The Touch (8 page)

“Isn’t that cliché, Mike?” Wade asked.
“Especially for you? I thought you were a lot smarter than
that.”

Mike shrugged. “Why break what works?”

“We take the woman and as soon as the chip is
delivered we’ll make an exchange—the chip for her.” Mike’s tone
turned harder yet. “Even if she was a one-night fuck, I know you,
Branson. You won’t let her die. And that’s exactly what’s going to
happen if you don’t have the chip by noon.”

Fire burned in Wade’s eyes and his face was
dark with anger. “Where?”

“You’ve got my number,” Mike said. “Call as
soon as you have it. You know the drill. No one else involved.” He
shifted behind her as he said, “Richmond. Do it.”

Chandra barely had a chance to blink when
Richmond drew out a bottle. He sprayed the contents at Wade’s
chest.

A smell like dirty laundry hit her just as
Wade shouted and dropped to his knees, then his haunches. He fisted
his hands on his thighs and his jaw was tight as he stared at
Fields. Horror seared Chandra’s belly. What had they put on Wade?
His shirt smoked where the fluid had hit him.

Or was that his body? He seemed to fade away
before solidifying again.

What?

Even as terror for Wade ripped through her,
her eyes widened at the sight. Was she imagining things, like when
he’d stumbled from the trap door?

Fields chuckled, a sound that churned
Chandra’s stomach. “The Exposal will keep you in line,” he said.
From her side vision she saw him nod to Valdez. “Stay with Branson.
As soon as he has the chip, call me.” Fields turned his gaze on a
couple of the other operatives. “Fix that fucking door so that it
doesn’t look like it’s been damaged.”

Wade remained on his haunches and Chandra
could tell he was gritting his teeth from pain at the same time
concern for her was in his eyes. Raw fury twisted his
expression.

Mike yanked her sideways, the gun still under
her chin. In that moment the pendant flipped over and her heart
went still. Her eyes met Wade’s and shock registered in his gaze
before his features turned to stone again.

When Mike jerked her fully around, the
pendant turned back over so that the chip was to her chest again.
No one said anything—they simply followed her and Mike out of the
room.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Obviously no
one but Wade had noticed.

The irony of the situation hit her. She was
being kidnapped by Mike to be exchanged for something he already
possessed.

#

The operatives filed out of the room but Wade
was in too much pain to move. Not to mention too stunned.

Chandra had the microchip.

The whole time she’d had the chip. There was
no doubt in his mind it was the one. It had been color coded,
almost iridescent.

“Get up, asshole.” Valdez kicked Wade’s thigh
as he gestured toward an armchair that had been shredded and lay on
its side. “Pick it up and get your ass on it.”

If Wade hadn’t just been sprayed with the
chemical made to control shadow shifters, Valdez would be a dead
man. Regardless of the chemical, Wade tried to shift as he stood,
but Fields had done a good job of it. There was enough Exposal on
him to last a week.

Unless he could shower and get the Exposal
off with a good scrub. Only heavy-duty soap designed by shadow
shifters to get at least most of the chemical off would work. It
didn’t take much to be enough to allow them to shift again.

Wade managed to get to his feet without
trying to tear Valdez’s head off. Not that he could at that moment
as crippled as he was from the pain of being sprayed with
Exposal.

Why had Fields betrayed him? He’d always
thought of Mike as a friend, and he was a fellow shadow
shifter.

Shit
. No question Fields was planning
to sell the microchip to Psion and he’d be a wealthy man. The other
mercenaries wouldn’t do too badly, either.

Wade’s muscles ached, his chest burned, and
his body felt like it would burst into flame. Valdez nudged him
with the barrel of his AK-47 and Wade had never wanted to kill a
person more than he did at that moment. Several persons.

It took most of his remaining strength to
right the fallen chair. When he sat in the padded seat, a part of
him cried out with a tiny bit of relief. The rest of his body
continued cramping from the chemical.

In just a matter of moments, using a length
of rope that had been secured to his own utility belt, Valdez had
Wade’s arms lashed to the armrests, his ankles tied to the chair
legs so tightly that Wade couldn’t move them if he’d even had the
strength to try.

