Special Agent: Austin (11 page)

Straightening his spine, he spoke boldly. “Yes, sir.”

“So, what time will you be here?”

***

Belle’s farm sat in the middle of nowhere in south Texas, amongst hunting and oil leases. Based on the satellite footage Austin studied on the flight, it was a full-blown, self-sustaining compound, complete with gardens, cattle, a water reservoir, and several modern-looking buildings. Surrounded by thick brush, it looked to have been in existence for quite some time.

“Did you say, clones?” Belle’s father turned from his binoculars to stare at Austin.

“Yes, sir,” Austin said, pulling a camo cap backward on his head. “I’ll explain later. My orders are to get Belle, er, Monica, and get out. Do not engage.”

He just prayed he wasn’t too late. His girl was determined, if nothing else.

Rick turned back to the farm below. “The place is quiet. No movement.”

Austin jumped off a small cliff and headed toward the fence. “For some reason, I don’t think they went on vacation.”

Agent Colfax sat in a tree several yards away and spoke in Austin’s earpiece. “I’m ready if we have any runners.”

“Roger that,” Austin said, looking back at Rick and patting the Glocks at each hip.

Rick gave him a determined stare, so much like Belle’s it seemed eerie. “You just concentrate on getting my daughter out. I’ll cover you.” He took off in the opposite direction.

Now Austin knew why Belle had been chosen by the Madam. She was the child of a Special Forces colonel and a world-renowned athlete. Great genes to create clones.

Maybe that was the key to the others.

With the jet parked in stealth mode in the middle of one of the farm’s pastures, they were as ready as they’d ever be.

Making his way through a half mile or so of brush, Austin headed toward the electrical fence adjacent to the heart of the compound. He watched for movement before approaching, the copper and gold band strapped to his arm running video feed, and ready to deactivate the electrical current. With a couple of taps on the computer screen, he killed the current long enough to cut a notch out of the bottom of the fence and slide through on his belly.

Rushing to a barn, he plastered himself against the side, his heart pounding. Chickens clucked in a nearby pen, the scents of shit and hay bringing to light the absurdity of the situation. Only Belle could get him to rescue her from an armed compound in broad daylight.

Then again, only an idiot would fall in love with her in two days.

Other than the tower guards and Rick behind a garage, the yard was deserted. As the guards made their rounds, he rushed from building to building until he reached the core of the farm. Based on photographs from the satellite surveillance, he guessed the lab was inside the building at his back, surrounded by a greenhouse and what looked like some kind of infirmary on two sides. Hurrying along the wall, he found a side door, a sign beside it with an arrow pointing inside.

Monroe Lab
.

Opening the door a slit, he peeked inside. A wide hallway loomed ahead, one side lined with floor to ceiling windows that looked out into the compound yard.

He cursed mentally. God, what was he doing? Jaydan was right. He had no right to be there. He had no experience in this kind of thing. D.I.R.E. had men more qualified to save her. Was he risking her life by doing this himself?

Suck it up, Rose. She needs you. Don’t let her walk away like Jaydan.

Renewed determination surged through him. She may need him, but he needed her more.

Pulling a gun from his waist, he took a deep breath and opened the door. Stepping inside, voices assaulted him from two directions. Down the hall, a female voice spoke into a microphone, her words muffled by distance and sheetrock. To his left, he heard Belle’s raised voice, along with three, maybe four, others.

A rush of relief escaped his lungs. She was still alive. Thank God.

Trotting down the hall, he followed her voice - until everything quieted.

Talk to me, Belle
.

“You’re too late.”

Austin whipped around. He’d never heard the blond man approach.

Pointing at a non-descript door just a few feet away, the man turned and walked away. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

Asshole. Then again, Austin should feel thankful he didn’t sound an alarm.

Why didn’t he?

Running toward the voices, Austin skidded to a stop when the door flew open. Belle rushed out, her narrow eyes fixated, unwavering. Spotting him, her eyes widened as her face paled.

“Austin,” she said, in a barely perceptible whisper. “What are you doing here?”

“Belle,” he said on a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I came to take you home.”

Four women ran up behind her and stopped short. A brunette with flour in her hair spoke first.

