Rebane smirked. Bright, white teeth flashed behind his lips. He kept his hands relaxed at his sides and didn’t so much as clench his fists, his face schooled into placid, lineless planes.
Greiff knew that posture for what it was—a predator’s ready stance. This guy could pretend all he wanted, but Rebane was dangerous.
But so was he.
Chloe’s scent reached him, but it had a discordant note. He resisted the urge to check on her. The fact she was alone and upright provided little comfort. There could be something he missed because he’d polluted his nose. He vowed in that moment to never smoke again. As long as she was in his life, he needed his nose.
“Spetrino.”
His partner tucked his phone into his pocket. “Yeah?”
“Give me a piece of that gum.”
Rebane’s left eye twitched. Chloe slid into the empty space between him and the wall on his right side. She concealed her hand behind his and tucked a small cylinder into his right pants pocket.
Spetrino tossed him the foil and plastic bubble pack and he popped out a piece of the gum. “Tell me what you want.”
He wanted to tuck Chloe into his side and keep her close, but had to keep his hands free.
Chloe stared at the spook, and he stared back.
Finally, Rebane spoke. “Has she told you about the Professor? I’m going to assume she has. Right. He’s on his way. And you have two choices. Come with me, or die.”
“What? What the fuck? Who are you? Get your ass out of my apartment. You can’t come into my house and threaten me.” Chloe sounded furious. But even with the peppermint of the gum clogging his nose, Greiff smelled the outbreak of sweat in her armpits and at her hairline.
“It’s not a threat. I will kill you to prevent the man you refer to as the Professor from taking you into custody.” He clasped his hands in front of his groin, left hand over his right wrist. “You have five minutes before I have to make the decision for you. We prefer for you to come peacefully, but if you fight…well, accidents happen.”
Chloe stepped back and retreated a few steps down the hall. “I’m not going to be someone’s lab rat.”
“Ms. Saunders, before you decide to leave by the fire escape, you should know a few things. The building is surrounded by my team. They have the technology to see you if you decide to exercise your ability.” Rebane blinked, and tucked his hands in his pockets. “And they will shoot you.”
“I knew there was a reason I didn’t like spooks.” Spetrino moved to his right, out of the direct line of sight afforded by the living room window and closer to Greiff. “Hey man, I didn’t know anything about this. I just didn’t want this guy coming after you without someone who had your back with him.”
Greiff maintained his position in the hallway entrance. If he retreated, the walls would be too close to afford freedom of movement. If he entered the living room too far, he’d be easy pickings for a sniper. He took the gum out of his mouth and held it between his thumb and forefinger. The next few moments hinged on what he smelled, and he needed to be certain he’d gotten the right information. “Thanks, lover boy. I appreciate the sentiment, but it was a dumb move. And I’m not leaving with some government lackey without more information.”
Fury flashed over Rebane’s face before he schooled his features into a cool façade again. “You come in peacefully, and we’ll tell you everything you need to know. Detective, you know how these things work. Make the smart decision.”
Grieff snorted and rolled his eyes. Yeah, he knew how this kind of shit worked. And it wouldn’t be to his advantage or Chloe’s. A single, deep breath flooded his senses with information. He couldn’t sort all of it out, but it told him Spetrino’s cologne mixed with a tang…of something. Nervous as hell, but he was too. No, that spunk or whatever it was told his gut his partner lied.
He flicked a glance at Rebane and back to Spetrino. Rebane didn’t have a scent, so there was nothing to judge him by, other than the cool demeanor.
“Spetrino, how’d you know where I was?” The cool, slim canister fit up nice and tight in his palm and he dropped the gum. He leaned one shoulder against the corner of the wall. “I didn’t tell you anything about my location earlier today.”
“What do ya mean? You were involved in a shooting at the corner store. There aren’t many apartment buildings around here. Wasn’t hard to figure out where you’d gone.” Spetrino swallowed and the funky tang in his scent spiked.
