Jake dropped onto her couch, his frustration showing in his face. “That makes no sense. In my world, when a journalist is looking for leads for a big story, sources sometimes show up with information and want to be paid. It’s considered unethical, but sometimes the story is just too big. This guy did exactly that. What would be his reason for setting me up?”
Again, she stuck as close to the truth as possible. “Because only certain people can go inside that door. There are many who will do anything to stop an outsider—such as yourself—from entering. Can you give me a description of the guy?” She needed to know if he was a Shifter, a Merman or a Vampire. Right now, she was betting on Shifter. Probably another of her brother’s employees.
Jake leaned back. “Sure. He was a big guy, like a football player. My first thought was to wonder if he worked as a bouncer. Shaved head, wore dark sunglasses. He did ask me if I’d seen anything unusual outside in the alley.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What did you tell him?”
“Nothing, of course.”
Relieved, she smiled. He wouldn’t be here talking to her right now if he’d told a Pack Protector he’d seen someone shape-shift. They’d have already dragged him away for reprogramming.
He had no idea how much danger he’d placed himself in.
“Where and when are you supposed to meet this guy?” she asked.
“Sorry, I can’t reveal my sources.” One corner of his mouth quirked. Hounds help her, but her mouth went dry.
“Seriously?”
“Yep. Obviously, I can’t have you trying to ruin it for me.” He patted the couch next to him. “Come here. Sit. Tell me about your day.”
His rapid switch of topics, no doubt meant to throw her off balance, amused her. Because she needed to buy some time to come up with a better way of explaining to him the impossibility of what he’d suggested, she sat. But she prudently kept a few feet of distance between them.
He chuckled. “Why are you way over there? I don’t bite. Come here.”
Staring at him, she swallowed. Her entire body tingled. She wondered if he realized the power of his sexy smile. Of course she slid over, inch by inch, until her hip bumped his. Even that small bit of contact sent a shiver of longing through her.
Talk about distraction techniques. He was good, she’d give him that. Except she had no idea if Jake even knew how he affected her.
But the warm glow in his dark eyes told her he did.
Determination set in. Two could play this game. Maybe this would be her only chance to convince him to abandon the idea of trying to get inside Broken Chains.
* * *
One ability Jake prided himself on was being able to read other people’s reactions. And Maddie meant what she said. Not only did she worry about him being swindled, but she appeared truly worried, even afraid for him.
Why? Granted, she’d found him after he’d been jumped by the two thugs. He’d been caught by surprise that time. That wouldn’t happen again—he wouldn’t allow it. Not only did he now carry a knife, he’d looked into applying for his concealed handgun license and planned to purchase a pistol. Plus, he’d purchased—on the black market—a body camera similar to those used by police officers. It was on back order. He couldn’t wait until it arrived. Once he had it, anything that happened to him would be sent to secure storage in his personal cloud, with a scheduled and timed release to all his social media accounts in exactly one day.
He’d taken, as the saying went, precautions. However, though he hadn’t yet admitted it to Maddie, his always reliable gut instinct warned him to be wary of the entire thing. “Maybe you’re right,” he told her. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
Some of the tension drained out of her body. He could feel it, even though they were just hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder. “You were really worried about me,” he mused, turning to face her. As usual, being this close to her sent his every sense into overdrive.
From the way her pupils dilated, she felt the same way.
“I was,” she murmured, tilting her head. “I really wish you’d just let this obsession you have with Broken Chains go.”
“Broken Chains?”
“Damn.” Briefly, she closed her eyes. “I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to pretend I didn’t?”
Since he suspected she already knew the answer to that one, he didn’t immediately reply. Instead, jubilant, he leaned in and kissed her. What he’d meant to be a quick, celebratory kiss caught fire and turned into something more.
Arms wrapped around his neck, she kissed him as if she’d die without him. Her ardor fed his own, until he could scarcely breathe, never mind think. If she meant to distract him, he didn’t care. Around her, rational thought ceased to exist. One touch and he craved more. One press of his lips to hers and he became so hard it was painful.
“Oh,” she gasped, coming up for air. He barely let her inhale before claiming her mouth again.
Earlier, he’d given himself a stern talking-to. This constant craving for Maddie bordered on obsession. Definitely not healthy and, for a man in his position, and not safe, either. Being pretty sure she felt the same way, he’d resolved to talk to her about it.
Of course, every time he tried, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other.
Dimly he realized she was speaking. With his blood roaring in his ears, he’d missed the first part.
“Get it out of our systems,” she concluded. “What do you think?”
“I...” He swallowed, trying to concentrate on anything other than how good her body felt pressed up against his and how badly he wished there weren’t any clothes between them.
Clearly still unaware he had no idea what she’d said, she wiggled against him, possibly to underscore her point. He found himself even more aroused—something he wouldn’t have believed possible.
“I want you,” he managed, stating the obvious. “More than you can imagine.”
“Um, no.” She grinned, glancing at his spectacular bulge. “I can see that. And I want you. So, what do you say? Maybe if we go ahead and get it out of our systems, this attraction between us won’t be so intense.”
