The Six: Genesis | A Reverse Harem Novel

Ninety-Nine

Is it foolish to want revenge?

Chris believes so. He says it clouds your judgment and you make stupid decisions while at it. More senseless deaths have happened in his line of work tied to grudges held for years.

Ryker wouldn't agree. No. He'd end Levi Fernandez with a single bullet and leave his rotting corpse in a shallow grave.

Though he isn't standing before me, if he knew the things I now know, he'd tell me the same thing my brain is screaming. Make him regret it. Make him regret the day he was born.

I know he is angry. I know he felt betrayed. I know what he wanted more than anything was to be augmented, but to feed my designs to the competition?

Levi has more honor than that. At least, I thought so. He stole from me.

Yes, he was the architect behind scores of battle strategies and hierarchy coding, but those designs are still mine. I coded them. I researched and tested the best metals and weaves for their bodies. I spent months—no, years—doing everything I could and working until my fingers bled to make Inatrium a powerhouse.

He may have set the bounds of battle with the organisms, but I set the bounds for everything else. To satisfy his desires, he sought to give away what I'd spent billions and countless hours to achieve. As though it was his to give!

"You should eat." Chris' words drag me from the rage blooming in my chest. "You look like you're about to explode."

"I am going to explode," I mutter, shoving a piece of freshly steamed fish in my mouth. My stomach growls as it melts in my mouth. "This is delicious."

"We can figure out what to do about Levi as a group."

"I know."

"Blue, I'm serious..." As he rounds the massive kitchen island, his fingers drift along the black iron surface. My face reflects in the darkness, a mirrored image of my frowning features. "You're not alone and you don't have to deal with this alone."

"No one knows Levi better than me. If anyone can figure out where he is—it's me."

"Or Ryker..."

I come up short at the mention of my father's name. "Have you spoken with him?"

"Yeah, while you and Charlie finished your shower," heat burns my cheek as he mentions his name.

Chris was kind enough to give us some space. We aren't completely back on track, but we are better than we were before. I don't think I've ever seen Charlie so vulnerable.

My childhood was shattered by the death of my parents, but nothing compares to the horror of Charlie's. Since he could walk, his father taught him the dangers of their family business. He had no childhood.

What memories he possesses with his father tie to weapons training, sparring, and a multitude of tutors sent to entrench him in mathematics, science, technology and war. He's meant to be a general of a mercenary army—not the personal guard of a tech giant. No wonder his father wants to kill me.

Jasper believes I'll stifle Charlie's future. He believes I'm taking Charlie away from the fiery potential he shows the older he becomes. Charlie is many things and I don't want him to stop being a single thing, other than what he wants to be.

My heart hurts for him. To be so young and subjected to torture to ensure he could keep his mouth shut in the event someone kidnapped him is deplorable. I couldn't stomach hurting a child so severely—especially my own.

However, I understand the necessity. Wanting his son to be unbreakable drove Jasper to do what he believes is best. And from what little Charlie has exposed so far, he was right.