The Maze (ATCOM) (13 page)

Noah
made no sound as she moved over him to his other side, ignoring the ache in her
shoulders and neck as she did. This time when she bent low over his lap, she
couldn’t help but notice the ripples of his abs or the heavy muscle in his
chest. He was solid and blatantly male. Except for a few battle scars, his skin
was flawless. She couldn’t help remembering how masculine he’d felt on top of
her. No denying the man was all male and she’d felt every potent inch of him
against her in her dream.

“I’m
not hurt there,” Noah drawled above her.

Attie
stiffened and glared at him, slapping her hands on his ribcage.

He
drew in a sharp breath and muttered a curse under his breath.

Instantly
sorry, she started over and this time she didn’t let herself get distracted by
his flawless skin or incredible fit body. It would do her good to remember just
who Noah Kincaid was and what he had cost her.

* * * *

Any
discomfort Noah felt evaporated when Attie put her hands on him. He already
knew his ribs weren’t broken; he’d suffered a couple in his lifetime and they
hurt like hell. This pain didn’t compare to that.

He
had flustered her with his comment and received a good bit of pain for his
efforts, but he couldn’t resist goading her. The way she’d been staring at him
had sent all his blood rushing south.

In
this position he could see the fine lines of her face and the moon shaped scar
behind her ear. One of many she had received in Santiago’s prison. He longed to
dip his head and trace it with his tongue.

He
didn’t want to erase the scars; he wanted to heal them. They were a part of
Attie now, a reminder that she was a survivor. He remembered what she’d looked
like when he’d carried her out of that cell and he wanted to see her now. The
truth lay in the scars she tried so hard to hide and so did her peace of mind,
though she denied it.

“This
side has only minimal bruising.” She straightened with a barely concealed
grimace.

Noah’s
eyes narrowed. “Your turn.”

“What?”

“Where
are you hurt?”

“I’m
not.”

He
slanted a skeptical look and watched her bristle.

“I’m
fine.”

“You
were thrown from the pool,” he countered.

“I
said I’m fine.”

Their
eyes met and locked. Finally, after a short battle of wills, she let out an
annoyed huff and sent him a look showing her irritation.

“My
shoulders and neck are sore,” she admitted grudgingly.

Noah
spread his legs and grabbed her hand before she could get up and run away. He
tugged her gently down until she sat between his thighs, her back to his chest.
She tried to get up, but he held her in place with a hand on each shoulder.

He
could feel the knots at the base of her neck and focused on those, applying
gentle pressure with his thumbs and rubbing in tight circles until she let out
a low moan and relaxed beneath his touch. He smiled to himself and moved lower
to her shoulders. A dark bruise had formed between her shoulder blades, just
visible above the neckline of her tank top. He wanted to brush her hair aside
and press a kiss to that tender spot.

Her
head tipped forward, giving him full access to her slender neck. He had to
taste her. He hadn’t been able to get her off his mind since he’d had her under
him earlier.

Noah
lowered his head and pressed his lips to her wet skin. She tasted like salt and
an exotic spice he couldn’t name. One taste wasn’t enough, so he nibbled his
way down her nape to the curve of her tank top. His tongue traced the edge of
it, licking droplets of water off her skin.

She
shuddered. “Noah…” she murmured as her hands slid down his legs to grip his
knees.

For
a woman who claimed to not like him, she responded to his touch as if they were
long-time lovers. A contradiction that made him want to push the boundaries of
how far she would let this go.

Something
rustled in the bushes nearby and caused them both to lift their heads and
freeze. Attie slapped his leg and leapt to her feet.

Rising
to his feet beside her, Noah asked, “Besides snakes, what else did Santiago
have as pets?”

“Piranhas.
Lizards. Dogs. I don’t know.”

“There’s
something else in here with us.”

Attie
jumped when a leaf rustled near her feet. Knife in hand, Noah prepared to
attack whatever was coming out of the fauna. He reached out an arm and pushed
Attie out of the way as whatever it was came closer. She immediately stepped
beside him.

They
waited, not knowing what to expect as the sound of something moving through the
underbrush grew closer. Thinking it was another anaconda, Noah raised the knife
just as something streaked toward them. Attie let out a startled cry and he
lunged.

