“To get your story,” Alex sounded sarcastic as hell and he didn’t care.
To her credit, Casey nodded.
“Looks like we’re both left empty handed, huh?” Alex tipped his head toward the door behind him. “I think you’d better go now.”
“What about --”
“Alex!”
Joey’s shout had them both jumping and his pounding footfalls echoed ominously in the hall all around them as he approached.
“They’re here!”
Casey spun around to face Alex, her blue eyes catching his gaze. “Who’s here? What’s going on?”
It wasn’t a tranquilizer dart that whizzed past his head but a ricocheting bullet, making adrenaline surge through Alex’s body. The pills would ensure that anxiety wouldn’t force him and Joey to shift into their leopard states, but they weren’t as fast in their human form.
Joey had just reached them when two men in black uniforms rounded the corner, holding small automatic guns. “We’ve got the targets in sight,” one spoke into the microphone of his headset. “The reporter is with them.”
Alex heard the buzz of the response but couldn’t make out the words as he watched them, rooted to the spot.
The man whose face was concealed by dark, black glasses looked at them and then looked at his partner. “Kill them,” the man said flatly.
Alex grabbed Casey, who stood frozen in terror. Alex hauled her up into his arms to shield her with his body and ran with her at a speed that he knew only escalated her fear. Her slender body was coiled tightly against his chest as the sound of the guns firing echoed in the hall.
Alex clutched her hard as he raced to the door. Joey beat him to it, throwing the door open with such strength that caused it to break free of its hinges as they ran out into the cold, blustery day and headed in the direction of the news van Casey had mentioned.
The side door of the van opened and a slender, bald man peered out at them, his eyes rounding in fear. Joey grabbed the man by the front of his jacket and slung him out of the van onto the hard pavement beyond. The driver, an aging man with a sizable stomach, scrambled in his seat as Alex dropped Casey onto the floor of the van. Alex rushed at the man who managed to open his door and leap out before anyone could reach him.
“What about her?” Joey yelled, closing the side door of the van.
“She’s coming with us.” Alex made up his mind in that instant.
Casey sprawled in the back of the van where he dumped her, looking like she was in shock. Joey’s gaze had a definite predatory quality to it as his eyes moved over her.
They had to take her with them. The lab would never allow their activities to leak out to the media. She was in as much danger as they were, and Alex knew now that if the lab ever caught up to them, they were all dead.
“Good idea,” Joey told him as he jumped into the passenger seat.
The engine was still running and Alex sped away from the sidewalk, grateful that he’d been allowed to help in the warehouse at the lab. When he’d cooperated with the scientists, his reward had been the opportunity to get out of his cell for short periods of time to help the staff. He’d learned things -- like how to operate a forklift. Driving a car wasn’t too different from operating a forklift.
First he’d get them out of there and find a safe place. Then they’d talk about the woman.
Chapter 2
Casey Howard knew that one day she’d go too far in pursuit of a story. Today was that day. She’d just been kidnapped by two men who’d tossed one of her crewmen out of the van like a rag doll and scared the other one into running off like a frightened rabbit.
So much for security in numbers.
Now they raced along at a high speed, and Casey held onto the swiveling chair her camera man used to keep from being tossed around in the back of the van. They were going way too fast for her to consider jumping out of the back of the vehicle. At least at the moment. She’d have to keep watch and wait for a moment that might allow her to escape. She could survive this. It was possible.
As she looked toward the front of the van at the two strong men in control of the situation, Casey swallowed hard. They were known fugitives. The one driving had denied that they’d killed the security guard at Leviathan Institute and, in a roundabout way, denied they were corporate thieves. Who in their right mind wouldn’t? They sure as hell had done something wrong. If not, why were those men back there trying to kill them? Who were those men anyway? They didn’t look like police officers.
All of this was happening because Casey was trying to get something on Leviathan Institute. The large pharmaceutical company had been under fire for years. They’d come out of nowhere, and then burst onto the scene with groundbreaking research and innovative medicines that took the market and medical community by storm. That alone inspired mistrust in their competitors.
What inspired mistrust in the general public was the reluctance of Leviathan Institute to disclose their methods and to share their research. It seemed the more the public wanted to know, the tighter they closed their ranks.
Getting anything on them would open doors for Casey. Surely breaking a major story like that, revealing what really went on behind those mighty closed doors, would garner her offers to be an anchorwoman. Maybe even a job at a major network.
Casey was all about moving her career along. It was really all she had.
This situation had all started out innocently enough.
She’d first encountered Nicole Kerensky when she and her husband had moved into the apartment next door to Casey’s. Nicole had been pregnant and had seemed withdrawn at the time. For whatever reason, she piqued Casey’s interest. There’d been something about her.
There was no greater challenge to Casey than a mystery, and Nicole Kerensky had definitely presented that. For heaven’s sake, the baby was born and no one in the building knew about it for weeks or even that it was a boy. No one knew what the child had been named. That never happened. Usually someone visited, brought food, or gifts. Someone always knew all about how much the baby weighed, how long it was, and if the birth had been terrible.
