by Lexi Blake
Her shoe tapped against the floor, an impatient sound. “Tennessee, they’re going to start in on your teeth this morning. They’ll pull them out one by one. You don’t want that. Give me what I need to satisfy them. I can introduce you to people. A man like you can make a lot of money on the open market. Hey, we could actually be a force as independent contractors. There aren’t a lot of couples working.”
It was all a lie, but a useful one. She still thought she could get to him, still believed her feminine wiles would work on him. “Kiss me.”
The thought made his stomach churn, but it would get her where he needed her.
“Kiss you?” Her dark eyes widened.
“Kiss me and I’ll tell you where Tag is. I never liked that asshole anyway.” Tag was likely gone. He would be smart. He would disappear, figuring the op was blown. Still, even knowing Tag was safe, he wasn’t giving this bitch anything. Not a goddamn thing.
Well, except one final gift.
Her lips curled up in a satisfied smirk. He had her. She stepped forward. “I suppose I can do that.”
The minute she was close, he swung his legs back and up. Pain screamed though his body, but he did what he needed to do. He forced his legs around her throat, the strength of his thighs drawing her in.
“What!” She screamed, but it was a muffled sound.
Ten couldn’t help but laugh because that sound was totally muffled by his dick, which was happily covered with heavy denim. They hadn’t gotten to the ball torture he was certain would have been on the menu today. Those jeans protected him from what he was sure was a sharp set of teeth.
“You never were any good at oral, babe.”
She squirmed and tried to force him off, pushing up with her hands. Exactly what he needed. He jerked his cuffed hands up and over the hook and they went tumbling down. He groaned as his body hit the concrete, but he tightened his ankles. They were both down now. If he allowed her to get up, she would go for one of the guns. The only reason she hadn’t been carrying was likely his seeming helplessness.
His arms would barely move, his body overtaken with pain, and she was fighting in earnest now. It was an instinct, really. His arms wouldn’t work, but he could swing his torso. If he let her go, she would alert the others and then he was done. He would either get away or end this one way or another. He wasn’t getting back on the hook. He tightened his thighs to hold her in place and threw his torso as far as he could to the left.
There was a horrible crunching sound and she went still.
So much for love and marriage.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He couldn’t think about this now. He couldn’t look at her, couldn’t do anything but survive this. His body shook as he tried to get up. Nope. Still wasn’t working. He was a little afraid he was going into shock.
Couldn’t wait. Had to move. There was at least one gun on the desk. He’d watched the last guy drop it there, as though teasing Ten with it. Just out of reach, too far away. No salvation for you, asshole.
He caught sight of Dawn, her eyes staring up. Not a hint of light behind them.
God, he was going to throw up.
The door opened and Ten groaned.
Too weak. Too fucking weak and he hadn’t even gotten a weapon. He looked around. The concrete was stained with his blood, but there was absolutely nothing he could use to end his own misery. He had no way to eliminate the possibility that Dawn had been right and he would break. He couldn’t break. If he did one decent thing in his miserable, pathetic life it would be to go out of it without giving up his operatives, his country.
He’d failed even at that.
“Thought I’d find you here,” a familiar voice said. “Damn, I kind of hoped you’d both been taken. Guess the princess was a double.”
With shaking hands, Ten forced himself up. His arms felt like noodles, but the fact that he was no longer alone gave him a weird strength. Ian Taggart was standing in the torture chamber, a P90 across his chest and blood on the T-shirt he was wearing. He was massive and solid, and none of that muscle would protect him.
“We have to go…” No. That was wrong. It was all fucking wrong and he had to do the honorable thing. “You have to go. Leave me a gun and get the fuck out of here, Tag. There are at least four men in this place and they don’t play. I can’t walk. You have to leave me.”
Tag snorted, a thoroughly arrogant sound. “There were seven and now there are none. Nasty bastards. They were supposed to be all about religion and shit, but they had a ton of cheap-ass Scotch up there. I guess now they know about the evils of alcohol. You look like shit, Ten.”
They were dead? Tag had killed them all? “I could kiss you, you know.”
“That’s what all the girls say,” Tag replied. He sighed. “This is probably going to hurt, buddy, but we should really leave before reinforcements get here.”
Tag leaned over and he was so fucking right. It hurt like hell to have a six and a half foot monster of a man throw him over his shoulder. Ten damn near blacked out. He forced himself to stay conscious. “How did you find me?”
“Didn’t. Found her. I put a tracker on that bag you bought her. She was suspicious.”
“Do I want to know what she did to make you suspicious?”
“You do not, brother. But let’s talk about paying me back. How about an assignment that doesn’t involve the shit end of the planet?”
So she’d probably come on to Tag, likely offered herself to him at some point. While he’d been planning a future, she’d been trying to fuck his friends. Still, the sight of her dead body sent him reeling. He had to force himself not to scream out. He hadn’t loved her, but she’d represented a future—something he would never have.
“I promise.” He forced the words out of his mouth as Tag walked through the house toward the door. “The next time something in Europe comes up, you’re my man.”
