Authors: Cathy Pegau
“Comm me when you’re done,” Guy said as Genevieve ushered the two out of the warehouse.
When the three pairs of footsteps faded and the click of the side door closing behind them sounded, Guy led Sasha toward the stairs to the office. “Good decision, sweetness. And now, some insurance.”
Guy stared straight ahead, a hard smile on his face.
Unequivocal dread coiled along Sasha’s spine.
* * *
Sterling preceded Kylie and Caine through the side door, his mind racing. With his hands secured behind his back, he was damn near helpless as far as overpowering the blonde. The bonds felt cold and metallic against his skin. Snapping them would be impossible. Maybe he could work his arms in front of him somehow. But with Caine’s gun pressed against Kylie’s side, the chances of his sister coming away without injury before he could act were slim.
“Keep moving, Mr. Hollings,” Caine said. “My air car’s around back.”
“The same one you ran us off the road with?” Taunting her wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but it couldn’t get them any deader than they would be.
“That wasn’t me.”
“I can’t believe Guy’s letting us go,” Kylie said. Her teeth chattered in the cold.
“He’s not,” Sterling and Caine said simultaneously.
Sterling stopped and turned around, amazed she would admit as much. Caine stood two arm lengths away, her gun still in Kylie’s side. Kylie was pale as she stared at Caine.
“Keep moving,” Caine said. “I can get you out of here, but I have to do it now, before he checks the security cams.” She made a subtle gesture toward the building, where the hemispherical lens of a camera glinted in the watery sunlight.
Sterling resumed walking toward the rear of the warehouse, his mind reeling. Caine was willing to help them? Why?
The side door of her air car slid open as they approached.
“Get in and slide to the far end,” Caine instructed. “Kylie, sit next to him. Cut his bindings with this.”
Sterling didn’t turn to see what Caine gave his sister. He slid into the car and made room for Kylie. He glanced down. Palmed in her small hand was a pair of snub-nosed cutters. He held Caine’s gaze as she grabbed the door handle. “What now?”
She shut the door then got in on the driver’s side, while Kylie worked the cutter. “I drop you off where you want to go. You walk away and get on with your lives. Try to take me down, and we all die.” She held up what looked like a small data stick, her thumb pressed against a yellow button. Dead man’s switch attached to a self-destruct in the air car, no doubt. Damn the void.
“Do you have my comm?” he asked. Sasha had it in his car, but perhaps Caine or whoever had knocked them off the road picked it up. If he could get hold of Hallowell, he might get some backup.
Caine tossed his comm over the seat. Sterling caught it and tried to contact Hallowell. Nothing. The crash had damaged the comm’s network connection. He called up the app to check Sasha’s chip. The screen flickered, but a green icon blinked at the warehouse coordinates. Her bio readouts were elevated. Not a shock.
“Take Kylie to CMA headquarters in Pandalus,” he said. “Leave me here. I need to get to Sasha.”
Caine shook her head as she started the car. “I told you before, she’s his, and he doesn’t share.”
Sterling punched the back of her seat, wishing he could strangle her. The vibration shook his body, and his nose and left eye throbbed anew. “Damn it, I can save her. I have to.”
She half turned in her seat as the car lifted. “You’re an idiot.” She glanced at Kylie. “Your brother’s an idiot.”
The fear on Kylie’s face wavered into a shaky grin. “He always does stupid things when he’s sweet on someone.”
Sterling jerked in surprise. Kylie knew what he felt for Sasha?
Caine gave her a crooked grin in return. “Don’t we all?” She looked at him again and sighed. “Hold on.”
Banking hard to the right, she swept around the back of a one-hundred-meter-long freighter sitting on the launch pad in the center of the complex. She set down and turned in her seat again. “He’ll probably kill both of you, you know.”
Sterling wanted to say something flip, but the look on Kylie’s face stopped him. He smiled reassuringly and took her hand. “I’ll be careful. You go with Genevieve. She’ll take you to Natalia Hallowell at the CMA.” His eyes found Caine’s. “Right?”
She held up her free hand, the one not holding the dead man’s switch, and nodded. “I swear she will get to this Hallowell person safely.” She lowered her hand where Sterling couldn’t see then held up her pulser, handgrip toward him. “You’ll need this,” she said, passing it to him. “And this,” she added as she gave him her comm. “Security cam controls are in that. Pass codes are one-three-Branson-one-seven for the cams and one-two-Melaine-two-four for the door.”
