Henri shuddered. "Trying to clone me?"
"No," Taegan replied. "That would be done in a test-tube—using your DNA." He smiled. "Okay, I'm not a scientist, but I believe that's how they do it."
"In that case, he'd be extracting DNA from everything he took from you, Henri," Ransom said.
"So even if he destroyed the lab, he'd have taken all that with him…and anyone he was injecting it into. God, can you imagine being the test subject for that?" Henri shuddered.
"I'd rather not," John said dryly. "As a human, the idea is terrifying."
"Henri," Taegan said, looking directly at him, "why didn't you tell anyone what had happened when you first escaped?"
"Who would I tell? I'm a loner. No pack. My family was killed by hunters—one of the reasons I'm so willing to work with Allyn on what he does."
Taegan cocked his head in question, so Henri and Allyn explained.
"Admirable," Taegan said when they finished. He chuckled. "Your cover story—if that's what you call it, Allyn—definitely makes it hard to believe you have that in you."
Allyn grinned. "That is the idea."
"Back to my original question, Henri. You didn't know any shifters?"
"Isn't that what I just said?" Henri replied irately.
"Easy now," Taegan said, reaching across the space on the sofa separating them to grip Henri's shoulder. "I know this is hard on you, and I'm being…nosy, to some extent. But I need to know everything you've told them."
"Actually," Miranda said, giving Henri a look of pity, "he never did tell us about his family."
"It wasn't germane to what happened to me," Henri muttered, staring down at the floor.
"Still—" she shook her head, "—no family, no friends."
"Stop," Taegan said, sharply. "Henri doesn't need this right now."
"Sorry," Miranda whispered, putting her hand on John's arm when it seemed as if he was going to reply angrily to Taegan's words.
"Why don't we take a break for a minute until everyone calms down," Ransom suggested. "We're not here to fight."
"A good idea." Taegan got to his feet. "Would anyone like another beer…or more coffee, Miranda?"
Allyn and Ransom said they would, and Taegan left the room to get their beers.
"Are you all right?" Allyn asked Henri.
"Yeah. Pretty much. He does have a way of pulling things out of me I haven't talked about."
"Which is good, even though I'm sure it feels like an inquisition at times," Ransom said.
"No kidding," Henri grumbled. "But if it helps us find the bastard, it's worth it."
"Are you talking about me?" Taegan asked with a grin as he returned, handing out the beers. "I brought you one too, Henri. The one you have is probably warm by now." He sat again, saying, "I'm sorry. I know I can come off a bit dictatorial. It's just the way I am sometimes."
"It's okay," Henri replied, getting affirming nods from the others.
"No, it's not. I'll try to tone it down." Taegan's gaze went from person to person, ending at Henri. "We have to come up with a plan for finding Xavier."
"Place a classified ad, saying 'Dog found' with a description and a phone number," Ransom suggested, though it was obvious he was kidding.
"One thing to consider," Taegan said seriously, "except he'd probably smell a trap, after all this time."
Henri rolled the beer bottle between his hands. "I put myself out there today, going to the barbecue. That might bring results. If I keep doing that… If I found a place of my own, instead of impinging on Miranda's hospitality, perhaps the word would get out that I'm around?"
"You are not impinging, Henri. I love having you staying with us," Miranda said firmly.
"Thank you. Still, while I'm there, I'm too…protected, I guess would be the right word. Xavier's a human. Even if he knew where I was, his getting inside would be well neigh impossible. Him or any of his men."
"He does have a point," Taegan said.
Ransom nodded. "Also, we won't know if Xavier is still looking for him if Henri stays hidden. On the other hand, we don't want you somewhere we can't secure, Henri."
"Believe me, neither do I," Henri replied.
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