Hold On Tight

by Cynthia Eden

  “Fucking bastards…there was an escape tunnel.” Andreas sat up slowly. His skin was too pale, and a tremble shook his body. “Got out…two survived the fire.”

  Shit. Shit. “Who survived the fire?” Jett demanded. “Did you see their faces?”

  “No…on a motorcycle. Shot me.” Anger rumbled in his voice. “Got away.”

  Maddox started to pace. “This simple mission is getting too damn complicated.”

  Yes, it sure as hell was.

  Andreas slumped back against the couch. “Feel like I’ve been hit…ton of bricks.”

  No one said coming back from the dead was easy.

  Maddox cast Andreas a worried stare, then said, “We need to check-in. Need to figure out what to do next.”

  They did. They—

  Jett turned toward the bedroom door. Something was wrong. He could feel it inside. An emptiness had just settled in his gut.

  He took a step forward.

  Maddox grabbed his arm. “Hey, focus, man! We need to check in at base. Tell them about Andreas and this psychic block. If it’s coming from the woman, they might want her brought in. For all we know, she could be one of us.”

  One of us. Lazarus. Was it possible?

  “Do you know anyone else with psychic power like we have?” Maddox pushed.

  No, he didn’t. Jett had never met anyone outside of Lazarus with any sort of gifts like that. When they’d come back from the dead, the Lazarus soldiers had quickly realized they had enhanced senses. Better vision, better hearing…but the advantages hadn’t stopped there. They were faster. Stronger. And each test subject had some very handy psychic gifts.

  “I’m calling this in,” Maddox told him flatly. “And if we need to take her back to base, we’ll do it.”

  Jett nodded grimly. But the thick knot in his gut told him something was wrong, and he found himself heading for the bedroom. Toward the shut door.

  “Jett? What are you—”

  He ignored Maddox’s voice and twisted the bedroom knob. It opened easily in his hand. But as it spun open—

  Another alarm began to sound.

  He rushed into the room. Savannah stood in front of the window—the open window. That was why the alarm had sounded. She’d tripped it when she shoved open the window. Her eyes were huge as she glanced at him, and then she lunged for the window.

  They were on the second fucking floor!

  He grabbed her, moving fast, faster than she ever would have expected, and he locked his arms around her waist. He pulled her back against him. “What in the hell are you doing?”

  “Trying not to be eliminated!” Savannah snapped right back, and then she elbowed him, hard. “Get away from me!”

  Shit, she’d heard them? Their voices had been low, deliberately so, and with her in the next room, he’d thought they were clear to talk but…

  Maybe she didn’t hear us. Maybe the woman is still in my head.

  He tried to block his thoughts. Tried to put a shield in place, a stronger one than he’d had before. “We aren’t going to hurt you.”

  “You don’t want to hurt me.” She twisted hard in his arms. “You’re the one who said they weren’t eliminating me! But I don’t know what those other jerks are planning to do!”

  Play this right. Think. He forced himself to let her go. To step back.

  She whirled toward him.

  “We’re on the second floor, Savannah. If you’d jumped out the window, you would have been hurt.”

  Her brows lifted. “I wasn’t jumping. I was going to climb. There’s a ledge out there, and then a long pipe that slides down the building.” Her hands fisted at her sides. “I want to go home, okay? I want this nightmare to end.” Her breath came faster. “You were saying something about taking me in…In where? I don’t want to go in. I don’t want to go anyplace but home!” Tears filled her eyes. “It’s been a really shitty few days. I need this mess to be over.”

  He didn’t like her tears. Didn’t like the pain and fear he heard in her voice. He found himself moving closer to her. He wanted to pull her into his arms. Hold her tight. But…Focus. Get the job done. “What does Lazarus mean to you?”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “Lazarus.”

  “Uh…isn’t he the guy who rose from the dead? You know, they went back to his tomb, and he was walking around…”

  He waited.

  “Am I supposed to know more?” Her head turned as she glanced longingly toward the open window. The alarm was still beeping.

