Seduced by the Storm (39 page)

Practically
hyperventilating, she broke away from him and scrambled out of the vehicle. He
met her at her door, his hands coming down firmly on her upper arms, his dark
hair ruffling in the salty ocean breeze. "We’ll get through this."

We.
We’ll
get through this.

She
sucked in a bracing breath. "I know."

"Then
let’s do this thing." Like a switch had been thrown, he clicked into
operational status, went from tender lover to lethal agent before her very
eyes. Magnificent. Wicked, hot desire blasted through her, and damned if she
didn’t go wet right then and there.

How
absurdly inappropriate.

It
was with grim appreciation that she watched him melt away as they’d discussed
on the drive, into the crags and cliffs that defined the coastline. Once he
disappeared, becoming a fucking shadow as near as she could tell, she drove the
remaining distance to the meeting spot, parked on the side of the road near the
cliffs. She didn’t see anyone, but then, these people wouldn’t be standing
around with signs hanging from their necks.

She
wondered how Wyatt was doing, wondered if her team was close, wondered if she
should have considered more seriously the questions Wyatt had asked her back at
ML’s house.

How
do you know that Liberty’s not in on this whole scheme?

She
watched a peregrine falcon soar overhead, and once the majestic bird
disappeared in the distance, she secured the satchel containing the motherboard
to her side and started up the rocky trail leading to a grassy plateau. She
didn’t bother with stealth; the more attention she drew to herself, the less
that would be focused on Wyatt or her team.

As
she topped the rise, coming up on a flat expanse of emerald grass, the crash of
waves against the craggy shore below drowned out the sound of her pounding
heartbeat.

"That’s
far enough, Faith!"

She
came to a halt, summoned her power so it hummed inside her, ready to go at a
moment’s notice. The sun was a bright ball on the horizon, casting blinding
light on two men and a woman emerging from behind some stone ruins lining the
stretch of land. A glint caught in her peripheral vision and the tiny hairs on
her arms stood up. She didn’t need to take her eyes off the people approaching
to know she was standing in crosshairs.

The
men stopped, but the woman kept walking. With every step Faith’s heart beat
faster. Dark hair swung around the woman’s narrow face, and dark eyes stared at
Faith.

Liberty.

Faith’s
breath exploded from her lungs. She hadn’t even known she’d been holding it.
She took a step.

"Stop!"
One of the men, wearing a white button-down and baggy trousers, gestured for
her to stay put. She recognized his voice as the man who had been her contact.
"What did I say about coming alone, Ms. Black?"

From
a staircase near the ruins, Wyatt emerged, his hands on his head in surrender.
A man with a rifle herded him onto the grass.

Exactly
the way she and Wyatt had planned.

The
lay of the land and the rise of the sun wouldn’t have allowed for him to sneak
unnoticed to the site, but this way, he’d earned a personal invite. No doubt
they’d stripped him of his weapons, but that too was part of the plan.

Wyatt
was more lethal without them.

Faith
cocked an eyebrow at White Shirt, who she assumed to be the leader of this
operation. "You know how this game is played. You tell me to come alone. I
try to bring my friends. It’s a tradition, of sorts."

"Enough,"
the man snapped. "Let’s make the exchange." He pointed to the man
guarding Wyatt. "Watch him. If he blinks, shoot him."

Faith
almost laughed. These idiots had no idea who they were dealing with. Wyatt
would bring boulders down on their heads.

On
her head too, once he realized she wasn’t giving up the motherboard.

Shoving
aside the guilt that twisted her gut, she shouted at White Shirt, "What
now?"

"Give
Liberty the motherboard."

"And
then?"

"She’ll
leave it on the ground, and you’ll both walk away."

Faith
did
not
like this, but she had little choice. She strode forward,
watching the woman White Shirt claimed to be Liberty. Two meters away, Faith
slowed. The other woman stopped.

"Faithie?
It’s really me."

