Retribution (SSU Trilogy Book 3) (The Surgical Strike Unit) (16 page)

She froze. If she closed the door and denied him entrance, then she could live in her dream world. A world where Rafe came back to her and they started a relationship.

But Ryker was right. She didn’t want people speculating about her grief, or seeing her reaction to what she knew was bad news. She released her grip on the door, then spun around and hurried into the living room, turning on every light as if somehow that would make the news more bearable. Finally coming to a stop behind the sofa, she rested her hands on the back.

Ryker stepped cautiously into the room, closing the door behind him without removing his gaze from her. He watched her with the wary attention of a hunter expecting a wild animal to attack.

“Perhaps you’d better sit down,” he said.

She shook her head and gripped the back of the sofa so tightly her knuckles hurt. “Just tell me.” Her voice was a hoarse, frightened thing that all but begged him to soothe her fears away.

He held her eyes for a moment, then nodded. “Three days ago, Rafe and his team missed their check-in. We haven’t heard from them since. Our satellite has been out of commission since the day they left, but today we managed to get time on one of the European Union’s satellites.”

He paused, and Gabby wished she were sitting down after all. Her knees suddenly felt wobbly. “And?”

“The compound and the surrounding forest have burned to the ground, Gabby. None of the tracking devices from Rafe’s team are transmitting. We have to assume they’re all dead.”

Rafe was gone.

The room spun. Gabby’s knees gave out. She distantly heard a wild keening rent the air before grief and pain sucked her under.

“G
abby, wake up.”

She came to her senses lying on the couch, a cold, damp washcloth on her forehead. Ryker had her hand between his and was lightly rubbing warmth into her icy fingers.

“What happened?” she asked.

Ryker’s eyes met hers and the sympathy he gave her tore her heart in two.

“No.” She shook her head. “He can’t be gone. There’s some sort of mistake. A malfunction in the tracking devices. He’s alive. They’re all alive. Just…somewhere out of range. Underground.”

“Gabby, the U.S. Geological Survey recorded a minor seismic event at the compound’s location two days ago. That’s consistent with the size of explosion that would be necessary to destroy the underground facility. Once the site has cooled down from the fire, our investigators will go in. But there’s little chance anyone survived.”

Gabby pulled her hand away from Ryker and sat up. The washcloth fell onto her lap with a wet plop and she angrily tossed it onto the coffee table.

She refused to accept Rafe was dead. Not yet. As a scientist, she understood odds and probabilities. Even the surest conclusion was often proven wrong when new evidence was uncovered.

“There’s still hope,” she insisted, standing up.

Ryker shook his head and moved back to give her space. “Gabby, if Rafe and his men did somehow survive the fire, it’s likely they’re under Kaufmann’s control. Such a fire could be caused by a self-destruct mechanism similar to the one that destroyed Nevsky’s lab.” He walked around the coffee table and faced her across the short expanse of cheap wood.

“It would be better to be dead than subject to Kaufmann’s experiments, wouldn’t you say?”

Bile crept up the back of Gabby’s throat as Ryker described her worst nightmare—Rafe turned into a maddened beast like Nate. She bit her lip and tasted salt. Surprised to find herself crying, she reached up and dabbed at her eyes.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t wish Kaufmann’s program on anyone. I…it’s better if he is dead. If they’re all dead.” The pain of that was too much, though. She wrapped her arms across her belly and rocked back and forth as the tears coursed down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Gabby. I know you cared for him. I…” Ryker cleared his throat. “He was like a son to me. He was going to be my successor when I retire. I’ll miss him very much.”

She couldn’t deal with the grief she heard in his voice. Her own grief was more than she could bear. “Please. I need to be alone now. I…I know we’d only just met, but I love…loved him.” She hiccuped out the last word, but wanted Ryker to understand why she was falling apart the way she was. Because Rafe was special. Because he mattered.

She sensed his hesitation before he spoke. “I’m sorry, Gabby. Come see me when you’re ready to talk.”

Gabby nodded. Then she curled up on her side on the sofa and cried.

Chapter 13

One Week Later

Kaufmann’s New Compound

Blue Ridge Mountains

“M
r. Teng, please step closer to me,” Dr. Kaufmann ordered.

From his position chained to the wall, Rafe’s heart sank as he watched his teammate shuffle toward Dr. Kaufmann. Teng kept his eyes on the ground, his head bowed in total obedience.

Fuck. Another one lost to Kaufmann. He hadn’t seen Teng in two days and had hoped he was dead. Death was better than enslavement.

