Edge of Betrayal (16 page)

The soldiers cleared a path. They shuffled out into the hall.

“What the hell are you doing, Payton? Tell them to shoot.”

Sage tightened his hold and dug the point of his weapon deeper into her skin. Blood trickled along her neck, making her stomach give a queasy flop.

Payton looked past her. “I have snipers on the roof. If you try to take her past the gate, they will fire.”

“What’s to stop you from shooting me after I let her go?”

“My word.”

Sage laughed. “That never used to be worth much.”

“It is now. I love Mira like a daughter—something you could never understand. Her life is worth more to me than yours.”

“Tell your men to back off. Open the doors. If I see one soldier or one locked door on my way out, Mira will be the one to pay.”

“Just like old times, huh, Dad?” she snapped.

“Shut up. The grown-ups are talking.”

More blood flowed over her skin—enough to wet the collar of her shirt. She briefly thought about fighting back but couldn’t think of a move she could make that wouldn’t jab that weapon deeper into her neck. He was poised right above an artery, and she was likely miles away from the nearest hospital.

“Clear the way,” ordered Payton. “Let him go.”

Mira couldn’t let this happen. She couldn’t be the reason Sage went free. If he did, he’d hurt more people, and the list of his victims was already too long for her to ever make right. She couldn’t allow him to add to the pile of bodies in his wake.

Somehow, somewhere between here and the front gate, she had to find a way to kill her father.

A
s soon as Adam heard the alarm sound, he knew Mira was in trouble.

The guard posted outside his door disappeared. Adam wasted no time making his escape. He pried the plastic light-switch cover from the wall and ripped the switch free from its moorings. It took a few seconds to break off a couple of pieces of electrical wiring. Once the wires were free, he slammed the post of one bed down on them to flatten and harden them.

Lockpicks in hand, he made quick work of unlocking the door before his guard returned.

Finding the commotion was easy; figuring out what had gone wrong was irrelevant. As soon as he saw Sage dragging a bleeding Mira out into the night, all he cared about was getting her back.

Sage was halfway across the open space between the building and the gate. Mira had no coat. Blood oozed from her neck where Sage held what looked to be some kind of improvised weapon made from a spoon. The tip gleamed with her blood, less than an inch from a major artery.

If Sage shoved that sharpened spoon into her throat, she’d bleed out in seconds.

“Steady,” Payton ordered the soldiers around him. “Hold your fire.”

Adam started toward Mira. He wasn’t going to let her father drag her away.

“Stop!” shouted Payton.

Adam ignored him.

There was some commotion behind him. He was vaguely aware of the guards asking if they should go after him. Whatever Payton told them held them at bay.

“I’m not letting you take her,” said Adam.

Mira’s face was pale, but she seemed solid. Coherent. “Shoot him, Adam.”

He didn’t have a weapon. He wasn’t even wearing his own clothes. The cold air stroked his skin, bleeding away the heat of his fury. “I can’t.”

Her green gaze hit his with the force of a large-caliber round right in the chest. “I need you to stop him. Whatever it takes.”

He understood her message: Don’t worry about her. Take out the bad guy. But even though he understood it, he couldn’t act on it. Not when she was in such clear danger.

Maybe she didn’t realize how close to death she really was—how little her father cared about her safety. After all he’d done to her, she should have known, but children often had superhuman powers of denial when it came to their parents.

“Let them go,” called Payton from behind him.

“You can’t let him go,” said Mira. “Neither can I.”

She was going to act. He could see it in the slight change of her posture. She was coiling, preparing to strike.

If she did, she was dead. That weapon would go right through her and Sage would use her bleeding out as a distraction.

“Don’t,” was all he said, looking right into her eyes. “I’ve got this.”

Mira relaxed. Adam closed the distance.

They were almost to the gate. He could feel the heat of crosshairs against his back from the men aiming at him.

“He’ll let her go at the gate,” said Payton. “If he doesn’t, my men will shoot.”

And hit Mira in the process.

The gate was only ten feet away. Adam calculated how long it would take him to do what needed to be done. He checked the ground for obstacles and sped his breathing to oxygenate his blood.

Sage must have seen what Adam was preparing to do, because he shoved Mira toward Adam, forcing him to catch her or let her fall.

He caught her.

By the time he had her flattened on the ground, out of the path of flying bullets, he shouted, “Fire!”

