Teased

by Rebecca Zanetti

Chalton kept his gaze out the window at the people hurrying by.

  “What is your plan?” Olivia asked, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

  “Hold on,” he said, not moving.

  The strong scent of pipe tobacco wafted around, reminding her of her grandfather, who lived in Washington state near a forest. That’s where she could go for a while until things calmed down. All she had to do was escape Chalton and get on the road. Then she could figure out who wanted her dead.

  His hold remained secure around her hand, easily keeping her captive. She reached for his restraining hand with her free one and dug in her nails.

  He slowly turned his head and focused on her. “What?”

  “Let. Go.”

  “No.” He turned back to the window.

  She dug in, making sure to draw blood. Her fingertips suddenly burned. “What the heck?”

  “Move now.” He opened the door and tugged her outside to where a dark town car had maneuvered to the curb. Yanking open the door, he pivoted and pushed her inside before following.

  Coolness surrounded her along with the scent of expensive leather. Chalton sighed and relaxed back into the seat. Then he reached into a side cupboard for two bottled waters, handing her one.

  She took the water, her heart racing. A dark partition remained up between the back and front. “Who is up there?” she asked.

  “Hired driver.” Chalton opened his water and tipped his head back to drink.

  She rapped her knuckles against the partition and then winced. “Hey, buddy? This is kidnapping, and you’re an accomplice.”

  “Hired driver paid really well,” Chalton said smoothly.

  She whirled on him, her temper finally catching up to the fear of the day. “What do you want from me?”

  His dark eyes narrowed. “I want to know who your source is, where your research materials are, and where the latest article for Life and Science is.”

  “For what story?” She kept her chin up. After working for the magazine for nearly five years, she knew how to protect a source. More importantly, the only way to save her friend’s life was to find the subjects of her article.

  He smiled without an ounce of humor. “You know what story. The one about the laboratory in Oregon researching genetic mutations that hints at something...new.”

  New? Yeah. That was one way of putting it. The research hinted that there were other species walking around on earth who had more chromosomal pairs than humans. Something more...than human. Something that would certainly have a way to save Ronni from dying way too young. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He exhaled and stretched out long, very long, legs. “Sure you do. Your first two articles in the series detailed missing researchers from Oregon along with hints about their missing research, all leading up to an article coming next week with a big reveal. I’m assuming the big reveal is the actual research into chromosomal pairs, into extra ones belonging to an imaginary species, and you’re being duped.”

  “Oh yeah?” She put her hands on her hips and pivoted in the seat to face him. “If I’m being duped, then why are people trying to either kidnap or shoot me?” She was on to the find of the century, and she needed to get back on track to meet her source for the evidence. “Let me out of this car, and I won’t press charges.”

  “Do I look like I’m worried about charges?”

  No. Not at all. He looked like some badass vigilante in tailored clothing. All muscle, intelligence, and...maleness. So damn male he could define the word. “You should be worried,” she countered, her stomach dropping. The guy couldn’t care less. She’d seen his face. She knew his name. “You’re going to kill me,” she whispered, her heart clenching. “Or try to,” she added quickly.

  He tossed his empty water bottle into a trash receptacle near the door. “I’ve saved your life twice. If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”

  A chill crawled down her back. “But you need the information you mentioned.” Then would he kill her? Or try to?

  He leaned toward her, bringing heat. “Listen, Livy. I will not kill you. I promise.”

  Livy? Only her grandpop called her that, and hearing the nickname from Chalton’s handsome lips gave her odd tingles she really had to banish. She pressed her lips together. “Have you killed anybody before?

  “Yes.”

  She knew it. Of course he had. The guy was definitely a soldier from the way he moved. “In times of war?”

  “Yes.”

  Hope unfurled inside her. “In other times?”

  “We’re usually at war.” He shrugged. “Where’s your research?”

  She slowly twisted the lid open on her bottle. “At my apartment on my computer.” If she could just get home, she could break free. No way did he know her neighborhood as well as she did.

  “No it isn’t. The only stuff on your computer is recipes, Christmas card lists, music, games, and videos. No work.” He rubbed his strong jaw.

  She frowned. “How do you know what’s on my computer?”

  “I hacked it.”

  Hacked it? He’d freakin hacked it? “How dare you.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m guessing you have a laptop somewhere, one with the WIFI disabled, that you use for writing. It isn’t in your apartment, and you haven’t gone anywhere the last two days. Where is it?”

  She blinked, her throat closing. Her hand shook, but she tipped the water bottle to her mouth and drank, allowing the liquid to soothe. Finally, she drew in a deep breath. “How do you know the laptop isn’t in my apartment?”

  “I searched your place while you were sleeping last night.” He grinned. “Love the yellow panty set with the day of the week sewn in, by the way.”

  She gasped.

  “And,” he continued, “you really shouldn’t hide your grandmother’s jewelry beneath the kitchen sink in an old coffee can. It’s way too easy to find there.”

  Oh God. He’d actually been in her apartment while she’d slept. Vulnerability slammed into her chest. “You dick,” she murmured.

  He nodded. “If I wanted to harm you, I could have already.”

