Heroes in Uniform: Soldiers, SEALs, Spies, Rangers and Cops: Sexy Hot Contemporary Alpha Heroes From NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Authors

by Sharon Hamilton

  “Exceptionally fast DNA replication. So fast that she ran the analysis a second time to make sure it was right,” Liliana advised, rose from her seat to take some papers from the medical bag sitting on another kitchen chair. She laid one of the papers on the table beside Mick.

  He recognized it immediately as an electrophoresis gel result from a DNA test. A series of parallel columns contained a number of differing bands in each column. Someone had circled several of the bands on the paper.

  Liliana ran her index finger along the test results. “These bands here and here are what you would expect to see in a human DNA test.”

  She jabbed at the circled sections. “But not these.”

  She slipped another piece of paper showing what looked like a graph before him. “So she did an electropherogram using an automated sequencer for determining the DNA series. Same weird results.”

  “So you’re telling me we still don’t know what’s going on with her?” he said with frustration.

  Liliana whipped out one last piece of paper -- a page print from some website showing a photo of a Petri dish displaying a childishly drawn picture with a number of phosphorescent colors.

  “Look familiar?” she said and walked back to her chair, sat down, and resumed eating.

  He picked up the paper and read aloud the caption beneath the photo. “This drawing shows the variety of colors available from different fluorescent protein producing bacteria.”

  “The GFPs in the bacteria physically show how genes express themselves,” she explained.

  “So you’re telling me she’s contaminated by some kind of fluorescent bacteria?” he asked, putting down his fork, but then the answer came to him before Liliana could reply. “They used the fluorescent proteins as trackers for the genes they implanted during her cancer therapy. That could explain what happened to her blood.”

  Liliana nodded. “Some scientists have even produced transgenic rabbits and pigs that glow in the dark because of these proteins.”

  A glow in the dark animal, only the woman upstairs wasn’t an animal. Although he still wasn’t quite sure what she was right now.

  Or what she was going to become.

  “I’ve got her supposed medical history up in my office, but I also managed to steal her real file today.”

  Liliana placed her fork on her nearly empty plate. Only a bit of beans and rice remained. “You think the scientists at Wardwell doctored the one they gave you.”

  “Possibly. I’m going to review the files tonight. Compare them and see what I can discover.”

  Mick nodded and rose from the table. He was heading out of the kitchen when his sister said, “Not so fast, bro. I brought the food, so you’re going to clean up before you go to work.”

  “You’re a hard taskmaster, Lil,” he said, but returned to the table, wrapped her in a bear hug and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

  She returned his embrace, burying her head in his chest. “Tell me this will all work out, Miguelito.”

  “It’ll work out, Liliana. I promise.”

  * * *

  Softly murmured words, spoken in Spanish, awakened old comforting memories.

  She fought the urge to rouse, wanting to bask in the newly recovered recollections of her mother. The gentle touch of her mother’s hand as she brushed her unruly locks at night, rousing the scent of the orange-blossom bath water she had dribbled onto her freshly washed hair; the passion in that same touch as her mother’s hands alternately caressed and struck the keys of the upright piano they had owned, playing a difficult symphony or concerto. Playful as she morphed the song into some ragtime or a variation on a mariachi tune.

  Her father had said that she had inherited her mother’s ear, but hidden behind the compliment had been censure. Caterina had realized that even as a child.

  He might have loved her mother at one time, but he had grown to disapprove of her and the love, if there ever had been any, had died beneath his controlling ways.

  When her father had gazed at her, she saw the reflection of her mother in his eyes. A passionate and carefree woman who had made the mistake of marrying a formidably powerful and unyielding man. One who had chipped away at her mother’s spirit with his demands.

  As Caterina half-opened her eyes, wanting to return to the good memories in her head, she saw them – brother and sister.

  Chocolate brown heads of hair were bent close together as they spoke softly in Spanish.

  Was it to avoid her understanding them? Her Spanish was rusty from years of disuse and maybe they were relying on that.

  Liliana was crouching down, eye level with her brother who sat in the chair beside the bed. It was where he had been for the last few hours as far as Caterina could tell.

  She had woken a couple of times from a fitful rest to find him there.

  Mick. The name popped from her brain.

  Mick had urged her back to sleep with a consoling touch and a comfortably issued command to rest.

  Now his sister was back and seeing that she had roused, she reached out and gently touched her arm. The gesture was familiar – a mother’s touch.

  Liliana even looked like Caterina’s mother. Petite. Slender. Olive-skinned with cocoa brown hair and dark eyes, only now as she met Liliana’s gaze, she realized the other woman’s eyes were a deep green, almost emerald.

  “You’re awake?” Liliana asked as she leaned forward.

  Mick rose from the chair, grabbing her attention.

  He was an average-sized man, but with an imposing physique. Lean and hard. Even his face was all hard angles. The face of the Conquistador stamped on the soul of Mexico.

  Dressed in black from head-to-toe, he possessed a dangerous aura that awoke conflicting emotions within her.

  Fear.

  Attraction.

  She suspected it would be hard for any female not to respond to his blatant and sexy masculinity. And as she came to that realization, another tagged along with it.