Relief mingled with desire as he finally realized she’d managed to put into words what he’d been trying to articulate.
As he reached for her in agreement, she eluded his grasp. Moving back, she lifted her T-shirt over her head, and then shimmied out of her denim shorts. Standing proudly before him in her black lace bra and matching panties, she was the most beautiful, sexiest woman he’d ever seen.
“Your turn,” she said.
Glad she hadn’t offered to help him undress—because he knew if she touched him right now, he’d lose his tenuous grip on self-control—he rapidly divested himself of his shirt. Removing his khaki shorts was a bit trickier, due to the sheer size of his arousal. Finally, he decided the hell with it, and stepped out of everything. He stood before her, naked, aroused and aching.
Her grin widened. Without taking her eyes from him, she made quick work of removing her bra and panties. The instant she was naked, he reached for her. She met him halfway and they fell to their knees together onto the couch. Skin to skin, finally, he let himself touch her in places he’d only dreamed of.
She guided his hand to her lady parts, warm and wet. “I need you inside me.”
“Wait,” he managed, with his fingers half buried inside her. “Not here. The bedroom.” He wanted their first time to be in a proper bed.
Head back, eyes half-lidded, she moaned. “Only if you swear to keep touching me exactly the way you are right now.”
“Oh, I can do better than that,” he promised. “Let me show you.”
They made it to the bedroom, limbs still intertwined. Separating from her, he went to the nightstand, found a condom and managed to pull it over him. She watched, her full chest rising and falling with her rapid breathing.
“Now I’m ready,” he growled, reaching for her as she came aro
und to the side of the bed. She pressed against him, so close he could feel the rapid beat of her heart.
He entered her as they fell back onto the comforter, already moving, moving inside of her. She enveloped him, he filled her, a perfect fit.
She moved with him, crying out in pleasure. When her climax came and her body pulsed against him, he gave himself over to his own release, knowing with absolute certainty that one time would never be enough.
Chapter 10
When Carmen started to speak again, Rick held up his finger. “Let me sweep for bugs,” he mouthed, pulling some sort of device from his pocket and walking around the room with it.
She nodded.
After making a thorough sweep of the room, he went again. Nothing like being thorough. After all, if the gang had bugged their living quarters, it made sense they’d want to listen in on their biologist as he worked in his lab.
But no, he found nothing. “It’s clear,” he told Carmen, letting his confidence show in his voice. “Maybe it’s just us that they want to keep ears on.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Frowning, she turned in a slow circle, surveying the room, her slender figure and graceful neck reminding him of her stunning beauty. “After seeing this, I have to wonder if the bugs in our room are even active.”
“Come on,” he said, managing to stop himself from reaching for her hand. “This is a big barn. Let’s check out the rest of it.”
“Fine.” She strode past him, disgust evident on her beautiful face. “Look at this place. There’s no way to avoid contamination. If anyone developed anything here, I’d be surprised. No, more than that. Shocked. I call BS.”
While he didn’t know anything about biology or laboratories, he tended to agree with her. Nothing about this place screamed high-tech lab.
They crossed the center of the barn, stepping around a rusted out old tractor, three or four semi tires, and a pile of junk. As they passed, a large rat scurried past them. Instead of screaming like a human woman would have, Carmen hissed and bared her fangs. For a split second, her eyes glowed red.
“Impressive,” he said. “But be careful about who sees those.”
Though she gave him a narrow glare, she nodded and continued moving, the stiff set of her classical features revealing her discomfort.
In the back section of the barn, they came to a locked door. Rick felt along the top of the sill, finding a key. “Lax security, too,” he said, shaking his head. Once he’d inserted the key into the lock, he turned the knob. “After you.”
At first, she didn’t move. Noticing his quizzical glance, she forced a smile. “I’m bracing myself for more disappointment.”
“Maybe we’ll be surprised,” he said, though he privately doubted it.
Carmen squared her shoulders and opened the door. She stopped so suddenly he nearly ran into her.
“Now this is what I expected,” she breathed. “Take a look.”
Moving around her, he stopped and stared. They stood in a small area that appeared to have been converted to a washroom. There was a sink, a soap dispenser, and a box of rubber gloves. Two white clean-room suits hung on the wall. Unlike the rest of the barn, this room was immaculate.
“There.” She pointed. Separated by a clear glass wall, the next area over was even tinier, the size of a small elevator. Some sort of keypad blinked on the outside, and it appeared to be the only way to unlock the door. Someone had helpfully posted the code on a yellow sticky note taped up above the keypad.
“What the heck is that?” Rick asked.
“A decontamination area. The only way one can control contamination is to control the entire environment. I would be surprised if this isn’t up to Federal Standard 209E.”
Since he didn’t want a long explanation, he didn’t ask. “That’s good, right?”
“Yes. Very good.” But then her excited expression fell. “But look.” She gestured. “They haven’t been maintaining this. Once a clean-room has been built, it must be maintained, cleaned to very high standards. If it isn’t, it’s no longer considered clean.”
He squinted, trying to see what she saw. “Where are you seeing contamination?”
“Everywhere. Look closely. Dust in that corner.” She pointed. “And there, rat droppings. It’s no longer up to par.”
