Disruptor Read online

  DISRUPTOR

  Sonya Clark

  Copyright 2016 Sonya Clark

  Smashwords Edition

  Table of Contents

  Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Other Books By Sonya Clark

  Copyright Information

  Description

  Runaway. Experiment. Superhero?

  The streets were the safest place for Dani, until the night she was caught by traffickers who sold her to a laboratory. She survived five years of experiments: biotech implants, gene therapy, and other things she could barely comprehend. The pain, though, that she understood. The lab pushed her body past its limits, drove her mind to its darkest corners, but somehow her spirit remained unbroken. She escaped, and sought refuge on the streets once again. But this time she doesn’t run away from cries for help. Now, she runs toward them.

  Playboy. Dilettante. Sidekick?

  Kevin Moynihan is the youngest son of Point Sable’s most wealthy and storied family. A permanent fixture in the society pages, he’s known for his good looks, his charm, and his aversion to an honest day’s work. His life is a whirlwind of fast women, faster cars, all night parties and endless champagne – until his latest drunk and disorderly charge lands him a stint doing community service in the roughest part of town. The part of town where someone is always screaming for help.

  A chance meeting will bring two unlikely people together – first as reluctant allies, then friends, and finally partners.

  Chapter 1

  A ragged voice screamed for help somewhere in the night. Dani ignored it. She’d worked hard to shoplift this meal, she was going to eat it, by God. A sandwich with some kind of chicken salad type substance smeared between two slices of stale bread, a chocolate candy bar, a little bag of chips, and a can of warm soda. A veritable freaking feast. On top of that, she had a prime spot staked out in an abandoned building, out of the chilly spring rain. Dry cardboard to sleep on.

  Hell if she was moving.

  Another scream, same voice, closer this time. Dani dropped the sodden sandwich and swallowed a long drink of soda. It tasted like old battery acid, but there had been a camera near the cooler with the bottles of water. Tomorrow she would find a store with easily accessible water, and a better place to spend the night, too. A building with more walls left intact, windows to block out the rain and the noise. Maybe see if the shelter had any empty beds, though it might be too much of a risk. She just wanted off the streets for one night. A shower. God, to be clean again. She hadn’t realized it but she’d gone soft in some ways during her years in the lab. Gotten used to a bed and regular meals and being clean and dry.

  She’d paid for it, though. What little comfort she’d found there, she’d paid for dearly.

  This time the scream came from almost directly below, in the alley. Dani swore. She was getting tired of doing this. Sure, it offered a certain satisfaction. It also had the potential to draw attention, and that was the exact opposite of what she needed. What Dani needed was to disappear, like she’d never existed. Never come to this city. Like she’d just melted away into nothing, because you couldn’t find nothing and she was pretty sure there had to be people looking for her.

  “No, please, don’t!”

  Young. Female. A chorus of laughter was the only answer to her plea. Two men, older and bigger. Goddamn it. Dani took another drink of soda then stood. She crossed the room to peer out a busted window at the alley below, ignoring the debris that littered the floor.

  The smaller of the two men had the girl pinned to the brick wall, holding a knife at her throat. The other man was laughing, his hands at the fly of his jeans.

  Dani spent a few precious seconds surveying the alley, then pulled up her hoodie and hoisted herself out the window, dropping the four stories to street level. Training and muscle memory kicked in as she landed kneeling, feet apart, one hand stretched out on the ground. The impact rattled her from the soles of her feet to her teeth. She raised her head to see the two men and their would-be victim staring at her. She stood slowly, keeping her muscles loose and relaxed.

  “Wanna try that with someone who can fight back?”

  The knife flew at her, cutting through the air with a faint whistle only Dani could hear. She leaned far to one side, the blade passing over her chest and clattering against the opposite wall. Before either man had a chance to fully register what had happened, she rushed the big one and took him out with a hard kick to his knee. The force of the blow bent his leg at an unnatural angle and he went down screaming.

  The other guy stood gape-mouthed, staring stupidly at his partner on the ground. Dani punched him in the gut twice in rapid succession. He doubled over, covering his stomach with his arms and swearing.

  The young girl snapped out of her shock and ran. A car pulled up to the curb outside the mouth of the alley. Dani cocked her head and listened carefully. Swift footsteps running around and away from the car – that was the girl, getting away safely. The vehicle’s engine idled smoothly, indicating a much better ride than what normally rolled through this neighborhood. No other sound came from the car. A gentle rain pattered on the concrete, background noise to the mix of cursing and moaning coming from the guy on the ground.

  “You.” The other guy straightened, one hand still over his midsection. “Bitch.” With his free hand he reached around to the small of his back.

  Dani didn’t wait to see what kind of weapon he had. She threw her weight forward and rotated her body, legs snapping out in a flying kick. Her boots made contact. The faint but satisfying crack of bones sounded, punctuated by the guy screaming as he collapsed.

