Rough Edges (7 page)

I
t was nearly midnight when Victor finally pulled into his driveway after a long day of interrogation and bad coffee.

Bella was waiting for him. He recognized her shiny red truck instantly, and some of the grinding fatigue of the day faded away under a sudden burst of excitement.

He'd missed her, and until now, he hadn't realized just how much. Perhaps it was ridiculous of him to do so, but he couldn't deny that's how he felt. They'd been together for so many days in a row, he'd gotten used to her company. Spending the day at the police station, undergoing a nonstop string of questions while Payton and a team of lawyers pulled strings to earn Victor's freedom, had done nothing to change that.

A heavy pile of tension slid from his shoulders as he opened his garage door and pulled inside. One long, curvy leg exited Bella's truck, followed by the rest of her. The sinuous glide of her body as she walked into his garage filled his rearview mirror and his attention.

What was it about this woman that got under his skin? He'd had plenty of beautiful women in his life. Family money made sure of that. There was always another pretty face hoping to help him spend his wealth. None of them had ever captured his attention so completely. None of them made him ache with the need to be near her.

Whatever his odd feelings, he wished like hell they'd just go away. Wanting a woman whom he worked with—whom he worked
for
—was both inconvenient and uncomfortable.

When it wasn't completely thrilling.

By the time he turned off his engine and got out of his car, Bella was standing beside him. “Rough day?” she asked.

He nodded to her bandaged hands and the bulges of more bandages under her soft, clingy pants. “No worse than yours.”

“Payton told me they let you go.”

“I'm sure I'll have a few more people to convince, but the lawyer is confident that this will all go away.”

“The company will cover the legal expenses, of course.”

There were a few small bruises on her cheek from where she'd been hit. Victor wanted to kiss them away so badly he had to plant his feet to keep from taking a step toward her to do just that.

“That's not necessary,” he said.

She looked down at her shoes. “It is. The least the company can do is cover your expenses. You saved my life.” Her chin lifted and her striking gray eyes met his gaze. “Thank you, Victor. I really didn't want to die today.”

He saw his fingers settle lightly on her cheek. Only then did he realize he'd let himself touch her.

The feel of her warm, smooth skin under his hand streaked through his nervous system, setting it on fire. Part of him that had been tense all day began unclenching, while the rest of him was waking up and preparing to wage whatever battle he had to face to make her his.

Her eyes fluttered for a second before she refocused on him. She wet her lips. He didn't know if she was nervous or sensed his intense desire to kiss her. Either way, his animal brain saw the action as a green light.

His feet shifted closer to hers. He could feel her body heat now, sense how well she would fit his frame if he ever got lucky enough to have her pressed against him. He wouldn't have to strain his neck to kiss her. She was just the right height for him to really take his time with her mouth and coax her body to soften for him.

Victor struggled to pick up the conversational thread she'd laid down. “Anyone would have done the same thing.”

Her long fingers settled on his chest, causing a roar of victory to course through him. She'd touched him. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't see him as more than her employee, would she?

“You're wrong,” she said, though her gentle tone eased the sting of her words. “I'd like to think that most of the men I've hired wouldn't hesitate, but there were several of them nearby. You were the one who got there first. You were the one who risked his freedom by pulling the trigger. I won't forget that.”

If he didn't ease back, he was going to kiss her. And as much as he wanted his mouth covering hers, he didn't want her to think that he was demanding payback in the form of sex. She was too important to him for him to screw up things between them with such a stupid, rookie move.

It felt like ripping off his own fingers one at a time, but he managed to take his hands from her skin and shove them in his pocket, right next to his growing erection.

“Does that mean I get a raise?” he teased.

“Not even close, honey.” She grinned and pushed against his shoulder. The slight wince tightening the skin around her eyes reminded him that she was injured. Whatever things he might want to do with her, however willing she might momentarily be because of his actions today, there was no way in hell he was going to fuck an injured woman and risk hurting her more.

His libido screamed as he shoved it back in its cage and forced himself to pretend he didn't want her.

“I'm starving,” he said. “Want to come in for a really late lunch?”

“It's almost midnight.”

“Both me and my empty stomach are well aware. Join me?”

She hesitated so long he was almost sure she was going to turn him down. “Okay, but just for a minute. Franklin is house-sitting for me. They spent so many hours going through my place with a fine-tooth comb, they didn't want to leave the house unattended.”

