by Regan Black
He felt a flash of regret for following through with her insistence that they attempt to save him. They’d been so close to her clean getaway.
Together, she’d said.
She mouthed the same word now. He couldn’t respond, too many eyes were watching him for the first twitch of aggressive behavior.
He held her gaze and his focus narrowed, dialed in until his world was as it should be: Daria at the center of it all. He was hers. Every last, faded remnant of his humanity was hers. The heart that had been ripped away, the honor he’d once been so fucking proud of, the soul he’d kept hidden even from God.
All of his ugly past, and the brevity of his future glowed back at him from her gorgeous, warm brown eyes. They could take him, dice him up as they saw fit, and it would be worth it knowing she lived. If she lived, his heart and soul would live on too.
“Let her go.” The demand carried across the room in his rusty voice, effectively breaking all training and tradition as he spoke first. Maybe the shock of it would give him an opening.
No such luck. The cold nose of a gun barrel bumped into the back of his head. Any sudden moves would end with his face splattered across the polished floor.
Messenger turned, pinning him with a withering scowl. “You’ve forgotten your place.”
No. He’d finally found his place. With her. “Let her go,” he repeated. “I won’t give you another chance to cooperate.”
Messenger’s eyebrows arched in surprise, his face going white as he reared back. He spun around to face Daria. “What the hell did you do to him?” He took a menacing step in her direction. “He was perfect!”
Noah knew they couldn’t possibly release her, even if they killed him. He was counting on the knowledge and resulting fury to carry him through this last task. She was a threat to UI, more so now that she’d turned their most loyal subject into her champion.
Her champion. The image warmed him, the words rippled under his skin, simmering over a low flame. He didn’t deserve her, didn’t deserve an ounce of happiness after the destruction he’d reveled in these past years. But she did. She deserved freedom and sunshine and the chance to breathe without fear that any given breath would be her last.
The low flame inside him leaped up, sending the simmer to a boil from one heart beat to the next. It floored him that he could feel his heart at all when it rested content and sheltered in her small, soft hands.
Her precious face filled his vision, empowered him as nothing else could. He breathed deep, embraced his enhancement and went to work. He took out the man behind him with a strike to the balls, stealing that gun and killing the men flanking Daria.
Messenger’s new pet dropped, dead at his master’s feet, before his finger could squeeze off the first round from the gun aimed at Noah’s head. He moved with inhuman speed, leveling the remainders of the team with barely a glance as he advanced on Messenger.
“Stand down!” His voice cracked and the command didn’t carry as much authority this time.
It didn’t matter. He was free. “No.” He raised the gun, pressing the hot barrel to Messenger’s forehead. “How many more?”
“Listen to me, Last Strike.” Messenger’s eyes darted to Daria. “She’s the enemy. She can topple the program.”
“I sure as hell hope you’re right. How many more?” He wanted to know how much ammo to carry out of this lab to ensure Daria’s safety.
“Kill her. Kill her now or we die too,” Messenger insisted.
“Everyone dies eventually.” For the first time since UI had stolen him, Noah planned to live. He decided the odds didn’t matter anymore. He wouldn’t let anything stop him. “Today’s your day.”
“Not yet.” Daria’s hand landed lightly on his free arm. “Let him go.”
He didn’t take his eyes off the treacherous man in the gray suit. “Why?”
“Because we have what we came for. Death is too good for him,” she said. “He deserves to pay a higher price.”
She had a point. “Feeling vindictive?”
“More than a little.”
“She’s using you!” Messenger howled.
“Better her than you.” Noah turned the gun and swung a devastating blow to Messenger’s temple. The man and his perfect suit collapsed to the floor in a disheveled heap.
Daria dropped to her knee and pressed a needle into his neck.
“Any chance that was poison?”
“None at all.” She looked up at him, a sneaky grin on her lips. “Now we can track him.”
“Amelia will love that,” he said.
At the sound of boots in the hallway, Noah moved to protect Daria. John entered the lab and Noah relaxed marginally. A second pair of footfalls echoed without a visible body. Ben was here too.
“Police are diverted and we’ve cleared an egress route.” John said. His gaze dropped to Messenger. “Is he dead?”
“No,” Noah replied.
