“Now,” the taller man hissed. “Right fucking now. I don’t have all night.”
“Okay. Okay.” She almost had the rope loosened, but not close enough. And besides, even if she did untie it, she would be no match against these two. She didn’t even have a gun with her. Neither she nor Zeke carried a gun.
Even though they were both military, they wouldn’t need their own weapons when they weren’t active duty. Neither of them had ever been active duty. They’d been selected straight out of their academies to join Project DEEP. They had the bare minimum of training with weapons and never owned one.
“Bitch.” The white guy yanked her out of her mental plan to get a gun the second she got out of this mess.
“I’m serious. We were split up after the bombing.” Did he know about the bombing?
“We know that. Where was everyone sent?”
She shook her head vehemently. “It’s classified. We don’t even know where we’re supposed to go next. We aren’t privy to that information.”
He kicked the leg of her chair so hard it almost fell over backward. It teetered for a moment while she held her breath and then landed on all fours again. “That’s bullshit,” he growled. “You expect me to believe you don’t even know where you’re going?”
She nodded. “Yes. We don’t. I swear. We get our instructions as we go. It’s too dangerous for anyone to know more than they need to. It prevents us from being able to out the operation if anything like this should occur.”
“Fuck,” he shouted before glancing at the darker man. “Kill them both. They’re useless.”
Michelle sucked in a breath, trying to make a decision. Was he testing her? What difference did it make? She had no choice. There wasn’t a chance in hell she would give away the location of even the few members of her team currently in New Mexico. She would sooner die, and she knew Zeke would too. If these guys really did stab them to death, at least they wouldn’t have any more information than they started with.
She squeezed her eyes shut and ducked her head, digging harder to get the rope loose. Her heart was pumping fast as she experienced the worst fear of her life. She prayed they killed her first so she wouldn’t have to watch Zeke die in his drugged state.
That seemed unlikely, though, since the darker man straddled Zeke and lifted the knife in the air.
Michelle screamed as loud as she could.
Suddenly, all hell broke loose. Ten things seemed to happen at the same time. The darker man spun around and lurched toward her. Zeke jumped to his feet behind the man. And a loud crash sounded as the door to the room was kicked in.
She had no idea what was happening at the door, but she threw herself backward to avoid the knife coming at her. As she landed on her arms, pain shot up to her shoulders. But she was still alive.
Zeke slammed into the darker man, sending him to the floor.
The white guy took two strides toward Zeke, a knife in his hands that she hadn’t seen before.
“Zeke,” she shouted.
It wasn’t necessary. A shot rang out near the door. The white guy slumped to the floor as blood ran out the side of his head.
A moment later, several hands were on the other guy’s shoulders, hauling him off Zeke and dragging him across the room. Police.
She had no fucking clue how the police had found them or how fast, but she had never been so glad in her life. Maybe someone in another room saw them break in or heard them next door. She couldn’t imagine how they would have had enough time, though.
As the police were wrestling the shorter man to the floor and then securing him, Zeke scrambled to her side and lifted the chair upright. He was fumbling with the rope when a shadow filled the doorway.
Nicole.
Michelle gasped as her hands were freed.
Zeke hadn’t noticed Nicole yet. He was too busy rubbing Michelle’s arms. “Jesus. Are you okay? I didn’t want to act too soon. I was stalling. I waited too long. You could have been injured.” He was rambling.
Michelle was staring at Nicole. “How did you find us?”
Zeke finally turned around as he hauled Michelle off the chair and pulled her into his embrace. “Nicole?”
She came the rest of the way into the room. “I followed you.”
“Why?”
She pointed at the dead guy. “Because they did.”
“My God.” Michelle fisted her palm on Zeke’s bare chest.
He was still holding her wrist, rubbing it, but she knew nothing was broken. She would be sore, but she was fine.
The police dragged the darker man out of the room and headed toward the flashing lights Michelle now noticed outside. The three of them were left with the very dead man.
Michelle avoided looking at the pool of blood forming on the carpet.
Nicole came closer, shaking her head. “When I told you it was my last day, that didn’t mean I wanted you to make it exciting.”
How the hell could the woman make Michelle smile? She shrugged. “We thought we’d spice it up.” How the hell could she be joking at a time like this?
Nicole lifted Michelle’s free hand. “You should see a doctor.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll make sure she does,” Zeke added.
“I’m fine,” Michelle insisted again, jerking her arms free of both of them.
Nicole winced and stepped back, rubbing her temples. “The moment you two pulled through the gate, these two assholes whispered a bit too loudly to each other. I realized they were going to follow you, so my partner and I followed them.”
“Does Temple know?” Zeke asked.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you stop them earlier?” Zeke asked.
Nicole cringed. “That part got fucked up. I had backup arranged all along the route. When you pulled off to get this room, these two assholes also got a room. Your superiors insisted I watch them, thinking these guys intended to follow you to your destination. I should have followed my instincts instead of orders from an unknown source I had never set my eyes on.”