“But this specific apartment? Who were you just texting?” A movement Rebane made, a tiny twitch in the pocket of his pants caught Greiff’s attention, but he didn’t remove his gaze from Spetrino. “You’re lying, man.”
There was a crack and the pop of displaced air. Spetrino clutched his chest, and fell face-first on the floor. Chloe screamed. Greiff rushed to his partner and rolled him over. A large hole marred his shirt front and blood pumped from the wound in the center of his chest.
Rebane spoke, “You have two minutes left. Your partner was a double agent working for the Professor and a special government division. Decide, now.”
Shit, there wasn’t a single good way for this to end. But he’d be damned if he’d go willingly. “The only thing I know for sure, Major, is that you jerks are going to kill us or turn us into lab rats or some shit. How long have you had your eye on Chloe? On me?”
Rebane kept his hands relaxed at his sides. “We intercepted a video transmission by Ms. Saunders’ roommate about an hour ago. The information obtained changed the status of our mission. I cannot tell you more unless you come with me. One minute, thirty seconds left.”
Right. The government would lure them in with promises and feed them bits and pieces to keep them in line but still in the dark. It’d be like drinking ocean water. The more you got the more you wanted, until it killed you.
He adjusted his grip on the canister, yanked it into the open, and depressed the small button on the top. A fine mist sprayed into the spook’s face. Before the other man recovered from his involuntary reaction to the pepper spray, Greiff tackled him around the middle. They hit the floor hard.
Rebane swung with his right hand and caught Greiff in the ear. He shook off the pain of the strike and punched the larger man in the gut. His fist throbbed from the impact. The government agent had a torso that felt like a slab of concrete.
“Look out!” Chloe grasped his shoulder and shoved him aside, then cracked the agent in the head with a frying pan.
Rebane went limp.
“What is it with you and hitting people over the head with cooking implements? The pepper spray was a damn good idea.” Greiff caught his breath and yanked her to the floor. “Stay down and away from the windows.”
“Shit. Shit. Oh, shit. What do we do now?”
Her pale face and too-large eyes called to his protective instincts.
“We make a run for it. I’m done with the government. They sent me on too many missions that didn’t make any damn sense.” He retrieved a Glock from Rebane’s holster, turned the safety off, and dragged Chloe to the door. “I’m still trying to understand all of this, but I know that any bunch of spooks who’d shoot someone with a sniper aren’t people to mess with.”
“So you believe me? About the Professor? And the camp?” He paused at the door and she crashed into his back. He tucked her behind him and crouched down to check the hallway.
“Honey, if I said I bought all of it hook, line, and sinker, I’d be lying.” A quick look left and right revealed an empty hallway. He towed her out with his free hand. “But I do know you’ve got a…gift, and my nose ain’t the normal human version. Your story about the Professor, the testing, and all that is too damned detailed to be anything but the truth or a really elaborate hallu—”
She skidded to a halt and snatched her hand back. “Jerk. I’m not crazy. I have an implant in my ass to prove it. What the hell do you think the government is doing trying to take us into custody? What kind of man are you having sex with me if you think I�
�m crazy?”
Chloe barreled past him and banged on her neighbor’s door. “Muriel, I need to come in right now!”
Stunned, he stood and stared after her. He snapped to attention when the door to the emergency stairwell creaked open. The wreath on Muriel’s door bumped against the panel as the door moved. He broke into a run and shoved her through the now-open door she stood in front of. “Move! Go!”
They fell into the apartment’s small foyer. Plaster dust floated down on them, and Greiff craned his neck to see three bullet holes peppering the wall.
“Welcome to my home.” The old lady snorted. A rattling noise sounded and something yowled. “Henry Jameson, if you move one inch, I’ll cut off your internet privileges. Don’t even think I don’t know what you do late at night.”
The yowl turned into a low whine, and Greiff had the distinct impression he’d fallen into some kind of alternate universe. More bullets burrowed in the wall. Greiff rolled over, returned fire, and slammed the door shut. He angled his neck and took in the flowered housecoat and fuzzy slippers of the short, elderly woman in front of him.
