[Truyện Tiếng Anh] Into The Lair

Into the Lair
Into the Lair Page 40



Then Braden relinquished her into Ian’s arms, and Ian held her as Braden had, touching her, reassuring her. And still she cried, for who or what she didn’t even know. All she knew that the relief was so strong, so sweet. It felt like the first rain in summer after a long July.

Ian made no effort to hush her. He just let her go, holding her, lending her his strength.

When finally she quieted, she went limp against him, her strength gone. She tensed, waiting for the questions, the judgment or even the analysis, but they said nothing. Ian continued to stroke her hair as the fire died down to brightly glowing embers.

He arranged the covers around them, content to just hold her. Nothing had ever felt better. She’d never felt as whole as she did in this moment, as if she’d spent her entire life searching. For this.

She reached for him, reached up and curled her arms around his neck, wanting to hold him as he’d held her. She tucked her head against his shoulder and looked over at Braden who still sat to the side. Their eyes met, and she found warm acceptance in the liquid green of Braden’s gaze.

She didn’t smile but neither did he. And then she reached out her hand. He lifted his to meet her halfway. Their fingers twined and their palms met, flush against each other.

Still holding his hand, she let her eyelids flutter softly downward. They drooped even as she fought to keep them open. Braden rubbed his thumb across the top of her hand then pulled it up to his lips.

She snuggled deeper into Ian’s arms as his warmth bled into her heart…and soul.

Her last conscious image was of Braden’s lips pressed to her hand.

“She’s asleep,” Braden murmured a long moment later.

Ian shifted carefully and looked down at Katie’s closed eyes. His heart turned over and did funny things in his chest. Then he looked back up at Braden.

“What just happened here?” he asked quietly.

Braden lowered her hand, careful not to awaken her. “I think I just decided that I can’t let her go.”

Ian tensed and held onto her a little tighter. She was draped over him, her body warm and limp. Her soft breathing filled his ears, and he realized that there was no way he would let her go either.

“What the are we going to do?” he murmured.

“**** if I know,” Braden said grimly. “I’m not going to risk her, Ian. She means…” He broke off and looked away. When he glanced back, Ian could see the emotion swirling in his eyes. “She means too much, more than Esteban. More than a cure.”

Ian leveled a stare at his brother. “I agree.”

Braden lifted one eyebrow in question. Ian merely nodded. They both wanted her.

“Is that going to be a problem?” Ian asked evenly.

Braden stared for a long moment then finally shook his head. “No,” he said slowly. “It’s not a problem.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Katie opened her eyes and blinked to clear away the cobwebs. She’d slept and slept hard, thanks in part to the drugs Ian and Braden had given her, but also their sweet lovemaking.

She glanced around the living room to see it empty. The fire had been built up again, but the men were nowhere to be found. No sound came from the kitchen, and she frowned as she swung her legs over the side of the couch. Wrapping a blanket around herself, she got up and headed across the living room to the kitchen and did a quick check, but didn’t see them by the stove. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and zeroed in on the front window.

She carefully pushed aside the worn curtain and peeked out to see Ian and Braden in conversation with Eli and Tits. They were standing beside sleek snowmobiles, and they all wore grim expressions. Had Esteban found them?

Adrenaline surged. She moved to the door and eased it open the barest of cracks. Given their propensity to protect her, chances were they’d shut up the minute she made her presence known.

Cold wind blew in, and she levered the door so that it was barely open a slit. Their voices carried to her, faint at first but then louder at intervals.

“Esteban is on the move. We recorded a sudden burst of activity from men known to be loyal to him. They’re coming here,” Eli said.

“The bait worked then,” Braden said with a satisfied nod.

Tits looked up at Ian and Braden. “Does Katie know she’s being used to draw Esteban out?”

Ian shook his head. “There’s no reason for her to know.”

“I’d think she’d need to know so she doesn’t inadvertently do anything to endanger herself,” Tits said.

Braden scowled. “We’re perfectly capable of taking care of Katie. She’s done what she needed to do which is stay with us in one place long enough for Esteban to pick up her trail.”

The wind kicked up, blowing a smattering of snow. She strained to hear but only caught words.

Trap.

Bait.

Expendable.

Sacrifice.

She stared woodenly at the men as they continued to converse, and then Ian and Braden turned to stare at the door. She eased it closed, making sure there was no noise, and then she hurried to the bedroom.

She sat on the edge of the bed so it would appear she’d just gotten up from the living room and come in here to get dressed. All the while her mind raced to make sense of what she’d been able to pick up from their conversation.

One part of her was pissed. She wanted to feel angry and betrayed, but that emotion was reserved for relationships. She had nothing invested in them and vice versa.

She closed her eyes and swallowed the deep disappointment, the betrayal she shouldn’t feel but did. They’d made her no promises, not verbal. They’d made plenty with their bodies, though, promises she’d taken to heart. She didn’t want to feel hurt, but the truth was, she was devastated.

Still, she didn’t appreciate being a sitting duck. They hadn’t told her anything, and once again, in her naïve stupi***y, she hadn’t demanded more. She’d been too caught up in the idea that finally, after years of running, she was enjoying a moment’s respite. A brief escape from fear. When in fact, danger had never left her.

She was to blame for being too trusting when Gabe had taught her never to trust anyone.

She blew out her breath and willed herself not to become too emotional. Ian and Braden were doing what it was they did best. Act the mercenaries and use whatever means necessary to take down their target. Even if they’d become everything to her, she wasn’t anything to them, and she couldn’t fool herself into thinking she was. That would get her into a lot of trouble, not to mention turn her into a spineless moron. Who was she kidding? She was already there.

So what was she going to do? It was obvious they didn’t mind sacrificing her if it achieved their objective. She didn’t particularly want to die nor did she want to end up in the middle of a fight that wasn’t hers. Which meant the best idea was to get the hell out of here.

A few problems. She was in ing Austria. In the mountains. Lots of snow. No money, no ID. She could stay and wait it out, but if she did, there was no question that she’d place herself in danger. Esteban was coming. For her.

Her gaze went to the bag on top of the dresser. She did have some cash. Dollars, but still, it was better than nothing. She had her bankcard.

Excitement stirred in her belly. Braden or Ian, she couldn’t remember which, had mentioned a fake passport when she said she didn’t have one. It hadn’t registered at the time because she honestly hadn’t believed she was leaving the country. But they would have needed something for her.

She hurried over and rummaged through her bag. Just her stuff, money, cards, her clothes. Not that she thought they would have put her passport with her junk.

With a quick glance in the direction of the door, which still remained closed, she tore through their bags. There, in the bottom, three passports. She opened one and discarded it, going on to the next.

Brenda Mullins. A picture that could have been Katie or not stared back at her. It was fuzzy but passable. The woman had the same hair color and features. Someone only giving it a passing glance would be fooled. Bingo.

She grabbed the passport and stashed it in her bag underneath her clothing. She needed time to formulate a plan of action which meant she was stuck here pretending that nothing was wrong and that she was the same clueless moron she’d been since she arrived.

At least the *** would be good.

***

Braden stood in the biting cold as he, Ian, Eli and Tits formed their plan of action. The Falcon secondary had positioned itself in a wide radius around the cabin. If Esteban or his men got close, they’d know about it.

“We need someplace to stash Katie after he’s made his move,” Ian said grimly. “I don’t want her around when the shooting starts. I don’t want her anywhere that she’s in danger. Nothing is worth risking her.”

Eli nodded. “I understand, but we may not have a choice in the matter. You and Braden can cover her. Tits and I will take care of Esteban. We want him alive. The rest of his men are expendable.”

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“Just understand I won’t sacrifice her for him,” Braden cut in. “We don’t know that he has a cure, and I’m not throwing her to the wolves in order to find out.”

Ian nodded his agreement.

Eli studied Braden for a moment and then included Ian in his scrutiny. “You guys seem…calmer. More stable. I don’t know. Something’s different. Are you still taking the sedative?”

Ian frowned and looked at Braden. Realization was slow in coming. Braden wasn’t sure he understood the implications.

“We haven’t taken it in days,” Ian said in a low voice.

“You haven’t shifted?” Eli asked sharply.

Braden shook his head. “No. I haven’t even felt one coming on. I haven’t felt threatened.”

Ian continued to stare at Braden, a brooding look on his face. There was hope but also a sense of confusion.

Braden looked down at his hands and up his arms as if he expected his skin to come alive, the crawling incessant itch that signaled a shift. And yet he felt nothing. He felt…normal.

“I don’t understand,” he said numbly. “Just days ago we were both so unstable that we had to take turns knocking each other out. Ian killed a man.”

Tits shrugged. “Don’t knock good fortune. Just keep the drugs handy, unless of course you’re staring at Esteban, and then feel free to let the kitty rip.”

“Alive,” Eli reminded Tits. “We need him alive. Too much is riding on what he knows.”

“You know how to ruin happy thoughts,” Tits grumbled. “I was getting all warm and fuzzy over the image of Esteban being kitty food.”

“I was rather fond of the idea myself,” Braden said.

Eli offered a half smile. “You can kill him after we’ve extracted the information we need.”

“I think I just came in my pants,” Tits said.

“You sure you just didn’t piss yourself in fear?” Braden smirked.

“**** you.” Tits shoved Braden’s shoulder. “Or better yet, let me your girlfriend.”

Ian’s lip curled into a snarl. His eyes glittered with a feral light as he advanced on Tits.