When friendly inquiries made to other neighbors revealed they hadn’t talked to her either, Casey couldn’t take it any more. She decided to take the direct approach once a few weeks had passed and the new mother ventured out again.
For days she’d watched Nicole come and go, because everyone had a routine. Nicole’s wasn’t hard to ascertain. She went to the market every Wednesday at a certain time so Casey started showing up there close to the same time too. It had taken several attempts on Casey’s part to get the other woman to talk to her, but finally her stubbornness paid off and they became friends. Well, tentative friends.
Nicole shared things about herself, and conversation with her was interesting and fun. She was an intelligent, kind woman. Plus it was just amazing to Casey how much red meat the woman bought each week. Steaks and roasts usually made up about half the contents of Nicole’s cart.
Yet Casey sensed something just beneath Nicole’s surface. She’d become friends with Casey, sure, but she still held her at arm’s length. It only made Casey want to learn more and more about her.
Casey had no idea that a major potential story would come out of her little personal project. Casey had no life, after all. What was she going to do besides poke her nose into the business of others? Her life was her apartment, her entertainment magazines, and her movie collection filled with her favorite actors. Gorgeous men. Safe men that she could dream about and put away. Men who wouldn’t leave her in a puddle of tears and eating ice cream like her series of loser boyfriends had.
Casey hadn’t had a date in six months, and she hadn’t had sex with another person in over a year. She was lonely, bored.
Perhaps loneliness explained why she allowed herself to be totally pulled in last week when she ran into Nicole in the hallway of their apartment building, clearly shaken. Nicole had asked Casey into her apartment for the first time
ever and explained to her that she’d been receiving strange calls for days from a man who claimed he wanted to help her and her family. When Casey asked if she had told her husband any of this, Nicole’s panic had escalated.
More of the back story came out. Her husband had a brush with the law in his past and that was why they were so careful about not getting close to anyone. If no one knew them, no one would ask questions. She was afraid if her husband were pulled into the situation in any way that it could bring more trouble down on their heads.
The mysterious caller had actually approached Nicole while she was strolling through the park with her baby. He’d identified himself as the Alex who’d been calling her. Nicole had recognized his face from the television reports and posters immediately as the man wanted by Leviathan Institute.
Leviathan Institute? That’s all Casey had to hear. Casey got involved full throttle. The scent of the ultimate story had been too much to resist.
Casey had insisted on meeting this Alex for her, to see what he wanted with Nicole. While Nicole was concerned about Casey’s safety in doing that, she was relieved with the solution because her husband wouldn’t be involved. Casey had assured her that she’d have her crew with her. She’d be perfectly safe no matter what happened. If nothing else, the fact that she was a reporter should be enough to scare him off. Whoever he was, he’d probably never contact Nicole again.
Well, things had gone according to fucking plan, huh?
Alex Underwood had been understandably upset when she’d been the one to show up instead of Nicole. Casey had expected that. What she hadn’t expected was the powerful, dominant man she met. In the flyer, he’d worn a bland expression, seemed somewhat harmless. In person, he was tall and muscular. The expression in his deep green eyes, his commanding presence, had made Casey feel threatened in a very primal way. From the first few words exchanged between them, Casey had realized she’d made a mistake in coming there in Nicole’s place.
The other man had arrived, followed by men with guns. Just like that she was in the back of her own van, headed for God knows where. What did they mean to do with her? Was she a hostage now?
They were wanted for the murder of a security guard, she reminded herself.
This could be bad.
Well, she might as well find out what they planned to do. Casey couldn’t stand another moment of not knowing. Patience had never been a quality she possessed. “Excuse me.” Casey kept her tone calm. “Where are we going? Where do you plan to drop me off?”
“We won’t be dropping you off,” Alex said flatly.
“I’m your hostage then?”
The other man turned and eagerly grinned at her. He was an attractive young man with blond hair and nice brown eyes. Joey Quayle was his name, according to the flyers. He was almost as big as Alex, his body very muscular and his shoulders wide. The wicked gleam in his eye had her pulling her coat a little tighter about her body.
“Can I go first?” Joey asked Alex.
Oh, shit. Casey’s heart began to slam in her chest at that. There was no mistaking Joey’s meaning. If they went so far as to rape her, they’d kill her afterwards. That was just the way it went.
“No.” Alex’s voice was sharp.
“You’re going first?”
While Joey turned to glare at Alex, Casey began to check out the exits. If she jumped out of the back, she’d definitely be hurt. But how could that be worse than what they planned for her? If she jumped, there had to be at least some chance she’d live.
“We’re not going to do anything until we’ve had a chance to talk,” Alex said.
Casey didn’t like the way he said that. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like what he had to say.
Fuck talking. She wasn’t going to stick around to let them rape and kill her. She was out of there.
Crawling as fast as she could toward the back of the van, Casey tried to keep calm and steel herself for what she was about to do. She could do this. She could jump out of a moving van to save her own life.
