chapter 3
Nate threw his duffel bag on the bed in the rustic cabin. The dump where he’d taken Audrey was rented by the hour, and he’d had no intention of staying there. After their discussion, he had taken Audrey home before returning to his home base a few miles away. The commander’s soldiers had remained out of sight, but he heard their hearts beating and their breath panting out. They were near her apartment, and he didn’t like that at all.
He’d wanted to take them both out, but that would alert the commander he was in town. So, he’d headed back to his quaint cabin to get some work done.
His hands shook as he allowed himself one moment to feel. No child. For the briefest time, he’d almost been a father. Sorrow and anger roared through him, and he took several deep breaths, his chin dropping to his chest. What would his kid have been like? What would he and Audrey have been like as parents?
His brothers would’ve made wonderful uncles. Shane could’ve taught the kid sports, and Matt would’ve taught him hunting. Josie, Shane’s wife, could’ve helped with his or her math homework, and Matt’s love, Laney, would’ve helped with science.
The kid would’ve had a great life with a real family and love.
Plus, the proof of one kid would show Shane and Matt that they could have kids. Something they desperately wanted.
The families on television had parents, kids, and cousins, and that’s all the Dean boys had ever wanted.
His lungs seized as the impossible picture of a family, of his child, faded into nothingness. For a very brief time, even though the kid hadn’t made it, Nate had been a father. He’d deserved to know that at the time and to experience the reality of that miracle while there had still been hope.
Audrey had kept that from him. Sure, she’d said she had planned to tell him the truth, and he wanted to believe her. But even with his abilities, he wasn’t sure. He was as damaged as a guy could get, so why would any mother want him near a child?
The life he’d lost threatened to consume him, so he slowly, bit by bit, stopped feeling anything. His head lifted.
He stalked over to the cut-off door perched on an old tree trunk that served as a table. One of the two green striped patio chairs creaked as he lowered his bulk to sit and booted up his laptop.
Five minutes passed while he typed in security codes until finally his oldest brother came into focus. “I made contact,” he said.
Matt leaned forward, gray eyes concerned. “And?”
“She lost the baby.” Nate kept his voice level as he gave his report.
Matt blinked and ran a hand over his face. “Jesus, Nate. I’m sorry.”
Pain spiraled in Nate’s gut, and he shoved emotion away. “And we hurt her. When we blew up the facility… Audrey was there.” He didn’t have the strength to keep his voice from cracking on the end.
Matt stilled. “Was she pregnant? I mean, did we—”
“No. She’d already miscarried when she was at the facility.”
Matt shook his head. “But you made sure she wasn’t there, that she was scheduled to be in DC.”
Yeah. He’d thought he’d taken care of her, even though they were over. But he hadn’t, and something had gone wrong. The woman definitely had a limp. His guilt angered him, and he fought to keep his expression stoic so his brother wouldn’t see the turmoil. “Apparently Audrey was at the medical facility because the miscarriage had started.”
“So she lost the baby.” Matt swallowed. “How many experiments did the scientists put her through at that time? Just because a woman finally got pregnant by one of us?”
Nate sat back, his mind reeling. He hadn’t even considered what the commander and his scientists had probably done to Audrey in testing after they’d finally found a female who could get pregnant with one of the Gray brothers’ sperm.
The evil scientists had harvested the brothers’ sperm during surgeries to repair injuries sustained while on missions, and then they had tried unsuccessfully to impregnate surrogate mothers. Even before this violation occurred, the brothers had fully intended to escape the group that had raised and trained them. Freedom mattered.
But the military group, led by the commander, had made sure there was a brother out on mission at all times, and if he failed, his brothers would die back home.
Until they finally were at the base at the same time.
They’d blown it all to hell and escaped.
“When we finally got loose, Audrey stayed with the commander and her mother,” Nate said slowly. “Her mother always had a hold on her I didn’t understand, and now Audrey is working with them.” Of course, he’d never had a mother, so he didn’t understand the bond.
Anger blazed across Matt’s face before he quickly banished it. “Maybe Audrey didn’t have a choice?”