“Well, ****,” Tits muttered. “How long did you say it had been since he shifted?”

Eli grabbed hold of Ian’s arm. “Calm down, man. He was joking.” He glanced at Braden for help, and Braden stepped forward, his hand going over Ian’s shoulder.

“Why don’t you go back inside,” Braden said quietly. “Check on Katie. Make sure she’s okay.”

The blaze died in Ian’s eyes and then he swore as he ran a hand through his hair. “Christ,” he muttered. “It’s her. She has us all sorts of ed up.”

Tits chuckled. “That’s what a woman does, my man. Puts more knots in your than a climbing rope.”

“Keep us posted, Eli,” Ian said as he started toward the cabin. “I don’t want to be caught with our pants around our ankles.”

“We’ll let you know if something goes down,” Eli said. “You and Braden stay safe.”

Braden watched as his brother mounted the steps to the cabin, and then he turned back to Tits and Eli. “He’s right. There’s something about Katie that either soothes us or sets us off. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, but there it is. Ian is particularly affected. If he thinks Katie’s in danger, he’s completely unpredictable. I’m saying all this because I’m not sure that when this all goes down that either of us will be any help. Which means Katie will be vulnerable. She’s going to need your help if Ian and I are out of commission.”

Eli put his hand on Braden’s shoulder. “We’ll keep her safe, Braden.”

Tits nodded his acknowledgement. Then he held up his fist to Braden’s. “We’re going to get on out of here and wait for Esteban to do his thing. Check you later.”

Braden bumped his fist. Eli and Tits climbed onto the snowmobiles and roared off over the snow, leaving Braden there standing there in the cold. He turned and slowly climbed the steps to the cabin.

In theory, the idea of using Katie to draw out Esteban was sound. In reality, it sucked. When she was a faceless entity, he had no compunction about using the sister of the man who’d betrayed them to flush out a rat. But she wasn’t a faceless, unimportant factor anymore. He didn’t want her at risk. He didn’t want her here at all. He wanted her someplace safe. He wanted her to have the security she’d never experienced.

Katie had posed the question. What happened after Esteban was no longer a threat? It was something he’d asked often enough himself. Only now he had the answer. He wasn’t letting her go. Her future was inexorably tied to his and Ian’s.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Tension she couldn’t ascribe to her own feelings had permeated the cabin. Katie glanced warily in the direction of Ian and Braden. Both men sat at the small table next to the window, eating in silence.

She’d done an admirable job of pretending complete ignorance. She’d been flirty, casual and relaxed while Ian and Braden had both been quiet, withdrawn and moody. And more protective than ever. She couldn’t piss without one of them hovering. If she hadn’t heard directly from the horse’s mouth what their plans were, she’d still be floundering in ignorance, accepting whatever they doled out and begging for more.

She shook her head in disgust. Time was running out, and now she was going to be forced to make her move.

Without a glance in their direction, she slipped into the bedroom. She pressed her hands to her pants to stop the trembling and to dry the sweat from her palms.

She touched the two syringes full of the sedative and placed them on the dresser. Then she made sure her bag was packed, her cards, money and passport on top of her clothing. An earlier check outside had yielded two snowmobiles, both with keys in the ignition.

She could see lights of a distant village further down the mountain from the cabin deck. She’d head there and then get what transportation she could. By the time Ian and Braden regained consciousness, she’d be three countries away.

New life, fresh start. A chance at redemption.

Without Gabe. Without Ian and Braden. Pain sucked the air from her lungs. She closed her eyes and held back the dismay clogging her throat. Without Ian and Braden. Nothing had ever hurt so much.

***

Ian closed the satellite receiver and glanced up at Braden. “Esteban is moving in. Personally.”

Braden’s gaze sharpened and a light of anticipation flared in his eyes. “Arrogant son of a bitch.”

“He’s moving with a small band of men. If the Falcon secondary can get a bead on him, they’ll eliminate his team and take Esteban alive. Eli and Tits are on their way here. If Esteban makes it all the way to Katie, we want to be sure she doesn’t get caught in the crossfire.”

“We need to tell her what’s up,” Braden said.

Ian nodded as he pushed away from the table. His own brand of anticipation singed along his skin. “How are you feeling?” he asked Braden as he paused outside the bedroom door. “We need to be at our best, and our best is not drugged.”

“I’m good,” Braden said. “Other than the fact that I’m looking forward to kicking some serious , I feel pretty calm.”

Ian blew out his breath in relief. So far so good. Now to stash Katie somewhere she would gain the least amount of exposure.

The two brothers walked into the bedroom to see Katie sitting on the bed, her hands tucked underneath her legs. She looked up with wary eyes, and Ian couldn’t blame her. He and Braden hadn’t exactly been warm toward her for the last two days.

He approached her with Braden and cupped a hand to her cheek. “Katie, we need to talk.”

She launched herself forward, her hands flying out in a blur. Ian felt a stab of pain in his arm even as he stared dumbly at her.

“What the hell?” Braden roared just as realization of what she had done hit Ian full force.

Ian staggered back and yanked at the needle still stuck in his arm. She’d pushed the stopper to its limit and injected him with a full dose of the sedative.

She shot up but Braden grabbed her arm and tossed her back onto the bed. She scooted backward on the mattress, her eyes wild.

“Katie, what the ?” Ian demanded, and then he shook his head. He didn’t have time to ask questions. He had to make her understand what was about to take place. That danger was coming, and now he and Braden would be out of commission.

Braden staggered and braced himself against the bed. “What have you done?” he whispered. “Why?”

“I’m not expendable,” Katie said quietly. “My life may not be important to you, but I’m not giving it up that easily. I’ve run too hard for too long to give up now. I won’t be used as bait for Esteban. I’ll no longer be used by any man.”

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Ian’s muscles twitched and seized as the predator locked within the man fought for freedom, fought against the sedative coursing through his veins. Beside him, Braden lunged for Katie. He landed on top of her but she lay there calmly, waiting for him *****ccumb.

Ian held his hands to his ears to dim the roaring. He shook his head, trying to shake off the sluggish lethargy stealing over his body.

“Katie,” he whispered. “You don’t understand. Esteban…coming.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said bitterly as she stared at him with hard, glittering eyes. “He’s coming for me. I just don’t plan to be here when he arrives.”

Panic surged, and for a moment he thought the adrenaline would overpower the sedative. “No,” he slurred. “You can’t go. Dangerous. He’s out there. Stay where safe.”

He felt himself falling, and then Katie was over him, shoving him until he faced the ceiling. Her face loomed close to his. And then she kissed him. Lingeringly. With regret. Soft. A goodbye. He tried to reach for her, to hold her against him but she pushed aside his hands as if they were nothing.

Darkness clouded his periphery and still he fought. She didn’t stand a chance on her own. She thought he and Braden had betrayed her.

“No,” he croaked out.

***

Katie hurried to the dresser to collect her bag. She pulled on Ian’s heavy sweatshirt and snagged a jacket from the floor. After she’d donned the heavier clothes, she chanced one last look back at the two unconscious men.

The knot grew tighter in her throat. For just a little while, she’d allowed herself to become ensconced in the fantasy of having these two men care about her. Worse, though, she’d allowed herself to care about them. Men and *** were her biggest weaknesses, apparently. The fact that she clearly hadn’t learned her lesson with Paulo told her she was as careless as ever when it came to jumping into a situation.

But she’d survived, and this time she was getting out on her own terms. She squared her shoulders, collected her bag and grasped one of the ault rifles. Slinging the strap over her shoulder, she walked briskly toward the cabin door.

She stepped into the cold night. The chill was a slap in the face in a good way. An awakening from her morose thoughts and regrets. Her survival was all that mattered right now. Ian and Braden would be just fine.

Unless…

She stared back, indecision wracking her cluttered mind. Had she left them completely vulnerable to Esteban? If he came here looking for her, he’d find two unconscious men.

For a woman who’d had only herself to consider for so long and no compunction about doing so, it was extremely unsettling to realize that Ian and Braden could die because of her. No matter that they’d callously used her for their own purposes.

She didn’t want them to die.

Her fingers tightened around the rifle, and then in the distance, roaring closer, the sound of snowmobiles shattered the still of the night.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Lights nearly blinded her as two snowmobiles roared up to the cabin. As soon as they stepped clear, she could make out their outline in the pale moonlight. Eli and Tits. And then Eli simply disappeared.

Tits started for her, his expression fierce. Indecision tormented her for all of two seconds. An eerie sensation wrapped around her body, her neck and her wrists, momentarily paralyzing her.

And then she remembered that Eli could shift to smoke or mist.

Her hands shook as she warred with the need to hold onto the rifle while Eli exerted steady pressure on her wrists.

“Drop it, Katie,” Tits ordered as he trained his gun on her. “Where are Ian and Braden?”

A shot cracked the night, and Tits staggered then fell to his knees. He squeezed off a series of shots into the trees before he fell face-forward into the snow.

Esteban was here.

Fear, cold like the snow, trickled down her spine. She thought of Ian and Braden inside the cabin and knew she couldn’t allow them to be killed.

“I know you can hear me,” she whispered to Eli. “Don’t shift back. Ian and Braden are unconscious in the bedroom. You have to protect them. I’ll lead Esteban away.”

“No.”

She felt more than heard the faint whisper as it trailed over her ear.

“You know I’m right,” she hissed. “Let me go. You have to cover Ian and Braden. They’re defenseless right now. At least give me a chance to live, Eli. Give us all a chance.”