  He moved around her, his body brushing against her shoulder, and Jett closed the window.

  A few moments later, the alarm stopped. He remained in front of the window, his back to her.

  “Jett.” Her voice was soft. Her hand touched his shoulder. “I’m scared.”

  Something inside of him seemed to break and give way. He found himself spinning toward her, and this time, he did reach for her. She shouldn’t ever be afraid when I’m near. He pulled her into his arms. Held her tight.

  “I just want to go home,” Savannah whispered.

  “It’s not that simple.” What all had she picked up? Had she just been reading his thoughts or everyone’s? “My team hasn’t found the two men who got away. Those men are a threat to you.”

  She gave a little jerk.

  He held her tighter. “It’s okay, Savannah. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I swear it. But we have to figure out where those men are. We have to find them.” He needed to hunt the bastards.

  Destroy them.

  He eased back so that he could stare down at her face. “But you can’t keep secrets from me.”

  He saw the faint flicker of her lashes.

  Baby, I can feel your secrets.

  Her lips parted. God, he loved her lips. Full, plump, and—

  Maddox cleared his throat.

  Jett glanced up, glaring. His buddy had poked his head into the room and was staring straight at them.

  “Need a moment.” Maddox nodded. “Really need that moment with you right now.”

  Savannah was upset. She needed him then. “I’ll be out soon.”

  Maddox blinked. “Uh, Jett…”

  “Soon,” he snapped.

  The guy backed out, shaking his head.

  Jett realized his whole body was tense. He also realized that if Maddox hadn’t interrupted, he would have kissed Savannah. What in the hell was that about? He never got attached to mission targets.

  But then again, mission targets didn’t tend to slip into his head. She had.

  He had the strange feeling that she might never leave his mind. This woman could haunt me.

  “We need to get something clear.” His hands were around her waist. “I will not hurt you. And I will not let anyone else hurt you, either.”

  She stared up at him.

  “But you can’t go climbing out windows. You need to trust me.”

  “The last man I trusted kidnapped me, tied me to a chair, and was getting ready to cut off my pinky finger.” She delivered this news flatly. “Trust is hard for me.”

  Uh, yeah, it would be. “My job is to keep you safe. Until that job is done, I’m going to be your shadow.”

  “Like my personal bodyguard?”

  If that was what she wanted to call it. “Yeah, consider me your personal bodyguard.”

  Her smile was slow, and it was damn beautiful. He found himself unable to look away from it. “You’ve got dimples.” He’d noticed them in the photo, but seeing them up-close like this was a whole different thing.

  “Um, two of them.”

  Cutest damn dimples he’d ever seen. “And you’re psychic.”

  Her smile faltered. “Look, I—I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “I mean you were reading my thoughts, Savannah. You were in my head.”

  Her gaze lowered. She seemed to be spending a whole lot of time staring at his throat. “People think I’m crazy. I was…I was told never to talk about that.”

  Now the
y were getting someplace. “Who told you?”

  “My father. The doctor. All the people in the white lab coats at the psych facility I stayed in when I was sixteen years old.”

  What the fuck?

  Her gaze lifted. “I was in a car accident. My mom died. My twin brother died. After that, I found out that sometimes…I could pick up thoughts. Every now and then, I mean, it wasn’t constant or anything. But when you suddenly start telling people that you’ve got voices in your head…” Those dimples of hers flashed, then vanished. “Well, I think you can figure out the result. If you can’t, then I’ll tell you…you get sent to a really plush facility where the doctors want to talk about how you feel and why you are crazy.”

  He needed her to understand this. “I don’t think you’re crazy.”

  “Jett—”

  “I can pick up thoughts, too, Savannah.” He could do plenty more than that, but, for now, they’d stick with the basics.

  Hope lit her eyes. Made her even more beautiful. “You’re like me?”

  Only if she was dead.

  “I’ve never met anyone…anyone like me before.” She licked her lips. “It’s nice to not be alone.”

