by Cynthia Eden
Their deaths had almost broken her.
He pinned her hands to the bed. “Calm down.”
“You calm down!” Tina snapped at him. “I’ve been kidnapped, cut, locked up, handcuffed—and I’ve held it together!” She’d even saved his hide. Where was her thanks? “I’m not going to betray the EOD, and you should know me better than that.”
His hold didn’t loosen. “Torture can break anyone, Doc. I’ve seen seasoned warriors crumble with the right pressure.”
“Maybe you should have more faith in me,” she told him, the anger snapping in her words. “Now let me go before I damage those stitches!” Because she was fighting mad.
Drew shook his head. “You won’t. You won’t hurt me. You’re a healer. That’s what you do.” He brought his head close to hers.
Before she could snarl at him, Tina heard a new sound rising in the distance. The unmistakable whir of a helicopter’s blades.
She stilled.
“It’s okay,” Drew told her, but his voice had dropped to a whisper. “They’re just doing a sweep. They’re not going to see the bike, and they’re not going to see us.”
She didn’t have that confidence. “Maybe they’re searching for houses. Places that we could have used for hiding. They could land here—”
He laughed softly at that. “They’ll be lucky to land anywhere. A guy named Grayson was the only other pilot there, and when I went up with him once, he could barely hold the bird steady. That’s why they were so quick to bring me on board. They needed me.”
She still wasn’t exactly feeling reassured. Especially because the whir of the helicopter’s blades was getting closer and closer—louder and louder.
“Don’t think about it,” Drew told her. “Think about this.”
Then he kissed her. She was still angry at him and scared about the helicopter.
But she had a weakness. One very distinct weakness. She liked kissing him because the man sure knew how to use his mouth.
His tongue licked lightly over her lower lip then it thrust into her mouth. He kissed her slowly, deeply, as if he were savoring her.
She was sure savoring him.
She wanted to wrap her arms around him, wanted to feel the broad expanse of his shoulders, but he still held her hands pinned to the bed.
Other parts of her body could sure feel, though. His arousal pressed against the juncture of her thighs. He’d moved, shifted his weight, so that he was positioned between her legs.
His mouth slipped from hers. He began to kiss his way down her neck. Her breath was coming in fast gasps, and— “The helicopter is gone,” she whispered as she realized an intense quiet had swept over the area.
He kept kissing her neck.
Right. Gone chopper. But focused man. “Drew?”
His head lifted. Those golden eyes seemed to blaze. “I want you.”
Her breasts were tight, aching, and when had she started arching her lower body against his? She wasn’t normally one to have desire ignite with just a kiss.
But Drew wasn’t a normal kind of guy, and the way he made her feel was definitely not normal, too.
Maybe that wasn’t bad. It sure didn’t feel bad.
It felt incredibly good.
“But our first time together isn’t going to be in some shack.” That Mississippi drawl slipped in and around his words. “And we won’t be covered in blood and grime.” He sucked in a deep breath. “I know you deserve better than that.” He backed away from her. “But, Doc, to be safe, you better keep that sexy-as-sin mouth away from me, ’cause when I get your lips beneath mine, I lose control.”
He’d moved to the edge of the bed. She sat up next to him. Their linked hands were so close. We might as well be holding hands. Tina swallowed and tried to steady her breathing. “I didn’t think control was a problem for you.” Wasn’t he supposed to be the cold-blooded agent?
His fingers caught her chin, tilted her head back so that he stared into her eyes. “Don’t believe everything you hear.” A warning.
“I don’t.” Tina forced a smile. The tension was thick, and she ached. “If I did, I’d think I was Bruce Mercer’s daughter.”
His lips twitched again. His fingers fell away from her chin and he glanced toward the cuff on their wrists. His tentative smile faded. “Hell, you’re bruising.”
She looked down. The skin around the cuff was starting to turn dark. “It’s okay.” She’d always bruised easily.
He slid from the bed, pulling her with him. “The hell it is. Now that I’m not delirious from pain, I bet I can find something here to get that thing off you.”
Tina followed him. Actually bumped into him when he spun back around to face her.
“Don’t think it’s over,” he said, eyes sharp.
What?
His gaze searched hers. “A promise is a promise,” he murmured. Then he was heading toward the small table. She followed right beside him, wondering just what he was talking about.
“Making love, Doc. I’m talking about me and you, being naked on clean sheets and enjoying pleasure that lasts all night long.”
Oh, man, had she asked her question out loud?
Tina realized that her mouth was hanging open.
“Got it,” he said with a satisfied nod.
He had what looked like an old, thin, twisted piece of metal in his hand. It wasn’t any bigger than a bobby pin, and when he shoved it into the handcuff lock, Tina knew he hadn’t “got” anything.
“That’s not going to work,” she told him, clearing her throat because she was still thinking about...being naked on clean sheets and enjoying pleasure that lasts all night long.
So that was the promise he intended to keep.
“Sure it will work. Trust me. I learned to pick locks early on.”
“You did?” Stop focusing on being naked. She glanced up at his face. Drew wasn’t looking at her. He was concentrating on the lock. “Back before your Delta Force days?”
