by Desiree Holt
“Was it him?” Brown asked.
“Who else.” He looked at his watch. “We should be getting a call any minute now.”
* * * * *
Mark had long ago learned to let his mind take him out of his body. Otherwise he never would have been able to tolerate the abuse his body was often forced to take. This time especially it helped him to survive. He didn’t think they could find any new ways to torture him but El Serpiente’s mind was as twisted as the reptile he was named for. Surely hell would be a respite.
But he didn’t break. They could kill him but they’d never get a thing out of him. Two people were depending on him—the source and Tidbit.
In disgust they’d finally tossed him back into the tent, sending him sprawling on the filthy ground. They no longer even bothered to chain him up. His condition had deteriorated so badly there was no chance he’d get away.
At least so they thought.
As long as I can breathe I can figure out how to escape. But I sure hope Tidbit’s getting through to someone.
He felt himself drifting into semi-consciousness when he heard the Wolf and Escobedo outside his tent. He roused himself and strained to hear what they were saying.
“I have to leave.” The Wolf’s voice was sharp, tinged with anger. “I have business to conduct and I’ve spent far too much time here already.”
“You don’t say.” Escobedo’s own antagonism was evident. “For the amount of money you take home from us, a few days is the least you can give us. Especially in a situation such as this.”
“Don’t pressure me, Ramon. It’s true you are an excellent customer but I have others I must attend to also. And you don’t seem to be getting anywhere with this man, no matter what tortures you apply to him.”
Escobedo spat on the ground. “That pig. He is close to breaking. Another few hours and he’ll be mine.”
“Your pet mental giant, Felix, hasn’t gotten anywhere, either.”
At that moment Mark heard the distinctive ring of a satellite phone and the Wolf answering it.
“You found her and you lost her? What asinine nonsense is this?” A pause. “You can’t get rid of one stupid woman? Is everyone there incompetent?” Another pause. “Go into her house and drag her out, if you have to. And do not let her anywhere near anyone who can give credence to whatever she might say.”
“News?” Escobedo asked.
“More than you’ve given me. They have identified the woman Halloran is probably sending messages to. They have her in their sights. She’ll soon be history.”
Mark felt panic claw at him.
Oh, God. Faith, please be safe. Use that wonderful brain of yours.
“But then we have to make sure she hasn’t already contacted anyone. And there is the matter of who leaked the word of our meeting to begin with. That’s a hole we definitely have to plug.”
“When are you leaving?”
“The helo will pick me up in fifteen minutes. I’ll be back by noon tomorrow. Have my answers by then.”
Mark heard the Wolf walk away. One moment later Escobedo entered the tent.
“Last chance, soldier boy. You have until noon tomorrow to tell me what I want to know. After that it’s out of my hands.”
He drew back his foot and kicked Mark forcefully in his chest, which was criss-crossed by cuts and then on the open wound on his leg. Mark barely retrained himself from screaming.
Hurry, Tidbit.
* * * * *
“Are you feeling better?” Rick’s voice held deep concern.
They were in the Phoenix plane, preparing for takeoff. Faith had barely held herself together until they reached the airport. Rick had carried her onto the plane and strapped her into one of the luxurious leather armchairs. He poured a shot of brandy from the bar, kneeled beside the chair and insisted she drink it. The fiery liquid burned on the way down but she felt the pain begin to subside almost at once and her breathing eased.
“Yes, thank you. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ve heard about empathetic episodes like this but never witnessed one before. Does this happen often?”
“More in the last couple of days.” She tightened her hands into fists. “I think the torture is getting worse. Rick, I’m really afraid for him.”
“What a disaster.” He stood and slammed his fist against the wall of the cabin. “God damn politics anyway. Gregorio should have been able to send in a rescue mission long before this.”
Faith wiped her face with the damp towel Tia had placed on her forehead and handed it back to her friend. “Have you seen him? The major?”
“Yes. And I can tell you his hands are tied. Even with the support of his commanding officer, who made the trip to Fort Bragg to work with him, he can’t get approval for anything and he’s frustrated as hell.”
“That would be Colonel Ryan.”
“That’s right.” Rick made a sound of frustration. “Gregorio was my CO when I was in SpecOps and I had a lot of respect for him. I still do but I feel sorry for the poor bastard. He’s between a rock and a hard place.”
“What was the last thing he said to you?”
His laugh held no humor. “He wished me luck. He knows what we’ll do.”
“And who is we, exactly?”
At that moment the pilot poked his head into the cabin to let them know they were preparing for takeoff. Sure enough, seconds later the sound of the jet engines filled the space.
“I’ll tell you everything once we’re airborne. Oh and by the way. I sent your email to my friends. We’ll see if we can track down where it came from and go from there.”
He checked to make sure Faith and Tia were both properly buckled in before strapping himself into one of the armchairs across from them. And then they were taxiing down the runway.
