Razor's Edge (12 page)

“I'm due for a visit with Sloane, anyway. I'll fly in and meet you after dinner one night this week.”

That was probably for the best. They had a lot to catch up on. Adam Brink had been a busy man these last few weeks, and neither one of them had been able to pin him down. Three more people on the List had gone missing, and, as far as Payton could tell, he and the general were the only two men who knew enough pieces of the puzzle to figure out where they might have gone.

Stopping Adam was imperative, but finding out exactly what he was doing with those people he abducted was even more important. They'd already suffered enough because of what Payton, Bob, and the others had done. The least they deserved was to live out the rest of their lives in peace, and if he had to kill Adam Brink to make it happen, then that was exactly what he'd do.

T
anner couldn't sleep, and it had nothing to do with the strange surroundings. The room was small—just big enough for the bed and a nightstand. There were no windows, and it had to be soundproofed, based on how quiet it was inside.

Despite the quiet dark and the fatigue that made his eyes burn, he couldn't get the image of that deranged soldier out of his head.

He had to go see the man and find out if there was some way he could help. He'd been through some rough shit overseas and knew how much it could eat at a person if he let it. He also knew that it didn't have to. Whoever that man was, he deserved a chance to see what life could be like.

Tanner didn't want one more veteran sliding down into society's gutter, forgotten and ignored.

He sat up and flipped on the lamp, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. He wasn't sure what exactly he could do, but he had to try something.

Tanner found Payton in his office. “I want to talk to the man who attacked Roxanne. Will you keep her here while I go to the police?”

“I already checked on him, and he's in the hospital while they treat his wounds.”

“Did you talk to him?”

“No, and I can't imagine why you would want to, either, considering what he tried to do to Razor.”

“He was drugged out of his mind. He may not have even known what he was doing. Maybe if they cleaned that shit out of his system, he'd make more sense.”

Payton leaned back in his chair. “I'm sure the authorities have it under control.”

“The authorities have no clue about the bigger picture—about how there's possibly a US soldier being held against his will.”

“And you think we should tell them?”

Tanner had kept too many secrets for his government over the years—secrets that needed to be kept. He knew the potential cost of releasing information to the press. They cared about ratings and profit. Something like this was huge and could explode in a matter of hours. If Jake had been or was being held against his will, there was no way of knowing what his captors might do if they were outed on national news. He could very well get Jake killed. “No, but I do think we need to find out what he knows. Don't you?”

“Yes, which is why I pulled in some favors and asked to have a friend of mine assigned to the case. If there's anything we need to know, I'll find out from him.”

“When?”

“Soon. In the meantime, I think you should stick close to Razor and make sure she doesn't decide to go running to her friend's rescue.”

“She wouldn't do that, would she?” But even as he asked the question, he knew the answer. She would.

Payton smiled, but the smile didn't touch his eyes. “I see that you realize the truth now. Keep her safe.”

Tanner left Payton's office at a jog, heading to the room where she was supposed to be sleeping. The door was unlocked. He didn't even hesitate. He turned the knob. If he caught her sleeping naked or something, so be it. He'd rather have her mad at him than running around alone, putting herself in the way of the next drugged lunatic.

And if he got to see her naked in the process, then that was just a grenade he'd have to fall on and take like a man. He'd already spent far too much time thinking about what Razor might look like under her clothes to pretend otherwise.

Tanner pushed the door open and peeked inside, holding his breath. The bed was empty.

Reid had been right. She'd ditched him. Again.

Son of a bitch.

 

 

Jake had just finished his workout when two of the SABERs approached. “Staite, come with us.”

“What for?” asked Jake.

“Now,” said the man.

Moss shifted, his stance changing slightly as if preparing to attack. Jake and his buddies were in this mess together. They'd become close over the past few weeks as it became clear that this was not some kind of exercise designed to test them. They were in real, deep trouble. And they were going to get out of it the same way they'd gotten in—together, or at least as together as they could be now that Greene had taken his own life.

Jake shook his head slightly, hoping Moss would back down. “Where are we going?”

“To see Dr. Stynger.”

A little surge of excitement rushed through Jake. Jordyn Stynger had been the one person who was willing to help him. Maybe she would again.

Jordyn had mailed his journal to Roxanne. He knew there was a chance she'd be curious enough to poke her nose in his business and read it, but that was a risk he had to take. If he never got out of here, he wanted there to be some proof of what had happened here so that it wouldn't happen to anyone else.

Jake was smart and well trained. If General Bower could fool him and four men, chances were he could fool others as well. Based on the thirty-five soldiers and twelve civilians he'd counted since he'd arrived, Bower already had.

“Nice,” said Jake. “It's about time we had a little eye candy around here.”

“Not her,” said the blond SABER. “We're seeing the head honcho. The elder Dr. Stynger. Jordyn's mom.”

Jake had heard whispers about the woman, about how even General Bower jumped to obey when she summoned him.

Maybe she knew what he'd found in his room. He thought he'd covered his surprise, but there were cameras everywhere.

Apprehension slid through him until he realized there really wasn't much she could do to punish them. They were already prisoners. They were already being tortured with the drugs shoved into them every day. Besides simply killing them, she didn't have a whole lot of options left, and Jake wasn't going to be an easy man to kill.

He was escorted to a metal door that looked like all the others in this place. One of the guards knocked.

A woman's voice answered. “Come.”

The door opened, revealing a sterile white room. A two-way mirror lined one wall. A metal table and chairs sat bolted in the center of the room. A skeletal woman with bright red lipstick stood in the corner. Beneath her lab coat was a simple black suit. Her bird legs stuck out from the skirt, showing off knobby knees. Her black hair was pulled back in a severe bun that seemed to stretch the skin of her face, making her age hard to determine. Forties? Fifties? Sixties? He couldn't be sure.

