by Maya Banks
Joe came to stand beside the SUV where Nathan and Sam were conversing. “They can stay with me and Donovan for now.”
The statement was more of a command than anything else. Nathan had split his time between his own homesite and the house he shared with Joe and Donovan. Referred to as the bachelor pad by the rest of the family, since they were the only brothers still single.
Sam, Garrett and Ethan had constructed their homes—or rather Sam’s was the only one completely finished. Ethan’s was close to completion, but he and Rachel still lived in their original house outside the compound until the new house was move-in ready.
Garrett and Sarah had only just moved into their home before Rusty’s graduation and Nathan’s sudden departure. The couple would marry soon, provided Nathan could stop interfering in their plans. The thought made him grimace. He liked Sarah a lot. She was tough. A lot like his other sisters-in-law, Sophie and Rachel. He wanted her to be happy and settled.
But now he wanted the same for himself and Shea.
Sam shrugged. “Whatever Nathan feels is best.”
Joe glanced questioningly at his brother and slowly Nathan nodded.
“Let’s get Shea inside,” Sam said.
Nathan, who’d been shielding Shea from the outside, turned and ducked so he could see into the SUV. He held out his hand and her palm slid over his as their fingers twined. He helped her out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders until she found her footing.
They followed Sam inside the KGI headquarters, where the others were waiting. Donovan was busy on the computer while the others were seated in front of the large LCD screen mounted on the wall. He looked up as Nathan and Shea entered and motioned them over.
“I’m downloading the footage now. I want you to watch carefully, Shea. Let me know if you need me to freeze-frame. Or if you want to go over something again. Don’t worry about absorbing it all at once. I understand this will be upsetting for you. Take your time. And mention anything, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. We’ll talk it out, okay?”
Shea flashed Donovan a grateful smile, and Nathan nodded his own thanks in his brother’s direction for handling Shea so gently and showing her so much understanding.
She left his side to take a seat not far from where Donovan stood by the computer. Nathan followed behind and then simply plucked her up and settled her onto his lap. She glanced quickly to the others, but he leaned her back against his chest, a clear message to her that he didn’t give a fuck who saw what.
She was his. He didn’t give a damn who knew it, what they thought, and he wanted her to know that.
She jumped suddenly when the screen blinked and a curvy brunette with long hair flashed into view. She wore cargo trousers and a formfitting tank shirt that highlighted her lean, well-toned body. She was fit and it was obvious she kept herself that way with a strict regimen.
“Grace,” Shea whispered.
“That’s your sister?” Donovan queried.
She nodded and leaned forward as Donovan resumed the footage.
Grace crept stealthily through the house, her eyes wary and alert. Clutched in her hand was the journal that Shea had found in the escape tunnel. As she entered the living room, she paused and tears filled Shea’s eyes. This was where she and Grace had talked. She was watching her sister communicate with her. A smile softened the tense expression that Grace had worn and then she glanced down at the journal she held and Shea knew this was where she’d told Shea that they weren’t their real parents.
The furnishings were still intact, which meant the ransack had occurred after Grace’s arrival. Everything looked exactly as it had been before her parents were killed. That was what stuck out to her. There was no evidence that murder had been committed. Who’d cleaned it up?
Shea focused back in on the footage to see Grace’s head jerk upward and then she flew toward one of the windows. The sound of breaking glass and heavy footsteps filled the silent room.
Grace looked left and right, clear indecision and panic racing across her face. Then her eyes hardened and she bolted into the hallway. There were four frames on the screen, and Donovan followed her progress from room to room as he enlarged each of the ones she ran through.
She raced into the panic room, and slammed it shut.
Donovan turned to Shea. “Are there no cameras inside the panic room?”
She shook her head. “Only on the outside. The idea was to be able to see out, not in. My father set it up so that it was the ultimate safe room.”
“He did a pretty damn good job,” Garrett muttered.
“Look,” Ethan said, directing everyone’s attention back to the monitor.
A soldier moved through the living room, and behind him, another appeared.
Everyone leaned forward, coming to attention as they studied the men going through the house, methodically searching. They completely destroyed the house. They were responsible for the damage Shea and Nathan had encountered.
“She spoke to me. I mean just before she ran. She said that someone was there,” Shea said.
Nathan hugged her a little tighter.
The room went silent as they watched the men sweep through her parents’ house. Nathan’s eyes narrowed. They didn’t move like they were chasing Grace. Maybe they hadn’t even known she was there. But they were looking for something and they weren’t a run-of-the-mill civilian operation.
They wore black military head nets, so only their eyes were visible. Nathan took in every detail of their appearance, looking for anything that could identify them, but they were covered from head to toe. Boots and fatigues and they carried military-issue rifles.
Unless some survivalist underground cult was after Shea and Grace, the U.S. military certainly was. This looked special ops. Probably some damn group that didn’t even exist, and that made Nathan damn nervous.
Once the footage of Grace abruptly ended, Donovan keyed the more recent surveillance from Nathan and Shea’s visit. Nathan watched grimly as he and Shea stole through the house and entered the kitchen. His brothers frowned when the sound of breaking glass occurred and he and Shea hit the floor just before the flashbang grenade detonated.