“We are still living,” Michelle pointed out.
Zeke frowned. “Barely. Why the hell didn’t you at least tell us someone was following us? We wouldn’t have been caught completely unaware in our fucking sleep.”
She nodded. “You’re right. It wasn’t my call, but I should have done something anyway. The orders I received didn’t sit well with me.”
Zeke jerked. “Whose call was it? What unknown source?” He held Michelle around the waist, but his body was stiff. She’d never seen him this angry. Not that she could blame him.
“I have no idea. I was connected through to someone above Temple after I called her. They’ve been instructing me all day. They wanted you to lead these guys all the way to your destination. They were afraid if you were informed, you wouldn’t continue to act naturally.”
Michelle had to grab Zeke’s arm to keep him from lurching forward. She was afraid he might strangle Nicole.
Nicole’s partner, Pierce Titus, stepped into the room.
Nicole rubbed her forehead. “Worst decision of my life. I didn’t know who I was taking orders from, and I had a gut feeling things were going to go bad. Pierce and I have been sitting in the parking lot since you got here. Watching.”
Zeke gave Michelle another squeeze. Too tight. “What the hell did you do when those fuckers came into the room? Wait for backup? They’ve have been in here terrorizing us for at least ten minutes.”
Michelle thought it seemed longer.
Nicole shook her head. “They didn’t come in through the front.”
Michelle jerked her gaze to the back of the room and realized there was a window in the bathroom that was open.
“It was only because the hair on the back of my neck stood on end that we got out of the car to wander the property. When I circled your unit and saw the open window, I ran to the front.”
“And the police? How did they get here?” Zeke asked. His voice indicat
ed he was not backing down.
“They were already here. I told you I had backup. I didn’t trust the situation. They were in the parking lot too. When they saw me running around the side of the building with my gun drawn, they beat me to the room.”
“Jesus.” Zeke ran a hand through his hair, not releasing his grip on Michelle. “That is fucked up.”
Michelle twisted in his embrace. “How did you suddenly wake up?”
“I was never out. The second I realized what I was inhaling, I stopped breathing and slumped to the floor to ensure he thought he’d done his job. He’s an ignorant fool to have believed I passed out. I was fucking scared out of my mind waiting for the right moment to jump up.”
He looked it too. His eyes were still wild, searching her face the entire time he spoke.
The two cops came back into the room. “We need to get you folks out of here. This is a crime scene.”
No shit, Michelle thought, keeping the words to herself.
One cop covered the body with a tarp while the other pointed at their suitcase. “You can take your belongings as long as nothing is part of the crime scene.”
It seemed like everything and everyone was part of the crime scene. Michelle was still shaking, unable to understand what the hell had happened and why someone above Temple would have put their lives in such grave danger.
Zeke did most of the work, gathering their things and leading her out of the room. He always seemed better under pressure than her. This wasn’t the first time she’d found herself dazed and having difficulty shaking out of a near trance. Good thing she’d never been sent to the front line.
After about two thousand questions from a seemingly equal number of cops, Nicole put an end to it and led them to her car.
They had been standing around, wrapped in blankets over their sleepwear. The only thing they’d done was add their shoes.
“Get in,” she said, pointing at the back seat before heading back to speak to another officer.
Michelle didn’t realize how badly she’d been shaking or for how long until she sat and Zeke pulled her closer. He kissed the top of her head. “Jesus. You’re shivering so badly.”
She nodded. She was very rattled. “We could have died.”
“I know. But we didn’t. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them from terrorizing you sooner.” He buried his face in her hair. “I was slowly dying inside while I watched them scream at you.”
“You did the right thing.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “You did stop him.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I’d failed.”
“You didn’t fail.”
“I’m going to rip Temple a new asshole. The only reason I haven’t called her yet is because I know I can’t control my temper.”
Michelle lifted her face to see his. “You know she didn’t do this. It was out of her hands. She probably knows nothing.”
He gritted his teeth and slammed his head back against the seat. “I think we’re pawns in an unimaginable game so complex that we can’t even fathom the scope of this operation. Maybe these guys were behind the unknown text. Maybe Ryan knew nothing about it.”
Michelle stared at him. What if he was right? “What do we do?”
“We pay closer attention. We get our own personal weapons and new phones tomorrow morning.” He lifted his from his pocket. “We turn these off now so we can’t be traced. We don’t leave the bunker again. We feed Dade every damn detail we can ascertain.”
“We don’t say a word to Temple about our aggravation or suspicions,” she added softly.
He groaned. “That too.” He nuzzled her neck and kissed her behind the ear. “I could have lost you.”
She squeezed him tighter. “You didn’t. And we know more now. We’ll be more prepared from now on.”
He lifted his head and cupped her cheeks. “We can’t breathe a word of our suspicions to anyone. Not even Nicole. We have to let this go or at least pretend we did, if anyone asks. If not, we’ll remain a target. Unfinished business.”
“You really think someone above Temple wanted us killed?”
