“Busy night,” said Victor, sounding impressed.
“This one came to me. Shots were fired, but our weapons were suppressed, so there wasn’t a lot of noise. It’s been long enough since the incident that if my neighbors were going to call the police, they would have already been here.”
“Did you get hurt?”
“No, but he did. I stopped the bleeding, but he’s going to need medical attention.”
“How serious?”
Adam glanced at the bright red blood seeping through the towel he’d tied around the intruder’s leg. “Not life threatening. He’ll probably need surgery and a few bones set.”
“Who is he?”
“I can guess, but I’d rather not. No ID. Mira’s going to hack into his phone so we can get some answers.”
“Was she still with you when it happened?”
“Unfortunately. There were no indications that the man had backup, but I’d like to get her away from here, just in case.” Adam turned the man onto his stomach so he could do one more check for weapons and information.
He found nothing, but something was wrong. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
“Understood,” said Victor. “I’ll send a detail to deal with the situation. Restrain him and get out now. Someone will be there within twenty minutes.”
“Thank you.”
“Sure,” said Victor. “And when you do find out what’s going on with this guy, you’ll let me know so I can get him the help he needs, right?”
“Of course.” That’s when it hit Adam. The man lying on his living room floor had no surgical scar at the base of his skull. If he’d been one of Dr. Stynger’s subjects, the telltale scar should have been there.
But if she hadn’t been the one to send this man to find Adam, then who had?
“Adam?” said Victor, his tone one that made Adam think he’d missed a question.
“Yes?”
“Mira isn’t combat ready. You know that, right?”
“I do.”
“I mean, I know Bella has been working with her for a long time, and she’s tough and determined, but some people just aren’t cut out for what we do. I’m afraid she’s one of them.”
“Of that I am acutely aware.”
“So you’ll keep an eye on her?”
“Both of them,” promised Adam. “If any harm comes to her, it will be only because I’m no longer around to stand in its way.”
“Bella was wrong about you. You’re a decent guy.”
“No, I’m not. But I am the kind of guy you all need, whether or not you want to admit it.”
“Yeah. Well, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you say that.”
“Why?”
“Because if I heard you say that, then I’d have to tell Bella. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to be standing within range of that woman to deliver bad news.”
“Afraid?” asked Adam.
“Hell yes. You would be, too, if you knew what was good for you. She thinks of Mira like a kid sister. Anything happens to her, it’s your ass.”
This conversation was veering far too close to home for Adam to continue. “We’ll be gone in five minutes. I’ll leave the doors unlocked.”
“Copy. Stay safe.”
Adam hung up and went back to the kitchen.
Mira sat cradling the hot mug. She didn’t see him come in. Her head was down, and her focus was on the steamy surface of her tea. The blanket he’d given her dwarfed her frame and impeded her ability to move quickly if the need arose.
It struck him in that moment just how vulnerable she was, how little it would take for a bad man to put the barrel of his weapon against her skull and pull the trigger. She wouldn’t even see it coming until it was too late.
He couldn’t let that happen. He had to find some way to keep her safe, though he had no idea why the need was so compelling.
Guilt over what he’d done to her? Perhaps. But it felt like more than that.
He eased into her line of sight so as not to startle her. She looked up at him, and the vibrant green of her eyes gave away that she’d been fighting tears. Perhaps even crying.
Her pain taunted him, demanding that he fix it.
He had no idea how.
“We should go now,” he said, keeping his voice quiet and nonthreatening.
He held out his hand and her fingers settled in the center of his palm. They were shaking and overwarm from holding the mug. He closed his grip, and something about holding her hand winged through him, settling in a content little ball in his gut.
Adam drew her up from the chair. He eased the blanket off her shoulders, letting it pool on the floor. The move put him squarely inside her personal space, but she didn’t seem to mind.
Normally he didn’t let anyone get this close. At this distance, someone could pull a knife and jab it into his heart faster than he could react. It was deadly to have someone this close, and yet with Mira, he sensed no danger.
At least not to his body. She did, however, send rippling quakes through his usual calm. She made him worry over things he would normally not notice, like the slight chill that lifted the fine hair on her arms, or the tiny quiver wrinkling her chin.
She was still suffering from her scare, and all he could think to do was get her as far away from the memory of it as possible.
The gunman’s cell phone went into Adam’s pocket. He tucked Mira under his arm and headed out the back door, around the house, toward the car.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I’m taking you home.”
“What about the man?”
“Victor’s on it.” Adam opened the car door and settled her inside.
“Don’t you need to stay?” she asked when he got in beside her and started the engine.
“Not as badly as you need to leave. Besides, we need to find out who this man was working for.”
