Earl shrugged wide shoulders. “That’s what I figured. He must not understand much about computers, either.”
“They are confusing.” She was not letting her kind neighbor be taken advantage of again by his drug-sniffing shit of a nephew. So she smiled and patted Earl’s arm. “Have a seat, and Mom will dish you up.” She cast her mother a look to be nice and not get her feathers ruffled. The sweet neighbor obviously made her nervous.
Earl cleared his throat. “I want to double-check your front right tire before the first snowfall, Piper.”
She paused. “Huh?”
“It looks low.” He winked at Rachel. “Maybe you can assist me.”
Rachel sputtered and turned a lovely shade of pink. Piper hid her smile but nodded, warmth flushing through her. What a nice man. “Thanks, Earl.”
The doorbell pealed.
Piper sighed and hustled to yank open the door. “Brian.” She smiled up at his smoothly shaven face. “Did we have plans?” It wasn’t normal for him to just show up.
“No.” He pushed an errant curl off her forehead. “But you didn’t call when you returned home from work, and you always call.”
Oh. She’d completely forgotten, but she was happy to see him. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged, strong shoulders moving beneath his expertly cut suit. “I was in the neighborhood showing a house, so I thought to drop by.” His blond hair waved back from his cut features, giving him the look of a wayward surfer wearing a suit. Although with his sparkling blue eyes, he looked sexy in the slate gray. “Also, I sold the brick rancher up on the hill and thought we could celebrate with a quick dessert down at Possums.”
She blinked. A surprise date? Now that sounded like fun. Then she frowned, remembering the code she needed to write. “I have to work tonight.” Regret tasted bitter on her tongue.
Brian frowned. “You don’t have time for cheesecake?”
She shuffled her feet. So far, she’d disappointed every male in her life in one day. “I really shouldn’t.”
He reached for her arm, his fingers warm and firm. Reassuring. “You really should.” A quick grin counteracted the demanding tone. “We’ve talked about you wanting to give more in a relationship, and I’m trying to help break down those walls you’ve built to protect your heart, which I’d very much like to see.” He grinned, all good humor and charm.
She kind of liked her walls, but they had discussed her being more open with him, and she was seriously tired of failing at relationships. “I know, but I need to work.”
“Just one hour.” He leaned in close, and his mellow aftershave scent of salty ocean surrounded her. She breathed deep.
One hour probably wouldn’t put her that far behind, and she liked the spontaneity. Plus, Earl would love to be left alone with Rachel for a little while, and maybe her mother would relax and have some fun. She was certainly due. If the woman wasn’t going to rehash the past with the commander, maybe she could find some sweet romance with Earl. “Well, one hour. Then I have to get back to work.”
Brian’s gaze unclouded. “Perfect. Grab a sweater—it’s getting cold.”
She nodded and ran inside to kiss her mother on the cheek before fetching a dark green cardigan. She’d celebrate with Brian and then work on the program the rest of the night. Really, who needed sleep?
CHAPTER
4
JORY FLIPPED ONTO his stomach on the small cot, sweat coating his body, his heart racing. Somewhere, deep in his mind, he knew he was dreaming.
Even so, he couldn’t stop the parade of images ricocheting off imaginary walls. Training as a kid—his first kill—the second he’d escaped. Memories upon memories.
Then, suddenly, the dream mellowed. Slid right into a parody of reality with him in the cage, his brain humming, death inching closer to his spine.
He stood from the cot and faced the empty vestibule. The commander and Dr. Madison morphed through the outside walls to hover beyond his cell, their images wavering in and out like ghouls. The commander drew a Glock and pointed it at Jory’s chest.
Interesting. Yet he crouched to defend himself, somehow, because he couldn’t die yet. Not before he’d accomplished the one thing he’d been created for: not until he’d saved his brothers. If he had a destiny¸ it was one he’d choose, and saving them would be his final act.