* * * *

Gabe
MacKenzie tossed his gear in the Huey, thinking it should be Brendan in the
cockpit instead of the rookie, Don Newberry. He was a Navy pilot with a
spotless record, but he didn’t belong in the pilot’s seat of Brendan’s chopper.

Rogan
poked his head out, a grim expression on his face. “Nothing yet.”

Gabe
nodded, an uneasy feeling in his gut. Something wasn’t right with this mission,
but he couldn’t put his finger on what. It wasn’t because they were going in to
rescue Attie once again; it was something else. And they were all feeling it.
Even Kyle, who always looked somber, was bleak, his face set in granite lines.

This
same team had rescued Attie the first time and each of them remembered the
condition she’d been in that day. It haunted all of them. Not only because she
was a woman, but because she was one hell of a good agent.

The
blades started spinning over his head and Gabe ducked instinctively. As he
climbed into the chopper, he couldn’t help but wonder if history was repeating
itself. And just how the hell they were going to handle it if it was.

Motioning
to Newberry, who nodded and lifted them off the ground, Gabe dropped down
beside Kyle. Across from him, Colin shook his head, his long hair brushing his
shoulders. He felt it too.

“Doesn’t
feel right,” he said, voicing what they all feared.

Rogan
glanced up from his laptop, his fingers stilling on the keys.

From
the cockpit, Newberry said, “Hey, no bad juju in my chopper. It’s a simple
snatch and grab.”

Brandt
ignored him, Rogan went back to typing and Colin scowled, but nobody spoke.
Gabe leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Maybe the new guy was right.
Maybe things would go smoother this time and they’d all be home by this time
tomorrow.

Alive
and in one piece.

Chapter
12

Noah
stopped dead in his tracks as a six-foot-long iguana zipped past them and
disappeared in the underbrush behind them.

Lowering
his hand and letting out a slow breath, he turned to Attie who was bent over,
hands on knees, breathing heavily. Frowning, he tucked his knife into his boot
and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,
it was only an iguana,” he said.

“I
know.”

“Attie—”

She
shrugged his hand off, clearly shaken by what had just happened. He gripped her
shoulders and forced her to straighten, then pulled her gently into his arms,
holding her tight when she tried to pull away. She struggled against him for a
couple moments before sagging in his arms and pressing her fists against his
shoulders.

“I
hate this,” she said into his shirt, her voice low and angry.

Noah
simply held her. He’d wondered how long it would be before she let off some
steam. The snake was only the beginning of whatever game Santiago was playing
and in truth, it had thrown Noah for a loop too. He hadn’t expected anything
like this. Santiago had gone to a lot of trouble to set this up and wouldn’t be
cheated out of his revenge. He wanted to see Attie suffer. She was—he could
feel her trembling, saw it in her eyes every time she looked at him.

They
knew Santiago had a plan but had never expected it to be this. Certainly not a
carefully orchestrated game of survival. Santiago wanted to see Attie in her
element and he’d set the stage for that purpose. Question was, would he go so
far as to let her fail? Would her life be the price for her betrayal?

Noah
didn’t know the man as intimately as she did, so he couldn’t afford to take any
chances. He would go through the rest of this assuming Santiago would let her
fail, and protect her from it. He just hoped she had enough strength to get
through it.

“This
is only the beginning of what Carlos is going to do to me.”

“To
us.”

She
shook her head. “No. You’re only along for the ride, to throw me off balance.
He wants me to pay and he won’t be satisfied until I do. On his terms.” Her
voice grew quieter.

Noah
cupped her chin and lifted her head until she looked at him. “We’re in this
together. His terms apply to both of us and I don’t plan to let him win. We’ll
get through this, find Brendan and get the hell out of here. You have my word.”

The
pool behind them made a loud, sucking sound, startling them both. Noah moved in
front of Attie, poised for battle. Attie stepped around his arm as the pool
drained. It swirled out an opening in the bottom and disappeared.

“What
now?” Attie asked as they waited to see what was going to happen next.

They
didn’t wait long. After a few minutes, water began feeding back into the pool.
At first he couldn’t tell what was being fed with it, but when Attie stepped
closer and drew in a sharp, startled breath his gut clenched.

The
water swirled and churned with a handful of fish. What kind he couldn’t tell. Attie
had gone very still and pale. He didn’t like the disadvantage of not knowing
Santiago well enough to know what to expect.