“I thought you said that Dr. Stynger was mad at you for leaving her.”
“I’m certain she is, but this was not one of her men.”
“How can you be sure?”
“No incision at the base of his skull.” He took the fastest route through the neighborhood, making quick time through the short distance separating him from the highway—another of the benefits of the neighborhood he’d chosen.
“Are you sure his hair wasn’t just covering the scar?” she asked.
“He’s bald.”
He pulled onto the highway. Even though he wasn’t looking at her, he could feel her growing tense beside him. “He could be like Clay. Someone could be controlling him with a trigger phrase.”
“No sense in jumping ahead to conclusions. We need to find out for sure what’s going on.”
She didn’t seem to hear him. “My father is dead and his evil is still living on. In what world is that fair?”
“Fair has nothing to do with our world. Only facts matter.”
“Take me to the office,” she said, her voice solid and steady enough for it to sound like an order.
“Why?”
“I’m cracking into this phone tonight.”
“You need to go home.”
“I can do it from home, but the best equipment is at work. It’ll be faster there.”
“You need your rest. After last night, you really shouldn’t be out of bed, much less being shot at.”
“He wasn’t shooting at me, Adam. You were his target. He was there when I arrived. That’s why you were acting so weird.”
“I was only trying to get you to leave so you wouldn’t be in the middle of danger.”
“What about us being partners? If you’d warned me about the danger, I could have given you backup.”
“I didn’t need backup. All I needed was a clear shot
that wasn’t going to hurt any of my neighbors.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t hear the noise, even with the silencers.”
“It’s a neighborhood filled with the elderly. Most of them don’t hear so well—one of the reasons I chose it.”
“Do you make any decisions that aren’t based on you possibly needing to shoot someone?”
“Rarely.” He glanced at her, watching the glow from streetlights caress her face as they passed. She was far too pretty for his peace of mind. With most women, he hardly noticed more than he needed to in order to do his job—namely, whether or not they were enemies or possible targets. With Mira, he couldn’t help but notice the shape of her thighs as she warmed her fingers between them. Even the way her fitted shirt clung to the curve of her breasts was far more intriguing than was the bulge of the weapon she carried under her jacket.
There had been a time not so long ago when she would have let him kiss her. Now he wished that chance would come along again. Maybe then he would be able to clear his mind of all these pesky feelings and focus on his job.
“How long will it take for you to get information from the phone?” he asked.
“Not long. It will take longer to print it all out than it will to gain access to what’s on it.”
He turned toward the office to take her where she could best do her job.
At least it was a place where he could ensure her safety.
He pulled into the underground garage and escorted her inside to her office. The moment she entered the room, with its deep chill and low hum of machines, he could sense her relaxing.
Her shoulders lowered. Her breathing slowed, as did the flutter of her pulse in her throat. A sense of calm purpose radiated from her—one he swore he could feel lapping against his skin.
Adam simply watched her as she worked. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, without a single mistake. He could see her mind working as she split her attention between the man’s phone and her computer screen.
A few minutes later, she sat back in her chair and finally glanced his way. “The phone was mostly clean.”
“Mostly?”
“There was one number in memory. It had been deleted, but not well enough.”
“And that number?”
“No record attached. Burner cell.”
“Then why do you look so pleased with yourself?”
“Because he had location services enabled. I was able to figure out where the man lives, or at least where he spends his nights. I suppose he could drop his phone off somewhere while he slept, but that doesn’t make a ton of sense.”
“You have an address?” asked Adam.
“Even better. I have GPS coordinates.”
She was good at her job. It was a shame that Bella was willing to risk such rare talent by putting Mira in the field.
She glanced at him, and he couldn’t help but notice how much he enjoyed her like this—pleased, relaxed.
It made him wonder how lovely she would be if he could please and relax her even more.
He stood, being cautious about his size so as not to intimidate her. What he wanted from her now could not be had with force. She had to give it to him.
Adam propped his hips on the edge of her desk, widening his thighs enough that there was plenty of space for her in front of him.
She sat perched on her rolling chair, well within his reach. Still, he made no move toward her once he was settled.
“What shall we do next?” he asked, keeping all signs of intent from his voice.
She looked up at him. He saw the second she realized just how close he was now. Her eyes widened, her lips parted slightly, her breathing sped.
“Go to his apartment? Look for clues?” Her voice broke slightly.
“Aren’t you tired?” No judgment, just curiosity.
“I should be after everything that happened tonight.”
“But you’re not,” he guessed.
“Don’t you want to know why this man came after you?”
“I already know. He was looking for someone and thought I knew where to find him.”
“Who?”