Wade’s mind churned over the fact that
Chandra had the chip and that Mike had betrayed him. He leaned his
head back against the wall, looking at the ceiling and ignoring
Valdez. It would be a few hours before Wade could move freely
again, and by that time the messenger would’ve delivered the
painting—without the chip.

He ground his teeth harder as he leveled his
gaze on Valdez. The man positioned himself on Wade’s bed, the rifle
pointed straight at him. Valdez’s expression was cold,
calculating.

Would Chandra turn over the microchip to save
her own life? Or was she in league with Psion, her employer, and
planning to sell the chip for her own benefit?

Wade clenched his jaw. He had to find out and
he had to get that chip back.

***

Mike tried to shove Chandra in the backseat
of one of two black Hummers in front of Wade’s home. It was nearing
dawn, but still dark enough that it was difficult to make out
things clearly.

The floorboard of the Hummer was high and she
stumbled and pitched forward. Mike caught her by the back of the
shirt she was wearing then lifted her under her arms and pushed her
into the vehicle.

When he had her in the seat, her shirt
flopped open and her body was bared. She kept her knees pressed
tightly together and folded her arms across her chest.

Mike slapped her so hard her head snapped to
the side. Her face burned as she slowly turned back to look at him,
and tears from pain stung the backs of her eyes.

“Keep your arms at your sides, and your legs,
spread, slut.” His tone was dark and cruel.

She raised her chin but forced herself to
comply. Her shirt fell completely open again, and cool air stroked
her.

This time he grinned as he reached across her
and pinched one of her nipples hard. She winced at the same time
she stared at him with murder in her expression. He deliberately
ran his arms over both breasts as he put her seatbelt on and
latched it.

When her seatbelt was fastened, Mike paused,
dipped his head, and ran his tongue around the nipple he hadn’t
pinched. Heat flushed her body as her nipple turned hard despite
the fact she was ready to kill him. He laughed before he slammed
the door shut and strode around to the driver’s side of the
vehicle.

A woman climbed into the front passenger seat
and cast an amused expression over her shoulder at Chandra before
turning and putting on her seatbelt. The man called Richmond got
inside the Hummer, shut his door, and slowly raked his gaze over
Chandra’s naked form.

“Can we play, boss?” Richmond asked.
Chandra’s heart chilled when she saw his erection pressing against
his black pants.

Her eyes met Mike’s as she swung her gaze to
the rearview mirror. She didn’t like the smile on his face one bit.
“Maybe later,” he said. “Depends on how well she behaves and how
fast that chip is delivered.”

Chandra refused to look at Richmond or Mike
as he guided the Hummer away from Wade’s home. Instead, she stared
out the window.

It was still pretty dark, but thanks to
streetlights and signs she could tell which way they were
traveling. There weren’t many parts of the Phoenix valley that she
didn’t know, but soon Mike was heading north on the Black Canyon
Freeway, taking her farther away from territory she was familiar
with.

Cool air from an open window continuously
brushed her bare breasts and her stomach felt sick as she felt
Richmond’s lustful gaze.

Her thoughts returned to Wade as Mike drove.
What kind of substance had been sprayed on him? Did she really see
his form waver then appear almost transparent before becoming solid
again?

Her head swam with everything that had
happened. Her knees and palms ached from the glass cuts and her
cheek stung. She’d never felt so completely vulnerable as she did
at that moment. Naked, tied up, being driven someplace where she’d
be held for ransom—for something they’d never get because she sure
as hell wasn’t going to turn the microchip over to them.

It took a while, but they finally reached a
plain ranch-style home that stood in the middle of several acres of
desert. It looked like the closest neighbor was a good mile away.
Chandra’s shoulders sagged. Wade would never find them out here. If
he would even look for her.

But he knew she had the chip.

He
would
try to find her, if only for
that. What kind of secrets did the microchip hold that were so
valuable?

Once they had parked, Mike climbed out then
forced Chandra out of the car and toward the house. Rocks bit into
her feet before they reached the smooth sidewalk leading to the
house, and then she felt coarse carpet as they entered the
home.

