The Maze (ATCOM)

by Jennifer Lowery

  “You have my decision. Tell them to lower their weapons.”

  Carlos issued the order and the six men lowered their weapons and moved back, but not before two of them latched onto Noah, taking him by the arms and forcing him to move away also.

  Attie turned in time to see them grab Noah, and saw the look in his eyes when they did. He wasn’t happy with her decision and even less thrilled about being handled. She recognized the dangerous glint in his eye and knew what it meant.

  It happened so fast no one saw it coming. One minute Noah was standing there, relaxed, and the next he knocked one of the guards out cold with an uppercut to the jaw and was moving swiftly for the next.

  “No, Kincaid! I need you with me on this.”

  Noah relaxed his hold on the man’s throat and stepped back, at ease. She knew better. There was nothing at ease about Noah and this deceptive calm was more dangerous than his anger.

  He met her eyes as one weapon was pointed at his chest and another at his head. The guards holding the weapons looked wild-eyed with twitchy trigger fingers. She didn’t blame them—seeing Noah in action wasn’t something one soon forgot.

  “Attie—”

  She shook her head and held up a hand. “No, the choice was mine.”

  He stared at her a moment, his expression masked so she couldn’t read his thoughts. Then he nodded in silent agreement, though she knew he wasn’t giving up control. He would attack again if needed.

  Confident he would stay out of it now, she turned back to Carlos. “You win. Tell them to back off.” She lifted her chin in a show of bravado she really didn’t feel.

  Carlos issued orders to his guards in Spanish and they relaxed, but only slightly. Then he stepped closer to her, his dark eyes dancing with excitement. He smiled as he slid the chain around her neck and clasped it shut. The instant the cold metal touched her flesh it began to crawl in memory. Refusing to cringe and tear it off took all of her willpower but she refused to allow Carlos the satisfaction of seeing how it affected her. Her entire body went tense, muscles waiting, remembering.

  Turning slightly away, she struggled to maintain her composure. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Noah take a small step toward her but she held up a hand to stop him and shook her head. The last thing she wanted was for him to come to her rescue. If he did, she would lose what remnant of control she had left. She couldn’t show weakness to Carlos.

  “Lovely,” Carlos murmured, tracing the necklace with a finger. Attie’s skin crawled and the sandwich she’d eaten threatened to come back up. “Your skin is still wet. Do you think that will—”

  Attie snapped her head up and glared at him. “Enough.”

  Carlos leaned in closer and asked softly, “Are you sure he’s worth it?”

  “Go to hell.”

  “This rebellion of yours is becoming tiresome. We’ll see how defiant you are come morning. For now, finish your meal.”

  Attie watched them pick up the unconscious guard and file out of the room, every nerve on edge because she knew this was the worst part of wearing the godforsaken necklace. Carlos now wielded his power over her. She swallowed the fear and looked at Noah, seeing the curiosity in his eyes, and this time she welcomed the fact she wasn’t alone.

  The door slid closed, leaving them alone. Attie took a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips. The last thing she wanted was food—

  A jolt suddenly shot through her. It started at her head and ended at her toes. Carlos wasn’t playing around. There was no warning, no series of jolts like he usually preferred to give. No, this time he was making a point and leaving no room for doubt. He was in control and she better well remember it.

  Her muscles went into spasms that brought her to her knees. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. She lost all control of her muscles and it hurt like hell. This was what she remembered. What she’d known was coming whenever Carlos felt the urge.

  This was what she feared.

  * * * *

  The team of ATCOM agents moved silently and steadily up the mountain, expressions grim. They had Noah and Attie’s last coordinates and they weren’t far away but there wasn’t any sign of them. The rain had washed away any trace they may have left behind.

  The agents tracking them were good; they would find them. Without technology. They were forced to rely on their training.

  “Someone was here,” Gabe said, scanning the area around him from where he crouched near a clearing. A cigarette butt lay on the ground next to his boot.

