Circle of Danger (14 page)

Tears threatened to spill over. She blinked several times. She didn't want to embarrass him or herself.

Ryker looked up. His gaze travelled down the borrowed dress. The gleam in his amber eye assured her he approved. When that all-seeing eye reached her face, he excused himself and walked toward her.

“What's the matter?”

“I'm ready to leave.”

He brushed her damp hair from her cheek. “They're having a car brought for us. It will be another hour. If you want, you can go and rest until it arrives. Collin and I have to question the prisoner again.”

“I want to leave now.” Not until he said it would be another hour did she realize she couldn't stand being around those who would harm or condemn him. How could she explain without sounding emotional?

A concerned look crossed his face. Then his attention moved to a point above her head.

“What did you say, you fucking T-Rex?”

Ryker headed toward Rex. Marie grabbed at his arm and missed.

“I didn't say anything to upset her. It's not her fault she's mixed up with an irrational bonehead like you.” The big guy raised his fists up, ready to protect himself.

“My brother needs to teach his watch dog how to respect his betters.”

“What? You think—”

A. J. stepped in front of Rex and held up her palms. “Enough! You both have the biggest balls and the longest cocks. So get in your corners and behave!”

Marie let out her breath when Ryker stopped a few steps away. He pointed at Rex. “You stay away from Marie. Don't even look her way.”

The implied threat hung in the air until Collin cleared his throat.

“They should be ready.” Collin walked over to a plain white door. “Rex, check with the guards and let me know if they spot anyone else trespassing.”

Even Marie knew Rex was being given an assignment to keep him out of Ryker's hair. The big guy grunted and left the kitchen.

Ryker's gaze narrowed. Then he looked over to Marie. He threw her a crooked grin and turned to follow Collin.

“Here.” Olivia handed her one of the mugs. “This is the real stuff. No premix. You'll love it.” As if she wanted to prove it, she sipped, and closed her eyes with a hum. “Delicious. Summer or winter, I love it.”

Marie lifted the mug. “Oh, this is good. Just enough vanilla and cinnamon.”

“Yeah.” Olivia grinned. After a few sips and small chitchat about the design of the house, especially the kitchen, she said, “Let's go with the boys to the basement for a little entertainment.”

With a glance at the door, Marie was unsure if she wanted to see what they had done to the man—or planned to do now. Not her type of entertainment by far. She might not trust A. J., but Olivia had never been anything but straight with her. For her to suggest it meant it was important for them to witness a portion of the interrogation.

The steps wound down easily twenty feet with well-placed lights every five steps or so. Processed air blew out of narrow vents near the bottom of the stairwell. Marie expected a long hallway with rooms sectioned off by barred doors, not a brightly lit room the size of a football field.

Ryker and Collin stood near a desk with a black-clad security guard punching keys on a laptop. In the middle of the room was a ten-by-ten glass box. That was the best way to describe it. Inside all of that glass, a slumped naked figure tied to a metal chair warned Marie that the box actually served as a cell. A cell without a door.

The man's chin rested on his chest and his shaved head appeared to glow as if his scalp had only recently been sheared. Then she remembered they removed prisoners' hair to humiliate them further after stripping away their clothes. And it was always the last step before they terminated them, hoping the totally naked feeling would make them tell all of their secrets before dying.

Marie moved closer and stopped. The prisoner lifted his head.

Hands to her mouth, she gasped. “Liam?”

 

C
HAPTER
S
IXTEEN

R
yker strode over to Marie and turned her by the shoulders. “What are you doing down here?”

“You didn't tell me it was Liam. Why would he try to kill us? He's one of us. He's been an operative longer than anyone I know in The Circle.” She sounded lost, as if she'd found out there wasn't a Santa Claus.

He shot a furious look at Olivia. The woman merely lifted an eyebrow. What had she hoped to accomplish by involving Marie in this sordidness? Didn't she understand Marie needed to be protected? That she was too gentle to understand such betrayal?

“We're trying to find out his motives. And who all's involved,” he said.

Her meadow-green eyes stared up at him. “Then we need to find out any way possible. Either he knows something about the Wizard or has a good reason to want us dead or out of the way.”

Surprised by her easy acceptance of the necessity to interrogate Liam, Ryker nodded and walked back to the cell. On the way, he passed Olivia and ignored her smirk. The woman was way too sure of herself. Good thing she was Collin's problem, not his.

He motioned to the guard to lift the glass. A humming filled the room as an overhead crane lifted the heavy box. His brother had an inventive mind to develop such an escape-proof cell. The thick acrylic had several air holes no larger than a man's wrist at the top with the thin air vents above it. The prisoner had plenty of air, though was unable to go anywhere. With the feeling of being watched at all angles, compounded by the humiliation of being on display, a person would crack rather quickly. Ryker merely waited to see if his brother was right.

“Liam, are you ready to talk now?”

“I've been talking, you fuckin' tool.” Liam lifted his head. His left eye was swollen shut from a couple blows the guards got in before pulling him into the holding box.

“You claim you were following to protect us,” Ryker said.

