Stronger Than Sin (31 page)

In a half crouch, Ramon rushed to her with another man right next to him. He held up a closed fist to stop his men.

Hugging her hard, he said, “This is Special Agent Sanchez.”

She shook the man’s hand and he glanced down at the officer. “How is he?”

“Alive, but you need to get him to a hospital quickly,” she advised.

Ramon inclined his head in the direction of the warehouse. “Do you know what we’re facing in there?”

“Morales shot the officer and left, so there’s just one man. Guy named Jack. About eight to ten patients, but they’re caged.
Jesse’s in there,” she said, laying her hand on Ramon’s arm.

“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure he’s safe,” he said and, with a few hand signals, called over his men.

“Do you know where Morales went?” the FBI agent asked.

Liliana shrugged and shook her head. “Whittaker and his men were headed to a second location, but I don’t know if he was going
there.”

Ramon’s men surrounded them, crouching behind the safety of the police cruiser.

“You two take the back of the building. Jenkins, you provide cover for the special agent and me. We’re going in,” Ramon instructed,
motioning to the various locations with his hand.

“What about me, Chief?” asked the last officer, a young man who barely looked twenty.

“Call for an ambulance and stay with Dr. Carrera—”

“I’m going with you. I need to know Jesse is okay,” Liliana said, and as she met Ramon’s gaze, he realized she wasn’t going
to back down.

“Stay with the officer until the ambulance arrives,” Ramon instructed the young-looking officer and then jabbed a finger almost
in Liliana’s face.

“And you stay behind Special Agent Sanchez and me at all times. Get it?”

“Got it,” she confirmed. When Ramon and the FBI agent hurried toward the warehouse, she followed.

*     *     *

For so long Jesse had struggled to control the anger created in him by whatever Wardwell had decided to put in his body.

Now he called it forth, feeling the burn in his gut sizzle along his nerve endings. Experiencing the rush of power that came
with it, surging through his bones and muscle.

The weakness in his body disappeared.

He tightened his grip on the bars of his cage, but not to stand up.

With his hands on the bars, he pulled on the door while pressing on the frame. Straining until his muscles were nearly rock
hard from the force he was exerting.

The thick steel bars held.

Jesse redoubled his efforts, driven by the screams of his fellow patients and another
pop
as Jack executed a third prisoner.

Putting one foot on the crossbar of the frame, Jesse jerked again. This time the steel gave beneath his hands.

Satisfaction energized him.

He yanked and pressed repeatedly, and with a sudden, loud snap, the door flew open.

He lurched forward with the release of the lock but then righted himself and rushed into the center of the warehouse.

Jack spun around and his eyes went wide as he realized Jesse was free. But that surprise lasted only a moment.

Jack raced toward him, lifting his gun as he did so.

Aiming it at Jesse’s head.

Jesse had no flight response in his body. He had never run from anything in his life.

It only made the gene-amplified fight reaction even stronger. More dangerous as every bone and muscle in his body answered
his call to battle.

He leapt at Jack, flying across the floor of the warehouse so quickly that Jack didn’t have time to fire.

As they hit the ground, the impact jarred the gun loose from Jack’s hand. It skittered a few feet away, but Jack was slimier
than he had counted on.

He somehow escaped Jesse’s grasp and half crawled the few feet, snagged the gun, and rose.

Jesse likewise came to his feet and opened his arms wide, inviting Jack’s violence.

“I’m not caged like the others. Are you man enough to do it now?” Jesse taunted.

If he could distract Jack, keep him occupied long enough, the others would be safe for a little longer.

Just a little longer,
he thought as Jack aimed at him.

There were no images of his life running through his brain this time.

Only one thought:
Survive.

He had too much to live for now.

He had Liliana.

As Jack pulled the trigger, Jesse dodged to his right, but the bullet smashed into his side.

The impact stole the breath from his body, driving him to one knee.

Jesse covered his side with his hand, the pain intense.

“Son of a bitch,” Jack said and took a step closer, gun still held high, only this time Jesse’s head was his target.

Jesse braced for the kill shot, certain that at this range Jack would not miss again. Preparing to attack the moment Jack
was near enough.