  Rogan approached and looked over his shoulder. “One of Santiago’s men?”

  “Probably.”

  “Means they were followed. Why would he have them followed instead of captured?”

  Colin, who brought up the rear, approached silently. For a big man he moved with incredible stealth. “Bloody games,” he said. “Santiago is playing with them.”

  “Or else he was expecting a team,” Gabe murmured, his eyes landing on Kyle, standing on the edge of the clearing, staring into the distance.

  “Makes sense. He discovered Attie’s true identity.” Rogan scowled, shifting his pack. The fact Santiago had breached his encrypted files and found out who Attie was still rankled. He took his security very seriously.

  “How the bloody hell did he manage that?” Colin scowled.

  Rogan shrugged. He’d been wondering the same thing. He went to extreme measures to protect the organization. Getting the truth hadn’t been easy and he still didn’t know how Santiago had done it. He would find out, though. He wouldn’t rest until he did. If Santiago could break through, any terrorist could. That was unacceptable. He had family and fellow agents to protect.

  It was his job.

  “Doesn’t matter right now,” Gabe said, rising to his feet. “We’re on the right track so let’s concentrate on that. How close are we to their last location?”

  “Five clicks northeast.”

  Colin dropped down to one knee and ran his hand over the ground, face tight with concentration. “Four of them. Traveling light.”

  The team believed Colin had been a Scottish warrior in another life. Not only because of his looks, but because of his tracking ability. He could read the ground like a book. By a simple touch he could tell them things no amount of training could teach them. A mysterious skill they all envied but never questioned. Colin couldn’t explain it and they didn’t try. He claimed it had to do with Scottish roots that dated back to the thirteenth century.

  “Only four against a team of ATCOM agents?” Rogan asked, scratching his head. “Doesn’t make sense.”

  “Maybe Santiago doesn’t see us as a focking threat,” Colin scowled.

  Gabe was inclined to agree with Colin, but the pieces weren’t adding up. He didn’t like not knowing Santiago’s location, what his frame of mind was, and what he had planned for Noah and Attie.

  They were going in blind, but it was all they had and it wouldn’t stop them from completing their mission. They would bring all three of them home safely.

  All they had to do was find them.

  Chapter 14

  “What the hell?”

  Noah flew to Attie’s side and knelt beside her convulsing body, staring in stunned, helpless silence as her body bowed in pain. He didn’t touch her, unsure what to do, so he sat there, helpless. Attie’s body jerked and quaked and his temper rose along with fear for Attie like he’d never experienced. What the hell was happening to her?

  Goddammit.

  Rising to his feet he stared into the camera in the corner. “Enough.”

  Attie went still and slumped where she sat, head lowered, breath coming in shallow gasps. Noah returned to her side, anger raging through him.

  Santiago had put a shock collar on her! What the hell kind of person did that? Was this what she’d had to endure all those months on his estate? No wonder the necklace sent her into a panic. He’d be freaking out too.

  “You had your fun, now take it off her,” Noah said, his voice soft
but edged with steel. Fury burned inside him. He kept it carefully buried for Attie’s sake. He wouldn’t cause her any more pain than she’d already been through. Never in his life had he been involved in anything like this and it was wearing down his patience. Attie had been right. He didn’t like not being in control. Or knowing that Santiago could issue a shock to Attie whenever he chose, or that he was helpless to prevent it.

  “Two minutes. You and me. Alone,” he said to the camera.

  “No,” Attie choked out behind him. Her voice was hoarse and barely more than a whisper. “He doesn’t play…fair. He’ll kill you.”

  Noah turned to see Attie forcing herself to stand. She stumbled sideways a couple steps before steadying herself, and waved off his help. He knew she needed to do this on her own to prove to Santiago that he hadn’t gotten the best of her, so he stood near her without touching. He wanted to. He wanted to rub and massage the ache in her muscles until she was limp and relaxed. He wanted to destroy that damn necklace. Fuck. He wanted to destroy Santiago.