Now Teng was nothing more than Kaufmann’s puppet.

“Tell me, Mr. Teng, what can I use to break Mr. Andros?” Kaufmann turned and ran his probing, assessing eyes over Rafe. “He’s held out remarkably well against every tool we’ve used against him. Oh, we’ve managed to chip away at his resistance, but there’s something that’s keeping him strong.”

Hell yeah, he stayed strong. Because he had the memory of Gabby to sustain him. Whenever the pain got too bad, she was there with him, soothing him. Telling him to hang on. Keeping him silent against the drug-induced compulsion to tell Kaufmann exactly what he wanted to know.

Gabby was the one person he loved that Kaufmann didn’t know about, so hadn’t been able to use against him. She was Rafe’s secret strength.

Kaufmann faced Teng. “Tell me what’s stopping Mr. Andros from becoming like you.”

Teng cut his eyes toward Rafe, his expression tormented. Begging for forgiveness.

Rafe flinched. Teng had been part of the initial assault on Kaufmann’s compound. He knew that Rafe had been attracted to Gabby from the start. Worse, he knew exactly how much Gabby meant to him.

Fear twisted through Rafe’s gut, leaving ice behind.
No
, he mouthed.

Tears welled in Teng’s eyes. Rafe tensed against his chains. He wanted to fight. To lunge across the room and stop Teng’s mouth with his fist. But Rafe refused to let Kaufmann know how close he was to success.

“Gabby Montague,” Teng mumbled to Kaufmann.

“What?” The surprise in the doctor’s voice was almost comical.

“Rafe’s in love with Dr. Gabrielle Montague.”

“Excellent. You’re dismissed.”

Shoulders hunched with dejection, Teng left the room.

“Well, Mr. Andros. You surprise me. Dr. Montague doesn’t seem like your type,” Kaufmann purred evilly.

Rafe kept his face impassive. Deep inside his soul, he hastily built shields around his memories of Gabby. Praying it would be enough to keep her with him.

Kaufmann motioned for two of his assistants. “I believe we’ll start with some physical torture,” he told them. “One hour minimum. Then give him the next series of poisons. That ought to soften him up enough that he’ll be ready for my next session.”

Kaufmann’s smile was pure triumph. “I will so enjoy using Dr. Montague to break you.”

Rafe threw Kaufmann a cocky smile. “You can try. But I wouldn’t bet on it.”

An agonizing amount of time later, Rafe blinked at another photo through the blood and sweat dripping in his eyes. The poison was still in his system, although the double-vision and abdominal cramping were no longer as agonizing. This photo was different. Instead of showing Gabby having sex with Nate and other unknown subjects while lab-coated scientists looked on, this time Gabby was fully clothed, smiling as she passed a beaker full of blue liquid to Kaufmann.

The sex pictures Rafe had no trouble discounting. Gabby wasn’t a whore. And he knew her ethics. She’d never have sex with a patient.

But the beaker…hell. He knew she’d worked for Kaufmann. This could be a perfectly innocent photo.

“Do you still think she was uninvolved in developing my program?” Kaufmann asked with a tinge of mockery. “Once she realized the power to be gained from controlling other human beings, she jumped right in.”

Kaufmann reached for a beaker. “Recognize this? It’s the same one from the photo. Only, you’ll notice the level of the liquid is much lower.” He held up a syringe.

“We’ve found the poison she helped us develop to be most persuasive. It’s what finally broke Teng.” With his other hand Kaufmann spread the rest of the photos on the table.

To Rafe’s exhausted mind, they were damning. Gabby filling a syringe with what looked like the same liquid. Injecting it into a terrified man. Watching and taking notes as the man writhed on the examination table.

“Let’s see if we can’t once again duplicate Dr. Montague’s excellent results.” Dr. Kaufmann jabbed the needle into Rafe’s arm.

Rafe’s body arched against the restraints as the poison burned through his veins. His limbs convulsed. His vision darkened. His ears rang.

As if from a great distance, he heard Dr. Kaufmann laugh. “Oh yes, I’ll have to thank Dr. Montague when she returns. I expect her back within the next hour.”

Rafe shook his head, then moaned at the pain that caused. No. He wouldn’t believe it. Gabby was safe at the SSU. She hadn’t created this poison. She loved him.

The poison spread throughout his body and the world became nothing but blinding agony. Rafe writhed against his restraints, desperate to find some relief. Barely keeping his mind together.

