The Flyboy's Temptation

by Kimberly Van Meter

  “Well, it is,” she agreed with open scorn for his dilemma. “An indigenous culture without any previous involvement with the outside world is protected. You can’t do anything to them or their land.” Suddenly, she paled. “But if they are to die due to natural causes...”

  “The obstacle of the indigenous people would become moot.”

  Hope gasped and her hand went to her mouth as she processed his meaning. He smiled more widely at her quick reasoning. “You want the virus to kill the tribe in your way.”

  “I call it the Hand of God virus. Is there anything more perfect than a virus that can mimic any known pathogen in the world with deadly efficiency? Your brilliant mind solved the riddle and created deadly perfection. The Hand of God virus will remove the obstacles in my way and I will be free to move forward with my newest acquisition.”

  “You’re insane if you think I’m going to help you destroy an entire tribe of innocent people.” She looked aghast and disgusted at the same time. “You can’t just eradicate an entire tribe of people because you want to make more money.”

  “Why not?”

  She sputtered, “Because you can’t! It’s immoral, against all rules of nature and just plain wrong.”

  “You created the virus. Were you concerned with the application when you were pushing to find the missing links in the chain? No. You were hungry, driven to create something magnificent. The science aroused you in a way that you cannot deny. I understand that drive. I celebrate that quality in you. Where others would pass judgment, I admire your skill. We are not so different, you and I, Dr. Larsen.”

  He smiled at the sudden tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

  “We are nothing alike,” she whispered.

  “Lies do not become us. Only with truth can we accept who we truly are. The sooner you stop fighting your nature, the sooner you will find peace.”

  Anso sliced a piece of beef and slid it into his mouth, relishing every subtle flavor.

  Winning was a delightful complement to aged Kobe beef.

  12

  AFTER THAT INTERMINABLY excruciating dinner, Hope was roughly returned to her quarters and the door locked soundly, leaving her to fret and stew in her own anxiety.

  The easy path would be to dismiss Anso’s words as nonsense spewed by a madman, but there was a glimmer of truth to his assessment.

  Had there been a moment when she’d paused to think of the ramifications of the viral research and how it could be perverted if put into the wrong hands?

  Yes.

  A long moment.

  She’d even broached the subject with Tanya, but her fears had been effectively shelved by Tanya’s levelheaded approach to science.

  “If we feared every potential misuse of technology or scientific advance, we’d still be crouched in caves wearing animal pelts. We have to move forward—it’s in our biology to crave progress, to never remain satisfied with the status quo, and thank God for that. Imagine if Edward Jenner had been content to watch smallpox rip through communities. Because of his need to create a vaccine, we no longer fear one of the greatest childhood killers and I think that’s pretty damn great.”

  Hard to argue with that logic. “True. But what we’re trying to create? Sometimes it worries me that in the wrong hands...it could be devastating.”

  Tanya gently steadied Hope and said in all seriousness, “You have a good heart. We are so close to a breakthrough—it’s normal to fear success and invent scary theories that could self-sabotage your own mind, but you are too brilliant to let something as silly as self-doubt ruin the single most important discovery in the twenty-first century. This is bigger than the internet, honey. I’m talking big.”

  Hope laughed. “Bigger than the internet?”

  “Much.”

  Risking a smile, Hope said, “Well, I am excited about this new test batch. I think we’re on the verge of breaking through.”

  “Just imagine that big fat bonus that’s waiting for you when the first viable batch passes all protocols. Have you thought of what you’re going to buy?”

  Hope paused, realizing she hadn’t given the bonus much thought, being too preoccupied with the project to consider the hefty bonus being offered for a successful trial. “Not really. I think I’ll just put it in savings or a CD for retirement.”

  Tanya scoffed playfully. “That’s no fun. You earned it. You need to whoop it up, go to Vegas, take a trip, buy something outrageously expensive and designer that looks ridiculous and that you can never wear anywhere but the streets of Paris or Milan. Something exciting!”

  She laughed at the very idea. “No, thank you. I’m much more excited about the idea of not trying to exist solely on Social Security when I’m too old to work. How about you? As the supervisor, you get a bonus, too.”

  Tanya winked. “Oh, girl, that money is already spent. I have plans for that cash.”

  “Such as?”

  She sighed happily. “I’m going to Mackinac Island in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to spend the summer. I’m going to rent a beautiful beachside villa and spend the day reading and drinking iced tea with tiny finger sandwiches.”

  “You’ve got it all planned out, I see,” Hope teased. “But why Michigan? Why not somewhere tropical?”

  “I’ve always dreamed of going there. It’s a beautiful place that’s only occupied during the summer months and there are no cars allowed. It’s relaxed and quaint and as far from stress as I can imagine. I can’t wait.”

  Tanya’s revelation was telling. She was a top-level researcher and supervisor for Tessara Pharm, and the stress level must’ve been atomic.

  Hope roused herself from her memory, wiping at the stray tear that snaked down her cheek.

  Tanya never got the opportunity to see Mackinac.

