by Tawny Taylor
“Ohmygod,” she whispered, slapping her hands over her mouth. “What’re we going to do?”
Drako jerked the car over and slammed the gear shift into park. “I have to help my brothers.” Leaving the car running, he pushed open his door.
“No!” Rin threw herself toward him, catching his sleeve in her fist. Before he could pull himself free from her grasp, she looped an arm around his neck. “You can’t rush into that mess. They’ll arrest you. Or . . . or shoot—”
“I have to.” He’d never looked so torn, so desperate. “Rin, the man isn’t my uncle. He’s dead. And that’s not the SWAT. It’s a secret group that’s been trying to get their hands on something for a very long time. They’ve killed before. They’ll kill again.”
“More reason to stay out of the way.” She squeezed her hand, tightening her hold on his shirt.
“No, if my brothers die, I won’t be able to protect The Secret. I can’t do it alone.”
She yanked, desperate to keep him from leaving her. “So, let them have it. Who cares about some stupid secret weapon or whatever?”
“I wish it were that simple. But it isn’t. If The Secret falls into their hands, there isn’t a man, woman, or child alive who won’t suffer. This is what I was born to do, to set my life aside to protect The Secret. I can’t just walk away.” He fought out of her clutch, bending to look into the car. “I’m sorry, Rin. Very sorry.”
“I love you, Drako Alexandre.”
“No matter what happens, don’t come after me. Stay here. Stay safe. Just in case . . . I don’t want you to be hurt.”
Sure her world was about to shatter around her, she watched her husband run toward a house full of men with guns. She didn’t want to think of any “just in cases,” but as she sat in that car and watched dozens of men swarm her home, she couldn’t help imagining all kinds of horrible outcomes.
How ironic, she was once again waiting for Drako to pull off some miracle, just like she had the first day of their marriage. Then, it had been her sister’s freedom, her future at stake. Now there was so much more to lose, including her sister’s life. She hadn’t heard a word from Lei since she’d left with Drako.
Hands shaking so badly they were hardly useful, she dug through her purse, found her cell phone, called Lei.
No answer. It went straight to voice mail. Either the phone was shut off or Lei was talking to somebody else. Rin checked her call log to make sure Lei hadn’t been trying to get in touch with her.
Nothing.
Rin literally clawed at the seat as she stared over the back. Her lungs were barely inflating. Her nerves were stretched to near snapping point. All kinds of horrific images were playing through her mind.
More men in black charged up to the house. Those guns were going to be pointed at Drako and his brothers, and maybe her sister too. Everyone she loved, everyone who mattered in her life, was inside that house.
She belonged there with them.
This time she couldn’t stand by and wait, watch. No way in hell.
She didn’t bother shutting the car door. She just ran, arms and legs pumping as fast as she could make them. Her lungs burned with the need for air and her stomach lurched into her throat, but she didn’t stop. She kept her eyes focused on the open front door and kept going, following the zigzagging path Drako had taken up to the house, using trees and shrubs for cover.
She was hoping, with the melee, nobody would notice the petite woman racing toward the house. She was almost there. One second, the big, yawning, black gaping doorway was bouncing closer, the next the world was a blur, and then some green grass flew up and smacked her in the face.
So much for hope.
It took her less than a second to realize what had happened. Somebody had tackled her from behind. And her lungs had completely collapsed. Lying flat on her stomach, she fought to inflate them.
“Where do you think you’re going?” asked whoever had knocked her off her feet as he yanked both of her wrists behind her back and bound them.
“My husband. My sister,” she said between frantic gasps, spitting dirt and grass out of her mouth. Her nose hurt like a sonofabitch, and she was still seeing stars as she was hauled to her feet and shoved forward, her captor’s hand holding onto the plastic bands circling her wrists. “I’m not a criminal.”
“That may be, but you’re running into the middle of a police raid, Miss. We can’t have you doing that.” He steered her toward a black camperlike vehicle, shoved her inside. “Look who I found skittering around outside like a little mouse?”
