Double Impact

by Tess Gerritsen

  If his heart proved too weak to exact the necessary vengeance, he would cut it out. It was worthless to him, anyway. The organ merely continued to beat, nothing more.

  He moved away from the door as if her very essence could somehow penetrate the heavy wood and reach him, ultimately making him weak. He would not consider the issue further now, he decided as he moved toward where the others waited. When he was stronger, when the shock of seeing her again had passed, would be the proper time for such a course of action. He would need all of his strength, all of his powers of concentration, to do what had to be done.

  She had to pay.

  Just not today.

  “Why is she still alive?”

  The irate tone of his comrade heightened Michal’s already mounting frustration. He stared at Carlos, his right arm-the man who had proven his worth over and over again. But, to Michal’s way of thinking, in the last twenty-four hours that worth had lessened considerably. A comrade’s value could only be accurately measured by his willingness to follow his leader and/or his orders to the death.

  Michal was not accustomed to being questioned where his decisions were concerned.

  “She is alive,” he said to his friend, his tone lethal, his words leaving no room for discussion, “because I allow it. Do you have a problem with that?”

  His defiance never wavering, Carlos openly questioned Michal’s authority for the first time. He sauntered a step closer, his posture growing even more belligerent. “I watched the effect this woman had on you two years ago.” One dark eyebrow slanted high above the other. “She distracts you,” he suggested in the thick accent that gave away his Israeli roots. “We-” he motioned magnanimously to the others lounging in the room “-were almost captured because of her.” He banged a fist against his chest. “Our own brothers despise us now, attempt to bring us down at every opportunity because of her. That is my problem!”

  Tamping down his fury to a more tolerable level, Michal closed the remaining distance between them. “You have stated your objections. This-” he looked straight into his old friend’s eyes “-will be the end of it. The decision as to what will become of her is mine and mine alone.”

  Absolute silence reigned in the room. No one dared to even move. The others waited for the outcome, not one had the courage to side with Carlos, yet not one would dispute him since he wanted to live to see another day. The tension built so swiftly, so thickly, that the very air evacuated the room.

  “Mark my words,” Carlos said, “she will be the death of us all.”

  Michal laughed softly, but didn’t relax his battle-ready stance. Staying in control was crucial. “So now you are a prophet, is that the way of it?”

  Carlos grunted a halfhearted laugh. “Clearly you are not. But, as you say, the decision is yours.”

  Michal turned to the others, taking his time, studying each familiar face in turn. These were the men with whom he had worked for the past three years. He had earned their respect under the tutelage of their former leader, a man known only as the Wolf. After his assassination, Michal had risen to the challenge as his successor. No one had questioned the move, not even Carlos who had worked with the Wolf for a longer period of time. Carlos claimed that he preferred the chain of command just as it was. He had no desire to lead, only to follow.

  Michal had an uneasy feeling about that now. He’d noted Carlos’s need to have more of a say during recent strategy meetings. He imagined his days were numbered to Carlos’s way of thinking. Michal did not fear the confrontation. He had long ago decided that death might be a relief.

  Until now.

  Now everything had changed.

  “Is there anyone else who would question my authority?”

  Heads wagged from side to side, negative responses were grunted all the way around the room. All eyes remained fixed on Michal; no one had the nerve to meet Carlos’s unrelenting gaze as they, however belatedly, openly professed their loyalty.

  “Then we are in agreement, no?” Michal turned back to the man at his side, watching and waiting for some indication of just how far he intended to take this vie for power.

  The corners of Carlos’s mouth curled into a sly smile. “We are in agreement.”

  Michal nodded. “A wise decision.” He surveyed the group once more. “We must take advantage of this time to rest and hone our skills. We have some time yet before our next mission. This one will be tricky. Keen focus will be the key. No one-” He shot a sidelong glance at Carlos. “No one can be distracted. This is assuredly not the time for division.”

  Carlos merely stared back at him, his previous display of aggression reined in for the most part. “No one,” he agreed pointedly.

  Michal left it at that and sought refuge outside in the coming gloom. The air was cool and he filled his lungs with the pleasant scents of the changing season. He closed his eyes and tried to remember how his homeland smelled. But it had been far too long since he had set foot upon that soil and, in an effort to keep his sanity, he had worked far too diligently to banish it from his mind to recall it now. A high price had been leveled on his head there; he was considered a murderer and worse. In reality, he had no homeland. But he no longer cared. He had stopped caring about anything at all two years ago.

  Forcing his thoughts away from the woman inside, he surveyed the grounds for as far as he could see in the encroaching dusk. The perimeter guards moved around soundlessly, all of whom would have taken note of his presence the instant he exited the house. Michal had many dedicated men at his disposal, any of which would willingly die for him. Except, perhaps, for Carlos. Until a few days ago he would have said the same for him. But he had changed of late, particularly since Amira’s return. That, too, seemed suspect to Michal. Though Carlos’s rationale for being disturbed by her presence was sound, there was something more going on.