“No!” countered Payton, his voice booming into the night.

No one fired.

Adam shoved himself to his feet and took off at a dead run, hot on Sage’s heels.

A motorcycle came out of nowhere. The rider swung past Sage and slowed just enough for him to hop on back.

Adam surged forward, but the bike headed for the trees. Within just a few seconds, it disappeared.

Sage was gone. Not a single shot had been fired.

Something about that was off, but he was too distracted to waste time figuring out what. Mira was on the ground, bleeding, and that was unacceptable.

Soldiers were rushing past Mira by the time Adam reached her. She tried to stand, but he held her down. “Not yet. Let’s see to your bleeding first.”

He ripped a strip from the bottom of his shirt and folded it into a pad. He pressed the fabric against her wound, being careful not to block the flow of blood to her brain.

“Follow him,” ordered Payton. “Plan Delta.”

Adam had no idea what Plan Delta was, but boots pounded the ground as men veered off in various directions. In the distance, he heard small engines roar to life. A helicopter’s motor started to whine.

“He’s gone, isn’t he?” asked Mira.

“We’ll find him.”

“I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t figure out how. Every move that Bella taught me would have shoved that knife into my throat.”

“You were about to do it anyway, weren’t you?” he asked.

“I didn’t see any other way.”

A medic appeared by her side and checked the wound. “It’s not bad, ma’am. A little surgical glue and you’ll be good to go.”

Mira clutched Adam’s hand as the medic worked. It didn’t take long to do the job, and the soldier was off again, ready to join the others.

Adam helped her stand, angling her body so she wouldn’t see the bloody mess left on the ground. Payton stepped in front of them.

“I’m sorry about that, Mira,” he said.

She balled up her fist and slammed it into his face. His head snapped to the side. Blood leaked from his split lip. Mira sagged at the sight of it, forcing Adam to grab her around the waist.

“I deserved that,” said Payton, rubbing his jaw.

“You let him go. You could have shot him, but you let him walk out. How could you? You know what he’s capable of.”

“We’ll follow him. See where he goes. Maybe he’ll lead us back to one of the labs.”

“That was your plan all along, wasn’t it?” asked Adam. “You wanted him to escape.”

“No, I wanted him to tell Mira where his labs are hidden. This was the backup plan.”

Her whole body was shaking now. She’d been through
too much, too fast. He needed to get her somewhere she felt safe.

“You’re taking us back now,” said Adam. “No drugs this time.”

Payton shook his head. “No need. This wasn’t our secure facility. We just wanted you to think it was so you would play along.”

Mira pushed away from Adam and stepped back. “Can I just say how fucking sick to death I am of being played? I am not a tool that either one of you can use for your own purposes. If either one of you tries to use me again, I’m going to use every single one of my many and talented brain cells to ruin your lives. I might create false warrants for your arrest, or alter your medical records so that you can’t get a Band-Aid without a psych hold. I’ll bug your houses and cars and follow you everywhere until I have the most embarrassing video footage possible, which I will then post online. I’m not above a little creative editing. And as soon as you think the humiliation and pain is over, that’s when I’ll really put my mind to fucking up every facet of your existence.”

Adam didn’t doubt for a second that she would do just as she said.

“You’re upset,” said Payton. “Come back inside and lie down.”

Mira got up in the older man’s face and growled. “Where is my gun?”

Adam moved slowly, as he would when approaching a rabid animal. With care, he settled his hand at the small of her back and pitched his voice too low for Payton to hear. “Let me take you home.”

She looked up at him, fury and fear evident behind the golden starbursts in her eyes. “Home? I can’t go home. Dad is out there. We have to go find him.”

“We will,” said Payton. “My men are following him.”

“Your men let him go once. What’s to say they won’t do it again?”

“They’ll do as ordered, just as they did a few minutes ago. You don’t have to like it, Mira, but it’s not going to change the way things are.”

“I can’t believe he’s alive. Out there. Free.” Tears pooled behind her lashes. “I was supposed to finally be safe.”

“You are safe. I’ll make sure of it.” Adam wrapped his arm around her waist in a show of support. She leaned into him just enough to make him hate the man who’d weakened her to the point that she needed Adam’s help.

“No one can promise that. Not while he’s still alive.”