“Who are you?”

Panic flooded Belle’s red face as she ran straight for him. “
Run
.”

***

Belle struggled to breathe as she ran past Austin.
No, he couldn’t be here
. He wouldn’t risk his life this way. Not for her. It was suicide.

Heading down the lab hallway, she slid to a halt. The class had dismissed at the other end, a hundred or so people filing out of the auditorium. They had seconds before they were noticed.

Turning around, she headed back the way they came. Her sisters blocked the exit.

“
Belle.
” Austin grabbed her arm to get her attention. “Follow me.”

Releasing her, he took off like a shot, heading for the windows. Covering his head with his arm, he crashed through, glass shattering around him like a million diamonds. A siren blared as they raced across the yard, bullets zinging from the guard towers, narrowly missing them both. Ducking low, they zigzagged across the expanse, toward the barn.

Austin uttered a muffled oaf before he stumbled, his leg buckling beneath him.

“
Get up…”
Belle cried, as she slowed to help him to his feet.

One of the tower guards dropped to the ground beside her, dead, his body kicking up dust. She didn’t stop. She had to get Austin to safety. “Move it, Rose.”

Limping, he kept up with her as she raced for the barn. It would be a matter of seconds before her sisters retrieved their guns and found them. She had to get him out of the compound.

“
Tinkerbelle
,
halt
.”

The Madam’s voice echoed over the loudspeaker system as several male clones filed out from behind the barn, guns raised. A shot rang out, then another, before two of them fell. Austin brought help.

It wouldn’t be enough.

Defeat slowed Belle’s steps, Austin beside her. Robin ran up to them and held a gun to her head. “Your three minutes are up, sister.”

“Well done, Robin.” The Madam’s superior tone chafed Belle’s raw nerves.

“Belle, you’ve always been a disappointment,” she announced over the speaker system. “I knew you’d screw this up.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Austin straighten beside her. “That’s rich, coming from a bitch that won’t show her face to do her own dirty work.”

A gasp fell over the crowd as Belle stretched her arm in front of Austin. “Austin,
no
…” she said, in a stage whisper.

Another blast echoed in the silent square. Belle ducked. Austin fell to his back, but not before downing the clone that hit him. Everything inside her cried out to help him, but she couldn’t let the Madam know he meant something to her. At least now, he suffered only superficial wounds.

“Take note, people,” the Madam said over the loud speaker. “His insults are just another sign of weakness. He went down with two, easy bullets.”

Many in the group nodded in agreement, while others looked on with fear. Hatred coursed through Belle’s veins, her blood boiling. She wanted to kill the Madam for portraying him as a coward. Austin Rose was the bravest man she had ever known. He clutched his bleeding shoulder and rose to his feet.

“Belle, who is this man?”

“I don’t know, Madam. He must’ve followed me from San Diego.”

Robin gave her a smug half-grin before yelling aloud. “She lies, Madam. He’s her lover.”

Another gasp fell over the crowd.

God, no
.

Her heart pumped wildly as she struggled not to look at Austin. “Robin’s the one that lies, Madam. She’s always wanted me out of the circle and is using your displeasure as a means to ruin me.” With a nonchalant shrug, she said, “He means nothing to me.”

His body stiffened as he held his gun pointed at the crowd.

I love you, Austin. Forgive me
.

“Then you won’t mind if we kill him. Robin?”

With a glimpse of remorse in her eyes, Robin veered the gun toward Austin.

Nooo
….

Belle threw herself on top of Austin as shots exploded in her ear.

She couldn’t have asked for a better way to die.

She didn’t mean it.
She took a bullet for him.

Thoughts tumbled through Austin’s head as he turned and shot Robin in the forehead, before pointing the gun at the loudspeaker and firing. Men dropped like flies before him, as the ground was peppered with bullets.

Dropping on top of her, he sheltered Belle with his body as the pilot covered the lawn with gunfire. He whispered her name, over and over in her ear, while rage and fear battled inside him like the warrior she was.

Stillness fell over the farm like the sky after a summer storm. Her whispered words carried to him, filling him with hope.

“Love you…always.”

He kissed her hard on the mouth. “I love you, too.”