But Gabby was there in his head. Smiling at him. Opening her arms and offering him shelter. And she pushed back the pain long enough to keep him from blacking out. To stop him from giving in.

“Hasn’t he broken yet?” Gabby’s voice demanded impatiently. “What’s taking so long? Give him another dose.”

“No!” Rafe bellowed. It couldn’t be Gabby. Gabby wasn’t here.

He struggled to open his eyes, but his eyelids were too heavy to lift. Unable to see, all he could feel were soft, feminine fingers holding him down while someone stuck a second needle in Rafe’s arm.

“Rafe, give Dr. Kaufmann what he wants and the pain will go away,” Gabby ordered. “Give Kaufmann control. Do it for me.”

“Gabby,” Rafe groaned. God, he’d missed her so much. Spent so much time dreaming about her soft words of encouragement. Her kindness. Her strength.

Sharp fingernails dug painfully into his wrists above the restraints. “Give in,” Gabby ordered.

“Why are you helping him?” Rafe cried, head tossing against the table. Gabby wouldn’t betray him this way. He had to open his eyes. Had to see what was really going on. Maybe Kaufmann was threatening her.

But no matter how hard he tried, he could not get his eyelids to lift. The poisons were stealing his strength and he needed all his energy to protect his mind.

“You’re weak,” Gabby whispered in his ear. “Kaufmann can make you strong. Just accept his control. So easy. Don’t you want to make me happy? Do this for me.”

No. Gabby was wrong. Giving in to Kaufmann would make him weak, not strong. Something wasn’t right. But Gabby was his savior. If she said to do it…

“Pledge your obedience, Mr. Andros,” Kaufmann said. “And I’ll let you see Gabby again.”

Feeling as if his soul were tearing in two, Rafe rode out another wave of pain as his back arched high off the examination table.

“Swear it,” Gabby urged him. “Or I’ll make you hurt even more.”

Confused by her order, Rafe hesitated. Then a soft, warm, female form draped over his body, belly rubbing against his crotch, hands running over his chest. Fingers pinched his nipples. A tongue spiced with unknown bitterness thrust into his mouth, leaving the sensitive tissues burning.

“Stop,” he heard himself moan as he yanked his head away. He choked on whatever she’d fed him with her tongue. The substance mixed with the poison already in his system to bring on an unbearable mixture of pleasure and pain. Mixing him up until there was nothing more he wanted to do than to please her.

“Give Kaufmann your pledge,” Gabby whispered as she trailed kisses across his cheeks, leaving behind that powerful burning sensation.

He burned everywhere.

It didn’t matter what he said. He wouldn’t be alive much longer.

“Yes,” he croaked.

“Say it, Mr. Andros,” Kaufmann demanded. “Tell me you will obey me in all things.”

“I will…obey you…in all things.” As soon as he said the words, something broke inside Rafe. The defenses he’d held onto so fiercely crumbled.

“Excellent.”

Gabby slid away from his body, but the arousal didn’t go away. Headphones were slapped to his ears. Chimes and gentle ocean waves calmed him.

Then Dr. Kaufmann began to speak. And what was left of Rafe’s soul crept into a deep hole and hid.

“T
ell me who this is,” Dr. Kaufmann ordered, pointing to the woman in the picture.

“Dr. Gab-ri-elle Mon-ta-gue,” Rafe replied. Forming words was too difficult. It was easier to say nothing. Fighting was better.

“Is she your friend?”

“No.” Rafe shook his head. “Bad woman.”

“That’s right. She’s your enemy. What will you do if you meet her?”

“Kill.”

“Excellent.” Dr. Kaufmann waved his hand. Two assistants brought in a terrified, struggling woman who looked very much like the one in the photo. The assistants had their hands clamped tightly to her arms as they dragged her closer to Rafe.

Rafe glanced back and forth from the woman to the photo. “Not same woman,” he said, struggling to put the words together. “Who this?”

Dr. Kaufmann smiled. “This is the woman who helped break you. She pretended to be Dr. Montague. She’s just as bad.”

The part of Rafe that was under Kaufmann’s command nodded. But the stubborn piece of him that refused to succumb gave an internal howl of fury, knowing he’d been tricked.

The assistants shoved the woman to her knees in front of Rafe.

“Show me what you’ll do to Dr. Montague once you find her,” Kaufmann ordered.

Rafe shook his head. He didn’t want to obey Dr. Kaufmann. Hurting women was wrong. But the pressure in his head kept increasing until his body trembled.