Daria stood. “But he’s had the first dose of the operational protocol complete with the tracking element.”
“That’s a nice touch, Doc.” John turned a slow circle and Noah knew he was deconstructing the fight.
“Should we be afraid of what new monster he’ll turn into?” Noah moved to the wall of cabinets, searching for a bandage. If he was lucky, he and Daria would make a clean escape, which meant leaving the others far behind as well.
“Hey, you mean I don’t have to play both sides anymore?” Ben’s disembodied voice came from the corner where he was hogtying the UI team.
Daria followed him, injecting sedatives into the men who weren’t dead.
“Only if you want to,” John said, taking pictures of the contents of Messenger’s pockets.
“It was kinda fun playing hide and seek with End Game’s blood. I might keep a toe in the dark end of the pool.”
Daria looked up at Noah, expecting him to flinch at the unpleasant nickname, but he only rolled his eyes. “You’re okay?”
He shrugged and gave her a quick nod. “Looks worse than it is. We need to get out of here.”
“We will.” Though she moved quickly to clean his wounds, she still felt stuck in slow motion after seeing the impossible speed enhancement he’d exhibited in the fight. “I’ll do a better job when we stop for the night.”
“You need to give me the injection, the overload dose you talked about. We have to make sure I’m clean before we go anywhere.”
“Okay.” She smothered the urge to cheer that her idea had worked so well. She didn’t think he’d actually need an injection. Not after she’d watched him fight off years of conditioning, witnessed his beautiful, relentless dominance over too many lethal opponents for any normal man. When she’d sent Ben out of that motel room, she’d armed him with the one temptation Messenger couldn’t refuse, creating the only scenario that could fry Noah’s adrenal tracking system.
She’d know soon enough if overwhelming him, pushing him to the extremes of his ability in order to defend her had worked as she intended. Though she’d save the full disclosure and celebration for when she and Noah were alone.
“You can confirm it for yourself.” She held up Messenger’s access card as she led the way into the office. One swipe of the card and the computer lit up. She tugged at Noah’s hand until he stood beside her while a map slowly spread across the three-monitor array.
Using the mouse, she zeroed in on Maryland and kept zooming in until he could see the cluster of results in the lab. “Go ahead.” She managed to keep the excitement out of her voice. “Add them up.”
He counted. Did a double take and counted again. He walked to the doorway and confirmed it once more. “You did it. I’m not on their radar. But you didn’t give me a shot or anything.”
“You fried it yourself when you fought for control, when you applied your gift to save me.” She bounced a little on her toes while he wasn’t looking. “You’re free. They came in armed to the teeth with bullets laced with a sedative. You fought that off too.” To pro
tect her. “You’re free,” she repeated, watching those broad shoulders relax.
She promised herself she’d respect whatever he decided to do with that freedom. Even if he walked away from her. She would not cling, would not let him feel obligated to coddle her feelings as he’d once been obligated to the UI program.
“It won’t come back online?”
“Not a chance,” she replied. While logged in with Messenger’s access, she entered a false successful report, just to give them a little more breathing room. She couldn’t be sure how long it would last, but every minute of a head start would help all five of them.
Daria dropped Messenger’s access card, eager to distance herself from this terrible period of her life. Momentarily stuck, as Noah blocked the only exit, she tried to keep her breathing even, to think about long walks along a quiet beach at twilight, when he could enjoy the view without sunglasses.
“We need to move,” John reminded them.
But Noah didn’t step forward into the destruction of the lab. He turned to her, his face a blank, emotionless mask.
She sucked in a breath. It was over, she could see it on his face.
“It’s over,” he echoed her thought.
She swallowed, remembering her vow not to cling. He was free. Knowing she had a part in making that happen would be enough to bring a smile to her face as she walked along that nameless beach alone. Someday her breaking heart might even agree with her.
“You.” Noah stared at her, his gaze drifting from her hair to her toes and back up.
She could bask under that gaze for hours. “We have to go.” She pushed the words through the emotion choking her. “It’s not safe to stay here.”
His body jerked at the word safe and before her eyes registered the movement, she was locked in his arms, her feet dangling as he spun her in a circle. “You did it!”