  Yeah, but he hadn’t found the information he’d wanted, now had he? Just how deadly would he become if he got his hands on her laptop and research materials? She shuddered. “So, let me get this straight. You’re a good fighter, you’re drop-dead quiet at night, and you know how to hack a computer.”

  “I’m complex,” he drawled. “The research?”

  As far as she could tell, the research, or the secrecy of it, was the only thing keeping her alive. “I’m not telling you.” Unfortunately, she didn’t exactly possess the important documents proving the existence of this super species since her meeting had been thwarted by the guys in the van. “Why is your brother trying to kill me?” Her eyes widened. “Or was he just after you?”

  “I’m thinking he was shooting toward you,” Chalton said.

  “Toward?”

  “Yeah. If my brother wanted a bullet to impact either one of us, we’d be bleeding right now. So my thought is that he was after you, saw me, and fired for fun.”

  Her eyes widened. “Your brother fired at us for fun?”

  “You’d have to know him.” Chalton rubbed his chin. “I haven’t talked to him in a long time, but—”

  “Why not?”

  “Huh?”

  “Why haven’t you talked to your brother?” she asked.

  His eyes sobered. “Long story and family stuff. But if Jared is after you, it has to be connected to the Oregon lab stories.”

  “Why? What does your brother do besides shoot at people from rooftops?” She had to figure a way out of the car when it slowed down.

  “He’s for hire—a bit of a vigilante. Anybody could’ve hired him.” Chalton shook his head. “This doesn’t make sense. Who is your source for the Oregon lab series of stories?”

  She clamped her mouth shut.

  His chin lowered. “Listen. I don’t want to scare you, and I
don’t want to hurt you. But I have a job to do, and I need to get a name from you.”

  Her mind spun. “So it’s true. It’s all true.” Sure, she had the proof, or she would have it soon. But somehow, she’d still held doubts. “There’s a species out there, or at the very least a human mutation that has created beings with more chromosomal pairs than twenty-three.” More than human.

  “Don’t be silly.” He reached out and clasped her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “My employer wants the information from the Oregon research labs because it is proprietary and could lead to drugs that’ll wipe out dangerous diseases. There’s no ultra-human, and you have to know that.”

  But the documents were clear, and she trusted Helen, her source. The woman was brilliant and knew what she was talking about. “This can’t be about a simple drug.”

  “It’s about many drugs, which means millions, if not billions, of dollars.” He released her. “Give me the information, and I’ll make sure you’re protected. You need that.”

  She would be fine if she could just put some distance between herself and anybody trying to kidnap her, including Chalton. When she obtained the rest of the proof, she could finish her article and the truth would be out there, so there’d be no reason to harm her. Plus, then she could find the people who could save Ronni’s heart from quitting for good. A thirty-year-old woman who’d been afflicted by an odd virus that had attacked her heart, Ronni had been Olivia’s best friend since preschool. “Obviously you’ve read the two published articles, and you know a third is coming, so I’m not going to lie to you,” Olivia said.

  “Good.”

  “But I’ve already turned in the third article to my editor, and it runs next Wednesday. So it’s too late.” She lifted her hands.

  “No you haven’t,” Chalton countered. “I hacked all the computers at the magazine as well as your editor’s two computers at home. The guy plays way too much Zombie Bagus IV, by the way.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “You did not hack the magazine. We have top of the line firewalls.”

  “Took me almost five minutes, but I was eating a bagel at the time.” He leaned in. “Maria Ortiz has pictures of her grandbabies all over her computer. Todd Jones has an affinity for sports cars, and Frank Softos likes pictures of naked softball players. Shall I go on about more of your colleagues?”

  “God no.” She sat back. How had he hacked the system so easily? “Who are you?”

  He leaned into her space, all intent. “I’m a guy who gets the job done, no matter the job. Work with me, Livy. It’s your only option.”

  Man, she must really be on to something with the story. Just how far did the knowledge go? The lab was a private lab, but it did have governmental funding. Was the government doing experiments? “Are you a soldier?”

  “Not anymore.”

  She blinked. “What does that mean?”

  “I used to be a soldier, a long time ago, and now I work with computers. Primarily.” He glanced out the window. “I’m having men fetch your things from your apartment, including the jewelry. Is there anything you want me to make sure they pack?”

  She sat back, her ears burning. “You’re doing what?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “I’m taking you to a safe house and figured you’d want your things with you. On the way we need to acquire your research materials and laptop.”

  Oh, absolutely not. “My neighbors will report me missing, as will friends and coworkers.” So would her grandfather after a few days, since they spoke at least once a week.

  “I sent emails to your boss from your computer, and I left notes on your neighbors’ doors in your handwriting saying you’re taking a vacation. As for your grandfather, he won a two-week fishing trip in Alaska but had to leave immediately.” Chalton pointed to her small purse. “There should be a message from him.”

  She could only gape. “Who are you?”

  “I told you.”

  No, he really hadn’t. “All I know is that you were a soldier, are probably in your early thirties, and now work as a computer hacking mercenary for hire. And you have two brothers you haven’t spoken to in a while. Brothers who shoot at you.”

  He shrugged. “What else is there to know? Except you need to cooperate with me for your own safety, which obviously is in doubt.”

