“I stabbed him.” Elton’s eyes glittered, and his nostrils flared. “He bled like a stuck pig.”
“He’s fine now,” Isobel said. For God’s sake. She had engineered her boy to survive. A simple knife wouldn’t take him out, and it was time to stop coddling the sheriff. If he wanted in, he needed to grow a pair. “I just spoke with him, and he sounded perfectly fine.”
Elton shoved away from the door. “You just spoke with him.”
“Yes.” She tilted her head to the side, studying the bulging in that vein. Maybe she should do an MRI of him. “He stole your phone, dear.”
Cobb’s mouth tightened until his jaw really had to hurt. “And you’ve been talking to him. Did you even try to track the phone?”
She rolled her eyes, unable to stop herself. “They disconnected the GPS, and as you know, it’s a satellite phone. So I can’t trace it.” Good thing he had muscles, because he didn’t come close to having brains. Oh, there was a darkness in him that called to her, one that heightened orgasms. But really. It was time to employ strategy, not emotion. “I did, however, leave a message across Noni’s back.”
That earned his full attention. The vein stopped bulging. “You cut her?” His voice roughened and went breathless. A quick look confirmed his penis had hardened against his jeans.
A thrill ran through Isobel. There was that edge of his that kept a woman like her intrigued. “No. But I did use dark marker all across her bare skin.”
He half lowered his lids. “You did?”
“Yes.” Her smile felt a little catlike, so she softened it. “Told him he’d have to sacrifice himself.”
Cobb frowned, studying her. Expressions crossed his square face—lust, satisfaction, and curiosity. “So he comes home. Back to us.” His gaze narrowed, and he moved closer to the desk. “He’s always been your favorite. Why?”
“He’s brilliant.” She waved the issue away. Knowledge was power, and she couldn’t allow Elton to have any over her. He could never know she’d donated her own eggs to create Denver. “There are more experiments to do on him.”
“With pain?” Elton said slowly.
“Sure. Why not?” This cat and mouse with Elton shot energy through her.
He planted his hands on the desk. “Wait a minute. You don’t want me to kill Denver to avenge my brother, but you’re willing to give him pain?” His head snapped up.
“Sure.” She sighed and uncrossed her ankles. Her son would be able to withstand any pain or torment. Her designer heels clicked on the desk. Her nipples hardened.
Elton leaned toward her as if pulled. His brows drew down into a fierce line. “You know Heath and Ryker won’t allow Denver to sacrifice himself.”
“Denver is smarter than those two, and he’ll figure out a way. Or we’ll capture all three of them.” She moved one leg far to one side, effectively spreading her legs on the desk.
Elton’s gaze flared.
Yes. No undergarments. Her breathing sped up. She scooted her buttocks forward on the chair, giving him an even better view. “Understand?”
Elton didn’t look back up. “Um, yeah.”
“Besides, just think of the punishments I could create for Denver defying me. How badly I can make him regret running from us.” Wetness instantly coated her thighs. Her boy would be back in line and training as an obedient soldier in no time. She’d break him first.
Elton’s nostrils flared, and he moved around the desk, grabbing her leg and swinging her chair around. He grasped her other leg and spread her even wider, stepping between her knees and holding her ankles with his strong hands. “Your only leverage is that baby down the hall.”
“I know,” Isobel said, reaching for him. God, she hoped he was still angry with her. “Just imagine what I could do to break Denver for good.”
Then Elton was on her.
Chapter
31
Noni stumbled out of the bedroom, her head still cloudy. Her toes burned even in the thick socks Denver had left on her. She lifted her nose. Coffee. There was coffee near. She was almost to the carafe when she noticed two women sitting at the table, both eating cereal. Her stride hitched. “Hi.”
“Hi.” The first woman had black hair and sapphire blue eyes. “I’m Zara, and this is Anya.”
Anya was a stunning redhead with tired green eyes. “Morning, Noni.” She pulled out a chair. “Sit.”