Her eyes closed before her head lulled sideways to the grass. His chest twisted in agony, denial chanting in his ears. “Don’t you dare give up on me, Belle.”

She didn’t move.

“Belle?”

Fury exploded from his mouth in a hoarse cry as he grabbed both pistols and pelted the windows lining the lab building. Glass shattered the tense stillness like a thousand wind chimes, before he turned the guns on her sisters.

The three women stood a few feet away, two with guns pointed in his direction. Two professional assassins didn’t intimidate him. If Belle was dead, he couldn’t live with himself, anyway.

“What? Torn between avenging one sister and helping me save the other?”

The blonde said, “Don’t tell me what to think. You’re just a weak, little man.”

He fought to remain standing, his leg and shoulder burning like wildfire. “I’m man enough for Belle. That’s all that matters.”

The one with short hair said, “You love her.”

“Until my last, dying breath.” His gaze slid to the other two. “Whenever that might be. But, I’ll be damned if today will be
hers
.” Firing, he shot the blonde’s hand, before spinning to shoot the brunette’s. Both guns fell to the ground amid cries of pain.

A green fog appeared out of nowhere before a bright flash of light blinded him. He squinted against it as he moved to stand over Belle. Now what?

Jaydan and Tristan Jacobs appeared beside him, hands combat ready. The women gasped, their eyes round before narrowing to threatening slits. Austin told himself not to think about what he just saw or how it happened. He just needed to get Belle out of there.

Lifting her into his arms, he stumbled as pain buckled his knees. “Take her.”

Tristan took her from his arms and held her against him, before disappearing in another flash of light and fog.

The three women rushed them. Despite the blinding pain, Austin held his own with the blonde while Jaydan quickly tossed the other two several yards away. Sending the blonde across the compound with the others, he grinned at Austin - before everything went black.

B
elle pointed her gun at the man hunched beside the refrigerator, a bullet hole in his stomach. He taunted her between admonishments to his daughter, the little three-year-old showing more courage than her father by fighting Belle with her fists.

Bullets flew. Belle’s foot caught on a table chair. The little girl fell back against the torn linoleum, her father’s scream echoing off the walls of the filthy kitchen. Blood pooled beneath her blonde head, forming a crimson halo at her crown. A sacrificial angel, she lay still, lifeless as her father’s pained cries - bellows of sheer agony - resounded in Belle’s ears.

She knelt at the little girl’s side, head bent in grieving homage. Self-hatred slithered over her skin, striking at the serum with deadly tenacity. The smell of metal tickled Belle’s nose as she watched the color drain from the child’s face. So full of life just seconds before, the girl lay a talisman of Belle’s life, a piercing shock of her contribution to the world.

No peace could ever come in the presence of such evil.

Lifting the gun slowly, Belle held the barrel at her own temple, her finger tightening on the trigger.

A large, warm hand settled on her back, sending shivers down her spine. Glancing over her shoulder, she found Austin standing behind her, his smile an extension of his calming touch, his presence a light in the smothering darkness. Taking the gun from her hand, he helped her stand, his fingers wiping away the tears that cleansed her cheeks. She pointed at the girl, showing him what she’d done…

Lifting her into his arms, he held her against his chest, his lips brushing her temple. As he carried her out of the kitchen, she looked back over his shoulder.

They were gone.

Belle sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath. Pain doubled her over as she clutched her side, her shoulder throbbing in heavy beats.

“Hey, take it easy.” Austin’s large, warm hand settled on her back, sending shivers down her spine. Turning around, she looked up at him, his smile an extension of his calming touch. He wore a hospital gown, his legs bare, his eyes framed in dark circles.

He was alive
.

It all rushed back to her, the confrontation with her sisters, the Madam…

Robin. She’d altered her shot on purpose.

“We need to get a few things straight here and now,” he said, as he brushed back the hair from her face. “Running off mad and angry doesn’t happen again. We talk before either one of us jumps to conclusions.” His dark eyes held a persistent gleam. “And, the only time you throw yourself on top of me is in bed.” He shook his finger in the air. “This jumping-on-top-of-me-to-protect-me crap isn’t going to fly. I haven’t heard the end of it from my brother.”