  Dani hit the ground in a heap, scraping her palms on the rough concrete. The actual flips and flying kicks were easy for her; it was the defying gravity and landing gracefully on her feet part that she still couldn’t manage despite the hours of practice. She rolled and hopped up, feet spread and fists up in a fighting stance.

  “Hey, can somebody give me directions to the Lee Street shelter?”

  Damn it. Dani risked a look behind her, cursing herself for missing the sound of the car door. At the top of the alley, a man stood next to the idling car.

  “The shelter? On Lee Street?” He pulled a bill from his pants pocket. “I don’t mind paying.”

  The car was black and sleek and belonged on the other side of town. So did its driver. Tall with a slim build and expensive clothes, his hair gleamed like dark gold under the yellow streetlight. No way did this guy need to spend the night in a homeless shelter.

  The nearest assailant landed a kick on her ankle. She wobbled just enough to give the guy another shot at her. This time he got a solid punch to her calf, just below the knee. She spun on her heel and kicked, sending his head snapping against the alley’s brick wall. She kicked him several times in rapid succession. It took a moment for her to realize he was unconscious.

  Stop. Stop. Don’t kill him.

  The one on t
he ground clutching his knee stared at her, fear shining in his dark eyes. Dani looked away, a mixture of rage and shame churning in her gut. Rage that these assholes had attacked someone in the first place. Shame that she still couldn’t control her own anger, that she always went just enough too far to regret how much she’d hurt someone, even though it was a bad guy. She tamped down on the emotions and reminded herself of one good thing: the young girl these guys had tried to prey on was safe.

  Satisfied neither could stand and follow her, she turned and strode to the street as she tugged her hoodie closer to keep her face hidden. Mr. Uptown stood by his fancy car, still holding a folded bill aloft.

  He said, “Is there a problem?”

  “Nope.” Not one that was any of his business.

  “So can you give me directions?”

  “Yeah.” Dani snatched the bill from his hand. “Get back above a hundred and tenth where you belong.”

  She didn’t look back but she could feel his eyes on her until she ducked into the next alley. By the time she got back to her spot, rats or God knows what had eaten her shoplifted dinner.

  Goddamn it. She had to stop doing this.

  Chapter 2

  Kevin Moynihan sipped his orange juice and kept his bloodshot eyes hidden behind sunglasses. The longstanding tradition of a monthly Saturday brunch with the family could be a real pain in the ass sometimes. He’d much rather be home in bed, sleeping off the late night. Instead, he’d have to endure crap from his mother and siblings.

  At least the food would be good. Mrs. Bernal, who’d worked for the family since he was a boy, placed an omelet-filled plate in front of him. “That looks fantastic, Mrs. Bernal. Gracias.”

  “I wasn’t sure if you’d want food or my special hangover remedy,” she said, not unkindly.

  He grinned. “No hangover today. I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

  She patted his hair with affection. “I don’t want to know why you weren’t sleeping.” She laughed. “You take care of yourself, Mr. Kevin. I’ll see you next time.”

  “You leaving already?”

  Mrs. Bernal nodded. “My granddaughter’s visiting so I’m taking a few days off. But I’ll have my phone if your mother needs me.” She may have started out a maid years ago but now she ran the household and was indispensable to Dorothy Moynihan. Serving brunch had long ago ceased to be one of her duties but she did it anyway to check up on the kids she loved as much as her own.

  Kevin stood and kissed her cheek. “Next time, then. Have a good visit.”

  Mrs. Bernal left. Kevin dropped into his chair and attacked his omelet. While he ate he thought about the previous night, and the night ahead of him. It didn’t take long for those thoughts to curb his appetite.

  The French doors opened. Sean, his older brother, walked out onto the veranda and took a seat at the table. “Where’s Mother?”

  Kevin shrugged and pushed his plate away. “Still upstairs, I guess.”

  Sean propped his tablet where he could read it then poured himself a glass of orange juice. “Olivia won’t be here today. She’s at the clinic this weekend.” Middle child Olivia was a pediatrician who had her own practice and volunteered at a free clinic one weekend every month.

  “How about Grace and the kids?”

  “Spending the weekend with her parents.” Sean finally deigned to glance at Kevin. “Have you slept?”

  And like magic, the omelet congealed into a cold, unpleasant lump. Kevin pushed his plate away. “Some. Not enough.”

  One corner of Sean’s mouth turned down. “You went out partying? Please tell me you at least showed up for your community service before hitting the clubs like some zombie frat boy.”

  Anger burned through Kevin. He covered it with a smile. “I did my four hours. Don’t worry, you won’t be getting any bad phone calls from my probation officer or the lawyer or whoever it is you’ve got reporting on me.”

  “Your first four hours,” Sean said. “Only thirty-six more to go. For crying out loud, Kevin, don’t treat this like a joke.”

  Kevin broadened his smile and raised his hands in the air. “Hey, who’s laughing?”

