Lilith tugged his head back, nails scraping his scalp, as he finally worked the ropes free around his wrists.
Yep. His chance. He leaped to his feet and secured her in a headlock while kicking Freddie in the back of the knee. Freddie went down, and Nate stole the gun from his holster.
Four guns instantly pointed his way. He pressed the barrel to Lilith’s throat, ducking down to keep her as cover. “How loyal is your little band of morons here, Lilith?” he asked, making sure to press hard enough that she winced. “If anyone even flinches, I’ll blow your head off.”
She held perfectly still. “I didn’t think you had it in you, Jason.”
He eyed a twitchy guy to the left of the table. “Getting drugged and kicked around for a few hours can change a guy. Just so we’re clear, I have no problem killing you.”
“I believe you.” Her gasp echoed around the chamber. “Why do I have the feeling you’re not quite what you’ve let on?”
“I don’t know.” Nate leaned closer to her ear. “Tell them to drop their guns, or I swear, I’ll shoot.”
She chuckled. “No, you won’t. If you shoot me, they’ll have no reason not to kill you.”
“We both know I don’t have a chance of getting out of here in one piece,” he said quietly. The woman had planned to kill him, without question. “So if I’m going to die, you are, too.”
She kept silent for several moments, obviously thinking.
“Okay,” Nate said, bracing himself against her back, “I guess we all die.”
“No,” she gasped. “Fine. Do what he says—put down your guns.”
Nate kept Audrey in his peripheral vision. Her eyes widened, and she slipped her hands under the senator’s armpits.
The smartest thing to do would be to run and call for help to retrieve the senator. But one look at Audrey’s determined face promised she wouldn’t leave him. Nate sighed.
The men in black hesitated.
“Now!” he barked.
Finally, one by one, they dropped their guns.
“Kick them under the table,” Nate said calmly. His face ached, his chest throbbed, and his temper threatened to take over. So he shoved all emotion into the netherworld and fell back on training.
The sound of metal spinning across stone filled the chamber.
“Good. Now everyone in black back up to the far wall and slide down to your bellies.” Nate kept bite in his words. Freddie didn’t move quickly enough, so Nate shot a sidekick to the guy’s jaw. Freddie’s head snapped, and he dropped, unconscious.
Asshole.
The men in black began to move.
The one closest to Audrey ducked down and lifted her by the neck, his muscled arm against her windpipe.
Nate’s attention focused completely and absolutely on him. “Let her go, or I’ll kill this bitch.”
The guy slid a knife against Audrey’s carotid. “Let’s work on a win-win situation here.” Backing up, he dragged Audrey toward the main exit. “I won’t kill the brunette, if you don’t kill the blonde.”
Nate kept his gaze off Audrey’s vulnerable neck. Blood covered her hands, and fear lit her eyes. So he focused on the determined ones of the man holding her. “I don’t know the brunette. You need the blonde.”
“Somehow, I don’t think you’ll let me kill the pregnant chick.” The guy shrugged, lifting Audrey up onto her toes. Her eyes widened, full of panic. “If I’m wrong, then I’m wrong.” He reached the door and shoved it open.
This guy had better training than the rest. “I’m holding your leader. Let the pregnant chick go, and I won’t kill Lilith.” Nate ensnared Lilith’s hair and wrenched back her head, exposing her neck and the bruise the barrel was creating next to her jugular.
The guy smiled again. “She’s not my leader.” Carrying Audrey through the doorway, he kicked it shut.
Terror ripped through Nate until he saw black. They had Audrey.
His hands shook, and his knees weakened.
He had to save her.
Drawing on every ounce of training that had been beaten into him, he dug deep and shoved all emotion into a box. Cold and merciless, he surveyed the situation.
Smoothly, he slipped an arm under Lilith’s neck and squeezed, pointing the gun at the remaining men in black. “Get down on your stomachs. Now.”
They followed suit, a couple of them eyeing the guns under the table. “Hands behind your heads,” Nate ordered.