Strong hands grabbed her before she even reached the door. Casey struggled, kicking and twisting to free herself. The harder she struggled, the stronger his grip became. Her captor’s hands felt like tightening vices on her upper arms and she froze, hoping it would stop because it started to hurt.
Joey hauled her back up to the front of the van to sit on his lap. His arms wrapped around her like bands of steel as he sniffed her. Sniffed her! Casey would have been indignant about him checking out her smell if not for the hot, hard bulge she felt beneath her ass. Her coat had ridden up around her waste during her struggle and Casey could feel the man’s sizable erection quite well through the fine fabric of her slacks.
“You feel that?” Joey’s voice was a low purr in her ear. “Stop squirming unless you want to go to the back of the van to take care of it. Understand?”
Casey understood. She was afraid. She nodded, deciding not to say anything.
Alex’s green eyes darted her way. “Be still.” His attention went back to the road where he maneuvered around the cars and trucks that headed in the same direction at a dangerous speed. How had they not been pulled over for the way he was driving? “If you cooperate with us, you won’t be harmed. Do you understand? We’ll stop soon and we’ll talk. We’ll have to lose this van.”
Casey couldn’t let that one go. “Aren’t I cooperating now? Let me out!”
Alex’s jaw tightened but his eyes stayed on the road. “I could have left you back there. They would have killed you.”
Casey snorted at that. “Why? I’m not a fugitive.”
“They weren’t the police. They can’t risk a reporter finding out who they are and what they do.”
Her ears perked up at that. She hadn’t thought they were the police either. “Who are they?”
“Who do you think?” Alex grumbled.
“Leviathan?” Casey had to ask.
Alex just nodded and kept driving.
Casey would have been excited about the possibility that there was still a huge story here if she hadn’t been so worried about what they had planned for her. Praying that his driving didn’t kill them first, Casey sat as still as she could on the other man’s lap and didn’t say anything else.
Chapter 3
Small comfort that it was, Alex sent Joey into the main office of a nice looking resort to secure lodging for the night. Casey had no idea in hell where they were. At least they’d brought her to what appeared to be a very nice resort. If you were going to kill someone, weren’t you supposed to do it in a seedy motel? Some out of the way place? This was on the outskirts of a city, close to civilization. There was hope.
“Casey?” Alex’s commanding voice got her attention as they watched Joey disappear inside the resort.
Casey glanced at him. It was dark in the van and half his face was lost in the shadows.
“What?” Casey tried for sarcasm but ended up sounding as scared as she felt.
His strong, warm hand clasped hers. Casey tried to pull free of his grip but he wouldn’t let go. “I told you that we would talk. Let’s talk.”
“What are you going to do with me?” She had to know.
“You won’t be harmed.” Alex’s voice was low. “As long as you do exactly as I say.”
“Why should I believe that? You kidnapped me, you --”
“I did what I had to do. You heard those men in that building. They would have killed you too.”
“Why?” Casey asked.
“Because you’re media.” Alex glanced back at the resort, sighing deeply. “The last thing in the world the lab wants is for their secrets to get out. I could let you go, Casey. I could let you fend for yourself. If you return to New York, they’ll kill you. Even if you don’t, they’ll be hunting you.”
“The lab? Leviathan you mean.” Casey’s heart gained speed. “You are a corporate spy then? That was true? You know their secrets, don’t you?”
Alex shook his head. “No, I’m one of the
ir secrets, Casey. That’s why they want me and Joey dead. The world isn’t supposed to know about us. In their minds, the world can’t know about us.”
“What?” Casey’s mind spun with the possibilities of what he’d just said. “What do you mean? Did they hold you against your will? Did they conduct experiments on you?”
Alex held up a hand to stop her questions. “Maybe I’ll tell you everything,” Alex said slowly.
Was he for real? He would give her the story of the century? The secrets of Leviathan? Casey wanted that. Badly.
“Are you serious?” Casey hated the eagerness in her voice but couldn’t help it.
“Let me ask you something.” His gaze locked with hers. “How far are you willing to go for your story?”
Her excitement at the prospect of getting the goods on Leviathan died a quick death after that question. Adrenaline rushed through her body, buzzing through her blood with hundreds of warning bells.
Casey fought to keep her fear from her voice. “Excuse me?”
“You heard my question. You’re in this position because you wanted to get the story on Leviathan, right? How much farther are you willing to go for it?”
Something about the way those intense green eyes swung back to her face and focused on her lips, caused a chill of apprehension to race down her spine.
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you.”
“You want me?” Casey was almost too stunned to speak. “What do you mean you want me?”
His grip on her tightened, and now she really tried to yank her hand free. The intensity of his gaze on her face never wavered. Alex was dead serious and he didn’t release her. “I think my meaning was quite clear. I want you in my bed for the next two weeks.”
Casey shook her head in denial. No way he’d just said that. He wanted her to agree to be his fuck buddy for two weeks while he dangled the promise of a story in front of her? And she should be considering this carefully why? When he could kill her any time he wanted?
Eyes of the Leopard 5: Captive Page 2