She absently chewed her thumbnail, psychically willing her program to work faster.
It didn’t actually help, but it made her feel as if she was doing something.
“Just one more minute,” she muttered.
“Dammit, you’re going to give me a heart attack,” Rage informed her. “Not to mention the fact that Parish is going to skin me alive for not checking in.”
The guards had taken their cellphones when they’d first captured them, which meant they hadn’t been able to contact the Wildlands and reveal what they were doing.
Payton didn’t want to worry anyone, but this was too important not to stay and finish the job.
“I’m close to breaking through,” she assured her companion.
Rage moved to stand at her shoulder, his impatience a tangible force in the air.
“I still don’t know why we can’t just take the computer and leave.”
Payton swallowed her sigh. Hunters. They were always eager to charge in and take action. This waiting was driving the male insane.
“Because they’ll know we have it and destroy the information we need,” she explained for the tenth time, glaring at the numbers that scrolled across the screen. Rage wasn’t the only one losing his patience. “Come on, come on,” she urged softly.
“Does talking to it make it go faster?” Rage teased.
“Smartass.”
“Hey now, is that any way to talk to the male protecting your very fine ass?”
She rolled her eyes, her lips twitching. Rage was a compulsive flirt, but she couldn’t deny she enjoyed his companionship.
Every female enjoyed a male who made her feel beautiful.
Especially after she’d been cruelly rejected by the male she loved.
“You need to keep your attention focused on the guards, not my ass,” she chided.
On cue, there was the sound of a door opening down the hall and Rage swore beneath his breath.
“Time’s up, sweetheart.”
Payton reluctantly straightened. “Crap.”
“We’ll try again after halftime.”
“How long will that be?”
“Twenty minutes.” Rage shrugged. “Thirty minutes tops.”
Payton hesitated. If she shut down the program she’d have to start over on the last layer of security.
“Then I think I’ll take the risk of leaving my program running,” she abruptly decided. “Unless they try to use the computer they won’t notice.”
Rage snorted. “I doubt those goons know how to turn on a computer, let alone comprehend what you’re doing.”
Payton agreed. It’d become painfully obvious the human guards hadn’t been hired for their brains.
Of course, whoever was running the clinic probably didn’t think anyone would ever manage to stumble across this secret basement. And if they did, most people would have been easily run off by a guard pointing a gun in their direction.
“I’m not worried about the guards,” she told him. “I’m afraid of triggering my presence once I break past the final firewall.”
“Let’s go.”
Grabbing her upper arm, he gently tugged her out of the computer room and past the large lab that was locked up tight. Then, entering the storage area at the back, they pushed aside the shelves to reveal the double cells built in the hidden room.
“You have the gun I gave you?” Rage demanded as he opened one of the cells and urged her inside.
Payton glanced down to where the full cut of her slacks hid the weapon strapped to her ankle.
“Yep.”
Rage shook his head as he closed the door and used a small piece of wire to tumble the lock. They both knew the weapon was more for show than actual protection. She couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.
Not that she was helpless.
She was far stronger and faster than a mere human.
“I don’t like this,” he breathed.
She rolled her eyes as the Hunter moved to step into the adjoining cell, closing and locking the door behind him.
“You’ve made your opinion clear,” she assured him.
Rage moved to stretch his large body onto the cot, sending her a chiding glance.
“Not clear enough or we wouldn’t still be here.”
She headed to the back of the cell as she caught the smell of the approaching humans. It wasn’t the same sour stench of the disciples of Shakpi. Nope, this odor was nothing more than a lack of soap and water.
None of them had been near a shower for three days.
Unfortunately.
“I’ll be done tonight, I promise.”
They fell silent as the two humans stepped through the hidden door. Unlike the other guards in the clinic, these two wore casual khakis and shirts instead of the official uniforms. They also carried high-powered guns that might have been terrifying if Rage hadn’t disabled them while the men were asleep.
“Hello, pussy,” the shorter of the two men drawled, moving to press his pudgy face against the iron bars. It was a tediously predictable taunt that he repeated every night. “Ready for a real man?”
The second guard made a sound of disgust, his gray hair and lined face revealing he was far older than his companion.
“Would you really do her?”
The man leered at Payton even as she gave a deliberate yawn.
“Hell, she has a cunt, doesn’t she?”
“She’s a fucking animal,” the second guard muttered.
“I’ve had worse.”
“Until she bites off your dick.”
“I’m not scared of the mutants,” Guard Number One assured his friend, only to ruin his manly boast when he gave a squeak of alarm and slammed against the shelves behind him as Rage shoved himself off his cot.
“Why don’t you come in here and say that,” Rage taunted.
“Let’s get out of here.” The older man backed out of the cramped room, his hand hovering above the gun holstered at his side. “I want to make a Hot Pocket before the game starts.”
The two idiots stumbled out of the room with enough speed to make Payton chuckle, completely unaware that Rage was already out of his cell and shadowing them as they returned to their break room.