By the time they lifted off, Faith was feeling considerably better. But she needed to see if she could contact Mark. A feeling of desperation was creeping through her, the sense that time was running out and they weren’t moving fast enough. While they were still climbing, she closed her eyes, visualized a stream with high banks as Aunt Vivi told her and projected to Mark.
I’m with Rick. We’re going to get you out of this. Please hold on.
There was such a long silence she was afraid he didn’t hear her. Or couldn’t answer. Finally she heard his voice, even fainter than before.
Rick…good…
Yes, yes. He and his friends are helping.
Hurry…running out…
We will. Mark? I love you.
She waited.
Love you too…
Then he was gone. None of her efforts elicited a response. She slumped in her chair and saw Rick eying her with curiosity.
“Were you communicating with Mark just now?” he asked.
She nodded. “Just a short message, though.”
“That’s amazing. I’ve read about this. And of course, Mark explained about telepathy once he felt comfortable enough to confide in us. But I’ve never actually seen it in action. You could hear him? Talk to him? For real?”
“Yes.”
“Jesus. No wonder the military wants to develop this.”
Her eyes clouded. “He sounds so weak.”
“All right. Let me get us all something to drink and I’ll tell you what you need to know. As well as where we’re going.”
When they were settled with filled glasses, Rick began by giving her the capsule description of Phoenix, the background of the partners and a rough outline of how they operated.
“Joey asked one time if he could bring Mark home with him, an unusual request considering how tight our little circle is.” Rick smiled. “We had to get a look at this guy that my little brother thought was better than God.”
“You said something about wanting him to join the company,” Faith reminded him.
“Yes. He’s exactly what we need. But that’s for a later time. First we have to get him home safely. Then he can decide what he wants to do w
ith the rest of his life.”
“You say you do contract work for the government. Would they have come to you for this mission, since apparently nobody wants anything official happening?”
“Probably. But there hasn’t been enough time for it to make its way up the ladder. And this can’t wait. Joey himself impressed us with the urgency of the situation.”
“Where are you taking us now?” Faith wanted to know.
Rick explained about the cabin and the men waiting there for them. “We’ll be getting ready to roll shortly after we arrive there. Dan’s been pulling all the details together while I was checking you out. You both will be safe there while we’re gone. We’ll have someone on you and Joey all the time.”
Faith didn’t contradict him but she had no intention of being left behind. But the time to tell him that was when he was left with no choice. Meanwhile she leaned back in her chair, admiring the plush cabin with its abundance of electronics equipment and letting her mind drift.
Mark, I’ll get you out if I have to kill someone myself to do it.
She leaned her head back and tried to relax in her seat. She’d flown in choppers before and never found them to be places where you could exactly get comfortable. But fatigue crawled through her and her eyes closed without her even realizing it. In seconds the dream enfolded her.
They were on a hotel balcony overlooking a beach, the waves of the ocean pounding against the sand and a soft tropical breeze whispering over them. Mark was laying full length on a padded chaise and she was straddling him. There was something so erotic, so tantalizing about being outside, where, if someone looked at a particular angle, they could see them. She’d never felt so daring. Never been so bold.
Her body arched and she whimpered with pleasure as his hand kneaded and molded her breasts, his thumbs chafing the nipples.
“I love these.” His voice was husky as he brushed his thumbs over the hardened peaks. “What a gorgeous shade of pink, deep like the roses in my grandmother’s garden. And so plump.”
He rubbed them again, back and forth, tiny sparks shooting through her straight to her pussy.
“Slide up here, darlin’. I need a taste of you.”
His hand urged her hips forward, positioning her on his chest so her cunt was so close to his mouth she could feel his breath on its wet flesh. Faith shivered as fingers of heat raced over her, like butterflies dancing on her skin. Mark’s fingers were warm on her as he spread wide her labia and his tongue took a long, slow glide the length of her slit.
“Mmm.” His hum of satisfaction vibrated through her. “I purely love the taste of you.”
“And I love it when you do that.” She gripped him with her legs, struggling to maintain her balance as his tongue played over her slickness. She felt much freer now telling him how she felt and what she liked. At first she’d been self-conscious about it but the more they were together, the more erotic the things they did, the easier she felt about…everything. As if chains she’d been binding herself with had suddenly slipped away.
Closing her eyes, she gave herself up to the sheer pleasure of sensation, Mark’s tongue like an energized feather licking lightly on every surface of her pussy. Her inner walls fluttered in response, every nerve focused on the hard nub of her clit.
There. Lick me there, she wanted to shout.
She tried to urge him with her hips but Mark slid his hands to her hips and held her steadily in place. Finally his teeth nipped at her clit and she cried out with pleasure, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
“More,” she moaned.
And Mark obliged.
The movement of his tongue speeded up, lapping at her everywhere, flicking the very tip of her clit, rimming the opening to her very hungry channel. When he stiffened his tongue and thrust it inside her she cried out again and tried to push herself farther down on him. The rough velvet of his tongue probed everywhere, curling against her sweet spot so that she quaked and trembled.