Not yet. He wasn’t ready to tell her that part. Any discussion about her father could wait until she was rested and fed and able to handle the emotional strain it would put on her.
Adam shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
She rose to her feet, which served only to put her closer to him. With the chair behind her, keeping her from backing away, she was standing squarely between his knees.
It took every bit of discipline Adam had not to fit his hands into the curve of her waist and bring her closer.
What was it about this woman that stirred his mind, sending it into a chaotic twirl of thoughts that had no place in this business?
She stared up at him and nervously wet her lips.
Need surged in his body, rising so swiftly, he was sure she would notice his growing erection if she so much as glanced down.
“You’re not supposed to hide things from your partner,” she said.
It took Adam a second to realize she was continuing their earlier conversation, rather than making comments about his state of arousal.
“My old life is in the past,” he said. “I’d like to keep it there.”
“I was in your past.”
“There are some things worth clinging to.”
She shook her head slightly. “I don’t get you. I’m not sure I ever will.”
But he wanted her to. For the first time in his life, he wanted someone to see him all the way through. She already knew that he was capable of violence. What was it going to take for her to see that there were still parts of him that were unblemished? Parts that bordered on good.
“I’m a product of my creation. Just like you. I did what I thought I must to survive—to protect those for whom I was responsible.”
“A woman?”
The idea that he would have jumped through hoops and done shady things for a woman would have been ridiculous had Mira not been standing right in front of him. For her, he could see himself bending the rules. Crossing lines he wouldn’t otherwise cross. Just as he’d done for Eli.
“No,” he admitted. “A brother.”
Her gaze softened, causing those golden threads to dance through her irises. “Did the scientists hurt him, too?”
Adam didn’t want to talk about it, but she was open. Receptive. He didn’t want that to end, either. How else was she to see the man he really was if he didn’t let her in, just a little. “No more than the rest of us.”
“That is more than enough.” Her hand settled on top of his. “Is he still alive?”
Her touch swallowed up all of his attention. The heat of her skin, the slight trembling that still vibrated through her limbs, the soft texture that only women and babies could attain—it all swirled together in a heady mass of sensation he couldn’t ignore.
“Yes,” said Adam without thinking. “Though I only recently discovered that was the case.”
Mira went still. “That’s what was in the envelope, wasn’t it? The one you traded me for to my father? He told you where to find your brother, didn’t he?”
Shame haunted his skin, leaving behind its heat. “If I’d known you then, I never would have made the trade. I would have found another way.”
Her hand slipped away, leaving his cold. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s in the past, just like you said. We should try to leave it there.”
Adam felt her close up. All that warm attention drifted away, and he found himself hunting for a way to get it back again.
He reached for her despite all his warnings to keep his hands to himself. He cupped her shoulders and rose to his full height.
She glanced at his left hand, then up at his face. “We should go. It’s late—the perfect
time to slip into his place while everyone is asleep.”
He couldn’t let her go. Not yet. Even though there was no logical reason for him to keep touching her, his hands stayed right where they were.
His fingers tightened slightly. He could feel the intricate pattern of muscle and bone under his fingers. For once, there was no thought as to how he could disable or damage what he touched.
All he wanted for Mira was pleasure.
Her scent rose to greet him, both light and teasing. The artificial scent of plastic and heated circuit boards did nothing to disguise the woman beneath. If anything, the contrast served to highlight just how vital and sweet she was.
She looked up at him expectantly. She’d asked a question and for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it was.
Her tongue swept over her bottom lip, leaving behind a sheen of moisture.
Adam’s hands flexed around her arms as he lifted her slightly. The need to get closer to this woman rang through him, blocking out all logical sense.
“How can you do this to me?” he asked, wondering if she wielded some kind of secret genetic weapon against him. Perhaps she’d been designed to distract and tempt him.
“I’m not doing anything,” she said.
If that was true, then he really was doomed. “I replay that night we had together in my head, over and over. No matter how many times I order my mind to stop, it betrays me, just as I betrayed your trust that night.”
Her hands settled on his chest. “Memory lane isn’t a good place for us. We have to work together.”
She was right. He knew that, but knowing and acting on that knowledge were two different things.
“I could quit,” he offered.
“Well, I can’t. I need this job. I need to find the people my father hurt and do what I can to right his wrongs.”
“You’ll never be able to undo all the damage he caused.”
Her hands fell away. She took a long step back, prying her arms from his hands. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m sure as hell going to try. Are you coming with me?”
There was nothing else to say. “Yes. Of course.”
Chapter Thirteen
Mira was glad Adam was driving, because there was no way in hell she would have been able to keep the car on the road.
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