  “You will never be alone again.” The words just came out, but dammit, they were oddly true. He didn’t want to imagine her alone. Didn’t want to think for one second that she was scared or hurt or feeling like a freak because someone didn’t understand her. She’d been put in a psych ward? For how fucking long?

  He would be finding out. He’d be finding out everything about her. For now, though, he needed to step back. Mostly because he liked the way she felt in his arms far too much.

  And because Maddox was on the other side of the door, probably about to flip the hell out.

  “You’re safe,” Jett assured her as he forced his hands to slide from her waist. “I’d give my dying breath to keep you safe.” Then he’d wake his ass up again after he died and destroy anyone after her.

  “I don’t want anyone dying for me, but thanks for the offer.”

  He found himself smiling at her. Something was happening, he knew it. Could feel the connection between them. Once more, his gaze slid to her lips.

  He wanted to taste her.

  The woman had been through hell, and he was lusting after her. He was fucked up. Walk away. Don’t kiss her. Walk away.

  He headed for the door.

  “But what if I want to kiss you?”

  No, hell, no. He stopped. “Savannah, you slipped into my head again, didn’t you?” She was strong. Very strong. Strong enough to get past the shields he’d put in place.

  “Does it count if it honestly seemed like you were screaming the words?”

  His lips wanted to twitch. Instead, Jett spun toward her. This wasn’t the time to laugh. But something about her made him feel good. This wasn’t the time to lust, but he did. He sure as all hell did.

  Slowly, she closed the distance between them. Her hand rose and pressed to his chest, pressed right over his heart. He lowered his head toward her. She rose onto her tip-toes and brought her mouth to his. Their lips met in the briefest, lightest of kisses. “Thank you for saving me,” she whispered. Another soft, light kiss. One that only made him yearn for more. “And thank you for not making me feel like a freak. I don’t tell many people my secrets.”

  “You can tell them to me.”

  Her gaze searched his. “I tell you my secrets, and you’ll tell me yours?”

  If only. But, no, that wasn’t the way it worked. He couldn’t tell Savannah his secrets. That was a line that he wouldn’t be able to cross.

  She started to pull away. His hands curled around her shoulders. “More.”

  Her lips parted.

  Perfect.

  This time, he was the one to initiate the kiss. He put his mouth on hers. Dipped his tongue into her mouth. Tasted her. Savored her. Didn’t demand. Didn’t push. But, fuck, he craved.

  Lust beat through his veins. A powerful desire, more powerful than he’d ever seemed to feel before. Maybe it was the adrenaline still humming in his veins or maybe—hell, maybe it was just her. But he wanted. He needed. And because he needed so much, he kept his hold easy on her.

  He treated her like the fucking precious thing she was.

  And he slowly eased back.

  Her breath came faster as she gazed up at him.

  He should say something important. Reassuring. But the words that came out were, “Don’t climb out any other windows.”

  She smiled at him. Those sweet dimples winked.

  And his chest felt lighter. He left her, before he gave in to the urge to pull her into his arms again. To kiss her again.

  Concussion. She has a freaking concussion. Keep your hands off her.

  Her laughter followed him. “My head feels better. But maybe we’ll try again after the freaking concussion…”

  He had to guard his thoughts one hell of a lot better.

  Jett shut the bedroom door.

  Immediately, he felt Maddox and Andreas staring at him.

  Andreas was still on the couch. Still looking like, well, death.

  Maddox stood across the room, with his hands crossed over his chest. “You fucking having fun?”

  He didn’t like the words. Didn’t like the tone. Didn’t like the implication that he was just screwing around with Savannah. Not her, she was…

  More.

  Without a word, he headed for the exit. He’d go downstairs and back into the main garage. For this talk, he wanted to put some space between him and Savannah’s bedroom. Maybe if he was farther away, she wouldn’t pick up on his thoughts. Or maybe his shield would just be better. “Andreas,” he said, as he passed the guy. “Keep watch on that bedroom.”