The senator groaned and rolled over to crawl under the table, his hand pressing Audrey’s coat to his wound. Mumbling to himself, he gathered the weapons and crab-walked backward to use the wall to stand.
Nate nodded at the former soldier. “How badly are you hurt?”
“Flesh wound,” the senator lied, blood dripping from his lips. “Go after Audrey.”
Nate applied more pressure, and Lilith struggled against him, trying to get air. Finally, she passed out. He let her drop to the floor, the white robe fluttering around her. “I should kill you,” he muttered. But he’d never kill a helpless woman, no matter how dangerous she might be.
He hustled toward the door, swearing at finding it locked. He glanced back at the senator. “You have a phone?”
“No.” The senator’s lips were turning blue. Not a good sign.
Nate reached down and frisked the guys on the ground. “How is it none of you have phones?”
The closest guy turned his head and grinned. “No service down here, asshole.”
Nate punched him in the jaw, somewhat appeased when his eyes fluttered shut and his nose landed on the concrete. Blood slid around a stone.
Fury and fear comingled in Nate for the briefest of seconds. So he grabbed the next guy by the hair and lifted his head. “If Lilith isn’t your boss, who is?” In other words, where was the kidnapper taking Audrey?
The guy shook his head. “Way above my knowledge. I’ve only been in five years, and Lilith gives the orders. If she’s answering to somebody, I don’t know who it is.”
The guy told the truth. Nate had to find Audrey. He reached into the guy’s boot and drew out a nicely sharpened knife. Time to pick the lock.
* * *
Audrey sat in the back of the SUV as it wound through DC and into Virginia, her hands tied before her. The guy who’d kidnapped her drove, while one of his buddies sat next to her, a Glock perched casually on his knee.
The swish of the windshield wipers competed with the pelting rain, fogging the windows.
She tried to rub her tethered hands together to get rid of the sticky, dried blood. Her stomach grumbled and hurt. When was the last time she’d eaten?
A quick glance at the bored guy next to her had her mind reeling. She sighed and looked out her window. She could do this. Taking a deep breath, she lunged for the gun. The guy easily shifted the weapon to his other hand, his huge paw smashing the side of her face.
“Nice try.” He still sounded bored.
Pain cascaded through her cheekbone to her neck. “Jerk. Why don’t you sit up front?” she muttered, stretching her aching jaw.
“It’s safer in the back.” He turned to look out the window again.
Audrey cleared her throat. “Where are we going?”
“Here.” The driver wound the SUV through an intricate gate. Trees lined the luxurious driveway, perfectly tended, until they reached a two-story Tudor, fit for one of DC’s finest.
Audrey peered out of the window. “Nice house.”
“Very.” The driver hopped out and crossed to open her door. A strong hand banded around her arm. “Watch out for puddles.”
Yeah, because wet feet were the worst of her concerns. She trudged along the brick walkway to the double blue doors. “We’re going in the front?” she asked.
The guy knocked, and the door opened.
Audrey gasped and stepped back. “Ernie?”
Ernie Rastus stood aside and gestured them in. “Is Lilith dead?” he asked quietly, looking stately in a maroon sweater vest over khaki pant
s.
“Probably not,” the soldier said. “But this chick is pregnant. Seemed to matter to Lilith.”
Ernie’s eyes gleamed. “Good job, Buck,” he said, shutting the door.
“What have you done, Ernie?” Audrey asked, her mind calculating facts into a scenario that made sense. “Oh.” Ernie had been the one to educate the senator about cloning and scientific research. He’d also been the one to get George and Lilith into the same room with the senator. “You’re the leader of the PROTECT group.”
“These days, anyway.” Ernie smiled sparkling dentures. “You’ve put a serious dent in our numbers, but I can rebuild. Come into my study, would you?” He turned and led the way through expertly decorated rooms to a study fit for a high-level policy maker.
After Audrey had been deposited in a seat, he extended the handset to a phone toward her.
She swallowed. “What in all that is holy does PROTECT mean?”
