by Billi Jean
Dare simply waited. He’d broken men tougher and smarter than this man. He didn’t need force to do it either.
“I assure you, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I have lived and worked in the US for years. I’ve not returned to Israel in a very long while—”
“Three months ago. Before that, you were in Israel six years ago,” Tazz offered, sounding as bored as he looked.
Dare took the plunge and connected the dots.
Six years ago, he’d been sent in to help save the lives of scientists captured in Iraq. Those scientists had been at a conference in Jordan, after attending one in Israel days earlier. The prisoners were held along the border of Jordon and Iraq. Dare had never read that Dr Monroe was on that list, but then, Ky hadn’t been on it either. Why was she there? Were the two of them there together? Monroe was small and looked young, but he could be near to Ky’s age or much older. It was hard to tell with his ancestry how old he truly was. If he was a scientist, why couldn’t he fetch and carry all her father’s materials?
“Yes, yes, I was in Israel then, I believe,” Dr Monroe nodded several times, “It’s been so long, I mean, since I stayed for longer than the holidays.”
“Why can’t you gather what these men need, if it’s files and samples?” Dare asked, interrupting what he imagined would be a pack of lies.
“Me? That is impossible. I am not qualified. I work mainly with bacteria and the isolated cases and strains of disease to create cures. I do not work on genetics any longer, Mr Scott.”
Dare shared a look with Tazz. “But you did at one time?”
“I was Dr Chung’s lab assistant for several years, yes.”
Daren’s shoulders tightened. Something big was about to happen, but what?
“If you were his assistant, wouldn’t you be able to pass along information?” Dare asked.
“No, not at all. You see, I was never on his team working with genetics.”
Dare glanced at Tazz and he recognized the anger in his buddy’s eyes.
Tazz knew the doctor was in on this. That meant he wanted to interrogate him where he was off balance. The question was—was the doctor off balance because they were interrogating him, or because he believed Ky was nearby? How would he know that? Had Tazz known? How? Worse, if it was Ky, what did the man want with her?
Her adamant belief this man was involved meant a great deal to Daren. She was a smart, passionate woman with the brains to back her hunches with a powerful punch. If she’d missed things early on, it was because she’d been too close, or too scared, but it’d not taken her long to realize Monroe wasn’t coming clean with her.
“Files, how hard could that be?” he pushed Eric, taking the cue from Tazz to drill the guy for more.
“It’s not that, it’s difficult.” Monroe shook his head, and pulled out a white handkerchief to wipe along his forehead. “It’s very hard to explain.”
Dare tacked ten years onto his age. No one under the age of forty carried a hankie, for God’s sake.
“Try,” Tazz growled.
Monroe nodded immediately and put his hankie away.
“That’s not what they are demanding. They want the files, the codes and a working sample, that is, they want proof that the formula works. Ms Chung is qualified to prove the experiment a success, but I am not, sir.”
“Then why contact you?” Tazz asked.
“True. Why you, doctor? To me, that sounds like there’s more you’re doing than you’re saying, if you get my meaning.”
“I…” Monroe blinked and shook his head. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Really? That’s a bit odd, don’t you think?” Dare asked, running a hand along his short hair and making a show of thinking about that. “I mean”—he stepped closer, backing the man two feet before the SUV stopped him. From his peripheral, Tazz stood from his slouch next to Monroe and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why pull in a third when you want it quiet, right? I mean, did you even know what Dr Chung was doing? I mean, did you somehow let it leak what he was doing…now do you see my meaning?”
“Daren?”
Dare stiffened, a foot from Monroe. The man’s eyes turned cold and a slyness flowed over his expression. It was gone immediately behind a mask of fear, but Dare had seen it. That was all he needed. He shoved the smaller man against the SUV, turned him and put him in a headlock with his gun to the man’s head. Behind him, Ky gasp.
“I told you to stay in the car, Ky,” he said, turning to face her.
