by Lexi Blake
“No. I’m going to hand them over to the oil company that’s paying me and let them sit on it. There’s still money to be made in oil. A lot of it. Until such time as that changes, there’s no place for technology like this. Do you really think some bumfuck beach bum from Loa Mali is the first scientist to think this up? No. This is just the latest, and we’ll take this down, too. When the company is ready, they’ll roll out their own version and the money will stay in the right hands.”
Ian had been right. This wasn’t about selling secrets to other governments. “So you work for companies that want you to steal technology for them. Or hurt other companies. That’s why you’re working with my uncle on the pipeline.”
Nelson shrugged a little, like a small boy who had been caught cheating at Monopoly. “Malone Oil doesn’t belong to my employers. If you aren’t in with the big boys, then you’re fair game. The Collective watches out for their membership.”
“The Collective? They have a name for themselves? Oh, god, I hate the Illuminati crap. So I’m supposed to believe that a bunch of CEOs have gotten together and they hire you to what? Steal some plans? What the hell can you really do?”
A nasty little smile lit Nelson’s features. “Well, let’s see. Let me give you an example. Let’s say my latest assignment is for a pharmaceutical company whose top-selling pain reliever is being beaten out by new-blood competition. New drug research takes years and millions of dollars. It’s so much easier to simply herd the public where we think they should go.”
She got a chill as she remembered what had happened a little over a month before. Someone had coated the caplets of a certain brand of ibuprofen with a cyanide paste. It was clear and undetectable to the human eye. Fifteen people in five states had died.
The company’s stock had plummeted while the rival company had seen its shares and its products purchased at higher quantities than ever before.
They had called it a terrorist attack. For Nelson, it seemed it was just good business. “You’re a terrorist for hire.”
“I’m just a lowly employee, Charlotte, looking to make his pension. Like a lot of other people in my line of business. The Collective finds it easy to recruit from Western intelligence agencies. They pay crap. The Collective offers an alternative. Did you wonder how I knew to be here at this particular time?”
She had wondered about it. And come up with some unsavory answers. “You’re saying one of the agents is working for you?”
“Maybe more than one, but certainly you have a viper in your little nest.” He picked up the microphone again and pressed the button on the side before speaking into it. His voice filled the air around her. “Mr. Taggart, you’re down to one minute. Has the bloom worn off the rose so quickly? Well, then you won’t mind when I try her out myself.”
“I’m here.”
Charlie’s whole body went electric with the sound of his rough-as-gravel voice. Fear crept along her spine as her husband stepped on the bridge and every gun in the room pointed his way. Four AK-47s that could tear him apart in an instant.
He shouldn’t have come. He should have found a way off the boat. She wasn’t worth his life, not after everything she’d done.
“Hey, baby.” He held a laptop computer in one hand, his eyes on her.
Two more pirates came up behind him, surrounding him with death.
God, she couldn’t lose him.
“Mr. Taggart, so nice to see you again.” Eli Nelson sounded perfectly content, but then he did have the upper hand. “Did you bring me my data?”
Ian tapped the computer with his left hand. “It’s password protected. I’ll give you the laptop, but you don’t get the password until Charlie and I are off the ship.”
A low chuckle came out of Nelson’s mouth. “Really? You think this is a negotiation?”
If Ian was bothered by all those guns pointed at him, he didn’t show it. He stood tall, his shoulders squared, his stance firm. “I think I have something you want and you definitely have something that belongs to me.”
“I wish we had more time,” Nelson said, sighing with regret. “I really do. I would honestly find it fascinating to peel back your layers, Tag. I mean that literally. I would love to take you with me and skin your hide. But I would also try to understand how you fell for a woman I hired to fuck you. I’ll be honest. I thought I had a fifty-fifty shot at it working.”
“Whatever you paid, you should have doubled it because she’s really good,” Ian replied.
“Ian!” It was good to know his sarcasm didn’t fade just because they were about to die.
Ian sent a slow, infinitely sexy smile her way. “Hey, baby, it’s true. I like to acknowledge great work, and you have the sweetest pussy in the whole world. It’s totally worth a man’s downfall.”
Why was he so damn calm?
He obviously had a plan and it didn’t involve giving Eli Nelson everything he wanted.
One of the pirates, a large man with scars covering his face, leaned in, speaking in broken English about some boat being sighted.
Nelson frowned. “We’ll be faster than the fucking Coast Guard. What the hell did I hire you for if you can’t handle a couple of Coast Guard boats? Get my boat ready. We leave in a few minutes.”
The pirate jogged off, ducking down the stairs.
Only five guns now. What was Ian planning? And how was she going to get that remote device off Nelson?
She glanced down at the water. It was fairly calm. She knew roughly where they had placed the bomb.
If she couldn’t get the remote, maybe she could get the damn bomb. Maybe she could turn it all around. How far was it to the water? She just had to get out the side door and over the railing, but she would have to jump out or she would hit the larger main deck instead of the water. She didn’t need a couple of broken legs.
Nelson pointed his own gun Ian’s way. “Give me the laptop.”
Ian didn’t move. “Give me my girl.”
