SelkiesSeduction (13 page)

She suddenly had a greater understanding of the term “justifiable
homicide”.

* * * * *

“Well, well. How’s my newest little acquisition settling in?”

Dr. Kvordic looked nothing like Nikki’s preconceived notion
of him. Five foot ten at most, he looked like a mild-mannered grandfather,
complete with the balding head and wispy white hair curling down around his
ears. His pale-blue eyes shone with intelligence and compassion. If they’d met
under different circumstances, she’d have sworn he was as sane as anyone. So
much for her ability to judge character.

He peered at her through a thick set of glasses, a warm
smile on his face. “I know Dr. Landers’s exams can be a bit unsettling but we
need to know that you are physically able to participate in the program we have
planned for you. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt. I hope you understand that.”

Nikki held her tongue. She hadn’t had a lot of encounters
with insane psychos but her experience working with fraudsters in the forensic
accounting field had taught her that the best way to get information was often
to simply let the guilty party talk. Every criminal she’d ever met loved to
brag about their prowess.

Dr. Kvordic paused, as though expecting her to say
something. It occurred to her she had no idea what his given name was. Everyone
seemed to refer to him as Dr. Kvordic.

When she didn’t reply, he gave her a fatherly smile. “You
must have known that you’d be caught sooner or later. It’s obvious that your
kind can’t stay hidden forever, especially with all the modern equipment
available to us scientists. When I realized the extent of supernatural
infiltration into human society I tried to warn people.” He shook his head
sadly. “They wouldn’t listen. Called me insane, or worse, but I’ll show them. I
built this compound to house every known type of nonhuman biped, and I’ve hired
an outstanding staff of researchers and scientists. They’ll study and profile
each of you, and eventually, when the time is right, I’ll open the facility to
the scientific world and show them that I was right all along. I’m allowing you
and the other residents of my specialized habitats the opportunity to
participate in a world-shattering scientific advance.”

It was all she could do to keep her face blank. He’d
kidnapped her, performed invasive medical tests on her without her permission,
constantly referred to her as less than human, and he thought she should be
grateful? What on earth did he expect her to do? Fall to her knees and lick his
hand like a dog that’s been beaten into submission?

He sighed, looking disappointed. “I can see you’re not quite
ready to come on board. I did a thorough background check on you before I sent
in the acquisition team. Given your background in finance, I thought you might
be more inclined to see the logic behind my project than some of your less-educated
peers. Perhaps once you’ve been here for a time.”

“What exactly did you expect of me?” Nikki chose her words
carefully. Conveying the impression that she condoned what he was doing would
be taking it a bit far, but maybe if she pretended to cooperate, she might
stand a better chance of planning an escape. She grimaced inwardly. Ethical
compromises certainly weren’t one of her normal traits.

An excited smile lit the doctor’s face. “You’re interested?
Excellent! Nothing difficult really. I’ll let you encounter some of the other
residents. In the course of your training and tests, naturally. Nothing that
would make them suspicious. You can talk to them and try to get them to
understand that this is for the best.” His expression hardened, and Nikki
caught a glimpse of his darker side. “Of course you would tell us if they
approached you with a plan that would put any part of my research in jeopardy.
Or if any of them were silly enough to try to plan an escape. Any such plan
would be futile, and you’d be doing them a favor by foiling such an endeavor
before the participants got hurt.”

He wanted her to be a snitch! She wasn’t sure what the doctor
in his name stood for but it definitely had nothing to do with understanding
human nature. Then again, maybe he was just too sunk in his own personal
madness to see that his request was totally out of character for her. Ethics
were such a big part of being an accountant, and spying on your friends for
your own benefit just wasn’t ethical.

She smiled in what she hoped was a sincere way. “It makes
sense. Can I think about it and get back to you?” The opportunity to talk to
some of the other residents could prove invaluable. Maybe she could feed him
just enough information to be granted extra privileges without endangering
anyone. She’d like to talk to one of the werewolves and see what their take on
the whole complex was. No prison was inescapable, even Alcatraz’s security had
been breached from time to time.

