute later. Thankfully the car was empty. I needed to prepare myself for the stares in the lobby. I was sure everyone was probably talking about my report now. If the investors in the Asclepius Project were this desperate for me to issue a retraction, they must have already set up a campaign to
But I wasn’t going to do it. Sometimes standing up for what you believed in meant making sacrifices. This whole mess was a giant powder keg waiting to blow. Stravinsky and the military were nearly ready to unleash a weapon of mass destruction unlike any the world had ever seen. They weren’t going to kill people. They were going to turn them into mindless monsters to attack everyone in their path. There was no way I was issuing a retraction when there were thousands of innocent lives on the line.
Standing up for what was right, no matter how much it hurt, was the best way to honor my father’s legacy. I couldn’t back down.
But my brothers had no idea what was coming, and I had to warn them. While I waited for the elevator, I pulled out my phone and called Michael.
“You’ve stirred up a big pile of shit,” he shouted in my ear as soon as he answered the phone. I heard the hum of voices around him.
“You saw the report?”
“Saw it?” he barked. The background voices quieted. “Everyone came to Vincent’s bar to watch. Half the damn neighborhood saw it.”
I cringed. At five on a weeknight? The neighborhood where I grew up was full of blue-collar people and über conservative. “So you’re catching a lot of flak, huh?”
“You have no idea the shit we’re getting.”
I pushed out a breath. “Well, it’s about to get a whole lot worse.” I ran my hand over my head, grabbing my ponytail out of habit. “There’s big money behind this whole thing. They want me to denounce my story or they’re going after Dad.”
“Dad? How can they go after him if he’s been dead for years?”
I told him what Don had said. My brother was silent for several seconds.
“Is it true?” he asked quietly. “Are they really doing those experiments?”
I leaned my back against the wall. “Yeah.”
“And there really are vampires. You’ve seen them?”
I’d said that in the report, but I understood his need to hear confirmation from me. “Yeah. I’ve worked side by side with one. Lea. She helped expose this whole thing.”
“Then don’t you dare back down, Rachel Sambrook. You stand up and fight like your brothers taught you.”
A lump filled my throat. “Thanks, Michael.”
“You would have made Dad proud.” His voice broke.
I took another breath to steady my voice. “I really wish Dad had told me that. Just once.”
He released a soft chuckle. “You think he told any of us kids that to our faces? He worried we’d get swelled heads. But he used to tell everyone who’d listen his Rachel was going to grow up and face the monsters when she became a journalist. She was going to report corruption and save the world. So, no bullshit cover-ups. I’m telling you now, Rach—” his voice lowered, “—go fight those bastards. Your brothers have your back, and I will personally kick the ass of anyone who tries to discredit you.”
“I don’t know what to say, Michael. Thanks.”
I heard someone calling his name. “Gotta go, Rach. When this is all done, don’t be a stranger. Come home to visit. And you might want to bring a guy with you to appease Nana. She reminds all of us that you aren’t getting any younger.”
I laughed, suddenly homesick. “Yeah. I’ll see what I can do.” I hadn’t been home since my college graduation. Maybe it was time.
“Go fight the monsters.”
He hung up and the elevator opened a minute later. Thankfully the car was empty. I needed to prepare myself for the stares in the lobby. I was sure everyone was probably talking about my report now. If the investors in the Asclepius Project were this desperate for me to issue a retraction, they must have already set up a campaign to
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