by Low, Gennita
Jed nodded. Nick didn’t give him a chance to speak.
“Later,” he told Grace. “If Jaymee’s in there, why aren’t you with her?”
Grace pointed to the reflector stickers. “That was to tell you guys to leave the place alone if you happened to get back before I do. Jay’s safe as long as you don’t go inside. At least, that’s what it looked like to me, when I saw them wiring every door and window before they took off.”
Nick’s heart dropped into his stomach. Fuck. The damned place was rigged. “Jaymee is in there alone?” He stared at the house, which now took on an eerie, mocking demeanor. “Why isn’t she trying to get out?”
Images of her dead inside. No! He refused to think of that possibility.
“I think she’s OK,” Grace informed them carefully, her brown eyes concerned, as she looked her second cousin over. “I sneaked out of the window in the upstairs room when they forced her inside, and I heard most of the conversation before they closed the windows.”
“If every door and window is wired, we’re going to need a team here to get inside,” Jed noted.
“No, you can go in, Dad,” Grace said, and pointed to the roof. “They forgot one opening.”
“The skylight hole I cut out,” Nick breathed.
“Yes, but I couldn’t jump down myself, so I couldn’t check on Jay,” Grace said, her voice apologetic. “I’m sorry, Kill.”
Nick forced his eyes from the house and turned to Grace. He pulled one of her pigtails with affection and knuckled her chin. “You’ve done enough, Trouble. Now stay out of sight, hmm?”
Grace nodded, then pointed to a ladder lying on its side by the house. Nick gave her a strained smile, and went to get it. As she watched him prop the ladder against the house eave, Grace exchanged a glance with her father.
“Dad, it’s the encryption board. It has some sort of tagging device.”
“We already figured it out.”
“Did you pass on my message to Kill?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been thinking. I suspect there’s a homing device of some sort on the e-board. The signal led them to him and the others. I don’t think they were after the Virus unit.”
“Too bad for them. Now the unit’s going to be after them.” Jed said, deadly intent on his face.
“Hired mercenaries,” Grace notified him, her eyes gleaming. “I’m very sure of that, Dad. Probably hired by either the Chinese or the people your team took the board from.”
Jed’s eyes glittered back from his dark, tanned face. “Don’t let me stop you from finishing my job for me, little Trouble.”
Grace smiled brilliantly, then sobered up. “Cousin Kill will need help down the skylight hole, Jed.”
She looked up as the tall, lanky figure disappeared over the peak of the roof.
“Stay at a safe distance,” Jed ordered, heading for the ladder.
Grace nodded, then turned and disappeared into the woods.
*
Jaymee heard the creaking sounds. She recognized what they were, having heard them a thousand times before. Feet walking up a roof. The plywood echoed everything, from the moving feet to something being pried apart. She hadn’t any idea what Grace could be doing up there. Then, silence. She strained hard for some more noise but the blanket made it difficult, muffling the quieter sounds. After what seemed an eternity, she finally thought she heard Grace approaching.
As loudly as she could, she cried out in a hoarse, spitless voice. “Don’t touch me, Grace! Stay away from me!”
She hoped her words were recognizable through the thick fabric. There was a short pause, then the cover over her slid off very slowly, and she let out a sigh at the sudden cool air.
“Jaymee.”
She stiffened. “Oh my God, Nick!” She couldn’t see him, slumped in the position her captor had placed her. “Don’t move me, OK? Don’t!” She quelled the rising panic, trying to make herself intelligible. In as calm a voice as she could manage, she continued, “I think I’ll explode if you touch me.”
*
Nick blinked away the red mist of rage obstructing his vision. This wasn’t the time to be angry. After climbing down the skylight tunnel with Jed’s help, he’d walked from room to room, wondering where they had put Jaymee, why it was so silent. A quick check had revealed the main doors and windows were indeed fixed to trigger off if disturbed. Thank God for Grace’s quick eyes and thinking.
Jaymee was in this box somewhere, maybe knocked out. Not dead. He refused to accept that.