Nathan leaned forward, his gaze narrowing as he studied the intruders making their way into the house after he and Shea had disappeared into the panic room. Like the men who’d been after Grace, these looked military. They seemed more careful, however. They didn’t touch or disturb anything. It was apparent they weren’t looking for something but rather somebody. They didn’t even hesitate before honing in on the panic room.
He didn’t like it. Didn’t like it one damn bit.
“Now ain’t that some shit?” Garrett muttered. “Anyone want to take a stab at this one?”
“What have you heard from Resnick?” Nathan demanded.
Sam’s mouth twisted and he glanced toward Donovan. “Not a damn thing. We explained the sitch, asked him to do some digging, but he went radio silent shortly after.”
“I don’t like it,” Nathan muttered.
“Neither do we,” Donovan said.
Shea bolted to her feet, leaving the confines of Nathan’s arms. She paced back and forth, her gaze still riveted to the screen while the scene played out over and over as Donovan kept going back.
“What are we going to do to help Grace?” she blurted out. “She’s out there alone. I’m here with all of you. Nothing’s going to happen to me but the same can’t be said for her. She’s not talking to me. I’ve tried to reach her. I’m terrified for her.”
Sam rose and put his hand on Shea’s shoulder. “We’ll send a team. I promised you we’d protect her. I made you that promise and I’m going to keep it. We have to find her first, but we’ll do it.”
He turned in Steele’s direction, but before he could open his mouth, Rio stepped forward.
“I’m going.”
Sam’s eyebrows went up. Garrett turned to his team leader in surprise. Rio’s gaze was riveted to the screen where Donov
an had paused the replay of Grace standing in the living room.
“I’ll find her. I’ll protect her,” Rio said shortly. “These assholes won’t get their hands on her.”
To Nathan’s further surprise, Shea hurried over to where Rio stood and she stared up at him, her expression pleading.
“She’s special. She’s never done anything to hurt anyone. Just the opposite. Don’t let them take her and use her. They’ll kill her.”
Rio’s gaze softened as he stared down at Shea. Then he took her hands in his and offered a gentle squeeze. The rest of the room seemed locked on to the strange vibe emanating from Rio and now the rest of his team as they stepped forward.
“I’ll find your sister, Shea. I’ll bring her home to you.”
She leaned up on tiptoe and kissed the big man on the cheek, and then as if getting over whatever fear she had of him before, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
“Thank you,” she said fiercely. “I’ll never be able to repay you for this. She means everything to me.”
Rio looked a little befuddled as he stepped away and extricated himself from Shea’s hold. Then he smiled down at her. “I can see why Nathan is so enchanted by you.”
But as he glanced back up at the monitor, where Grace was frozen on the screen, a look of fear in her eyes, his gaze hardened all over again.
He looked over at Sam and Garrett. “Any problem?”
Sam slowly shook his head. “No. No problem at all.”
“Then get me all the intel you have on Grace. My team will move out immediately.”
CHAPTER 30
BY the time Rio was satisfied that Shea had given him every pertinent detail about Grace she could possibly think of, Shea was exhausted. But at the same time, hope bubbled inside her chest. These men were confident that they’d locate Grace and that they’d bring her back.
Shea was surrounded by warriors. Men who put their lives at risk to protect and help others. They’d made her a promise, and she knew they didn’t make them lightly.
Rio and his team fascinated her. Quiet, determined. They seemed to stand back and study what went on around them. The giant of a man who seemed to serve as Rio’s right hand was named Terrence, and as big and as terrifying as he should have seemed, to Shea he resembled a big teddy bear. Not that she’d ever breathe those words where he could hear her. He might snap her like a twig.
But he’d been kind and understanding with her as they’d questioned her about her sister, and he, like Rio, had made a solemn promise to bring Grace back to Shea.
All too quickly, they were gone. Shea had no idea what they were using as their starting point or even what they’d been able to glean from talking to her. But they packed up their gear and said they were bugging out. And then they were simply gone, leaving her slightly baffled. How was she to know what they were doing? But then she doubted they’d be reporting to her. She just hoped they reported to someone, because the prolonged silence between her and Grace was making Shea sick with worry.
She closed her eyes and reached out to her sister as she’d done so many times over the past days. Don’t worry, Grace. Someone is coming for you. We have help now. I wish you’d talk to me so I could explain. These men will help you. Like they’ve helped me.
The void was nearly her undoing. It was like not having the gift of telepathy at all. Like she was talking to herself.
She tried to shake off the melancholy direction of her thoughts. She focused back in on the happenings in the war room.
It seemed everyone was doing something. The entire room was abuzz with activity. It made her anxious and on edge. She stood, no longer able to bear sitting so still when everyone was moving around her.
Her legs were wobbly, but then she felt completely off balance by everything. She hated how out of control her life had become. She valued order and quiet. Growing up the way she had, always moving at a moment’s notice, had made her appreciate the sudden peace that she and her family had enjoyed when they’d moved to Oregon. She’d craved it. Normalcy. And above all, she liked to feel in control at all times.
