Code Name: Baby

by Christina Skye

  And in a way, he was, thanks to their shared genetic technology.

  There in the moonlight, with Baby’s head on his knee, he grappled with what he had just seen and how it would change the future. He was looking at a new world and possibilities that seemed almost unbelievable.

  A snowflake danced in front of his face.

  Then another.

  Wind sighed through the mesquite leaves as the sky paled, filled with drifting flakes.

  The sudden moisture jolted Wolfe from his odd reverie. What he thought or wanted was unimportant. Science marched forward inexorably. Once the technology existed, it was only a matter of time until someone shaped it and used it for practical ends. Better that it be his government than anyone else’s.

  “Time to get moving, team.” He looked down at the ground and shook his head, not about to let Baby jump. “Come on, honey. Let’s do this thing together.” With Baby tucked safely against his chest, he pushed free and dropped, landing hard but staying upright.

  Baby wriggled free and jumped down, sniffed the ground, then turned and went still. Instantly Butch and Sundance moved in beside her.

  “What’s going on, you three?”

  Baby moved warily toward the back wall. When she was twenty feet away, she stopped. Her head rose, pointed directly at the darkest part of the high, shadowed adobe. Wolfe felt the hairs rise at the back of his neck. He realized that the wind had died, and the night had gone silent. Only a few flakes drifted past his face now.

  He focused, listening carefully, scanning the darkness for any sign of movement or abnormal energy signatures. Before he had felt nothing, but now…there was something. He crossed the yard to Baby.

  The dog ignored him.

  Whatever he felt was behind the eight-foot wall. Wolfe started toward the shadows and was shocked to hear Baby growl, her teeth clamping down on his boot. A moment later Butch caught his pants leg and held him in place while Sundance gripped his hand hard enough to keep him still.

  Someone—or something—was out there waiting. The dogs knew it, and they weren’t going to let him get any closer.

  Wolfe was not a man who frightened easily, but he knew the touch of fear now, like a cold knife brushing his skin. If this was Cruz, he had changed his energy signature beyond recognition. Or else he had somehow learned to hide all his traces, even from one of his former teammates.

  Wolfe took a step backward, away from the wall, feeling Butch strain to make him hurry. He leveled his Sig at the wall, releasing the knot of tension in his shoulders, keeping his fingers loose for a clean shot.

  He still felt no trace of Cruz. Nothing moved.

  Somewhere a bird circled in the darkness.

  Wolfe sensed danger like an acrid taste in his mouth. The three dogs tugged him back hard and he followed reluctantly, daring the darkness to move. Daring Cruz to reveal himself.

  It could be no one else.

  The little hairs rose at the back of his neck. Baby tugged harder. There was no sound in the chill night, but the silence felt charged and oppressive.

  His cell phone vibrated inside his pocket and he flipped it open with one hand. “What?” he whispered.

  “Checking in.” Izzy’s voice held a question. “Everything okay there?”

  “No,” Wolfe muttered. “Meet me inside.”

  He hung up.

  They were almost at the porch now, man and dogs bound in a tense awareness of danger, the mutual ties of protection as old as primitive cave fires and hunting with spears. Somewhere beyond the trees the bird called again, and Wolfe heard the soft whoosh of wings, the noise unearthly.

  Was this an image distortion pattern directed at him, another new skill Cruz had acquired since his “death”? For a moment the darkness blurred. Instantly Wolfe targeted the pattern’s source, shielding his and the dogs’ presence with an image of running water over high boulders.

  The darkness shifted again, moving along the wall like a greasy film.

  Baby made a throaty sound and pressed against Wolfe’s leg as they came to the first step of the porch. With the patio light falling in a warm pool around him, Wolfe opened the door for the dogs, which shot inside and then turned back. Motionless in a row, they waited for him to follow.

  Despite the threat, they stayed in defensive array, alert and fearless.

  Wolfe turned to stare into the darkness, alert for any movement, any threat, even a blurred sense of Cruz’s distinctive energy signature.

  None came.