  Now he understood her fear when she’d first seen it. How long had she worn it when she was undercover? What kind of sick bastard made a necklace into a shock collar and forced his girlfriend to wear it? Noah had seen a lot of things in his career, but never anything like this. What the hell else had she endured?

  Anger and regret washed through him like a tidal wave. He never should have let her go in. He should have waited for another opportunity to get an agent inside, and kept her out. Hell, he should have waited for Jericho West. With his undercover experience, that man could have withstood anything Santiago threw at him. Any man that could infiltrate gang after deadly gang and walk out with nothing but a few tattoos, a few scars and some razor sharp edges was strong enough to go up against Santiago.

  But West hadn’t been with ATCOM a year ago. He’d been recruited eight months ago and was still in training. In truth, the man concerned Noah. He was a wildcard with a shady background and even shadier career. It was rumored he had a death wish, and that was why he could go deep and stay deep. It was also rumored that he had no morals and would do whatever necessary to protect his cover. Noah didn’t judge the man, but he was keeping a close eye on him. A renegade agent had no place in ATCOM. Still, he would have fared better than Attie had.

  What had they been thinking by sending a woman in? That she was a woman made her more vulnerable than a man, despite what she thought. There were more ways for Santiago to hurt a woman than a man.

  Attie choked on a sob and spun around, but not before he saw the torment on her face. She reached up and began clawing at the necklace. Santiago forgotten, Noah moved to her side.

  “Attie, let me.”

  “No! Get away from me. I don’t need your help.”

  Noah stopped, hating seeing her like this and hating Carlos Santiago even more.

  Attie searched frantically for the clasp to remove the necklace, tugging and pulling on it until her neck turned red. She swallowed hard and let out a string of curses that bordered on hysteria. The weight that hung around her neck was choking her with fear.

  He couldn’t stand there and watch. He stepped forward and gripped her shoulders, turning her around to face him. Her eyes were wide and churned with emotion.

  Panic mounting, she tried to pull away at the same time she clawed at the chain. She struggled for control, fighting memories and ghosts that had been brought back to the present. He wanted to erase it all, but knew he couldn’t.

  “There’s no frigging clasp,” she shouted, her hands still tugging and pulling. The skin beneath the chain was starting to chafe.

  Silently he clasped both her hands in his and forced them to her sides, holding them there. “Look at me,” he ordered softly.

  She bucked against his grip.

  “Attie.”

  He saw her fighting a losing battle and knew she was close to losing it, so he held her fisted hands in his and waited. Finally the dam broke and she slumped against him, her head falling forward and landing on his chest. Her chest heaved as Noah slowly let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her to hold her close. She didn’t cry, but she shook like a leaf against him, her arms finding their way around his waist and holding on tight.

  “I can’t do this again,” she murmured against his shirt, quietly so that no one else heard. “I have to get it off.”

  “It went on, it’ll come off. You have to relax and let me try.”

  “I have to get it off,” she said again, her voice rising.

  He tightened his arms around her. “I know. We will.”

  “I mean it. Right now.”

  Understanding her urgency, Noah released his hold and held her away from him. “Hold still,” he said and reached for the necklace.

  * * * *

  Attie fisted her hands at her sides and forced herself to stand still as Noah eased his fingers beneath the necklace. His knuckles brushed the sensitive skin of her neck and her heart beat faster. He moved his hand along the length of the chain, searching for the clasp she knew he wasn’t going to find.

  She had tried more times than she could count to remove the thing from her neck when she’d worn it the first time, but never found a clasp. Carlos was smarter than that. He made it impossible to remove by anyone but him. There was a trick to it, but she had never figured it out.

  Noah’s knuckles brushed lightly over the hollow in her throat where her pulse beat wildly. He paused, his eyes meeting hers. She frowned as a slow grin spread across his face. Then she realized where his hand rested and scowled.