“Did you bring my cheesecake?”
“No ma’am. I’m so sorry.”
“Well, shit. Guess that means the pigeon is out too. Better get out of here. Those men are on their way.”
He clambered to his feet and hauled Chloe up with him. Staying in this apartment—pinned down with two women—wouldn’t work. They had to run for it. “Don’t let anyone in. Which way to the fire escape?”
“Oh, you don’t want to do that. Go into the bedroom on the left.” Muriel power walked across the living room, a cloud of hairspray and the smell of boiled chicken in the air behind her. For an old lady, she could haul ass. She led them down the hall and pointed to the room in question. “There’s a panel in the closet. That’ll take you where you need to go.”
“Thank you Muriel.” Chloe planted a kiss on her cheek as they rushed past.
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t think this means you’re off the hook for the cheesecake. I’ll give you a mulligan on the bird. I’d better go get Henry ready for our visitors.”
Chapter Ten
Greiff barreled into the closet ahead of her, shoved hangers full of clothes to each side, and started to curse under his breath. “For the record, I don’t think you’re crazy. Any idea who Henry Jameson is?”
“I think that’s what she calls her dog. Check to your right-hand side. That way would just lead out into the hallway.”
He changed course with his efforts, opened a panel, and dragged her along behind him once more. Muriel’s voice and a thunderous bark reached Chloe as she paused to try and reset the panel in the wall. It didn’t work well, but at least it wasn’t on the floor.
“Hurry, Jake. They’re coming. Muriel is arguing with them, and I can hear Henry. It sounds like he’s going to eat someone.” It was a miracle they’d gotten out unharmed.
“I know. I hear her too. Hopefully I hit the guy in the stairwell. Should buy us a little time.”
She had a feeling he said the words to reassure her. They’d been shot at. The people coming after them weren’t going to stop.
He shuffled sideways through the narrow space and she gripped his waistband to try and keep up.
“Greiff if your partner was a plant, he stuck something on you so he’d know where you were. You’re bugged. And you do too think I’m crazy.”
He cursed and paused. A thumping noise sounded behind them. “Well, they already know we’re in here, so I’m not sure how much time that will buy us. And I do not. I just said that I don’t buy it all. There’s more to this than you know.”
“What’d you do?” The hot, stale air in the passageway stank of old musty socks. Panic and disconnected thoughts swirled in a jumble. The government was trying to kill them. But, he didn’t think she was nuts. To her, the most important item on the list was Greiff’s opinion of her mental state.
The fact disturbed her. Maybe she was crazy, because concern over some guy’s thoughts had never ranked all that high in her book. She’d never let herself care or get attached to anyone that way, and now she’d gone and thrown everything to the wind in less than a day.
“Threw my cell. Only thing I can think of that I have on me all the time.”
No light penetrated the passageway. It ended abruptly at a blank wall. The sound of their combined breathing filled the space. Her heart pounded and she glanced over her shoulder. Nothing to see, it was too dark.
“What now?” She waited for him to make a move.
Scraping noises and thumps followed by a strange tock-tock noise sounded. Dust and debris rained down onto the floor a few feet to her right.
“Oh my God, Greiff, they’re shooting at us through people’s apartments. Through the outside wall,” she whispered and squatted down lower. He rapped on the walls on either side of them and in an explosive burst, kicked through the wall, and hauled her into another closet. Holy crap, the man was a commando.
A long-sleeved man’s dress shirt hit her in the face. Greiff held clothing to the side so she could exit the space without being strangled by hanging clothes.
“Did you know about this?” He pointed at the room and closet.
How much to tell him? They barely knew each other, but she knew deep down he’d never hurt her. She had spilled her guts about the Professor and the camp, things she’d never told anyone before. Not even her mom. They were under attack. What the hell? Dyson would understand. “I didn’t know about this passageway specifically, but let’s just say a lot of the people in this building are special.”
“Huh.” He scanned the room. A king size bed dominated the cramped space. No dresser, photos, or even a head board for the bed. “It smells sorta musky and dry in here, like…” his nostrils flared and he cocked his head, “snakes.”
