Razor's Edge

by Shannon K. Butcher

  “Gage Dallas fits that profile.”

  “But he’s not much of a talker. I need someone who can chat up the locals and find out if any strangers matching Jake’s description have passed through.”

  “Why not do it yourself?”

  “We tried. We ended up in police custody, and I’m not too sure just how friendly local law enforcement is to our cause.”

  “Were you charged with anything?”

  “Not yet. Two medical professionals were attacked. They have Tanner and me on camera going in well after the attack took place. They also have the guy who did it on video. I don’t think it will be a problem, or I would have already called my attorney.”

  “But news spreads fast in a small town. And no one is going to trust you now.”

  “Exactly,” said Roxanne.

  “Clay is on call. I’ll send him and Gage to meet you. Will that suffice?”

  “Add Reid’s time onto my bill, too. He’ll probably come without getting paid, since he’s Tanner’s brother, but he shouldn’t have to.”

  “I’m not so sure he’d come. Tanner and Reid aren’t exactly close.”

  “No?”

  “No. Not that it’s any of my affair.”

  Which was rich for I know juicy gossip that I’m not going to tell you.

  “I’ll let them sort that out,” she said, refusing to get nosy. She was dying to know more about Tanner, even if it wasn’t something sterling and noble. She craved information, but she wasn’t willing to talk behind his back. If he wanted her to know, he’d tell her. Right after she asked.

  Payton breathed deeply, struggling to still his internal panic. His training kept him calm on the outside, but inside, he was boiling with anxiety.

  Razor’s life was at stake. So were the lives of several others—people he had sworn to protect. But he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. He had to know the truth. He had to know if the entries in that journal were the deranged ravings of a lunatic, or solid proof that what he’d felt in his gut was true.

  The Threshold Project wasn’t dead. It wasn’t buried under a mountain of top secret documents—those he hadn’t destroyed himself. The research had started again. Maybe it had a different name, and maybe they were using grown men instead of children, but the results were still the same. People were going to die, their lives would be destroyed, their families torn apart.

  And what about the original subjects? The List had been destroyed, or so they’d thought, but he still remembered the names of the people he’d hurt.

  He couldn’t let it happen again.

  Sending Gage and Clay helped ease some of his concern. Even with Clay’s injuries, he would be an asset. Both men were deadly. Both would protect Razor with their lives. Both of them would know where to look for signs of human experimentation, since they’d both been subjected to the same thing. Neither one remembered, but the knowledge was in them, buried deep and hidden under layers of security.

  Maybe something they’d see would strike a chord and they’d find whoever was doing this and stop them fast.

  Then again, maybe seeing that same thing would break away some of those layers, leaving them closer to remembering the truth. If that happened, not only would his cover be blown, but chances were neither of them would live through it.

  Payton considered going into hiding for one brief, cowardly moment. He had enough money to live out his life in peace. He could find a beach somewhere and be served fruity drinks by busty women until the day he died.

  But if he did, what would happen to those kids? They needed him here, watching over them, keeping them safe from themselves. Keeping the world safe from them.

  So far, only one of the kids on the List had turned rogue. He’d killed seven women before Payton had found him. Those seven deaths were on Payton’s head, like so many others. The only thing he could ever do to make up for all the evil he’d caused was to stay where he was, where he could do the most good, and watch over his kids.

  With that in mind, the panic eased, and he lifted the phone from its cradle to call the men.

  Nelson Bower stifled the urge to cower as he entered Dr. Stynger’s office.

  Her head rose from the worn journal and she stared at him in expectation. Her bright red lipstick was the only vivid color in the room, and he found himself staring, unable to look away from her bloodred mouth.

  He swallowed his unease and forced himself to speak. “There was an incident last night. One of the subjects got out of his room.”

  “How is that possible? They all should have been sleeping.”

  Nelson shrugged. “I don’t know how it happened, but I’m dealing with the guard responsible for not stopping it while it was happening.”

  “Where is the subject now?”

  “Training.”

  “At least he didn’t get out of the facility. That would have been unfortunate.”

  “He doesn’t know that we know. I thought you might want to deal with his punishment.”

  “Which one?”

  “Jake Staite,” he said, before remembering she didn’t care for names. “S-eleven-sixteen.”

  Dr. Stynger shook her head, bringing attention to just how scrawny her neck really was. It would be so easy to break. Nelson wondered why he feared her as much as he did.

  Maybe because he’d seen what she could do with those drugs of hers. He checked every day for needle marks, making sure she wasn’t slipping him anything when he slept.

  “He’s proving to be more difficult than the rest. He’s not afraid of pain, and he’s not responding fast enough to our protocol.”

  She’d had him kill the last man who hadn’t performed to her expectations, and while he’d do what he must, he didn’t relish the idea of snuffing out Jake’s life. The man had promise. “Maybe he just needs more time. He fits the profile. It’s not like you want a bunch of pansies in your ranks.”

  “I can’t allow him to be destroyed until his diary is back in our possession. We may need him for bait.”

  “So, what do we do with him? We can’t let him run around the halls at night.”

  “I’ll move him to the next phase early.”