  Could his old partner vanish completely now? Was that another skill he’d acquired under Ryker’s secret training?

  A hawk swooped low and then vanished, swallowed by the night. Frowning, Wolfe closed and locked the patio doors, but the tension did not leave his neck.

  Outside the darkness seemed to move forward and wrap itself around the house, mocking him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “SAY THIS AGAIN. You saw what?” Izzy paced in a tight circle. “You’re telling me that Baby managed to jump up onto a branch beside you? No way, Navy. Dogs don’t climb trees, not even superdogs like these.”

  “It happened, Teague. I saw it happen. The dog was a foot away from me.”

  “In the dark you could have—”

  “But I didn’t. I have perfect vision up to 500 yards at night. We all have photo receptor enhancements, and those dogs did exactly what I told you.” For a second time Wolfe described the scene in the back yard.

  “Incredible.” Izzy stopped pacing and sank into a big leather wing chair. “Hard to believe. Why hasn’t Kit noticed any of this?”

  Wolfe jammed his hand through his hair. “My guess is it’s new behavior, possibly triggered by my presence. Our chips and nanotech are similar. Maybe our bio-enhancements are creating some kind of feedback between us.” He stared out at the back yard, frowning. “I’m no biologist, so don’t ask me for details. But I can tell you they definitely felt someone outside near that wall. They knew before I did.”

  Baby trotted into the room, carrying her water dish. “At least that’s easy to understand.” Wolfe followed the dog into the kitchen and refilled all three bowls while Izzy stood up to pace again.

  “Okay, so they’re geniuses. From what you saw, they work as a team. We knew it was likely, and now it’s been demonstrated.”

  “Whatever I felt left no physical traces. There was no sound or movement and none of Cruz’s old energy pattern.” Wolfe moved to the window, unable to forget the sudden oppressive weight and the brush of fear. “Baby and Butch nearly bit me, trying to pull me back from the wall.”

  “I’ll check it out.” Izzy started for the door, but Wolfe blocked him.

  “Take someone out there with you. Be sure you verify his identity before and after, too. If it’s Cruz, you won’t see anything—not until he wants you to. And what you see won’t necessarily be what’s really there.”

  “Image displacement?”

  “Count on it.” Wolfe laughed grimly. “Cruz was better than any of us. He learned it first and set the gold standard. Now, with his enhancements and paranoia, he’ll be tough and nearly invisible. Finding him won’t be easy.”

  “Especially now that we’ve lost our interrogation subject. The guy snapped and he’s gone totally psycho. Cruz must have gotten to him at a distance. Ryker knows more than he’s saying about it, and he’s mad as hell.” Izzy shook his head. “I’m not sure I want to know what you and your team are capable of.”

  Izzy flipped open his cell phone. His voice was cool and controlled as he strode to the front door, ordering a complete perimeter scan carried out via paired units with reports every two minutes.

  Wolfe wanted to head outside with him, but that would mean leaving Kit and the dogs unprotected, and he sensed that that was exactly what Cruz wanted.

  If the situations were reversed, it’s exactly what he would have done.

  AFTER CHECKING to make sure Kit was still asleep, Wolfe stood at the picture window overlooking the yard. As
he watched Izzy’s team comb the darkness, he made a mental check for any disruptions or signs of Cruz’s field signature, but the night seemed calm, even welcoming now, the moon a silver chip adrift on racing clouds.

  He told himself the strange feeling he’d had in the back yard was irrelevant, a function of stress, darkness and too much adrenaline. But he couldn’t ignore the dogs’ behavior near the wall, and he was too experienced a soldier to discount an adversary just because he couldn’t see it or touch it.

  Unable to relax, he triggered his cell phone.

  “Yeah.” Izzy’s voice was a whisper.

  “What have you got?”

  “Jack shit. No people, no animals, no nothing. There’s no hint of anything unusual out here.”

  “You checked IDs for every man on your team?”

  “Twice. Everyone is exactly who they say they are. But I’m upping our alert level. We’ll do overlapping rotations for safety. New pass codes every hour, too.”

  “Keep me updated.”