  Her brain actually seemed to be working with more clarity than it had in a long time.

  “I’m awake,” she confirmed and for good measure added, “And I’m remembering things. My mother and father.”

  “The drugs must be wearing off,” he said, the tone of his voice flat. Offering no comfort, but no condemnation either.

  She had expected the latter, although her mind wasn’t processing thoughts clearly enough yet to comprehend the why of that expectation.

  “I don’t understand what’s happened to me,” she said.

  Mick blew out a rough sigh and jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He rocked back on his heels for a second, before he said, “That makes three of us.”

  Comfort came from his sister once more. With a reassuring pat of her hand as she sat down on the chair, she said, “Mick’s managed to get your real medical file. We’ve been going through it tonight to find out what’s been done to you.”

  Done to me? she thought and closed her eyes, attempting to drag forth some kind of recollection of what had happened to her.

  She was sorry that she did so when the memories came, lashing out at her with their violence.

  The scent of blood, earthy and metallic, filled her nose and mouth. Wet and sticky, it covered her hands and arms.

  A face emerged from all the blood.

  “Dr. Wells is dead,” she said aloud. “Someone killed him.”

  “You killed him,” Mick replied callously.

  With an emphatic shake of her head, she said, “He was my friend. I wouldn’t hurt him.”

  Mick seemed inclined to argue with her, but Liliana reached out to stop him.

  “I know you wouldn’t hurt him or anyone else.”

  Liliana’s message was clear only Caterina didn’t have any way of convincing the taciturn Mick who reminded her a little too much of what she had remembered about her father.

  For that matter, she might not even be able to prove to herself that she’d had nothing to do with Dr. Wells’ de
ath. The memories she had were like the splinters of color in a kaleidoscope, forming new uncertain images every time she remembered.

  She was tired, more tired than she ever been at any time in her life. Not even the days she had undergone chemo could compare to how she now felt.

  This kind of tired was soul deep.

  Whispering, she said, “I want to rest.”

  * * *

  Mick controlled the urge to shake her as Caterina closed her eyes and sank back onto the pillows. As he glanced at his sister, she inclined her head in the direction of the hall and he walked out. Liliana followed.

  “You’ve got to be patient,” she counseled.

  He couldn’t argue, although he was finding it difficult to contain his frustration. Ducking his head down, he said, “You’re right only . . . ”

  Liliana stood right before him, making it impossible for him to avoid her. “Only what, Mick? I mean, you got her to safety. She’s starting to remember. That’s all good, right?”

  It was all good for Caterina, but she wasn’t his client.

  “I was hired to bring her in, Lil. I’m surprised my client hasn’t already called to find out what I’m doing to earn my money. It’s been a couple of days already.”

  “Does it matter? Caterina’s safe. Isn’t that what – ”

  “I don’t think my client cared whether Caterina came back dead or alive,” he confessed.

  Confusion slipped across his sister’s features before she said, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that since that he sent someone else after her as well, my client is probably hoping someone might be bringing her in dead.”

  “He hired you to kill her?” she hissed and shot an anxious look toward the doorway of the guest room.

  He shrugged and eased the tips of his fingers into his jeans pockets. “No, but with the kind of money he was paying – ”

  “You understood that killing Caterina might be a possibility.” Accusation was thick in her voice.

  With an abrupt shake of her head, she whirled on her heel and took a few jerky strides away, before she whirled back and faced him. “You used to be my hero. Not anymore.”

  Her words cut him deeply, but she was right. Hell, he had never wanted the responsibility that being a hero brought.

  But the nagging voice that remained buried deep within him answered back.

  “I don’t eliminate people for money. For fuck's sake, I wasn’t even going to turn her over without finding out what really happened in that lab.”

  Liliana came to stand before him again. “What did happen in that lab, Mick?”

  He focused on a spot in the distance, his mind’s eye recalling the pictures Edwards had provided. Recalling what he had seen today – the blood all over the lab and the damage in the room.

  “Something awful,” he said before finally facing his sister.

  “If Caterina did it . . . ” He exhaled roughly. “I need you to be careful until we can figure out what’s going with her. Plus, Edwards hired someone else for this job besides me, but that’s been taken care of.”

  “Should I reconsider my request to stay here?” she asked, but her tone was teasing in an attempt to lighten the earlier tension between them.

  Mick thought about how it might look to the neighbors that Liliana was coming and going. If anything, it might make it appear that nothing was happening in the house except a visit from his sister.

  “If you decide to stay, you need to be extra careful.”

  “Promise.”

  Knowing Liliana, that promise would be kept. But he also needed something else from her.

  “Do you think you could help me review Shaw’s medical history again? Just in case I missed something?”

  Liliana nodded, but inclined her head down the hall to his bedroom. “I just need a few minutes to call Harrison. Let him know I won’t be home tonight or for that matter, any time soon.”

  “What about your stuff?”

  “I’ll swing by during the day while he’s at the hospital and get my things.”

  Mick reached out and dragged her into his arms. “Like I said before, if you need me to do anything, I'm here for you, sis.”