  “Robbery gone wrong, my ass,” she said bitterly. Anso had admitted that he was responsible for Tanya’s death and he wasn’t the least bit remorseful. But then, when you had the kind of money and power that Anso DeLeon had, remorse wasn’t something that you had to feel.

  Hope removed her ridiculous dress and tossed it to the floor with more force than necessary.

  She went to the armoire and found more clothes hanging, all in her size. The fact that Anso had selected these outfits with her in mind made her skin crawl. She wasn’t his scientist Barbie to dress up as he pleased. Eschewing the fine clothing, she climbed into the bed naked, preferring to be nude than to be dressed as Anso desired.

  The small defiance was all she could muster at this point.

  Exhausted, brokenhearted and defeated, she succumbed to a deep sleep gratefully.

  At least in sleep, she could escape her reality for a brief moment.

  13

  J.T. KNEW THE plan was to sit and wait for backup, but it was easier said than done when all he could think of was Hope’s stricken expression as he’d left her behind.

  The darkness echoed around him with the sounds of the jungle and he knew it was madness to head back without reinforcements, but hell, why start making smart decisions now?

  Because you have to start thinking with your damn head for once.

  It was dark as a tomb. He couldn’t see two feet in front of him. If he was hell-bent on heading back without Teagan, J.T. would still have to wait until first light so he didn’t end up walking off a damn cliff.

  It wasn’t as if the Amazon came equipped with streetlamps to light the way.

  So even if his strongest urge was to strike out with nothing more than grim determination and a fervent prayer, he was going to stay lashed to that damn tree until morning because the odds were already shit against him, and he wasn’t about to make them worse.

  Biting back his frustration, he tried to close his eyes and at least get some sleep, but that was a losing battle, too.


  The biggest question still haunting him—the same question he should’ve demanded an answer to from the start—was probably the one thing that’d put them into this situation.

  What the hell was she packing around?

  He didn’t care what it took this time around—he was going to find answers.

  J.T. managed to steal a few fitful hours of sleep, but when the first milky ray of light dawned, he was out of the tree and heading back the way he’d come.

  It wasn’t hard to find his own trail from the broken branches through the virgin rain forest, and thankfully the rain had held off during the night, leaving his footprints visible in the soft muddy floor.

  But as easy as it’d been to find his own footprints, he figured it was dumb luck that anyone sent after him hadn’t also stumbled across the path.

  Within an hour he was at the compound, surveying the layout. Guards patrolled the perimeter, but only a sparse crew, which made them fairly easy to circumvent.

  He supposed whoever signed the checks in this massive place was feared enough to give a wide berth, thus the minimal guard presence.

  Not to mention this place was creepy as hell with its overwhelming opulence tucked away in the middle of the rain forest.

  It was the kind of place where one could imagine satanic rituals going on with sacrificed children and shit like that.

  Good going—try to keep it positive, Carmichael.

  He climbed the fence at a spot that was relatively hidden by trees, then dropped soundlessly to the manicured lawn, using the diminishing shadows for cover as he searched for a way into the fortress.

  At the sound of approaching voices, J.T. ducked into an alcove, listening.

  “Boss man likes that red-hair woman. She fine and all, but what’s all the fuss for? She ain’t nothing but an uppity bitch, as far as I can tell. And I know the best way to keep a woman like that in line.”

  “Watch it, Pacon,” another growled in warning. “Keep your dick in your pants unless you want to find yourself without one. Boss is real particular about this one and I like my head where it’s at. There ain’t no woman worth dying for. Not even one as fine as that one.”

  Pacon shot back with a petulant whine. “All right, all right, I’m not going near her. What’s she got in that pack, anyway? Boss man’s got it under lock and key in some sort of freezer.”

  “Hell if I know and I don’t care. Nothing good, I can tell you that. Now get back to your post.”

  The footsteps retreated and J.T. emerged cautiously. Chances were wherever Hope was being held was heavily guarded. He needed a gun.

  J.T. mulled over the bit of intel. Whatever Hope had needed to be kept cold. Which meant that she must’ve been transporting it in a specialized case.

  That was why she’d been so particular about her pack. There was no other way to carry what she had to the lab.

  But what the hell was she carrying?

  J.T. spied a window with a balcony above him. It wouldn’t be easy, but he could climb the wall.

  Fitting his fingers into the tiny slats, he grimaced as the pain of climbing using the strength of his fingers and toes ricocheted up his arms.

  It’d been a long time since he’d been free-climbing.

  And now he remembered why he didn’t do it any longer.

  None of that mattered.

  Just climb.

  Find Hope.

  * * *

  “YOU HANDSOME SOB. What trouble are you into now?”

  Teagan accepted the hearty slap on the back from his former Air Force special-ops buddy Kirk Addler while Harris McGoy and Ty Eden added their two cents, as well.

  “You never call, you never write,” Kirk drawled, his signature smart-ass quips delivered with a California-boy accent. He pulled Teagan into a manly embrace even as he gave him shit. “Let me guess—your ass is in a sling and you need us to patch up your boo-boo.”