“Drop the weapon,” someone shouted from the side of the warehouse.

Jack pivoted in that direction, weapon raised, and fired toward the sound of the voice.

A duo of gunshots rang out in response.

Jack fell to the ground beside him, eyes open in death. Crimson blotches visible against the white of the lab jacket.

Jesse came to his feet gingerly, pain still radiating from his side. As he pulled his hand away, there was minimal blood,
but he cradled his arm close, finding that it eased the discomfort.

Pounding footsteps approached, and he smiled as he realized it was Liliana leading the charge.

But he held up his hand to stop her as she neared.

“You’re hurt,” she said, seeing how he was favoring his side.

“He shot me.” He moved his arm away and looked down, revealing the blood along his ribs.

Liliana sprang into action, shifting to his side and raising his shirt to expose the damage.

“We need to get you to the hospital,” she said. There was a break at the lowest end of the exoskeleton layer, and blood leaked
from a small graze nearby.

“I’d rather you treat me at home if it’s not serious,” he replied, tired of hospitals and confinement.

Liliana examined the wound once again and met his gaze, a guarded smile on her face. “It’s not serious.”

“Good,” he said and drew her against his good side.

She willingly welcomed his embrace, hugging him with great care.

“Jesse Bradford. I saw you play in the Rose Bowl,” the
one man said as he tucked his gun into his holster. “I’m Special Agent Rafael Sanchez.”

“Nice to meet you. I hope you have some news on Whittaker and the rest,” Jesse said, fearful that once the fake FBI agent
found out that they had broken their promise, he would exact revenge.

“Nothing, but I’ve got several agents on this case. Two just arrived from Philly, and we’ll establish protective details on
your families,” Sanchez advised.

“What about them?” Liliana asked, glancing at the patients in the cages.

Sanchez studied the scene, taking note of the situation. “Looks like we have six live patients. If you don’t mind temporarily
assuming their care, I can have them transferred to your hospital. Then we can ID them and notify their families.”

Liliana answered without hesitation, “Anything I can do to help, but first, I’d like to get Jesse home.”

“If you don’t need me and my men, I’ll get them home also,” Ramon advised, and Sanchez nodded his assent.

“I’ve got the other agents here and the local sheriff.”

“Then we’ll be on our way,” Liliana said, weaving her fingers with Jesse’s and gazing up at him.

“Let’s go home,” he repeated and smiled, finally feeling free.

It didn’t take long for her to treat the wound in Jesse’s side when they had returned to his home. After cleaning and bandaging
the slight graze from the bullet, she was able to pull away the cracked portion of the exoskeleton as if it was the shell
on a hard-boiled egg. That lowest part of the bony
casing had yet to fuse with the flesh under it to become permanent. The rib beneath the shell, while bruised from the impact
of the bullet, was intact, requiring no further treatment. With the extra bone proteins filtered from Jesse’s blood, no new
bone was forming at the site of the injury.

“It looks good,” she said, smoothing the simple bandage in place.

“Hurts like a bitch,” he replied and grimaced as he rose from the bed.

“Let me kiss it and make it better,” Liliana teased, bending to brush a kiss close to the site but then trailing a line of
kisses up to the middle of his chest, where she placed another one directly over his heart.

Jesse groaned and cradled her head to him. “Is it too much to believe that this might be over? That we can live our lives
free of fear?”

“Ramon said everything was under control. That he had news for us,” she reminded him, repeating what her cousin had called
to say shortly after dropping them off at Jesse’s home.

As if on cue, the front doorbell rang. Jesse grabbed a clean T-shirt and pulled it on before they walked down the stairs to
answer the door.

When he yanked it open, Ramon was there beside Bruno. Jesse immediately shifted in front of Liliana to protect her, only Ramon
raised his hand to stop him and said, “No need, Jesse.”

Bruno smiled at him, the easygoing smile of a friend. He pulled a badge from his pocket. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner.
CIA. I’ve been working deep undercover to catch Whittaker and his men for gunrunning and an assortment of other activities.”

Liliana stepped from behind Jesse’s protection. “So you were able to catch him? How about Morales and Edwards?”