“Let me worry about Sage,” said Payton. “Go home. Get some rest. I’ll be in touch.”

“Where are we?” asked Adam.

“About a hundred miles outside of Dallas. I’ll have a driver take you back.”

Adam shook his head. “No. Just give me the keys. I’ll take her home myself. You’ve done enough damage for one night.”

Payton stared at him for a long second. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. I’ll pick up the car tomorrow.”

Mira stood up straighter, leaning less of her weight on Adam. He wasn’t sure if he liked that she was strengthening or if he liked having her pressed against him more. “I want to stay until you find him.”

“No, Adam’s right. You need to get some rest. You’ve been through hell tonight.”

“I’ve been through much worse than this and survived.”

Some of which was Adam’s doing. That fact was not lost on him.

Never again.

“Go. I’ll call you when he’s back in custody. There’s nothing more you can do here but get in the way.”

Before she could argue more, Adam said, “I’ll have my cell on. Call the second you know something.”

“I will,” said Payton. “Cars are that way. I’ll see to it you get what you need.”

For some reason, Adam was certain that while Payton’s words were true, there was still something he was hiding.

Had Adam been alone, he would have pushed for answers. But he wasn’t alone, and Mira was in no shape to drive. Strangely, seeing her home safely held more interest for Adam than digging for answers.

But answers would come. Once Mira was safe, Payton’s secrets would not be.

I
t took nearly two hours to get home, and Mira fought the urge to cling to Adam’s hand the whole time.

Her father was alive. Free. Walking around.

How in the world was she ever going to relax again? How would she ever sleep again?

“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Adam. He reached over and curled his fingers around hers. The heat of his skin surrounded her, giving her something to think about other than the fact that her father was a free man.

Mira shook her head and tightened her grip around his hand. She felt better when she touched him. Safer. It made zero sense that that would be the case, but she was too exhausted, both emotionally and physically, to fight whatever brought her comfort.

“He won’t come for you,” said Adam. “At least not tonight. He’ll be too busy trying to get away to go someplace he thinks we’d look for him.”

“I guess that’s a blessing, at least. I don’t know how I’m going to sleep knowing he’s out there.” She turned toward him in her seat, watching the play of lights across his angular jaw. “Did you know he put cameras in my home? In my office?”

His finger stroked across the inside of her wrist, magically slowing her rioting pulse. “We’ll sweep for bugs when we get you home if you like.”

“I do that every day as a matter of habit now. Even when I thought he was dead.”

He pulled into her driveway and left the engine running. “You don’t have to stay here tonight. We could go somewhere else.”

“No. I won’t let him run me away from my own home. If I give him that much control, it’s like letting him win. I won’t do that.” She forced herself to get out of the car and go inside.

Between the car and the front door, she caught herself checking the bushes and shadows for signs of her father lurking nearby. Of course he wasn’t there, but even knowing he could be was enough to make her feel uneasy and skittish.

The moment they walked through her front door, Adam locked it behind them. Her hand had already grown cold with the lack of his touch, and in that moment, she realized just how close to the edge of crumbling she really was. If she didn’t pull herself together, she was going to end up sobbing in a ball in the middle of the floor.

She hadn’t felt that way when Adam had held her hand. There was something about his silent support that gave her enough room to lean on him, just a little. Tomorrow she might hate herself for the weakness, but tomorrow was a whole, long, dark night away from now.

Mira gave in to the need for human contact and crushed herself against his body. He didn’t hesitate to put his arms around her. In fact, if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought he lurched at the chance to hold her.

She buried her face against his chest, breathing in his scent. His hand stroked down her back from her nape to the swell of her butt. Over and over, he petted her, and with each passing touch, more of her tension drained away.

His heartbeat was a steady, calming thrum under her ear. It urged her own chaotic pulse to follow his lead. Each deep, even breath he took rocked her slightly, instilling a sense of lazy peace way down in her core.

She hadn’t been held like this in a long time. Maybe it never had been like this. It was both powerful and tranquil, weaving the two together in a way she hadn’t known was possible until now.

Mira had no idea how long they stood there. Time was irrelevant. And he didn’t seem to be in any kind of hurry to break the connection.

A few days ago, the only interaction she wanted with Adam was with him behind bars. Now she couldn’t imagine him not being here, right where he was, solid and strong enough to keep her on her feet.