He raised an eyebrow at the unusual codes. They sounded like names to him, but he didn’t bother asking. She wouldn’t have told him anyway. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because Christiansen has gone too far, and I refuse to do his wet work. That’s what Marco was for.”
There had to be more to it than that, he saw as much in her face, but disgust and anger wormed their way into his words. “You were willing to let Marco do his job, ignoring all the people Christiansen hurt or allowed to be hurt, until it was foisted upon you?” His growing esteem for Caine crumbled. “That’s damn human of you.”
Caine leaned toward him with a scathing glare. “You don’t know anything about what I do—what I did—for him. Who do you think convinced him to test the product on some slags instead of at the university, where he thought he could make a few thousand extra credits? People died, but trust me, it could have been a helluva lot worse.” Her brown eyes softened, saddened, as she swallowed hard. “I can’t do it anymore. I have my reasons.” Her gaze hardened again and she turned to face the front, revving the engines without engaging the lifters. “Now, go get Sasha before it’s too late.”
“Nathan?” Kylie grabbed his shirt sleeve and searched his face. “I don’t want to go without you.”
He slipped the comm into his pocket and laid his hand over hers. He tried to smile, but it felt crooked and forced. “It’ll be okay. I trust her.” Mostly. “When you get to the CMA, Natalia will take care of you.” He tried to pry her hand from his sleeve, but she held tight. “Please, Kylie. I have to save her.”
She held on to him for another few seconds then nodded. Smoothing the material of his sleeve, she said, “You and Sasha risked a lot to get me out of there, and I wouldn’t have come if you’d waited another week, or maybe even a few days. I would have told him who you were.” She raised her eyes and tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
Sterling kissed her forehead, taking care not to touch the gash at her hairline. “It’s okay. It’ll be over soon. You’ll be safe. Go to Natalia.” He opened the door. “Thank you, Genevieve.”
She nodded once before he jumped out and sprinted around the back of the air car.
A blast of cold wind hit him as he rounded the cargo ship in front of him. He was just past its landing gear when Caine’s air car whooshed up and banked toward the city. His heart and stomach swapped places for a second. The idea of trusting his little sister with one of Christiansen’s top employees—no matter what her reasons for turning on him—seemed like a huge mistake. But something had made him trust Caine, and now he had no choice. He had to take it on faith that she’d get Kylie to Natalia and had given him the proper codes to get back into the warehouse.
Sterling ran across the tarmac toward Christiansen’s building, ignoring the pulsing pain in his face. Back against the wall of a neighboring warehouse, he punched in the request for the security cam controls. The device asked for the pass code. Sterling entered the letters and numbers. The screen blanked, and he cursed Caine for giving him false codes that would trigger some sort of alarm. But within a few moments, the comm screen prompted him to choose operations or view. He tapped view and searched the seven cams for Christiansen and Sasha.
None of the views showed them, but it did show Christiansen’s office door was closed. The boss hadn’t placed a cam in his office, of course, and Sterling could only assume that’s where they were.
Choosing the operations icon, Sterling froze the cams’ views to the most narrow scope he could while still making it look like it covered the proper area. The one guarding the side door was directed as far from his path of entry as possible. It would still be necessary to approach from the opposite side, but at least he wouldn’t get caught by the wide angle. The other cams he’d encounter were likewise altered. He decided not to turn them off completely, concerned that it might set off some kind of system failure alarm.
He pocketed the comm and checked the pulser Caine gave him. Fully charged and set on the highest power that would be fatal just about anywhere he hit. Sterling held the pulser in his right hand and sidled up to the side door. The wind ripped between the buildings, cutting into the thin material of his shirt.
He flattened himself against the wall near the door and tapped in the code. A soft click sounded, and he opened the door slowly. Slipping inside, he eased it shut, listening for any sign that Christiansen and Sasha were near. Nothing. He called up the chip app and zoomed in. Locations were accurate to within two meters. There she was. In the office, but her heart rate and respiration had increased to stress levels. What the hell was Christiansen doing?