Liam nodded and then grimaced.

“You remember the directive.” Ryker waited until Liam grunted. “My orders trump all other commands and desires. You desired to follow us without permission. That's considered treason.”

“No.” Liam's head bobbed. “I'm loyal.”

“Who sent you?”

Even with one eye closed, Liam's fierce look illustrated his feelings about the question.

Ryker jerked his head. A guard stepped up to Liam and jabbed a stun gun onto his thigh. For less than two seconds, forty thousand volts of electricity shot through Liam's nervous system. Ryker waved off the man. He didn't want the prisoner comatose. They needed answers. Quick.

“Liam.” He slapped him.

The man's eyes were rolling around beneath his lids.

“Liam.” With the thought of Liam's betrayal and how he could've caused Marie's death, he decided the guards had it right and Liam needed a stronger encouragement besides electricity and slaps. As he balled his fist to slam into his ribs, someone grabbed his arm. Ryker spun around and stopped, his knuckles inches away from Marie's nose. “What the hell do you think you were doing? I could've killed you.” Fear heightened his anger, causing his tone to be a rougher than usual.

“If you kill him, you'll never get your answers,” explained Marie. “Let me try.”

Her eyes held such determination Ryker had never seen before. The drug. Enduring the effects of Blossom Flower had changed her. Made her tougher. Maybe even more focused. He'd always worried about others taking advantage of her. She never had a chance to stand up for herself until the drug gave her the courage to fight back.

“Okay. I'll give you three minutes with him. Don't get too close.”

She nodded while her gaze remained on the prisoner.

Ryker backed away, giving her a little privacy. He walked over to the desk, where Collin sat in the guard's vacated chair. Olivia was nowhere in sight.

“Where's Olivia?”

Collin kept his eyes on the monitor. “Interrogations bring back bad memories for her.”

Knowing how paranoid Theo Palmer had been, he understood. “Theo never trusted a soul.”

“Until you, and he paid for that. But it's not Theo's interrogations that she'd like to forget. It's mine.” He pressed a button on the laptop and a chart popped up.

Collin's confession surprised Ryker. Letting the subject drop, he leaned forward to read the information on the screen.

“I wonder how our parents would've handled all the new age equipment we possess now?” He was unsure of why he brought up a subject he normally ignored. Would Collin recognize it to be the peace offering he meant it to be? No other person would understand the pain it caused to talk about them.

With a slow slide, Collin turned and looked up at him. “I believe Dad would've hated it. He'd always been the old-fashioned type.”

“Probably.” He nodded in deep thought. “What would he have thought of us? Running parts of a whole?”

“He would've hated that too.” Collin stood and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Listen. I had planned to wait to tell you this another time, but . . .”

For Collin to struggle with the words warned Ryker he might not like whatever he was about to say.

“I plan to step down from the OS. Olivia and I have enough put away in overseas accounts to live a good life away from all of this.” Collin lifted his chin.

Talk about unpredictable. His brother continued to surprise him. “Rex taking over for you?” Ryker dreaded another war with the OS.

“Yeah. But with the understanding he'll report to you,” Collin said, as if he was discussing the price of corn instead of handing over a billion-dollar organization.

Surely his brother didn't mean what Ryker thought he heard. When Collin lifted his eyebrows waiting for a reaction, Ryker found his voice.

“Hell, man, you got me there. I never expected that. Why?” Was it some type of ploy to overtake The Circle?

“Like I said, Dad was an old-fashioned fellow. He'd never approve of the OS being away from The Circle. Especially now that Theo's out of the way. Olivia wants to help some orphans in Russia or some Godforsaken former Eastern Bloc country that she read about.”

The offer would solve many problems. Too often The Circle and the OS competed for the same jobs.

Ryker looked hard at the little brother he'd loved as a kid. On his matured face, he could see the same boy who tagged along on all the adventures they had together. They were only ten months apart and had been close friends until the death of their parents. He'd mourned his family but it had been his brother that he'd missed the most. Now a lot of suffering and a cruel past separated them. And Collin's wife was in the middle of it all.

“You know she's a fucking crazy bitch.” He wasn't sure how Collin would take his insult, but it had spilled out of his mouth before he could stop it. He had to claim the revelation that Collin had just dumped in his lap unsettled him.

Collin chuckled. “Yeah. But she's my fucking crazy bitch.”

Relieved that he wouldn't have to kick his brother's ass, another question came to mind. “Will T-Rex take my orders? You know I'll have to kill him if he doesn't.”

There was no question to it. The type of organization he ran demanded everyone to be a little afraid of dying by his hands or he would face a mutiny whenever he had to make a hard decision.

“He might not like it all the time, but he'll follow orders. He knows how you've handled The Circle. You had a few rough patches in the beginning, but I believe you've got everyone under control now.” Collin held out his hand.

Ryker looked down at it. With the exception of The Circle operative being questioned by Marie, his brother was right. His people usually toed the line. But was this offer some elaborate scheme? He couldn't think of how it could be a trap. Inside it felt right. Why not give it a shot? He clasped his brother's hand and shook. “I can't promise that I'm convinced with Rex leading the OS, but I'll give it good consideration. When do we start the process?”

