by Joni Hahn
Luke.
Jaydan blew out a breath. He had to man up, had to tell Luke he failed. His daughter was in the hands of the same madman that had kept Keegan Meeks hidden for over twenty years.
And, it was all his fault.
“Luke.”
“Rose? The tracker shows Hope headed back to Hawaii. What’s going on?”
Squeezing his eyes tight, he sucked it up and forged ahead. “Cyrus Matheson has her. He’s taking her back to Hawaii and holding her there until I bring back Keegan. I’m about an hour behind them.”
Deathly silence met his announcement, Luke’s breath coming in harsh pants over the line. “What… the hell did you just say? You let that madman take my daughter?”
Taking a deep breath, Jaydan let the harsh words wash over him like a thousand bee stings. He’d f’d up. He’d let a twisted psycho take the woman he loved more than anything in the world.
“His men started a fire at my family’s ranch. Once we had it put out, I went back to her and found her gone.”
Booker glanced over at him, his brows slashed at angry angles.
Curse words spewed over the line like loud static, abrasive and infuriating. “What the hell kind of D.I.R.E. agent are you?”
Luke spoke so loud Jaydan knew Booker could hear him in the tight space. He gritted his teeth against the harsh dressing-down.
“First you let down my son, now you lose my daughter?”
Wincing, Jaydan turned away from Booker, his stomach knotting in a tight fist.
Exactly.
He’d let down Riordan, and now he’d lost Hope. He didn’t deserve the enhancement he’d received, didn’t deserve Riordan’s friendship. He sure as hell didn’t deserve Hope.
Booker had been right from the get go.
He’d get to Hawaii and get her out. He’d deliver her to Luke safe and sound if it killed him.
“You’re right, Luke. As far as agents go, I blow.”
He didn’t hesitate. “You’re damned right about that.”
Jaydan gritted his teeth against the truth that gnawed away at his insides. He had to ignore it and focus on the best course of action to rescue Hope.
“Well, you know, Luke? I’m all you freaking have at this point.” He disconnected, the self-hatred and anger surging energy through his system.
The intensity wasn’t there. He hadn’t taken in carbs in several hours. He’d expended a lot of energy putting out the fire, pulling down the chopper and… making love with Hope.
He needed to eat.
“Who the hell was that?” Booker looked over at him, his bushy brows drawn.
He hadn’t noticed how much Booker aged until he stared at him now. He looked like he’d aged twenty years instead of the twelve since he’d left home.
“Hope’s father. Maybe you’ve heard of him –“ Jaydan made a self-deprecating laugh. “Luke Powers?”
Rising, Jaydan went to one of the cupboards just outside of the cockpit. One carbohydrate bar.
It would have to do.
Booker followed his movements as he sat down. “You did all you could, Jaydan.”
Holding out his hands, Jaydan’s voice came out harsher than he’d wanted. “Okay, now you’re just freaking me out.” Looking over at his stepfather, he said, “First, you’re flying me to Hawaii and now you’re defending me? You know better than anyone I have a gift for screwing up.”
“Yes, you do,” Booker said, with an adamant nod. “But, not in this case.”
With an uncertain laugh, Jaydan shook his head. That was probably the closest he’d ever come to a compliment from Booker. After all, home is where the hurt is, right?
“Okay, since we’re being forced to sit together for another forty-five minutes,” Jaydan said, “I have to know.”
Frowning, Booker stared out the windshield. “Know what?”
He glared at his stepfather. “Why the hell you beat me all the time?”
Booker sputtered a bark of incredulous laughter. “You deserved it. Every time I turned around you were getting into trouble.”
“And Gunn and Austin didn’t?”
Booker shook his head, his cheeks glowing pink. “They did, but not like you. You’re just like your father.”
Jaydan considered that the highest compliment. He figured that would take him out of the running for Cyrus’ program.
“Thank you.” His voice held a note of sardonic pride. “I guess my brother’s weren’t lucky enough to inherit his strongest traits.”
