The ties that bind may be the ties that kill as these extraordinary women race to beat the genetic time bomb that is their birthrightâ¦.
Lynn White:
With enhanced senses and superspeed and strength, this retrieval specialist can breach any securityâbut has she been working for the wrong side?
DECEIVED by Carla Cassidy
Faith Corbett:
This powerful psychicâs secret talent could make her the target of a serial killerâand a prime suspect for murder.
CONTACT by Evelyn Vaughn
Dawn OâShaughnessy:
Her superhealing abilities make her nearly invincible, but can she heal the internal wounds from years of deception?
PAYBACK by Harper Allen
ATHENA FORCE: The adventure continues with three secret sisters, three unusual talents and one unthinkable legacyâ¦.
January
E-MAIL MEMOâURGENT & CONFIDENTIAL
To: Cassandras
From: Lt. Kayla Ryan
Re: Lab 33 assassin Dawn OâShaughnessy
Phys. Description: 22, 5â7â, blonde, green eyes
Capabilities: Extraordinary strength, agility; possibly other enhanced capabilities
Skills (partial list): Weaponry, martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, stealth, B & E
Background: OâShaughnessy conceived in vitro with egg retrieved from former Athena Academy student Rainy Miller, whose recent murder by Lab 33âs Lee Craig, code name Cipher, is being investigated by the Cassandras. Retrieval conducted by Dr. Henry Reagon under guise of an appendectomy. Actual purpose: genetic manipulation experiment headed by Dr. Aldrich Peters of Lab 33. Eggs fertilized with sperm from Navy SEAL Thomas King, whose sperm sample was stolen from a fertility clinic. Neither Rainy nor Tom King were aware of procedure carried out by Peters. Fertilized egg implanted in surrogate mother; child taken at birth to Lab 33 in New Mexico to be raised under Petersâs supervision. Subject has no knowledge of her true background; believes her black-ops instructor, Lee Craig, is her uncle.
Note: Subject actively working against the Cassandras; must be considered extremely dangerous.
Update: Subject has been told the truth about her parentage. Her failure to kill Thomas King as per Aldrich Petersâs instructions and her elimination of Dr. Carl Bradford to save Kayla and Jazz Ryanâs lives indicate that OâShaughnessy is no longer an immediate threat. In fact, she has vowed to take down Lab 33 by herself. She will be given this memo and other documentation in the hope that learning more of the truth will encourage her to join forces with the Cassandras againstâ
The memo police lieutenant Kayla Ryan was holdingâthe memo she herself had written and securely e-mailed to her best friends, the Athena Academy graduates known as the Cassandras, and that she had updated only two days agoâhad been torn in two at that point. On the back was a handwritten note, unsigned, asking Kayla to meet the writer at the Athena Academy gymnasium, which was usually deserted over Christmas break. Taking a deep breath, Kayla pushed open the double doors of the gym and saw a lithe figure pummeling the hell out of a workout bag.
She approached, noting the dampness darkening the honey-blond hair that had been secured into a thick braid, the sheen of exertion gleaming on the tanned midriff revealed between the low-rise sweatpants and the racer-back top. The only thing impossible to see was what was going on behind Dawn OâShaughnessyâs gold-green eyes.
Kayla held up the scrap of memo. âYou read this?â
A volley of punches slammed into the workout bag. Dawn stepped back. âI read it. It sums up everything you told me at your house a few days ago.â She paused. âItâs not every day a girl finds out her whole freakinâ life has been a lie.â
Kayla frowned. âYou understand now why Samantha St. John had no recourse but to take down your uncle two months ago?â
âIf Iâd known then what I know now, I would have done it myself,â Dawn replied. âAnd Iâd appreciate if you didnât refer to Lee Craig as my uncle. He lied to me. He killed my biological mother. He let me go on an assignment to kill my biological father. What I felt for him is as dead as he is.â
Kaylaâs gaze sharpened. When Kayla had told Dawn about her parentage three days ago, Dawn had shown no emotion. But nowâ¦. Unless she was mistaken, there were pinpricks of moisture glittering at the corners of those brilliant green eyes. I knew Lee Craig as the Cipher, she thought, the worldâs most deadly assassin. But he was the only family Dawn had. Knowing he lied to her is tearing her in twoâand until she deals with that conflict, sheâs a ticking time bomb.