  Only time would reveal this unknown factor. Michal turned and stared up at the room-his room-where he held Amira prisoner. Just as time would also determine her fate.

  HE WASN’T COMING back.

  Ami sucked in another shaky breath, mentally commanding herself to pull it together. She had to think. She couldn’t just stand here and wait for him to return. She had to run. To hide. Something.

  She pushed off from the door where she’d remained glued even after he’d walked out of the room. She simply hadn’t had the strength or courage to move away from the support it gave or the hope it offered since it led to the balcony outside. But the guards were out there, as well. He’d said they had orders to shoot. She shuddered.

  Clothes. First, she needed clothes.

  She looked down at herself again and fought another wave of terror as she considered that he, or someone who worked for him, had undressed her. That was done. Nothing she could do about it. She looked around the room and decided to start with the armoire. All she had to do was make it across the room.

  Putting one foot in front of the other, she slowly made the journey, praying with each step that the floor wouldn’t creak, giving her movements away. She felt certain there would be a guard right outside her door.

  Slowly she opened the armoire doors, her heart thudding so hard she could scarcely hear herself think. She scanned the folded items on the shelves, then opened each drawer in turn, sorting through the contents as carefully as possible so as not to leave anything out of place.

  Nothing she had been wearing when she rushed out of the hospital.

  Jeans, shirts…all, she presumed, belonging to her captor.

  She turned to survey the room once more. Where were her clothes? Surely they wouldn’t have thrown them away.

  Moving more quickly now, she got down on her hands and knees and looked under the bed. Nothing.

  She pushed to her feet and rushed to the en suite bathroom and came up empty-handed again. Towels and face-cloths, toiletries.

  Her pulse fluttering wildly, she moved back into the large bedroom. Everything she’d been wearing was gone. She remembered that she hadn
’t had her purse with her so she had no ID other than her hospital badge, and no money.

  A phone.

  She glanced around frantically. She needed a phone.

  An old-fashioned, rotary-base telephone sat on the table between the two chairs next to the armoire. She ran toward it, almost stumbling in her haste, and snatched up the receiver.

  The line was dead.

  She had to bite down on her lower lip to hold back a cry of panic and to regulate the breathing that was coming in ragged spurts. Why wasn’t there a dial tone?

  She got down on her hands and knees and traced the line leading from the telephone to the wall.

  Two inches from the wall jack the line lay on the floor, severed completely. She jammed the ends together and tried to think of some way to tape it. That would work, wouldn’t it?

  She scrambled up and back to the bathroom in search of any kind of tape. Bandages, gauze tape, anything. She flung the contents of the various drawers to the floor, no longer concerned with caution.

  Nothing.

  No kind of tape and not a single item she could use for a weapon.

  She sank to the floor and hugged her arms around her knees. It was hopeless.

  Long minutes later, maybe thirty, maybe more, she heard the telltale creak of the bedroom door opening. She didn’t bother gathering the scattered items on the floor. She was dead. What difference would a mess make?

  He was going to kill her and there was nothing she could do about it. She would never see her baby again.

  When he stopped in the doorway, she peered up at him. She could feel the scald of tears on her cheeks, but she no longer cared about that, either. She was numb inside.

  She was going to die.

  Michal watched her for a moment, uncertain what she might do next. Judging by the disarray of the room, panic had clearly gotten the better of her. He brutally squashed the first sensations of sympathy that tried to bore into his hardened heart. He would feel nothing for her except the desire he could not conquer.

  “I brought you a change of clothes.” He angled his head toward the bed behind him. “When you’ve bathed, you may dress for dinner.”

  She continued to stare at him as if he hadn’t spoken at all. A jolt of fury screwed his gut into knots when the pangs of sympathy would not abate. He took her by the arm, ensuring that his fingers bit deeply into her flesh, and jerked her to her feet.

  “Do it now,” he growled near her face.

  She flinched but didn’t bother trying to pull free of his hold. He shoved her away, his hand tingling from even that brief encounter with her smooth skin.

  He turned his back on her and strode to the bed. He grabbed the package he’d sent one of his men to collect from a boutique in Marseilles and carried it back to the bathroom. He tossed it onto the floor and glowered at her since she still stood exactly where he’d left her.

  “I said, prepare for dinner.”

  She moved slowly, keeping him in the edge of her vision as she opened the shower door and adjusted the spray of water.

  “It’ll take me a few minutes,” she said shakily, her gaze still not meeting his.

  “Fine,” he snapped. “I have all night.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame.

  Her eyes widened when she realized he had no intention of giving her any privacy.

  He knew his actions would prove a mistake, but he simply could not help himself. He wanted to watch. No. He needed to watch.

  She reached for the first button on the shirt, her hands trembling, tears welling in her pale blue eyes. He gritted his teeth against the softer emotions that threatened his control.

  One button after the other, she released until there were no more. She looked up at him then and something changed in her eyes. She turned around, giving him her back, and allowed the shirt to drift down to the cold tile floor.