"I
know." With a cry of relief, she threw herself at Liberty, and they came
together in a long-awaited hug.

Liberty
didn’t smell like she used to, like the licorice candy she was always getting
into. Her hair was coarser. Her body harder. The embrace was stiff, awkward.

With
a pang, Faith realized that Liberty was a stranger.

Of
course she is, you git.
Somewhere
deep inside, Faith had been thinking that they’d meet and everything would be
as it was before they were separated. She’d let herself believe in a mystical
twin connection that would renew their bond of blood and birth.

Disappointment
and grief bubbled up in her throat. Faith had to swallow repeatedly to keep
from sobbing.

"This
is all very fucking touching, but let’s get on with it," White Shirt
called out, and Liberty drew away, looking utterly unaffected by their reunion.

"If
you’ll hand over the motherboard, we can get out of here," Liberty said.

"Yes,
of course." Internal alarms clanged, but Faith had no choice but to
comply. Carefully, she removed the electronic device from the bag and handed it
to her sister.

Heart
pounding, she watched Liberty walk a few meters, place the motherboard on the
ground, and then stroll back to Faith. "We’re free to go," Liberty
said. "I suggest we hurry before they change their minds."

Faith
looked down at the ground as they moved toward the path she’d taken to climb
the cliff. "When we get to the path, I’m going to need you to run,"
she murmured. "I’m not letting them get away with this."

"A
fight won’t be necessary, dear Faithie." Faith gasped at the tap of a gun
barrel against her spine. "I’m sorry, but we can’t let you go."

Slowly,
Faith raised her hands and turned to her sister, who backed up, pistol leveled
at Faith’s chest.

How
do you know Liberty’s not in on this whole scheme?

Faith’s
skin crawled. Denial breached her lips in a soundless
no,
but it died
quickly in the face of evidence she couldn’t deny. Wyatt had been right all
along, and thanks to him, she’d mentally prepared herself even as she held out
hope.

"You’re
working with them."

"I
grew up with them. Honestly, I don’t remember much about you or our
parents."

How
could she not remember their parents, when every detail about them—and
Liberty—had branded itself into Faith’s brain? "So you really were in on
this."

"From
the beginning."

Faith
barely contained her rage as she growled out, "You bitch."

"I
knew you wouldn’t understand."

"This
isn’t the answer, Liberty. Killing people to get what you want—"

"Is
regrettable," Liberty snapped. "But we’ve been forced into action.
With this device, we can bring the English government to its knees quickly.
Efficiently." She made a sweeping gesture with the gun. "Don’t you
see that ultimately more lives will be spared?"

"You’re
no better than Itor," Faith said softly. "Do you have any idea what
happened to our parents? How they died? I’ve spent my entire life trying to
find a way to prevent that from ever happening again. And you have no problem
making
it happen? Killing entire families?"

"It’s
for the greater good." Liberty gestured to White Shirt. "Take her.
Kill the man who came with her."

Rage
seared to ash any tender feelings Faith might have for Liberty. "Fuck.
You."

She
lunged, ripped a series of close combat moves to disarm her sister and crack a
few ribs.

Faith
had trained with the Israeli Defense Forces, had learned devastating Krav Maga
techniques meant to neutralize quickly, and if ever she’d needed to disable
someone dangerous, it was now. Honor be damned; this was about survival.

Battle
exploded around her. Guns flew out of hands, tumbled over the cliff. Screams of
pain shattered the air, punctuated by the dull thud of bodies striking stone as
Wyatt went on a rampage.

Liberty
fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding Faith’s kick. A bullet streaked past
Faith’s head, parting her hair. She spun, squeezed off two rounds with
Liberty’s pistol and brought the shooter down.

Liberty
threw out her hand, the same thing she used to do in childhood when she used
her powers. Faith remembered the signal too late. She gasped as her lungs
crumpled into a ball inside her chest.