“They aren’t his sons,” Booker said, with vehement assurance. “They’re mine.”
Shock reverberated through Jaydan like sound waves, crushing him in deafening denial. His mother never would’ve cheated on his father. She loved him.
“You lie.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Booker shook his head. “Ask your mother. She’ll tell you. She and your father were never married. They only lived together.”
Pressure built in Jaydan’s chest, suffocating him. Jumping up, he stormed into the airplane cabin.
Could it be true? That the family life he remembered was all a lie? That the life he’d regretted leaving had never been real in the first place?
He ran a hand over the microchip in his hair. Was it that simple? That the only reason he’d been beaten was because he wasn’t Booker’s son?
Blinding rage sizzled through him like a lighted fuse. If he killed Booker in mid air, he could dump the body in the ocean.
“Rose.” Mitchell’s voice came over Jaydan’s armband.
He stopped mid-pace. “Yeah. Let me guess - Powers called you.”
Mitchell’s voice held a condescending tone. “Powers can bite me. He’s the last of my worries. I’ve got Riordan headed your way. What’s your ETA?”
Checking his armband, Jaydan said, “Forty-five minutes.”
“Roger that. He’ll meet you at the hangar. At this point, I just want to get Hope out of there. We’ll go in tomorrow and do clean up.”
Jaydan knew he should respond but he didn’t want to promise something he couldn’t keep. If he had the opportunity to destroy Cyrus’ laboratory, he’d take it.
“I didn’t get a roger from you, Rose. That was an order.”
Jaydan chose to plead the fifth.
Mitchell released a loud sigh. “Hell, you didn’t listen to a word I said about her, did you?”
His boss could’ve warned him away from Hope twenty-four/seven and it would’ve done no good. The damage had been done the night they met.
“What words would that be, sir?”
“The words that would’ve saved you from Luke Powers’ wrath. Dammit. I’ve advised every one of my agents against getting involved with a woman – especially the daughter of one of the richest men in the world.” He mumbled a curse. “None of you freaking listen.”
Jaydan did try. He’d resisted Hope Powers for months.
A trip alone proved too powerful for either of them.
“I won’t stop until she’s safe.”
“I’d expect nothing less, Rose.”
“Understood,” Jaydan said. “See you on the flipside.”
***
Zeke shoved her along a dark, dank hallway, their steps echoing off the tile floor. It was just as she’d seen in her remote view.
The stark white walls were built of large, concrete blocks, the trim a dark, gunmetal gray. The set-in ceiling tiles were standard issue, the single bulb light fixtures functional at best.
Struggling to keep up with his swift steps, Hope stumbled, her sandal slapping against the tile with a resounding whack.
Zeke frowned down at her. “Keep up.”
Was he serious? “Why would I want to do that?”
He whipped around to glare at her. “You have a smart mouth about you. Cyrus will want to remove that from your code.”
“Like he removed the smarts from Riordan’s code when he made you?”
Dang it, she really needed a filter.
His clasp on
her arm tightened, shooting pain into her shoulder. She bit off the wince that threatened, unwilling to let him know he’d hurt her. The pain kept her grounded in reality, grounded in her self-assigned mission to stall until Jaydan got there.
Cyrus wouldn’t hurt her until he acquired her cultures. She had to avoid that at all costs.
They turned a corner. A large, steel door loomed at the end of the deserted corridor. It looked a lot like a bank vault, with a combination lock and large, spindle wheel handle.
“You could never come close to being a replica of Riordan.”
Zeke spoke between gritted teeth. “I’m not a replica. I’m a human being just like you.”
Surprise sifted through her. She’d hit a nerve. “No, you’re a clone. You were made in a laboratory. A puzzle created by Cyrus to suit his needs.”
“I owe Cyrus everything.” His statement sounded automatic, as though it had been rehearsed.
She gave a sarcastic bark of laughter. “Sounds like he brainwashed you, too.”
