Razor's Edge (13 page)

Dr. Styner didn't question his lie, but she didn't seem upset by the news, either. She turned to her daughter. “Is that true?”

“I don't know. He didn't tell me anything about her.” Jordyn's voice was hoarse, as if she'd been screaming.

Jake's heart squeezed hard, pumping out another rush of anger over whatever they'd done to her. He didn't see any signs of physical damage, but there were plenty of ways to torture someone without leaving a mark. He just bet that the heartless Dr. Stynger knew them all.

The older woman's voice took on a lecturing tone. “You know how I feel about it when you lie to me. You're hardly recovered from the last time you made me punish you. Do you really need me to do it again?”

A look of horror crossed Jordyn's face. “I'm not lying. I swear.”

“Hold her,” ordered Dr. Stynger.

The blond guard grabbed both her arms and pinned her against his chest in a hard hug. Tears pooled in her eyes and fear made her mouth tremble.

Jake couldn't let this happen. He couldn't let them hurt her again, four-to-one odds or not.

He bounded to his feet, spinning around to take on the guard standing behind him. One hard kick to the stomach made him double over, but he wouldn't be incapacitated for long.

Jake drove his elbow into the man's neck and shoved his head down, while kicking his knee up. The sound of the man's nose breaking filled the shocked silence.

The guard tumbled to his knees, unconscious.

Jake didn't wait to celebrate his victory. He grabbed Dr. Stynger and shoved her down onto the metal table. She fought against his hold on her arms, but she was weak and scrawny and didn't stand a chance. Even the few blows she landed with her high heels didn't faze him.

General Bower pulled his weapon and aimed it at Jake's chest.

Jake flung Dr. Stynger back, plastering her against his chest to use her as a shield. “I doubt she's got enough meat on her bones to stop a bullet, but I'm willing to find out if you are.”

“Lower your weapon,” ordered Dr. Stynger.

“That's not how you deal with men like him, ma'am. I've got this.” Bower swung his arm out until the barrel of the pistol was only inches from Jordyn's head. He looked at Jake. “Let her go.”

Tears began pouring from Jordyn's eyes, but she didn't make a sound. She didn't whimper or beg her mother to tell Bower to stand down.

What kind of mother would willingly sacrifice her own child to save her life?

The woman in his grip seemed to grow colder, and his skin crawled at having to touch her. Maybe he should break her scrawny neck and rid the world of a monster.

Of course, if he did that, they'd have no leverage—no means of escape.

Jake hesitated. He didn't want to let go of his advantage, but his unlikely escape wasn't worth the life of an innocent. He needed a better plan. He needed an ally. So far, Jordyn was his only chance, and if she was gone, he and his men would rot down here in this underground prison.

Bower shifted his weight and pressed the barrel against Jordyn's temple. “I will do it.” His voice was steady, sure, calm.

Jake no longer doubted it. He couldn't do this—he couldn't give up the life of a woman who had clearly suffered at least as much as he and his buddies had at the hands of Dr. Stynger.

“Let her go and I'll release the bitch,” he told Bower.

“Do I look like a fool, son? You first.”

With a rush of angry regret, Jake shoved Dr. Stynger away from him, making her stumble toward Bower. He caught her and steadied her on her feet.

Dr. Stynger's bun was a mess, and her red lipstick was smeared. In that moment, she looked older, more vulnerable, and Jake almost felt bad for what he'd done. Almost.

“Let her go,” he ordered.

Bower nodded to the soldier, who released Jordyn.

She rubbed her arms and looked at him. Her pale gray-green eyes were luminous with tears. “I'm sorry.”

The bleeding man on the floor groaned and shoved himself to his feet.

“Take the subject to the white room,” ordered Dr. Stynger.

“No!” shouted Jordyn. “He let you go. You can't do that to him.”

The guards grabbed Jake and shoved him through the door down the hall. He had no idea what the white room was, but he knew he wasn't going to like it.

 

 

Jordyn raced to her mother and grabbed her hands. “Please don't do this to him. I was the one who helped him. I'm the one you should punish.”

Fear and anguish poured into her chest as she watched the guards take Jake away. He already had so many experimental drugs pumping through his system, there was no way to know what another might do to him.

Jordyn's mother stared down at her, unblinking and stoic. “Whether or not I do this is entirely up to you.”

She didn't know what that meant, but she knew it couldn't be good. Mother was still angry over Jordyn's betrayal. “What do you mean?”

“I want to know about the woman.”

Jordyn couldn't do that. Jake had trusted her with his friend's life. She couldn't stab him in the back like that. “I don't know anything.”

“Very well. I'll have to find out from him, then.” Mother turned and left, heading for the white room.

Jordyn was right on her heels. Her head was pounding like mad, making it hard to concentrate. The last three days she'd spent with her punishment of an artificially induced migraine and hallucinations had weakened her. Jordyn's mad dash to town to warn Roxanne Haught had taken all her strength. She was dehydrated and shaky. She hadn't been able to eat. Mother had finally allowed the pain to subside this morning, but it hadn't yet gone away completely. For three days she was sure the pain would kill her, that the monsters haunting her visions would eat her flesh, and when none of that happened, she prayed that it would—anything to end the torment.

What they were going to do to Jake in the white room was much, much worse.

By the time they got there, Jake was already strapped into a chair, straining against his bonds.

She couldn't stand to watch, and yet she couldn't bring herself to leave him alone, either. He didn't know what would happen to him. He had to be scared.

He didn't look scared. He looked furious.

Mother fetched a tray from the cabinet and pulled up a stool beside him. “Tell me who this woman really is and where she's hiding your diary, and we don't have to go through this.”

