“I don’t appreciate the sarcasm.” He leaned toward her, almost casually, and backhanded her across the face.
Her head jerked, and pain shattered through her cheek. She turned back toward him, gasping for breath. “What is wrong with you?”
He looked down at his pants, which were tenting. “Apparently nothing, now.”
Acid burned the back of her throat, and she tried to swallow. Okay. Talk. Get him out of his head. Maybe ridicule would work. “Why? Have you had problems getting it up?”
He hissed and kicked her in the calf.
Agony spread down to her ankle, and she bit back a groan.
His eyes glittered, and he smiled. “The more I hurt you, the harder I get.”
She had to stop reacting. No matter what he did, she couldn’t show pain. Would that get him to back off or try harder? Either way, the asshole was feeding off fear, so she rolled her eyes. “Did your dad hit your mom? I’ve seen her picture. So much makeup over her pretty face. Hiding something?”
His face contorted. “Shut up. Don’t talk about my mother.”
Lynne leaned back and tried to appear relaxed. “Okay. Why are you broadcasting that I’m carrying a new strain of Scorpius?”
He rubbed his hands down his slacks. “I figured somebody would turn you in.”
Good plan. She glanced at a sprawling world map on the wall containing a smattering of colorful pins, searching for anything to draw his attention. “Are you in touch with the rest of the world?” If she could keep him talking, then hopefully he wouldn’t keep trying to hurt her.
He frowned and looked up. “Not really. I’m afraid there’s a chance Scorpius didn’t spread across the world the way it did here, and at some point, we could face attack. Which is why our military is so important.”
She stiffened. “Speaking of military, where’s the Brigade?”
“Up north dealing with NORAD.”
Thank God. Nora and Deke McDougall were still alive. Lynne kept her face stoic.
A woman’s scream rent the night.
Lynne jumped. “What the hell?”
He shrugged. “That’s Vivienne. She’s in a storage room off the kitchen.”
Lynne’s head jerked toward what looked like a small kitchen. “Why is she yelling?”
“She’s a complete bitch. Wouldn’t help me to find you.” He sighed. “Now that you’re here, I can finally kill her.”
“Who’s Vivienne, and why would she know where I am?” Lynne asked, shivering. The scream had been tortured.
Bret absently rubbed his arm. “She was a top-level FBI profiler, and now she’s a psychic, but she just refused to help me. So I’ve pumped her full of drugs from the CIA.” His eyes glazed. “She survived Scorpius, and it gave her strength, like me. Otherwise, how the hell could she beat the drugs? She’s half-crazy now, and yet, she still won’t break.”
Lynne tried to breathe, but her lungs had seized. Somehow, she had to save the woman as well as herself. “Now that I’m here, if she’s so strong, maybe you should let her go.” How crazy had Bret gone?
“No. I’ve wanted to slice her open like a trout for about a week now, and I’m going to do it. You can watch, if you make me happy.” He reached out and clamped a hand over her knee to squeeze. “First, I have to know the truth. Have you been fucking Jax Mercury?”
Lynne flinched. “No.”
Rage darkened Bret’s eyes. “You lying whore. I can see the truth on your face. You fucked him.”
Lynne bit her lip. The truth would get her hit, but it also might screw with Bret’s head. How in the world had she thought herself in love with him at one time? Was Scorpius to blame for all of this, or had Bret somehow been deficient before? “You and I broke up when you murdered the president, and my love life is none of your business.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “You said love. Do you really think a soldier, a cold-blooded killer like Jax Mercury, is capable of love?”
“Yes,” she spat out.
Bret chuckled. “I always did think you were cute. Do you know, I’ve had the most interesting fantasies about you since you ran from me?”
She twitched. “You are totally grossing me out.”
He snatched her up, one hand in her hair. “Then you might dislike what I have planned next.”
She threw a shoulder back into him, fighting, her knee hitting the corner of the table and nearly tripping her.
“I’d forgotten what a klutz you are,” Bret said, shoving her in front of him toward the door.
Her mind fuzzed, and she shot her elbows back. “Jax will come for me, and he’ll kill you,” she yelled.
Bret yanked her back into him, his mouth at her ear. “I’m counting on Mercury coming for you.”
She stilled. “How so?”
“Twenty,” Bret whispered. “We’re surrounded by Twenty members, all ready to kill your lover. That’s what took so long to arrange today. I have forces heading this way right now, in addition to having ten of my own men, the best trained members of the Elite Force, ready to defend me. Master Sergeant Mercury won’t know what he’s walked into when he tries to find you.”
Fear dropped like acid and burned her stomach. “Fine. You have me. Let’s get out of here.” If there was a way to save Jax, no matter what it cost, she’d do it.
“I’ve been planning this moment for so long. Just wait until you see what I have arranged for you. It’s lesson time.” He opened the door and propelled her stiff body in front of him.
Oh God. All heat deserted her body, and she shivered. Candles and lanterns lit a pool that shone in the moonlight. She couldn’t help a soft sob, her eyes locked on the water.
Bret leaned in, his breath heating her cheek. “I remembered how much you like the water.”
Terror chilled through her, and her knees locked. Water. She couldn’t go near a body of it like this. It was so deep. He’d actually gone to the trouble to truck water in to mess with her head. How crazy he must be to find water and have it brought to the mansion just to terrorize her. To waste water and fuel to transport it in such a manner. Bat-shit crazy. “Bret—”
“No.” He pushed her forward. “When you told me of your fear, how you’d almost drowned as a girl and couldn’t go near water, I thought it was sweet. Driven and successful Lynne Harmony couldn’t swim.” Without losing a step, he jumped into the shallow end and pulled her along.
She cried out when her feet hit and water splashed up her legs. It smelled like chlorine, brine, and algae. Then she took several deep breaths, but her lungs wouldn’t work. “I’m not scared of the water anymore. Not at all.”
Bret smiled and dragged her toward the deep end. “Let’s test that theory.”
Panic seared through her, and she bucked against him, trying to kick through the water.
He laughed and grabbed her shirt to haul her against him. “I’ve dreamed of this. Of screwing you in the water while you drowned.” His sharp teeth sank into her lip. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring you back so I can do it again.”
Her lips ached and blood dribbled down her chin, but only the deep water filled her mind. “Bret, please,” she whispered.
He sighed and pushed her down.
She went under, the water overtaking her and sliding down her throat. Her mind sparked in pure terror, and she fought back, her lungs compressing.
He lifted her by her hair, and she rose, coughing out water. The chlorine burned her throat, but she gulped in air, trying to breathe. He grabbed her close, his body tight. “Don’t worry, you’re not going to die. This is a short lesson, and you’ll learn it well. Then you’ll live with me and continue your work on Scorpius.”
Fire lit her, and she clutched his dick through his pants, squeezing as hard as she could.
He yelped and released her.
Sucking air, spitting out water, she shoved for the other side of the pool.
“You bitch,” he shouted, tackling her from behind. She fell again, his weight on top of her, her face smashing against the tiled bottom of the shallow end. Her mouth closed, trying to keep the water out, and her lungs started to burst. Her last thought was a picture of Jax Mercury running a knuckle down the side of her face, his expression so gentle her blue heart hurt.
Chapter Thirty-Seven