The pressure lessened at her wrists, and she didn’t waste any time. She leaped off the porch and threw herself on the still-running snowmobile. She gunned the engine and spun the machine around, sending a spray of snow arcing into the air.

As she headed around a clump of trees, she saw a group of four snowmobiles headed straight for her. She had always loved a good game of chicken. And it wasn’t like she had anything to lose.

She yanked her rifle up with her right hand and gripped the wheel with her left. She gave it everything she had.

The snowmobile lurched forward and flew toward the oncoming lights. When she was impossibly close, she laid down a line of fire and aimed straight for the middle.

At the last second, the one on the far right spun out and turned end over end into the trees. The second and third split right and left to avoid her, and she skimmed past, kicking up snow in her wake.

She lowered her head, blinking against the stinging wind and the water forming in the corners of her eyes as ice pelted her face.

She hit a soft patch of snow and the snowmobile bogged for a moment. She gunned it, fishtailed and finally broke free. A glimpse behind her told her that she had at least three men on her tail.

She turned in the direction of the village and prayed she’d be able to find her way in the darkness. The headlight bounced off the snow but didn’t give her much lead time to avoid pitfalls.

Lights reflected off the snow in front of her. They were getting closer, flanking her as they closed in. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the one on her right creep up. She veered sharply in front of him. His machine clipped her back end as she cut him off.

It yanked her right but she recovered while he careened wildly into the path of one of the other snowmobiles. A loud crash splintered and then an explosion rocked the night. A ball of flame shot upward, bathing the area in an orange glow.

She jumped a rise, becoming airborne. She hit the ground with a resounding jolt and skidded sideways, bogging down in the snow. She yanked the wheel, gave it some gas and righted herself. As she chanced a look over her shoulder, her spirits sank. How many more were there?

Four sets of headlights bore down on her. Did they reproduce like bunnies? Every time she took one out, two took its place.

And then a loud rumble reverberated over her ears. The ground shook, causing the snowmobile to vibrate wildly. She looked behind her again only to see a wall of white envelope the headlights like a suffocating cloud.

Panic welled, fierce and nauseating.

Avalanche.

One of the snowmobiles raced before the steamrolling wave of snow. She was no longer the man’s aim. Survival was. He raced in front of her as they both stayed barely ahead of the rumbling crush.

She leaned forward and let loose. She surged past the other snowmobile, her lights dancing over the snow like a drunken ballerina. Trees, rocks, bushes bounced up and down, puppets on stiff strings. She rocked over inclines, nearly thrown free of her seat.

She looked again just in time to see the other snowmobile go under the rolling white death. The machine flipped and then rolled end over end, the man’s body bouncing with it before finally being thrown clear and quickly buried under several feet of snow.

Her heart sank. She couldn’t outrun it.

Not wanting to become entangled in the snowmobile, she made a quick decision. Closing her eyes, she dove right, hitting the ground with a bone-jarring crunch. She rolled as both she and the snowmobile were swallowed whole. White descended and all went silent inside her icy tomb.

***

Eli simmered through the air, a thin plume of smoke, and streaked toward where Tits had fallen in the snow. Blood, brilliant red, stained the pristine white on the ground as the snowmobiles bounced by in pursuit of Katie.

“I know you’re there, you crazy bastard,” Tits grunted out. “Leave me and go after her.”

When he was certain the snowmobiles had passed, their engines echoing in the distance, he came to form beside Tits, his hands already going out to staunch the flow of blood from Tits’ shoulder.

“Why’d you let her go?” Tits asked in halting stutters.

“Because she was right,” Eli said grimly. “Ian and Braden are our priorities, and they’re lying in the cabin out cold.”

“Why’d she go crazy?”

“Hell if I know. She could have shot us both. She could have left Ian and Braden to die.”

“But she didn’t.”

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“She didn’t,” Eli agreed.

Holding his palm to Tits’ bleeding wound, he pushed at the larger man, helping him to his knees. “Come on man, let’s get you into the cabin before you bleed to death.”

“It’s not bad,” Tits said as he hoisted himself to his feet. “I’ve had worse.”

Still, he stumbled as they started for the cabin, and Eli dug his shoulder under Tits’ arm *****pport the larger man.

They slowly climbed up the steps, and Tits paused for a long moment, catching his breath before they headed for the door.

Eli maneuvered it open with his free hand and started to haul Tits forward when a loud rumble had them both turning around. The entire porch shook. The sounds of breaking glass came from within as plates fell from the counter and splintered on the floor.

“What the ?” Tits demanded.

“Oh hell,” Eli muttered.

He and Tits exchanged looks of horror as the realization hit them both.

“Avalanche!” Tits yelled.

“Get in, now!” Eli shoved Tits forward just as the spray of snow hit him in the back. He fell to the floor but kicked at the door with his foot and prayed like hell it would hold.

Chapter Thirty-Six

“Getting out of here should be a snap for a man of your means,” Tits said darkly.

“I never said it wouldn’t be,” Eli returned.

The two men sat in the dark with only a penlight to illuminate the interior of the cabin. The door had miraculously held. The windows had not. Broken glass littered the living room along with piles of snow and ice.

It was cold but not unbearably so.

“I need to check on Ian and Braden. Are you going to be okay?”

Tits waved the penlight in a dismissive gesture.

“I’ll make sure they’re all right, and then I’ll see if I can use the satellite uplink to reach Jonah. I’d prefer they got here before any local rescue effort. If I can’t raise him that way, I’ll shift and go out the chimney. I’ll go to the village and get word to them that way.”

Again Tits waved the light, and Eli got to his feet and made his way to the bedroom.

There was only one window, and it too was busted out. Snow was steadily dribbling and shifting onto the floor from the strain. Ian and Braden were sprawled on the bed, out like a light. Damn, but he needed them awake and aware.

“Hey Tits, can you come back here, man, or are you too weak?”

Eli almost laughed at the snarl that followed. A few seconds later, Tits thumped into the bedroom holding his shoulder with one hand.

“Thought that would get your in here,” Eli said.

“Hey, you. What the hell do you want, anyway? I was comfortable.”

“I need you to see if you can wake up the sleeping beauties while I raise Jonah.”

“I could always stick their faces in the wall of snow at the window,” Tits said with a shrug.

“Do what you have to do. I’ll get Jonah on the way.”

“They ain’t going to be happy about what happened to Katie,” Tits said quietly.

Eli grimaced, knowing full well that surviving the avalanche on a snowmobile was next to impossible. “I’ll let you tell them,” he muttered.

“Gee thanks. You’re all heart, man.”

Eli turned away and then dug into his pack for the satellite transmitter and tiny keyboard. No, he didn’t want to be the one to tell Ian and Braden about Katie. She was a lot more to them than just an ignment. He didn’t want to break the news that she was dead.

***

Ian pulled his way sluggishly from the heavy blanket of sleep. Someone was yelling his name and shaking him. His limbs were lead-filled, and none of them were cooperating with his command to move.

“That’s it, man, open your eyes. Look at me, damn it.”

“What the hell?” he slurred out then licked his dry, cracked lips.

A palm slapped sharply at his face, and Ian snarled in irritation.

“Get mad all you want. I’m not going away.”

“Tits?”

Ian opened his eyes to see Tits staring down at him, pain etched in his face and blood smeared over his shoulder and chest.

Remembrance slammed into him. He bolted upright, Katie’s name on his lips. He stared over to see Braden still unconscious on the bed.

“Where is she?” he growled.

Tits glanced warily at him. “Don’t try any of that shifting **** on me, man. I’ll knock your out again, and I’ll make sure you sleep for three days straight.”

“Where. Is. She.”

“She’s gone,” Tits said softly. “Now help me get your brother awake. We’re up **** creek without a paddle here. I’ll explain the best I can as soon as we figure out how the hell to get out of here.”

Ian looked around the darkened cabin in confusion. There was light from a flashlight standing upright on the nightstand, and another smaller light sat on the dresser. It was just enough that he could make out Tits and the area immediately surrounding him, but beyond that, there was nothing.

He saw the glass lying in a puddle of water on the floor, and then he saw the bulge of snow against the shattered window.

“What the ever-loving ?”

“Avalanche,” Tits said grimly. “We’re snowed in until Falcon gets here to pull our es out. Eli’s on the horn with them now.”

Tits turned his attention to Braden, shaking him like a rag doll as he shouted at him to wake up. Ian shook the cobwebs from his own head and put the pieces back together in his mind. Katie had drugged them. She thought… She’d obviously overheard some of their conversation with Tits and Eli. It was the only explanation for why she thought they were using her to get to Esteban, or at least why she’d umed the worst.

Hell.

“Does Esteban have Katie?” Ian asked hoarsely.

Tits shot him a grim look. Braden stirred and muttered as Tits continued to harass him.

Frustrated, Ian reached over and hauled Braden up by his shirt collar. He shook him then slapped him repeatedly on the cheek with his open palm. Braden’s eyes shot open belligerently, and he shoved at Ian.

“What the is your problem, man?”

“Wake up. We’ve got problems,” Ian said brusquely.

Braden rubbed his eyes wearily and shook his head a few times. Then he bolted to awareness, grabbing Ian by the collar.

“Katie. Where is she?”

“Tits is just about to tell us.” He glanced over at Tits, not liking the uneasy look on the other man’s face.

“What the hell happened to you, Tits?” Braden demanded as he took in the blood all over his shirt.