“I knew you’d be more reasonable than the rest of them!” The
doctor beamed at her like a toddler who’d just been given a box of candy. “Mrs.
Simmons is going to direct your first day of tests, and I’ll let her know that
you’re considering my proposition. She can steer you in the direction of the
creatures that have been troublesome so that you understand my dilemma. I don’t
want to have to hurt any of them. They are all rare and very valuable to my
research but if they continue to give me trouble, I’ll have to make an example
of one of them. You could help me avoid that, or at least make sure that I don’t
discipline an innocent. I’ll have Mrs. Simmons set up another meeting for us in
a couple of days. That should give you time to get settled in and see that it
really is in your best interest to cooperate.”

“That sounds fair. Can I go now?”

His smile had an edge to it, and the look in his eyes sent a
shiver throughout her body. Apparently, he wasn’t quite as easily fooled as she
thought.

“Not quite yet. I haven’t had a good look at you. I like to
take a good look at each of my specimens. Your acquisition wasn’t cheap, you
know, and I like to think I got my money’s worth.” He gestured at a raised
round dais to her left. “Take the robe off, and go stand on the platform over
there.”

Nikki took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure she could restrain
herself if he planned to sexually assault her. Dr. Landers’s exam had been bad
enough.

She reached for Wolfe’s familiar presence, wishing she could
actually communicate with him. He’d tell her something to help her get through
this. Or get out of it. She had a feeling he wouldn’t take kindly to having
some jerk of a scientist run his hands all over her.

She stood, making sure her reluctance showed in every move
of her body. If he really wanted her cooperation, maybe he’d reconsider
whatever it was he had planned.

The doctor didn’t say a word, so she tilted her chin up
proudly and shrugged the robe off her shoulders. Striding to the dais, she
stepped up and turned to face him.

Still silent, he stood and walked over to her with his hands
clasped behind his back. He circled her slowly, his eyes as flat and
emotionless as a snake. His true nature, no doubt. The jovial grandfatherly
façade was just that, a disguise. This was the man who had ordered her abducted
and examined like an animal bought at auction.

“Not bad.” He raised a hand to stroke down her thigh, and
she barely managed to avoid cringing. “If I weren’t enlightened, I’d believe
you were a human. Place your hands on your head.”

Nikki complied, gritting her teeth at his cold-blooded
appraisal. She’d never felt so enraged and yet so helpless in her entire life.

Kvordic walked around her again and Nikki focused her gaze
on the far wall, refusing to acknowledge him. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to
view her naked body as a sex object. She suspected the whole point of this
exercise was to impress upon her the helplessness of her position. Make her
feel scared and more amenable to their plans.

She contemplated trying some of her karate moves on him. If
she were to strike out at him, would a hidden guard spring to his defense? More
than likely. In her experience, corporate bullies tended to use underlings to
enforce their wills. How quick would they be to react? Idly, she ran through
the self-defense katas in her mind. For now, she’d keep her abilities hidden.

He returned to his seat, apparently satisfied with his
appraisal. “You may get down and put on your robe.” He opened up the laptop on
his desk and began to type.

Nikki assumed she’d been dismissed. Picking up her robe, she
slipped her arms into the sleeves and tied the thick belt as she headed for the
door.

“Halt!”

What a peculiar way to address her. She turned and raised an
eyebrow inquisitively, one hand already reaching for the door handle.

“You will resume your seat and wait quietly until I give you
further instructions. I did not say that you could leave.” His voice held no
emotion, which was somehow scarier than if he’d been yelling at her. She tried
not to let him see how unnerved she felt as she walked back to the seat in
front of his desk and sat down.

His eyes never left the computer monitor, and she could hear
the staccato sound of keys being struck. Making notes about her, no doubt. She
wondered if they were favorable. And what he would consider favorable.

A knock sounded at the door, and Nikki jumped. So much for
hiding how nervous she felt.

“Come in.” The cutting edge was gone from his voice. Hard to
believe this was the same man who’d just barked at her to sit down.

Mrs. Simmons bustled in, looking slightly flustered. Just at
the presence of her boss? The dynamics in this place were odd, to put it mildly.
“Yes, Dr. Kvordic?”

“I’m finished with this specimen for now. Please return her
to her quarters. I’ll be finished with my notes shortly, and you may review
them when you have a minute. Dr. Landers will set up a schedule for her
training, but for tomorrow, there will be some preliminary tests and exercises
to determine her current level of fitness. You will also make sure she comes
into contact with several of the other residents. She is considering helping us
with them.” The benign, grandfatherly façade was back. And Nikki found the
sudden switch unnerving.

