EDGE OF TEMPTATION

by Gennita Low

  “Titans,” Parker finished. He paused as he thought about it. “Someone’s pulling strings to keep it within the Feds’ control.”

  “Interesting twist, isn’t it?” Jared asked. “I’ll let you know later if our theory holds water. Call me ASAP.”

  “I can handle this. You guys are supposed to be on vacay, remember? Doing the nesting thing without guns and bad guys?”

  “You forget it’s Sugar we’re talking about,” Jared reminded dryly.

  “Well, okay, without the bad guys,” Parker corrected. “But man, I’d think you can keep her busy doing other stuff but think of weapons and killing people for a few days, Bossman.”

  It was good-natured joshing with a bit of male mockery. Jared grinned. “I know about the bet.”

  Parker groaned. “Dammit.”

  After he ended the call, Jared was about to call his FBI contact when he heard Sugar singing a lullaby. He put down the cell phone and quietly got up. Nothing was more precious to him than the sight of his tough and sexy wife holding baby Vi to her breast and crooning her to sleep. He went to the small room next door and stood at the doorway, devouring the scene.

  “You don’t know what you do to me when you sit there naked with our babe like this,” he said, hoarsely. “It’s a good ache inside.”

  Sugar looked up, a sweet smile on her lips. “You just wait until we wear matching leather outfits.” She hummed a few more lines. “She’ll be our warrior princess in no time.”

  Oh yeah. His baby girl was going to be like mama.

  “If you have to go get Rookie out of hot water, you have my permission to leave our love nest,” Sugar said, getting up from the chair. Laying Violet gently down in her bed, she continued, “I don’t think Vi is ready to handle bad guys yet, although I’m sure she’d enjoy being strapped on my back.”

  Jared smiled at the ridiculous image of Sugar in her black—with Violet on her back in pink—leather, chasing after crime lords, guns a-blazing. The scary thing was, he could see it happening because his wife was a warrior through and through. He’d probably have a heart attack.

  He walked over to Sugar and put an arm over her shoulder. She sighed and tucked her head against him as they stood looking down at Violet.

  “I’m only doing it so you can win your bet,” he told her softly.

  “You’re the best husband,” Sugar said.

  * * *

  Okay, his worry just increased tenfold. Walker looked at Nadine closely. She had gone quieter since stopping at the convenience store an hour ago and now she was positively sheet white. Her hand, holding the half-eaten snack the Russian gave her, trembled. Her eyes were dilated when she stared up at him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked quietly.

  “I don’t feel sooooo well, Honey Bbbbun B...Bun,” she replied, her voice thready. “Cold. So cold.”

  He reached out and touched her forehead. “You’re running a fever,” he said. She leaned into him and he could see she was having trouble sitting up. “Hey, what did you guys give her? Did you drug her?”

  The Russian turned around, frowning down at Nadine’s slumped body. “Nothing. She was fine just now.”

  “What is that you gave her to eat?” Walker asked.

  “I want to barf it all out,” Nadine suddenly announced.

  She started gagging. Walker looked around and found nothing.

  “Paper bag? Napkin? Anything!” he barked. “Do something!”

  Their kidnappers started talking at once.

  “Stop the car!”

  “What the hell is wrong with her?”

  “Stop the fucking car! We can’t have her puking in here!”

  The driver pulled the car to the side of the road. Walker opened the door and helped Nadine out. She stumbled to the bushes nearby and doubled over. The retching noises she made were stomach-churning and one of the Russians started gagging in reflex. The one with the short beard leaned against the car, keeping an eye on them. Walker turned to him.

  “Did you drug her?” He repeated the question.

  “No, why would we?” The man looked at the half-eaten snack on the ground. “Maybe bad food.”

  Walker gazed down. Could be, but that was a mighty fast reaction. She had just taken a few bites. He took the water bottle from the seat and gestured for permission to go to Nadine. The Russian nodded.

  “Nadine,” he said, when he reached her. “How are you feeling?”

  Bent over, she gagged in reply and moaned.

  Walker squatted down, ignoring the acrid smell of vomit. “Want some water?”

