THE PRICE OF SIN

THE HUNT BEGINS

Chapter 16

Lorenzo stood in the desert dust, watching the helicopter disappear into the mountain range with the only woman he'd ever loved. Every instinct screamed at him to commandeer a vehicle, chase them down, tear apart the sky itself if necessary to get Elena back.

"Lorenzo." Maria's voice was sharp, cutting through his rage. "We need to move. Vance will have backup coming."

Lorenzo turned to her, his face a mask of controlled fury. "Your daughter just got kidnapped because of your games."

"My games?" Maria's eyes flashed. "You're the one whose family has been selling enhanced humans like merchandise."

"Enough." The voice came from Mia, who was leaning heavily against one of the rescued hostages but glaring at both of them. "Elena risked everything to save us, and you two are standing here arguing while she's being taken to God knows where."

Lorenzo looked at Elena's best friend—small, terrified, but with a core of steel that reminded him painfully of Elena herself.

"You're right," Lorenzo said quietly. "What do you know about where Vance might take her?"

"I was held in three different facilities over the past week," Mia said, her voice steadier than Lorenzo had expected. "The last one was in the mountains, maybe an hour's flight from here. High tech, heavily guarded. That's probably where he's taking her."

Lorenzo pulled out his phone, but it was dead—fried by some kind of electromagnetic pulse from the attack.

"We need transportation and communications," Lorenzo said. "And weapons."

"I can help with that," one of the other rescued hostages spoke up. He was older than the others, maybe thirty-five, with the kind of lean build that suggested military training. "Marcus Webb, former Navy SEAL. I've been tracking enhanced human trafficking networks for two years."

"How?" Maria asked suspiciously.

Marcus rolled up his sleeve, revealing a complex tattoo that seemed to shift and move in the light. "Enhanced camouflage abilities. I can become essentially invisible for short periods. Very useful for intelligence gathering."

Lorenzo studied the man, recognizing a fellow predator. "What kind of intelligence?"

"Vance has been working with a consortium of international buyers. They're planning an auction next week—fifteen enhanced individuals, including Elena." Marcus's voice was grim. "Winner takes all."

Lorenzo felt something cold and murderous settle in his chest. "Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged if you go in guns blazing," Marcus warned. "The facility is a fortress. Motion sensors, automated defenses, at least fifty armed guards. You'd never make it past the perimeter."

"Then we don't go through the perimeter," Lorenzo said. "We go under it."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "You have a plan?"

"I have resources." Lorenzo looked at the group of rescued enhanced individuals—twelve people with abilities he was only beginning to understand. "And apparently, I have an army."

Over the next hour, Lorenzo learned more about enhanced human abilities than he'd discovered in months of research. Sarah could manipulate electromagnetic fields—useful for disabling security systems. James had enhanced strength and near-invulnerability. Lisa could phase through solid matter for short distances.

And they were all motivated by the same thing: stopping Vance and his consortium before more innocent people suffered.

"There's something else," Mia said as they planned their assault. "Elena isn't just enhanced. When they were testing me, I heard the scientists talking. They said her genetic markers are unique, that she's some kind of... catalyst."

"Catalyst for what?" Lorenzo asked.

"For other enhanced individuals. Being near her makes everyone else's abilities stronger." Mia's voice was worried. "That's why Vance wants her so badly. With Elena, he could create an army of super-soldiers."

Lorenzo felt his protective instincts surge. Elena wasn't just the woman he loved—she was the key to Vance's ultimate plan.

"We need to move fast," Lorenzo said. "The longer Vance has her, the more dangerous this becomes."

"Agreed," Maria said. "But Lorenzo, there's something you need to know about the consortium."

"What?"

Maria's expression was grim. "They're not just trafficking enhanced humans. They're breeding them. Creating families, monitoring bloodlines, trying to produce the next generation of enhanced individuals."

Lorenzo's blood ran cold. "You mean—"

"They want Elena for more than just her catalyst abilities. They want her genetics. They want her to produce enhanced children." Maria's voice was deadly quiet. "With or without her consent."

Lorenzo's control finally snapped. He slammed his fist into the side of an abandoned truck, leaving a dent in the metal.

"They're not touching her," he snarled. "I'll burn down every facility, kill every scientist, destroy every record before I let them use her like that."

"Easy, Romeo," Marcus said dryly. "Rage makes you stupid. And stupid gets Elena killed."

Lorenzo forced himself to take a deep breath, channeling his fury into cold calculation. Elena needed him thinking clearly, not acting on emotion.

"You're right," Lorenzo admitted. "What's the plan?"

Over the next two hours, they developed a strategy that was equal parts military precision and desperate hope. Maria would use her FBI contacts to get them equipment and intelligence. Marcus would scout the facility using his camouflage abilities. The other enhanced individuals would provide specialized support.

And Lorenzo would do what he did best—be the kind of monster that other monsters feared.

"There's one more thing," Mia said as they prepared to leave. "Elena made me promise to tell you something if anything happened to her."

Lorenzo's attention sharpened. "What?"

"She said to tell you that whatever happens, whatever you have to do to save her, she forgives you. She loves you anyway." Mia's voice was soft. "She said you'd understand what that meant."

Lorenzo closed his eyes, feeling Elena's forgiveness wash over him like absolution. She knew what he was, what he was capable of, what he might have to become to get her back.

And she loved him anyway.

"Let's go get her," Lorenzo said quietly.

But as they prepared to assault Vance's mountain fortress, none of them knew that Elena was already planning her own escape.

And that her plan was far more dangerous than anything they could imagine.

Miles away, in a sterile laboratory built into the side of a mountain, Elena sat strapped to a medical chair while Vance prepared his instruments.

"Such beautiful genetics," he murmured, studying her blood samples under a microscope. "I can see why Lorenzo became so... attached to you."

"Where is he?" Elena asked, testing her restraints. The electrical interference had worn off completely, but she was pretending to still be weakened.

"Coming for you, I'm sure. Men like Lorenzo are predictably romantic." Vance smiled coldly. "Too bad he'll arrive just in time to watch the beginning of a new era in human evolution."

Elena felt her enhanced abilities fully restored now, coiled and waiting for the right moment to strike.

"What makes you think I'll cooperate?" Elena asked.

"Because, my dear, you don't have a choice." Vance gestured to a wall of monitors showing holding cells. "I have fourteen enhanced individuals here, including several children. If you don't cooperate with the breeding program, I'll start executing them. Slowly."

Elena stared at the monitors, seeing faces that looked just like the people Lorenzo had helped rescue. Innocent people who would die if she didn't submit to Vance's plans.

"How long do I have to decide?" Elena asked quietly.

"The auction is in six hours. The winning bidder gets to take you home as their personal breeding stock." Vance's smile was triumphant. "Unless, of course, you'd prefer to start the program here. I've already selected several suitable genetic matches."

Elena closed her eyes and made her choice.

She was done being anyone's victim.

It was time to become the weapon she was designed to be.

But this time, she'd choose her own targets.

And Dr. Vance had just made himself target number one.