“Cool,” Tag said. “Tell you what, how about you send me to Paris at some point and we’ll call it even. I’ve heard good things about this club there.”
Tag and his clubs. Tag still had some expectation of finding a woman. Oh, he wouldn’t call her a wife. He would call her a sub, but it was all the same really. Tag thought there was a woman out there who could handle his darkness, who could bring him into the light.
Ten had finally let go of that daydream. It had never been for him and he would remember that fact from now on. All it got him was death and betrayal. Love was for the Jamies and Phoebes of the world.
As Tag carried him out into the light of day, he finally let go and unconsciousness claimed him.
CHAPTER ONE
Outside of Monrovia, Liberia
West Africa
Present Day
Faith McDonald turned her face up to the sun and breathed in long and deep. It felt like she hadn’t taken a deep breath in the last six months, hadn’t taken time to acknowledge something as small as the warmth of a lovely day because her world seemed so very filled with death.
“Hey, is that an actual smile I see on your face?” a familiar voice asked.
Faith opened her eyes and couldn’t help but smile at her new friend. In the last several months she’d become close to her bodyguard. Erin Argent had a mass of unruly red hair and a sweet smile that belied her incredibly sarcastic nature. Faith appreciated both. “Togar’s fever broke this morning.”
Togar was a young Bassa boy. His mother had died in the first wave, when it had all seemed like another day in West Africa. Ebola had reared its ugly head, but in the beginning, none of the doctors in Faith’s small charity hospital had truly understood what was coming for them. Togar had lost his mother, father, and three sisters in the months that followed before falling ill himself.
She hadn’t been able to deal with it. She’d kept that toddler healthy all these months and his death right at the end of the horrible tide would have potentially broken her, but this morning—this beautiful and glorious morning—she’d won one. Togar had woken weak but asking to eat.
It was the classic doctor mistake. Don’t get close. Don’t let them in. Fix the ones you can and let go of the rest. Triage.
She hadn’t been able to do it. There were times when what she did required more than mere logic and reason. There were times when it required a win to keep going. One life saved.
Erin joined her on the front porch of the small hut she lived in while she worked at the hospital. “I’m glad to hear that. I got fond of that kid. What happens to him now that we’re going home?”
Home. God, she wasn’t even sure where that was anymore. At least Togar had one. “I finally located his grandmother. She’s in Sierra Leone. She and her husband will be here by the end of the week. He’s going to be okay.”
“Because you’ll make sure of it. How much did you give the grandmother?” Erin asked, suspicion in her voice.
Faith sighed. “A couple hundred bucks, but she didn’t ask for it. She really was happy to find out her grandson was alive. I won’t miss it, but two hundred dollars can potentially change a life here.”
Erin sat back. “I get it. I really do. Hey, babe.”
Faith couldn’t help but smile at the newcomer. Theo. That man was hot. With close-cropped blond hair, broad shoulders, and a body that didn’t appear to contain a single ounce of fat, Theodore Taggart was simply divine. He was also taken by Erin. Like totally taken. She’d caught them kissing one night. Though she was ashamed to admit it, she’d hidden and watched. She’d watched as big, manly Theo had pressed Erin against the door of her hut and inhaled her like she was more necessary than his next breath. His hands had cupped her ass, hauling her close, and she’d heard him growling at her in a low, sexy, very dominant voice.
Yeah, she was getting hot thinking about it. If the bad news was Theo had a girl, the good news was he also apparently had a twin who looked an awful lot like him.
“Hey.” Theo looked perfectly comfortable with the P90 strapped to his chest. His gaze warmed as he took in his girlfriend.
His sub. That had been a shock. Erin and Theo were involved in a D/s relationship. Not in a million years would she have expected to find another D/s couple out here in Africa.
Not another. She wasn’t in a relationship anymore. Her “Master” had decided she wasn’t worth the trouble and dumped her via text. It wasn’t that she was horribly hurt. She hadn’t been that invested, but now she was at loose ends and the prospect of trying to find a good play partner was daunting.
“So I hear you’re coming home with us, Doc,” Theo said, leaning against the railing.
“I don’t know.” When Erin had made the offer, she’d practically jumped at it. Not only were Theo and Erin in the lifestyle and really pleasant to be around, they had connections to a very swanky club in Dallas. Normally Faith played in her home city of Houston for a few months during her leave, but the breakup with her old Master might make things uncomfortable.
And wouldn’t a new start be amazing? She only had a few precious months before she would be back here, fighting disease and poverty and increasingly dealing with radicals who would love to take out a Western doctor. Most of the year she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and those sweet times when she could shrug off responsibility and indulge in her submissive side were like gold.
Did she really want to waste them on all the drama that would go with going home? Not only would she have to deal with her old Master and the nastiness of the mean girl club subs there, she would have to deal with her father and sister. She knew they loved her but they also judged her. With judgey eyes. Yeah, there was a reason they kept her far from the press. She used words like judgey.
“You don’t know?” Erin asked with a frown. “I thought it was all settled. You can stay with me.”