She pressed her hands to his face and kissed him, too selfish not to take advantage of what might be her final minutes with this remarkable man. I love you, she thought with every fiber of her being as he held her close and kissed her back.
He slowly lowered her to her feet, his gaze hot as he studied her. “I love you.”
She stared up at him, awestruck to hear her feelings in his voice. “I -”
“It’s okay if you can’t love me,” he said, his hands tangled with hers. “Let me protect you. Today. Tomorrow. And every day after that. From a distance if necessary.”
She shook her head, ignoring the growing impatience from Ben and John at the lab doors. She wouldn’t move a muscle until Noah understood her, until she knew he heard her. “We’ll protect each other, for all the days to come,” she vowed, as happiness bubbled like champagne through her bloodstream. “I love you, Noah. Today, tomorrow, and every day after that. I don’t want any distance between us.”
He picked her up once more, that rusty laugh of his wrapping around them as he gave her another spin, another kiss. Freedom lifted the haggard lines of ugly service from his face, erased years of pain and tension.
* * *
March 31, 7:20 p.m.
Three airplanes and twenty hours later, Daria walked hand in hand with Noah along the peaceful beach of a tiny, overlooked island in the Pacific. The sun had dropped below the horizon and the first stars were shining overhead in the twilight sky. The gentle surf lapped at their feet and when he looked down at her, his pale eyes were lit with contentment.
“Together is good,” he murmured, tucking her close to his powerful body. “I never thought I’d land in paradise with my angel.”
Daria’s heart turned a happy pirouette. “I love you, too.” She pressed up on her toes, teasing him with a soft kiss. Then she raced down the beach, laughing when he caught her and kissed her properly, until they were both breathless.
Safe at last, together in this quiet cove, they nurtured the pure joy of enduring hope and a love designed to last forever.
Reader Note
Thanks so much for joining me on another adventure with the characters from Unknown Identities. I knew shortly after I started the series I wanted to write Last Strike’s story. (What can I say? I enjoy a good, fictional assassin). The trick was finding the right woman, someone who could understand and ‘unlock’ the genuine man under all of the programming.
If you enjoyed Noah and Daria’s quest for a happy ever after, please take a moment and share a review for other readers on the Last Strike book page at Amazon or your favorite reading site.
Readers who subscribe to my Join the Adventure email list are the first to hear about my new books, enjoy exclusive early access, and are eligible for great monthly prizes. If you’d like to join the fun, it only takes a moment to sign up at my website. I’d love to include you!
Live the adventure!
~Regan
About the Author
Regan Black, a USA Today bestselling author, writes award-winning, action-packed romantic suspense, paranormal, and urban fantasy novels featuring kick-butt heroines and the sexy heroes who fall in love with them.
Raised in the Midwest and California, she currently makes her home with her family, their adopted greyhound, two arrogant cats, and a quirky finch in the South Carolina Lowcountry where the rich blend of legend, romance, and history fuels her imagination.
You can visit her online anytime at www.ReganBlack.com and find a full list of her books at her author page at Amazon.
Also by Regan Black
Runaway Secret
Unknown Identities Series
Bulletproof
Double Vision
Sandman
Death-Trap Date, novella
Last Strike
Dangerous Protectors Trilogy
(co-written with Debra Webb)
Against The Wall
Too Far Gone
Nothing To Lose
Harlequin Intrigue
(co-written with Debra Webb)
The Hunk Next Door
Heart of a Hero
To Honor and To Protect
Her Undercover Defender (November 2015)
The Shadows of Justice Series
Justice Incarnate, Book 1
Invasion of Justice, Book 2
Veil of Justice, Book 3
Tracking Shadows, Book 4
Shadows to Light, Book 5
In the Interest of Security, novella
The Matchmaker Series
The Matchmaker’s Mark
The Matchmaker’s Curse
The Bodyguard’s Vow
NON-FICTION
The Writer’s Survival Guide co-written with Kimberly Hope
Adopt A Greyhound Guide
Goal Setting For Writers: Making Revisions Work in Life and Art
Into the Dorm! The Busy Mom’s Guide to Streamline and Stress Less During the Transitions
Connect with Regan online!
Visit http://www.ReganBlack.com for excerpts, news, giveaways and more!
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Twitter @ReganBlack: http://twitter.com/reganblack
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