“Time to get up, Nikki. You have thirty minutes to eat
breakfast and perform your morning routine. Please remember that a shower is
required each morning and evening.”

Nikki opened one eye and glared balefully at the ceiling.
Smart men, waking her up remotely. If they put in an appearance, she’d be
tempted to do something nasty to them. Singing came to mind. She could hit
every amazingly nerve-shattering high note in the spectrum.

She sat up on the bed and yawned. Despite the absolutely
horrible day she’d had yesterday, she’d slept like a log. She suspected they’d
drugged her food or the water supply. Possibly both. Still, she felt rested and
eager to go so that might backfire on them yet.

Swinging her feet over the edge she slipped into her robe
before doing a few quick morning stretches. Dr. Kvordic and crew might be fine
with her running around nude, but that didn’t mean she had to oblige them. Time
to get breakfast. She had a feeling this was going to be a tough day.

Mrs. Simmons arrived shortly after Nikki finished her
shower. Maybe because she’d draped one of those huge fluffy bath towels over
the door, effectively blocking the security detail’s view of her morning
shower. Petty, but it made her feel a tiny bit more in control.

“Ready for your first day?” Someone had forgotten to tell
the guard that perky first thing in the morning was not appreciated. Then
again, it would probably be wise to play along until she got a better feel for
the place.

“Yup. What’s first? Dr. Landers mentioned some fitness
tests.”

“Now that’s the attitude we like to see. Dr. Kvordic said
you’d be a practical one.”

The guard pulled a small device out of her pocket, lifting
it toward Nikki as she advanced toward her. Nikki felt her eyes widen in alarm
as she backed away. “What is that?”

Mrs. Simmons stopped, looking confused for a moment. “This?
Oh, it’s like a barcode reader at the store. When I come to get you in the
morning, I scan your collar. This will download the day’s activities into your
collar, so that security can track where you are at any given time. One of our
IT guys designed it.” She raised the device again, more slowly this time, and
Nikki suppressed a flinch when she felt a brief vibration against her neck.

So she needed to ditch the collar before she attempted to
escape. “That’s fascinating. Your staff must be really smart.” Always play to
their egos.

“Dr. Kvordic only hires the best. Let’s go.” The guard held
open the door for Nikki to pass through.

This time, they only ascended to level five. When the doors
slid open, they once again faced a counter area, manned by a dour-faced
security guard.

Instead of a long hallway to either side, there was one
door. Mrs. Simmons led her to the right, reaching over her shoulder to key in
the door code.

One, three, five, seven, nine. How original. Nikki filed the
information away for future use. Chances were, if they used such a simple code
on one lock, none of them would be hard to crack. Maybe thinking of their
captives as animals had the staff here underestimating their intelligence. That
could definitely work in her favor.

The door slid open to expose a huge gym area, with every
type of fitness equipment that Nikki had ever seen, and quite a few she hadn’t.
Mrs. Simmons plucked yet another clipboard from the wall and perused its
contents.

“There’s a locker containing your workout clothing over
there.” She nodded to the left, and Nikki went over. There were names on
several of the lockers. Jake. Tyler. Sasha. Pete. Riana. Kali. Nikki. Jackson.

Nothing to indicate the species of the occupant, and of
course, no locks to ensure privacy. She opened the one with her name on it and
pulled out a one-piece spandex suit. They had to be kidding. This looked like
it would show off more than it covered.

Or maybe she should be thankful they didn’t expect her to
exercise in the nude. She dropped her robe to the ground and pulled the suit
on. The front zipper stopped just above her breasts, but at least it felt like
there was some support built in. Good thing she didn’t have huge boobs.

The next three hours were spent in the most grueling round
of exercises that Nikki had ever participated in. Treadmill. Stationary bike.
Weightlifting. Exercises that tested every muscle in her body, and had her
ready to beg for mercy. She was an accountant, for pity’s sake, not a contender
for Olympic gold. What the hell did they expect? She’d thought she was in
fairly good condition, but by the end of the morning, she was ready to throw in
the towel.