A whisper sounded behind him, and he half turned to find Piper standing barefooted in a pale pink teddy. What the hell?
Her green eyes sparkled in her pretty face, giving her the look of pure innocence.
He pivoted to defend her, only to find the outside of the cell empty.
“The monsters are gone,” Piper said softly, her hand caressing down his arm.
He turned to stare down at her. “Are you one of the monsters?” His voice echoed hollowly in the dream cage. While he could snap her neck within a second, she posed no real threat and had nowhere to hide a weapon in the nearly see-through material.
She shrugged a slim shoulder, and a tiny strap slid down her arm. The material dipped in the front, revealing one breast. “I come from him, so I’m at least half monster.”
Heat sparked Jory’s balls, and his gaze focused on her taut, surprisingly pink, nipple. Against her darker skin, the peak all but begged for his mouth. “We’re all part monster. Whose side are you on?” He needed her to choose him. Why, he didn’t know. Just that it was imperative.
“I don’t know.” She sounded lost, even sad. “They’ll find out about your gifts—about what you can do. They’ll find out about your brothers.”
“No.” The word exploded from Jory, and he picked her up, shoving her against the far wall. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and before he knew it, his mouth was on her nipple. He sucked hard and then bit before leaning back. “You don’t know about my gifts.”
“Oh, but I do.” A sexy flush engulfed her smooth skin, and an otherworldly glimmer lightened her emerald eyes.
“No.” He ripped off the filmy lingerie, leaving her nude. Smooth and toned, so perfect his chest hurt. “You’re different, Piper. You have to be.”
“Show me,” she whispered.
He didn’t understand her, and he didn’t understand himself. But something, deep down, some part of him, recognized her. Kicking off his shorts, he thrust into her with one hard shove. She clenched around him, her nails biting into his chest.
All of a sudden, he could feel. Emotion, the real kind, the stuff that mattered. Somehow, it was inside him, and he couldn’t shove it down deep any longer.
Wild as a lost stallion, he pounded into her, nothing but the sensation of her core gripping him mattering. Hot and tight, she clenched around him, her head thrown back in pleasure.
A bullet whizzed by his head.
Without altering his rhythm, he dropped them to the hard floor and plunged harder. More shots fired over his head, and he didn’t care. The electricity shooting down his spine to fill his cock consumed every thought, every action.
He came with a roar, sitting up in the bed.
His breath panted out, and he scraped both hands down his face. It all had felt so real. Did the dream mean something? Was his subconscious just fucking with him? Sighing, he fell back and stared up at the ceiling for several moments as he controlled his body until his heart beat normally.
He stood and quickly cleaned up before pacing his cell.
One day in Piper’s presence, and he wanted her naked beneath him.
The commander’s daughter.
At first, Jory had wanted to laugh at the absurdity. Then he’d looked. Really looked at her bone structure, the indefinable elements shifting beneath her skin that only he could see. His ability to map terrain, to see patterns, to detect nuances guaranteed she told the truth. While she hadn’t inherited the commander’s size, the very shape of her eyes, the angle of her chin, and even the symmetry of her cheekbones showed her lineage. She truly was the commander’s child.
Jory’s shoulders rolled, unsettled, even afte
r he’d cleaned up. So the commander had his own kid, not that Jory had ever wanted the bastard as a father. Matt had raised Jory with Nate’s help, giving both him and Shane the closest thing to a childhood as possible in the hellhole of a compound they called home. Not once had he forgotten what his brothers had done, had sacrificed, for him to grow. To live long enough to save them.
The impossibility of Piper struck Jory anew. How had he never known? There had never been a hint. Did the commander actually care for her? Jory had begun to forge a connection with Piper the day before, using her patriotism to question her lying to the NSA. If she believed in the government, she had to wonder why the commander remained outside of it.
The first wedge between them had been almost too easy to plant.
But although he’d be successful, a part of Jory wanted to warn her to run. Hard and fast… away from this place.