Stopping in his tracks, Zeke turned on her with wild, round eyes and snarling lips. Her heart pounded against her struggling lungs. She’d pushed him too far.
“I’m here because I choose to be here.”
“Really?” she said. “Why, when there’s an entire world out there to see?”
“I see your world in Honolulu, on television, and tonight in Texas. I see aggression, bitterness, and discord. Why would I want that?”
Lifting her chin, she said, “I see charity, laughter and love. Tonight in Texas, I saw family and celebration at the wedding of two people in love. I want that, even if the aggression and discord come with it.”
Turning her toward the doors again, he mumbled. “You are a fool.”
“Then, tell me – are you happy here, Zeke? Is it heaven on earth for you? Or, is it that Cyrus overloaded you with cowardice?”
His impatient growl echoed in the vacant corridor.
She shrugged in his grasp. “I’ve never met a clone before. I have questions.”
Stopping again, he yelled in her face. “I am not a clone.”
“You look and sound exactly like my brother,” she said, in a raised voice. “That didn’t happen by coincidence.”
“I look like me,” he growled. “No one else.” He steered her toward the doors again.
Stumbling again, she righted herself. “If you’re not a clone, how did you get here? Who are your parents?”
For the third time, he stopped. He turned to her, his eyes wide with… questions. “My parents?”
Taken aback, she swallowed. “Yes, the people that created you. A man and a woman.”
“My key donors were Luke Powers and Ann Crawford.”
Riordan’s parents.
He gave her a knowing smile. “I think that makes us half siblings.”
***
“If you think you’re leaving me behind, you’re sadly mistaken.”
Booker stood at the entrance of the cave where Dylan had lived until a few days ago. The night sky held a million stars, the ocean breeze cool as it wafted into the cave.
Jaydan could see the island in the distance, his gut knotted with pangs of guilt, his anger prodding him with rushed movements. “You’re freaking crazy, Booker.”
Riordan nodded toward the old man as he slipped into his Kevlar-lined, stainless steel chainmail. “Let him drive the boat, Rose. He can pull up to shore while we’ve got them occupied.”
Jaydan stared at the old man as he pulled on a D.I.R.E. wetsuit over his chainmail. Yes, Booker had served in the Air Force for twenty years, but he’d been a freaking pilot. Not on the front lines.
“Hell.” Tossing him a Glock and a box of bullets, Jaydan went back to work.
Booker gave him an all-business nod before loading the gun.
“When is Keegan supposed to call?” Jaydan shoved a knife in the strap at his ankle.
Standing with his palms facing each other, Riordan repelled and attracted his knife back and forth before flipping it in the air. Catching it in one hand, he shoved it in the strap at his ankle.
Booker’s round-eyed gaze made him grin. “Once we’re a mile out, we’re supposed to signal Mitchell. She’ll call Cyrus twenty-five minutes later. That’ll give us time to get there and get inside.”
Jaydan gave an affirmative nod, energy simmering along his nerve-endings. “Let’s get the hell out there. There’s no telling what that freak will do to her.”
Riordan’s voice held a note of calm wisdom. “He won’t hurt her, Rose. He’s shitting a brick right now, knowing we’re coming and you’re pissed off. He may have built his own little security force, but we’re freaking D.I.R.E. He should be scared.”
***
Hope stared at the straps dangling from the vacant gurney in the small sickbay. The room looked much like one of her doctor’s examination rooms, with a single-compartment sink, laptop computer and rolling stool. A lock cabinet adorned one wall, the others white and bare.
She watched Zeke removed her cuffs with apt precision. As soon as her hands were free, she swung back and gave him a right hook across the jaw. His head pitched sideways before he righted it slowly, his grip tight on her wrist.
Dang it.
With a growl of frustration, he grabbed her shoulders and slammed her back on the bed. Pain shot between her shoulder blades and splintered down her limbs. Holding down her forearm, he strapped down one arm over her diamond bracelets before rushing around to strap down the other. She struggled against the tight bonds.