Once the Hunter was certain the two were once again engrossed in their game he would return to get Payton. Until then she would have to wait.
Too restless to sit down, Payton paced the small cell. Hopefully her program was on the edge of breaking through the firewall, without having actually penetrated the barrier. Anyone who had that level of protection would no doubt have installed a fail-safe to destroy the information if it was ever compromised.
Which meant she’d have only seconds to transfer as much data as possible.
Still pacing, Payton came to an abrupt halt.
What was that scent? It was Pantera. Not Rage, but it was familiar…
Oh hell.
Disbelief thundered through her as she watched the large male step through the doorway, his massive body consuming the cramped space.
Hakan.
She licked her dry lips, her gaze compulsively taking in his bluntly carved features and shaved head.
Unlike Rage, this Hunter would never be called gorgeous.
He was raw. Compelling. Potently male.
And dangerous to her on a primitive level.
Taking a hasty step backward, Payton was acutely aware that her linen pants and silk shirt were creased, and her hair a tangled mess.
Even worse, she knew that she smelled as bad as the humans.
Not how a female wanted to look when in the presence of the male she’d once begged to love her.
She winced, slamming the door on that particular memory.
Dammit. She’d devoted the past twenty years to scrubbing that humiliating night from her mind. When the hell was it finally going to disappear?
Angered at being caught off guard when she went to enormous lengths to avoid this particular male, she planted her hand on h
er hips and tilted her chin at a militant angle.
“What are you doing here?”
“Shh.” He glided forward, his movements astonishingly graceful for such a large male as he easily broke the lock and stepped into the cell. “I’m here to rescue you.”
“Why?”
He studied her flushed face, his expression impossible to read. She hated that. How could he so easily disguise his emotions while he always knew exactly what she was feeling?
“Why am I here to rescue you?”
She pursed her lips. Okay. It was a stupid question.
“Did Parish send you?”
The amber eyes narrowed. “Does it matter? You were missing and I came to find you.”
“Well you can go back to where you came from,” she informed him, her voice pitched low enough that it wouldn’t carry. “I don’t need your help.”
He hesitated, glancing around the small cell. Was he trying to grasp why she wasn’t falling to her knees in gratitude? Probably so. He had, after all, charged to her rescue like some knight in shining armor.
“This isn’t the time to be stubborn, Payton,” he at last growled, reaching out to lightly grab her upper arms.
Instant heat jolted through her, re-igniting the savage awareness that she’d tried so hard to deny. At the same time, her cat lunged toward the male who it’d chosen as her mate two decades ago.
The animal inside her didn’t understand the meaning of betrayal. It only knew that this male was the most fascinating, gloriously sexy Pantera she’d ever met. And that the loss of his companionship had left a hole in her heart that refused to heal.
“You’re right, it’s not.” She jerked away from his scalding touch, moving until the back of her legs were pressed against the cot. “So go away.”
His jaw clenched, something perilously close to regret darkening his beautiful eyes.
“Not without you.”
Payton watched his hands reach toward her again and she sent him a glance that she hoped shriveled his balls to tiny prunes.
“Try to force me and I’ll punch you in the nose,” she warned.
He stilled, then astonishingly his lips twitched, as if he was pleased by her fierce threat.
“Is that supposed to scare me?” he asked, stepping close enough that the heat of his body wrapped around her.
Payton shivered, the enticing scent of his musk clouding her mind.
Blessed Goddess. She’d wanted this male for so long.
Too long.
“Stop it, Hakan. You’re going to ruin everything,” she snapped, deliberately pausing. “Again.”
He flinched. Had she actually managed to hit a nerve?
Amazing.
He stepped back, not bothering to disguise his wary confusion.
“Payton, what the hell is going on?”
“I came here to search the computer systems for any other females who might have been inseminated,” she said.
A low growl rumbled in his chest. “Something I intend to discuss with Xavier. You’re supposed to be in your office, not out risking your life on a mission.”
“You most certainly will not speak with Xavier. This was my call,” she informed him. When the hell had Hakan become so overprotective? Like her, he’d spent the past twenty years trying to make sure their paths rarely crossed.
“To put yourself deliberately in danger?”
“I didn’t….” She made a sound of frustration. “Do you want to know why I’m still here or not?”
He folded his arms over his broad chest. The T-shirt stretched tight, emphasizing his bulging muscles.
“Go on.”
Her mouth went dry, but she managed to resist the temptation to reach out and run her hands over those sculpted pecs.
“Reny got a little…” She hesitated, not entirely sure what had happened when Reny had caught sight of Mr. Stanton Locke. The one-time FBI agent had gone from cool and composed to I’m-going-to-fucking-kill-you in the blink of an eye. “…overheated when she recognized the director of The Haymore Center, and the cops were called. During the confrontation I slipped down here with Rage to have a look at their records.”