“I already told you. She's a reporter. What you're doing here is going to be revealed to the world. I can hardly wait to watch you fall.”

“If that's true, you won't live long enough to see it happen. I'll have to get rid of all the evidence—including you and your friends.” Mother uncovered the tray, revealing a row of syringes filled with liquid.

Terror spiked through Jordyn, pinning her in place. She couldn't even breathe. “You can't do that to him,” she squeaked out.

Mother regarded her with a calm stare. “It's the only thing that won't interfere with the protocol. He left me no choice.”

She tore open an alcohol wipe and disinfected his arm. His skin was already bruised and marked by needles.

“Tell me,” ordered Mother.

Jake glared at her, remaining silent.

“Very well.”

The needle slid into his skin. Jordyn couldn't watch. She turned away, stifling a cry of pain on his behalf. It wouldn't take long for the drug to start working on his nervous system.

Seconds later, he let out a low hiss of pain.

“I can make it stop,” said Mother. “All you have to do is tell me about the woman. Who is she really? Where can I find her?”

Jake made a strangled sound, and Jordyn forced herself to look at him. She was responsible for his suffering. She knew what would happen if she was caught helping him. This was all her fault, and she couldn't simply walk away and leave him to go through this on his own.

His body bowed as much as the restraints allowed. Sweat rolled down his face and the cords in his neck stood out as she struggled within the torture.

“Tell me,” said Mother, so calm and quiet, as if she weren't torturing an innocent man.

“Go. To. Hell.”

Mother leaned close to his face. “There's something you should know. This is only level one. There are more. If you don't tell me what I want to know, you'll get to experience all of them.”

His dark brown eyes flared wide, but it wasn't fear there—only anger. “Fuck you.”

Mother's lips pursed in disapproval at his foul language. She picked up the next syringe—the one Jordyn knew would double his pain. Having lived inside pain for three long days, the fear for him was raw and wild. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't let him kill himself.

“Stop,” said Jordyn, hoping Jake would forgive her for what she was about to do. She'd been intrigued by Roxanne Haught—curious about the kind of woman who could make a man like Jake love her so deeply—and had spent some time researching her. She'd found out several things, including what had happened to her when she was younger, but none of that would interest Mother. There was only one thing she wanted to know: where to find her. “I know where Roxanne lives. She moved, but I found the new address. I'll tell you.”

“No!” screamed Jake, furious accusation ringing in the single word.

Jordyn's stomach twisted, and she tried to make him understand. “I have to. She'll kill you.”

His face darkened with rage. “Let her. I don't care.”

Jordyn did. She cared too much. Maybe it was unfair of her to put his safety above that of his friend, but at least Roxanne had a fighting chance. Jordyn had warned her. She could run. Jake couldn't.

She looked into his eyes, watching fury and pain leap in his expression. “I'm sorry,” she told him.

“Don't do this,” he begged.

Mother regarded her with a steady stare. “Every second you wait is another one of torment for him.”

Defeat and desperation bore down on her, stealing the last of her strength. She had no choice. She couldn't let Jake suffer and possibly die because she had been stupid enough to help him.

If Mother found out that she'd gone out only hours ago and warned the woman, she was sure she wouldn't live through the punishment she'd suffer this time. And if she died, no one here would lift a finger to help the men who came through this facility—those who were turned from loyal, patriotic soldiers into killers who obeyed Mother's every command.

In a few weeks, Jake would be just like them. He'd turn on her, unable to do anything else. It was best if she saved him what pain she could now, because Mother would learn the identity of the woman, and she would find her. It was just a question of when.

Jordyn hung her head in defeat and recited the address she'd discovered.

“Send out the next man,” Mother ordered General Bower. “Give him the address and find that diary.”

“What about the woman?” he asked.

“Capture or kill. I don't care which.”

Jordyn only hoped that her warning to Roxanne today would be enough to save the woman's life.

R
oxanne found Mira Sage where she always was—in the frigid, humming confines of the Edge's computer room.

“I need your help,” announced Roxanne as she pushed through the door.

Mira jumped and spun around, her hand against her heart. “Geez, Razor. Don't sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry.”

Mira was not like the rest of the trim, fit employees at the Edge. She was shorter than most, with a curvy, soft build. And while she wasn't likely to win any fitness competitions, she was smarter than all the rest of the employees put together.

“What do you need?” asked Mira.

Roxanne held out her cell phone. “I got an e-mail on this yesterday. I need to trace where it came from.”

“Can it wait? I'm busy.”

“Sorry. It's an emergency.”

Mira sat down without taking the phone. “I don't need that. I'll log into the mail server and check it out.”

The glow from the screen brightened Mira's green eyes as they darted over the data displayed. “Which e-mail?”

Roxanne pointed to the screen. “This one from Librarian one four one zero.”

A few keystrokes later, the printer started whirring and spat out a single page. Mira handed it to Roxanne. “Looks like the IP address belongs to a library in New Mexico.”

“I hadn't expected it to be that easy to find.”

“Why not?”

Roxanne wasn't about to explain that she thought it would be some secret military compound with high security. The fewer people who knew what was going on, the better. “Are you sure that the real location isn't being covered up or something? Or that this e-mail was rerouted to look like it came from here?”

Mira's brows lifted. “Pretty sure. I can look into it more if you want me to, but you'll have to tell me what I should be looking for.”

“Never mind. I'm just being paranoid.” Roxanne entered the library's address into her phone and tossed the paper into the shredder.

“If there's anything else you need, just let me know.”

“Actually, can you give me Tanner's company phone number and e-mail address? I need to leave him a message.”

Mira typed something for a few seconds. “I texted you the info. Anything else? I have a lot of work to do.”

“Sorry to bother you.”