She found herself standing in some kind of mobile police station, face-to-face with the man who had claimed to be Drako’s uncle. “You!” she shouted, teeth gritted. She fought against the man still holding her. “You lied to me!”
The man smiled.
How she wished she could kick him in the balls. She threw herself forward, hoping she’d catch her captor off-guard and get a shot at the bastard grinning like he’d just been told he’d won the lottery. No such luck. All she managed to do was hurt herself, the tension yanking on her shoulders so hard she staggered backward, falling against the man behind her.
He wrapped an arm around her neck and squeezed, threatening to cut off her air supply.
She froze in place, her sense of reason finally kicking in. She’d let her emotions get her into this situation, but she’d have to think her way out. “Okay, okay. I’m not going to fight anymore.”
Agent Zacharias—or whatever his real name was—motioned to the man holding her. “Leave us.”
The thick arm slid away from her neck, and Rin sucked in a few shallow gasps, staggering forward to lean against a bench seat bolted to the vehicle’s floor. She glanced over her shoulder, toward the exit, down at the bottom of three steps.
“It’s locked,” he said.
“From the outside?”
He shrugged. “You’re free to try it if you want.”
She did. Locked. Bastard. “You used me.” She stomped back up the steps.
“Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because most of what I told you was true. The Secret doesn’t belong to Drako Alexandre, or any other man for that matter.”
“This isn’t a real SWAT truck. Drako told me.” Another glance around almost convinced her otherwise. Sure looked real.
He didn’t look worried that she knew it wasn’t a real police vehicle. “If you try to convince any of those men out there that this is anything but what they believe, they’ll laugh in your face and then haul you to the nearest hospital for a psych evaluation.”
“And you’re not Drako’s uncle. He’s dead.”
The man shrugged. “Sometimes the ends justify the means. Even men you respect believe that. Ever been to a doctor? They cause pain sometimes, don’t they? But they do it to heal you, to save your life. This is no different.”
“Drako said The Secret needs to be protected, that it’s dangerous.”
“Sure, that’s because that’s what he’s been told.” The man stood, strolled toward the back. He pulled open a panel, stuck his arm into the space behind it, and produced a cola. It seemed the camperlike vehicle had some of the luxuries of a regular camper, like a refrigerator. “Nobody actually knows if that’s true.” He returned to his seat. “Who’s to say all those ancient cultures perished because of The Secret? Nobody’s alive to say one way or another. Written testimony didn’t exist. There are no records, only conjecture.” He opened the can, took a couple of gulps. “In the meantime, mankind is denied a power source that could put an end to gas shortages, global warming, and break the grip the Middle East has on the U.S.’s economy. Imagine a world where there is enough energy to fuel every need, and it’s free. There would never be the need to drill into wetlands or haul millions of gallons of oil back and forth across oceans.”
Rin could hardly imagine all of that. Was it possible? She had a hard time believing it.
He took another drink, then set his
cola on the small counter behind him. “Guess who your husband is related to?”
“Who?”
He sat back, crossed one leg over the other. “The men who have the power now, the richest, most influential men of our world. The wealthiest families of Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the western U.S. Do you think they have an interest in keeping secret a power source that would make oil, natural gas, and all other fossil fuels obsolete?”
“Maybe. But that isn’t why Drako is protecting The Secret or whatever it’s called. He’s doing it because he believes it’s best for everyone. Maybe if you talked to him—”
The man interrupted her with a raised hand. “Kane’s been brainwashed since he was old enough to understand spoken words. No amount of talking will do anything.”
A tense silence fell between them, as thoughts churned through her mind like a wildly thrashing river. If the words she’d just heard had been spoken by any other human being, she might believe him. If she could set aside her fury and fear, she could almost believe this man, one she’d come to distrust. Only one thing stood in her way.
He’d lied to her once already. Could she accept anything he said as truth?