“I like this plan. It'll keep you safe.” He led the way inside, looking at his empty house with fresh eyes. Everything was new and in good repair, but he hadn't lived here long enough to make it feel like home. There were no pictures on the walls. The furniture was of high quality, but in bland neutral colors. His kitchen was stocked with only the bare necessities. As they entered it, he heard his footsteps echo against the empty walls.

“I guess you didn't want to eat police station food?” she asked.

“They didn't offer a meal. I think they were trying to make me crack.” He opened the fridge, hoping there was something fast and easy to fill his growling stomach.

Bella laughed, and the sound stroked along his spine, making his toes curl like he was some kind of lovesick schoolboy. “Guess they didn't know how tough you were.”

He knew he was tough, but it made him proud that she thought so, too. Not that she would have hired anyone who wasn't tough. “They figured it out relatively fast. Once General Norwood started calling in favors, people started paying attention.”

“Did you get any uncomfortable questions?”

“You mean about what we do at the Edge?”

She nodded, and her glossy hair slipped over her shoulder to caress her breast. Victor's mouth began to water in a way that had nothing to do with food.

He cleared his throat and peered into the refrigerator, seeing nothing half as appealing as the woman standing ten feet away. “I'm trained in how to deal with interrogations. They didn't learn any secrets from me.”

“That's good.” Her voice was closer now. He hadn't heard her approach, but she was right behind him, staring over his shoulder. “Bachelor fridge. Looks like mine, only yours has less fuzzy stuff in it.”

He grabbed a block of cheese and a couple of apples. “Can't get your housekeeper to clean out the fridge?”

“Nope. She says it's a biohazard.”

“She's probably right.” He sliced the cheese into cubes and arranged it on a plate.

Bella moved around his kitchen, opening cabinets and snooping without apology. “Was it horrible?”

“The interrogation? Nah. I can take it.”

“No,” she said. “Killing a man.”

The knife stilled in the middle of cutting an apple. He hadn't expected the question, nor was he sure why she was asking. “He's not the first man I've killed, Bella.”

“I know, but that doesn't make it easy, does it?”

“I didn't enjoy it, but there was no choice. He was going to shoot you. I couldn't let that happen.”

“He had no choice, either.” Her voice wavered for a second before she continued. “Stynger made him attack me. He was as much a victim in this as I was.”

“Are you saying you wished I hadn't killed him?”

Her long fingers curled around the handle of his silverware drawer. Her back was to him, but he could see some kind of tension vibrating along her spine. Anger? Fear? Stress? He couldn't tell, but whatever it was, he wanted to soothe it away until she was calm and relaxed.

“No,” she said. “He had to die before he hurt someone else. The men Stynger controls are like rabid animals, even after the implants are removed. Razor's friend Jake had his removed and he's still being held for his own safety as well as hers. If that ever happened to me, I'd rather eat a bullet than be held in Payton's secret prison for the rest of my life.” She turned to face him. “Wouldn't you?”

“I haven't thought about it.”

“We've spent weeks hunting down a woman who can crawl inside your brain and make even a strong man like you do whatever she wants. How can you
not
have thought about it?”

“I think about how to find her, how to stop her. I think about what her next move might be and how I can prevent it from happening.” He also spent a fair amount of time thinking about Bella and how she might sound, taste and feel if he ever got her in his bed. Not that he was going to admit that.

“If you'd seen the videos of Jake since his imprisonment, you'd have the same nightmares I do. I had to stop watching them.”

“I have seen them. All of them. Norwood required it of me before I took this job.”

“How can you not have thought about what you'd do if it happened to you, then?”

“Because it doesn't matter. If Stynger gets her hands on me, what I want will no longer matter. She'll make sure of that. Our only option is to keep it from happening.”

Her hands shook so hard he could see it from across the room. She shoved them into her pockets and swallowed hard. “She has Gage. I've known him for years. He's unstoppable. Incorruptible. I honestly thought that his volunteering to go inside the belly of the beast was a good idea.” Her gray eyes brightened, but he couldn't tell if it was from tears or anger. “Letting him go was a mistake. He hasn't made contact as ordered because he's no longer the man I knew.”

“You don't know that. You can't let yourself think like that. He probably just hasn't had a chance to make contact. You have to give him more time.”

“As if I have any other choice. We still have no clue where she is. With all the cameras and satellites we have access to, how is that even possible?”

“She moves her operation around a lot. She uses multiple locations. She hides underground and keeps her reach small enough that we have trouble seeing it.”