Liberty
snarled, focusing on Faith as she clawed at her throat, shredding her lace
choker.

"I
don’t want to hurt you," Liberty said. "But you’re giving me no
choice."

Around
them, the sounds of battle waged on. Wyatt was holding his own, but they were
outnumbered. Faith struck out with her own power, shot through Liberty’s aura
like it was butter. She hadn’t expected that, but she wasn’t about to question
the ease with which she’d penetrated her twin’s defenses.

The
squeezing sensation in Faith’s chest grew worse. Gasping for breath, she
slammed down a partition on her power, a talent that had taken her years to
perfect. Half her power became a vise inside Liberty, pinching her spinal cord.
The other half formed a virtual fist and knocked her sister to the ground. The
pressure in Faith’s chest eased as Liberty lost consciousness.

Windpipe
throbbing, Faith sucked in gulps of air with such force she grew light-headed.

A
shot rang out. Scenting blood, Faith wheeled around. Apparently unharmed, Wyatt
was throwing men around like they were toys, both with his hands and with his
mind. As though he felt her eyes on him, he twisted at the waist to look at
her. The blood drained from his face.

"Faith!"
His shout was one of fear and fury.

She
took a step toward him. The ground beneath her seemed to fall away, and she
staggered, went down on one knee. Baffled, she looked down at the bloom of
wetness on her shirt. As though seeing the blood triggered sensation, agony
streaked through her. Clenching her teeth, she doubled over, her belly
cramping. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a rifle take aim at her. Her
power was on deck, ready to go, but she couldn’t penetrate the shooter’s aura
fast enough—

Wyatt
roared in rage, his expression promising pain. The sniper’s eyes bugged. He
dropped the weapon, grabbed his throat. Still doubled over, Faith watched
Wyatt, eyes glowing with power. The man turned blue and collapsed.

The
field went silent except for the sound of Faith’s labored breaths. Wyatt
sprinted to her.

"Babe?"
He pulled her hand away from her belly, peeled up her shirt. She couldn’t look.
"Hey, it’s not that bad," he said, replacing her hand and holding it
firmly over the bullet hole.

"Liar,"
she moaned, and then smiled at the sight of TAG’s mission chief, coming up
behind Wyatt. Nearby, another TAG agent secured an unconscious Liberty.

"Back
off, mate." Gabe kneeled next to Wyatt, who looked like he might want to
tear off Gabe’s arms.

Faith
coughed, tasting blood as she spoke to Wyatt. "He’s one of mine."

Wyatt’s
voice throbbed with warning. "She needs to get to a hospital."

"We’ll
handle it."

"It’s
okay, Wyatt." She bit her lip to stifle a cry of pain when Gabe probed her
wound. Wyatt still looked like he wanted to tear off the other man’s arms—with
his teeth.

Wyatt
hesitated. His eyes narrowed, the message in them unmistakable.
Hurt her and
die.

"She’ll
be all right," Gabe promised, and finally Wyatt gave a clipped nod.

The
moment he moved off, she gave in to the pain and curled into a fetal position.
God, this
hurt
. Through the nausea and agony, she looked for Wyatt…where
was he?

Oh,
Jesus, the motherboard.

"No,"
she croaked, but the thing flipped up into the air and flew straight into his
hands. "Wyatt."

He
was going to destroy it.

"It’s
time, Faith."

"You
can’t…I won’t let you." Between the pain and the memories of her parents,
which Liberty had so easily batted aside, Faith didn’t consider the
consequences. This was what the entire mission had been about. Saving her
sister and getting the motherboard for The Aquarius Group, so her parents’
deaths might mean something.

She’d
failed the former but would not fail the latter.

Her
body trembled, every muscle spasming as though coming apart at the cellular
level. She was on the verge of losing consciousness, but she summoned the last
of her strength to slam her power into Wyatt. His eyes went wide, flashed at
her with a combination of surprise and disappointment as she cut off the
circulation to his brain.