“Who are you, really?” she asked.
“I am who I said I was, your husband’s uncle. Full name’s Robert Henry Zacharias.”
“Drako said his uncles are dead.”
“He believes his uncles are dead. He’s about to learn one isn’t.”
The door opened, and Rin, believing Drako was about to join them, twisted to look over her shoulder. She was disappointed to see it wasn’t him, and even more upset to see the man who’d entered slide into the driver’s seat, start the vehicle, and pull it away from the curb.
Rin stumbled, a bump sending her flopping into the seat she’d been clinging to for balance. “Where are we going?”
Drako’s uncle answered, “Somewhere private, where the three of us can have a chat. Can I get you a cola? Water?”
Drako swallowed a scream of rage and curled his fingers into a fist. “He has Rin. Dammit!”
Talen, surveying the situation, waved him away. “Go on. We’ve got things under control here. Dobbs and Wilkerson are out back, taking care of the last of them. Get her back.” Drako hesitated, and Talen gave him a shove. “I said, go. Now. Before it’s too late. They’ve retreated. Battle’s over.”
Drako wanted to believe that was true, but he couldn’t quite convince himself of it.
“Where’s Rin?” Malek asked, strolling toward them. He was red-faced but otherwise looking no worse for wear. The attack had been swift and unexpected, but it hadn’t been well organized. A few bodies were scattered over the house’s first floor, the enemy’s loss, but that was the extent of the death toll. They’d come in, guns blazing, and beat a hasty retreat minutes later when Drako’s brothers and their two hired guns had returned fire.
“Rin’s been taken hostage again,” Drako said.
“What’re you doing here, then?” Malek shoved a 9mm into his hands.
Holding the gun, Drako shook his head. “I can’t leave you two here.”
“We’re fine. They’re gone.” Like Talen, Malek gave Drako a shove toward the door. “I think we’ve proven today that we’re more than capable of keeping Lei and The Secret safe until you return.”
“Dammit.” Drako hesitated for one more second before dashing toward the door. He hoped Rin had left the keys in the car’s ignition. Even more important, he hoped Rin had taken her cell phone with her. As he ran, he hit the speed dial for her number. It started ringing before he’d reached his car, sitting exactly where he’d left it, keys still hanging in the ignition.
Rin’s phone rang once, twice, three times. Just before it cut to voice mail, she answered, her voice barely audible. “Drako?”
“I’m here, baby. I’m on my way.” When she didn’t respond right away, his insides twisted. He said, shifting the car into gear and punching the gas, “Are you there?”
“I’m here. I’m scared.”
So was he. More scared than he’d ever been. This whole thing wasn’t sitting right with him. Oram was up to something. “Everything’ll be okay. Where are you?” He turned onto the main road, opting to head toward the closest freeway, hoping that was the right direction.
“In a big black SWAT truck.”
“I know. Can you tell which way it’s traveling?”
“I’ll try to look. Gotta put the phone down. Don’t hang up. Please, don’t leave me.”
“I’ll stay right here and wait.” The traffic light ahead turned yellow and he slowed, gritting his teeth against searing frustration. If he didn’t believe he’d get pulled over for running it, he would’ve shot right through. He wasn’t willing to test his luck.
“We’re on M-14, heading east. There’s an exit up ahead. Ford Road.”
“I’m right behind you.” The light changed and he slammed his foot on the accelerator, sending the car rocketing forward. The freeway entry ramp was just ahead. The truck had a several mile lead on him, but the vehicle was big and slow. His Corvette was small, fast, and had a 430-horsepower V8 under its hood. He could close the distance without risking his life.
He was grateful for the fact that this leg of the freeway was lightly traveled and rarely ever patrolled by police. He watched the speedometer’s needle climb to eighty, ninety, ninety-five. His eyes occasionally strayed from the road ahead to the mirrors. He didn’t need to be pulled over for speeding any more than he needed to be pulled over for running a red light.