  She nodded. Walker opened the cap on the bottle and put it against her mouth and helped her as she took a swallow. Then she turned away and spat the water out before gagging again.

  She was facing him, away from the car. She moaned. “I think I’m going to die, Honey B-B-B-Bun.”

  And then she winked at him. Walker almost sat down in surprise. He put a hand to her forehead. No, this was no pretense. The puking and fever were real. She winked at him again. She had to be pretending because she was still using that damn nickname she gave him.

  “Your forehead is really hot,” he said loudly, so the others could hear him.

  “But I feel so...c-c-cold,” Nadine complained, then fell forward.

  Walker caught her in his arms but lost his balance because of his position, falling backwards. She snuggled against him like a small cat.

  “This is so n-n-nice,” she said. “Hot and nice. Let’s s-s-sleep here.”

  “Uh...” Walker said, lifting his head to look at the man stalking toward their prone bodies. “Honey, we can’t sleep here. We’re out in the open.”

  The Russian pulled Nadine off him and she turned around swinging a fist drunkenly at him.

  “Kid-kidnapper! H-h-help! Kidnapper!”

  “Get back in the car!” The man snarled, then yelled out a string of curses when Nadine promptly vomited on his shoe. “Fuck! You stupid woman! Get her into the car, Sergei, before I kill her.”

  Sergei, still leaning against the car, only laughed. “I’m not getting any of that puke on me. You can bring her yourself.”

  Walker got back to his feet and the Russian holding Nadine shoved her back into his arms. “Take her!” He wiped his shoe on the grass patch, still cursing. “She’s sick as a dog.”

  Shrugging off Walker’s hold, Nadine turned and holding her tummy, ran to the bushes again. The Russians watched as she stood there bent over, heaving whatever was left in her stomach.

  “Food poisoning can be serious. Why the hell did you buy her that stupid sandwich?” Sergei asked.

  “We were all hungry!” The one with the puke on his shoe replied. He turned to Walker. “You get her. I’m done with that barf on me.”

  “What are we going to do?” Walker asked. “She’s terribly sick!”

  “We stop each time she wants to puke,” Sergei said. “Maybe she has nothing left in her stomach soon.”

  “But she’s still sick!”

  “Water, ple...please,” Nadine called back. “I’m going to faint now.”

  Walker rushed to her. “Nadine!” He was more than a little alarmed at how real this illness looked. What the hell did she do to herself to get like this? She toppled into his arms again. “Nadine!”

  “Ohhhhh, Honey B-B-Bun!” she moaned. “My head feels like it’s going to ex-explode.”

  Walker scooped her into his arms. She couldn’t be as sick as she sounded because she was lucid enough to keep calling him that.

  They got back in the car and they continued the journey. The Russian in the back eyed her warily when she slumped against him. When she put a hand over her mouth, he pushed her firmly back against Walker.

  “Your problem,” he told him. Then in Russian to his partners up front, “I’m glad we’ve got the fiancé to take care of this. I hate cleaning up vomit.”

  Sergei looked back. “If she gets any sicker, Vadim isn’t going to be pleased. He doesn’t have much t
ime, he said. Something’s going down with Petrovich not being here.”

  Walker listened quietly as he stroked the back of Nadine’s head. His sick fiancé bit his neck gently.

  “Can we get a doctor?” he asked. “She’s really, really, really hot.”

  Sergei shook his head. “Don’t be stupid.”

  Nadine groaned against him and made a wretched sound. “Water!” She sat up and snatched the bottle nearby. She drank it down greedily, then turned and glared at the Russian beside her. “You poisoned me! I’m going to die before my honeymoon! I’m going to...”

  She started retching again.

  “Stop the damn car!” the man yelled out. “Or the whole car is going to stink of puke!”

  The vehicle braked and Walker opened the car door. He was beginning to figure out what his precious scientist was up to.

  “Come on, guys,” he said. “The car movement is not helping. She’ll just keep getting sicker and sicker.”