He sighed. “For generations, a select few have worked within the DC political structure to protect the sanctity of human life. We’ve lost some battles, but we’ve won some, too. Stem-cell research has been put back years through legal means, and other labs have been blown up… accidentally. We do what we have to do.”
“You’re a cult.” Audrey swallowed, wondering how in the world they’d gotten away with it for so long.
Ernie shrugged. “We’re a legitimate group of concerned citizens who do what needs to be done. I’m a legacy, because my great-grandfather created our society.”
Her breath sped up, and she tried to fill her lungs. “Why Senator Nash?”
Ernie smiled. “The subcommittee, of course. We had intel that a couple of military groups seeking funding were conducting inhumane experiments. I was in place to stop that—and we had no clue how bad things were until the senator started working with the commander and his godforsaken creations.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” What a jackass. Audrey wiped rain off her cheeks.
Ernie nodded. “There’s no need to discuss it. Please call your people. It’s time to negotiate.”
“My people?” She shook out her wet hair. “What people?”
Ernie chuckled and reached for a half-full glass of whiskey on his executive desk. “The commander. It’s time we got to know him better. Tell him he’d better cooperate, or you’re dead.”
Audrey bit back temper. How had she missed the darkness in Ernie? The senator had really liked him, so she’d really liked him. Talk about being blind to someone’s faults. Intelligence didn’t equal honor, unfortunately. How had she forgotten that one simple fact? “Why do you think the commander will help me?” she asked.
Ernie leaned down, his gaze serious and deadly. “I know who you are, and I know who your mother is. In addition, I know you’re pregnant, and I’m fairly certain I know how that happened.”
Fire lanced through Audrey, bordered by fear. “There is a book about a stork I’ll buy for you if you don’t really understand how babies are made.”
The backhand to her face took her by surprise. He’d hit the exact spot the soldier had in the car. Hurt pounded through her cheekbone, and her temple began to thrum. “Ass.”
He nodded. “We understand each other.” Taking her bound hands, he shoved the phone into them. “Make the call.”
Audrey took a deep breath, her stomach churning. “You really don’t want me to call him like this. Trust me.” The guy had no clue who he was dealing with.
“Do it. Now,” Ernie said.
Audrey shrugged and slowly dialed, calling the one person she’d never believed she’d call on purpose.
“Yes?” a deep male voice answered.
She cleared her throat. “Commander? It’s Audrey Madison. We have a problem.”
Chapter 29
Audrey’s arms had grown nearly numb after two hours of being tied up in Ernie’s study. For the first hour, she’d struggled against the bindings attaching her arms to the heavy sofa with no success. For the second hour, she’d sat quietly and watched the clock on the mantel count down. How could she get free?
The door swished open, and Ernie entered with a large vest in his hands. His soldier entered behind him and crossed the room while tugging out a sharp knife.
Audrey gasped and pressed back against the cushions, her heart racing.
“Hold still,” the soldier said, leaning over her to saw through the rope.
Raw feeling returned to her hands, and sharp needles dug into her wrists. She rubbed them, trying not to cry.
With a swoop of movement, the soldier forced her up and against his chest, securing her arms being her back. She kicked out, struggling. “Stop—” she said, tears streaming down her face, terror raising her voice to shrill as she took in the explosives attached to the vest.
Ernie restrained her arm and shoved it through the vest. “You know I can’t expect the commander to come alone or even to listen to me. This will ensure he has to.”
It was a real bomb. Audrey shoved back against the soldier, kicking out as Ernie pushed her other arm through and fastened the front with a lock.
“There we go. Try to disengage the lock, and… boom.” Ernie nodded for the soldier to release her and withdrew some sort of detonator from his back pocket.
Audrey stilled and glanced down at the explosives now strapped to her chest. The bite of fear weakened her knees. How could she get away from the bomb and get the baby safe? She eyed the remote resting in Ernie’s hand.
“Don’t even think about it.” He reached over and increased the volume on the television across the room. “I suggest you sit.”