She’d just stepped from the other side of the sedan, and all he could see was her shocked expression. She clutched her throat, eyes widening when she recognized who he held at gun point.
“Daren. That’s Eric.”
The name vibrated through the air and against his will, his arm tightened as jealousy took a stranglehold of his guts. Ky knew this man. She more than knew this man. They’d been intimate. There were ways to tell if a man had slept with a woman, or if a woman had slept with a man. Ky said Monroe’s name and Dare knew. She’d let this man touch her.
He bracketed the jealous surge of anger, and loosened his hold a fraction before the guy passed out from lack of oxygen.
Ky’s past, and who she’d had in it, wasn’t his business. Her future and who was in it, was. For whatever reason, she’d not been with this man for years, so their past was over, he had her now.
The quick thoughts eased his jealousy down to a manageable level, or at least to the point that he could think clearly without the image of Monroe lying in a pool of blood at his feet.
Even though she’d completely disobeyed him, he silently thanked her. Without her interfering, he might have believed the man’s bewildered act—now? Now he knew. Ky was one reason Monroe was here. The money, no doubt, from the stolen codes and genetics files, was another.
“He’s in on it. It was there,” he told Tazz. “In his eyes. The bastard’s in on it.”
“Agreed,” Tazz said.
“You complete coward. You helped them take my father? How could you do such a thing?” she demanded, her anger so bright she looked like she might deck the little guy.
The jealousy went down another hundred notches. Coward, she’d called him a coward. A woman didn’t do that for no good reason. Still, he never wanted to hear her say another man’s name again. Insanity must be part of the downfall of a man in love, he thought with a grimace, and twisted so he could keep Monroe secure in his arms. The man hadn’t moved, he’d barely breathed, but Dare wasn’t taking any chances.
“I’m guessing if you don’t back off that hold, we’re not getting much out of Dr Monroe,” Tazz warned.
Dare loosened his grip a fraction, shocked to realize he’d gone in for the kill hold again without consciously telling his body to do any such thing.
“Doctor? Is that what Mr Monroe told you?”
“I thought he was a doctor?” Tazz asked.
Dare turned the man so he could get a full look at Ky, because she sounded ready to rip Eric in half. As she walked around the BMW to reach them, she came into full view for the first time. As soon as she did, he took a direct hit of lust right to his groin.
He shifted the doctor away so he wouldn’t feel the twitch and surge he experienced in his cock at the sight of her. His gaze narrowed at the slight red mark he saw on her slender throat. He’d marked her in other places as well. As caveman as he knew it was, he wanted to puff out his chest at the sight of her. Monroe stiffened in his arms, and if Dare had to guess, the man knew exactly why it’d taken her so long to get out of the car.
Kylie’s lips were puffy, and her hair was a tangled but somewhat controlled mass of black that she’d tried to tie up in a bun at the back of her head, but she’d only made herself look sexier than hell. Her blouse was buttoned correctly, her skirt beautifully lining her long legs and lush ass, but he could see another slight blush of color on the other side of her neck from where he’d either marked her or his stubble had. All in all, she made his
knees weak and worse, she looked like she’d just had the best sex of her life.
He hoped like hell she had, because he knew he had. And in a car.
What are you going to do with her in a bed, man? The thought made him harder if possible. But it also brought with it the disturbing whisper of jealousy—images really—of Monroe ever hearing the soft sounds Kylie made when she neared her climax.
Kylie’s face grew darker with anger as she drew closer.
“Is he a doctor, or not?” Tazz asked again.
Kylie lifted one beautifully shaped eyebrow at the man he held. “Mr Monroe has a doctorate in philosophy and I believe religion, but mainly someone is only referred to as a doctor when they receive a PhD in medicine or science, such as my father and I have.” She let that sink in, with just enough bite that Monroe stiffened and tried to say something.
“Oh, I am sure if he introduced himself as doctor, it was merely to show his credentials, or”—she tapped her chin as if she had to think about something—“lack thereof.”