  “I thought you said that was dangerous.”

  “It can be, but his lack of obedience is even more dangerous—to all of us. The investors are coming, and I can’t show any signs of weakness.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Nelson pulled in a deep breath. “There’s one more thing.”

  Dr. Stynger sighed in impatience. “I’m busy, General. Spit it out.”

  “Some of the camera footage from last night is gone. Deleted. There is a five-minute block of time during which we weren’t able to follow his actions.”

  “It was Jordyn,” she stated, disappointment clear in her tone. “She seems to have a soft spot for the subject.”

  “What do you want me to do to her?”

  “I’m her mother. I’ll deal with her myself.”

  Jake shoved down his food, forcing himself to eat it. He didn’t know how long it would stay down, but he had to try to keep his strength.

  Moss was paler today and as green around the gills as Jake probably was.

  They sat at the breakfast table with Mac, the fourth spot where Evans usually sat glaringly empty. He still hadn’t been released from the infirmary, if that was even where he was being held.

  Moss told Mac about the tubes they’d discovered and what had happened last night. After Jake had slipped back into their quarters, another man had come through a while later. He’d taken their blood pressure and temperature, and he had removed the T-shirt from the camera.

  At least that explained that mystery.

  “So, they’re drugging us to sleep every night?” asked Mac, keeping his voice low and his mouth full of food to obscure their conversation for anyone who might be watching.

  “Looks like it,” said Moss. “I don’t know how many more nights I can fake sleeping through that.”

  “I think we should unplug
the tubes until we’re ready to go. It’ll reduce our chances of getting caught.”

  “And when will that be?” asked Mac. “Evans is still missing. I won’t leave without him.”

  Jake glanced at Moss. His cheeks were more sunken today, and the circles under his eyes were darker. They were running out of time. “What if he’s already out?”

  “You mean dead, like Greene.”

  It had crossed his mind. “If we don’t act soon, none of us is going to make it out. You know we’ll come back for him—bust this whole place wide open and reveal it for what it is.”

  Mac shook his head. “Whatever happened to ‘never leave a fallen man behind’?”

  “We don’t know if he’s fallen. What I do know is that we need to escape so we can come back with reinforcements and free him, too.”

  “Let me request a visit again. If they won’t let me see him, then we’ll act.”

  “Okay. We’ll decide on our plan at dinner.”

  One of the SABER goons came to their table. His biceps bulged against the fabric of his uniform. The red band on his left arm identified him as one of the elite here in the compound. “Jake Staite, come with me.”

  “Where are you taking me?” asked Jake.

  The man said nothing; he simply waited for Jake to obey.

  “Tell us where he’s going, or he’s not going anywhere,” said Moss, rising to his feet.

  Now was not the time for a confrontation. If Moss got locked in a cell somewhere, getting out of here was going to be much, much harder.

  Jake lifted his hands to his friend to ward him away. “I’ll be fine.”

  “You don’t know that.” Moss didn’t say anything about last night’s escapades, but his intense gaze spoke volumes. He was worried.

  So was Jake. “I’ll see you soon,” he said, praying it wasn’t a lie.

  Roxanne and Tanner met the men from the Edge at a motel a few miles away. They pulled up in a huge RV that was plastered with NRA bumper stickers. The one next to the side door read INSURED BY SMITH AND WESSON.

  She grinned as she came out to meet them, hopping up into the back of the RV with Tanner right on her heels. “Nice ride, guys.”

  “We aim to please, little lady,” said Clay, tipping his cowboy hat.

  He was tall and slim, filling out his jeans better than most men on the planet. His features were a bit gaunt, as if he could use a few extra meals. Roxanne bet there was a line of women ready and willing to provide. All he had to do was ask.

  Even so, she’d never seen him with a woman, or heard him talk about dating. She wasn’t sure if it was because he was being professional, or if he just didn’t date. The latter seemed an impossible notion, but stranger things had happened.

  He had two black eyes that brought out the intense amber color of his irises. He sported a fresh cut on his cheek held closed with Steri-Strips, another cut on his lip, and several of his knuckles were bruised and split open.

  “What happened to you?” she asked.

  “Bar fight. I got into one so I’d blend in, just for you, Razor.”

  She smiled at him. “I think that’s the nicest thing a man’s ever done for me.”

  Tanner shifted a small step closer, and she swore she could feel more than hear a low rumble coming from his chest.

  Reid got up from the passenger seat. “If my brother hasn’t been treating you right, Razor, just let me know.” There was no smile on his face or sign that he was joking. Instead, he gave Tanner a level stare of warning.

  The brothers’ eyes were exactly the same brilliant blue color, and both men had the same rough, handsome features. Tanner’s were leaner and more defined, whereas Reid’s were more blunt, but as they stood near each other like this, the family resemblance was unmistakable.

  “Of course he’s treating me well,” she said, looping her fingers over Tanner’s arm to solidify her defense. “Stop acting like an overbearing brother. Tanner has been fantastic. He’s a great addition to the company.”

  Reid’s gaze fell to where her hand touched Tanner, and his expression tightened. He shook his head in disgust, and Roxanne was sure he had the wrong idea about what had passed between them.