“No. She chose them, chose working with them over me, before she knew she’d become pregnant.” Nate shook his head. “When she ended things between us almost five years ago, she even admitted her mother set us up from the start. I assume Dr. Madison wanted to see what I’d be like in love. If I could feel love for somebody who wasn’t family.” The thought that he’d been used by the one person he’d ever let in shot spikes into his gut, even after all of these years. When Audrey had confirmed her mother’s involvement in their relationship, she’d been telling the truth.
“I know it was an experiment initially, but that doesn’t mean she knew all the facts. Maybe she was supposed to befriend you,” Matt said.
“I know.” Nate stretched his neck, his shoulders settling. “We started as an experiment, but her feelings were real. Just not strong enough to trust me when things turned bad.” And that was the crux of the matter.
Matt nodded, turned to the side, and glared. “Stop poking me.”
“I’m not.” Shane, Nate’s younger brother, came into focus as he shoved a shoulder into Matt and scooted him over. “Are you in a secured place?”
“Yes.” Nate glanced around at the two-room cabin. A bedroom took up one room, while a small kitchenette fronted the far wall near a rugged stone fireplace in the other room. “Nobody followed me from town.”
“You didn’t take Audrey there?” Shane asked.
“Of course not,” Nate said. “I believe I taught you evasive maneuvers when you were eight years old.”
Shane frowned, his eyes identical to Matt’s in both gray color and deep concern. “Just wanted to make sure your head was on straight.”
“I’m fine.” Nate drew in a deep breath, calming his racing heart. Seeing Audrey again had taken a toll, but he was fine now. Reaching out, he widened the scope of his screen to better see. His brothers were both over six feet tall and broad with strong features, and their similar faces took up too much room on the screen. Matt had a square jaw, and Shane’s features appeared more angular, but there was no doubt they shared a sperm donor. “Audrey is working for Senator Nash, who’s on the appropriation’s subcommittee for advanced defense spending.”
“In other words, for top-secret, bullshit military experiments and funding,” Shane muttered.
“Exactly,” Nate said, glad to be on the topic of their enemies and not on Audrey.
Matt exhaled. “So, the commander maneuvered Audrey in place to gain more funding. I’m sorry, Nate.”
“Why?” Nate kept his gaze level. “We knew she worked for them. Dr. Madison raised her, so why did we expect anything different?” Yeah, he felt for Audrey after having been raised by the psychopathic neurobiologist, but she’d made her choice. He’d offered her freedom, and she’d chosen dubious safety.
“What’s your plan now?” Matt asked quietly.
Nate shrugged. “The commander has a base outside of DC in Virginia, and that’s where we’ll find the codes and computer system to defuse our chips. And I think that’s where we’ll find Jory.”
Hope leaped across Shane’s face while regret twisted Matt’s lips. “You mean we’ll find out about his death,” Matt said.
Nat shook his head. His youngest brother had been missing for two years, and Nate had to find Jory. The chances were good that Jory was dead, but a small marble of hope lived in him that somehow, even after two years of no contact, Jory somehow still lived. Even after seeing a video showing Jory being shot and falling to the floor, Nate hoped. Hell, he even prayed in case a God existed who gave a shit. “I’ll find out what happened to him.”
The hope fled Shane’s expression. “I can’t be sure I saw him move in the other video.”
Nate nodded. Shane had seen a video where he thought Jory had moved after being shot, but Shane had been suffering from a head injury resulting in amnesia, and the video had never been seen again. “I know,” Nate said.
Matt cut his eyes at Shane and back at Nate. “I can take over this assignment, Nate.”
“No.” Nate’s jaw hardened until it ached. He understood his brothers were worried about him, but he couldn’t change that. Both Matt and Shane had somehow found love and the courage to stay with their women for the small amount of time they had left, and Nate would die trying to save them. They deserved happiness, if it were possible. Growing up, he’d been the bridge between Matt, who had to train them mercilessly, and the two younger brothers, Jory and Shane, who still needed hope and fun. Now that Jory was probably dead, and the other two had found love, Nate had nothing left—except to make sure his brothers survived.
He could live with that—what else possibly mattered?