“I do.”
Michelle swallowed, knowing he was right. Hating it just the same. “Who do we tell?”
“Ryan. Emily. Dade. This is the extent of the list of people we can trust.”
Chapter 21
Zeke was hardly breathing easier several hours later when he finally convinced Nicole to let them go on their own. The sun was up. No one had slept. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to rest until they were securely back on the grounds of the bunker in New Mexico. Michelle wouldn’t either.
It would be a waste of time for them to get another room in another hotel somewhere. He wouldn’t feel safe. He’d barely felt safe when they’d gone into the motel lobby to change into clean clothes in the public bathrooms. Parting from Michelle while she went into the women’s room had stressed him out.
Nicole couldn’t follow them. It was extremely unlikely anyone else would at this point either. The motel was still crawling with cops. She needed to stay and ensure they didn’t have any more questions.
She was leery about letting them leave. She was also obviously intuitive about their predicament. They didn’t exchange specific words, but she made it clear she wouldn’t tell anyone she had let them leave. Not a soul. Not even Temple. She would put off calling to check in or even checking her messages for several hours and then claim she had been busy filing reports and helping the local law enforcement.
Nicole knew she’d been played. She didn’t have to say it out loud.
Zeke thanked her, and then he watched as Michelle hugged her tight. “I hope your next assignment is far less exciting. I know you joked yesterday about it being more intense than this one, but I bet you’ve changed your mind now.” Michelle’s voice was light.
Nicole’s face was tight. “Unfortunately, no. It will be more insane.”
Michelle flinched.
Nicole smiled. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been doing this a while. I have good intuition. And next time, I won’t let anyone try to talk me out of it. Not even my damn boss.”
“I hope not. You’re good at your job. Go save some more lives. Trust your instinct.”
“You too.” She glanced at Zeke, including him. “Both of you. Your war isn’t over.”
Zeke nodded. “We’re aware.”
“Arm yourselves.”
“We will.”
“Be careful.” She sighed. It was obvious she hated letting them leave. Finally, she set Michelle away and opened the driver’s door.
When Michelle started to get inside, Nicole met her gaze. “Why do you do all the driving?”
Zeke rolled his eyes. “Woman thinks I need a license or something.” He headed toward his side of the car.
Nicole gasped, as he knew she would. “You’re…?”
Zeke climbed into the passenger side and leaned over Michelle to shoot her a grin. “I last drove more than a decade ago by your standards.”
Nicole was still shaking her head, stunned, as Michelle closed the door and then pulled away.
Zeke was used to that shocked look when someone found out he’d been reanimated. It still made him laugh inside. For some reason, people always expected the revived to look different or act different. Did they expect someone more like a zombie?
“I could drive, you know,” he said as Michelle pulled out of the parking lot.
“Yep. As soon as you get your license I’m all for it.”
He took her hand, knowing he had an important job—keeping her awake long enough for them to get to the bunker.
It was late afternoon when they arrived. Michelle had never been so tense. Every muscle in her body was going to hurt the next day.
Not surprisingly, no one at the bunker had any idea what they’d been through. They took some time to explain everything to Ryan and Emily outside next to the car without going into the bunker.
It would look as
if the four of them were just catching up to anyone watching, but Michelle didn’t trust the bunker not to be bugged. She wasn’t sure how she was going to trust anyplace anywhere at any time in the future.
Somehow she had to pull it together and pretend to play the game, though. They all four would.
They agreed there was no reason to bring Damon in on their undercover plot or the fact that they were working with Dade. Eventually, it would have to come out, but until it was necessary, the fewer people involved, the better.
“We need sleep,” Michelle finally declared, slumping against Zeke. “Twenty hours of it.”
Zeke snapped his head up to face Emily and Ryan. “Do you know who sent us the text yesterday?”
“What text?” Ryan asked, glancing at Emily.
“The one warning us to get out of the bunker. We figured it was one of you at the time, but now I’m concerned it came from the same people who followed us,” Zeke added.
Ryan shook his head. “I didn’t text you.”
“Me neither,” said Emily.
“Could’ve been Dade too,” Michelle pointed out.
Ryan’s brows were furrowed as he continued to shake his head. “Not a chance. He wouldn’t have done that in secret without telling me.”
Zeke stiffened all along Michelle’s body. “Well, someone did. And now we don’t know if it was for our benefit or to put us more at risk.”
“I’ll make some calls,” Ryan said.
Zeke glanced down at Michelle. “Let’s get some sleep before we collapse.” He led her across the driveway toward the row of mobile homes lined up behind the main building. Unlike the bunker in Falling Rock, this one had no inside dwellings. It was just as well. Michelle preferred being able to exit the main building at night. It gave her some separation. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but she also trusted these outer homes not to be bugged. It seemed much less likely.
When they went inside, they each began their usual ritual of silently checking the place for any possible signs someone could be listening to them or watching. They had a small handheld device they’d purchased to scan the rooms.
Reviving Zeke Page 22