“With us,” Theo corrected. “Faith, you are more than welcome to stay with me and Erin. We have a new house. It’s not huge, but it’s certainly got enough room for you.”
“What?” Erin asked, her face flushing.
Theo’s lips tugged up in a sexy grin. “Surprise, love. I asked my brothers to find us a place while we’re here. I didn’t want you to have to go back to your sad, nondescript apartment. You’ll find Case and Ian have moved us totally into our new home.”
“They moved me out of my apartment?” For a second Erin sounded shocked, almost angry, but then she took a deep breath. “That’s a big surprise, Theo. Maybe we should have talked about that.”
He shook his head. “You know that apartment was in a dangerous part of town, and I won’t have you unprotected. You’ll see. This is going to work out beautifully, and now we have a place for Faith. I would hate for her to have to sleep on your couch.”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t impose,” Faith said quickly.
“Well, now you’re not,” Theo replied. “Now you’re helping my lovely sub and I move on to the next phase of our lives. We’ll be more than happy to have you with us, and I’ve already talked to my contacts at Sanctum. When we touch down in Dallas, there will be a contract waiting for you.”
“Seriously?” She’d heard about Sanctum. It was kind of legendary in their circles. And incredibly exclusive. “I’ve got to ask. If you can afford a Sanctum membership, why are you here?”
“You can afford it. Why are you here?” Theo shot back.
He used that deep, dominant voice on her and she realized she was being incredibly rude. Even part-time Doms preferred politeness. It was one of the things she liked about the lifestyle. She would never be twenty-four seven, but she deeply enjoyed patches of time where she could sink into her submissive role. “I apologize. You’re correct, of course.”
Erin gave her a grin. “And he totally can’t afford a membership. His brother runs the place. I’m surprised Theo could afford the house.”
Theo shrugged. “I’m full of surprises, baby. And you know I always give you what you need.” He winked. “I’m going to pack. Our flight leaves at 0900. If you’re game, I’ll set up a cyber meeting with a Dom from Sanctum. He can go over all the rules and your contract. If you decide to come with us.”
Theo gave them a nod and started walking toward the security office.
“You’ve got some time, you know,” Erin said. “Three glorious weeks where we check each other for fever twice a day. It’s going to be a blast.”
“My dad’s place in Munich is beautiful.” It was outside the city, actually. Out in the Bavarian countryside. She didn’t go there often but her father and sister used the place for skiing holidays. Personally, she thought a three-week quarantine of perfectly healthy people was overdone, but her father had asked her to do it and offered up a really nice check for her clinic, so she would allow him to go all over the press stating his hero doctor daughter was observing the rules. Naturally they were rules set up by freaked-out politicians who knew nothing about medicine, but they were somehow “the rules.”
That was the kind of crap one put up with when one’s father was a senator. God, she prayed he never ran for president.
“Thanks for inviting us along.” Erin sat back, crossing her legs at the ankles and leaning her back against the solid wood of the frame. “You know, I really admire you. I can joke about the rich girl stuff, but you do good work, Doc. I’m pretty cynical about the world myself, but you’re the real deal.”
“I don’t know about that.” Faith sometimes thought she was simply making up for all the crap her father pulled. Politics was a dirty business. “And it can be hard to stay naïve out here, but I try.”
“Naïve? Why would you want to be naïve?”
That was an easy question and one she’d answered long ago. “Because cynics don’t change the world. Naïve people do. Naïve people aren’t smart enough to know that they can’t beat a disease. When wave after wave of bodies start rolling in, the naïve idiot stands there and tries to hold the line.”
She wasn’t smart enough to cure the thing. Her sister was the research genius. Faith thought of herself as a private while Hope was a genera
l.
Erin’s lips turned up slightly. “It really is a war. I didn’t get that until I saw it myself. You’re a good soldier, Doc.”
That was probably the highest compliment Erin could give. “Thanks, and please call me Faith.”
“I will. Besides, it looks like we’re going to be roomies for a while.”
“You seemed a bit irritated with Theo.”
“Only because he’s a high-handed asshat who really should involve me in the decision-making process,” Erin began.
“Is there trouble between the two of you?” She didn’t like the thought. She kind of liked Erin and Theo being solid. She needed a couple to aspire to.
Erin turned thoughtful. “Always, but…let’s just say I’ve learned a lot here.”
Africa could do that to a person. It was why she kept coming back. She’d learned a lot about herself, about kindness in the face of adversity. About death and life. “Is it wrong that I really want to go to Sanctum?”
“Why would it be wrong?”
She was getting maudlin. “I don’t know. I guess I’m going into it knowing it’s only a short-term relationship. I want to relax.”
“You want to have sex,” Erin corrected. “And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Faith, there’s not a thing wrong with asking for what you need. You’re surrounded by death and misery nine months out of the year. Party the rest of the time. You deserve it. Anyone who says otherwise can bite my ass. You don’t have a relationship right now so that frees you up to do as you please. If doing some super-hot Dom pleases you, then go for it.”
She sighed. “Will he be super hot?”
“Oh, he’ll be hot. I can promise you that.”
“Might he look somewhat like your Dom?”