He
knew Santiago as a terrorist, not the man as Attie did. Santiago was using
these tactics to torment her. Not just physically. Emotionally. Each one meant
something to her, took her back to the past. And Noah couldn’t do a damn thing
about it. Hell, Attie wouldn’t confide in him about what really happened during
her mission. His hands were tied. He sure as hell didn’t plan to find out by
Santiago’s sick, twisted games.

Staring
into the pool, Attie asked in a low, tormented voice, “Have you ever seen
piranhas feed?”

“Only
on the Discovery Channel.”

“That
isn’t the same as watching a pack feed on human flesh.”

Noah
stiffened.

She
spoke with venom. “They attack in packs, drawn to the smell of blood. It starts
with a couple bubbles, like fish feeding near the surface of the water. At
first you don’t know what’s happening and then you feel it. Little nips that
sting and surprise you more than hurt. And then it starts to hurt as sharp,
little teeth start to tear into your flesh, ripping it to shreds. The water
churns and bubbles as the fish bite at you with their razor sharp teeth. It’s a
feeding frenzy.”

Noah’s
stomach clenched. She’d said Santiago kept piranhas as pets. Sick bastard had
filled the pool with them to torment her.

“He
made you watch?” he asked.

She
nodded, her eyes full of memories and loathing.

“Bastard.”

“Watching
wasn’t as bad as having it done to you.”

Noah
kept his expression neutral. Attie was watching him, gauging his reaction. He
knew the rest of the story was coming and he braced himself for it. He didn’t
like the thought of that bastard hurting her.

“Imagine
yourself being a substitute for someone else’s crimes. Imagine you were Carlos
and you just found out one of your employees was skimming off the top, but he
wasn’t there to punish. You sent your thugs to pick him up, but it would take a
couple days. Someone had to pay and a couple days was too long to wait. He wanted
blood now.”

“Yours,”
Noah guessed.

Attie
stared at her hands, no longer speaking directly to him. She had gone back in
time and taken him with her.

“Yes,
mine was a suitable substitution. He’d caught me wandering down the hall where
his office was located earlier that day so he was already upset with me.”

Gathering
evidence. He hadn’t realized what price she paid for her assignment, but he was
beginning to. The realization settled like a brick on his chest.

“It
wasn’t just that. Carlos lost control of his employee and he needed to regain
ground. Control was very important to him. So he brought me into his private
zoo and while others watched, made a small cut on my palm and held my hand in
an aquarium filled with piranha.”

Noah
let out a low curse and raked a hand through his hair. Anger simmered inside
him and made him want to wrap his hands around Santiago’s neck and squeeze
until no life remained.

“Let
me see your hands,” he said, his voice rough with emotion he normally kept
under tight rein.

She
hid them behind her back. “The wounds are healed, Kincaid. There’s nothing to
see. There are hardly any scars. Carlos didn’t let them tear my skin, just
nibble.”

“Jesus,
Attie.”

One
long stride brought him to her side where he grabbed her hands and pulled them
out from behind her back. He turned them over, palms up, and traced the tiny,
faded scars. He didn’t realize he was holding her so tight until she winced and
tugged at her hands. He let go and took a step back.

“Why
the hell didn’t you put this in your reports?” he demanded.

Attie
reared back as if he’d struck her. “Excuse me?”

“If
I had known what Santiago was doing to you I would have sent Seth in sooner.”

“That’s
exactly the reason I didn’t tell you.”

“Damn
it. You should have told me.”

“I
handled it. There was no reason to tell ATCOM.”

“What
else did he do to you?” Noah asked his voice low and deceptively calm.

“Drop
it,” she warned.

Instead
of heeding her warning, he advanced a step. “I’m not going to let it go. I’m
eventually going to learn every detail of what should have been in your reports
and you’re going to give them to me.”

He
knew he was backing her into a corner, but he was too angry to stop. He wanted
everything she had to give and, dammit, he would get it.

* * * *

Attie
tilted her chin up a notch. “You don’t know when to quit, do you?”

“I
never quit.”

Those
softly spoken words were more of a promise than a threat, but they threatened
everything she had worked so hard to forget. Noah was like a dog with a bone
when it came to getting something he wanted. She didn’t want to remember that
he was a man of honor and integrity who she had once respected and looked up
to. She couldn’t see him as a leader who she would follow at any given moment.
All of those things were in the past, along with her nightmares.