“Back in my screwed-up-kid days.” Said without any emotion. “My dad cut out on my mom and me. She had to work two jobs to cover me and my sisters.”
Sisters? Any family information was kept strictly confidential at the EOD.
“Guess you could say that I had a lot of anger about what was going on around me. Growing up dirt poor in Mississippi isn’t exactly an easy path. I was a mad kid, in the wrong part of town.”
The lock snicked. The cuff opened, freeing her wrist. He took care of the cuffs still on him then he lightly stroked the skin of her wrist. “I ran wild back then. Picked up some habits that I shouldn’t have.”
His touch felt so good on her skin. “I thought you were the one who always played by the rules.”
“These days, I try.” His gaze dropped to her mouth once more. “But sometimes there are some rules that I have to break.”
He was going to kiss her again. She wanted him to—
Drew’s head jerked to the left. Toward the broken window. “Hell. Company.”
She yanked her hand away from him. “The helicopter left.”
“And when Lee spotted the ranch, he might have given orders for his men to search the place.” He reached for his pack. “I thought he might do that.”
Her body had tensed. “You should have mentioned that ‘thought’ to me sooner.”
He pulled a knife from the pack. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
Uh, she was worrying plenty right then.
Drew hurried to the window. “I heard their vehicle. The sound of one engine, but I can’t see them. Not yet.”
She looked around for her own weapon. “Do we make a break for it?” Jump on that motorcycle and ride fast and hard?
He shook his head but didn’t glance back at her. “They’re searching to push us into a panic. With that chopper in the air, Lee would see us on the bike. No, we don’t leave.” She saw his grip tighten on the knife. “We hunt.”
* * *
A HELICOPTER SWOOPED overhead.
Dylan paused beside his truck. He was on the side of the old road, standing next to the apparently broken-down vehicle. The hood was up and his hands were dirty with grease.
“That’s the second time that chopper has flown over us,” Rachel murmured as she strolled to his side. “Something is definitely going on in this area.”
Dylan tilted back his head. “They’re searching for—”
He broke off because he’d just spotted another vehicle coming down that long, lonely stretch of Texas road. There was only one place at the end of that road—the enemy compound.
And the gray pickup that was heading toward him? Those guys were coming from the compound.
The weight of his gun pressed into his lower back. The weapon was hidden beneath his jacket.
They’d planned to get in close to the compound, and this was their first step.
It was also a step that might be ending a little too soon.
The gray truck braked next to him, sending a pile of dust up into the air. Two men were in the vehicle. They were young, both in their early twenties, with dark hair and suspicious eyes.
“You got trouble?” one of the men demanded.
Uh, yeah, didn’t it look as though he did?
“The engine overheated,” Rachel said easily as she walked toward the truck. “My boyfriend here...he’s not so good with cars.”
The men’s attention fixed a little too quickly on her.
Dylan slammed the hood shut. “She’ll be working fine now, honey.”
“It’s not them,” one of the men muttered. “Leroy, we need to keep lookin’.”
Not them. That was exactly the intel Dylan had needed. He headed toward the men, toward Rachel. Dylan made sure his steps were slow and easy. As nonthreatening as possible. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kept his gun concealed. “I think I’m a little lost,” he said, giving them a sheepish smile.
One of the men, a fellow with ruddy cheeks and a small gap between his front teeth, eyed Dylan with suspicion. “Where are you headed?” Leroy. His buddy had called him Leroy. Dylan filed that name away for later.
“Toward Baker’s Ranch,” he replied easily. “A dude ranch in—”
“There’s no dude ranch this way,” he was flatly told. “So get your pretty girl, get in your truck and get the hell out of here.”
Rachel stiffened. Her eyes widened as she gave a little gasp. “Is that— Are you threatening us?” Fear slid into her voice. Rachel was a damn fine actress.
“No, ‘honey,’” Leroy told her as his gaze slid back toward her. “I’m giving you a warning. There are some dangerous people out in this area. We’re hunting them right now.”
“Are you a cop?” she whispered. The fear was gone. Now she was sounding all impressed.
Dylan squeezed her hip. Not too much, Mancini.
The fellow’s chest puffed up. “Something like that,” he said.
Wrong. Nothing like that.
“And the guy we’re looking for? He’s a killer. A cold-blooded, shoot-you-in-the-face killer.”
Rachel trembled.
Dylan pulled her closer. “Then we need to get out of here.” He gave a quick nod. “Thank you, gentlemen. We appreciate you stopping to try to help us.”
As if the guys had even offered help. They’d just ogled Rachel and given their get-out-of-here warning.
But the men had been helpful. They’re looking for Drew.
There was no point in trying to get inside the compound for an extraction. Not when Drew had to be long gone.
Dylan and Rachel climbed back into their vehicle. Dylan thought he heard one of the guys give a wolf whistle when Rachel’s shorts hiked up as she eased into the high seat. Jaw clenching, he cranked the truck and turned it around, heading away from the compound.
“They’re watching us,” Rachel said as her fingers tapped lightly against her thigh.
He glanced into his rearview mirror. The men were standing in the middle of the road. Just staring after them.