Jake searched for a resemblance to Jordyn, who was pretty and sweet and kind. He saw none. In fact, he had a hard time believing there could be any relation at all between her and the woman standing before them.

General Bower stood next to Dr. Stynger, glowering at him.

Jake refused to salute. The uniform Bower wore was a lie. There was no way a man like him—a man willing to imprison and torture the men under his command—had earned those stars. The uniform Bower wore was nothing more than a costume, and Jake refused to acknowledge it.

“I'm sure you remember Dr. Norma Stynger. She's taken an interest in you.”

Jake had met her only once before, and he'd been so sick at the time, he'd done little more than register her name and the fact that she was to blame for the way he felt.

Dr. Stynger smiled. “I have, indeed. I hear you are progressing well through the program.”

What program?
Jake wanted to spit those words back at the woman, but he held his tongue. The more information he could gather, the sooner he'd find a way out of this place.

“Have a seat,” she offered.

“I prefer to stand.” It was easier to attack from a standing position, and just being near this woman put him on edge.

General Bower glowered and shifted his weight toward Jake. That slight movement was enough of a warning to obey that Jake did so. Now was not the time to make his move. He was outnumbered four to one, and even if he did beat those odds, he couldn't leave his friends behind.

He sat down at the cold table.

Dr. Stynger moved toward him once he was seated, her high heels clicking on the tile floor. “I know what you did. What my daughter did.”

Jake said nothing as he let the spike of fear shoot through him. For all he knew, this was a way for her to find out the truth. Jordyn promised she'd be careful when she agreed to help him. The last thing he'd wanted was to put her at risk. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

Dr. Stynger pursed her lips in irritation. “Who is Roxanne Haught to you?”

Oh God. They knew about Rox. He couldn't let on how much that news scared him. There was no way of knowing if they'd find a way to use her against him.

Jake kept his expression calm and showed only mild curiosity. “Who?” he asked, using every bit of acting ability he had.

She sighed. “We let you keep your diary. I found it most interesting to see how your tiny mind works, but I never thought my daughter would be foolish enough to help you steal our secrets, or that she'd cover up her actions for weeks, forcing me to hear about it from my security team.”

She'd read his journal? He thought he'd hidden it better than that. He'd been careful to write in it only after he'd covered the camera in his room. The split in his mattress was undetectable if one didn't know it was there. He'd never found the notebook missing, nor had there been any proof it had been so much as moved an inch. The tamper indicators he'd set had never appeared to be touched, including the one strand of long dark hair he'd stolen from the back of Jordyn's chair.

Jordyn. She'd been afraid to help him. She'd told him that if she did, it wouldn't end well for either of them. He'd been determined to use her, and battered through every resistance she'd offered. He'd bribed, he'd charmed, he'd begged. In the end, she'd caved under the pressure and done as he'd asked, sending the sealed journal to Rox.

Dr. Stynger shrugged. “Her involvement was unfortunate, but I believe she's learned her lesson.”

“Did you hurt her?” he demanded, rising from his seat. “Your own daughter?”

Bower shoved him back down.

Dr. Stynger's stare was cold and direct, unblinking. Not a shred of compassion for her own flesh and blood showed through. “She paid for her involvement, but she has yet to make up for that mistake. Your diary must be found. Tell me about the woman who has it. Tell me why you had my daughter send it to her, of all people. Who is Roxanne Haught to you?”

Jake's mind raced to figure a way out of this without sacrificing Jordyn. He wasn't sure what they'd done to her or where she was. He didn't know what she'd told them.

He had to stall while he came up with a way out of this for everyone, including Rox. “I don't know the woman. You must be mistaken.”

Dr. Stynger nodded to one of the SABERs. “Bring her in.”

A moment later, the blond guard hauled Jordyn through the door, his beefy hand wrapped around her arm in a crushing grip. Her long dark hair was tangled around her face. Her clothes were rumpled and dirty, as if she'd slept in them for days. Her skin was so pale that her veins showed beneath the surface. Dark crescents hung beneath her eyes, and a look of hopeless desperation haunted her face. She was barely able to stand up without the support of the blond man gripping her arm. She swayed on her feet, squinting as if the light hurt.

When her gaze met his, he could almost feel her regret. “I'm sorry, Jake.”

Anger boiled to the surface, and it was all Jake could do to stay seated rather than lashing out at the older woman for whatever she'd done to her daughter. “What the hell did you do to her?”

Dr. Stynger shrugged a bony shoulder. “Nothing she didn't deserve for betraying us. She knows the rules.”

“You're a fucking bitch,” growled Jake.

Jordyn flinched and swallowed visibly, as if trying not to get sick.

Dr. Stynger said, “I suggest you lower your voice. My daughter has a headache.”

She had a hell of a lot more than that, but Jake didn't want to make it worse, so he kept his volume in check. “You did this to her.”

The doctor shook her head. “She did it to herself when she decided to listen to you. But that's not what we're here to discuss. Tell me who Roxanne Haught is.”

Jake clamped his lips shut and started thinking hard. He knew where this was going. Dr. Stynger had already done something horrible to her own daughter. He didn't doubt for a second that she'd do something else to Jordyn to force Jake to talk.

He couldn't give up Rox. He loved her. She was the only family he had left. But he couldn't let them torture Jordyn again, either.

It was time to lie.

Jake put on a show, staring at Jordyn for a long time as if thinking things over and struggling with his decision. “She's a reporter. I told her to put the journal in a safe-deposit box, to read it if anything happened to me, or if she didn't see me by Labor Day. I knew she'd print the story if she read it.”