“Took a bullet from Esteban’s men,” Tits said shortly.

“Katie?” Braden asked hesitantly.

Tits looked up in relief when Eli strode into the room. “You get Jonah?”

“Yeah, they’re on the move. ETA six hours. An extrication team will reach us first. No idea on the Falcon secondary who were with us on the mountain. Jonah’s afraid they were all buried by the avalanche.”

“Katie?” Ian asked again. He was beginning to sound like a damn parrot.

Eli shot Tits a scowl. “You haven’t told them yet?”

“I was getting to it,” Tits mumbled.

“Why don’t you tell us since Tits is having a hard time with the English language all of a sudden,” Braden said, his voice hard.

Eli ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair and shot the brothers a look of sympathy. “We don’t think she made it.”

A fist slammed into Ian’s gut, knocking the breath right out of him. Braden didn’t look any better. He paled, and his fingers curled into tight balls.

“What do you mean she didn’t make it?” Braden asked in a deadly quiet voice.

“When we rode up, she was on the porch with an ault rifle and her bag. She was about to bolt,” Eli began. “I shifted so I could gain position on her. Then Tits took a bullet. They obviously had staked out the cabin. Katie told me to let her go so she could lead Esteban away from you and Braden. She said you were unconscious and helpless. She asked for a chance to live. For all of you to live.”

“And you let her go?” Ian shouted.

“I had three men down,” Eli said calmly. “She was right.”

“What happened?” Braden snarled.

“She took off on the snowmobile, and Esteban’s men took off after her. Several minutes later as I was getting Tits into the cabin, we got hit by the avalanche. She couldn’t have been far enough away to have avoided it,” he finished quietly.

“Mother of God,” Ian said hoarsely.

No. She couldn’t be dead.

“What are you so worked up about, man? She screwed you over. Drugged your es and was all set to ***ch you.”

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“Because she thought we’d ed her over first,” Ian bit out. “She had to have overheard our conversation outside the other day and misunderstood.”

“What was to misunderstand?” Eli asked. “You were using her. Or did I miss something here?”

“We were protecting her.” Grief was thick in Braden’s voice. “We would have never let Esteban get to her. That wasn’t the plan. That was never the plan.”

“How long?” Ian demanded. “How long since the avalanche? How long has she been out there in the cold?”

Eli flashed him a look of sympathy. “Three hours. She couldn’t survive that long.”

Braden shot up from the bed. “Where’s the locator?”

Ian looked up, his brow creased.

“The tracking device,” Braden said impatiently. “I had Marcus put one back in when he stitched her up. It should show up on the locator.”

“Braden, man, it’s been three hours,” Tits said.

“I don’t care,” he roared. “Even if she’s dead, I’m not leaving her out there to rot. She deserves better than that. She’s always been left behind. This time she won’t be.”

Ian stood, his mind numb. He moved jerkily, like an automaton with no clear direction. His gaze scoured the room in search of the locator. He staggered to the two bags by the window and ripped into them. Everything was soggy from the melted snow. God, let the locator still work.

He yanked it out and hit the power button. Nothing happened.

“Goddamn it!” He hit the button again.

“Let me have it,” Braden demanded as he strode over. “I can take it apart and dry it out. It might work again.”

“Jonah will have another,” Eli said.

“We don’t have six hours to wait for them to come rescue us,” Ian seethed. “If we can get a bead on her location, you can shift and get out of here.”

Eli and Tits exchanged uneasy glances which only enraged Ian further. They’d already given her up for dead.

He tossed the unit up to Braden. Braden snatched one of the lights from the dresser and went back over to the bed.

While he worked feverishly, Ian paced, his gaze going to the blocked window.

“Have you tried digging out? Have you shifted and gone above to see what we’re facing here? Have you tried digging down from the outside?”

Eli put a hand on Ian’s shoulder. “The cabin is covered, Ian. We need more than one man with a shovel. Jonah’s on his way with back-up. We’ll get out, I swear.”

“Yeah, but will we be in time?”

Eli shook his head. “You have to know, Ian. The chances of her surviving…they aren’t good.”

Ian closed his eyes. “Why did you give her up for me?”

“You know the answer to that,” Eli said patiently. “If you think about it, you’ll know I didn’t have any other choice. I had a wounded man and two more out of commission. There was no way I could stave off all of Esteban’s men alone. Katie led them away. Don’t take away from her sacrifice.”

“I just don’t understand why she did it.” Ian dropped his head as grief and anger surged over him. “She told me…one of the last things she said was that she wasn’t expendable. That her life mattered. So why then did she suddenly decide she gave a damn about the fact that Braden and I were sitting ducks here?”

“I can’t answer that,” Eli said quietly. “But I bet you can if you look deep enough. It was probably for the same reason you’re considering digging out of here with your bare hands. She’s more to you than a job, Ian. And I’d say you were more to her than just someone her brother sent to save her .”

Anguish, harsh, so heavy that his knees buckled, hit him. He turned, his hands flying to his face in an attempt to make the reality go away.

He sagged, and Eli caught him. They both fell and their knees hit the floor with a jolt. Eli caught the back of Ian’s neck as Ian’s forehead hit Eli’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, man,” Eli said. “I know how I’d feel if someone told me Tyana was out there. I wouldn’t accept it either. But it wouldn’t change a damn thing.”

Ian’s breaths roared from his lungs like fire. Each inhalation hurt, hit him with such savagery. He hadn’t kept her safe. He’d failed her just like everyone else in her life. And too late, he realized he wanted to be different. He wanted to be the one she could trust. Love. Rely on.

“Don’t you ing give up,” Braden snarled.

Ian’s head came up, and he saw Braden staring at him, answering grief simmering in his eyes. They glittered with moisture, and his entire mouth twitched. His jaw jumped and spasmed, and Ian realized how hard he was hanging on to his control.

Slowly, he stood, using Eli for leverage. He walked over to the bed where his brother was piecing together the locator.

“I won’t give up,” he vowed as he locked gazes with Braden. “I won’t give up until we find her. Even if it’s just to recover her body and bring her home. She deserves that much.”

Braden nodded and held out his hand. Ian grasped it. A current of power passed between the two men. In that moment, Ian knew that Braden had fallen as hard and fast for Katie as he had. And now neither of them would have a chance to take care of her—to love her—the way they both wanted.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Braden stared at the array of waterlogged parts to the receiver with a tenuous grip on his fury. He wanted to hurl them against the wall and then he wanted to hit someone. Several times the beast inside had risen, snarling to be set free. The edgy, sharp sensation prickled along his skin, raising his hairs. The signal of an impending shift. He’d never fought so hard in his life to remain calm, to ward off the panther. Never before had he been successful.

Too much was riding on his ability to remain human. Katie was depending on him.

For the umpteenth time, he carefully wiped down each individual wire, each piece and then put it all back together in an effort to make it come to life.

When he finished, he hit the power button and held his breath.

Nothing.

With a snarl of fury, he hurled it across the room, and it shattered on impact. He thrust himself up from the bed, crossed to the wall and punched it for all he was worth.

The wall ****d and dust from the sheetrock slid down and skittered onto the floor.

“Hey, lighten up,” Eli said as he put his hand on Braden’s shoulder.

Braden held up his hand, a clear warning for Eli to back off. He did.

“Don’t tell me to lighten up. Would you lighten up if it was Tyana out there? Cold. Alone.”

“No, man, I wouldn’t,” Eli said quietly.

“How’s Tits?” Braden asked as he turned around. He sucked in his breaths, trying to soothe the fury that singed his veins and thundered in his ears.

“A little weak, but we stopped the blood. Looks like a flesh wound. He’ll bitch and moan, but he’ll be fine.”

“I can’t stand it, Eli. I can’t stand to stay here any longer. I’ve got to get out of here.”

“It won’t be much longer,” Eli soothed. “Jonah and Mad Dog and the rest of the Falcon secondary are getting here as fast as they can. The extrication team he already had on the ground should be here anytime.”

Braden stared across the room to where Ian sat slumped in a chair, his head down, palm covering is forehead. What a ing mess.

“I’ll go out and have a look around again,” Eli said. “It should be getting light soon.”

Braden nodded, and Eli faded from view. Only a slight shadow streaking across the room signaled his departure. Ian looked up at Braden.

“We lost her, man.”

Braden swallowed and willed himself to remain calm, not to let the anger—and the grief—tear out of his chest. He was pissed. If only they’d been upfront with Katie from the beginning or even later on, after they’d arrived in Austria. Hell, even after they’d started sleeping with her.

They’d had countless chances, but they’d been arrogant, too confident in their ability to control the situation. And neither had realized what they stood to lose until it was too damn late.

Braden turned away from his brother, no longer able to stand the pain in Ian’s eyes. They mirrored his own agony too much.

A few minutes later, Eli strode back into the bedroom, his expression tight. “There are rescue crews further down the mountain. Nothing up here yet, but then we’re pretty far out of the way. Chances are no one knew anyone was in this cabin.”

“Have they recovered any survivors?” Ian asked, hope edging into his voice.

“Just bodies,” Eli said grimly. “Esteban’s men and a few of the Falcon secondary. No sign of Katie. There’s a team of men heading in our direction. Most likely Falcon, but we can’t be too careful. Stay on your toes and have your guns at the ready.”

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The men walked back into the living room where Tits was propped up against the wall, his gun leaned against his uninjured shoulder. He stared at them with slitted eyes, monitoring their progress across the floor.