Monroe squirmed suddenly, making a sound like a scared rabbit and tried to speak. Dare moved his gun to press it firmly against his head.
“I would keep whatever you have to say on the subject of your degrees inside your head, my man. Right now, we’re going for a ride.”
“No! I want to know if he has my father! What if he’s the one, the only one behind this, Daren?”
Daren froze, thinking on it carefully. He could be the only one, and have her dad somewhere, but how would this man lure her father away from his work?
“Sorry, Kylie, but that’s not the way this panned out. I wish it were, kid, but your father is in danger. But”—Tazz held up a hand—“don’t direct that evil stare at me just yet. If we use this little man, we might just save your dad and keep the information from getting into the wrong hands.”
Whose hands those were, Daren wasn’t sure of, but Kylie seemed to accept Tazz’s word on this with only a brief glance at him for confirmation.
“Yeah, it’s the best plan, Ky.”
She nodded, trusting him completely. He took a hit to his crazy system again.
“He doesn’t like to be touched, like that, I believe,” Ky said, in such a flat tone Dare frowned at her. “He doesn’t like to transfer germs. So maybe simply shove his head in a toilet stall, or threaten to, and he’ll talk.”
“Whoa, girl, that’s the best plan ever,” Dare laughed. “Damn, she’s brilliant. A doctor, too.”
Tazz grinned, but the humor didn’t hit his eyes. “Put him down for now, bro. We need to talk without the ears.”
Dare tightened his grip, hitting the right amount of pressure to put Monroe to sleep for at least ten minutes. Kylie blinked, but didn’t seem fazed by his aggression. If he had to guess, she seemed to watch, trying to figure out how he did it. Any other time he would have ribbed her on it, but right now he had a man to get out of the way.
Tazz opened the door to the SUV, and within minutes they had him handcuffed to the safety bar with the door closed.
“That will do,” Tazz said, turning to them with a dark look.
Dare moved in next to Ky. She immediately wrapped her arm around his waist and ducked under the arm he settled around her shoulders. The tension tightening his muscles eased slowly.
“He really did this, didn’t he? Why? Why would he do this?” she asked.
“Money is why,” Tazz said.
At his words, Ky lifted her head and turned to him.
“Maybe a bit more,” Tazz added.
She stiffened then shook her head in denial. “Eric was long ago. Years ago. If he’d wanted more from me, kidnapping my father isn’t the way to do that, is it?” She sighed and relaxed against Dare’s side.
She felt so perfect his heart steadied to a normal beat.
“I mean, please, no man has ever chased me in my life. Why kidnap my dad for a date?” she asked.
“Baby, I chased you for six years,” Dare murmured to her, not liking how she put herself down.
She glanced at him, clearly checking to see if he was teasing her. He was in a way, since he’d looked for her, but not truly believed she’d even been real. “Now? I’d chase your ass all over the world before I let you go,” he added, with a flash of insight into the woman who was digging her way into his soul.
She needed his honesty the way some women needed compliments. She liked those too, but his honesty seemed to make her stronger. Against his side, where she’d been leaning, she now stood a little taller, and met his eyes with such a look that, if he’d been alone, he would have done something about.
“Okay, enough of the lovey-dovey and on with the plan. First, get a room.”
Ky must have shot him a dirty look, because Tazz grinned and held his hands up.
“You were supposed to go to the safe house anyway, now it’s an order. Second, get to the files in your dad’s lab. I’ll take care of Monroe. No need to get him killed, and one more look at you like that and I won’t be able to hold Dare back, got it?”
Ky nodded quickly when Tazz paused.
“And you, rest. I mean a solid eight,” Tazz told him with a jab at his chest. “Eat and—”
“I should warn you that the medications need to stop. How long have you been on it?”
Tazz straightened his shoulders and narrowed his eyes at something in the distance. Maybe searching his soul, Dare didn’t know, but after a while, he rubbed his face.
“I’ve been on my own now for six months, taking it when I can.”
“You have a supply?”
“I have a supply.”