“She's destroyed dozens of lives. We should have been able to find her by now.”

Victor wiped his hands and went to Bella. He couldn't stand seeing her suffer without trying to ease her pain. It wasn't his place, but he didn't care. She looked like she needed to be held, so that's what he was going to do.

He didn't give her time to protest his hug. He simply wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

She flinched and tensed for a second, but then her body melted, giving in to his hug.

Every sweet curve and sleek hollow of her body fit against him with an almost palpable click of completion. He felt like the parts of him that had been missing all his life were finally back where they belonged. The feeling was so strong, so keen, it nearly scared him. If not for his original goal of offering comfort to a woman who so desperately needed it, he would have backed away and fled.

Instead, he tightened his hold, squeezing a nearly silent groan of contentment from her chest. She laid her cheek on his shoulder and pulled in a long, deep breath. As she let it out, her hands settled tentatively on his back, returning the hug.

“What the hell are you doing, Temple?” she asked, her voice far too faint and weak to sound like the authoritative woman he knew.

“Reminding you that you're not alone. Seemed like the kind of reminder you needed.”

“If I'd wanted a hug, I would have ordered you to give me one.” The words were delivered with no bite. If anything, she tightened her hold on him.

“No one's watching. You don't have to be in boss mode.”

She pushed away so suddenly, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say.

“Being boss isn't a mode, sweetheart,” she snapped. “I
am
boss. Twenty-four, seven. Next time you need to hug something, find a teddy bear.” She dug in her pocket for her keys and headed for the door.

He put his fingers on her shoulder, but even the light touch was enough to stop her in her tracks. “Bella, don't go. I didn't mean to question your authority.”

She didn't turn around. Her shoulders straightened and went rigid. “My authority is strong enough to handle a little questioning, but it was clearly a mistake coming here. You're more than capable of dealing with your legal issues. I shouldn't have worried. I should have known you'd have a team of lawyers on retainer, not to mention Norwood backing you.”

“I'm glad you came. It was nice knowing that you care.” He wanted her to turn around. Look him in the eye.

She didn't.

“I care about all of my employees. Don't think this is some kind of special treatment. Good night, Victor. See you bright and early tomorrow morning. Don't be late.”

G
age had no access to a clock, but he could tell it was getting close to the time the lab tech would come in and take his vitals. The big-boned, beady-eyed nerd in a lab coat came in at the same time every day. At first he'd been accompanied by an armed guard who was clearly annoyed by the distraction.

Gage offered no resistance, showed no sign of aggression. After a couple of weeks, the guard disappeared. The nerd was skittish at first, but Gage was careful with his body language, keeping it open and nonthreatening.

After a couple more weeks, the nerd seemed more at ease. He even smiled back at Gage once.

That was the sign he'd been waiting for. The nerd in a lab coat large enough to fit Gage trusted him. It was time to escape and find some way of making contact with Bella.

Sitting around this place locked in a cell for weeks was doing nothing but driving him crazy. He'd seen nothing of importance. He'd been knocked out before coming here, so he didn't even have any idea how far away Stynger's current lab might be from home. For all he knew, he was on another continent entirely.

The only way to find out was to get out of here and discover where he was.

Gage was careful not to alter his routine in any way. He'd set it up for exactly this purpose—to make whoever was watching him on that camera feel safe that all was well. Nothing had changed. Nothing to see. He was still the same docile, caged animal he'd been all along. They were completely in control.

He washed away the sweat from his workout and put on a pair of drawstring pants provided for him. He didn't know if the string threaded through his waistband was an oversight or a test. Either way, the improvised garrote was coming out tonight. He'd cut off the flow of blood to the nerd's brain, steal his clothes, and make his escape.

His skin prickled an instant before he saw the shadow of feet beneath his door.

It was time.

The door opened, but instead of the beady-eyed nerd, there was a young woman wheeling the instrument cart into his room.

She was dressed in jeans and a sweater the color of a forest in spring. The white overcoat she wore identified her as one of the lab techs or doctors. Her long dark hair spilled down over her breasts, falling in a silky wave that made his fingertips twitch against the need to touch.

She was pretty. Distractingly so. Her skin was so pale from lack of sun he could see a delicate network of veins just below the surface. There was a slight pink flush in her cheeks that warmed her complexion, but it was her eyes that held his attention. Light gray-green, fringed with long black lashes and filled with the kind of compassion he never thought he'd see here.

She closed the door behind herself and pushed the cart into the center of the room. “Peter wasn't feeling well, so I'm here to take your vitals.”