  Maddox followed him out. As soon as they were clear, Maddox growled, “While you were making time with Savannah Jacobs, I checked in at base. She’s not one of ours.”

  His hands were fisting. Unfisting. And a twisting rage filled him. “Not making time. Don’t fucking talk about her that way.”

  Maddox blinked. “What?”

  “I know she’s not one of ours. I asked her. That’s what I was doing in there. Asking. When I mentioned Lazarus, she had no reaction. No increased heart-rate, no breathing changes, no sweating. The name meant nothing to her.”

  Maddox gave a low whistle. “You told her about Lazarus? Are you crazy?”

  “I didn’t tell her what we can do. I just asked if Lazarus meant anything to her. It didn’t.” He rolled back his shoulders. “But she is psychic. Savannah woke up that way after a car accident. So we have to guard our minds around her. She said she can’t hear everything. That she just picks up some thoughts.” Though she’d sure picked up a hell of a lot of his thoughts. Jett exhaled. “She heard me when I tried to communicate with you on the link our team uses. So, we stay away from that shit for the foreseeable future.”

  Maddox rubbed the back of his neck. “Our orders are to take her back to her father.”

  “Right.” Jett nodded. “We’ll do that, as soon as the perps who escaped are caught and—”

  “No.” Maddox shook his head. “You misunderstand. I was just told that we have to take her back at dawn. Apparently, her father is raising some hell right now, creating a stink with the government because he was told a Black Ops team had her.”

  Uh, yeah, about that… “Savannah may have the wrong impression about what we do. I, um, told her that I was a SEAL.”

  Maddox squeezed his eyes shut.

  “So, when she called her dad to check in, she may have told him—”

  Maddox’s eyes flew back open. “You let her call to check in? That wasn’t part of the plan.”

  “Of course, it was. We had a burner phone here.”

  “For emergencies!”

  In a sense, it had been an emergency. “She wanted to talk with her family. I used a secure phone. It was fine.”

  Maddox shook his head. “This woman has got you wrapped around her little pink
y.”

  “The fucker who took Savannah was going to cut off her pinky.” The angry words blasted from him. “He was going to hurt her. And two of those assholes are still out there. You think I’m just going to turn her over and walk away when she’s in danger? You think that’s the option I’ll be taking?” Think again.

  Maddox put up his hands. “Easy there, big guy. I get that you’re, ah, feeling something here for the target.”

  She wasn’t just a target. She had a name. Savannah.

  “Never seen you like this before.” Maddox appeared mildly worried. “This isn’t you.”

  “How would you know?” Jett demanded. “How would anyone fucking know? We don’t remember life before Lazarus. Don’t remember a damn thing about what we were like or what we weren’t like.” For all Jett knew, he’d been a cold-blooded killer in that other life.

  His handlers had told him that he’d been a former SEAL. Flashed him some copies of his service files. They’d showed him videos of himself volunteering for the Lazarus program. But…that was it.

  He had their word to go by. Some grainy videos. Papers that could have been falsified. Nothing else. Everything he’d had before Lazarus was long gone. Everything he’d experienced was gone.

  And now he was supposed to just turn Savannah over? To walk away? Another thing gone. “I said I’d keep her safe,” he snarled. “If the threat to her is still there…”

  “Relax. You will be keeping her safe. The orders are for you to stay with her. Andreas and I are to hunt the men who got away. You keep her close, you make sure nothing happens to her, and when we’ve got the bastards in custody—or they are dead—that will be our cue to fade into the shadows.”

  Breathing got easier. The thick tension Jett had felt slowly vanished. He wasn’t leaving Savannah. Not yet, anyway.

  Good.

  “Jett?” Maddox paced closer. “Man, are you okay?”

  No, he didn’t feel okay at all.

  “If you need to be pulled off this mission, if something is going on, then you tell me.”

  Because, despite everything, Maddox was his friend. In this twisted world he lived in, Maddox was probably his best friend. “I…react differently to her.”

  Maddox gave a grim laugh. “That’s obvious.”