  “Will do. Meanwhile, you should get some shut-eye, and leave the heavy lifting to us.” There was a pause. “You do sleep, don’t you?”

  Wolfe laughed dryly. “Need to know, Teague. And you don’t.”

  He flipped the cell phone shut and sank down on the big leather couch, trying to relax, the way Izzy had suggested. One of the benefits of his enhancements was a shortened sleep cycle. Even a twenty-minute nap would leave him reenergized.

  Something brushed his arm, and he realized Baby was on the couch, watching every move he made. Kit’s white cotton bra was dangling from the puppy’s teeth.

  “What? Is something wrong with Kit?”

  Baby’s tail banged on the couch. She dropped the bra in Wolfe’s lap and gave a whine that sounded like distress.

  Wolfe took the stairs two at a time, then raced down the hall, but Kit was exactly the way he’d left her, asleep on the big bed, one leg dangling from beneath satin covers with a pillow wedged against her chest.

  No broken windows.

  No intruders.

  What was going on? When Wolfe turned around, Baby was right behind him, and Kit’s bra was still caught between her teeth.

  “Troublemaker.” If the dog had a message, it was beyond him. Or maybe it was some new search and retrieve game. He’d noticed that the dogs seemed to love playing games of any sort.

  He headed back to the couch and flipped off the light.

  Feet padded softly. The three dogs stopped in a row in front of the stairs.

  Wolfe watched them stretch one by one, then lie down. He’d been on all kinds of missions in all kinds of hellholes, but none had been half as strange as this assignment.

  He shifted to one side, moving his shoulder holster to get comfortable. What would the dogs say if they could talk? What threat had they sensed out in the night?

  Too bad they couldn’t tell him.

  As he closed his eyes, he let his thoughts wander. With a controlled breathing pattern, he drifted down into the edge of theta, enjoying a pleasant encounter with three women wearing orchids, hot smiles and nothing else.

  Then he realized that every one of the women looked like Kit.

  You’re losing it, Houston. She’s getting under your skin.

  Something hit the floor upstairs. As he shot to his feet, Wolfe heard Kit scream his name.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  HE HIT THE FLOOR RUNNING and was up the stairs to Kit’s bedroom in three seconds. Kicking open the door, his Sig level, he sighted through the doorway, side first to minimize his target area while he watched for shadows.

  Nothing moved.

  A crack of light outlined the bathroom door. Wolfe heard the shower running. Why would she be taking a damned shower now?

  He strode across the room and waited, hearing nothing but the sound of water. In one fluid motion he threw open the door and tracked his Sig across the room.

  There was no sign of Kit anywhere as he saw the shower curtain fluttering beneath the pounding spray. He moved closer, peering around the curtain.

  He was stunned to see Kit on the floor of the shower, her legs drawn up against her chest.

  “Honey, are you okay?”

  With her eyes closed and the shower at full force, she didn’t seem to know he was there. After checking the windows and closets to make sure both rooms were clear, he walked back to the door.

  Her face was tight with pain, her body shaking. He didn’t want to frighten her, so he moved out of sight and twitched the shower curtain a few times. “Are you there, Kit? Everything okay?”

  He heard her muffled gasp. “F-fine. Go away.”

  “Sure I will, honey.” Like hell he would. “First tell me what’s going on. I heard a bang and then you screamed.”

  “I tripped, that’s all. There’s no need to stay.”

  Wolfe frowned. Did she really expect him to buy that? “Can I do anything? Bring you a towel or—”

  “No. I’m going to finish in here, then go back to sleep.” Her voice was tight. “I’ll be fine.”

  Water raced between them in a steaming trail. Wolfe didn’t answer her, hidden behind the curtain. She must have tripped, fallen sideways and hit the floor. There was no mistaking the bruises he’d seen darkening her hip and leg. He could imagine the pain she must be in now.

  And she thought he wouldn’t notice?

  “I’ll help you back to bed.” His voice was cool and impersonal. By fierce effort he drove down his anger at the sight of her white face. Shivering, she huddled against the wet wall in the grip of an illness that would slowly whittle away her freedom and her confidence.