Mrs. Simmons made yet another note on that blasted clipboard
of hers when Nikki failed to raise the barbell off the rack. “Perhaps you’ll do
a better after lunch. You’ll want to shower first. I can smell you from here.”

If that smile was supposed to be sympathetic, she needed to
work on it. If they didn’t want her smelling of sweat when she worked out, they
might want to consider supplying deodorant. Nikki refrained from snarling. Too
many cameras ready to record any indication that she wasn’t playing nice selkie.

A bank of glass-enclosed showers lined one side of the
doorway, and Nikki no longer cared who was watching. She cranked the heat up as
far as it would go and closed her eyes, letting the water cascade in a
delicious torrent over her sore muscles.

If they planned to work her hard every day, she wouldn’t
have the energy to attempt an escape. She turned to let the water hit a
particularly sore spot on her back.

“Two minutes.” Mrs. Simmons’s voice crackled briskly through
the glass wall. “You need to get lunch before we start our afternoon session.”

Nikki cranked the heat up as far as she could tolerate, and
spent a few more blissful minutes soaking her sore muscles. The water abruptly
shut off, and she reluctantly opened the door and reached for a towel. This
whole schedule thing was beginning to annoy the crap out of her.

“Just your robe will be fine. Once you’ve been here awhile
you won’t bother with that.”

The guard looked decidedly impatient. Maybe Stan was waiting
for her in the lunchroom.

Nikki grabbed her robe from the locker and wrapped it around
her. She turned and noted Mrs. Simmons shoving the discarded workout suit down
the laundry chute. Hopefully there’d be a clean one for her this afternoon.
Modesty aside, she needed some kind of support if they wanted her to exercise
this hard.

They crossed in front of the desk in what she’d begun to
think of as the lobby, and Mrs. Simmons once again punched in a code to open
the door on the left of the lobby. This time, she made an effort to block Nikki’s
view so she couldn’t tell if the code was the same. The faint taps on the
keypad, though, told her that it was again a five-number code. Could they
really be that trusting?

Turned out the lunchroom was cafeteria style. Mrs. Simmons
waved her toward the counter. “They’ll scan your collar and serve you whatever
the doctor ordered. You can sit with the other creatures and chat but remember,
security is monitoring all exchanges, and if you misbehave you’ll be punished.”

Well, that was encouraging. Someone thought she had enough
energy left to misbehave. She approached the food counter and managed not to
flinch when the lady with the lovely purple hairnet poked one of those damn
scanners at her neck. The result was a platter of roast beef, potato salad, and
a thick slab of whole-grain bread. Apparently, her collar thought she needed
fattening up.

She grabbed a bottle of water and a cup of coffee before she
picked up the tray and looked over at the table area. There were only four
other occupants at the moment. She had no idea if that meant that Dr. Kvordic
hadn’t managed to kidnap too many of them yet, or just they staggered the
mealtimes to lessen the chance of an inmate revolt.

Whatever. She was starving.

Just to look like she might be considering Dr. Kvordic’s
offer, she took her tray and plunked it down on the table opposite two guys who
were scowling at their meals. For some reason, they’d been given what looked
like Caesar salads, and by the looks on their faces they weren’t vegetarians.

She sat on the bench seat, and started to fork the roast
beef into her mouth without bothering with niceties like introductions. Who
knew when they’d decide that mealtime was over?

“She’d almost be cute if she stopped shoveling that damn
meat in hear mouth so fast.”

“You think? There’s not much to her. She probably isn’t our
type. Females usually have a lot more bulk.”

“Maybe not, but if we don’t get out of this place soon, I’m
going to get a whole lot less picky.”

The first guy snickered. “You’ve never been picky. Remember
that one you dragged to the pack hunt last spring? I’ve never such a homely
female in my life!”

Nikki glanced up and caught a grin on the second guy’s face.
“She had other talents.”

“So, pretty lady. Plan on telling us who you are, or do we
have to keep this babble going?”

Nikki gulped down the last of the roast beef. “Name’s Nikki.
I’m a selkie. You?”

“Pete and Jackson. Werewolves.” He frowned. “I thought Sasha
was the token selkie.”

“Yeah, well. Apparently she’s not doing so well so they brought
me in.” She was careful to avoid the word kidnapped. No telling who was
listening. “If she recovers, she’ll be bunking in with me.”