  “I’ll be fine once I publish the next article.” She spoke evenly, hoping he was truly rational.

  “That will never happen.” He lifted a shoulder. “Honest. You need to understand that we will take out the entire building housing the magazine in order to prevent that from happening. The whole block if we need to do so.”

  She studied him. Dead serious. Not an ounce of doubt showed on his hard-cut face. “You mean that.”

  “I truly do.” He brushed a wayward hair off her forehead. “We’d try desperately to limit casualties, probably by calling in some sort of deadly gas leak and forcing an evacuation, but I can’t guarantee nobody would be hurt.”

  The sheer calmness of his statement convinced her. “You people are zealots.”

  “No.”

  “Crazy, greedy bastards?” Heat roared into her face, burning her cheeks.

  “Not really.” He leaned back and stretched out again. “Look at us as folks trying to do the right thing and protect a bunch of people. From diseases and, ah, such.”

  Her focus narrowed. “What are you not telling me?”

  He smiled, full of charm this time. “Nothing. I assure you.”

  Yeah, right. “I’m not telling you where my laptop is.” There was no reason to deny its existence to him, considering it was obvious she’d written the articles somewhere and had the supporting documents beforehand.

  “I won’t make you talk.” His long fingers tapped a rhythm on the leather armrest. “But you have to understand that I’ll go through every aspect of your life, every friend, every acquaintance, as well as your financials, until I find the location of your hidey-hole.”

  She bit back a growl. “You’ll never find it.”

  “We’ll see.”

  The car took a sharp left and drove onto the freeway. “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “The airport.”

  Her head jerked back. “What? Why?”

  “I didn’t say the safe house was in New York, now did I?”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Chalton stepped from the car and held out a hand for Olivia. She completely ignored him and charged out by herself, stepping to the side and glaring at the private jet waiting on the tarmac.

  “Kidnapping and transporting across state lines will land your butt in federal prison for a long time, jackwad.” She pressed her hands to her curvy hips. “You could still stop this train of disaster before it ruins your life.”

  Those green eyes lasered into him, and his cock sprang to life. That spirit combined with obvious intelligence just turned him the hell on. “Thanks but no.”

  She hissed and looked around the quiet and remote hangar at the private part of the airport. “Where is everybody?”

  “The pilots are in the plane and waiting. Other than that, we’re the only ones close enough to hear if you start screaming. So don’t.” A part of him, one he didn’t much like, wished she’d start fighting again just so he could put his hands on her. He wouldn’t hurt her, but man, he’d like to kiss her for real. “Please embark.”

  Now she crossed her arms. “Screw you.”

  “Is that an invitation?” Ah, hell. He shouldn’t have said that.

  Color burst across her face, and she swung out her arms. “No. And if you think I’m meekly going to get on that plane bound for psycho-ville, you’re fucking crazy.” Her eyes sizzled, and even her lips turned an enticing rosy shade of red.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he murmured.

  Somehow that made her even madder. “You are such a dick. Guys like you don’t find girls like me beautiful.” Spitting fire, she glared up at him.

  He leaned into her, loving the way her eyes wi
dened in awareness. “Guys like me?”

  “Yes.” She slapped both hands against his chest and shoved, snarling when he didn’t move an inch. “Guys who spend hours in the gym, probably only eat protein, look like action movie stars, and probably date models who weigh three pounds.”

  He frowned. “What’s wrong with protein?”

  “Nothing,” she shouted.

  Somehow he’d made her so angry she’d stopped making any sense. “Your beauty isn’t exactly a matter of opinion, darlin’. You’re stunning.”

  “Stop playing with me,” she almost growled.

  “I haven’t started playing with you, and when I do, you’ll fucking know it,” he shot back, rapidly losing a temper he never lost.

  That apparently did it, because she levered back and kicked him square in the ankle. Pain ricocheted up his shin. Before he could respond, she pivoted and punched him right in the mouth.

  “That’s it.” He ducked a shoulder into her stomach and lifted, easily tossing her over his shoulder.

  She landed with a soft oomph and stilled. Then the air must’ve filled her lungs. “You goddamn sonuvabitch loser fuckwad hacker dickhead,” she screamed, kicking out and punching his ribs with small fists.

  The woman had quite a temper, now didn’t she?

  He turned and headed toward the plane. If she was his, he’d tuck his fingers in very inappropriate places to stop her tirade and hold her in place. As it was, he had to just wrap an arm around her legs to protect his front and allow the blows to the back to continue. “Man, you’re feisty,” he said.

  Her response ran together so quickly he couldn’t make out individual words, but he was fairly certain a death threat was in there somewhere.

  He carried her right up the stairs to the plane, ducked, and dropped her ass on a leather sofa. Before she could strike out, he manacled her wrist and zip-tied it to the arm of the couch.

  “What the hell?” She looked up, eyes round.

  He sighed. “I can’t have you jumping out, now can I?” Ignoring her furious struggles with the tie, he strode down the aisle to rap on the door and then lean in. Charlie, a feline shifter, was piloting along with a vampire copilot. “Take her to the drop, and wait for me there. Please radio for a second plane.”