Finally, when she felt steady enough to move forward and calm enough to think, she lifted her head to thank him for being here.

Before she could open her mouth, the words dissolved and disappeared.

She and Adam were standing close, but she hadn’t realized just how intimate it was until his head tilted down to look at her. Their mouths were only a few inches apart, and she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off his.

She’d kissed him once before. She knew how warm and pliant his lips were. She even had a hint of how he’d taste.

It wasn’t enough.

Her fingers curled over his shoulders. She lifted up onto her toes. He didn’t so much as twitch, giving her no sign if she should keep going or back away.

She hesitated—and felt the slightest tightening of his hands at her waist. The motion pulled her forward just enough that she could feel the thick length of his erection against her stomach.

Right or wrong, this man wanted her, and the sheer power of that went to her head. Something inside her
snapped. Years of pent-up hormones burst free, and she kissed him with all the enthusiasm of a teenage girl.

For a second, she thought he wasn’t going to respond. His lips stayed still beneath hers, warm and soft but immobile. How he could be as aroused as he was and still maintain self-control was beyond her. Even without him kissing her back, she was swiftly getting excited.

She tilted her mouth, hoping to coax him to give her a taste. Her tongue flicked out along the seam of his lips.

In an instant, everything changed.

She felt herself lift from the ground. His big, hot hands cupped her butt, holding her against him so tight she could barely breathe. His mouth opened, and he took control of the kiss, his tongue sweeping inside and bringing with it his unique, intoxicating taste.

A moment later, he lowered her to the couch. She couldn’t remember how she got across the room, but every bone in her body had melted just a little, and the horizontal surface at her back was more than welcome.

Adam cupped her face in his hands. His hold was gentle but firm enough that she could feel exactly how he wanted her to move as he kissed her.

Her body heated from the inside out. She floated in a state that was an odd mix of frenetic need and a languid kind of peace. It was just kissing, but it felt like so much more.

She wanted it to
be
more.

Her hands slipped up under the hem of his shirt. Sleek, smooth flesh met her fingers. Hot, hard, yet pliant. Each move he made shifted his muscles, giving her a tantalizing feast for her fingertips. There was so much strength there, yet each touch he gave her was gentle.

He lifted his head. His gray eyes had darkened, leaving behind a single, silvery ring around his pupils. His mouth had reddened, and there was a sheen of moisture along his bottom lip she desperately wanted to lick away.

She leaned toward him to do just that, but he splayed
one hand at the base of her throat and held her in place. For some reason, that simple act of restraint made a naughty surge of heat flare in her belly.

Mira melted beneath him. Her thighs widened, giving his body more space to settle close. The thick ridge of his erection grazed across the seam of her pants, causing it to inflict the most exquisite pressure against her clit.

Her nipples tightened. Her back arched, the move completely involuntary.

Adam gave off the sexiest sound she’d ever heard. It was somewhere between a purr and a growl, and so low she could barely hear it. But she felt it. The sound vibrated through her, quivering in her bones as it passed.

“Kiss me again,” she said.

His jaw bulged as he gritted his teeth. She could see him struggling for control, and all she wanted was to strip it away so she could have the real man lurking under the surface.

She rolled her hips toward him—this time the move was anything but accidental. “Kiss me.”

His long fingers curled against her skin. His hand was big enough to span both collarbones, and the casual strength he wielded was enough to make any red-blooded girl swoon.

“If I kiss you again, it won’t end there.”

“I’m okay with that.” Was she? A few days ago she wanted to punch him and now she was going to let him sleep with her?

“Are you?” he asked, echoing her thoughts. “Do you really want me inside your body? Moving within you? Coming inside you?”

Just the words made a violent swell of heat sear her from the inside out. “Yes.”

“That’s not the Mira I know. You’re not thinking clearly.”

“I don’t want to think. I just want to feel.”

“And then what? When it’s over, will you smile and curl against me while we sleep? Or will you hate me for
violating you in a moment of weakness?” He rolled away and stood in a single, smooth motion. “I can’t stand the idea of you hating me any more than you already do. I’m sorry.”

Before she could gather a coherent thought to argue, he walked into the bathroom and closed the door. The lock clicked into place.

Mira’s body ached with unsated need, but as the seconds rolled by, that shimmering heat began to fade. Her instincts receded, and her mind started working again.