His heart leapt when he spied the outline of what could be a body under the blanket lying on one of the old sofas upstairs. He knew, from the familiar shape, that it was Jaymee under there. It had to be. The position looked awkward—abnormal—and he felt a great abyss growing, breaking his insides apart, as he rushed toward the shrouded figure.
Oh God. Not a shroud. Shrouds are for...he was about to let out a howl of despair when he heard the muffled noises coming from under the covers.
Urgent sounding. Hoarse, almost inaudible, but absolutely, beautifully alive.
He closed his eyes in relief, blinking back unexpected tears, then hurried to take Jaymee into his arms. Something in the tone of her voice halted his frantic state of mind. She was trying to convey something important. He heard the last part of her urgent warning.
“I’ll explode if you touch me.”
She was repeating it over and over, like a fervent prayer.
Nick inched the blanket off Jaymee carefully. Taking several deep breaths, he said, in a soothing voice, “Sweetheart, shhhh. I hear you. Shhhh.” When she settled down, he continued, “I’m going to turn you over very slowly. You just lie still and don’t exert a muscle, OK? Are you hurt in any way?”
He needed to make sure she wouldn’t jerk in pain from some wound he couldn’t see. Her voice was thin, exhausted.
“I’m fine, at least, I think I am. I can’t feel my hands and feet too much because the ropes are too tight. Nick, go get the cops or something. It isn’t safe for you here.”
She was so relieved. He was here. Alive and here. His hands were reassuringly gentle on her, moving and turning her over with infinite care, and she gave a sigh as she slowly faced him.
“Don’t exert a muscle,” he reiterated, in the same soft tone. “Don’t think about the danger, just concentrate on my moving you. That’s right, baby. Almost there. Good. Now, let me look at you.”
Nick kept his face an expressionless mask as he took in the bruise on one of her cheeks and the marks left by the gag on her delicate skin. Her hair was plastered to her face, tendrils damp from perspiration. Her shirt was soaked from perspiration. He fisted at the sight of her small hands tied close to her chest, palm to palm. Her knees and her ankles, too, were crisscrossed with—his eyes narrowed—electrical wires. Her hands....
Jaymee stared up at Nick’s face, trying to get past the controlled expression. She realized he was hiding his reaction from her. She could guess at some of his emotions raging in there somewhere. Loving him for coming into the house for her, she sought to comfort, to reassure.
“It’s alright. I’m perfectly fine, as you can see. Now, why don’t you go and call the police or whatever department it is that takes care of...bombs.” She faltered on the last word.
Nick smiled down at her gently. “And leave you?” He guessed at her motive. “Do you think I’d leave you here alone, with this thing in your hands?”
“You have to,” Jaymee whispered back. “I don’t want you hurt.” She turned her eyes downward to study the small package in her hands, secured tightly in such a way any movement of her thumbs would hit the little lever on the module. That Cologne Guy, as she’d dubbed him, had told her exactly what would happen if she accidentally activated it. Desperation made her voice clearer as she begged him to leave her. “If I press down from fatigue, it’s going to go off and...please, Nick, get out of here!”
Nick pulled a small case out of the back pocket of his j
eans as he locked eyes with Jaymee. His blue-gray eyes were clear and steady. “I’ll not do that even if you set it off accidentally. If you go, you’ll take me with you.”
He opened the case and extracted the small instruments inside.
“Nick, please.” She begged him with her eyes, her voice. “You’re being unreasonable.”
“Don’t you have confidence in my skills, babe? I’m more than a big, bad wolf, you know.” His voice was teasing, as if it wasn’t a matter of life and death at that moment. “You did say I have elegant, clever hands.”
Jaymee felt tape being pulled from her skin and she flinched at the sting of skin and body hair parting from the glue.
“Don’t move your thumbs, no matter what, sweetheart,” Nick continued, the deep timbre of his voice down to a croon. “Really, when I told you I wanted you tied up, I meant in a more spread out position, Jaymee. This one makes access difficult, to say the least.”