  She made a small, broken sound. “Just g-go, Wolfe. I don’t want you to—”

  He pulled back the shower curtain and stepped through the steaming water. Ignoring her angry questions, he scooped her up, flipped off the shower, and grabbed a towel on his way out to the bedroom, where he wrapped the towel around her shivering body and laid her gently on the bed.

  Kit’s eyes squeezed shut. “Go away,” she said hoarsely. “Please, Wolfe.”

  “You called my name because you needed me.”

  She didn’t answer, turning her face away to avoid his eyes.

  With quick, gentle motions he dried her hair and body. “I’ll be done shortly. Then you can relax.”

  “Relax?” She gave a choked laugh. “Not in this lifetime. Not after you saw me in there—like that.”

  Wolfe kept his voice impersonal. “What happened?”

  After a long time she opened her eyes. “I fell.” Her face was tense, daring him to show pity.

  “Sorry to hear it.” He tried to ignore her soft hips, her long legs. When had she gotten so damned gorgeous? It seemed only yesterday he’d caught her trying to fly by jumping off an old, broken-down pickup truck on the ranch.

  Times change.

  There were spots of color in her cheeks, and he knew that she was mortified. He wasn’t too happy with the situation either. “Tell me what happened in there. Was there something at the window? Did you see someone in the room?” He had to be sure there were no signs of threat that he had missed.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You think someone followed us? Are those men from the Hummer coming here?”

  Wolfe finished drying her shoulders, forcing his eyes away from the curve of her breasts. “I don’t expect them to,” he said gruffly. “On the other hand I’ve got a lot of enemies.” He finished fast, drew the covers up over her, then let out a slow breath. “Go to sleep. You can handle the rest yourself.”

  She ignored him, gripping the covers. “I was sleepy before, but I’m wide awake now. I want answers, Wolfe. Who are these people following you?”

  He decided to let her go on thinking that he was the target. There would be fewer questions that way. “I told you, I’m not exactly popular in certain quarters. My guess is that someone tracked me to Santa Fe.”

  “But why did you bring me along with you? I’m not part of this.”

 
; “Until I’m certain we weren’t followed, this is the only way to keep you safe.” More lies. “Now let’s talk about you,” he snapped. “How long have you been falling like that?”

  She closed her eyes. “None of your business.”

  “It doesn’t take a genius to see you’re in pain, Kit. You’ve got new bruises mixed with five or six older ones on your legs. What’s going on?”

  Her chin rose. “I was tired and I got clumsy. End of story.”

  “Back in the canal tonight, was that clumsiness too?”

  “It was dark. I slipped. So sue me.”

  He didn’t want to sue her. He wanted to shake her and kiss her until she wrapped her legs around him, took him inside her and moaned his name, out of control with lust. The force of that need left him shaken, and he had to look away. His control was slipping and it made him furious. Nothing shook him. Nothing ever frightened him, either.

  Until now. First the scene in the back yard with the dogs. Now Kit’s pain and the knowledge that there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to help her medically.

  Her fingers savaged a seam on the white quilt. “Two men in a Humvee tried to drive us off the road tonight. Then they shot at you and basically destroyed my Jeep. That’s bad enough, but all you’ll tell me is some of your old enemies are up to no good.” Her voice rose on an edge of hysteria. “Not good enough. I want more or I’m going to the police.”

  “Okay, calm down. I’ll tell you what I can. I was doing covert surveillance in the area, arranged by your local authorities. There’s been a security leak at a nearby research facility and I’m tracking someone involved.”

  “What kind of security leak?”

  “I can’t discuss that, Kit. You know how this works.”

  “So that’s all you’re going to tell me?”

  “Sorry if you were expecting more details, but that’s not the way the government works.”

  “Something else is going on, Wolfe. I need to know what.” She didn’t move, her whole body tense. “Look at me.”

  “That’s all you’re getting.” He sat on the edge of the bed and forced all emotion from his face. “Take it or leave it.”