Now that two of his brothers were happy, he could finally relax. His job was nearly done. Not once since Audrey had dumped him had he considered he’d find happiness—he’d known from early on that he’d end bloody and most likely alone.
While the thought brought some sadness, he’d become accustomed to it. Everyone had a destiny, and with his skills, the second he’d left the military, he’d become unnecessary after the last mission of deactivating the chips.
He should probably want the joy his brothers had found, and maybe deep down he did. But the reality was the reality, so why wish? If he managed to get into the right facility and send out the codes, there was little chance he’d make it out. Which was all right.
Matt shook his head. “Earth to Nate.”
Nate blinked, his mind zeroing back on the conflict at hand. “I can get what we need from Audrey—you can’t.” He glanced at his watch, ignoring the innuendo in his words. “Though it’s going to be more difficult than I’d hoped—she didn’t know about the chips near our spines.”
Matt’s eyebrows rose. “You believe that?”
“Yes. The truth shocked her.”
“So she’ll help us?” Doubt clouded Shane’s face. “Are you sure?”
“She’ll help us.” Nate nodded. The woman would help them whether she liked it or not.
Shane’s jaw hardened. “Did you ask her about Jory?
Nate breathed out. “Not yet. I want to catch her by surprise.”
“Okay,” Shane said. “Get the intel and get out, Nate.”
Nate nodded. “We know the info isn’t at the Colorado base after our last raid, and we blew Tennessee up. That leaves the new headquarters outside of DC, and Audrey is our way in to get info on the chips as well as Jory. I’ll check in after phase two tomorrow.” He shut the laptop before his brothers argued any more.
With a quick glance around the cabin, he fetched his jacket and headed back into the rain. He needed to see what Audrey did with the opening he’d given her. How loyal was she to the commander and her mother?
Time to find out. He’d watch her apartment through the night and make sure she went to work in the morning.
Every instinct he owned clamored that the woman was hiding something.
* * *
After a sleepless night, Audrey wore fashionable yet flat boots with her dress to work, just in case. She couldn’t afford to be in heels if she needed to make a quick escape, and she knew without a doubt that day was coming.
A kill chip waited next to Nathan’s spine. How was it possible Audrey’s mother had never even hinted at the deadly device? For five years, Audrey had hoped and prayed Nate had found some sort of happiness. Freedom.
But no, his very survival had been threatened by Audrey’s mother.
Why in the world did that make her feel guilty?
She reached the grand doorway of her office building and held the door open for a woman pushing a baby stroller. The baby, a little girl, gurgled up at Audrey with innocent and devastating sweetness.
Audrey bit back an instant slice of pain and tried to smile. Every baby she saw reminded her of the one she’d lost—even five years after the fact.
Drawing a deep breath, she paused to glance at the reflective windows. The hair on the back of her neck prickled, proving she was being followed.
But she couldn’t find the soldiers this time. They blended into the crowd.
If they made a move, she wouldn’t know until it happened.
Her breath hitched. Panic rippled through her, and she shoved inside the building, ducking through the metal detector and hurrying toward the elevator. She made it inside as the doors were closing.
Taking several more deep breaths, she calmed herself. Had she pissed off the commander by ditching his bulldogs the previous night? What if they made a move on her? Could she fight them off?
As the elevator doors opened to the plush office, she forced a smile and nodded to the receptionist before maneuvering down a hallway to her office. Setting her briefcase on one of the two leather guest chairs, she tried not to limp as she crossed around her desk to sit.
Life was spinning out of control. She could no longer identify the people following her, and now, Nate was going to die in three weeks.
Nausea filled her stomach. She was in the best position to find the codes, but that was by her own design. She’d schemed to put herself in a position of trust with the commander. For weeks, she’d felt the presence of the guards the commander had assigned to watch her. For days she’d feared he’d discovered the truth—that she was working against him. Wholeheartedly.
But no.
The commander had been waiting for Nate to make contact because of the kill chips.
Nate and his brothers were the best at tactical maneuvers, but even they weren’t invincible. While Nate had avoided the guards the previous night, he couldn’t take on the commander alone.
