Tex's Revenge: Military Discipline, Book Two (7 page)

“I will tell you something I do know about Savage,” she said, looking at Tex directly. “There's no way he'd ever give himself up for me. He fucked me and he abandoned me. I doubt I know anything about him you don't.” She picked up the tea, which was going cold, and drank deeply whilst he watched her. “Hell,” she said, putting the cup down on the tablecloth. “If I did know something that would help you get him, I'd probably tell you. But I don't know anything. Nothing.”

“He never talked to you about his work?”

“He hardly ever talked to me at all,” she said with just the right note of bitterness.

“So,” Tex said softly. “He was nothing more than a fuck buddy who broke your heart, you've not heard from him in years and I should let you go because he wouldn't lift a finger to save you even if you were being tortured?”

“Excactly,” Zora said, looking at him with wide doe eyes. “He doesn't care about me and he never did.”

Tex nodded and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his smart phone and thumbed through it for a few seconds before setting it down on the table and pushing it towards her. She squinted and frowned at the screen, then her heart almost stopped when she saw what was there. There were lines of figures. Well, one figure, repeated over and over and over. 500. 500. 500. 500. They were bank records. Records of the payments Savage had been making to her for months. Her mouth went dry as her pulse raced in her ears.

This was bad.

Very, very bad.

Chapter Five

She stared at the little screen with the oh so incriminating numbers displayed, her mouth going dry as Tex's rumble drifted to her. “If he's just an ex who broke your heart, mind telling me why he has a shielded account set up to pay you every month?”

“He feels guilty for dumping me probably. Thinks tossing me a bone every now and then will make it all okay,” she lied as smoothly and quickly as she could. “Maybe he just likes helping me drink myself dead, who knows.” She sat back and looked at Tex defiantly.

Her interrogator chuckled dryly. “That lie was better, but still not quite good enough, little girl.”

She shrugged and remained silent. Saying more would just give him more ammunition. It was now clear that he knew more than he was letting on. Maybe he knew precisely why she'd been in Iron Horse. Maybe he knew about everything, her recruitment, her service, her escape. It was impossible to tell what Tex knew and didn't know, he was such a smooth operator, always controlling the flow of conversation, always keeping her off-balance.

“This is why I'm taking you in,” he said with definite finality. “Your story doesn't add up, which means you're hiding something from me. If you want to avoid going into custody you have to come clean here and now.”

She fiddled with the edge of her towel and looked up at him under her eyelashes. “So you'll let me go if I tell you what you want to hear?”

“Tell me the truth and you'll avoid that cell you're so keen to avoid.”

Not believing him, Zora clamped her lips closed and they looked at one another in silence for a time, she dripping onto the carpet slowly, he maintaining an authoritarian demeanor.

“Miss Matthews,” Tex eventually said, showing signs of impatience in his voice. “I am trying to help you. I'm trying to make this process as painless as possible for you. I suggest you start co-operating.”

“Bullshit.”

His eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

“You're not trying to help me. You're trying to help you. You're lying to me just like he did and you'll get rid of me when I'm not useful anymore just like he did,” Zora snapped, her temper flaring.

A glimmer of triumph flashed in Tex's eyes. “He used you, did he? We're not talking sexually, are we?”

“He used me sexually,” Zora said flatly.

“Probably,” Tex said with casual callousness. “But that wasn't all he used you for, was it? You were on one of his teams, weren't you?”

Zora's blood ran cold. That was far too close to the truth for her comfort.

“I can see it in your eyes,” Tex's expression held triumph. “So let's speak plainly, shall we?”

Retreating back into silence, she clenched her jaw and held her tongue. No matter what she said, she would be revealing too much.

“Not going to talk to me?”

She sat in stony silence, pretending she was a statue. She almost wished she really was a statue, then people might stop messing with her.

“We know what happens if you won't talk to me, don't we?” His tone had become very patronizing, something Zora didn't appreciate at all. “Just tell me what you know and you'll be able to go home.”