“How you holding up?” Eli asked.

“I’m good. Ready to go. No wimpy bullet’s gonna take me down.”

“We got a team moving in,” Eli said as he squatted beside Tits.

Tits nodded and grasped the stock of his rifle, sliding the barrel down his body and then tilting it forward. “Well, let’s do it, then.”

Eli grasped his good arm, and Ian leaned in to help pull Tits to a standing position. Tits stared at Ian eye to eye, his expression serious.

“I’m sorry about Katie.”

Ian swallowed and nodded shortly.

Thirty minutes later, they heard the sounds of equipment hitting the roof. Then light shone in the broken window on the left. A hand appeared as it scooped out snow, widening the beam of light.

“Guess it’s time to greet our guests,” Eli muttered as he strode to the window.

Ian moved in behind Eli and pointed his rifle toward the opening. Eli disappeared in a thin vapor trail and filtered up through the window. Braden joined Ian with Tits close behind.

“That **** makes me nervous,” Tits muttered. “What if I inhaled the man?”

Braden shook with laughter despite the raw grief carved on his face.

A few seconds later, the hole got bigger, and a hand thrust a small receiver through the opening. Ian lunged for it, his hands shaking as he powered it up.

“We’ll get you out shortly,” one of the men hollered down.

Ian ignored him, turning away as he punched in the code for Katie’s tracking device.

“Come on, come on,” he murmured impatiently as he waited for the map to load.

The graphic flashed on the screen and the lines spread out, signaling the layout of the area. A hundred-mile radius. He frowned and keyed the code in again.

“What the ?” Braden demanded as he looked over Ian’s shoulder.

“That’s impossible.” Ian keyed it in for the third time. “Something’s wrong.”

“What is it?” Tits asked as he too came over to look.

“She’s not showing up,” Braden said.

“Maybe all the snow interfered,” Tits offered cautiously.

Ian shook his head. “That thing would work on the bottom of the ocean.”

“Could it have fallen off?” Braden asked.

“It would still show up on the receiver,” Ian said. “Marcus sewed it into her damn stitches. It didn’t just fall out. The only explanation…”

He turned to Braden, afraid to hope, afraid to let Braden see his hope.

“What?” Braden demanded.

“The only explanation is that she’s beyond the search radius,” he said slowly.

Light sparked in Braden’s eyes. “Widen it.”

Ian rapidly keyed in the coordinates for the world map and held his breath. And then a small dot on the display screen started to blink.

Excitement exploded in his chest. Relief so profound he felt lightheaded. He yanked his gaze to Braden to see the same excitement burgeoning in his eyes.

“Where is she?” Braden asked hoarsely.

Ian frowned as he crosschecked the latitude and longitude. Then he looked back up at Braden and Tits.

“If my coordinates are correct, she’s somewhere over the Atlantic.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

It really pissed Katie off that she had to be grateful to this creepy jerk for saving her life. She stared over at the worm who’d introduced himself as the notorious Esteban and curled her lips in disgust.

At least she’d stopped shaking. Finally. And the interior of the plane was nice and toasty. Which was good because she was convinced her skin had turned permanently blue.

Still, she hitched the blanket higher around her chin, more of a protective measure than one of true discomfort over the temperature.

Esteban’s stare raked over her, and he locked gazes with her. She stared boldly back, refusing to let him cow her. She’d faced down enough bastards to recognize that he wasn’t anything special in the sleaze department. Just a typical man full of himself and ured of his own importance.

He smiled, flashing crooked teeth. “You don’t look very happy that I pulled you from the snow, Katie. I could have left you there, you know.”

“I’m glad you pulled me out. I just wish you’d left me alone once you did,” she snapped. “Where the hell are you taking me, and why do you want me so badly? I can’t possibly have anything you want.”

“Oh, but you do,” he said softly. “You have something I want very much. You are, in fact, key to my success. Perhaps the key.”

She furrowed her brow in genuine confusion. He was utterly serious, and for a moment, he even seemed sane. Which was scary in its own way. She didn’t want to relate to this creep or even see him as half a human being.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I’m not feeling too charitably toward you. You gassed my brother and his team. You made them what they are, and you’re responsible for my brother’s death. That makes you a son of a bitch, and I’d just as soon see you rot in hell than ever be the key to your anything.”

“I regretted Gabe’s death very much,” Esteban said tightly. “It was senseless. He was vitally important to my program. He chose his path, and he chose to sacrifice himself for two failed prototypes.”

“Prototypes? What the hell? They were men. Men you ed over and made into unpredictable wild animals.”

Esteban rubbed his face tiredly. “I don’t expect you to understand. You’re not a scientist.”

“And you are?” she scoffed. “From what I heard, you own a pharmaceutical company, and you like to play God in your spare time. How the hell does that make you a scientist?”

She leaned forward. “Why do you want me? What part could I possibly play in all of this, and how could I be of any importance to your program?”

“You’re Gabe’s sister,” he said evenly. “That makes you extremely important. You share the same genetic material. He was one of my successes while the Thomas brothers were dismal failures. How do you explain the stability of one man and the instability of another when they were introduced to the same set of con***ions?”

She stared at him in shock. She opened her mouth to speak, but she honestly couldn’t formulate a single word.

“You’re getting the picture,” he said with a small smile. “If Gabe was a success then chances are you will be too. And any children you have.”

Nausea welled in her stomach. “You’re not changing me into some wild animal,” she whispered. “And I won’t be a breeding machine.”

He shrugged. “There’s nothing to say you’ll turn out to be a wild animal. Gabe could become invisible. Part of what makes this so interesting is learning what your gift will be. If you’ll share the same traits as Gabe did or if all we’ll be guaranteed is your stability, your ability to control your shifts and retain human cognizance in shifted form. It will be a fascinating experiment. Your eggs will be harvested for breeding purposes, so you don’t have to worry about losing your figure to a pregnancy.”

She was too horrified to protest, too dumbstruck to do anything but stare at him in absolute disbelief. Was he joking? He said it so flippantly, like he was doing her a grand favor by sparing her a pregnancy. And who the hell did he plan on fathering those babies?

A shudder rolled over her shoulders, and bile rose in her throat. She’d never been more disgusted in her life, and Ricardo de la Cruz was plenty heave-worthy.

“I’m not planning to hurt you, Katie,” he said in a cajoling voice. “You’re far too important to me. I plan to take very good care of you.”

“Why?” she whispered. “Why on earth do you want people who can shift? Why would you force that on anyone?”

“It’s merely a starting point,” he said idly. “If I can alter human DNA and make a man a hybrid between human and beast, what else can I create?”

“You want to be God?”

“No, I wouldn’t want his job,” he said seriously. “It’s not my place to judge, to make life or death decisions. Who gets to live, who gets to die. I’d rather offer humans choices.”

“Oh, dear heaven,” she groaned. “I take it you don’t believe in the whole theory of free will? You believe in predestination? And if that’s the case, don’t you think God would have to be pretty stupid to preordain someone who could change all his rules?”

She hugged her knees to her chest, ignoring the pain in her ribs and the raw wound that had partially reopened in her fall from the snowmobile.

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Esteban smiled ruefully. “You intrigue me, Katie. I hadn’t expected you to be so difficult. I think you’ll make a fascinating ad***ion to my experiment.”

“And what will you do once you’ve turned me into a trick pony?” she asked softly. “Are you just going to let me go? Let me go back to my life?”

His lips pressed together in an expression of regret, and then he shook his head. “I’m sorry to say that your life as you know it is over. The sooner you accept it, the better off you’ll be.”

She eyed him coldly, allowing the full force of her hatred and disdain to bleed into her expression. “You’ve made some ambitious plans,” she said in a mock congratulatory tone. “But you forgot to factor in one little variable. Make that two.”

Esteban’s eyebrow went up. “Oh? And what’s that?”

“Ian and Braden Thomas,” she said evenly.

“You think they give a damn about you?”

She smiled tightly. “I don’t have any illusions where they’re concerned, but I know how much they hate you. They’re not going to give up hunting you.”

For a moment annoyance flickered across his face, and then he shrugged nonchalantly. “If they do, they’ll die.”

“But I thought you didn’t make life or death decisions?” she taunted.

“If they go after me, they choose death, I don’t choose it for them,” he said in a chilling voice. “Their deaths will be a consequence of their choices.”

She stared at him calmly, confidence radiating. “And maybe your death will be the consequence of your choices.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

“The last time we went into a compound like this, I lost a man,” Eli said grimly as he looked at the gathered men. “I don’t want that to happen this time.”

Jonah stood to the side, his arms crossed over his AK-47. He looked almost bored. Except for his eyes. They flickered alertly over the embled group as if he were measuring each one.

Mad Dog and Tits flanked Ian and Braden, and Tits slapped at another bug, real or imagined, Ian wasn’t sure.

“Goddamn it,” Tits muttered. “The entire jungle is determined to have me for dinner.”

“It’s the fresh blood,” Mad Dog drawled. “If you’re not careful, they’ll suck you dry. They grow ’em big here in South America.”

“Hey, you,” Tits said. But he pressed a hand to his wound as if to prevent any bugs from invading the bandage.

“You boys done?” Jonah asked dryly. “We’ve got a job to do here. I’d just as soon quit ing around and get it done.”

Braden nodded his agreement. He was tense and edgy. Ian worried that he might be close to shifting, but neither of them wanted to risk taking a sedative and not being a hundred percent when they went in for Katie.