Noni blinked and took the seat, gratefully taking the mug of coffee Zara handed over. She couldn’t quite grasp a thought, so she got right to the one that made the most sense. “Where is Denver?”
Zara took a sip of her coffee. “Denver went for a run, Ryker is scouting the area outside, and Heath just jumped into the shower.” She set her mug down. “For the moment, it’s just us girls.”
Anya patted Noni on the arm. “I’m so sorry about last night and the baby being taken. We’ll get her back.” Concern darkened her eyes.
Noni bit her lip to keep it from trembling. It was stunning how empty her arms felt considering she’d only had custody for a couple of days. But she’d loved that little baby from the second she was born. “I know. We have to get her back.”
Zara cleared her throat and lifted her mug in the air. “On another note, welcome to the club of having been kidnapped by the psychotic Dr. Madison.”
Anya snorted and lifted her mug, waiting until Noni did the same before clinking. “First of all, you weren’t kidnapped by the bitch. Neither was I.” She leaned in. “I was kidnapped by the Copper Killer.”
Noni blinked. “The serial killer?”
“Yep. Turns out he was a soldier who worked for Dr. Madison. Unfortunately, I did end up spending a little time with that witch.” Anya’s pointed chin firmed.
Noni swallowed and looked toward Zara. “And you?”
The brunette lifted a shoulder. “I may have jumped into a helicopter en route to her lair.”
“As it was hanging outside a second-story window,” Anya said, her pink lips curving in a smile.
Zara grinned. “I had places to be.”
Noni listened to the interchange, her mind spinning. Who were these women? “Are you guys spies or something?”
Zara laughed out loud. “I’m a paralegal, and Anya is a psychology professor. So close enough.” She munched on her cereal for a moment. “The one good thing about Madison is that she won’t give up an opportunity. She’ll keep the baby safe and healthy, Noni.”
Noni nodded. “I have to believe that.” But she knew Madison cared little for the baby or for human life. Her obsession was with the men she’d created and them only. It didn’t take a shrink to figure that one out. “Are we any closer to finding Madison?”
“Not yet.” Anya pointed toward a couple of laptops on the sofa table. “They’re running through data as we speak.” She motioned to the cereal box. “Are you hungry?”
“No.” Noni softened the refusal with a smile. “I need a phone, though. To call my aunts.”
Zara shook her head. “Montana has gone dark. No calls in or out.”
Noni’s stomach swelled and cramped. “Because of me. Because I probably talked to Madison.”
Anya poured more coffee for her. “No. Not your fault. But your aunts passed on love before it went dark. That Franny is spunky.”
“Yeah, she is.” Noni leaned back. “So we’re dark, too? I mean, I can’t check on the business?”
“We’re dark as well. No Internet business,” Zara confirmed. “Speaking of which, when we were still using the net freely, I checked out your site. Very cool. How did you get into making lotions and perfumes?”
Noni blew on her refreshed coffee cup as steam billowed out. “Aunt Franny had always made her own lotions, so she taught me using family recipes.” She shrugged. “I guess the business later flowed from that. I miss it. Miss creating.” Would she get a chance to pass on that history to Talia? She had to.
The bathroom door opened, and Heath strode out wearing dark jeans and a faded T-shirt. His gaze
immediately caught hers, and he faltered. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” She sat up, conscious she hadn’t even brushed her hair. Why was he looking so intently at her? “Thanks for finding me.”
“Of course. Um, Denver is probably going to need to talk to you when he gets back.” Heath loped across the room, all muscled grace, and his hands settled on Anya’s shoulders. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Morning, beautiful.”
The redhead smiled and tilted her head back for a kiss.
Noni looked away. As a couple, they were striking looking and obviously in love. What would it be like to have that security? To plan an actual future with somebody? She breathed out. Enough. “Is the shower free?” she asked, her knees still a little wobbly as she stood and moved her chair back under the table. “Hot water might finally warm me all the way up.”