Collin paused and looked into Ryker's face. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him.

“How about six months? That will give you and Rex time to come to terms.”

“Ryker?” Marie's voice sounded concerned.

He couldn't believe it. With the astounding decision Collin had just revealed to him, he'd let his mind drift from Marie.

Liam remained in the chair with his chin to chest, drool running down his chest to groin. Marie had one hand on his shoulder. Her sweet, solemn face hinted it wasn't good news.

She had his undivided attention. He hated to see her so upset by her failure to get any information from him. They had been rough on Liam earlier with no results. What had she expected she could do?

“Don't worry. I'll get the info out of him,” he said. Liam had been trained by The Circle to withstand interrogations, and they'd known that going in. So he wasn't surprised the man could resist Marie's questions.

“You misunderstood. I already did.” She stepped away from the unconscious man. “I got the info.”

“What?”

“He told me that the Wizard has a hideout somewhere on an island in the Florida Keys.” She straightened her back and lifted her chin.

Why had he expected her to fail? She'd already proven she was a fighter and because of her size, she had to learn to use her brain to win.

“It does narrow it down somewhat, but that's several hundred islands of all sizes. The ones just large enough to build on are private, and finding information on them will be hard.” He'd send several men down there. Hell, he'd even go and help search. She may tell him she was handling it and the drug's control had weakened, but they still needed the antidote. How many hours had passed since she . . . damn, what should they call it? Had a fix?

“Are you okay?” he asked before he remembered how frustrated the question made her, as he asked too often.

She rolled her eyes and answered. “I'm fine. Please, I'm ready to go back to Sector.”

Ryker nodded. “Go on upstairs. I need a couple minutes with Collin. The car should be here.” He cupped her cheek. The dark circles beneath her eyes shouldn't have been there. All the chasing and shooting was wearing her down.

Instead of leaning into his touch as she'd been doing the last few weeks, she stepped away. He wanted to grab her and pull her back. Her reaction was for the best. The last few days, he'd decided they needed a little distance to reassess their situation. With the information Liam had provided so far and with what they could extract in the next few hours, Ryker would be away for a few weeks investigating. If she had a strong flashback, he could be with her within a few hours.

His gaze remained on her as she headed for the stairs.

“You know she's your weakness,” Collin whispered.

“Yeah. That's a problem I have to work on.” He turned away and walked back to Liam.

Ryker wanted more information, and he was certain Liam was holding something back. What could it be? For some reason, he felt it was something in front of his face that he wasn't focusing on. Others would say he looked for ghosts where there were none. He knew his concentration had been shot ever since he felt the first contraction around his cock while inside Marie. Nothing else had felt as important as feeling it again. But for now, he needed to concentrate on ending the Wizard's reign in the drug world.

M
arie breathed deeply when she stepped into the room next to the pool. She hated the sterility and feeling of menace downstairs. How could Olivia live above such horror? Marie shook her head. What difference did it make from her living at Sector? Maybe the difference was the knowing, and in this case, in the seeing. There was a difference between insisting on answers and beating them out of a person. She understood Ryker possessed layers she was unfamiliar with but she refused to be hard like Olivia, who accepted the more brutal ones. Not all of The Circle's operatives killed to achieve results, and she wouldn't either.

She dropped into a big overstuffed chair, leaving the floor lamp off, and stared out at the blue water of the pool. Her thinly stretched nerves loosened up a little. The scene was so serene. Just what she needed, a moment of quietness. A separation from the violence below.

“Stay the hell away from me.” A. J. came into view, stopping to turn to whomever she fussed at.

“But, Abby, I want to work it out.” Rex moved in close, towering over her. Was he even aware he intimidated people by standing so close?

“Do I have to kill you to get you to leave me alone?” A. J.'s hands landed on her hips.

“You owe me a chance to talk about what happened.” He reached for her shoulder, but she shrugged it away.

Obviously, what had happened years ago wasn't over in Rex's way of thinking.

“You're going to be sorry if you don't walk away now.” A. J. raised her hands as if to move him from her personal space.

“Ah, come on, baby—”

She pushed. The big guy's face was priceless as his arms rotated in an attempt to regain his balance. She shoved him again, and he fell backward into the pool with a splash, sending a tidal wave of water over the edges.

Marie had to restrain herself from clapping.

A. J. turned on one heel and stomped off. Rex swam to the nearest ladder and pulled out of the pool, water sluicing off him. His soaked clothing clung to every inch of his body. Marie couldn't help but admire the muscles and broad shoulders. He shook like a dog and stared off in the direction A. J. had taken. Then as if he considered it best to retreat, he shook his head and walked away in the other direction.

She wondered what caused their clash. What little she remembered about A. J. and Rex was that they had planned to marry but Master had stopped it. Maybe it was like a Romeo and Juliet tale. Only, why would it stop them now that they worked for the same organization? No surprise that everyone had problems to sort out.