Her signal had led them deep into the Venezuelan jungle to a compound undetected by satellite. Mostly underground, what was above the terrain was hidden by heavy growth and lush foliage. Thank God for the tracking device or they would’ve never found her.

If Esteban had hurt her there would be no mercy. Obtaining a cure was no longer a priority, at least not for Ian and Braden. Ian knew that Falcon was still keenly interested in Esteban because of Damiano. All Ian cared about at this point was extracting Katie. Alive. Esteban could live or die.

Jonah looked toward Eli, a concession to the fact that he led this mission. Ian wasn’t in the mood for a pissing match or a contest to see whose was bigger. The merger wasn’t his idea. He didn’t give a **** who called the shots as long as Katie got out alive.

“Let’s go,” Braden growled.

“I’ll shift and find a ventilation system to get in. Give me a ten-minute head start so I can take down the security system,” Eli said.

Tits stepped forward with a glance sideways at Mad Dog. “Our recon points at four possible entrance and exit points. Could be more.”

“Katie’s signal was pinpointed in the heart of the compound,” Ian said. “We’re going to need those exits secured and the paths clear. I don’t want to rely on only one way out. I want a plan, and then I want plans B, C and ing D. We can’t afford to this up.”

Eli nodded. “If I fail to override the security, then those entrances will need to be blown. We lose some of the element of surprise which means you have to get in and move fast. Shoot first, sort bodies later. Esteban has proven what a complete and utter coward he is. He won’t stick around to get caught in the crossfire.”

“Okay, enough with the chitchat,” Braden said. “Let’s do this.”

Eli took quick stock of his gear and then dissolved into the thick, humid air. Jonah checked his watch and began the countdown.

“I want the secondary manning those exits as soon as we gain access,” Jonah said. “Two will remain outside to provide cover and to make sure no one crawls up our backsides.” He looked at Mad Dog and Tits. “You two set the place to blow. I want this to be an in-and-out job. Our objectives are Katie, information and Esteban. In that order.”

He pinned Ian and Braden with his hard stare. “Don’t make this personal. Get in, get your girl, get the hell out. You’ll take the central entrance and hone in on Katie’s location. The other half of the secondary will be moving ahead of you to clear a path. You’ll have back-up in front and behind you.”

He glanced down at his watch. “Let’s move. We have three minutes to go time. Take your positions and get ready to kick some .”

***

Katie hunched down in the corner of the cold, sterile, glassed-in observation room, knees drawn up to her chest as she rocked back and forth in an effort to get warm.

The thin hospital gown she wore offered little protection from the bone-aching chill. It was as though Esteban had stored her in the freezer.

She laid her forehead on her arm and closed her eyes as she rocked harder. Her belly still cramped from the procedure performed just hours earlier. She’d been restrained on an exam table, her legs forced apart, and she’d lain there helpless as the first egg extraction had been performed.

Esteban had been delighted to discover that she was at the perfect time in her cycle. The discovery of two mature eggs ready to be released during ovulation had been enough for him to go ahead with the procedure instead of putting her through a regimen of fertility drugs as he’d threatened. Why he hadn’t taken both at the same time, she didn’t know. An important piece of the puzzle was missing, but she couldn’t wrap her brain around what.

She couldn’t feel more violated than if she’d been raped. This was worse. Much worse.

She ignored the tapping on the glass wall. It would be Esteban. Asking once again how she was doing. As if it mattered.

His voice filtered over the intercom system. “Prepare yourself, Katie. This next part…is not pleasant.”

Her head came up, and she stared dully through the glass to see Esteban standing by the speaker, his hand on the button.

“It will be over soon, though, and then you can rest,” he said in a soothing voice.

What the hell could be worse than what she’d already been subjected to?

A hissing sound, like an airlock being broken, sizzled over her ears. She yanked her gaze up in alarm to see a cloudy vapor seeping into the room from every vent. She scrambled up, panic beating at her mercilessly.

The bastard was gassing her.

She turned and began to pound at the glass. “No! You son of a bitch. You can’t do this!” she screamed. “This isn’t my choice. I don’t want this.”

Esteban pressed his hand against the glass, mirroring hers. An expression of regret framed his face. He looked almost…sorry.

Fire raced over her skin. She inhaled as she cried out in pain and then coughed and choked as the chemical entered her lungs. Oh God, she was on fire from the inside out. Burning.

Her hands slapped and wiped frantically at her skin. She was melting. Her skin was going to slide right off her bones.

Her eyes singed, and tears poured copiously down her cheeks. She fell, writhing, to the ground. Agony. She couldn’t take it.

Razor blades scoured her flesh, marking her, but she didn’t bleed. She had no blood to give. It boiled in her veins. Burned like acid.

She clawed frantically, trying to relieve the pressure, to give the poison somewhere to go, to escape. Her throat closed in. Her tongue swelled, and she tried in vain to draw a breath.

She was going to die. She wanted to die.

Numbly, she lay there, her entire body twitching as her nerve endings fired. The floor felt cool against her cheek and she rubbed, trying to infuse more of the blessed chill into her tormented body.

Saliva pooled in her mouth, odd against her dry, cracked tongue. It leaked onto the floor as her eyes became fixed and unblinking, focused blindly on the opposite wall.

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Her hand. It wouldn’t quit moving. It jumped, her fingers extending and hopping. She curled them into a ball in an attempt to make it stop.

Ants. She was covered in fire ants. They were eating her alive. A sob escaped her lips.

“Let me die,” she whispered.

Rain, sweet and refreshing, poured down on her. Water hit her with bruising force as it fell from the ceiling. She curled into a ball and held her hands over her face. After a moment it stopped and then quiet descended.

She tried to move, but her body wouldn’t obey her commands. She was locked in the worst kind of hell. On the inside the pain still raced, surging through her veins like a brushfire. The bitter chill, made worse by the soaking she’d received, encased the outside of her body.

But worse than the pain was the fear of what he’d turned her into.

Chapter Forty

Ian and Braden made fast tracks through the low-slung corridors that snaked toward the middle. Convoluted was apparently a favorite design of Esteban’s. This one mirrored the building in Switzerland almost exactly.

Using the signal from Katie’s tracking device, they navigated the twists and turns. Halfway in, everything went dark. Braden slapped on night vision goggles with infrared sensors and continued forward, his gun up.

A few seconds later, track lighting along the ceiling flickered and bathed the hallways with a dull glow.

Ian stopped outside a closed doorway and held up a finger and pointed. Braden gripped his gun tighter and nodded for Ian to go in. According to the locator, Katie was in the next room.

Ian slapped on the explosive, set the timer and then motioned for Braden to get down. Three seconds later, the door blew, and he and Ian rushed through the entry.

Braden staggered back when brilliant white light accosted his vision. He put a hand up to ward it off before making a sweep of the room with his rifle. It was empty. Save for a cylindrical platform in the middle of the room. A red beam illuminated a tiny container resting on the surface.

He and Ian exchanged glances. Where the was Katie?

Dread tightened his gut as he walked slowly toward the platform. He knew what he’d find before he ever got there.

Almost invisible, sitting in what looked to be a Petri dish, was the thin, needle-like tracking device that Katie had worn.

“Mother !” Ian swore as he spun around.

And then from the tiny holes that ringed the platform, smoke seeped upward, drifting higher and spreading out, faster and faster.

“Get out of here!” Braden shouted as he bolted for the door.

He was nearly there when rails slammed from the ceiling, barring his exit. He yanked around only to be enclosed by another set as they dropped like bricks, imprisoning him in a large square box.

Ian fared no better.

The two brothers stared at one another even as Braden felt every muscle go limp and unresisting. The room swam in his vision, and he felt himself fall. His head rolled to the side. His last conscious thought was of Katie and whether she’d died on the mountain after all.

***

Braden opened his eyes and saw only a blurred blob of vague color and slight movement. He blinked and blinked again, each time clearing some of the film from his vision.

He saw Katie, lying on the floor inside a glass enclosure, her eyes glassy and unfocused, fixed on some distant object. She was soaked, the thin gown she wore plastered to her body. She shivered uncontrollably, her body jerking as she clutched her arms to her chest.

Relief surged, sweet and soothing. She was alive.

Then rage followed, replacing the calm. It curdled in his veins, whispering and calling to the killer inside him. To the predator.

“What did you do to her?” he demanded as he saw Esteban step to the glass to stare at Katie.

Esteban turned, a smile on his face. He looked oddly calm, not at all the demented, frantic man they’d confronted in Switzerland.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

“What did you do to her?” he bit out again.

Esteban glanced back at Katie, his expression almost regretful and as strange as it seemed, tender.

“I regret the pain I caused her, but that’s over with now. She won’t feel the second egg extraction.”

“What?” Braden shouted. He tried to strain forward and only then did he realize that he was restrained standing up, his ankles secured to an iron plate with metal cuffs and his arms banded on either side of his head.

“Getting worked up won’t help you,” Esteban said calmly. “You can’t shift. I’ve injected enough paralytic that I rather doubt you’ll do much more than drool occasionally once it takes effect. It should be hitting you any time now.”

Movement beside him alerted him, and he glanced over to see Ian similarly restrained. His eyes came open slowly, and he blinked as Braden had as he tried to bring his surroundings into focus.

“Leave her alone,” Braden demanded. “You don’t need her.”