Heath straightened. “Uh, yeah. But why don’t you wait for Denver?”
Noni coughed. Heat filled her face. “I think I can shower by myself.” No way was she having a shower with him with everyone in the same cabin. Almost belatedly, tension caught her. Zara was looking at her cup, and Anya had a sympathy in her eyes that threw Noni’s balance.
“What’s going on?” Noni asked.
Heath’s scruffy jaw firmed. “Nothin’. I just thought that maybe you’d like to wait till Denver got back. He’ll need a shower as well.”
Zara pushed away from the table. “Don’t lie to her.”
Noni’s legs trembled, and she grasped the back of her chair. “What’s going on? Something is. Tell me.” Her voice rose on the last.
“Denver has to tell you part of it.” Zara winced. “But we can tell you some. Try not to freak out.” She stood and gently tucked a finger into the neck of Noni’s borrowed shirt.
Noni stilled. “What the hell?”
Zara pulled. “Madison wrote a message on your back.”
Noni partially turned to see dark ink down her back. Her breath heated and expanded in her lungs. Fury and fear grabbed her. “She did what?” Noni’s voice shook, and she pulled away to run into the bathroom and take off the shirt. Turning around, she tried to read the message in the mirror, but it was backward.
Zara followed her and leaned against the door frame. “Denver is furious, which is why he went running. Well, one of the reasons.”
“Why does that bitch want him so badly?” Noni shook her head, reality crashing around her. Vulnerability and the sense of being violated hit her sharply. She turned and jumped into the shower, turning the water on and scalding herself. “Help me get this off,” she yelled.
“I’ve got it.” Denver was suddenly in the doorway, his sweats and sweatshirt soaked with snow and perspiration. His hair was wet, and his tractioned snow boots covered in ice.
Zara quickly disappeared.
Noni let the panic sweep her and started scrubbing the areas she could reach, not caring if she scratched her skin off.
Within seconds, Denver was inside the shower with her, his hands on her wrists. “Stop.”
“I can’t.” She struggled against him, her body feeling like ants were crawling across it. Her voice rose high with the panic. “The bitch marked me. She marked me. I have to get it off.”
Denver pulled her against his hard body. “I’ve got you, Non. Deep breath. We’ll get it off. Gone. I promise.”
Noni closed her eyes and tried to slow her racing heart. A sob rolled from her chest. “Get it off, Denver. Please.”
* * *
If Denver had been more furious in his entire life, he couldn’t remember it. But he kept his hold gentle and turned Noni around, grabbing the soap and a washcloth. “I’ll make sure it’s all gone,” he whispered, his voice soft while his hands trembled with the need to punch something. Hard. Instead, he rubbed circles across her skin with the soap and then the washrag, rinsing it out several times. The offensive ink swirled down the drain.
“Tell me it isn’t permanent marker,” Noni said, her voice low. Hurt.
“It isn’t,” he said, wiping right above the twin globes of her butt. She’d been marked because of him, and he felt that to his core. That responsibility and primordial sense of possession. She was his, and they’d hurt her because of it. But now wasn’t a time for fury. Oh, that would come later. “The ink is coming right off.”
Her shoulders slumped, and her head lowered. “What else did she do to me?”
His breath hitched like he’d been punched. Thank God her back was turned to him. It took several seconds for him to be able to control his voice. “Nothing, baby. I’m surprised she had time to write the message before taking off.” Of course, Madison had plugged her full of drugs as well. “The message is just her messing with us.” And showing Noni how fragile she was—in addition to proving to Denver what kind of havoc Madison could create. “I’m so sorry about this,” he whispered.
“Not your fault,” Noni said, her head lifting. “Don’t for a second think this is your fault.” She rubbed her feet on the tiles and warm water. “We should hurry. There’s only one shower in this house.”
“No hurrying.” He finished with her back, making sure not one spot of ink remained. “It might be my fault.” His voice broke.