It was a lie. He could see it in the way she couldn't hold his gaze, in the minute shift of muscles around her eyes and mouth.

“He's sick?” asked Gage, hoping to trip her up in her lie so he could figure out what her game was.

Had they realized he was making his move tonight? Had something he'd done given away his intentions? If so, he couldn't think of what it might be. He'd been careful in the way only a man whose life is on the line could be.

“Something he ate,” she said. Another lie.

She opened a case and took out a stethoscope. Her hands were shaking.

Fear? Nerves? Did she know something he didn't?

“What's your name?” he asked.

“Jordyn. Have a seat, please.”

He did as she asked, wondering if he was going to have to lull another lab tech into a false sense of confidence. If so, that could take weeks, though he had to admit that the scenery this time would be a whole lot nicer.

She wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his arm. It took her a couple of tries to get it right, telling him that either this was not her normal job, or he was making her nervous.

Her light, feminine scent drifted to his nose, sparking something in the deepest, most primal part of his brain. He wasn't sure what had happened, but she no longer felt like a complete stranger to him. For reasons he couldn't name, he felt like he
knew
her.

Maybe she was a walking form of chemical warfare, laced with something to throw him off guard.

If so, he was half convinced she'd just won a damn big battle.

“Will you tell Peter I hope he feels better soon?” asked Gage.

Jordyn went still with the stethoscope halfway to her ears. “I will. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Caring. There's not enough of that down here.”

Ah, so they were underground. That was a little piece of information that would no doubt prove useful at some point.

Gage wondered what else he could get her to tell him. He wasn't normally much for conversation, but he'd make an exception if it meant accomplishing his mission.

“No one will tell me why I'm here,” he said, hoping she'd take the bait.

She remained silent while she took his blood pressure and recorded it. He played along, refusing to push. This kind of interrogation was more about enticing and coaxing than it was about force.

She pressed two fingers against his wrist to take his pulse. They were icy cold, and his protective male instincts hot-wired his brain for a second as he took her hands in his to warm them.

Her lips parted in surprise. She even let out a little gasp, but she didn't pull away.

Gage let the small victory course through him. Perhaps he was better off listening to his instincts with this woman. His brain had served him well, but he was still locked up down here, and the only piece of information he'd been able to collect had been from Jordyn's lovely mouth.

He pressed her hands flat against his chest and covered them, pinning them against his warmth.

A flicker of something passed through her eyes, but they closed before he could tell what it was. She stood there for a moment, eyes closed, completely vulnerable, letting him warm her hands.

Didn't she know how dangerous it was to be this close to him? Had no one warned her to keep her distance?

The idea that she wasn't protecting herself set his teeth on edge. He didn't like her putting herself in danger, though he had no idea why he cared. She worked for Stynger. That made her suspect at best and enemy at worst.

Didn't it?

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and looked at him. Even though the room was brightly lit, her pupils were large enough to drive a truck through them.

Either she was drugged, or really liked what she saw.

Gage wished it was the latter for several reasons, most of which he had no business considering. The rest of them would make this job so much easier. If she was attracted to him, he could use that to his advantage. All he had to do was play along. Let her think he was interested.

That wasn't going to be hard at all. She was lovely in a rare, unattainable kind of way, like an orchid growing from a sheer cliff. Only she smelled far better than any flower ever could.

Her voice had a bit of roughness to it, like she didn't speak very often. “Rumor is you came here of your own free will. Shouldn't you know why you're here?”

“I know why I came, not why I'm
still
here. Alive, I mean.” He looked straight into her eyes and asked, “Do you?”

She glanced nervously at the camera and pulled her chilly fingers out of his reach, turning her back to him. “No, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you. It's not my place.”

When she turned back around, she had a needle and several empty vials in her hands. Her face was empty of the feminine interest he'd glimpsed earlier.

So much for winning her over.

He extended his arm to let her do what she'd come to do. They'd taken blood from him every few days. He had no idea why they wanted it, but was afraid that if he asked her, she'd clam up even more.

His job was to learn what he could, escape, and contact Bella so she could take this whole place down. The idea wasn't nearly as compelling as it had been before Jordyn had walked into his room. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but he didn't want her to be here when the shit hit the fan.

Which was a ridiculous notion.

Maybe they had drugged him with something more than the sedative they pumped into his room every night. Maybe whatever they'd given him had already started screwing with his good judgment. Maybe
she
was doing the screwing.