He was wrong there. She would never be able to go home. Her home had vanished the moment Savage had stepped over its threshold and she'd not been able to find a real one since.

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. It was the front desk clerk with a set of clean and vomit free clothes for Zora. Tex got the door and thanked the woman heartily whilst Zora kept her seat, scowling furiously. Soon enough they were alone again and she found herself confronted with yet another ugly and uncomfortable skirt and an equally uninspired blouse. Adding to the overall hideousness of the clothing was an additional scrap of fabric with a faded yellow sunflower pattern on it. 

“What the hell is this?” She held it between thumb and forefinger.

“I think it goes over your hair,” Tex smirked.

Zora rolled her eyes dramatically. “Why don't you just get me a fucking burka?”

“Language,” Tex growled.

“Oh shut it, you're not my father,” Zora snapped, tossing the headscarf across the room. “You're a kidnapper.”

“A kidnapper who is going to tan your behind if you don't settle down.”

Zora gave him a look of focused fury. He was entirely unperturbed, a slim but strong figure sitting straight backed in his chair watching her carefully.

“Go get dressed and...”

“We'll go to jail? Yeah, sure, I see no reason not to co-operate with you.”

“There are things worse than jail.”

“What exactly are you threatening me with?” She took a step towards him, forgetting that she was clad in little more than a towel. Anger was making her brave and bold.

Before an altercation could take place Tex reached out and grabbed the edge of the towel, flicking it away from her body. Suddenly naked, she screamed and grabbed for the towel. Unable to wrest it from him, she scooped up the clothes and ran into the bathroom completely bare assed and blushing.

She slammed the door behind her and locked it then burst into tears of embarrassment and frustration. He'd seen her, he'd seen all of her. The sardonic smirk had said it all, he found her amusing. That wasn't how a man was supposed to react to a woman, a man was supposed to be filled with lust at the naked female form, not be entertained like it was some sort of sideshow.

“Bastard!” She screamed, kicking the door with the ball of her foot before sinking onto the floor.

This wasn't fair. She hated Tex and in that moment she hated Savage too. Where the hell was he? Why was he letting this happen to her?

A rapping at the door got her attention. “Five minutes, then I'm coming in whether you're dressed or not.”

Zora looked around helplessly. There was a window in the bathroom, but she remembered what had happened last time she jumped out a window and she wasn't particularly keen to repeat the experience.

Stuck for the moment, she put on the skirt and blouse then sat on the closed toilet seat. There was no way she was going to deliver herself to Tex all wrapped up in an ugly chintzy bow. She'd been far too cooperative up until that point, he'd managed to get her miles away from the only place Savage knew to look for her. Damn him, if he wanted to take her into custody he'd have to get her out of the bathroom first.

“Zora?”

She stayed quiet, watching the door handle as it shifted up and down.

“Zora, open the door.”

A small smile spread across her lips. He didn't sound frustrated, not yet, but he would be. The lock on the door was a straight bolt. The only way to get the door open would be to break it down and she doubted he'd be willing to do that lightly.

“Zora...” A lower rumble vibrated through the door.

She straightened her skirt and watched, waiting to see what he would do next.

“If I have to come and get you, you're going to regret it, little girl.” The threat held a now familiarly paternal note, one that scared her as much as it comforted her.

“Talk to me, Zora.”

She kept silent, then upon hearing a flurry of activity outside the door realized that he probably thought she'd made yet another window escape. She heard the hotel room door open and deduced that he must be going around to the window, which was at the back of the hotel.

Adrenaline spiked in her chest. This was her opportunity! She opened the bathroom door and rushed out of the bathroom. There was nobody in the hotel room, but the keys to the car were on the table. Joy! The plan formulated itself in her head instantly, she'd run down the street, get the car from the detailers and be gone before he got wind of what was happening.

She snatched the keys off the table and ran out of the hotel unit – straight into Tex's arms. He made an ooofing noise as he caught her and lifted her off her feet, then carried her back into the room struggling and squealing like a temperamental infant.