She settled. “Impossible.”
Right. How the hell could he explain this to her? He tuned in to the outside world to make sure it was safe. Heath and Ryker would return to the searches while Zara organized the data and Anya tried to get inside Madison’s head with the notes she’d already collected. At the moment, his only job was to make sure Noni knew she was safe and had faith that they’d get the baby back. He reached for the shampoo to work through her mass of hair.
She let her head fall back into his hands. “That feels good.”
Everything about her felt good around him. He wished he had the words to explain that to her, but maybe his touch could convey that. The silken threads wound around his hands, and he rinsed them off, moving next to the conditioner.
His body reacted to her, even with the stress surrounding them. It was totally inappropriate, and he tried to force need for her away. Truth be told, he could be half dead in a coma and her scent would arouse him. There was something about her—something made just for him. On a level he didn’t understand, one too primal to describe, he recognized her. And he wanted her, just one more time, before he told her all of it. That he was made from evil.
“You warming up?” he asked.
“Yes,” she breathed, her voice soft in the steam.
“Good.” He kept his administrations gentle. This was about comfort. Period.
She turned then, her cheeks rosy. “You went for a run?”
“Yes.” He washed soap off her shoulders.
Her teeth played with her full bottom lip. “Had to get away from people for a while?”
He stared into her eyes. Clear and focused. Good. “Yes.”
“I’m sure you’re tired of speaking and need a break.” She took the soap from him and frowned at the small amount of ink still on it. Leaning over, she washed the darkness away, leaving only the white. Then she ran the bar across his upper chest.
Pleasure spread from her touch as well as how easily she read him. How well she knew him. Sometimes solitude was not only necessary but crucial for him. But he’d give that up—he’d give anything up—for her. “What happened, it is my fault.” He’d force words out for her.
“No.” She washed his chest and shoulders before sliding the soap down his good side. “That bandage will need to be changed.”
He sucked in a breath, trying to control his body’s response to her. “It is my fault.” Madison had been able to read him since day one, and she knew what Noni meant to him. Fuck. She knew him. They shared genetics. She knew what marking Noni, what scaring her, would do to him. It was a psychological attack of a kind he couldn’t describe, even if he wanted to try.
Noni stepped flush into him, her skin against his. With deliberate slowness, she sli
d the soap back onto the ledge before planting her hands on his upper chest. “Neither of us is to blame for what’s happening. We’re the solution, Denver.” Levering up, she feathered a kiss across his lips.
Desire liquefied through him, washing over nerves. Heating them. “What are you doing?” he asked, his abdomen clenching.
She blinked away water and shook her hair away from her face. “Stealing a moment. I’m so scared. You’re so angry. There’s nothing we can do right this second.”
He knew that. Those facts, those very same facts, are why he’d gotten into the shower with her to offer comfort. He slid a wet piece of hair away from her cheekbone, marveling at the softness of her skin. She deserved gentle and sweet, which were two things he’d never be. Especially right now. Right now he was furious and murderous. “We should go back to work,” he whispered.
“To do what?” she asked, her hands sliding lower. “Watch the computer output?”
Well, yeah. She reached his dick with her soft hands, and lightning ripped down his spine. “Noni.” It was a warning. His control was an illusion. “This isn’t a good idea.”
“I know,” she said softly, the steam rising around her stunning body in an image he’d never forget. “But I don’t care.” Stroking him base to tip, she used both of her hands. “Take me out of here, Denver. Just for a few minutes.”
At that plea, at those soft words, his control snapped.
Chapter
32
She’d meant to make him lose control. His mouth took hers, hard and rough. Even so, she could feel him try to remain gentle.
When he’d washed her clean, when he’d taken that ink from her body, he’d done it as a way of claiming. He tried to hide it, but she could feel his possessiveness. His absolute fury that somebody had hurt her in order to hurt him. His anger was going to get him killed, and she needed him to be clearheaded so he could survive. So they’d all survive.
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