A rustle sounded by Audrey’s doorway, and Senator Nash loped inside followed by Ernie Rastus, his chief of staff. “You disappeared quickly last night. Everything okay?” The senator dropped into the vacant chair and tugged at the red-striped tie fastened around his white dress shirt.
“I’m afraid I ate a bad shrimp,” Audrey said, one eyebrow lifting.
Ernie grimaced. Small and lean, the brilliant man shoved wire-rimmed glasses up his nose. “That’s why I never eat seafood.”
“Good point.” Audrey smiled and glanced at the senator. “That’s a nice tie.”
“I hate ties.” He gave up the fight and smoothed long-boned hands down the faded dress pants that led to his customary black cowboy boots. “But we’re meeting with those tech-genius folks today, and I figured I should dress up a little.”
“Did you bring a suit jacket?” Audrey asked.
His bushy gray eyebrows rose to meet his gray hairline. “Do you think I need one?”
Probably. “No, I’m sure you’re fine.”
The senator shrugged a fit shoulder. “You can take the cowboy out of Wyoming, but—”
“The boots and hat go with him,” Audrey finished with a smile. There were very few people in politics she actually liked, and the senator topped the list. A rancher, he’d been widowed a decade previous and had run for office to keep living, having been left with no family. Now he’d found his own mission.
One she shared. “I think I’m being followed.”
The senator leaned forward. “Do you think the commander knows our agenda?”
“No.” Audrey trusted her boss but wouldn’t expose Nathan. “I’m sure that now my medical treatments are finally finished, they’re worried I’ll run for the hills.”
Ernie coughed. “What if they find out the senator is actually playing them? Do you really think they’re a threat to a United States senator?”
Oh, these men had no idea. “Yes. I don’t think the commander would think twice at taking out either one of you.” Audrey rubbed her thigh.
“Unbelievable,” Ernie muttered. “Maybe we should close him down now.”
“How and why?” the senator asked. “We don’t have any proof that he’s done anything wrong, and it’s not like he’ll just hand evidence to us.”
Ernie frowned and focused back on Audrey. “I saw you dancing last night. How is your leg?” he asked, smoothing back his graying hair.
“Much better, but I’ll always have the limp.” More importantly, all of the internal damage had been repaired, and she might even be normal someday. In the distant future, when she ran far away from her mother and the commander.
But first, she had a job to do. “How close are we to shutting them down?”
“Soon.” The senator rested muscular forearms on his legs. “I’ve gained the commander’s trust, or what there is of it, and as soon as we get the information on the newest studies, we’ll go public and end their reign.”
Audrey swallowed. “Are you sure the commander has continued his experiments?”
“Yes. I’m fairly certain there’s a brand-new crop of soldiers he’s created that are training right now. We need to find out where before we shut him down.” The senator’s blue eyes sizzled with passion.
Audrey nodded, tempted to tell her friends about Nate. But only Nate could take that risk, and she wouldn’t take it for him, although she trusted the senator and Ernie. The senator was no dummy. When the commander had begun buttering him up in order to get funding, Nash had hired investigators, who’d uncovered a little bit of the truth.
Not much, though.
However, they had discovered the commander’s maneuvering to get Audrey the job with the senator.
Instead of turning her in or trying to manipulate her, the senator had approached her with his suspicions about the covert military group.
Just like an honorable man would.
He treated her with dignity and respect… and most important, trust. She couldn’t envision any other angle he might have but honestly trying to destroy the covert group, and she wanted to help. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to tell me your real agenda,” she said.
The senator nodded. “I’m thankful you agreed to help us after the commander sent you here undercover. Without your knowledge of the group, we wouldn’t be so close to fixing everything.” His clean-shaven jaw clenched. “I’ve insisted upon seeing the commander’s training facility before I push for a vote for more funding. He’ll have to show me.”
Audrey’s heart thumped. Hard. “You’re sure there’s a secondary facility besides the one right outside of DC?”
“Positive.” The senator stretched his neck. “I’ve been to the Virginia compound, and while the security, computer, and medical facilities are impressive, after seeing the last budget report, I know there’s another training compound. Somewhere.”