His expression remained stoic, but the heat from his body warned he wasn’t impressed with her resourcefulness.
“You mean to hack into their computer network,” he said.
She shrugged. “Same thing.”
“Only for a Geek.”
She glared at him in frustration. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He ignored her question. “How were you captured?”
“We weren’t.”
CHAPTER 2
Hakan scowled, his usual calm composure smashed by his smoldering frustration.
For years he’d been forced to keep a firm leash on himself or risk doing something he was certain he would later regret. A task that was almost impossible with Payton.
His emotions took on a life of their own when he was near this female. They became unpredictable. Treacherous.
Overwhelming.
He wanted to toss her on his bed and devour her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and protect her from the world.
He wanted…
Her.
Period.
But even his cat understood that Payton was not only smaller, younger and far more vulnerable than he was, but she had yet to develop into the female she was intended to be.
He would never hurt her. He’d die before he’d let anyone, including himself, cause her to suffer. But he’d always feared in the past that his aggressive, dominant personality might very well stifle her ability to mature.
Now, however, the gloves were off.
He’d sworn to himself during his frantic trip to New Orleans that he was done keeping his distance. The stark terror of losing her had convinced him that the time had come to claim his female.
And the past few minutes had proven that she was more than capable of holding her own against him.
Hell, he was beginning to suspect that he was the one in danger of being bullied.
“You weren’t captured?” he demanded, his brows arched in disbelief.
She waved a dismissive hand. “A couple of guards appeared and threw us in these cells that couldn’t hold a flea. They’re waiting for their boss to return and tell them what to do with us. We managed to pick the locks the second their backs were turned.”
Fury at the knowledge she’d deliberately placed herself in danger continued to thunder through him. Dammit. She was supposed to be at her desk in the Wildlands. Not infiltrating into enemy territory.
“So why didn’t you escape?” he demanded.
A stubborn expression that he’d never seen before settled on her pretty, heart-shaped face.
“I came here to get information and I’m not leaving without it.”
“Fine. I’ll get the computer and—”
“Absolutely not. Hunters.” She rolled her eyes, as if exasperated beyond bearing by the entire faction of warriors. “We can’t let anyone know that I have access to their system. Not until I’ve managed to break their encryption and download the records.”
His fingers twitched. He would spare a minute to try to reason with her, but one way or another, she was leaving this cell.
Either walking. Or tossed over his shoulder.
“And if reinforcements show up and they decide to shoot you in the head?”
She sniffed at his perfectly rational argument. “I have Rage to protect me.”
He snarled at the soft taunt. Now that his possessive urges had been unleashed, the mere thought of another Pantera offering his protection to this female made a red mist cloud his brain.
“Are you trying to piss me off?”
The pale green eyes that had once been soft with affection were now glowing with a dangerous light.
“What I’m trying to do is my job.”
He leaned forward, meeting her glare for glare. “Your job isn’t to put yourself in danger.”
&nb
sp; “That’s not your call.”
“It damn well is.”
If he’d been in a rational mood, he’d have realized he was going about this all wrong. No female wanted to be told what to do. Especially not a Pantera female. His mood, however, was far from rational. From the second he’d heard that Payton was missing he’d been running on pure Hunter instinct. “And this mission just got cancelled.” His hands grasped her upper arms, preparing to haul her over his shoulder, but even as he pulled her forward, she reached up to slam her fist against his nose.
More startled than hurt, he released her to stare in shock.
“Ow.”
“I warned you.” She bit her bottom lip, no doubt already feeling guilty at using violence against him.
Not that she backed down.
Pride flowed through him.
Payton had always been kind, and loyal, and terrifyingly brilliant. Oh, and sexy as hell.
Now she was confident.
It made his cat purr with pleasure.
There was a low chuckle as Rage stepped through the doorway, his gaze taking careful note of the way Hakan moved to stand protectively at Payton’s side.
“As amusing as this little farce is becoming, the guards have returned to watching their football game,” the younger Hunter informed them.
Hakan pointed a finger toward Rage. The male Pantera had allowed Payton to put her life at risk.
“We’re going to have a discussion when we get back to the Wildlands.”
With a sound of annoyance, Payton moved to exit the cell, her spine rigid.
“Go away, Hakan.”
He prowled right behind her. “Not going to happen.”
Rage gave a short laugh as he turned to lead them out of the hidden room.
“You might as well let him tag along,” he told Payton. “He’s not leaving without you.”
Payton muttered something beneath her breath, but she gave up her futile attempt to get rid of him. Instead, she quickened her pace as they moved through the large lab and into a room that was packed tight with computer equipment.
Meeting Rage’s questioning gaze, Hakan gave a nod of his head, sending the younger Hunter out of the room to keep watch. Hakan leaned against the frame of the door, watching as his soon-to-be mate slid into a chair at the desk in the center of the floor and did her thing.
Bayou Heat Collection Two Page 31