She’d almost fucked Adam. Just the thought was too strange to grasp. She’d wanted him more than she could ever remember wanting another man. He’d wanted her, too. That was painfully obvious.

And yet he’d stopped.

She owed him for that. Big-time. And as soon as she could look at him again without wanting to jump his bones, she was going to thank him.

*   *   *

Adam clenched the sink and breathed. Anything more than that was beyond him. He’d used up everything else he had to walk away from Mira and her sweet offering.

He could have been inside her right now, stroking deep, feeling her body clench around him as he found what pleased her.

But at what cost?

The moments of pleasure would end and reality would set in. She’d realize what she’d done and hate him even more.

The fear of that was a far more powerful motivator than any biological need he possessed.

He tried to shove his feelings into a box. Compartmentalization was how he survived. He lived and breathed it, pushing things aside so that he could deal with what was too urgent to ignore. His skills had rarely failed him before, but they did now.

Mira and all of the feelings she aroused in him could not be contained.

There was nothing he could do but suffer through this odd kind of helplessness—no other option than to let his emotions run their course. So he stood in front of the mirror, holding on to the sink like it was the only thing anchoring him to this planet. And breathed.

He didn’t know how long he stayed like that, but his body slowly relinquished control back to his mind, and he was once again himself.

His sigh of relief fogged the bathroom mirror. He wiped it away and stared at himself. The features looking back at him were the same as they’d always been, but he felt different. Altered.

Mira’s pull on him had changed him somehow, and until he figured out exactly how, he needed to tread lightly.

He left the safety of the bathroom, feeling like he was walking into battle.

She was curled up on the couch, her legs tucked under her, gripping a mug. As soon as she saw him, she went still. Even the tendril of steam curling out from her mug seemed to freeze in place.

Maybe it was just him.

After a moment, she looked down at what she was drinking, depriving him of the power she held within her direct gaze. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked.

“Getting me away from my father alive. Taking me home so I could breathe again. Not taking me once we got here and making me forever regret it.”

Ah. There it was. The important bit saved for last.

Some small part of him had apparently hoped she’d still be ready, willing, and eager for him when he came out. He hadn’t realized the fantasy of her acceptance was lurking in him until it died a swift and painful death.

“You’re welcome.”

“Your control astounds me. I have no idea how you
can stay so calm and cool with bullets flying, mad scientists spewing homicidal threats, and a woman throwing herself at you like some kind of hussy.”

“The first one is easy. The second, difficult. The third . . . let’s just say that I’m not sure how much more of that kind of control I have left in me.”

A little grin kicked up one side of her mouth. “Message received loud and clear: Keep my lips to myself.”

“Unless you change your mind about what you want,” he said before he could think better of it.

Her grin vanished. Her throat moved as she swallowed. “We’re not right for each other. It would be nothing more than a fling.”

It could be.

The idea sprouted in his mind, fully grown and beautifully formed. If there was ever a woman he could love, it was Mira. Her spirit called to him. Her body haunted him. Her mind intrigued him. He wasn’t sure he was capable of such an emotion as romantic love, but he knew what it was to care for someone so deeply that he would kill for them. It was how he felt about Eli, and why he’d been willing to hurt Mira to reach him.

Now the thought of doing exactly as he’d done before—of trading her for information about his brother—seemed impossible. Revolting.

How could his feelings toward an act so rational have changed in only a short time?

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

He checked in with his stomach. “Yes.”

She uncurled her legs and stood. Her bloody clothes were gone. The baggy sweat suit she now wore was an obvious effort at self-defense. He couldn’t see a single one of her curves, which was probably a blessing. He still wasn’t sure how much control he had over his body, and sweet, sexy, brilliant Mira took up far too much of his attention to fit in one of his convenient mental boxes.

She went into the kitchen, and he trailed after her like a lost puppy. He swore he could smell her skin, even as far away as he forced himself to walk.

Her feet were covered by thin socks that clung to her high arches and dainty toes. His gaze kept straying to them, wondering how something as simple as a human foot could be so mesmerizing. Of course, her hands intrigued him, too, as did her eyes. And her mouth.

Her mouth.

He was getting aroused just thinking about the way it felt against his, so open and eager for his tongue. Her taste had gone to his head, addicting him in seconds. He wasn’t sure how he was going to go the rest of his life without more of her mouth.