A quick check of the cam views showed no one in the warehouse except Marco, and he wasn’t going anywhere. Christiansen’s door was still closed. Sterling pocketed the comm and made his way to the staircase leading up to the office. He eased up the stairs, pulser at the ready as he placed his feet on the side of each tread rather than the looser, noisier center. At the top, he crossed the short space between the stairs to the office door and placed his ear against it. Nothing. Damn, he’d trade his false eye and left arm for an enhanced ear right now.
Sterling drew in a deep breath and reached for the handle.
Chapter Seventeen
Sasha watched Genevieve Caine’s air car lift off from behind the building on Guy’s office SI feed. She breathed deeply to try to reduce the tension in her chest and limbs. It had been her choice to stay with Guy and give Nathan and Kylie a chance, slim as it might be. Sasha didn’t trust Guy to keep his promise about allowing them to live, but if he went back on his word, she’d find a way to end her own misery.
Behind her, he shut the door with a solid thud.
She shivered and rubbed her arms. Guy reached past her and laid his pulser on the desk. Less than a half meter away. All she had to do was make a grab for it. Before she could put thought into action, he draped his jacket around her shoulders and turned her toward the couch.
“Have a seat, sweetness,” he said as he tapped the screen off. “This won’t hurt a bit.”
Sasha shrugged her arms into the too-large jacket, grimacing at his scent that rose from it but grateful for the warmth. She crossed to the worn couch and sat on the edge, hands between her knees. He’d said something about insurance. What did that mean?
Guy slid the pulser into the waist of his trousers at the small of his back. He withdrew an old-fashioned metal key from his pocket and crouched down on the right side of the desk to unlock a drawer. It opened with a squeal. He placed a metal box on the desk.
“I was worried for a minute there,” he said as he tapped icons on the box’s locking mechanism. “I thought you’d want to go with Hollings.”
“It’s better this way,” she replied, her voice rough.
Yes, better. For Kylie, definitely. For Nathan, he’d have his sister back safe and sound. For herself? Definitely not better for her. Standing there in Kylie’s room, just
thinking
about using again, proved she couldn’t trust herself. With her chip deactivated, she would have no resistance on her own.
If given the chance, would Nathan have been enough to override her desire for amber? Yes, he would have. But she’d never be able to prove that now. A bitter laugh escaped her dry throat.
“What’s so funny?” Guy asked as he sat beside her. He had something cupped in his hand.
Sasha shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Guy studied her for a moment, his brows drawn. “You always had an interesting sense of humor.” He held out his closed hand. “Here, I have something for you.”
Another “gift,” like the ruby around her neck? The cinnamon aroma hit her as he opened his hand and Sasha gasped. A cube of amber, half the size of the teasers he offered new customers, sat in his palm. Dark at the center—almost black—it was similar to the chunk Kylie had in her room, different from the usual color.
The promise of euphoria in such a small, dangerous package.
Shaking her head, Sasha moved away from him, away from his offering until her back hit the arm of the couch. “No, Guy.”
“I know the rehab chip is supposed to keep you from needing it, but I saw how you were at The Morrissey.” He smiled a cruel smile. “You
wanted
it, and I’m willing to compromise my own rules just for you.” He brought his hand closer to her; Sasha had no way to escape. “You’ll take amber when
I
say so. You’ll come to me, and only me, for each and every dose. If you get it from any other source, I will find your friends and kill them.”
He raised his free hand, and she flinched. She kept her eyes on his as he caressed her hair.
“Don’t be like that, sweetness. It’s better this way. I get you. You get amber. We’re all happy, right?”
“Please, Guy.” Her breath caught in a half sob. The warm, spicy aroma of the amber hit her again, filled her senses. Sasha squeezed her eyes closed and swallowed. God, she didn’t want to want it. She didn’t. “Please. I’ll stay with you. You don’t need that.”
“Oh, but I do.” He stopped caressing her, and she sensed him doing something with the cube in his hand. She didn’t dare open her eyes to look. “See, I’ve learned my lesson. I tried trusting people and their word, but they completely fucked me over. I guess I was buying into my own public persona of genial businessman. No more.”
He grabbed her chin, and Sasha’s eyes flew open. She wrapped her hands around his forearm as he pushed her back against the couch, using his body to keep her in place.