Nelson grabbed her arm, hauling her to his side. “I’m going to give you your girl the same way I did before if you don’t hand me that laptop.”
“It’s useless without the password. The system has been encrypted to erase the hard drive if you put the wrong password in more than three times. I hope you’re good at guessing, Nelson.” He handed the laptop over to one of the pirates.
“All right. I’ll need the password then. If I have to, I’ll take you with me and I’ll have fun torturing it out of you. Or you could just watch me rape your little whore here. I’ve always had a thing for her.” His hand moved up her torso, nearly to her breast, but she remained still because that gun was oh so close to her brain. “Yes, I think torturing her will be a more effective way to get you to talk. Or maybe I could get two for the price of one. Tell me something, Tag. Where’s that snot-nosed baby brother of yours? I know he’s on the boat. Did you hide him away?”
A smirk lit Ian’s face. “No, I’m distracting you so he can get away.”
There was the sound of an engine gunning and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw something jet out of the yacht’s garage moving at a high speed. She turned and a jet ski was skimming along the surface of the water in a straight line.
“Fuck.” Nelson turned, his attention going to the bow of the boat. “Open fire. Stop that jackass. I want him dead.”
Ian’s hands moved faster than she could track. He bent over and when he came back up, a knife was flying across the room, finding a place in one of the pirates’ neck. The man’s hand was on his gun, and as he fell his finger spasmed, sending a line of bullets into the man beside him.
Both fell, dead, on the floor.
Three left. And very little time. Ian didn’t know about the bomb. He didn’t know that Nelson could still take them all down.
He kicked out as the bullets started to fly.
Charlie brought her elbow forward and then back, catching Nelson in the chest. He groaned and stumbled, giving her just enough time to make it out the side
door. Complete chaos rained down on them. From the bridge, the sound of gunfire racked the room.
She glanced back and saw blood staining Ian’s left leg, but he’d gotten a gun and he was moving down the stairs.
Jumping over the railing, she took only a second to judge the distance between her and the water.
Then fire lit her and sent her careening over the edge. At the last minute before she fell, she managed to kick off the railing and gain the momentum she needed. She tried to control the dive, but the pain in her arm was burning.
A bullet. She’d taken a bullet.
She hit the water with a whoosh and the world above went quiet. Light filtered down into the water, a lamp by which to see. Something started to cloud the liquid around her.
Blood. Her blood. How bad was it? It didn’t matter. She gritted her teeth because she had to find that bomb.
Above, the sounds of battle were muffled as though they were so far away, but she knew every moment counted. Nelson and Ian were trying to kill each other. She had to get back on the yacht and help her husband.
She forced herself to move, though her lungs were already burning. She moved from the light into the shadows where the pirate ship touched the yacht. Instinct told her to move away. The boats were so close together they formed a tight little space. Too tight. But she had to force herself to stay calm.
Surfacing, the sounds of battle rushed back to her, but she had to take the chance that Ian was keeping Nelson occupied. In between the two boats, they might not even see her. She was tiny compared to the two boats that bobbed around her.
Her arm ached and bled, but it looked like a through and through. The white surface of the yacht’s hull was in front of her, the only thing marring it a large cake of C-4 that had been attached by one of Nelson’s hired goons.
She forced herself to swim between the boats. So tight. The space seemed too small, but she turned her face upward and breathed in. She could do this.
She’d thought to send it to the bottom of the ocean, but a much better plan occurred to her.
The cake pried off in her hand. She turned to the pirate boat. It was a simple thing to toss the explosive up and over the side. There was a little thunk as it hit the deck. She prayed no one was watching, that everyone was on board the yacht.
Suddenly, the pirate ship shifted as a wave hit them. Charlie was caught between the two and sent headfirst into the yacht’s hull.
Pain bloomed in her skull and then she could see the water all around her. It was quiet again and she was floating. The pain seemed to be gone. She knew her lungs were trying to work, but it seemed far off and darkness was just on the outer edge of her consciousness.
The first time she’d died, all she could think about was what she would miss, all the things she hadn’t done. Regret had blanketed her. Death had been a cold, dark place.
It was different now. As the world started to go dark, all she could see was him. Her Master. All she could feel was the way he’d cared for her, how vibrant and beautiful the world had been in the end.
This time when she died, she realized another truth. At the end, there was love. Love for him. Love for her.
Death was so much easier the second time around.
* * * *
Ian cursed as Charlie went over the side of the yacht, but there was very little he could do about it because he was pinned down on the main deck. He’d managed to jump down from the bridge and take up a tactical position, but Nelson still had him caught and he’d called for reinforcements.
And he had the fucking laptop. Ian had lied about the security. There hadn’t been time to do anything beyond getting the king and his cousin to the garage. Jiang Kun was fitting them with scuba gear to get them the fuck off this coffin.
Luckily all the furniture on the boat was nailed down. Ian was behind a large chaise where the king probably did his little harem on a regular basis. It was sturdy enough for two and provided decent cover.
Anxiety knotted his gut as he popped up and laid out another round of fire. It was immediately met, and he took a slug across his shoulder. It burned but the bullet hadn’t done more than broken the skin. The bullet in his thigh was another matter. It was buried deep and bleeding like a motherfucker.