  Or maybe he didn’t. Maybe he knew they’d kissed, and that was enough to elicit such a look of disapproval.

  Roxanne refused to worry about what Reid thought. She had bigger problems.

  Gage had been driving. He stood but stayed behind the others, keeping his distance. She could barely see his eyes beneath the shadowed rim of his cowboy hat. They were the same color as the faded denim jeans he wore. A short growth of stubble covered his jaw, adding another layer of unrepentant male onto the total testosterone-laden package. He tipped his hat in greeting, but he said nothing.

  “I don’t know how to thank you three for coming,” she said.

  Clay pointed in back to where a small table was bolted to the floor. “Have a seat and fill us in.”

  While Roxanne had never had need for one of the Edge’s Mobile Command Centers—MCCs—she’d been in them before during her training. The space was cramped, stuffed full of computer and communications equipment. It contained a small kitchen and an even smaller bathroom.

  She slid into the booth. Tanner squeezed in beside her. His hard body lined up alongside hers, warming her from knee to shoulder. She tried not to squirm and rub herself against him, but the urge to do so was driving her crazy. The only thing that kept her in check was Reid’s watchful gaze.

  This was so ridiculous. She was a grown woman, not some infatuated teen. She shouldn’t have been so easily excited to simply be this close to a man. Not that he was just any man. He was way beyond the average, filling her sense and raising her awareness whenever he was near.

  Clay and Reid crammed their big bodies in the other side of the booth, and Gage stood nearby, his hips propped against the only counter in the tiny kitchen.

  “I don’t know how much Payton told you, so I’ll start from the beginning.” She told them about Jake and the journal he’d sent. She explained how he thought he’d been recruited into a legit military unit, but then discovered that he’d been tricked. She included the attacks, as well as the part about the dead doctor and wounded nurse. The only thing she left out was that blistering kiss that still had the power to make her break out in a sweat.

  Tanner shifted beside her, as if he were remembering the same thing.

  “So all we know is that the person who sent me the e-mail warning was in that town, the same town where the doctor was killed by a man looking for me. The same town where I was attacked in my sleep. Whatever is going on has to be nearby, making me think that Jake is, too.”

  Reid nodded. “I agree. But there’s not a whole lot of anything out here. How do we find him?”

  “He said he was in an underground facility of some kind. It could be the basement of a building, or it could be the whole thing is underground.”

  “They’ll be guarding the place,” said Clay. “Snipers, surveillance systems, perimeter guards. We could look for those.”

  “Spiral search pattern? Grid?” asked Gage.

  Tanner shook his head. “There’s too much ground to cover. Every day that passes is another one that Razor is in danger. We need to find him fast.”

  “Did he give you any other clues?” asked Reid. “Smells? Sounds? Passing trains, that kind of thing?”

  She thought about it. “I can’t remember any, but I’ll ask Payton to check the journal again, in case I missed something. I was pretty upset when I read it.”

  “I’ll have Mira pull up some satellite images of the area,” said Clay. “Maybe we’ll see something that doesn’t belong.”

  “In the meantime,” said Tanner, “we’d like you three to go to Dry Valley and snoop around. Avoid law enforcement, since they’re a bit twitchy over strangers right now.”

  “Cover story?” asked Gage.

  “You’re supposed to meet your hunting buddy for some kind of shooting tournament.�
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  Reid nodded. “That’ll work. Do you have a photo of the guy?”

  “It’s in my purse.”

  “Let me have that, too. I’ll see if Mira can mock up some photos of the four of us. Tanner, we’ll need you to stand in for Jake so Mira has a head to cut off.”

  Tanner smirked. “Whatever you need.”

  The four men posed in front of the RV-turned-MCC for Roxanne to photograph them.

  Tanner could feel his brother waiting for a moment to pounce, and decided it was better to just get it over with than to wonder when he’d strike.

  Gage and Clay had gone inside the MCC to work on some details, and Roxanne was on the phone with Payton. Tanner walked around outside to the back of the vehicle to find some privacy, just in case Reid needed to yell. He really didn’t want an audience for this.

  He hadn’t even stopped walking when his brother hit him with, “You slept with her, didn’t you?”

  Tanner turned around, counting to five before he responded. Reid could make his temper flare like no one else, and it didn’t serve the mission, or help Roxanne, for him to give in to the temptation to shout. “I wanted to. I didn’t. Don’t ask me about it again.”

  “She’s into you. I can tell by the way she looks at you, by the way she stands closer to you than anyone else. She wants—”

  No way was Tanner going to let Roxanne’s reputation get called into question. “Maybe she just trusts me. We’ve been working together. I saved her life. More than once. Maybe you should thank me for that, rather than slinging accusations.”

  “This wouldn’t be the first time your dick hampered your judgment. Remember—”

  “Lisa is nothing like Roxanne. And I was sixteen at the time. She didn’t want you. Get over it, already.”

  Reid stepped in close, getting right in Tanner’s face. He lowered his voice. “Do you have any idea how close Mom is to losing the house? If you fuck up this job, you’ll—”