In the last year she’d become a paranoid, panicky mess of a woman and she hated every minute of it. She wanted her life back. No, not back. She just wanted a life. A new one. Devoid of all the fears of the past.
She may have been some damn lab experiment, but she was a human being with feelings. If the bastards who’d created her thought she was expendable, that she was only destined to be some lab rat they poked and prodded on a regular basis, they could all fuck themselves and go straight to hell. She would never go back to that.
“Shea.”
Donovan’s soft address broke through her dark thoughts. Some of the rage abated and she blinked to bring him into focus. He was standing in front of her, a look of concern on his face.
“I want you to meet the team that will be responsible for your safety.”
Her brows drew together and the panic was suddenly back, knotting her throat until she had difficulty breathing.
“What do you mean?” she croaked. “What about…”
She glanced over to where Nathan stood with his brothers and bit her lip, determined not to blurt out what she’d been about to ask.
She returned her gaze to Donovan and the group assembled closely around him. The team leader stood closest to Donovan and stared coolly at her, his eyes like blue ice. His hair was blond—muddy blond with lighter streaks through the short-cropped strands. It was easy to tell he was the authority figure. He commanded respect and it was obvious he got it from every member of his team.
“This is Steele.”
“Miss Peterson,” Steele said in acknowledgment.
“Behind him are Cole, P.J., Dolphin. To his left are Baker and Renshaw.”
Shea tried to smile but she couldn’t contain her dismay.
Across the room, Nathan turned to look at her and he frowned. Their gazes connected and then she felt him explode into her mind, so different than when she connected with him.
His presence was forceful. Indomitable. Overwhelming her and yet filling her with his very essence.
What’s wrong? It was a quick, impatient demand. She felt his resolve to fix whatever it was upsetting her.
For a moment she couldn’t even formulate her thoughts. It was ridiculous. She was being ridiculous. She should be on her knees giving thanks, but she didn’t want this team to protect her. She wanted Nathan. She didn’t want to be separated from him. Not even for her safety.
“Jesus.”
She heard Nathan across the room. He stalked over, looking angrily at Donovan even as he pulled her into his arms. For a long moment he simply hugged her to him and then he pulled her away, grasped her shoulders and stared hard into her eyes as if willing her to not only hear him but to feel him as well.
“I’m not turning you over to Steele and his team. I’m going to be with you every minute of every day. Do you understand that? Yes, Steele’s team is assigned to your protection. We need them. But it doesn’t mean they’re going to take you away somewhere and that I won’t be with you. Where you go, I go.”
Relief made her weak, and worse, her eyelids burned with tears.
“Well, Christ,” Donovan muttered. “That wasn’t what I meant for you to think, Shea. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head and forced herself to get it together. “I was being stupid. I’m the one who’s sorry. I should be grateful. I just panicked for a moment.”
Nathan pulled her to him and silenced her with a long, deep kiss. It amazed her that he gave so little thought to where they were or who observed. He never seemed to care.
She shivered as his tongue swept over hers, rough and yet so gentle and caring. He was a fascinating mix of intensity and patience. He was fierce and demanding and yet he always demonstrated such loving tenderness with her.
He loved her.
She reminded herself of that fact. He’d given her the words. Very pissed off words but all the mor
e meaningful for the frustrated way he’d expressed the emotions he felt toward her. It seemed to make him crazy that he couldn’t make everything perfect, that there were so many obstacles confronting them, and yet he refused to let anything deter him.
“This is better than a romance novel,” P.J. said with a wistful sigh.
“You read that stuff?” Cole demanded.
Shea pulled away from Nathan but he still held her close, tucked into his side as they faced Steele’s team.
“Why the hell do you ask the question like that?” P.J. said, annoyance evident in her tone and expression.
“You just didn’t seem the type,” Cole mumbled.
She flipped him the bird, and Shea had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. P.J. was easily half Cole’s size but she also looked like she had the confidence to take on the much larger man. She might even kick his ass. The idea intrigued Shea greatly.
“I’m tempted to shove one of my romance novels up your ass,” P.J. said sharply. “But I love my books too much to desecrate them like that. I’ll settle for my boot.”
Cole held up his hands in surrender. “I won’t say another word. Romance novels are great. I love romance novels. I think everyone should read them.”
Dolphin snickered behind Cole, and Cole whirled to glare at him. P.J. smirked and sauntered back to the couch, where she flopped down.
“So what do we do now?” Shea asked anxiously. “Are we leaving? Do we know anything more than we did before?”
“For today we’re going to stay put,” Donovan said. “I’m going to ring Resnick’s bell again. Sam’s trying to reach him now. I know that bastard probably knows more than he’s letting on. There isn’t much that goes on that he doesn’t at least have the resources to find out about. He’s got his fingers in so many dark holes and crannies that half the world is probably afraid of ever pissing him off. He could probably bury any number of world leaders and military brass.”
