Her Master Defender (The Masters Men Series) (18 page)

Copper stretched arching her back before flipping on the light switch. She’d developed the roll of film she’d finished shooting just before the jerks tried to break into her house. Since that one had been half done before the guy tried to get her camera at the benefit she reasoned it was more likely whatever they were after was on that one.

She glanced at the prints she’d hung on strings over the bathtub. There were several with the man she’d seen on Dos’ computer. No one else jumped out at her as being out of place. Hopefully Dos would recognize someone so that spending the last, she glanced at her watch, forty-five minutes in here hadn’t been a complete waste of time. She knew where she really wanted to be.

A smile curled her lips as memories from being with Dos flooded her mind. A flush rushed over her entire body. Heavens, there was something about him that made her want to cuddle up and forget the rest of the world. With one roll of film done she decided to see if she could convince him to do that. She knew nothing would happen; he was too worried and too honorable to risk it. But being held by him had felt so perfect she wanted to feel it again.

Picking up her empty coffee mug, she opened the main door to the bathroom. She stepped into a silent main room. Figuring Dos was hole-up in his office she started toward the kitchen. Maybe she’d have more coffee before debating with Major Masters again. A whine pulled her attention down the hallway. Kismet lay with his nose at the bottom of one of the doors there. His tail swished every now and then before he would whine again. She called to him. He glanced at her, but didn’t leave his post. Obviously, Dos had taken priority in Kismet’s world. There was no one else he had ever taken to as fast. Not that Copper blamed him. She couldn’t resist the guy either.

Copper walked over and rubbed Kismet’s head. “Traitor,” she whispered before kissing his head. She reached up to knock on the door. Before her knuckles connected she heard a painful groan from inside the room. Worried Dos was having another attack she forgot about knocking and burst in.

She stared in paralyzing shock. Dos sat on an exercise table with weights strapped around his injured leg. “What the hell are you doing?”

His eyes popped open as his leg fell back down.

“Get out,” he growled and lifted the weight again.

Copper ignored his command, pushed the door closed so Kismet wouldn’t get inside, and crossed the room. She caught his foot half way through a downward arc. Pulling the gripper tape apart she removed the weight from his ankle while he stared daggers at her. She kept hold of his foot and probed his knee with her other hand. Glancing up she saw his clenched jaw. “Scoot back on the table.”

He glared at her and didn’t move.

“If you want me to let go of your foot, you’ll move.” She remained where she was holding his foot until he slid back on the table so his legs were supported behind his calf muscles. He held himself propped up on his elbows. Copper stepped to the side of the table and leaned on it next to his hip. “Any special reason you’re doing twice the weight that leg should be lifting?”

“The weight’s fine.”

God, save her from bull-headed men. Couldn’t he feel the sweat drip from his face? And his chest still heaved from the effort he’d been expending. She realized she was staring at the scars marring it and lifted her gaze. His eyes were guarded. Waiting.

Copper reached out and trailed a finger down the center of his chest. At the first touch he’d inhaled sharply. “It isn’t as bad as you think.” It was bad, very bad, but not enough to make her turn away from him.

He reached up and grabbed her wrist stopping her movements. “Believe me; I know exactly how bad it is. I’ve seen the faces, the revulsion.”

“What do you see now?” she asked leaning closer. He stared at her intently for what seemed a very long time. She started to wonder if he would answer.

He shook his head and released her wrist. “I see a woman almost as stubborn as me,” he said, then swinging his legs off the other side of the table he stood.

“Dos, don’t you dare put any weight on that leg,” she said rushing around to the other side.

He bent down and lifted his brace and cane from the floor before maneuvering himself around on his better leg to sit on a lower bench. “I’m determined to get back in shape, not stupid.”

“Could have fooled me,” Copper said leaning back against the table. He bent to put the brace on and she got a good look at his back. When he started to get off the table she’d been too distracted for it to register. Now she could see it was scarred more than his front. She wanted to kill whoever did this to him.

“If you’d throw me that shirt from the weight rack you wouldn’t have to look it,” he said without looking up.

“If you’ll stop obsessing over it, so will I,” she said, purposely not getting the shirt. He didn’t respond. She figured he didn’t like being called obsessive.

When he stood she pushed off from the table and wrapped her arms around his waist. “None of it makes me want you any less,” she said. Her words as well as her action surprised him because he stiffened in her embrace. He stared down into her upturned face. She smiled.

“If you want me right now, you really need help.”

“What makes now different than before?”

“Not only do I look awful, I’m pretty sure I smell that way, too. So, let’s go look at that film, so I can take a shower.”

“I finished one roll,” she said. She let the topic of his scars go for now and released him then walked to the door. “The last one I took. I had just taken about half of it when the guy tried to take my camera, so I figured what they wanted must be on that roll.”

As she opened the door Kismet rushed in. “I don’t think he liked being left in the hallway,” Copper said when Kismet poked his head into Dos’ hand.

Dos scratched Kismet’s ears. “Hey, boy. Sorry, but I didn’t want to bean you with a dumbbell.”

Copper noticed Dos had pulled his t-shirt on before leaving the room. His limp was definitely more pronounced. “You should really get off that leg and put some ice on your knee.”

“I’ve got to shower before that. Let’s see if there’s anything on this roll of pictures, or if you need to do the other roll.”

Copper agreed it made sense rather than have to set the whole thing up twice. She followed him to the bathroom. “I hung the ones with the guy I recognized near the front.”

Dos grabbed a hand towel from the rod and wiped his face and hair before looking at the pictures. He didn’t rush through them, checking every face in every shot before moving on. After three he hadn’t seen anyone besides the bastard that tried to take Copper’s camera and they still weren’t great shots. Maybe they’d been wrong and the photos had nothing to do with the break-ins. Maybe the guy had just wanted her camera.