“We’re exiting,” Rin said.
“Where?” He tucked his cell phone between his shoulder and ear.
“Sheldon Road? Heading north.”
That was another few miles up ahead. He’d closed the distance slightly, but not enough. And once he was in traffic, it would be harder. He pushed the accelerator to the floor. His speed climbed. One hundred. One hundred five. One hundred ten.
The sign for the Sheldon Road exit passed him in a blur of green. He slowed, taking the cloverleaf exit at a speed that had him holding white-knuckled to the steering wheel. The phone dropped into his lap as he roared around the sharp curve. As he slowed to a stop, he picked it back up. “Are you still with me, baby?”
“I’m here. Trying not to talk too much. Don’t want them to find out I have the phone.”
“That’s okay.”
“We’re turning.”
“Where?”
“Six Mile Road. Going west.”
He checked the sign up ahead. “I’m less than a mile behind you.”
“Okay.”
The road up ahead was congested, but he timed the lights perfectly, hitting the intersection in less than three minutes. “I’m on Six Mile.”
“Still going west.”
The road quickly turned into a rural two-lane highway, and with each mile that passed with hardly a car in sight, Drako pushed the accelerator harder. Trees rushed by him in a blur, the road ahead a gray expanse, empty and lonely.
“We turned. Metal gates. Unpaved driveway heading northeast. No road sign. No landmark.”
He looked for an opening along the right side as he raced down the road. “What was the last intersection you passed?”
“Ridge Road. A school. Some subdivisions.”
“I see it.” He eased up on the gas.
A muffled sob echoed in his ear. “Be careful, Drako. I love you.”
“I see the truck.” Heart thumping, hands quaking, as adrenaline charged through his system, Drako raced down the bumpy dirt road, his car’s undercarriage slamming to the ground more than once. He thought he might have to ram the car into the truck to stop it, but after the truck hit a deep rut, it lurched to the right and slammed into a tree.
Drako barely had his car out of gear before he jumped from it. He led with the gun, his finger next to the trigger, not on it, for fear he’d accidentally shoot Rin.
Just as he reached the vehicle’s door, it swung open and Rin came stumblin
g out, held against her captor’s body with an arm around her neck and a Glock pointed at her temple. Her face was the shade of paper, with the exception of her eyes, bloodshot and tear filled.
His gaze slid up to the man holding her, and the air in his lungs left his body in a rush.
She hadn’t been misled. That was his uncle, one of three brothers who had once served as the guardians of The Secret.
“What the hell?” Reeling from what felt like a sucker punch to his gut, Drako just about dropped his gun. Never had he suspected he’d be in this situation, his wife being held hostage by a man he’d known for decades, loved, respected, and had mourned.
“Expecting someone else?” his uncle asked.
“Yeah. Oram.”
His uncle shook his head. “They couldn’t bury the coffin empty, could they?”
What the hell?
“How did you find us?” Drako moved his index finger, setting it on the trigger.
“You walked right into my trap. At least you got smart, though it took you a while. You should stick with what you do best. I told you that. So did your father. Why didn’t you listen?” His uncle sneered. “You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you? How’s that beanhead you sent into the old Chimera hangout feeling? What was his name, Wilkerson? You pump a few drugs in that boy’s veins and he don’t stop talking.”
Holy shit! Drako wished he could turn back time and do things differently. Malek had been right. They shouldn’t have sent those two men in there. If they hadn’t, Rin wouldn’t have been kidnapped and he wouldn’t be having this conversation with his enemy now. “Why are you doing this? Why now, when you had access to The Secret when you were one of us?”
“Because I learned some things after I retired.”
“What things?” Drako asked, trying to sight a clean shot. His uncle was smart; he wasn’t giving him a shot. Drako had no choice but to be patient, wait.
“I learned the world isn’t black and white. It’s all shades of gray. Right. Wrong. Good. Bad. Nothing is all one and none of the other, not mankind, and not anything man has created.”