“Snakes? Eww.” She inspected the floor for anything slithery and picked up a monogrammed, long sleeve shirt. Blue stitches formed a small, elaborate double “D” on the chest. “Oh, wait. This is Dyson’s place. We’re cool. In fact, we’re great.”
She tried to pass him and he blocked her with his free arm and moved into the space with deliberate steps. “How far down the hall from Muriel’s are we?”
“Uh, four apartments.” She did a quick mental count to check. “Yeah, four.”
“There were only three doors in the hall past Muriel’s.”
The observation surprised her, and he cocked an eyebrow as he waited for her to answer. “Dyson has a separate entrance to his apartment.”
He frowned then shrugged in acceptance. “Okay. Well, if what that spook said is true, we’ve got his guys after us and the Professor’s as well. We run for it, and they’ll be able to track us with the thing in your ass. These guys will be trained in urban warfare and ready for anything we throw at them.”
“I have a way out.” She swallowed hard. “You trying to tell me you want to get the bug out right now?”
Sweat beaded on his upper lip and across his defined chest. He nodded. “We’ve got to honey. They’re shooting at us through walls. Probably think we’re pinned down in the passageway. These guys don’t care about any civilians in the building, and now I’d say their objective is to kill us, and no one is going to care.”
The rattle of displaced wood tapping against the wall came from the opening in the closet behind her. One moment she faced Greiff, the next she’d been bounced face first off the bed. The roar of gunfire reverberated in the room. When she gained her feet, a figure in black hung half out of the passageway, blood spreading in a widening pool around the body.
“Uh oh. Dyson is going to be pissed. His carpet is toast.”
He dragged the body into the room and secured the panel. “Spetrino was right about me. I’ve somehow managed to shoot two people today.”
“It’s not your fault. The guy at the store shot at you first. And so did this one.” No way he was allowed to blame himself for crazy people’s actions. “You were protec
ting yourself. And me. Don’t even think about taking on guilt for it.”
She stared as he divested the body of a large knife and another fire arm. The extra gun he tucked into his waistband. The Professor coming after her she’d expected. But government agents trying to kill them and the fact Jake and she’d been to the same camp left her mind boggled.
“Yeah. I’d do it again if I had to. No one will hurt you while I’m around.” He straightened and the resolve on his face stunned her.
The enormity of what he’d done silenced all the other voices in her head. He’d taken a hell of a risk, taking off with her like he had. Warmth spread through her, and an emotion deeper than the attraction she’d been fighting (not so successfully) since the first time she’d seen him at a crime scene flashed through her and grew stronger.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry about this.” The timbre of his voice brought her back to the present. He fished in his pocket and drew out a small pocket knife. “There will be more behind this guy, especially if they have something to track your signal with. Our only advantage right now is that it’s probably a small squad.”
“Right.” Time to man up. She hooked her fingers in her waistband and stripped her pants down over her hips, baring her ass. There hadn’t been time to put on panties. She spun and peered over her shoulder at him. “In my left cheek. See that dark mark there?”
“Ahh….” He traced the spot she pointed to with his thumb and frowned. “I can’t feel anything.”
“Well, neither can I, but that’s where they put it. I saw the cut before it healed over.”
“When did they put the tracker in? Before or after you and your roommate moved in together?” He poked and prodded the flesh.
“She and I moved in together a few years ago… The tracker was right before I moved here.” Realization dawned. “Wait, if she reported on me, on us…and government-boy intercepted it or whatever—”
“Like I said. More going on here than what you’ve seen. They indoctrinated you from an early age, and you never thought to question anything. Daisy Mae isn’t a Norm. I didn’t realize it at first because I was so shocked by her, but I could see her in color too.” Rough fingertips grazed her skin as he settled on one spot to the left of where she’d indicated. “I think there’s something here. I’m sorry, sweetheart.” The blade snicked into place as he opened the knife. “Don’t look.”
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