  “I know and I appreciate the offer, but this is something I have to take care of myself.”

  * * *

  The call came well past midnight.

  He and Liliana had been discussing and researching various experiments and treatments based on Caterina’s file for a couple of hours.

  “Tell me this isn’t a BFD,” he said to Franklin as he answered.

  “Sorry, amigo, but the camel’s on fire.”

  Shit, he thought, but forced a smile on his face for his sister. He motioned with his head that he wanted her to leave the room, needing privacy for the upcoming discussion.

  “I’ll go check on Caterina,” she said, rose from the chair, and hurried out.

  Mick closed the door behind her and leaned against it. “What’s the SNAFU?”

  “Edwards was way too calm today when I told him I was off the assignment.”

  Mick processed that comment, but it didn’t take much to realize why.

  “We weren’t the only two he hired.”

  “Sorry, man. When I was going through security at the end of the day, I noticed some guest names on their list. Mad Dog paid Wardwell a visit also. I tried to get more info only – ”

  “Fuck,” he muttered and raked his fingers through his hair. Matthew Donnelly, aka Mad Dog, was nothing but trouble.

  “But you’re not sure that Edwards hired him?” he pressed.

  “This is the kind of job Mad Dog would do for free,” Franklin retorted with a rough laugh.

  Beautiful woman.

  Big challenge.

  Possible death.

  Definitely the kind of assignment Mad Dog would relish.

  “Do you know what Mad Dog’s been up to lately?”

  “Private security black ops. Heard he was doing some time in the Middle East, but got booted. Then he headed down to South America on another assignment. Never really wanted to stay in touch with him, if you know what I mean,” Franklin said.

  Mick knew exactly. Mad Dog was a sick miserable fuck. Most people wanted to keep off his radar.

  “Thanks, Franklin. Keep me posted on anything else you hear.”

  He snapped the cell phone shut and took a deep breath as he considered Franklin’s news.

  Mad Dog had probably been spreading mayhem wherever he went, Mick thought, recalling his last mission with the other mercenary. Two innocent civilians had become collateral damage, not that Mad Dog had cared.

  Mad Dog had been fired by the large private security firm after that incident and had seemingly disappeared.

  Mick had left the firm of his own volition and set up his own agency to deal with different kinds of problems. Not that those problems hadn’t occasionally involved the possibility of death.

  But not cold-blooded murder.

  What worried him more was that a man like Mad Dog would help himself to Caterina in other ways as well. In her almost-returning-to-normal state, it was hard to ignore how attractive she was in person.

  The professional photographs hadn’t done her justice.

  But as he had thought in Edwards’ office days earlier, he reminded himself that beauty didn’t preclude violence.

  Not to mention that violence had its own beauty.

  He was an artist of that kind of beauty.

  Raising his hands, he examined them, almost as if they belonged to someone else. They were hands capable of brutality, but not cruelty. Hands which could bestow tenderness, not that he’d had much opportunity for that lately. Hands capable of passion, which he could easily get and give.

  Women seemed to be drawn to him or maybe it was better to say they were drawn to the aura of danger around him. Enticed by the prospect of a risky tryst with a handsome man who knew how to satisfy.

  That kind of attraction didn’t really make for anyt
hing but a passable fuck.

  And a sad existence.

  Jerking away from the door, he opened it and returned to the guest room where Liliana sat in the comfy chair, laptop on her legs, reading something online.

  “You may want to reconsider staying here,” he said, leaning against the door frame.

  She looked up, her dark gaze filled with puzzlement.

  “You want me to go back to Harrison?”

  He strode over to her, kneeled before her, and tenderly took hold of her hands. Strong, capable, loving hands. Hands which could never be violent.

  “Someone else has been sent after Caterina. Someone nasty.”

  “So? More reason for me to stay and help out,” she said and twined her fingers with his.

  “You don’t understand, sis,” he said, shaking his head.

  “I get it. He’s the Big Bad, but you’re here. You’ll watch out for us.”

  Her trust in him warmed a long lost piece of his soul and yet . . .

  “You didn’t think that before. When you said – ”

  “That you weren’t my hero. I was angry. I wanted to lash out because . . .”

  She looked away from him, but it wasn’t enough to hide the tears shimmering in her eyes.

  “Because why, Lil?”

  She sucked in a shaky breath and bit her bottom lip. “Because for months now I’ve been losing control of my life. I was angry about that.”

  He cupped her chin and urged her to face him. With a proud smile, he said, “You are a beautiful and amazing woman. One who can take care of what she needs to do.”

  One lone tear spilled down her cheek. She braved a watery smile and said, “Then trust that I can handle myself now. That I can help you with this assignment.”

  She was his blood and they had overcome a great deal of adversity together. The early days when they had first arrived from Mexico and everything had been scarce. As children they had faced the challenges of being in different world. Survived the near ruin of their family’s business several years earlier.

  He wouldn’t dismiss her abilities when he needed them the most.

  Recognizing that she needed to be here and involved to regain what she thought she had lost, he said, “Watch your back when you’re coming and going. If you see anything that seems suspicious, you call me and head to the nearest police station.”