“Now we know why Drew didn’t make contact,” she added.
He nodded. “Because he’s on the run.”
“No,” Rachel corrected softly, “they are. The guy said ‘hunting them.’ Drew’s in the wind, and he took the doctor with him.”
That had been Drew’s new mission assignment. Protect the woman. And when the blond in that proof-of-life video had gone toward her with that knife, Drew had run out of options.
Dylan’s gaze scanned the empty terrain around him. He heard the whir of the helicopter approaching once more. “We have to find Drew before they do.”
Because if they didn’t, he’d be dead.
“We need to call Sydney,” he said, “see if she was able to remotely activate his tracker.”
Only...this part of Texas was hell when it came to satellite transmissions and tracking. Cell phones barely worked, and locating Drew’s GPS signal could be near impossible.
It was a good thing Dylan liked a challenge.
* * *
THREE MEN CLIMBED from the vehicle. A quick check revealed that they were all armed. The HAVOC group always was. “They’re coming toward us,” Drew said. The men had already checked the ranch and now were splitting apart as they searched the surrounding land.
Tina stood just behind him. She’d grabbed a broken leg from an old wooden chair and was clutching it like a baseball bat. He had no doubt that, if necessary, she’d be ready to swing.
The men had made short work of searching the house. After they’d cleared that place, they should have just gotten in their Ranger and rode the hell out of there.
They hadn’t.
Lee must have given orders to thoroughly search the area. So that was exactly what those three bozos were doing.
One suddenly called out, voice excited.
You don’t call out. That alerts your prey. Amateurs.
But Drew realized they’d seen the shack. He backed away from the window as he planned his attack.
“I want you to stay inside,” he told Tina. He didn’t want her in the line of fire but he didn’t have a whole lot of options. I’ll keep her safe.
“I can help you,” Tina said as her grip on her makeshift bat tightened.
“You will help me.” He hated to do this but... “You’re going to be my bait.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Say that again. I’m going to be your what?”
“When those men get close enough, I want you to call out and beg for help. You’re the prize they want. They aren’t going to fire on you.”
He wouldn’t give them the chance to fire.
But he did need them distracted.
“Stay against the wall when you call out. Do not let them see your body at all, understand?”
“I understand that I don’t like this plan.” Her jaw had firmed.
Damn but she was cute. “Think positive. Maybe I’ll take ’em out before they even get close enough to hear you.” He’d do his best. Drew turned away from her.
Tina’s hand wrapped around his arm. “Be careful.”
She was worried about him? “Don’t worry, Doc, we have unfinished business, right?”
Her fingers jerked back as if he’d burned her.
Ice shouldn’t burn.
He left her quickly, ready to eliminate this threat and move on as fast as he could. He exited from the back of the small house. He kept his body positioned close to the old walls. He’d need to circle around for his attack. The problem? There wasn’t a lot of cover. So those men had to stay totally focused on what was happening inside the house.
Not what was going on outside.
He could hear their footsteps rushing toward them, coming closer and closer with every tense second that passed.
Now, Doc. I need you now.
As if on cue... “Help!” Tina shouted. “Please, help me!”
The footsteps moved even faster. Drew crept around the house. He peered around the corner and saw the men at the front door. They weren’t ev
en looking his way.
Mistake.
He tossed his knife and it sank into one man’s side. The guy cried out, and down, down he went.
The other men spun at his cry, but it was too late. Drew grabbed the second guy, applied the right amount of pressure, and he was unconscious seconds later. A fast, hard kick slammed the third man into the side of the wall. His head connected with a thud and he fell with a groan.
“You...bastard!”
Technically, he wasn’t. Drew spun toward the new threat. The attacker had yanked the knife out of his side and blood dripped down his body as he advanced toward Drew. “I get to kill you,” he said, eyes bright. “Lee said you didn’t have to come in alive. Not you, just her.”
Drew backed up, trying to lead the man away from the house.
“I will kill—”
Tina rushed from the house. She swung her chair leg at the man’s hand. The knife hit the ground while he howled.
Drew drove his fist into the guy’s face.
No more howling.
The guy crumpled on the ground just as nicely as the other two men had.
Tina’s breath was coming fast and hard; panting.
Her cheeks were too pale.
Drew frowned at her. “You okay?”
She lifted her hand. “Just give me...” She sucked in more deep breaths. “A minute.”
He didn’t like the pallor of her cheeks. He reached for her and wrapped his hands around her arms.
Her breathing seemed to slow.
In. Out. In. Out.
“You were great,” he whispered to her. “I knew you’d be a slugger with that chair leg.”
Faint color rose in her cheeks. Her breathing was definitely easier now. After a moment Tina eased away from him and stared down at the unconscious men. “You know I’m going to have to stitch that one up, right?”
“I know we’re cuffing them and tying them up.” The old bed cover inside would work perfectly once he cut it into strips. He glanced over at the ranch. “Then we’re leaving them here and we’re taking their ride.” Because if Lee saw the Ranger high-tailing it down the road he’d just think his men were continuing their search. The vehicle would be their perfect cover.
Tina smiled. “We’re going to make it, aren’t we?” Hope lit her face.