“Morales, Howard, and Whittaker are dead. They tried to shoot it out with the team I called in to apprehend them,” Bruno advised
as he tucked his badge back into his pocket.

“What about Edwards?” Jesse questioned.

“In custody. He’s got a great deal to answer for,” Bruno advised, and neither Jesse nor Liliana could argue. Besides the various
dead and altered patients, Santiago had killed a park ranger, she had been kidnapped, and a police officer had been shot.

Too many bodies for there not to be some kind of punishment,
Liliana thought.

Jesse asked, “So we’re safe? Our families—”

“Are fine. Whittaker was the head of the snake, and with him gone…”

Bruno didn’t need to finish.

“Thank you for that,” Liliana said and offered her hand to Bruno.

He shook it and then held his hand out to Jesse. “I’m sorry for anything I did.”

Jesse hesitated, but then he shook Bruno’s hand. “Not sorry about the nose. It’ll add character to your face.”

Bruno chuckled but then winced and touched the tip of his injured nose. “Still sore,” he advised.

Ramon grinned. “I guess we can go. I’m sure the two of you would like some privacy.”

“I’m sure we would,” Jesse said, and, with a final wave at the two men, he closed the door and then leaned on it, facing Liliana.

“Is there something you can think of that requires privacy?”

She hunched her shoulders, playing it coy, and sauntered up to him, sexily rolling her hips. When she reached him, she eased
her hands beneath the hem of his T-shirt and laid her hands on his bare skin. Rubbing them up and across his midsection, she
said, “I can think of one thing.”

“Really? Just one?” he teased and ran his hand over her hair and down to rest on her shoulder.

“Just one, but there’s a little problem,” she teased and took hold of the hem of the shirt.

“And what’s that?” he asked, shifting his hand to her face to run his thumb along the edges of her lips.

“You’ve got way too many clothes on,” she said and yanked the shirt over his head.

Jesse chuckled and pulled her into his arms but then turned serious.

“Tell me this isn’t a dream. That this nightmare is over—”

She laid her index finger on his lips. “This is for real, Jesse. The bad stuff is over. Now it’s time for us to explore what
we’re feeling. To find out if it’s real.”

He kissed the pad of her finger. “It’s real for me, Liliana. I love you.”

As she glanced up at him, the truth of it was clear on his face. In his eyes—those beautiful blue eyes that reminded her of
the ocean on a summer day. The doubt she’d had in her heart evaporated with the love pouring from him.

“I love you, too. I know we can make this work.”

He bent and she rose on tiptoe, met his lips in a kiss to seal that promise.

Four months later

J
esse ran his hand over the soft swell of her belly, and Liliana covered his hand with hers and brushed a kiss across his lips.

He returned her kiss hungrily, but then a soft, amused laugh broke them apart.

“Get a room, bro,” his sister Jackie said and walked up to the table in the radiation-therapy room.

“Already did, sis,” he said and once again ran his hand along Liliana’s burgeoning belly.

Jackie chuckled, took a position on the opposite side of the bed, and grabbed hold of Jesse’s hand. “I know you’ll make a
good dad.”

Liliana glanced at her new sister-in-law fondly. “And how do you know that?” she asked.

Jackie smiled and playfully shook her brother’s hand. “ ’Cuz he was a great big brother.”

“I wish you didn’t have to do this,” Jesse said, all traces of lightheartedness gone from his demeanor.

Liliana knew that it weighed on him to have to rely on his sister for a transplant, but the plasmapheresis treatments had
lost their efficacy. If they didn’t undertake the radiation treatment to kill off his bone marrow and
reintroduce untainted cells, she feared what the implanted genes would do to his body.

“It’s nothing, Jesse. Not when you were willing to risk your life for me,” Jackie said, bent, and dropped a kiss on his cheek.
“Just get better,” she whispered and, with a final playful tug on his arm, left the room.

Liliana stared at him and pressed his hand tighter to her belly. “You’re going to be fine. I need someone around to chase
after this baby.”

A glimmer of joy crept back into his gaze at the mention of their child.

Their baby.