  “Not so immune, Devayne,” he murmured.

  Her temper flared as she suspected was his purpose. She darkened her scowl. “Yes, I am,” she snapped, looking away. “Keep searching.”

  “My pleasure,” he drawled, resuming his search and turning her into a bundle of nerves. The sensation of his fingers feathering over her skin was more than she cared to admit to enjoying. His touch was tender and light and made her forget the panic the necklace had elicited. It made her forget that at any moment Carlos could press a button and send her into convulsions.

  “Anything?” she asked, her patience wearing thin.

  “Not yet.”

  He continued along the other side, switching hands and positions. When he neared the scar below her ear, she pulled away. He caught the back of her neck with his other hand, preventing her from moving more than a centimeter away.

  “I’ve seen the scars,” he said gently, startling her when he traced the scar with the tip of his finger.

  Not all of them, she wanted to say, but she remained silent. He would never see the rest. Not if she could help it.

  Then again, this was The Rock. Nothing got to him and it was annoying as hell. Or maybe she was jealous because everything seemed to get to her.

  The last thing she wanted to do was explain where she’d gotten the marks on her body and why. They were numerous and unsightly and better left hidden. Noah knew where they’d come from, most of them anyway, because he knew about her torture and he’d seen the damage done to her. Yet here he was touching the scar as if it were a beauty mark. It confused and irritated her.

  “Stop it, Kincaid.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She glared at him. He knew she hated it when he called her that.

  “Knock it off.”

  He sent her an innocent look as his fingers resumed their caress. “What?”

  “You know what. Quit ruffling my feathers.”

  “But they’re so easily ruffled.”

  “Yeah, well you certainly have a way of—ouch.” A jolt of electricity shot through the necklace, burning against her chafed skin. It was quick and weak, but enough to get their attention.

  Noah frowned down at her. “What the hell was that?”

  “Guess Carlos doesn’t like you trying to remove his toy.”

  “Too bad. So that’s what it feels like?”

  “That was a small one.”

  “A warni
ng.”

  Attie nodded. “You felt it?”

  “Yeah, annoying as hell.”

  His reply caused an unexpected surge of emotion she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

  The corners of her mouth lifted slightly in what was as close to a smile as she’d gotten in over a year. Maybe because he was there to share her pain, or maybe it was his gruff answer, but it eased some of her tension.

  Noah glanced at her and paused. The corner of his mouth tilted. “You okay?”

  Attie nodded, not trusting herself to speak. The smile disappeared off her lips but its effect was still there.

  Noah wisely resumed his search. “There’s no visible clasp,” he said, moments later. “And I can’t feel anything.”

  “I figured as much. I’m stuck wearing it until Carlos takes it off.”

  “I’m not through yet.”

  “It’s rigged. It’ll probably detonate if it’s removed by anyone besides Carlos.”

  “Lift your chin.”

  Dog with a bone. With a sigh, Attie looked at the ceiling. Noah leaned dangerously close, his wet hair teasing her chin as he lifted the necklace off her neck and twisted it so he could inspect the underside.

  “I’ll be damned,” he muttered, his breath warm on her skin.

  “What?”

  “It looks like there’s some kind of coded lock. There are three bumps here. Some kind of high tech lock. The correct sequence should open it.”

  “Where’s St. Klare when you need him?”

  Rogan St. Klare would have had it off in a jiffy using one of his high tech gadgets that only he knew how to use.

  “Three bumps?”

  “Yeah. Virtually invisible.”

  “There could be thousands of combinations. We’ll never get through all of them.”

  “Try the most logical ones first. Numbers important to Santiago.”

  She was getting a kink in her neck. Noah slid the necklace around so the lock was resting to the side and she could lower her head. She racked her brain for significant numbers.

  “Try one-two-one.”

  “What’s that?”

  “My room number on Carlos’s estate.”