He wasn’t sure he’d be able to swim very far.
“Cease fire.” The command came over the loud speaker. “Get to the boat. Follow the plan. We have what we need and you will be paid.”
Fuck. What had happened?
He touched his earpiece. He’d been silent for a long time and had to hope Knight was still in position. “What’s going on?”
“The Coast Guard,” Knight said. “I just caught sight of them. They’re probably ten minutes away.”
“Do you see my wife?”
“That’s a negative, Tag. I don’t have a visual on her, but your brother and Simon are making their way along the port side, heading for you.”
His brother’s voice came over the device. “I’ll be there in 60, brother.”
One minute. He wasn’t sure Charlie had a minute. If Nelson got on his boat and saw her in the water, he would shoot her out of sheer spite.
He stood up, firing toward the stairs that led to the main deck.
Unfortunately, there was no one left to kill.
“I left you a present, Tag.” This time the sound was coming from the starboard side of the ship. Ian moved his ass, trying to get to the fucker before he got away. “Sorry to leave so very quickly, but I think our little game is over now. It would have been nice to have the tech, but in the end as long as I’ve destroyed it, it doesn’t matter. I’ve rigged the ship to explode so you won’t be able to play anymore. It’s okay since your little whore is floating. You’ll join her as soon as I get enough distance between us.”
“Tag!”
He heard his brother shout as the boat Nelson was on began to pull away.
He pulled the trigger in frustration, trying to spray the boat. He’d already lost sight of Nelson.
And then he saw something that made his heart stop.
A body floating in the water, face down, her hair around her like a halo.
“Ian, we have to go,” his brother said as he ran up to him. He looked out and then pulled at Ian’s shirt. “Ian, no.”
But he wasn’t listening. He tossed the gun aside and dove in, bad leg, aching shoulder and all.
Suck it up, Taggart. She’s alive. She’s fucking alive because she can’t be dead.
Pain flared through his system but he swam to her, forcing her body over, her face up to the sun.
“Come on, baby.” He started to swim back, trying not to think about the fact that she wasn’t breathing. Her chest wasn’t moving up and down. Her body was dead weight in his arms.
Not fucking dead. Not dead.
It became his mantra as he swam back, the rhythm that kept his limbs moving, his heart pumping.
Not fucking dead.
Charlie wasn’t dead. Charlie couldn’t be dead. He’d just found her again and he’d wasted time being mad at her. He should have just laid down in front of her and thanked the fucking universe for a second chance. Because the anger he’d felt was nothing compared to the love. He loved her. She was his in that stupid Hollywood way that made a man think dumbass things about the future.
“Give her to me.” Sean leaned over, reaching for her and hauling her up.
Simon pulled Ian on to the deck.
Sean held her, but there was no strength in her body, just useless limbs hanging down. Everything that was Charlie seemed gone. “We need to go. It won’t be long before he detonates that bomb. They left the second boat. Not enough men left to crew it. Let’s go.”
Charlie wouldn’t last long enough to get to the boat.
“Lay her down,” he commanded.
Sean laid her on the deck. “I’m so sorry, brother.”
“Go. Both of you.” Dropping to his knees, he ignored the pain that was screaming along his nerves. It was easy
since the panic in his head was shouting down everything else. He was sure his face was passive, a trick from years of training, but he was fighting for control. Fighting the need to scream.
He moved to her mouth, tilting her head back. A kiss. It was like a kiss. He could trick his brain into believing it was just another kiss with his wife. He should have kissed her more. All the time.
One breath in and then another.
Methodically, he found her xiphoid process. It was there at the base of her breastbone. He moved the flat of his palm to her chest and pumped. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
His brother was still here. If his brother died, Grace would feel this ache. She would feel the blinding pain of having half her fucking soul ripped away from her. She would understand what it meant to sit up at night and wonder where the hell her husband had gone. She’d already been through it once. She couldn’t again. Not while Ian could stop it. “Get him out, Simon. That’s an order. If you have any loyalty to me at all, do it.”
He bent over and breathed into Charlie’s sweet mouth again as Sean started to argue. There was a thud and when he moved back to chest compressions, Simon was picking up Sean’s unconscious body and hauling it over his shoulder.
His deep blue eyes found Ian’s. “Good luck, boss. And thank you.”
“Take care of my crew.” One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
His body was on autopilot. He couldn’t seem to stop. Part of him said to just give up, hold her in his arms and wait for the world to explode because wherever she was, that was where he wanted to be. He’d meant it. He didn’t want to live in a world where he lost her twice.
Fuck. His vision was blurry. Something splashed and hit Charlie’s cheek.
He was crying. He didn’t fucking cry.
“You don’t get to leave me!” A violent anger raged inside him. She didn’t get to die. Not twice. Not now. If he was going out, then he wanted her looking into his eyes when it happened, he wanted them connected so he could hold on to her. So he didn’t lose her.
He struck her chest, a deep thud causing her body to jerk. “Wake up. You wake up, bitch, because I’m not doing this without you.”