Her fingers wrapped around his forearms to give her balance as he drove his tongue into her again and again. She felt the hunger rising within her, coiling upward, reaching out, out, out until every pulse was like a drum pounding out a sensuous rhythm.
“Yes,” she cried, as his tongue probed her harder and deeper.
She nearly lost her balance when he slid one hand from a hip and moved it so his fingers could touch her clit. He gripped that swollen button between two fingers and tugged and pulled on it in the same rhythm as his plunging tongue.
More. More, more, more.
She lurched back and forth with the limited movement she had but it wasn’t even close to being enough.
As if reading her silent signal, Mark increased the thrust of his tongue and pulled harder on her clit.
Almost there! Almost there!
Then he dragged his tongue back and drove three fingers into her, his teeth fastening on her clit and her orgasm crashed over her like a thundering wave. She shook uncontrollably as spasm after spasm rocked her. Mark fucked her hard with his fingers, his mouth still fastened on the hard knot of her sex, and rode her through her release.
When at last she fell forward, limply, he pulled away his hand and painted her cream on first his lips, then hers.
“Share it with me, Faith. See how good you taste. Why I can’t ever get enough of you. Come on, put your lips on mine.”
“I will,” she told him in a low voice. “Oh, yes, I will…”
I will, I will, I will…
“Faith?”
A voice distracted her. Who was that? Not Mark. Was someone else here?
“Hey, Faith.” A hand shook her and a soft voice called her name.
She blinked, opened her eyes, and stared into Tia’s eyes. She blinked again, suddenly realizing what had happened. Heat surged through her face and she struggled to sit up straight. Holy hell! Had she said anything to embarrass herself?
“I’m okay.” She dragged her fingers through her hair. “Just…dreaming, I guess.”
“You were shaking like crazy.” Tia looked at her with worried eyes. “Are you okay? Are you sick or something?”
Shaking. Oh, god. Please let me not have said anything.
“I’m fine, but thanks for waking me.”
She glanced at Rick to see if he’d noticed anything but he was absorbed in the file he was reading. For the balance of the trip she dug her nails into her hands to keep herself awake and stared out the window.
* * * * *
Mr. Green and Mr. Brown’s day continued to get steadily worse.
“What do you mean she’s not there?” he shouted into the phone.
“I mean she’s gone,” the fake plumber, a man named Damon, told him. “The house is empty.”
“Did you get inside?”
“Sure. Piece of cake. No alarm system and the locks are a joke. She’s gone. Car’s here but she’s not. Nor is the woman who spent the night with her.”
“Shit. Damn it all to hell.” Green was sweating again at the thought of the call he’d have to make. “How the hell could they just disappear with you there watching them? Did you fall asleep?”
“Listen,” Damon snapped, “don’t blame me. I was doing my job exactly as you told me to. You should have let me go in last night and take care of them both.”
“Oh, sure.” Green made a sound of disgust. “Then we’d have two bodies to dispose of instead of one. And two sets of questions.” He thought for a moment. “What about the man who showed up?”
“You mean the one who dragged her away from your car just in time?” Damon’s tone was nasty.
“You know who I’m referring to. What happened to him?”
“He got in his car and left.”
“Alone?”
“Yup. I waited about fifteen minutes to be sure he wasn’t coming back, then I went up to the door. Nada.”
Green thought for a moment. “Could they have left with him?”
“Not unless they snuck out the back.”<
br />
The silence thickened as both men looked at each other and reached the same conclusion.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it,” Green swore. “Didn’t you have an eye on the back?”
“Get real. You can’t see everything from the street. And who expected her to do a Houdini?”
More silence.
“All right,” Green said at last. “Go home. I’ll call you if I need you again.”
“Don’t forget my pay,” Damon reminded him.
“Your pay? You let the woman get away, didn’t you?” He disconnected the call and threw the cell phone on the bed.
Brown, who was sitting at a small round table drinking coffee, eyed him with a mixture of curiosity and dread. “She got away?”
“Yes. And who the hell knows where she’s gotten to? Fuck all, anyway.” He heaved a sigh. “Too bad that damn peacock Winslow wasn’t smart enough to have her thoroughly investigated the first time he ever met with her. Now we have to do his work for him.” He picked up the phone and tossed it at Brown. “Call the geek. Tell him we need him to do some digging.”
“Where are you going?”
“To replenish my supply of Tums.”
* * * * *
“What do mean she’s gone?”
Trey Winslow sat in the paneled office to which he’d been summoned, ostensibly for a meeting regarding his work on the Armed Services Committee. He had never seen the man behind the desk quite so agitated, not even in times of great crisis. What was he thinking? This was a great crisis.
“Just exactly what I said. Right out from under our noses.” The man picked up a paper clip and began twisting and bending it. “Those bumbling idiots we use couldn’t track a pigeon if it left droppings every two inches.”
“They certainly didn’t use their brains trying that trick with the car,” Winslow pointed out. “What if the neighbors had been watching?”
“Morons. That’s what we have working for us.” The man threw the misshapen clip onto the desk blotter. “They’ve bungled this thing from the very beginning.”