“Nick, this is no time to joke!” She couldn’t believe he was capable of such calm, even making fun of the situation.
“Is she all right?” Jed interrupted from the doorway.
Nick didn’t turn around as he slowly cut the knots and pulled at the tape binding Jaymee’s wrists. “Get out and make sure Grace and you are out of the way,” he calmly instructed. “This one will take some time, cousin. If you see my flashlight, come back on the roof to help me get her out through the skylight. I don’t trust any of the doors.”
Jed, understanding the situation, didn’t argue. “We’ll be waiting for your flashlight.” Then Jaymee heard his fading footsteps.
“Did you miss me?” Nick asked as he continued working at the tape.
Jaymee looked at those long eyelashes, the sensual lips, the stubborn lock of hair across the forehead. She noted the muscle ticking in his jaw. He probably needed distraction more than she did, she realized with sudden insight. The thought of her in danger would affect his concentration. She must keep him from thinking she was hurt.
“Maybe,” she told him, forcing her voice to relax. “But only the nice parts.”
She was rewarded with his sexy, crooked smile. He looked at her again. “The next tug is going to hurt. The tape is wound around your thumbs.”
She nodded. She understood the consequences if her thumbs jerked from any kind of pain.
“Ready?” he asked, keeping the smile on his face, although his eyes were oddly remote.
“Ready.”
She concentrated on her thumbs, stiffening them so they didn’t react from the expected sting. Her breath caught sharply when the tape was ripped away, but she managed to keep her thumbs inert. The air in her lungs hissed out in relief.
“Good girl.” Nick picked up another small instrument. “Now, which nice parts did you miss, hmm?”
It was impossible to undo the rest of the knots and tape without hurting her. He had to work while she still held on to the module. Slowly, he pried open the small cover on top of the casing in her cupped hands.
Jaymee closed her eyes, trying not to think of what might happen if something went wrong.
“Your ass,” she told him. “It’s a nice part.”
“Oh yeah?” Nick’s eyes narrowed as he studied the electronics in the device.
“Your lips. Your hands. Your chest. Your belly button,” Jaymee continued.
“You’re forgetting the best part,” he reminded her, as he spliced the wires.
She opened her eyes. “Which part is that?” she softly queried.
“The big bang,” he said, and gave her a leer. Reaching down, he picked up the tiny snips.
Her smile was brilliant, even though her lips trembled. “Is it going to happen next?”
She looked meaningfully at the snips in his hand. Nick leaned forward, carefully positioning the snips.
“Not if I can help it,” he whispered, his head dipping closer to hers. He looked at the module one last time before giving her his full attention. His eyes were unwavering, dilated from the intensity of his feelings. “Don’t move your thumbs.”
Jaymee couldn’t really see him through the tears threatening to come out. His lips were soft and warm against her own cold, dry ones. His tongue flicked across them, wetting her lips and comforting her gently. She didn’t mind if it ended this way, she thought in a daze.
“I love you,” she told him, as she heard the sharp snipping sound.
Chapter Fifteen
Silence. Nick counted his heartbeat, his lips still on Jaymee’s. Slowly, he straightened up, thinking Jaymee’s tear-streaked face was the most beautiful thing in the world.
“Silence is golden,” he gravely told her.
Her smile was tremulous, and the tears flowed again. “You owe me a big bang,” she managed through the tears. “I can’t deduct that from this week’s paycheck.”
“I’ll pay up,” promised Nick. If they got out of this helltrap safely, he added, as he methodically untied her bound wrists.
Her hands and feet hurt even more once they were free, and Jaymee moaned softly as Nick rubbed them with strong, tender hands. God, she loved those hands. And she remembered. She had told him she loved him, and she knew he’d heard her. Those words had come out naturally. Her only thought then was if she were to die, she wanted him to know the truth.
“Thank you, my hero,” she said aloud, getting off the sofa with his help and stumbling as her limbs refused to support her.