Her legs wobbling, Audrey maneuvered over to sit on the sofa. Would the bomb explode if she moved too much? How stable were the explosives? “Please let me go, Ernie.”
“No. Now watch the news—it’s full of all sorts of interesting stuff.” He threw back his head and laughed, the sound maniacal.
The commander would strike hard and fast at the house. What about the bomb? It might explode before the commander even realized it existed. “The commander might shoot you before you can speak with him,” she said.
“Shhh.” Ernie focused on the television reporter, who confirmed that Senator Nash had been kidnapped earlier and that several people, including Lilith Mayes, had been taken into custody, but nobody knew where the senator had been taken.
Trembles wound down Audrey’s spine. Had the senator really survived, and had Nate been taken into custody? No way. The reporter, a vivacious blonde, told the audience that the FBI was searching furiously for the senator.
Audrey glanced at the bruises around her wrists. At least they’d unbound her. She eyed the lock atop her chest and the wires extending from a black box to some cream-colored putty stuff. “Don’t you have to be at the hospital, considering you’re Nash’s chief of staff?” she asked.
“I’m on vacation—out of the country with my family,” Ernie said, frowning at the television. “But I did just call and say I’m on a flight headed back home and will be in tomorrow. Of course, by then, I’ll be long gone from here.”
Audrey shook her head. No wonder the house was so quiet—Ernie’s family wasn’t home. “The senator trusted you. Completely.”
Ernie rubbed his graying beard. “I know, and I’d hoped to bring him on board. He has such lovely thoughts about science and the sanctity of human life. I’m afraid Lilith will have to kill him once she’s out of custody. So much for life.”
Audrey gasped. “You can’t have a U.S. senator killed.”
Ernie shrugged. “Sure I can. You don’t really understand the scope of our society, do you?”
“I guess not. How big are you?” Who were these people?
He took a deep swallow of whiskey. “Considering the amount of people we’ve lost lately, or had taken into custody, we’re not very big. But like I said, I can rebuild.”
That’s what he thought. Audrey fought the urge to rub her pounding cheek. “What’s your pla
n, anyway? You got the commander to agree to come alone and talk, but what then?”
Ernie rubbed his chin. “I kill him.”
Audrey’s shoulders straightened. “Excuse me?” How was that a plan?
“Cut off the head of the snake, and the body will fall.” Ernie reached for the bottle behind him to refill his glass. “After the commander is dead, we’ll dismantle his organization piece by piece. Your mother is next, but my scientist wants to have a nice long talk with her first. I assume she’ll cooperate.”
Audrey glanced at the clock on the wall. She swallowed the acidic taste of fear, and her stomach lurched. Nate had to be going out of his mind, but there had been no opportunity to reach him. She jerked her head. “Wait a minute. If you kill the commander, am I next?”
“You should be.” Ernie glanced with derision at her stomach. “I know what an abnormal creation you have in there. But our scientists want to study you and this aberration briefly, before we rid the world of the anomaly.”
The world narrowed to pinpoint focus. She’d take out Ernie long before he had the chance to study her child. “You think you’ve thought all of this out.” She shook her head. “Boy, are you a moron.”
“Think so?” Ernie’s eyebrows rose.
An explosion sounded right outside the door.
“Yes,” Audrey whispered, instinctively edging toward the floor, curling over to protect the baby. She tried to sidle closer to the detonator.
Gunfire pattered outside, and then inside the mansion. Ernie jumped up and drew a gun from the bookcase, his eyes a wild hue. “What’s going on?”
The soldier at the door backed away, two guns pointed at the entry. “I’d say we’re under attack.”
Cries of pain littered through the night, and smoke wound under the door. Terror flooded Audrey, and she glanced frantically around for an escape. The vest lay heavy around her middle. Taking stock, she crept toward the desk while the two men in the room focused on the door. Saying a quick prayer, she slid down in front of the stable mahogany.
On the other side of the desk, glass shattered with a resounding crack. Sparkles rained through the air—deadly pieces of the window.