How odd that the commander actually had a girl. Lucky Piper. If she’d been a boy, the commander surely would’ve forced her into training. Interesting the misogynist hadn’t tried even though she was female, considering his ego.
Just who was Piper? The commander had been the only father figure Matt and Nate had had growing up, and yet he’d never acted as a father. Only a leader. Had the commander treated his daughter better? If so, perhaps he even cared about her.
The commander had never been Jory’s father figure—not even once. Jory’s loyalty, his allegiance, had been with his brothers from the first time he’d stood in the same room with both his brothers and the commander.
Sometimes a kid just knew. And when that kid had extra abilities, he accepted that knowledge.
Yet maybe the bastard did care about his only child. Which was something Jory could use.
As if conjured, Piper pushed open the door, a latte cup in her hand.
Even across the room, the fragrant scent of vanilla and cinnamon flared his nostrils, and it took three seconds to wonder which part was woman and which was latte. The day before, he hadn’t noticed her scent, but Madison had already contaminated the room with roses and too-expensive perfume.
“What kind of drink?” he asked, stepping closer to the glass.
“Vanilla,” Piper answered. “Why?”
Because now he could track her scent, anywhere in the world, just like the animal they’d created him to be. “No reason.” His gaze raked her peach-colored sweater and tight jeans before focusing on her delicate face. Even though it had just been a dream, he could still see her naked, and he could still feel an echo of real emotion. Today she’d pulled her hair into a ponytail and seemed younger. More fragile. Dark circles marred the skin beneath her eyes, giving her the look of a damsel in distress.
He fleetingly wished he were the type of guy who could save her, but he quickly banished the thought. It was far too late for him to play the hero, especially since he planned to use her. And looks were deceiving. The woman might appear fragile, but she was obviously intelligent and knew whom she was working for. That put them on opposing sides.
Plus, he’d been given enough in this life with his brothers sacrificing so much, and it was his turn to give back to them. “You up late?” he asked.
“All night.” She set down the cup and booted up the computer. “Rewriting a program to save your butt. You’re welcome.”
Actually, his butt was unsavable, but she wouldn’t listen to him. So it was time to get down to business and figure her out, regardless of the cameras recording their every move. “Did the commander raise you?” he asked, wondering how he’d never caught a glimpse of her through the years.
“No.” She turned to the side and typed quickly.
“Why not?” Jory asked, although her denial made sense.
She shrugged, her shoulders hunching forward. “I don’t think we need to share our lives, Jory.”
No, but he needed to get into her head and now. Plus, although he hated to admit it, he wanted to know more about her. “Come on, Piper. I’m stuck in a freakin’ cell all by myself, and if somebody doesn’t talk to me, I swear my head is going to explode.” Far more truth lived in the words than he’d like to admit. “Please.”
The final word had her turning to face him. “You put yourself in the cage.”
Had he? From birth, every location had been a cage of some sort as the commander and Dr. Madison turned him into a killing machine. If he disobeyed orders, one of his brothers would be killed.
His neck ached, and he gingerly flexed his shoulders. Even that small movement caught the breath in his chest, considering his kill chip could detonate at any time. The damn thing was broken, and any second his back might explode.
But escaping had been fucking worth the risk. The Dean boys had followed the commander’s orders until nearly five years ago when they found a way to escape. They’d blown a facility in Tennessee to hell and gotten loose. Unfortunately, the kill chips had already been implanted, and if the right code wasn’t input into the right program in less than one week, the chips would detonate and kill them.
Death hung heavily around his shoulders. He had to gain Piper’s trust to get free and save his brothers. “You’re smart enough not to believe everything you’re told—especially by Dr. Madison.” Yet if Jory told Piper the full truth, she’d be a liability to the commander.
Unless he actually gave a shit about his real daughter.
Piper sipped her coffee. “Dr. Madison?”
Jory smiled and mined deeper. “Yeah. It was obvious she dislikes you, right?”