Tension suddenly radiated from Jackson. “Not doing well how?
We were close, and then she disappeared. I thought maybe she escaped.”

Nikki shook her head. “She tried, and they caught her. I’ve
no idea how, but she was pregnant and she lost the kid. I guess it was pretty
hard on her.”

“Shit!” Jackson slammed his fists down on the table, earning
himself a warning glare from the guard at the front of the room. “That was my
child. I thought she made it out.”

Nikki gulped and tried to extricate her foot from her mouth.
Sympathy slid through her. The anguish in Jackson’s voice was real. “Sorry. I
didn’t know. They told me she was raped by the alpha.”

Disgust dripped from Pete’s voice. “They don’t know squat.
We knew we couldn’t all make it out, but we thought we’d managed to slip her
past the guard to freedom. When she disappeared, we were sure she’d been
successful.”

Nikki lowered her voice. “They’re watching us. The doctor
offered me privileges if I convince you guys to play ball.”

The look on Jackson’s face was shrewdly assessing. “And?”

Nikki shrugged, her voice barely above a whisper. “I want
out. Fast. I think someone is coming after me, but I’m not going to sit here
twiddling my thumbs while I wait and see if he shows up. If we work together,
we might be able to come up with a plan. If the psycho doctor thinks I’m on his
side, he’ll let me in to see you. But we have to be careful. Those damn
monitors are everywhere.”

Pete’s gaze strayed over her shoulder, and he spoke loudly. “So
what do you think of the exercise facilities?”

Nikki caught on immediately, rolling her eyes. “I’ve never
been so damned tired in my life, and I still have this afternoon to go. If I
keep this up, I’ll be in tiptop shape in no time.”

“Glad to hear you’re keeping a positive attitude, Nikki.
This afternoon will be easier on you, I’m sure. Mostly balance and agility
tests.” Dr. Landers gave her a friendly pat on the back. “I see you’ve met Pete
and Jackson. They’re two of the werewolves. Jackson is the alpha and Pete is
his second.”

Nikki hoped her smile looked sincere. “Yup. We were just
talking about the training programs.”

“Well, I won’t interrupt. Enjoy your lunch.”

“Thanks.” She watched as the doctor headed for the staff
tables.

Pete waggled his eyebrows at her. “Suck-up.”

She picked up the bread and tore off a chunk. “Pays
sometimes.” She looked pointedly at their salads. “I had no idea werewolves
were vegetarians.”

Jackson let out a hoot of laughter. “She got you on that
one. The doctor felt we were disrespectful to him yesterday and ordered us off
red meat for a few days. Said he thought it encouraged our aggressive behavior.”

Pete laughed. “He’s keeping a pack of werewolves captive.
Can’t imagine why he didn’t expect aggression. So you have an escape plan yet?
Or just high hopes?”

“Mainly high hopes. I need to know more about this place
before I can plan.”

He lowered his voice so she had to strain to hear him. “If
you want our help, you need to find out more about Sasha. She’s got to go with
you or no deal.”

Nikki felt hope surge through her. Allies. “No problem. I
was kind of hoping we’d all make a break at the same time. Overwhelm them with
numbers.”

“Like that war movie,
The Great Escape
?”

She nodded. “Yeah, something like that. What do you think?”

Jackson looked thoughtful. “By my estimate, there’s at least
twenty of us here now, not counting the segregated section. That just might
work. Let me think about it and get back to you tomorrow. If they rotate lunch
breaks and I don’t see you, I’ll send a message with one of the other guys.”

“Sounds good. What’s the segregated section?” Nikki felt her
spirits lifting. She could make this work. She mentally hugged the connection
to Wolfe. She hadn’t realized how much she’d grown to rely on his strong quiet
presence until it had been ripped away from her.

Pete shrugged. “Not sure what’s in there, but it’s in a
separate wing with mega security on it. No one talks about it, but I see them
sending the guards down there in pairs, so whatever is in there must be damn
tough. Hell, I’m a werewolf and they don’t look at me with nearly as much fear
as they do that section.”

Interesting. Maybe she could find out something from Mrs.
Simmons. As if she were aware of Nikki’s thoughts, the guard glanced over. “Five
minutes, Nikki.”