“Jaydan will kill you.”
He didn’t so much as look her way before he walked out the door.
The overhead light buzzed with ceaseless vexation, the faint sound of voices on the other side of the door. Terror tapped on her shoulder with annoying persistence, reminding her she was alone and in the hands of a madman.
“Ah, there you are…” The madman himself opened the door, a feigned smile of welcome on his face. “My honored guest.” Shutting it behind him, he locked it with menacing grandeur.
The terror shifted her heart into overdrive. “If this is the way you treat your guests, its no wonder you don’t have many visitors.”
He gave her body a slow perusal, his hands in his trouser pockets. “Oh contraire, I have many visitors, all of whom end up in this very room.” His perfect smile spoke of relaxation, as though that statement were meant to comfort her.
“However, as the daughter of our original donor, you are special, Hope Powers. Kimberly’s DNA started my grandfather’s program over seventy years ago. You are indeed a guest of honor.”
As much as she wanted to refute it, he’d just confirmed Keegan’s unbelievable story. Her mind whirled with questions.
“How could my mother have started your grandfather’s program when she was young enough to have me twenty-five years ago?”
He trailed a finger down her bare arm, a chill rushing through her with repulsion. “It’s a shame your grandfather isn’t here to tell you.” The smile vanished from his face, his blue eyes growing hard. “Then again, he’d never intended for you to know the truth.”
Her grandfather. God above, he had more secrets? He’d hurt her father by keeping away Riordan for so many years. She’d also found his part in implementing the international DNA database.
His interests had been varied and bizarre. Did she really want to know?
“What truth? That you’re crazy, Cyrus? That you think you’re some kind of god, molding and creating people for your own use?”
His fingers made lazy circles over her flesh. “Did you know, Hope, that your grandfather served in the Navy when he was young?”
Taps had been played at her grandfather’s funeral, the American flag draped over his coffin. Other than those telltale signs, he’d never spoken of his time served.
“Yes.”
Fingers stilling, his turbulent gaze shot to hers. “Did you know he fell in love with a woman he met on leave in Hawaii?”
Swallowing hard, she said, “No, he didn’t discuss his personal life with me.”
With a superior smirk, he continued to stroke her. “He walked her home after a night on the town, leaving her with a promise to pick her up the next evening.”
Glaring at Cyrus, she spoke in an impatient tone. “What does this have to do with me?”
“Patience, sweet Hope.” His fingers glided over her cheek with leisure.
A shiver raced through her. She jerked away her head. “I don’t do patience, Cyrus.”
He gave her an arrogant grin. “The next evening, he picked her up as promised. They spent the night on the town before he took her to a hotel.” His thumb traced her bottom lip.
She turned away again.
“They spent the night together. When he returned her home before dawn, my grandfather met them at the door. He forbade him to ever see her again.”
His smile glowed with malice. “Her name? Kimberly DePaul. His first donor.”
Bile rose in her throat as she shook her head against the mattress. No. Though her rational mind denied it, she knew nothing in this compound could be considered reasonable. If it were the truth, it would devastate her father.
“You lie.”
He gave his shoulders a casual shrug. “Deny it all you like, Hope Powers. It won’t change the fact that your grandfather fell in love with your mother first.”
A knock sounded at the door. Keegan’s double walked in, a box of medical supplies in her hand. She looked the splitting image of Keegan, but lacked her spirit.
Except when she looked at Cyrus.
Smiling at him, she set down the box on the counter and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gave him an open-mouthed kiss filled with hunger. Shutting her eyes, Hope turned away in disgust.
Cyrus’ whisper rang in the room like a loud gong. “Keegan, my love...”
Hope’s eyes sprang open. She whipped around to stare at the couple.
Cyrus stared at her with adoration, his smile seductive. Anxiety shone in the woman’s hazel eyes, her mouth downturned. “Cyrus, I’m Eve…”
He brushed the strawberry-blonde hair from her brow. “Either way, you’re mine.” He kissed her again with devotion.