“Oh, but I do,” Esteban said. “It’s you I don’t need. Your men have done a good job of gaining access to the compound and my security system, but the inner shell operates independently. It’s steel reinforced and completely closed off from the rest. As soon as the outer perimeter is compromised, the inner hull goes into lockdown. I delayed it long enough for you to arrive.”

“I thought you didn’t need us,” Braden said. “Why the elaborate hoax? Why bother leading us here at all?”

Esteban glanced back at Katie one more time and then he pressed a button and spoke rapidly in Spanish. Two men immediately walked into the containment room where Katie lay, both wearing biohazard suits.

Oh God, Katie. What have they done to you, baby?

He stared in agony as the two men carried her out of the glass enclosure. A few moments later they walked into the room where Esteban stood and laid her on the exam table. She lay there listlessly, her body shaking, her eyes unseeing.

Esteban tended to her, his motions gentle. He touched her cheek at one point and carefully pried her wet hair from her face.

And then he turned back to Braden. “It was actually something that Katie said on the plane. That I hadn’t factored you and Ian into the equation. She was right. I gave you no thought other than thinking you a nuisance. Your instability made you unacceptable for my needs—or so I thought. My scientists are intrigued by you, though. They’ll use you for research, and when you’ve served your purpose, you’ll be disposed of. My concentration, however, will be on Katie.”

“You’ll never leave this place alive,” Ian broke in, his face tight with anger.

Already, Braden could feel his limbs grow heavy. Lead traveled sluggishly through his veins. It was all he could do to lift his head.

“You’re crazy,” Braden slurred. “Certifiable.”

“I ure you, I’m completely sane.”

He turned to one of the men in a lab coat. He rattled off an order in Spanish, and Braden was too disoriented to follow the different dialect. But the intent was clear. One of the men gripped Katie’s ankles and spread her legs.

She whimpered and put a hand out to ward him off. Esteban cupped his hand to her face and whispered soothingly to her. She only became more agitated.

When the other man took a metal speculum and started to move between her legs, Ian went crazy. Braden closed his eyes and did what he’d never done before. He called to the panther. A soft plea. Unfettered acceptance. He embraced his beast and surrendered to the shift.

Chapter Forty-One

Katie fought against the bile rising in her throat. Pain, so much pain. Every touch to her skin was like a branding iron, a hot coal pressed against her flesh.

Her legs were spread, and she felt the cool metal brush against the inside of her knee. She arched off the table, unheeding of the soothing words whispered in her ear. His touch was wrong. It was evil.

And then as they overpowered her, her head lolled to the side. A single tear slipped over her temple, wetting the surface of the table she lay on. Her gaze flickered, and she saw Ian and Braden, their faces contorted in rage.

She continued to stare, sure she’d imagined them. Why weren’t they helping her?

And then Braden disappeared. A huge black cat flew over the table, taking down the man who held her ankles. A scream split the air. Esteban tried to push himself away, but the cat rose with a low snarl. His scream of fear died in his throat when the panther lunged, his jaws closing around his neck.

Blood, bright red and warm, splattered onto her chest. She rolled, trying to push herself upright. She collapsed on her side, too weak to do much more than lie there, staring down at the horror reflected in Esteban’s eyes.

The cat let out a hiss and moved away from Esteban as he stalked the remaining man.

She tugged at her slack and unresisting body, trying to force herself into motion. She rolled and went down on the floor in a puddle of Esteban’s blood. She raised her hands, staring in horror at the sticky, red stain on her palms.

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“Katie!” Ian cried.

She looked up to see him straining sluggishly at his bonds, his face a wreath of torment. A gentle nudge at her side, soft and warm. She glanced down to see the panther rub his head over her arm. Then he raised his head and licked her cheek.

She stared into his green eyes and found calm. Slowly she reached out to touch his head. He ducked and butted against her palm and then leaned further in to nudge against her cheek again.

“Katie, get away from him,” Ian shouted hoarsely. “He’ll hurt you.”

She leaned against the panther’s neck and buried her face in his soft fur. She closed her eyes and weakly held on. After a moment, she glanced back up at Ian. “Shift,” she said softly.

His eyes flashed in helpless rage. “I can’t. I won’t hurt you, Katie. Get up. Get out of here.”

Her hand trailed over the panther. Braden. “You won’t hurt me. He won’t let you. Don’t you see? He’s protecting me. I can’t free you, Ian. I’m not even sure I can get up. Trust in yourself. In what you are. Let the jaguar free.”

Ian closed his eyes, his jaw ticking with strain. His fingers curled and clenched, his arms bulged and contorted. He let out an anguished cry, and then he seemingly stopped fighting.

She watched in wonder as his body reshaped. His arms slipped from the cuffs as they became slim paws. He fell forward, hitting the floor as he tore his hind legs free of restraint. His big head reared and flexed, his jaw opening and then closing in a snap of teeth.

He prowled to the fallen man, the last that Braden had taken down, and sniffed cautiously. Then he padded to where she sat. He tried to insert his heavy body between her and Esteban, steadily pushing her back with his strong shoulders. He leaned over Esteban and growled menacingly.

A low hiss escaped from the panther when miraculously, Esteban stirred, his eyes fluttering open. They were glassy and nearly fixed in death. Blood seeped from his torn neck, and Katie couldn’t countenance how he was still breathing.

He raised a shaking hand and let it flutter down over her arm. The panther hissed again, and the jaguar let out a menacing growl.

A gun lay at his side, one he’d tried to raise to shoot Braden. Katie dove for it, mustering all her strength in a final bid to make sure the cats were safe. Her fingers closed around it, and she dragged it weakly into her grasp.

But Esteban never made a move for it. He stared at her, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“I wanted to be free,” he whispered. “God…”

“You should have never tried to play God,” she said bitterly.

“Your God made me what I am,” he rasped as more blood frothed and foamed over his lips.

She leaned down, her body trembling with pain and rage. And fear for what this man’s actions had wrought. “God is no respecter of persons. He doesn’t make one man evil and another man good. He gives us choices. Control over our own destiny. And you chose wrong.”

“You’re wrong,” Esteban whispered. “He made me imperfect. A mistake.”

“No one’s perfect,” she snarled.

Another stab of pain rolled over her body, and she closed her eyes against the urge to vomit.

“But some are mistakes,” he said. “Freaks of nature. Like me…”

He raised his hand again, his fingers twitching and pointing to the table across the room. “Take it,” he choked out. “The journal. Explains…everything…”

The last whispered past his lips, a long hiss, the sound of finality. Blood burbled and spit over the edge of his mouth, and his eyes lost the spark of life.

Then his body began to shake and tremble. She backed hastily away. The two cats placed themselves between her and Esteban, briefly obscuring her vision. They both hissed, and an eerie yowl sounded.

She shoved at them so that she could see. She wanted to be certain he was dead.

What she saw shocked the breath from her lungs. Lying on the floor where Esteban had lain just seconds before was a beautiful silver wolf. Blood smeared his fur and matted his jowls. The blue eyes were fixed in death.

She wrapped her arms protectively around her chest and stared as tears filled her eyes. The entire world had gone mad. Nothing was as it should be.

The gun lay useless in her lap, and she looked down, wondering how she could get herself and the cats out of the compound.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she squared her shoulders. Ian and Braden had risked everything to save her. They hadn’t betrayed her, hadn’t left her to Esteban. She wouldn’t leave them now.

She’d survived. She could feel sorry for herself later. Right now she had to overcome the mind-numbing pain ricocheting through her body like a short-circuited electric system and get the hell out of here.

She thumped the butt of the rifle down on the floor for leverage and shoved herself to her knees. She promptly bent over, vomiting as her stomach curled and squeezed relentlessly.

The two cats bumped incessantly at her legs, urging her forward. They flanked her protectively, forming a tight circle around her with their bodies. And to think she’d once worried about them killing her. As had they.

Sucking air through her nose, she gritted her teeth and pushed herself to her feet. She nearly went down in a heap and had to lean heavily on the rifle to keep her footing.

The cats followed her to the door, pressed tightly against her legs in an effort to keep her upright. Didn’t retain human cognizance, her . They knew precisely what they were doing. Maybe they didn’t remember afterward, but it didn’t mean they were mindless killers.

Her gaze fell on the leather-bound journal lying on the table by the door. Part of her had no desire to know anything about Esteban, but the contents might help Ian and Braden and their teammate Damiano. She might need help every bit as much as they did now that Esteban had probably turned her into a shape-shifting being.

She curled her hand around the spine and tucked it to her . Slowly and painfully she headed across the room to the small corridor that she knew led to the lower level. There was a tunnel leading to the outside. She’d heard Esteban talking. Maybe it was to her. She couldn’t remember. He’d spoken to her often, as though he was trying to win her over, to make her understand.

She closed her eyes as more tears simmered in her vision. What had he done to her? And why? What was he? Had he experimented on himself only for things to go horribly wrong as they had with Ian and Braden? Was his mad search for her an attempt to correct his mistakes, to find a cure?

They descended into the cooler, darker tunnel. A sound in the distance sent a wave of adrenaline through her body. Somehow she found the strength to raise the gun as she and the cats moved steadily forward. At the end, two men appeared. As they raised their rifles, she fired off a volley of shots. They went down and she shot again, not taking chances as they drew closer.

The cats sniffed at the bodies and growled but urged her over them.

Deeper and deeper, further down until she was certain they were entering the bowels of the earth. The tunnel wound and narrowed, and at several points she had to stop and lean heavily against the wall.