  Sergei growled his frustration. “God damn it to hell.” He paused for a moment. “You can walk her up and down within sight. I’m going to make a phone call. Ivan, keep an eye on them. Wrong move, shoot his legs out.”

  “Come on, babe,” Walker said. He helped her along slowly. “We’ll take a little stroll to settle the tummy. Get some fresh air.”

  “I’m sick, not pregnant,” she told him, stumbling along. “Honey Bun Bun, maybe I’m pregnant. Maybe this is mor-morn-morning sickness.”

  Walker patted her on the back. “Uh, no. Let’s not think about that.”

  He understood she was trying to slow the trip down for a reason. Someone was tracking them and needed to catch up. But he really didn’t want to talk about an imaginary baby.

  She turned and pointed a finger at his chest. “It’s all your fault! I have a Baby Bun Bun in here!”

  Nadine doubled up and started gagging. Walker held her hair out of her face. He had to make a new rule. No calling any of his children Baby Bun Bun.

  That made him blink. This woman was making him nutty. Where the hell did that come from?

  * * *

  “I went to retrieve Walker’s vehicle. There’s somebody in that apartment, Bossman.”

  Jared paused in the middle of making sandwiches. Sugar was in the shower and the original plan had been to pamper her with a massage and personal attention after dinner, but with Walker’s situation given top priority, he had to wait for an update from Parker.

  “What makes you think so?”

  “Well, for one thing, the lights came on. I can see them filtered through the cracks between the shades.”

  “Intruders?”

  “Possibly, but one would think they wouldn’t turn on all the lights in several rooms.”

  Interesting. Was someone else looking for the scientist? “Any activity in and out of the building?” he asked, as he walked to the fridge to get some mayonnaise.

  “While I was here fiddling with the car, no. Maybe a couple of residents walking pets or carrying groceries. Shall I go check this out?”

  “Need backup?”

  “No. Lexi’s here. She was going to drive my car while I took care of Walker’s. She’ll call you if I’m occupied.”

  Jared rubbed his jaw. “I hope she has a weapon. What am I saying? It’s Lexi.” He sighed. “Okay, you call me in fifteen or I’m calling Titan HQ.”

  “Don’t worry. Chances of me fighting off intruders are low. It could just be one of those timers that go on and off at certain hours,” Parker said. “Call you back soon.”

  Jared finished getting the food ready, his mind going over what the information the FBI gave him today. Or rather, what was not given to him. Fred had admitted it was more than a concern about threats. Actually, two had gone missing in the last week, one from DARPA. He didn’t mention where the other scientist was from.

  Just as he’d suspected, they hadn’t wanted the CIA on the case while they were investigating. There were moles in the CIA, Fred told him. Someone in there was calling shots about certain suspicious activities, which included scientific experiments being done at various black ops branches. They had been trying to find a connection between the projects.

  “Fine, so everything was on a need-to-know basis. But what about Nadine Kincaid?” Jared had asked, feeling his temper rising. He didn’t like working with one hand tied behind his back. “My man’s in danger because you kept important details from me. Fuck that shit about national security. If you don’t give me more, my boys are going in and blasting whatever you’re planning to smithereens.”

  Fred had opened up a bit more after that threat. Jared poured some iced tea into glasses and set the tiny table in the kitchen nook.

  Missing scientists. Scientists’ homes set on fire. Another one found dead in his office with a gunshot wound.

  Project Super Soldier Spy.

  Secret hospital.

  Injured veterans research.

  Skin grafting. Brain entrainment. CIA exoskeleton experimentation.

  Jared mulled over the information. How were all these connected?

  “You have that look on your face when we have sex,” Sugar interrupted his thoughts. She sauntered over, looking fresh and delicious in his shirt. “Total concentration.”

  Jared grinned. “Are you insinuating I think of sex as work?”

  Sugar bit the side of his jaw affectionately. “No, you’re strategizing. Trying to figure out the best way to get what you want. That look. It’s such a turn-on.”

  He winked at her and pulled out a seat. “It’s a talent. I plan to strategize you all week.” The phone started buzzing. He amended, “Most of all week.”