The flat, short answer didn’t stop Kylie. She shook her head, and continued, “The drug is taking a toll on your ability to process. That’s one reason you were snapping at me before, and why you are on edge now. Stop the meds, and I will get you what you need to repair what we can before it’s too late. I thought the program had shut down working with volunteers. It was, and is, dangerous, Robert.”
Dare tightened his hold on her, watching Tazz process what she’d just told him. His buddy didn’t change expression, but his eyes sharpened, to the point that Dare almost moved in front of Ky, but she held her ground, not backing down from Tazz’s blue-eyed stare.
“They did shut it down, right when you left two years ago, I believe. But you and I both know—hell, most do—that this kind of thing doesn’t go away. They re-instated the Sentinels, and from all I’ve been able to uncover before everyone was killed, they had your dad under constant surveillance. Even you for a while, until it was clear that he wasn’t in contact with you. If it makes it better, your dad lost his freedom long before now. He lost it the first time his drug didn’t save a person from cancer but increased that person’s ability to think and endure pain.”
Kylie lost her breath on a small gasp, but simply nodded. She blinked hard, and Dare speared Tazz with a glare. She was close to tears, he knew. She caught his hand and squeezed it. “He was to blame, too, Robert. But thank you. I never knew. I mean, he and I had a falling out…”
“About the program, correct. But it was a bit more than that,” Tazz added grudgingly.
“We can help you. I promise you we can. My father would know more, but I can help, too,” she offered quietly when Tazz turned his back and paced to the car. He stood there with his back to them, his hands fisted on his hips, not saying a word.
“Did I say too much, Daren?” she whispered after a few seconds.
“No, you said what you needed to. He needs to hear it,” Dare said.
“I don’t want you taking that drug again,” she said in a firmer voice.
Something warm spread through his chest, something that had begun with her words to his buddy. It grew so hot he rubbed his pecs and breathed her in. She tightened her small arm around his waist.
“Did you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am. I heard you, and I won’t.” Dare bent and kissed her, getting all pansy choked up over a woman saying silly things
to him.
She smiled against his lips but quickly sobered. “I didn’t mean to startle him,” she said, watching Tazz closely.
“You said the right thing, Ky. Don’t fret,” he told her, then to Tazz he yelled, “Hey, man, buck up. There’s no harm in getting Ky to help you out. Sober the hell up and stop with the drug.”
Tazz turned then, and gave them both a look Dare didn’t like. He looked desperate, almost near a panic.
“Shit,” Dare muttered. “You can’t quit, can you?”
Tazz shook his head firmly. “Not without someone doing some major fucking surgery, or knocking me the fuck out for a week. But that’s not the worry now. Ky is. She is going to be skating some thin ice here, with more monsters under it than any horror show you can think up. And unless you want her in protective custody…?”
“Fuck that,” Dare growled, drawing her even closer to his side.
“Then you have to take out the trash, and quick.”
“Take out the trash?” Ky murmured.
“That means we need to dangle a bit of bait, and find out how many of these yahoos want your dad’s shit, and you, Ky, are the bait,” Tazz said.
Dare took a step toward him, but stopped when Ky hugged him tight and murmured for him to calm down.
“Tazz, what the hell have—?”
“It’s okay, Daren. I’ve always known, I mean.” She put a hand on his chest and looked at him with such earnestness his heart clenched, “I mean, since you arrived on that street, that there was more going on than exchanging my father for his research. More people after it. You were both right. How could he be alive? If he were, they could force him to create a new line of the medications for them. But with me, if they had the files, the proof and me to work out the science, they wouldn’t need him. And vice-versa. So they must need me.”
Tazz grunted, rubbed both hands over his face and dropped them to his hips with a frustrated sigh. “Right. But the thing is, your dad is alive. Or he was two hours ago, when Monroe spoke to him. So that means your dad is somehow involved—”
Ky turned from mild mannered, sweet girl to ninja tigress in the space it took Tazz to open his big Texan mouth on his next word.