She stared at him like he was a snake ready to strike.
“Let him help you,” Owen said. “He won’t hurt you as long as you do what he wants. That’s the deal we’re making, Levi.”
“You’re not in any position to make a deal,” Green replied. “But I’ll take it because I was already planning on doing that. Dr. Walsh will find me a perfectly pleasant companion as long as she behaves. And as long as she behaves, you’ll be fine in my custody as well.”
He would hurt Owen. Of course he would. He would use Owen to force her to comply. She put her hand in Green’s and allowed him to help her up. She was unsteady on her feet for a moment.
This was really happening. She wasn’t going to wake up and turn over in bed and tell Owen about the crazy dream she’d had. This was happening, and she was going to be taken and Owen was going to be taken.
“It’s going to be okay, Rebecca,” Owen said. “I want you to know that I love you. Survive. They’ll come for you.”
“You can believe that all you like.” Green dropped her hand. “But I think after you realize what you can do, the difference you can make in the world, you won’t want anyone to come for you. I’ll take care of everything else and all you’ll have to do is your research. Nothing will touch you. You can spend days and days in your lab, your every need met. You’ll thank me one day, but I do need that package. It wasn’t in your office or apartment. I need to know where you put it so we can begin again.”
“You’re not going to restart anything at all without me,” Paul declared, his shoulders squaring.
He’d started all of this. There was one thing she was absolutely certain of. “I’m not working with him.”
Paul’s eyes narrowed. “I think I have some leverage here. I want her dead. I want you to kill her right now.”
Levi Green turned. “You want her dead? Not a problem.”
Becca’s heart seized as Green pulled his gun.
Owen tugged at the ties that held his hands. They’d bound his hands to the chair, pulling each behind him and zip-tying him to either side. They’d left his feet free, but his bloody feet weren’t going to do him any good if Levi Green shot Becca.
Why? Why would he do that?
A heavy hand hit his shoulder and held him there. “Don’t move.”
Donnie Lennox stood over him. The CIA agent was a hulking mass of muscle, and Owen was trying to figure out how to take him out. He would have to if Green was going to hurt her.
Green flipped the gun around and offered it to Huisman.
“Becca, get behind me.” That hand on his shoulder tightened, but Owen couldn’t leave her out in the open like that. He couldn’t watch her die. He’d been calm because he’d known Green wouldn’t physically hurt her as long as she complied. He’d been willing to go with MSS calmly if it meant Becca lived and remained unhurt, but he would fight like hell now.
Nothing mattered. Nothing except her. She had to stay alive because his brothers would come for her. They wouldn’t leave her behind, and Green was wrong about Big Tag. Big Tag might hate what he’d done, but MSS better get everything they wanted quickly because Big Tag wouldn’t leave even a man he didn’t like behind.
He did have a family. And he wasn’t about to lose the newest member now.
Becca stood there, seemingly frozen in place.
“Get behind me.” He would take that bullet first.
Becca looked to him, her eyes round with fear.
A hole opened inside him because he couldn’t protect her. He couldn’t fix this. She was about to die and he couldn’t fix it.
“You want her dead?” Levi stalked to where Huisman stood, his skin having gone pale. “You do it. You want to work for me? Prove to me you can handle it.”
Huisman reached out and took the gun with shaking hands.
A nasty smile spread across Levi’s face. “Do it. All you have to do is pull the trigger and your enemy is dead. You’re the man, right? You’re better than she is. You deserve this. Think about it. You’re her god right now. You decide if she lives or dies.”
“Levi!” Owen shouted, his heart pounding in his chest. He could feel it. Pain ripped through him as he twisted his wrists, trying to get his hands free. “Don’t do this.”
Huisman shook his head. “I can’t.”
Becca took a visible breath of relief, her shoulders coming back down as she relaxed.
Levi nodded and took the gun back. “It’s okay. The safety was on, Rebecca. I wasn’t going to let him kill you, but I did want to see if he would try.”
Levi stepped back and in one easy motion lifted the gun and fired one shot into Huisman’s forehead.
A gasp went through the room as Huisman fell forward.
Becca rushed to Owen, avoiding Donnie’s big hands as she threw herself into his lap and wrapped her arms around him.
“It’s all right, love,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry you had to see that, Rebecca,” Levi was saying. “But he was going to be a problem, and I don’t want anything to interrupt our work. This way the ties are neatly cut. Mo Chou didn’t want to lose her position with his father anyway. Sometimes side deals are far more important than the main deal. You have nothing at all to fear from me. Nothing has changed.” He glanced down at his watch. “Donnie, go and see what’s taking Mo Chou so damn long. We need to move out. Rebecca’s not going to give me any trouble.”
Donnie nodded and strode to the hallway, stepping over the body.
Becca was shaking, her mouth against his ear. “These chairs are surprisingly delicate. If you can break it, would your hands come free?”
Shit. She was likely terrified, but she wasn’t letting it hold her back. “You stay safe. You let me go, love.”
She took a deep breath and slid off his lap, standing in front of Levi Green. “I’ll do what you ask if you’ll take Owen with us. I don’t even understand why they want…” It seemed to hit her suddenly. “They want to experiment on him. They want to see if they can figure out what she did to erase his memory.”
“Yes, I believe that’s what they’ll try to do,” Levi replied evenly.
“But the only way they can do that is to study his brain,” she replied.
A single brow rose over Levi’s eyes. “Yes. Did I misjudge the situation? I thought once you figured out how he used you, you wouldn’t be so emotional about him. He set you up every bit as much as Huisman did and I don’t see you crying over him.”
He had in so many ways. He didn’t blame her if she saw it that way.
“I’ll go quietly and I’ll do all the work you want me to do if you let me keep Owen,” she offered.
Relief flooded his system because she didn’t hate him. There had to be something still between them if she was willing to fight to keep him alive. It wouldn’t work. She was going to get herself in trouble. How long would Donnie be gone? MSS would be here soon and she would be on her way to god only knew where.
She’d said the chair was delicate. If he could get his hands free…
He needed enough force to break the chair and then enough time to get on his feet or he’d be the one taking the bullet this time.
Donnie strode in, turning under the balcony. “We should move out now. I can’t find her, but there’s a strange car in the driveway. I didn’t get close enough to check it out, but I know it wasn’t here before.”
Levi frowned. “She’s got to be here. It’s a big house. It’s probably her contact.”
“Doesn’t feel right,” Donnie said.
Levi nodded, making his decision in seconds. “Then we move. I’ll take Rebecca out to the car. You prepare our friend for transfer. Looks like you get your wish, Doc.”
Oh, he was lying. Donnie’s shoulders had gone tight and he’d nodded, his face cold as ice. They couldn’t risk taking him along. He was trained. He was a variable Levi wouldn’t want to deal with.
But he would want Becca compliant, and that meant not killing him until they were out of earshot.
Of course, he could always create a little chaos and see where things fell. He didn’t have a thing to lose.