  Sugar popped a bite into her mouth, then licked her lips lusciously back at him. “Promises, promises.”

  Jared put the phone on speaker. “Parker,” he greeted, still looking at his wife.

  “Jared, you would not believe me. I have Nadine Kincaid standing in front of me. Pointing a .38 at me.”

  He frowned. He hadn’t expected that.

  “You don’t sound too concerned,” Sugar chimed in from the other side of the table.

  “Well, no, because she gave me five minutes to tell her where her sister is. Lexi’s coming up with my laptop. Here, you talk to her. We’re on speaker phone.”

  “Ah. Sister,” Jared said, his mind busy.

  “That explains the fuck-me leather,” Sugar murmured.

  There was a snort from the other end of the line. “I told her she wasn’t going to get away with wearing that outfit,” a voice said. “You better tell me where she is or your buddy here is going straight to the authorities.”

  “Well, the problem is, she did get away with it, Dr. Kincaid,” Jared said. “We and her kidnappers all thought that was you this morning. Right now, one of my men and your sister are being taken somewhere. Parker’s wife, Lexi, is coming up with a video feed to show you our tracker.”

  “What?” Nadine Kincaid sounded less sure now. “Who are you? Someone from the FBI? You told me my story about being followed was just paranoia because of the disappearances. That’s the reason Nadia decided she was taking care of this herself.”

  “Nadia,” Jared mouthed silently to Sugar. She got up and walked to the counter where they had another laptop. Aloud, he said, “I’m Jared Westin and I run Titan Securities, Dr. Kincaid. I assigned someone to keep an eye on you. Of course, he’s now protecting your sister.”

  “Oh.” A pause, which was followed by a chuckle. Then downright laughter.

  Jared frowned. “Dr. Kincaid?”

  “I’m sorry,” Nadine Kincaid said, still laughing. “I’m just picturing Nadia’s expression. Being protected is the last phrase I’d associate with my sister, Mr. Westin. Hold on, your friend here is saying something. I guess he wants to show me this video feed or something.”

  “Yes, we’re tracking the vehicle that has taken your sister and my man. We were going to monitor and come up with an extraction plan when they stop traveling, but your bei
ng here changes things somewhat.” Jared looked up when Sugar snapped her fingers. He walked over and looked at her screen. “Ah. Just to let you know, my partner here has indicated we have a name—Nadia K—in our system. Is that your sister?”

  “I’m not going to answer any of your questions until I know you’re with the right people. I don’t like that the Feds are telling me one thing and then doing another.”

  “Maybe it’s for your protection,” Jared said, even though he didn’t actually believe his words. After all, they’d omitted some relevant details regarding their scientists’ disappearances to him too. “Look, I only want confirmation so I could call the correct people connected to your sister. If she’s a lone operative, that’s one thing, but if there’s an agency coordinating this operation, we don’t want to accidentally trip them up.”

  He read the few details under Nadia K’s name. Not many, not even a picture. Just some information on certain operations to which she’d been tied. His frown deepened.

  “Your sister, Nadia,” he said, “has recently be connected to COS Command Center. Or Triple C, as some operatives call it. Just say yes or no, please. I’ll make the call to confirm there’s planned extraction or undertakings that my people might interrupt if we step in.”

  There was another silence.

  “You have to make the decision quickly, Dr. Kincaid,” Parker said.

  “Yeah, that blip on the screen is getting further away from us, and catching up with them is crucial,” Lexi added.

  Good one, Lexi. Make her think about her sister’s safety.

  “She really shouldn’t have locked me in the bathroom,” Nadine finally said. “Always has to take charge, even when I told her—dammit. Fine, she did give me a private number to Triple C for when I freed myself. I called it and her operations chief told me to stay home until she calls back. Don’t worry, I used the secured line Nadia gave me.”

  Okay, that sounded as if there was an operation going on. “Thank you. I’m going to call my contact at Triple C now. As soon as I have an update, one of my people or Parker there will call your secured line. Is that good?”

  “Just make sure you tell my sister you’re there to protect her,” she replied, dryly.