She finished taking his blood and set everything on the cart. She would leave now, and his opportunity to escape would go right along with her.

His fingers grazed the drawstring at his waist. It wouldn't take much to rip that free and wrap it around her slender throat. He wouldn't even have to kill her. He'd just knock her out, take her key card and find the exit.

Of course, part of his plan had been stealing the nerd's lab coat to help him blend in, and there was no way the one Jordyn wore would stretch across his shoulders.

She turned to face him. Her back was to the camera. He didn't know if it was monitored or not, but he needed only a few seconds to knock her out and clear the door.

“Is there anything you need?” she asked. Her voice dropped to a faint whisper. “A book to read, maybe?”

Reading would alter his schedule, but if she was offering gifts, he didn't want to turn them down and shove a wedge between them. Better to accept what she wanted to give him and show his gratitude. “Yes. Thank you.”

She reached into her lab coat pocket and pulled out a small leather-bound book of poetry. He'd just as soon gouge his own eyes out one at a time with flimsy sporks as read it, but smiled anyway as he took it from her hands.

His fingertips grazed hers, and he felt the connection wing down his spine like an electric current.

Her eyes met his and he watched as her pupils expanded to eat up the pretty gray-green ring.

Again she spoke in a whisper. “My favorite one is on page thirty-two. You should read it and tell me what you think.”

“I will.”

“I'll try to come back tomorrow so we can discuss it.”

Great. Now he had to actually read the thing or offend her. “I look forward to it.”

“You're not allowed to have the book, so you should tuck it away somewhere safe.”

He realized now that she'd been using her body to hide what they were doing from the camera. Her whispers were probably hard to pick up with most microphones, confirming his suspicion that he was being monitored that way, too.

Gage leaned forward so she could hear his quiet words. “I won't rat you out. Promise.”

Her slender shoulders sagged in relief. He didn't think she was faking her reaction, which meant that she wasn't just planting the book to get him in trouble or to see where he might hide it, leading them to find other things he might have hidden.

He hadn't. Not that there'd been anything to hide. Every contact that had been made with him had been carefully controlled.

Until this one.

So what had changed? Why send her now? If she was meant to rattle him, why not send her before?

He had no idea what to make of it, and until he did, it was best if he kept up with his normal routine and pretended like nothing had changed.

“I have to go now,” she said.

“I hope to see you again,” he said, and interestingly, it wasn't a lie. He did want to see her again.

She left. Gage sat on his bed for several minutes while her scent dissipated. He was almost convinced that as soon as it did, his mind would start running smoothly again. If she was a walking chemical weapon, surely her power over him would fade as soon as she was gone.

It didn't. Instead, his thoughts stayed fixed on her, trying to piece together the puzzle she created. When nothing came to him, he angled his body so that the camera couldn't see and opened the book to page thirty-two.

Inside was a stick of chewing gum acting as a bookmark. The poem on the page was titled “On Your Side
.
” He opened the foil wrapper carefully, wondering if it might contain some kind of poison. What he found was far more intriguing. She'd written on the inside of the wrapper,
Use the gum to plug the tube under the bed. Pretend to sleep.

Gage didn't know what the note meant, but there was only one way to find out. He popped the gum in his mouth and flushed the wrapper down the toilet. If Jordyn was truly on his side, there was no way he was going to let her get caught helping him. And if she wasn't on his side, he'd overpower her and escape without the benefit of a lab coat that fit or the hindrance of guilt over hurting an unarmed woman.

*   *   *

Randolph answered his phone out of fear, rather than any sense of duty to the woman he worked for. “Yes?”

“It's been hours. Has the second dose been administered yet?” asked Norma Stynger.

He briefly thought about lying, but decided that was too high of a risk. “She hasn't been home yet. She only left the office a few minutes ago.”

“Your job was to ensure she was subjected to the drug once a day for several days. Are you telling me you failed?”

“She has to go home and shower sometime.”

“And if she doesn't? If she leaves town again or spends the night at work?”

“Security at the Edge is too high for me to sneak in, especially after I took care of that other thing you wanted.”

“I wanted you to frighten her, to increase her output of adrenaline to trigger the serum.”

“That's what I did.”

“No, you killed one of my men and gave the enemy another device to reverse engineer.”

“But Bella was scared. My contact at the Edge confirmed that.” Lila wasn't of much use, but there were a few things she was good at. Reporting about her boss's emotional state after the attack at the office had been one of them.