“Do you have a magnifying glass or something?” he asked without looking away from the fourth photo.

“In my backpack, just a minute.”

Dos sat on the closed toilet still staring at the picture. It was another shot with the same man, but more of a full on shot. The guy wore the same cap as he had in the picture talking to Cardone, but this time he was looking up so his nose and eyes were more visible. The beard covering most of his face made it hard to be sure, but that same sense of recognition pulled at Dos. As he continued to stare it got stronger. Like the man was mocking him. It couldn’t possibly be whom he thought.

The magnifying glass appeared in front of him. Taking it he set the picture on the tank and held the glass over the man’s face. “Son-of-a-bitch.”

“What is it? I mean who is it?” Copper asked from behind him.

“I need to talk to the Colonel.” Picking up the picture he started to stand, but smashed his knee on the toilet paper holder. Dropping the picture and magnifying glass he fell back onto the toilet grabbing his knee. “Aughhh!”

“Hold on, I’ll get ice then you can take something for pain and you’re going to bed.”

“Can’t, gotta talk to the Colonel.” Dos said, though the white hot spear of pain in his knee made it difficult to speak. “If you get my crutches I can get to the office.”

“No, it’s one in the morning. Whatever you want to tell him can wait. Look at yourself,” she said. “You can barely speak you’re in so much pain.”

Forcing deep breaths into his lungs, both to help with the pain and to calm his tone, he looked up into Copper’s concerned face. “I promise. This can’t wait. I need to talk to him and I need to do it on a secure line. Afterward, I’ll shower, and ice my knee, promise.”

“And take something more than aspirin for the pain.”

“I’ll think about it,” was as much as he would agree to. Lord knew he didn’t enjoy the pain, but he didn’t want to be zombied out if there was trouble. The image in that picture said there would definitely be trouble. She left the room and Dos leaned over to pick up the picture. The choice turned out to be a bad one.

Big surprise. That’s the only kind of choices you make.
Staring at it he felt himself start to drift back to his capture, but he couldn’t pull himself back.

Garrett sat across the room strapped to a chair. His head hung down as if he were unconscious, or dead. Cardone pressed his fingers to Garrett’s neck. Turning back to Dos he smiled, “He’s still with us, Major. He’s tougher than your other men were. By now they would have been dead.”

“Leave him alone, you bastard,” Dos yelled.

“But I’m not done yet,” Cardone said. He placed the point of a knife just below Garrett’s ear and dragged it down his neck. Blood dripped from his neck and chest. “You know this is just the beginning.”

“Why don’t you play with me, Cardone? I’m the one you want. I’ve got more information than all of them put together.” Dos had been asking the same question for weeks. Cardone wouldn’t answer. If he didn’t want information, what the hell did he want? Why was he torturing them?

Garrett lifted his head and stared across the room meeting Dos’ gaze, with the one eye still able to open. His face was a mess, swollen and bloody. “I didn’t tell him anything, Major.”

For his effort he received a backhand across the face. Dos strained against his bindings, but couldn’t budge. “What do you want?” he yelled.

Cardone turned to face him. The cold black of his evil eyes sent a chill over Dos’ sweating body. Dos watched as Cardone wiped the knife he held with a cloth though his gaze never left Dos’ face. A wicked smile curved the man’s lips as he flipped the knife in the air catching its handle. “I want you, Major,” he said, his hand raised then drove downward toward Garrett’s chest.

“No!”

Copper ran back down the hallway with the crutches. “What?”

Dos sat where she’d left him, but something was wrong. His chest was heaving again and his eyes were wide and wild. His entire body seemed tense as if straining against some unseen binding.

“What happened? Talk to me.” She laid the crutches down, so as not to startle him. Stroking his face with one hand trying to offer some comfort, she grabbed a cloth with the other. After dampening it with cold water she knelt in front of him. She wiped the cloth over his tense face. Reaching down his still straining arm to his wrist she checked his pulse. It was racing. “It’s okay, Dos. You’re home. You’re safe. Talk to me.”

Copper continued to talk in a soothing tone and press the cool cloth to his face. She stroked his hair back as she spoke. It was all she could think to do. Slowly the panic seemed to recede. His body relaxed back against the tank and his eyes cleared, looking straight at her.

“Copper?”

“You yelled. I came running. When I got here you were unresponsive, your muscles were all straining, and you were staring hard at something.”

“Garrett.”

“Garrett?” Copper asked, though Dos seemed to have disappeared inside his head again.

“No.”

Placing her hand on his uninjured knee to draw his attention back to her, she waited until his gaze focused on her. She gave him a half smile wanting to keep as much tension out of the equation as possible. “Can I get more than a one word response please?”

“I was . . .” that was all he got out before looking away. He hadn’t turned fast enough, though. She had seen the guilt in his eyes.

“Look, I understand not wanting to talk about it with me,” she said, realizing he must have been thinking about when he was captured.

“It’s not that,” he said turning his head. “I don’t want to talk about it, period.”

Tipping her head to the side, she reached up and stroked his face. “I understand that, too. But you need to, and I’m all you’ve got right now.”

He buried his head in his hands, plowing his fingers into his hair. Copper gave him a minute to decide. Pushing guys like Dos to talk about something this important was not the way to get them to open up. When he blew out a breath and reached for the crutches on the floor the little hope she had sank. “It would help to talk.”

“I will, but not in here,” he said positioning the crutches and leaving the room. “Will you bring the picture with you? I need to scan it into the computer so I can send it to the Colonel.”

Copper did as he asked and followed him to his office. She waited while he entered the code to unlock the door, still wondering why he had such elaborate security inside his home. She shook her head as she watched him maneuver himself into his desk chair and tried to hide a wince of pain as his foot touched the floor.