  “The tabloids. Not your family.” Sean closed the cover on his tablet, a sign that he was warming up to a real barnburner of a lecture. “You’re not a kid anymore. You can’t keep living like this. Don’t you want to do something more meaningful with your life than date models and go to parties?”

  Kevin opened his mouth to speak but Sean steamrollered right over him. “At some point you’re going to have to grow up. If you still don’t want to work at Moynihan Consolidated, that’s fine. Olivia’s made a very fulfilling life for herself as a doctor. Find something that speaks to you. Something you’re good at, and passionate about. Something productive. You don’t even have to give up the women and the nightclubs completely. Just do something useful with yourself.”

  Kevin kept his smile pasted in place, glad he was wearing sunglasses. Not to hide the red in his eyes from lack of sleep, but to hide his frustration. “I happen to be good at, and very passionate about, dating models and going to parties. Shouldn’t I play to my strengths just like you and Liv do?”

  “Surely you want more out of life than to just be Point Sable’s most notorious playboy?”

  “Notorious?” This time Kevin’s grin was real. “I like that. Great-grandpa Paddy was the city’s most notorious bootlegger, you know. Kind of makes me feel a connection.”

  Sean shook his head, amusement briefly lightening his normally stern features. “I can just see you drinking bathtub gin and dancing with flappers.”

  Kevin wagged a finger. “Now see, that speaks to me.”

  “You want to party on the weekends, fine. I’m not saying you have to completely change who you are. God knows no one in this family would be able to do that. You forget I know you, Kevin. You’re smarter than you let on. I’d like to see you use that brain for something other than calculating tips.”

  “Oh please.” Kevin downed a quick swallow of orange juice. “I don’t calculate tips, I just pass out twenties and hundreds like confetti.”

  Sean sighed as he reopened his tablet. “That’s a great use of your trust fund.”

  The spring air had just enough bite of winter left to make a jacket necessary but this morning the sun was bright and crisp. The faint whir of equipment reached the second-story veranda as several dark-skinned men from the lawn service company were busy at various tasks with the yard and the landscaping. The scent of fresh blooms from the flower garden below drifted up, gradually covering the smells of food.

  Kevin fiddled with the silver utensils next to his plate. Last night he’d loaded old, tarnished forks and spoons into the big industrial dishwasher at the homeless shelter where he was doing his court-mandated community service for yet another drunk and disorderly charge. Four hours of washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. He’d ruined a perfectly good pair of loafers when he’d clumsily dumped a bucket of dirty mop water down a drain he hadn’t known was clogged. As many shoes as he had in his closet, he wouldn’t miss that pair.

  One of the kids who’d come to the shelter for a meal wore ratty sneakers held together with duct tape.

  Kevin opened his mouth to speak but the words wouldn’t come. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted to say. That a mere four hours of community service in a homeless shelter had opened his eyes in a way that watching the news never could. Just the drive to the shelter had been an education in and of itself. He’d lived in Point Sable his entire life and last night was the first time he’d ventured below 110th Street. That knowledge made him feel like the worst sort of dilettante, but he couldn’t talk about that with Sean.

  So he closed his mouth and let the emotions drift away, to be resurrected later via paint and canvas. For now, he drank the gourmet coffee brought by a servant and listened to his older brother drone on about the family’s business dealings.

  He was scheduled to work another four hours tonigh
t. Hopefully it would be easier than the first, both on his wardrobe and his conscience.

  Chapter 3

  Dani dressed in the clean clothes she’d picked out of the donation bin. The jeans were too long, she had to roll the cuffs up. The t-shirt was too big but she’d taken it anyway because it was solid black. Somehow she’d have to scrape up some money to wash her black hoodie at a laundromat along with the older clothes she’d decided to keep. She pushed her wet hair off her face, zipped up her backpack, and left the Women Only area of the Lee Street homeless shelter.

  A shower and clean clothes had helped her state of mind considerably, but it didn’t last long. The line for dinner already snaked around the common room. Dani joined it, careful not to make eye contact with anyone.

  Three months of this and she’d had enough. It wasn’t her first time on the streets but it was different now. She’d gotten used to relative safety, or at least the closest thing to it possible in the lab. A bed to sleep in, regular meals, a shower every day and clean clothes. Her freedom was worth giving all that up, but now she was sick of living like a ghost.

  It was time to think about what came next.

  They had to be looking for her. No one had ever escaped the lab. So far there’d been no sign of a search party in Cabrini, but Point Sable wasn’t the only city where she could have been hiding. She’d deliberately avoided closer towns when she’d fled.

  She couldn’t do anything about her looks. Even if she had the resources, she’d had enough surgeries and procedures to last a lifetime. But if she could manage to get enough money, a new identity might be possible. It would take a lot of cash, though, and she had no way of making that much money that she was willing to do. Any woman on the street could find someone willing to buy and sell her body. The thought of doing that chilled Dani. Her first time on the streets, she’d opted for lots of petty theft and occasionally running drugs for a dealer who got a kick out of taking stray kids under his wing.