Tears of rage, of pain and frustration, of fear and of sorrow flooded her eyes, and she angrily brushed them away, furious that now of all times she was breaking.

And then the tunnel sloped upward. The going went slower as she struggled to put one foot in front of the other. Agony seared her muscles. They contracted and protested, shook like a newborn colt’s legs.

Sunlight. Just a beam shining and bouncing off the tunnel wall. She extended her hand, touching the slight trail of warmth along the cooler surface.

It grew brighter, and then she saw the small entrance ahead, a simple trap door in the ceiling, old enough that intermittent splashes of sun leaked through.

A few feet away, her legs gave out, and she fell headlong onto the floor. She lay there gasping, her eyes closed as pain raced and rebounded through her body like a current with no outlet.

The jaguar leaned down, his warm tongue lapping gently at her cheek. He nuzzled her jaw, pushing upward. The panther butted her in the middle of her back, nudging her forward, impatient.

She raised her arm, and the jaguar looped his head underneath, giving her purchase. The panther slid his head underneath her other shoulder and lifted.

With renewed strength, she rose unsteadily, her weight borne by the two large predators. She reached up to shove at the old wood. When it didn’t budge, she picked up the rifle and extended the butt, ramming against the doorway.

When that didn’t work, she stepped back several feet, took aim and fired a series of shots. The wood splintered and rained downward. She busted out the remaining pieces with the rifle and squinted as the sun shone in.

Now for the most difficult part. Getting out. When she started to reach, the jaguar issued a warning growl. She stepped back nervously, but he simply leaped into the opening first. The panther then nudged her forward, obviously wanting her to go next.

It took her a long time to hoist herself through the opening. Her entire body was bathed in sweat, and she was in so much pain, she nearly passed out. When she finally pulled herself out, she rolled...

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It wasn’t long before the cats started to nuzzle her again. Gently, probing and inquisitive. Then more firmly when she didn’t respond. They wanted her up and away from danger.

Her hand going automatically to the gun, she dragged herself to her knees but when she tried to stand, she found she simply lacked the strength. So she crawled. Between the two cats. They guarded her carefully, their gazes always seeking. They matched their pace to hers.

She headed into the lush foliage of the jungle. Shelter. A place to hide and to rest. And finally, she was at her end.

She crawled underneath a tree into a bed of damp leaves. Water dripped from the canopy overhead, soft and soothing.

The panther inserted himself between her and the tree so that she leaned into his warm body. She went without hesitation, pressing her back into his fur.

The jaguar settled himself a few feet away, his head up and staring, his ears perked and alert.

She just wanted to stop hurting. Just for a little while.

Chapter Forty-Two

Ian came awake, the sounds of the jungle humming incessantly in his ears. Awareness of everything else was slow in coming. He moved with marked lethargy, and he moaned softly as blackness swirled.

He turned his head, his cheek scraping against the damp ground. Oh God. “No,” he whispered when he saw Katie lying several feet away.

Blood covered her body, bathing her in scarlet red.

He scrambled for her, grief and confusion clouding his mind. Memories splintered and came back rapid fire. Braden had shifted and killed the men in the laboratory. Katie had looked up at him with pain-filled eyes. He’d allowed the shift to happen.

He’d done this to her.

He crawled to her body, ignoring Braden who lay just beyond her, his back against a gnarly tree trunk. With shaking hands, Ian reached for her, his fingers feathering over her pale face.

Tears clouded his vision as he gathered her in his arms. Ignoring her blood-soaked clothes, he crushed her to his chest and buried his face in her hair.

She stirred softly, her body trembling against his. His hopes soared. Then he began to shake uncontrollably as he gently put her back down so he could judge the extent of her injuries.

God, there was so much blood. Had he ravaged her? Had he turned on her and attacked her?

He pushed at her clothing with impatient hands. He found the wound Marcus had stitched, countless bruises, but no gaping wounds, certainly nothing capable of producing the amount of blood on her clothes.

“Ian?” Braden asked groggily. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I must have attacked her,” Ian said in a broken voice. “There’s blood everywhere.”

Braden pushed himself upward, his brow creased in absolute confusion. “But you didn’t.” He stared down at Katie in horror and then back up at Ian. “Ian…I remember.”

Ian stared back. “Remember what?”

Braden opened his mouth but seemed to have great difficulty in forming what he wanted to say. He palmed his forehead and closed his eyes for a moment.

“I shifted on purpose, Ian. And I remember what happened while I was the panther. I remember everything.”

Ian shook his head, sure he wasn’t hearing right.

“I remember killing Esteban. And the others. And then you shifted. The blood isn’t hers. It’s Esteban’s. She was in so much pain, and we tried to get her out.”

“How can you remember that?” Ian asked in disbelief.

“I don’t know,” Braden whispered.

Braden pushed himself forward and leaned over Katie. He touched her cheek and then bent down to kiss her temple. “Katie,” he choked out. He stroked her face, his fingers skittering lightly over her skin.

He glanced back up at Ian. “She’s so clammy. She’s trembling all over. She’s not doing well, Ian. We have to get her out of here. I don’t know what the hell they did to her, but it wasn’t good.”

Four men burst out of the dense jungle foliage, their guns pointed at Ian, Braden and Katie. Braden dove over Katie, his body shielding her while Ian grabbed for the rifle at her side.

“Whoa, man, stand down,” Eli barked. “It’s us, Ian.”

Ian stared up through the red haze crowding his vision to see Eli, Jonah, Mad Dog and Tits standing in a tight semicircle. They lowered their guns.

“Christ,” Mad Dog grumbled as he dug into his backpack. “It’s getting to be a chore keeping you two in clothes.”

Ian glanced down, only now noticing that he was nude. Mad Dog tossed a pair of fatigues and a T-shirt at Ian and then to Braden. But Braden focused solely on Katie, anguish etched into his features as he stared down at her.

“What happened, Ian?” Eli asked softly.

Jonah and Eli both squatted down beside Katie. Braden ignored them in his distress.

Ian shook the cobwebs from his head. “I don’t know everything,” he said honestly. He stared up at his brother. “Braden said he shifted on purpose and that he remembers everything that happened while he was the panther.”

Eli and Jonah jerked their gazes to Braden.

“Is that true?” Eli asked.

“Think, Braden,” Jonah said urgently. “This could be important.”

“They were hurting Katie,” Braden said simply, his voice breaking with emotion. “Ian and I were helpless to save her. Esteban had us shackled and drugged. I knew I had to shift and so I did. Then I killed the man who was trying to hurt Katie. Then Esteban and finally the third man in the room.”

Eli exchanged glances with Ian, his brow creased in concentration.

“Did you mean to kill them? What I mean is did you know what you were doing? Did you plan it?”

“Yes,” Braden said simply. “I went after them. I wanted them dead. Katie fell from the table. There was blood everywhere, on her, on Esteban.”

He stared up at Ian. “You told her to get out, that I would hurt her. She touched me and then she buried her face in my fur. Then she told you to shift. You refused and said you didn’t want to hurt her. She told you that I wouldn’t let you, that I was protecting her. It was true. When you shifted, I put myself between you and her. I didn’t know what you would do. But you immediately went to help her. We both were just trying to get her out of there. She barely made it down the tunnel.”

He returned his gaze to her. “She was in so much pain. I don’t know what they did to her, Ian, and it’s killing me.”

Katie moaned again. She shook, seemingly wracked with a chill, but sweat bathed her body, beading on her forehead. Her face was pale, and her muscles twitched like a junkie in withdrawal.

Her face contorted, and her lips drew together in a fine line, going white as she battled what seemed to be unbearable pain.

And then her eyes flew open, and she stared up at Jonah and Eli. Her pupils went wide with fear, and then she turned away, her eyes staring unseeingly into the jungle. Her leg jumped, and the nerves in her arms spasmed uncontrollably.

Eli’s expression hardened while Jonah’s face softened when he stared down at her shaking body. Jonah reached out and gently touched her face.

Slowly her eyes moved until she locked gazes with him.

“What did they do to you, habibti?”

His voice was strained. Uncharacteristic emotion simmered in his eyes.

She stared dully back at him. “They took my eggs,” she whispered.

Jonah’s head came up in shock, and the other men all stared at each other. Had they understood right? Ian’s face tightened in horror as he remembered the scene right before Braden shifted. The spreading of her legs and the metal device the man had put between her legs. Dear God.

She closed her eyes as tears seeped from the corners, leaving damp trails down her pale face.

Eli turned to stare up at Mad Dog. There was steel in his eyes. “Give me some time before you blow this place to hell.” Then he turned to the others. “Get Katie to the helicopter. I’ll meet you there.”

***

Jonah carried Katie through the jungle, with Mad Dog taking point and Tits bringing up the rear. Ian and Braden were still weak and shaky from the drugs and the prolonged shift.

Jonah glanced down as Katie jerked and spasmed in his arms and wondered for the hundredth time what the bastards had done to her. And why? She clutched a worn leather journal to her chest, and murmured a weak protest when he tried to take it from her. So he left it, not wanting to cause her any more distress.

Her eyes had the vacant, distant look of the women brutalized under his father’s reign of tyranny. She looked…like his mother had the day he’d found her huddled in the bedroom of their palace home.

He stared stonily ahead even as his grip tightened around Katie’s slight form. He hadn’t been able to save his mother or the many others his father had crushed. In the end, he’d fled, shedding all ociation with Adharji and his dictator father.