“I see.” Pushing back his disappointment, he touched her shoulder. “How long ago do you think it became contaminated?” he asked. “Can it be brought back up to par quickly? Maybe it’s just been since Sheldon was killed.”
“No.” She immediately shot that idea down. “From the looks in there, this has been going on a while. I wouldn’t be surprised...” She stopped, pushing him back. “There’s a possibility that the virus is growing inside that room, unassisted. Since we don’t know how it would affect you, I’m going to have to ask you to step away.”
“No.” He didn’t have to even think about his response. “If I put on one of those suits, I’m protected, right?”
Expression reluctant, she nodded. “Assuming they’re intact. Given the state of the rest of this place, it’s probable they have rips or tears. I can’t let you risk it.”
“You’re not in charge of me,” he began.
“But I am.” Her eyes flashed. “You agreed to those terms if I consented to help you. So, if I say I don’t want you in the lab, you will remain out here.”
Frustrated, at a loss for words, he did the only thing he could think of to do. He hauled her up against him and kissed her until they both were breathless.
When he lifted his head, she gave him a slow smile, her sexy eyes glittering. “Now that you got that out of your system, I need you to wait out here while I ascertain the risk inside the lab. Can you do that?”
“Now that you asked nicely, yes,” he drawled. “Though I can promise you that I’ll hate every minute of it.”
“Sorry.” Without a backward look, she crossed the room to the sink and began scrubbing up. Once she’d finished, she dried off and reached for one of the clean suits, checking inside to make sure there were no unwanted residents.
“Why bother?” he asked, confused. “If the lab is already contaminated.”
“The less the better,” she replied, pulling the garment up over her clothing and zipping it closed. Next, she grabbed a headpiece and put it on, making her look as though she wore some kind of bizarre spacesuit. Finally she pulled on gloves, after shaking them out first in case anything might have crawled into them.
Fully dressed, she stepped awkwardly forward, removed her glove and punched the code into the keypad, then slid it back over her hand while she waited for the door to swing open.
Inside, she stood absolutely still while water sprayed her and then wind dried her off. Despite himself, Rick was impressed. This small terrorist group apparently had big funding behind them, which meant the FBI knew only part of the story.
Once the machine had finished cleaning her, the door to the inner chamber swung open. Carmen stepped inside and turned slowly, surveying every bit of the place, inch by inch. From Rick’s vantage point, he could make out a gleaming stainless steel table, a refrigerator and several empty glass vials, similar to the ones Sheldon had been carrying when he’d been shot.
While Carmen did her thing, Rick prowled the outer room. Even though she’d claimed the place had been contaminated, as far as he could tell, that would be only this outer room. The inner room where she was now appeared to be inaccessible except through the purifying room. The glass went all the way from floor to ceiling. And it appeared the outer barn wall had also been sealed off with the same kind of glass or Plexiglas.
He checked for bugs or cameras twice and found nothing. Either Sheldon and his assistant Ted had cleared the area, or they had never been there at all.
* * *
Something was off. First thing, Carmen could see no evidence whatsoever that this lab had ever been used for work. Any kind of work whatsoever. Which meant this Sheldon person had either brought the virus in with him, or
the entire thing was some sort of elaborate hoax.
She frowned, trying to think. Rick had said there’d been a victim. And that the CDC in Atlanta had been working on identifying the virus and developing a cure.
Which meant a new virus did exist. But the likelihood that this group, the Sons of Darkness, had anything to do with creating it seemed nonexistent.
Then why? What could possibly be the reason for creating such an elaborate setup? Building a clean room wasn’t cheap, and the fact that they’d brought her in to assist their existing biologist made no sense if they were aware Sheldon hadn’t created anything. Clearly, Gus and his ragtag crew had no idea that anything was amiss.
However, Sheldon and his sidekick, Ted—well, that was another story. Damn, she wished Sheldon was still alive. Evidently, he’d panicked when he’d learned Gus was bringing another biologist on board. He’d known she’d find out the truth. So he’d staged a protest, not figuring the men would actually harm him. And when Sheldon had been shot, Ted had grabbed the vials and fled. Why? Because they contained the virus? Or, more likely, because they’d contained nothing at all.
Anger warred with curiosity. She made another sweep of the room, again noting that everything, every single freaking tool and beaker, appeared to be brand-new. Some still had the plastic on them.
Opening the refrigerator proved her theory beyond a shadow of a doubt. The pristine inside of the fridge housed nothing. And she’d bet there’d never been any contents. This entire thing—the messy barn, the expert attempt at replicating the clean room—all was a sham.
They were being played. Whether or not these Sons of Darkness people were in on it or not, she had no idea, though she tended to think they had no idea whatsoever.
Furious, she strode through the door to the connecting spray, allowed it to do its thing and then exited. As soon as she was clear, she yanked off her headgear and gloves and made a face. “How certain are you that this place isn’t bugged?” she asked, keeping her voice low.
Rick’s brows rose at her tone, but he shrugged. “I’m sure. I did two sweeps while you were in there. I found nothing. It’s clear.”
Finding the Texas Wolf Page 12