“We’ll start off with half a dose.” He held a smaller bit of the cube between his thumb and forefinger in front of her eyes. “I’ve been working on a new formula I think you’ll like.” He brought the piece closer, under her nose. The cinnamon scent infused her senses, made her mouth water with unwelcome anticipation as tears blurred her vision. “I thought I could trust you, but I can’t, not after hearing you and Marco in the elevator. This is the only way I can be sure you’ll be mine. Now, open wide.”
Sasha kept her mouth clamped shut. She tried to turn her head away from him, but he was so strong, so determined. He pressed her into the couch, trapping her arms between their bodies.
Guy squeezed her jaw, digging his fingers into her flesh and working them into the bone. “Open your fucking mouth!”
He pushed the amber against her lips. They tingled then numbed. Panic shot through Sasha’s chest.
No no no no no!
She bucked, turned her head, but he kept her pinned beneath his body.
Guy raised himself from her, just enough to ease the pressure on her chest. For a moment, she thought he’d decided to leave her alone. She should have known better. He dropped back on top of her, his full weight forcing air out of her lungs and opening her mouth.
He slipped the amber between her lips and clamped his hand over her mouth. The familiar taste-scent spread throughout her mouth and sinuses as soon as it touched the moist surface of her tongue.
Sasha froze, her eyes wide.
Amber didn’t melt that quickly. What had he done?
Son of a bitch, what had he done to her?
Unable to move her head, Sasha worked her teeth to Guy’s palm and bit down as hard as she could. She growled out the fear and anger burning through her body. He screamed, tried to pull his hand away. She sank her teeth deeper into his flesh, tasting blood.
“Fuck!” Guy hit her on the side of the head with his free hand.
Stars burst within her skull, and Sasha opened her mouth. He rolled off of her and stood, holding up his bloodied hand. She bent over the side of the couch, gagged and spat onto the floor. Only a faint red-orange-brown mark stained the carpet. The numbness in her mouth faded and her throat tingled. That effect usually lasted several minutes. Then the drug kicked in.
This was not right.
She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and looked up. “What was that?”
“New formula,” he said between heavy breaths. “Faster absorption, bigger high. It’s gonna shoot my profits through the roof.”
Sasha already felt her head starting to go muzzy. Her heart rate slowed in her ears. Before she completely lost the ability to care what Guy had done, she launched herself from the couch, hands extended like claws. She lashed out at him, dragging fingernails down his cheek, and stumbled as the floor shifted beneath her feet.
Guy grabbed her wrists and spun her around. With her back against his body, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “There, there, sweetness. You’ll be thanking me in about five minutes.”
Her head and limbs felt lighter, like they’d been filled with helium. She leaned against Guy, unsure if her legs would hold her much longer.
“More,” she said through tingling lips. She could OD and be done with it. Done with it all.
No.
She was stronger than that.
She would live through this. And she would make him
pay.
Guy’s breath warmed her ear. “See? I know what’s best for you. I always have and always will.”
The door swung open, and Nathan Sterling pointed a black gun at Guy’s head.
Joy and confusion flooded Sasha’s brain. “Nathan.” Was he really there, or was the amber playing havoc with her brain already?
“Let her go and step away,” he said. His eyes never left Guy’s face. “Sasha, are you all right?”
Guy’s body tensed against hers. Nathan
was
there. Sasha could have wept with relief. “He gave me some amber.” Heat flared in her neck and face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want it, I swear. He forced me.”
“I know. It’s okay,” Nathan said in a soothing tone that belied the intensity in his eyes and his wary stance. “We’ll get you help.”
The genuine concern in his voice nearly brought her to her knees. He believed her. Even more amazing, he believed
in
her. The same warm pride filled her chest as before, when she’d stared into his eyes at Guy’s house, and she’d finally felt like the woman he told her she was that morning in her flat.
The world dipped again. The woman she
would
be, if she could keep it together and they could get out of this.
“How did you get away from Genevieve?” Guy asked. Nathan said nothing, and after a moment he answered his own question. “She let you go, didn’t she? First Marco, now Genevieve. I can’t trust anyone, can I?”
He shoved Sasha away from him. She stumbled toward Nathan.
Nathan fired past her, the pulser shots so close she felt their heat, and pushed her to his right, toward the desk. She slid on her hands and knees across the worn carpet, burning her skin. Guy returned fire. Nathan grunted and hit the wall with a heavy thud. His weapon spun out of his hand, under the desk.
“No!”