  His breath caught in spite of his efforts not to allow it, in spite of the fact that he’d already seen her nude while she was unconscious. But this was different. She was awake, her creamy-smooth skin flushed with humiliation. The gentle curves of her feminine body all the more alluring.

  With all that made him male, he wanted to touch her…to take her. He wanted to bury himself inside her until she pleaded for his forgiveness…until she screamed his name and begged for mercy. He wanted to fuck her long and hard, until he spilled out two long years of frustration and pain.

  He wanted her. His loins hardened to the point of readiness in a mere instant of simply looking at her…thinking of plunging into her sweet, hot depths.

  She stepped into the shower and he turned away, disgusted with himself.

  Whatever good had ever existed inside him was gone. He was nothing. He had nothing but his work.

  And he was very, very good at his work.

  No one had ever reached this point before.

  No one.

  He was hated by all, feared by most, and revered by a chosen few.

  He was the only link.

  HER HANDS SHAKING, Ami toweled her hair dry as best she could. She paused in her efforts and stared at the woman in the mirror. Her skin was pink and fresh from the scrubbing she’d given it. The idea that he had touched her…

  She closed her eyes and told herself again that even the thought repulsed her. But, in truth, it was the heat that swelled inside her even when he looked at her that bothered her the most. He had kidnapped her. Had told her in no uncertain terms that she was going to die and still she could not completely disregard her body’s reaction to him.

  She shook off the awareness that plagued her when she so much as called to mind his image. She squeezed her eyes shut and cursed herself. What was wrong with her? None of this could be true. She couldn’t have worked for the CIA or had an affair with this man. She certainly wouldn’t have had anything to do with anyone’s murder. There had to be a mistake.

  She’d read about cases like this, had even seen a movie or two with this very plotline. The problem was, she must look strikingly similar to the real Amira Peres. Tanner had said as much. That coincidental resemblance had her in deep trouble. Hurt twisted inside her again when she thought of her baby. How long had it been since she’d seen him? Twenty-four hours? Longer?

  It was dark now. She had to have been gone more than twenty-four hours. It had been almost dark when she’d been grabbed in the basement garage at the hospital. She’d been drugged and interrogated and when she’d awakened it had been daylight. Yes, she was sure of it. Just over twenty-four hours had passed.

  She ran her fingers through her still-damp hair and exhaled a heavy breath. She had to find a way to escape. But before she could do that she needed to get the lay of the land, so to speak. If she could keep her cool, she would eventually learn where she was being held and how many of his men were here.

  She squared her shoulders and made a promise to her reflection. She would find a way out of this. She had to. Nicholas was counting on her.

  Another thought crashed into her musings. That Tanner guy. Jack. The CIA guy. He’d said she was in danger, that she was one of them. Surely the CIA would be looking for her since Robert had most likely reported her missing. A glimmer of relief warmed her chest. If what Tanner said was true, which she couldn’t see how it was, but still, if he thought it was, she was not only an American citizen, she was CIA. They would have to look for her. And Tanner knew where to look. He’d mentioned Michal Arad by name.

  Her hopes shored up with that last thought, she smoothed her hands over the new jeans and checked her blouse to see that it covered all that it should. It was a little tight and a little revealing, but it was better than wearing that shirt of his. She shivered at the remembered scent that was uniquely his. That was definitely something she didn’t need cluttering her senses.

  She moved to the bedroom door but hesitated before opening it. What if she opened the door and the guard took the move as one of aggression and shot her? She forced the idea away. She was expected
for dinner. Besides, it was probably locked.

  To her surprise the door opened when she turned the knob. Holding her breath she peeked into the hallway. The sight of the man holding a large, ugly weapon pointed directly at her registered instantly and she squealed before she could clamp her hand over her mouth.

  “Come with me.”

  Her gaze swung to the man who’d spoken. Arad waited, a few steps away. The guard immediately lowered his weapon, but his hate-filled glare stayed firmly in place.

  Thankful to be free of the room, she followed Arad along a dimly lit corridor. She passed other closed doors and she couldn’t help wandering if anyone else was being held prisoner behind one of those doors. Or if one of them led to the outside. Nothing she encountered gave her any indication of where she was or how she’d gotten here.

  The corridor finally gave way into a large room, like a great room. A couple of sofas and several chairs were scattered around. There was a huge stacked-stone fireplace and a television. The walls were wood, the decor rustic. And not a telephone in sight. She missed a step when her gaze fell on the enormous double-entry doors. Though the doors were barred like the entry to a fortress, the desire to run toward them was nearly irresistible.

  Ami bumped into Arad’s broad chest as she moved forward once more and before she realized he had stopped and turned around.

  “You are not to speak to any of my men. You will eat and then you will return to your room.” His next words told her he hadn’t missed her preoccupation with the doors. “There is a state-of-the-art security system. If you open an exterior door, an alarm will sound and, as I told you before, the guards have orders to shoot you on sight if, at any time, you are found outside the house without being accompanied by me.”

  She nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. How could she feel anything but utter hatred for this savage? She hated him. Her fingers balled into fists as the need to do him bodily injury rushed through her veins.