Dread forced Audrey to sit up straighter. “I’d hoped the experiments had stopped.”
“No.” The senator shook his head.
An aide appeared around the doorway. “The group from the technology corporation is waiting in the conference room.”
The senator stood. “Here we go.”
Ernie stood as well, his head barely reaching the senator’s chin. “I have to bow out of this one—meeting with Darian Hannah, the lobbyist for Red Force.”
Audrey lifted an eyebrow. “I have a meeting with him coming up.”
Ernie sighed. “I know. He’s coming at us from every angle to gain funding. He works hard, and he’s a good guy. Not sure about the group he represents.”
“They’re not as bad as the commander’s organization,” the senator muttered.
“Perhaps.” Ernie shrugged a slim shoulder. “But how do we know for sure? Maybe his group is conducting the same asinine experiments as the commander.”
“I hope not,” the senator said on a strong exhale.
Ernie turned on a shiny Italian loafer and headed out.
The senator groaned. “Are you ready for this meeting, Audrey?”
“Of course.” Audrey pushed to her feet and retrieved several manila folders. “TechnoZyn represents the biggest technology firm in the United States, and it wants military funding.” She walked around the desk to follow the senator through the office and into the large conference room.
The senator paused before entering and turned toward her to speak quietly. “Computer companies now want military funding. Crazy. But they are willing to build factories in Wyoming, which will help my economy.”
Brokering deals like this made her stomach hurt. It was so wrong on so many levels. Unfortunately, she needed the leverage to take down the commander. She comforted herself with the thought that the commander and her mother would never actually see the money, because the senator would shut them down first.
The senator popped his knuckles. “I hate this crap.” Forcing on a down-home smile, he turned and headed into the conference room.
Audrey stifled a chuckle and followed him, smiling for the two men and one woman already seated at the table. They all stood as she and the senator entered the room. Her gait faltered as she took in the second man. Nathan.
Once again he wore the colored contacts and facial hair.
Recovering quickly, she nodded as introductions were made, a roar filling her ears. Was he crazy? How had he infiltrated the technology group? The fact that it was in competition with the commander was way too close to home for him.
He stood and leaned to take her hand in his much larger one. “I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Madison at the ball last night.”
She tugged her hand free. “Yes, but I thought Mr. McGovern worked as a lobbyist for the Neoland Corporation?”
The other man, George Fairbanks, a top executive at TechnoZyn, smirked. “He did. We acquired the Neoland Corporation three days ago but haven’t gone public with the information yet.”
Audrey lifted her chin. So Nate had somehow chosen a cover in a company a mere week ago, and then it had been bought out by TechnoZyn? Impressive contacts and information he had developed. How had he known about a secret industry takeover before it had happened? That was the only way he could’ve put himself into place so perfectly.
She glanced at him, and he had the gall to grin. That smile. Her body reacted as if the last five years of separation hadn’t occurred. Heat flared between them and zinged through her body to settle between her legs.
How did he do that?
Digging deep, she yanked her gaze from him and focused on the senator.
The senator frowned at Fairbanks. “While I appreciate the plan to invest and make a fortune before going public, it’s risky for you.”
Fairbanks shrugged and sat. “Maybe, but it’s not like you’re going to turn us in, are you, Senator?”
“Of course not,” the blonde sitting between Nathan and Fairbanks said with a smooth smile. She shook the senator’s and then Audrey’s hand. “I’m Lilith Mayes.”
The woman had a surprisingly strong grip. “I’ve read your last income projection report—very impressive,” Audrey said as she was released to sit. The creative blonde manipulated numbers to the point of committing fraud. But now was the time to deal with the lesser of two evils, and the commander was all evil.
“Thank you,” Lilith said, sitting down close to Nathan as he also sat. Very close to Nathan. She patted his muscled arm. “I had help.”
Audrey’s teeth ground together, and a sharp spear sliced into her heart. What in the world? After all this time, jealousy decided to rear up? No. Her life had become a risk just to survive, and she didn’t have time for anything else. “That’s good to hear.”
Nathan’s upper lip quirked, and he kept his focus on her. “So. How can we do business together?”