He slumped to the floor, his right arm hanging useless. He reached behind his back with his left. Going for another weapon? He’d never get it drawn in time.
Sasha grabbed Nathan’s pistol, stood and fired in Guy’s direction. She kept her finger on the firing stud. He dove for the couch, bolts of near-invisible energy peppering the worn carpet and upholstery with smoking holes. Ozone crackled between them.
Guy yelped and fell beside the couch. His left arm and leg moved with jerky motions as he brought them under his body, trying to stand. Half turned away, he swung his weapon toward her and their eyes locked. She’d expected rage, and that was there, but behind the anger was disappointment and hurt. He’d loved her, and she’d betrayed him like Marco and Genevieve.
She didn’t care.
Sasha steadied the gun in both hands and pointed it at his head.
She didn’t dare look away from Guy. Sweat trickled near her eye. The gun felt heavier than when she’d scooped it up, heavier than it should feel, and her hands were shaking. Her head seemed to be floating half a meter above her shoulders. She blinked hard and tossed hair out of her eyes with the flick of her head. The room shifted but she stayed focused on Guy.
Why wasn’t he dead or at least unconscious? Sasha caught the glint of the button on the sleeve of the jacket she wore. Guy’s jacket. His jacket and shirt were made of the pulser-resistant material. Pulser-resistant, but not pulser-proof. And he only wore the thinner shirt now. Still, it might take more than a couple of hits to weaken the garment’s protection.
Guy’s mouth curled into a grimace. To make a clean shot at her, he would have to shift his body, but he wouldn’t—or couldn’t—move. His gaze flicked to Nathan, and the barrel of his pulser followed. “Put it down, sweetness, or I take him with me.”
Sweat burned in the corner of her left eye. “Damn it.”
“Sasha,” Nathan said quietly, “shoot him.”
“I can’t.” She blinked again as Guy wavered in front of her. “He’ll kill you.”
“Shoot. Him.”
Guy grinned. “She won’t risk you, my friend.”
Sasha edged toward Nathan, the pulser in her hand trembling as she kept it trained on Guy. “Let us leave, and we’ll all go back to our lives.”
He barked out a laugh. “No harm, no foul, eh? I don’t think so.”
“Sasha, don’t,” Nathan said, but she kept moving to him.
She kneeled beside him. “Shoot him and you kill me, too, Guy. So we all die. What good is that?”
Guy frowned. “Works for me.”
Sasha covered Nathan’s upper body with her own, still aiming the pulser at Guy. She pressed the firing stud. The two pistols spat simultaneously. Guy howled in pain. One of his shots slammed into her right shoulder. Her arm and back felt like they were on fire. The jacket material disbursed most of the energy from the pulser, and the burning sensation subsided. She fell onto Nathan, still shooting.
The stench of burnt flesh filled the air. Nathan yelled something, covered her head with his arms. After a moment, she realized she was the only one firing. She released the stud. Or tried to. Her hand wouldn’t obey. She couldn’t feel her arm. The material of the jacket had saved them both, but it would hurt like hell eventually.
Sasha lifted her head. Nathan slid his left hand down her limp right arm, keeping the muzzle pointed away from them, and pried the pulser from her hand. The firing stopped.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“He got me in the shoulder.”
“Yeah, I figured that.” His crooked grin made her smile back. He tilted his head to look past her. “Nice suit. I think I’ll get me one of those.”
Sasha didn’t want to look. “Is he dead?”
Nathan nodded. He laid the pulser down and slid his hand behind her head. Drawing her to him, he kissed her gently on the forehead. “And you aren’t.”
She touched her lips to his, more than a little surprised that he was with her, that she was kissing him again. “Neither are you.”
He smiled. “Let’s keep it that way.”
Sasha lifted herself off Nathan, both of them struggling with only two arms between them, and staggered to her feet. She stumbled over to Guy’s body. Her shots had taken him in the chest and side; his bright white shirt was charred in places. The material may have been pulser-resistant, but she’d managed to get in a couple of lucky hits.
Sasha reached under the collar of her blouse and yanked off the ruby necklace. The delicate gold links snapped. She dropped it on his body and turned back to Nathan, feeling lighter. Free.
He stood with his back at the wall, the bruise around his eye stark against the paleness of his skin. “You okay?”
Sasha nodded then swallowed hard. “Nathan, about me and Marco—”