“Settle down,” he growled, placing her on the floor and shutting the door behind them.

“You tricked me!” She turned on him angrily.

“Yes, I did,” he agreed amicably, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at her. “I couldn't wait all day for you to decide to stop sulking in the bathroom, could I?”

Reluctantly Zora had to admit to herself that he'd done a very neat job of coaxing her out of the little room. Tex was one smart man and he seemed to be able to read her like a book. She sat down on the bed, trying to keep her expression neutral, trying not to pout. It was difficult.

“Here's what's going to happen next,” Tex said patiently. “There's a detention center not too far from here and we're going to go there. You'll be safe and comfortable and we can wait for Savage to show up.”

“What if he doesn't?”

“I have a feeling he will,” Tex said, smiling indulgently.

“I have a feeling he'll do no such thing,” she snapped. “He doesn't care, okay? He doesn't give any more of a damn about me than you do. If you want to find him, look for him, don't waste your time with me. I'm not bait. I'm just an old drunk.”

Tex laughed. “You really think that, don't you?” He shook his head at her. “One wonders if you spend any time at all looking in the mirror.”

“Don't try to flatter me,” she muttered.

“It's not flattery,” he said. “It's fact. He's risked a lot for you. He will come.”

In spite of herself, Zora was reassured. Then she was scared again. “What are you going to do with him when you find him?”

Tex sat next to her on the bed. “He is a very talented man. Our organization seeks out talented people. It's as simple as that.”

Zora nodded thoughtfully. Tex's organization was still fairly shadowy, but she knew better than to outright ask him who he worked for. “Which one of his talents do you want to exploit?”

“He's very good at finding people to do jobs.”

She frowned. “So you want him to find someone?”

“Something like that,” Tex said, clapping her on the shoulder encouragingly. “See, there's really nothing to worry about.”

“So you got me to find Savage, to find someone else?” She wrinkled her nose. “That's stupid.”

“Life is stupid sometimes,” Tex agreed. “Now come along quietly and this can be done without any more unnecessary fuss.”

Zora's curiosity had been piqued. More things were beginning to fit into place. Savage did seem to be a good soldier, but more than that, he knew how to run people. She remembered her time under his command very well, he'd managed to get her to do things that were almost impossible to do. She'd been very difficult, but he'd whipped her into shape, at least long enough to get the job done. So what did Tex want him to run? Who was the person they were really looking for at the end of the chain?

Her curiosity kept her quiet long enough for Tex to get them back on the road without her kicking up another almighty fuss. “What sort of man are you looking for?” She piped up about twenty minutes after they departed the temporal vortex that had been their temporary rest stop.

He chuckled. “You're quite the interrogator yourself, aren't you?”

“Well the least you can do is tell me something if you want me to tell you something,” Zora pointed out.

“An exchange of information? Sure, why not,” he said thoughtfully. “But you have to tell me one thing first.”

“What's that?”

“Did you ever work on one of Savage's teams?”

Zora looked out the window, hiding her face from him. It couldn't hurt to tell him yes, could it? Not if he told her some information too? There was no real reason for her to trust Tex, yet she did, at least on this score. She glanced over at him and saw that he was focused on the road, entirely patient and waiting for her to respond if she liked. “Yes,” she said simply, feeling a little adrenaline surge at the admission.

Tex nodded. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” she said with strained politeness. “Now tell me about this man you want.”

Tex glanced at her briefly, then turned his attention back to the road as an eighteen wheeler flew by in the other direction. “The man we're looking for walked into a terrorist cell, disabled a nuclear missile and walked out again. Just like that. A man like that could be very useful.”

There was admiration in Tex's voice as he spoke of exploits that had not been those of some nameless man, but her own. Zora's stomach lurched and she turned her head back towards the window, lest her expression betray her. He wanted her. He had her, but he didn't know it was her he wanted. The already complicated situation had just gotten even more complicated. “Yeah? Doesn't sound that hard.” She injected just the right amount of total disregard into her voice to keep Tex off her scent.