  As happy as he was that his buddies had answered the all-call without hesitation, he didn’t have time to shoot the breeze and trade wisecracks over a game of poker.

  “I appreciate you guys showing up. I’m about to ask a doozy of a favor.”

  Harris, a short redheaded Irishman with a taste for fine whiskey and a good time, grinned and slapped his hands together, saying, “It’s about bloody time. I’m bored out of my gourd with all this soft living. Retirement sucks.”

  Ty, the quieter of the bunch and arguably the smartest, waited for Teagan to finish.

  “I’ll cut to the chase. J.T. is stranded in South America, people are trying to kill him and there’s no way I’m letting my little brother die in the Amazon jungle.”

  “What’s the little bugger done this time?” Harris asked, amused. “Going quite afar for a little strange, don’t you think?”

  “It’s not like that. He took on a client that turned out to be on the run from some very bad people and he got mixed up in it.”

  “Sounds like J.T.,” Kirk agreed, not the least bit surprised. “Frankly, I don’t know how that guy is still alive. He’s always been riding the edge of safe and sane. That’s what I liked most about him.”

  “Yeah, well, I can’t pull him out alone and I know a few of you still have connections that might make it easier to get in and get out without getting killed.”

  “What’s the window?” Ty asked.

  No sense in sugarcoating things. “Yesterday.”

  “For crying out loud,” Harris grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Why don’t you make it difficult or worth our while. I mean, for a second I thought you were going to ask us to rope the moon for you.”

  Teagan knew he was asking a lot. “I understand if you don’t want to get involved. If it weren’t J.T. in this mess, I’d walk away, too.”

  “Getting in and out shouldn’t be a problem. We can fly low enough to stay under the radar. But something tells me you know that isn’t the biggest obstacle.”

  “I have a lock on J.T.’s location, but he won’t leave without his client.”

  “Is this about a woman?” Harris complained. “That boy can’t keep his dick from getting him into trouble.”

  “It’s complicated,” Teagan said, not quite understanding J.T.’s situation enough to explain.

  “It’s never complicated with that boy,” Harris grumbled. “He’ll chase after any skirt, regardless of the consequences. Remember that time he tangled with his sergeant’s daughter? I thought he was a goner for sure.”

  “To be fair, Bethany was hot enough to start a fire. Can’t say I blame the kid,” Kirk chimed in with a grin. “Whatever he had to suffer for her was, no doubt, worth it.”

  “Six weeks of small-space training,” Teagan answered wryly. “Cured him of any claustrophobia, that’s for sure.”

  “Yeah, total immersion therapy. But that’s a bitch. You wouldn’t find me crawling into no small coffin-like space.” Harris shuddered.

  They were getting off topic. Not unusual with this group, but time was ticking. “Be that as it may, he won’t leave without her, so we have to rescue her, too.” He eyed the guys. “Are you up for a completely unsanctioned mission with little to no reward aside from bragging rights when you’re drunk?”

  Kirk laughed. “You had me at unsanctioned. I have some vacation time I can cash in. How about you, Harris? Think you can spare a day or two for adventure?”

  Harris scowled. “If you’re in, I’m going. No way you’re going to hang that over my head for the rest of my life. Besides, I could use a little excitement to remind me that I’m not dead yet.”

  Teagan laughed at the small Irishman. “Thirty-six is hardly one foot in the grave.”

  “Feels like it when you’ve been neutered and grounded.”

  “Honorably discharged with a medal or two,” Kirk r
eminded Harris. “And look at the bright side—you might get shot or something. That would be exciting.”

  “When do we leave?” Ty asked, bringing the conversation back on point.

  Teagan looked at his watch and answered. “We leave in fifteen. Plane is ready to go when we are.”

  Harris grumbled, “I’m grabbing snacks for the ride. God knows what kind of food situation we’ll be in and none of you assholes are going to chow down on my leg if things go bad.”

  Kirk slapped Harris on the back as they walked to the kitchen area of the hangar. “Always looking on the positive side—that’s what I like about you, McGoy.”

  “Shut up, you feckin’ idiot.”

  Ty waited until they were clear of earshot and said to Teagan, “What’s the real story?”

  “I wish I knew. J.T. is in something big. It’s not like him to put Blue Yonder at risk. Hell, he and I were fighting about letting the business go when he took on this client. He was all for sticking it out, while I was saying we ought to fold up shop. I can only assume there was the promise of a lot of cash, but even so, I can’t see J.T. jumping into something without a good reason.”

  “I’ve got a contact at the embassy that can help us. She can hook us up with transportation and contacts within Brazil.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  It didn’t matter if years had passed; the bond the four of them shared was something that could come only from the brotherhood of surviving some serious shit and vowing to always have each other’s backs.

  Even if it meant rescuing a little brother who was too hotheaded to see reason at times.

  True to their training, within fifteen minutes they were saddled up and ready to roll.

  “Hold on to your butts,” Teagan advised. “We’re about to ride straight into the mouth of hell.”

  “Wooooo-eeee!” Kirk yelled, pumping the air. “I love a mission with low odds of success!”

  Teagan grinned and they took to the air.