When they were inside, Mike pushed her into a
recliner and she winced as she automatically braced herself and her
hands hit the arms of the chair. The moment she was down, he pushed
her shirt completely away from her body and pried her legs open
with his knee.

“Spread your legs again, bitch,” Mike said as
he shoved them apart. “And leave them that way.”

More tears ached at the back of Chandra’s
eyes as she was forced to obey, but damned if she was going to
cry—even when every man and woman who walked into Mike’s home took
a good look at her body.

Her gut clenched and she swallowed hard.
She’d never been so humiliated and mortified in all her life.

Mike ordered Richmond to stay while the rest
of his mercenaries went with him into another room. “Keep your
hands off the bitch,” Mike ordered. “Just keep an eye on her.” His
gaze raked her naked body and he smiled. “For now.”

Richmond smiled.

Chandra’s heart stuttered and fell to her
stomach.

When Mike left the room, she saw that
Richmond had an erection that seemed to grow bigger as he pointed
his incredibly large rifle at her.

She looked away and studied the stucco on one
of the walls. If she tried hard enough, she could see patterns in
the paint swirls.

But her mind kept returning to the mess she
was in, her nakedness, the fact that she might be raped and
wondering what would happen with Wade. When they discovered he
didn’t have the chip after all, would he be murdered? Would
she?

The thought chilled her. Maybe she should
tell Mike she had it.

No. That was a sure way to get both her and
Wade killed.

Her blood continued to rush in her ears and
she was having a hard time breathing. She didn’t want Richmond to
see her breasts rise and fall and perhaps excite him more. He just
might ignore Mike’s warning about not touching her without his
permission.

Chandra narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t tied up
and she was could do some serious harm to the bastard if he did get
close to her.

Still, Chandra let out a sigh of frustration.
How was she going to get out of this mess?

#

Time seemed to drag on interminably, yet when
four thumps hit his front door—the signal it was Adam—Wade’s heart
started pounding hard.

Like he’d wished a thousand times, he wanted
to shift into shadow form, a form in which he could slip out of his
bonds, a form in which he could not be harmed. Then he’d be able to
get to Valdez, shift back, and kill the bastard.

Instead, he was forced to grit his teeth
against the continual pain and wait to be released. And wait for
Valdez to find out there was no chip to be delivered.

That was if Chandra hadn’t already turned it
over to Mike.

At the sound of the doorbell, Valdez set his
rifle on the bed. He pulled a Glock from his utility belt with one
hand, while drawing a knife from his boot with his other hand. He
approached Wade, his expression grim.

“Don’t fuck with me.” Valdez’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ll kill you and whoever is at that door.”

Wade kept his expression as neutral as
possible as Valdez cut the ropes from Wade’s ankles, then wrists.
Valdez’s grip and aim of his Glock never wavered from Wade’s
chest.

When he first stood, his legs almost didn’t
hold him up. The Exposal was still strong in his system and he was
weak as hell. He gained his bearings, but stumbled when Valdez
shoved him toward the front door. Wade managed to keep to his
feet—barely.

He knew Adam, the operative delivering the
painting, was as good as dead unless Wade found a way to take out
Valdez before they opened that door.

Valdez gripped the door handle and tugged as
he pressed the release. He snarled as it stuck, then gave when he
yanked it open far enough for Wade to meet whoever was at the door.
At the same time Valdez managed to keep his gun trained on
Wade.

Adam was a new operative, but sharp. The
young man had already tossed the painting under a bush and stood to
the side of the door, out of range, his gun drawn.

“Adam,” Wade said, his gaze darting to the
door and back to the operative. “Hand it over.”

The young man gave a sharp nod and aimed his
handgun at the crack in the door.

A sharp retort of gunfire pierced the
air.

Adam went down.

Shit
.

Ignoring the pain from the Exposal, Wade
whirled to face Valdez. Before the man had a chance to react, Wade
grasped Valdez’s arm, forcing the Glock from his face at the same
time he brought his knee up. He slammed the man’s forearm down on
his thigh. Bones snapped. Valdez screamed. The gun went flying
across the room.