Wyatt, the second ranger, really looked at her for the first time and his eyes widened. Fuck. She had forgotten her disheveled state, and in the drama of the moment, her blouse had gaped open again. J-100 immediately stepped in front of her while she wrapped herself in her jacket and pulled Serena’s usual icy calm back in place.
“What’s going on, Serena?” the Judge demanded when she stepped forward again.
Fighting back the sense of loss that threatened to swamp her, she filled them in on what she knew about GenCon’s plans for the hybrids. As she suspected, both rangers immediately agreed to take action against them. However, since the hybrids appeared to be monitoring communications, they wouldn’t be able to alert the other rangers until they were outside the city.
The Judge decided they needed to obtain more information from one of the hybrids. Before he and Wyatt could execute their somewhat complicated plan to capture one, J-100 looked at her and raised an eyebrow. As soon as she agreed, he nodded and disappeared, the Judge hastily following him.
“Quite an admirer you have there,” Wyatt said teasingly.
She did her best to ignore him, despite that same feeling of satisfaction filling her. Even though she was quite sure J-100 hadn’t told her everything, she liked knowing that he was on her side.
For now, she reminded herself. I can’t depend on him.
Picking up a tablet, she began making a note of the locations for which the hybrids had been intended, but as she did, she considered the possibilities. Even though she knew the hybrids had to be stopped, if there was any way to keep her options open…
In the end, she suggested that Wyatt contact Earth Government. It would divert attention from her by forcing GenCon to deal with the resulting investigation. Hopefully, it would also eliminate the possibility of any additional hybrids being sent to Mars.
As she finished her list, an anomaly in the data caught her attention. Before she could examine it in greater detail, the doors to her office reopened and J-100 threw a hybrid to the floor in front of her desk. Rochester. The spoiled younger son of a wealthy family, he had plotted to assassinate his older brother and take over their company. He had failed, but the brother had been “merciful” enough to send him off to Mars rather than terminate him. She suspected his brother would enjoy seeing him sprawled on the floor with J-100’s boot on his neck.
Unfortunately, Rochester had little more useful information to offer other than confirming that Sheldon, another hybrid, had been able to figure out how to bypass the control chips. He also revealed that Sheldon had gone off in search of a scientist to reverse the process—the same scientist who was married to the Judge. The two men didn’t wait to hear anymore before they raced out of her office.
She suppressed a sigh as they left. While she couldn’t begrudge their urgency and she didn’t wish for any harm to come to the Judge’s wife Addie—and certainly not to their endearing daughter—she was on her own again.
I don’t need them, she reminded herself, then turned her attention to J-100. The big cyborg showed no indication of leaving, his boot still planted on the hybrid’s neck.
“Don’t you want to go with them?” she asked.
“Told you I wasn’t a ranger.” His face softened as he looked at her. “And I’m not going to leave you alone until I’m sure you’re safe.”
Normally she would have scoffed at the idea that she needed protection but she was still feeling a little shaky from the attack. Not that she needed him either, of course—she knew better than that. Under other circumstances she might also have been calculating how to take advantage of his apparent weakness on her behalf, but right now, she simply appreciated his presence. He made her feel safe, and even though she knew it was foolish, she was going to allow herself the indulgence this time.
She looked down at the body on the floor and frowned. Now what?
Chapter Seven
“I assume this is not what GenCon had in mind,” J-100 said, echoing Serena’s thoughts as she contemplated the hybrids.
“No, it’s not. I was told that they were sending a special batch of hybrids who had agreed to take leadership positions at the settlements we’ve been developing.” She indicated the control case. “This was supposed to be capable of controlling them. As you can see, it failed.”
Rochester cackled triumphantly. The sound cut off abruptly as J-100 lowered his boot.
“What do you want to do with this one?”
She was tempted to tell him to eliminate the hybrid, but the faint remnants of her conscience objected. As far as she knew, he hadn’t actually harmed anyone.
“There are titanium holding cells in the lower levels of this building.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Intended for the hybrids—or the rangers?”
Of course they had been intended for the rangers. When she had first arrived, that knowledge hadn’t bothered her but as she had more interactions with them, she had been thankful that it never came to that. She shrugged. “Does it matter now?”
His lips quirked, and she had the sudden desire to see a real smile on that hard face. Ignoring the foolish impulse, she focused on the business at hand. “Can you take him there and lock him in? With his… accomplice?”
“I don’t like leaving you alone.”
“If the other two are guarding the entrances to the city, I’ll be fine.” When he hesitated, she did her best to give him her usual cool, commanding look. “Please do as I ask.”
He simply looked back at her until she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. Dammit. She never blushed. “Please.”
His face softened, then he reached behind him and pulled a small gun from his waistband. “Here. Take this. Lock the doors behind me and shoot anyone who tries to enter.”
“You had a weapon all this time?”
He shrugged. “Old habits die hard.”
“Why didn’t you use