Whatever
bonds they’d had in the past were severed. There would be no starting over or
going back. What he’d done to her, to Seth, was unforgivable. The second she
forgot that was the second Noah would slip past her defenses and topple the
walls she had so carefully built. She wasn’t willing to let that happen. Not by
him or anyone else. She had survived Carlos’s onslaught and she would survive
Noah’s.

“What
do you think you’ll accomplish? Do you think you can fix me?” she challenged.
“Maybe we should call you St. Gabriel instead of MacKenzie. Isn’t he the one
who usually fixes things?”

Gabe
had a special talent to fix things and people that were broken. He could smooth
over rough waters and get things back on track with the ease and grace of the
angel he was named after. Gabriel, the keeper of the gates, the protector.
Though he humbly denied his title he continuously kept others in line and on
the right track.

“Don’t
change the subject,” Noah said.

She
had to. This conversation hit too close to home. It made her feel vulnerable
and she didn’t like that at all. She had been invincible before her undercover
assignment, confident and sure of herself and where her life was going. Uncle
Jed had been proud of her and she had been proud of herself. Now, as she
watched the pool fill with piranha she realized how naive she’d been.

She’d
been ready to conquer the world and in the end it had conquered her. It forced
her to retreat behind walls of pain that not even Brendan had been able to tear
down. He had been there to give her what she needed, but he hadn’t gotten
through and now she risked losing him forever.

“I
won’t do this now. Not with you,” she said, pushing the ache in her heart away.
Brendan was alright. She had to believe Carlos hadn’t done anything to harm him
yet. He knew she wouldn’t play his game if she thought otherwise. She held on
to that belief and refused to let go.

“When,
Attie? When is a good time? It isn’t like we’re going anywhere.”

“How
about never?”

“Wrong
answer,” he growled and stormed through her walls by invading her personal
space. He crowded her, his chest bumping hers.

Fine,
he wanted to hear it? Then she’d tell him. The parts that weren’t personal.
“The piranhas were babies, they didn’t leave scars.”

“Babies?”
he repeated with a slight frown.

“Too
young to do much damage, but big enough to get his point across. He was
training them at the same time he was training me.”

Part
of her wanted to tell him the rest, but her throat constricted. She couldn’t
talk about it without reliving it. Why would he want her to relive the past? To
torture her. She’d had enough of that to last a lifetime all over again.

* * * *

Noah
clenched his jaw and remained silent. He understood what lesson she had learned
that day without her having to say it. Santiago’s pride had suffered that day,
but Attie bore the scars. A hell of a difference.

A
picture of Attie in one of her designer gowns standing in front of the
aquarium, fear in her eyes as Santiago held her hand in the water and let his
pets feed on her pounded through his head. He imagined her maintaining control,
yet barely holding on as she endured. Not even a pack of baby piranhas had caused
her to blow her cover.

Realization
hit him. Nothing Santiago did made her quit. Until now, he hadn’t realized what
lengths she would go to in order reach her goal and why she was so angry with
him for aborting her mission. By the time he had figured out something was
going on, Attie had already endured too much to stop.

Damn.
By acting on instinct he had thrown away everything she’d worked for, and all
for nothing. Looking down into Attie’s green cat-eyes he realized what he’d
cost her. It dealt him a crushing blow. He’d thought he’d been protecting her.

“Heard
enough, Kincaid?” Attie taunted.

Noah
met the challenge in her eyes and slowly shook his head. He didn’t scare that
easily. It was going to take a lot more than that to make him let it go. Camron
would vouch for that, since he’d never been able to get Noah off his case when
he wanted to know something.

“Not
a chance, Devayne,” he said, letting her know he wasn’t walking away.

She
wasn’t happy with his answer. “Why? Why are you doing this?” she demanded.

“Because
I care.”

* * * *

Attie
took a stunned step back. Of all the things Noah could have said, this was the
furthest from what she expected. How could he care about her? She had blatantly
blamed him for Seth and her retirement, throwing her mistrust in his face. Done
everything in her power to push him away because of her attraction for him.
Part of her was missing. She’d spent the past six months trying to get it back
without success.