“You can thank me later, boss,” Nick drawled, then swung her into his arms. “Let’s get you out of here first.”
He carried her out of the room, stopped long enough at a front window to flash a light to signal Jed, and moved on back under the skylight.
Jaymee curled her hands around his strong neck, reveling in the easy strength and secured warmth. She had never felt safer. For a while, alone in the house, she’d imagined dying and him never knowing how much she loved him. Now he knew. And she didn’t care.
Jed’s dark head appeared above them, and minutes later, they were climbing down the ladder off the roof. When she finally stepped back from the house, Nick immediately lifted her off her feet again, and Jaymee didn’t protest. She felt weak and needed him close by. When Grace squeezed her hands anxiously, she smiled back at her.
“I’m OK,” she told her.
Nick passed Jed a telling look. “Don’t go in there. I’m going to have to comb through the whole house to make sure they didn’t leave any surprises.”
“No!” Jaymee tightened her hold around his neck. “No, call the police instead. Let it stay like that forever. I don’t care. I don’t want you in there.” The words tumbled out in panicked phrases.
“Jaymee…”
She didn’t care she was at the edge of hysteria. The thought of him blowing up with the house was even more frightening than when she was alone in there, contemplating death.
“No, no, no!” Her voice was adamant, fierce. “If you risk your life in that stupid...empty house, I’ll go back in there with you.”
“I’ll call in a team,” Jed suggested quietly.
“Then Command will know where you are,” Nick pointed out, as they kept walking. “I thought you wanted a stretch of time to do what you needed.”
Jed shrugged. “I’ll think of something. Disappear before they show up.”
“Please, Nick, don’t go in there,” pleaded Jaymee, interrupting the two men. She wasn’t in the mood to stay out of their business. This was her business now too, damn it!
Nick looked down at the face of the woman who had almost died because of him. The feeling of helpless rage he was holding in check was threatening to break through again.
She had almost died. And it was all his fault. It humbled him to know she would have willingly sacrificed herself so he would be safe.
“All right,” he relented. “We’ll work out an alternative. But no one goes near or into that place till it’s swept by a team.”
Jed nodded. “Go take Jay home now. We’ll talk later.”<
br />
“Meet me there in three hours,” Nick said, his eyes still holding Jaymee’s.
He carried her all the way back, hardly out of breath as he made his way through the woods. She clung to him, her hands stroking the back of his neck, her lips occasionally bestowing kisses anywhere they made contact. They didn’t say a word in the gathering darkness as he walked, yet their hearts whispered and conversed, knowing how precious each passing moment was.
Bob, Lucky, and Dicker were still at the house when Nick climbed up the back porch and entered the kitchen. Bob’s lined face was filled with worry as he took in the disheveled appearance of his daughter, the bruises on her face and arms.
“Good God, what happened?” All three men got up from their seats.
Nick shook his head when Dicker pulled up a seat for him. “I’m taking her upstairs. She needs rest.”
“What happened?” Bob asked again. “Are you all right, Jaymee girl? Who were those men Rich and Chuck were talking about?”
“Not FBI,” replied Nick, a hard edge to his voice. “Where are those two bastards, by the way?” He wasn’t done with them yet.
“Took off the moment Chuck came to,” Lucky said. “You OK, boss?”
“I’m fine, thanks to Nick. Don’t worry, I’ll be back to work in the morning.”
“You just rest up. I’ll take care of work,” Bob cut in. “Go on and take her to her room, Nick. We’ll talk about this later.”
No one questioned Nick’s actions, letting him take Jaymee to her room. They understood something serious had occurred, recognized Nick had saved Jaymee from something.
“Don’t you worry, Jay,” Dicker called after them. “Take tomorrow off. We’ll get the roofs done.”
Nick carried her straight into the connecting bathroom after he kicked the bedroom door shut. “A nice warm bath first,” he murmured. “You need a good scrub, woman. You’re all sweaty and dirty.”
“You too,” Jaymee said. “You can put me down now, you know.”