Piper frowned and then shrugged. “So?”
“So? The woman has been in love with your father forever. You’re in the way, baby.” The sooner Jory could infect the little command post with insecurity and distrust, the better.
“What are you, a muscle-bound Dr. Phil?” Piper rolled her eyes. Her cell phone rang a funky tune, and she retrieved it from her pocket. “Hello?” Her lips tightened. “I know. Yes, I understand, but—” She tapped her tennis shoe on the tile as she listened. With a glance at Jory, she turned and hunched over the phone.
Too bad she didn’t know about his super-senses. He could hear her in the next room, if he wanted.
“I know.” Her voice softened. “I guess. I’m sorry, too. Okay. Talk to you later.” She hung up, her gaze meeting Jory’s. Pink splashed across her cheeks.
Jory grinned. “Fight with the boyfriend?”
She blinked. “How—”
He shrugged. “My training goes beyond firing guns, sweetheart. What did he do?”
Her brows drew down. “Nothing. We just had a little misunderstanding last night.”
He didn’t like the kick in the gut at the thought of Piper with some guy. Why the hell did he even care? Man, he was off his game. “I thought you wrote code all night,” Jory said.
Piper rolled expressive eyes. “I had a nice dessert and then went home to work all night.”
“What was the misunderstanding?” Jory asked softly.
“None of your damn business.” Her shoulders hunched.
“Tell me anyway.” The direct approach seemed to work best with her, so Jory went with that.
She glanced at him through her lashes, thoughts flashing across her face. “Nope. Now stop bugging me.” She turned back to the computer.
Jory nodded and sat down, having learned early on that his size intimidated people. Piper was more likely to confide in him if he appeared innocuous. “When did you move here?” he asked.
“About three months ago,” she said absently, her fingers flying over a keyboard.
Interesting. “So you must’ve met the boyfriend at that time?” Now, that wasn’t suspicious in any way, was it? God.
“I could have you tranqed, I think,” she said, still not looking at him.
He lifted an eyebrow. In profile, he could still read her. “Piper, maybe you should cooperate with me.”
“Why?” she snapped.
Ah. He was getting to her. “Because in the very near future, I’m gonna be out of th
is cage, and you’re gonna need help. Work with me now, and I’ll help you.” So long as it didn’t interfere with his main mission.
She snorted and turned toward him, although her gaze held an awareness he appreciated. “There’s no way you’re getting out, buddy. Sorry.” She bit her lip, expressions chasing across her face while she apparently debated with herself. “Why do you think I’ll need help?”
He stood and approached the wall again. “This is a dangerous place, and you’re playing a deadly game. The second you’re not useful, you’re a liability.” The words rang true, and he kept his gaze level, but he wondered. Would the commander protect his flesh-and-blood daughter? Perhaps. Although Jory didn’t allow one ounce of doubt to show.
“Fuck you.”
“I just wanted to have a nice conversation,” he said calmly.
“Bullshit. You wanted to get into my head for an advantage. Sorry, pal. No chance.” Her green eyes sparked all sorts of glimmers and shards. Truly beautiful.
Jory smiled and set his pheromones to work raising her blood pressure. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m already in your head.”
“Oh yeah?” She blinked and narrowed her focus. “You’re full of it.”
He’d known she’d pick up the challenge. “Wanna bet?”
“No.” She lowered her chin. “I’m trying to save your life here, and you’re trying to distract me. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You can’t save me.” He exhaled slowly, wanting nothing more than to punch through the glass. He had to get free. “Unless you help me get out of here.”
“Not gonna happen.” She started to turn back to the screen.
Fine. He’d get her attention one way or the other. “I’m assuming you met the boyfriend upon arriving in town?”
She snorted and shifted in her seat.
“Let’s see. What would a convenient but realistic meeting be? Is he a banker?”
“You’re an idiot.” She shook her head and brushed back her hair with trembling hands.
Not a banker. “Car salesman?”