SEALs of Honor: Dane (21 page)

Chapter 28

“T
HIS WON’T WORK,
you know,” Marielle said in a conversational tone. “They aren’t going to stay locked in.”

“Then I’ll have to toss in a nice chemical cocktail at them, won’t I?” he growled. “This is your fault. No one would have gotten hurt if you’d listened to reason.”

“Reason? What are you talking about? You never even talked to me. You pulled a gun on me. And how did you get them to think you were dead?”

“My brother.” At her horrified look he added, “I had no choice. The company made it very clear that the same fate awaited me if I didn’t come up with a solution to this damn problem. I was desperate.”

“You killed your own brother?” She couldn’t imagine. Did he not care? Had he no conscience?

“It was his fault. He’d been pissing me off. Came over that day ripping into me for ignoring our mother. Like I had time to worry about the little shit right now. We also looked alike. It used to bug me. Now I found a good use for the similarity.”

She shook her head, not quite ready to think that the professor she’d enjoyed conversing with so much was such a psychotic. Thinking he was dead had been easier. She hadn’t had time to grieve, but she’d made the mental shift already. Now…all she could do was hope he would die so she’d get out of this mess. Dane would take care of him in a heartbeat – as would any of the other men, but they had to find her first.

He wrenched her to her feet and dragged her down the hall.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Out of the house and out of the country. You were such a sentimental fool to come back. And of course you had to pick up Masters and look after him, didn’t you?”

“I thought you were dead,” she said, outraged. She shoved her hand deep into her pocket, her fingers closing over the tissue she had in there. “I wasn’t going to leave him alone, locked up in the house to die.”

“Of course not.” He shook his head as if she were too stupid to believe. She’d rather he figured that than notice she was shredding the tissue in her pocket and letting the pieces drop out slowly as he dragged her behind him.

“Where are you taking me?”

“The company wants to see you.”

Her heart chilled. “What company,” she asked hoarsely.

“The name doesn’t matter so I’ll tell you. It’s Hyack, with offices in Germany, and the factory in China They have labs all over the world. They open and then close them down after a few years so tracking is minimized. They have intel from companies all over the world. So much easier for them to stay on top of new discoveries.”

“And do they kidnap all chemists,” she snapped, realizing this must be the same company Dane and the rest of the SEALs were after.

“Nope, just the ones that have something they want who won’t cooperate. You should do your research, my dear. You’re in a very dangerous field.”

She had no idea. “They can’t keep tabs on everyone,” she exclaimed. “There are thousands around the world.”

“Of course not, but as soon as they get wind of something interesting then they jump on it.”

“And what’s going to happen to me,” she asked, trying to keep him talking so he wouldn’t notice the confetti on the floor.

“That’s up to you. Cooperate fully or end up like my brother.” He sighed. “I really didn’t want to have to kill him. Because now I have to deal with my mother alone.”

She shook her head wordlessly. Who knew he was so devoid of personal feelings. That there was so little compassion and caring in his heart. He’d always been arrogant and egotistical but then he’d had a lot of accolades all his life and sometimes that got to a person. In this case, apparently he hadn’t gotten over himself. And yet while teaching, his passionate love of the subject, his willingness to discuss any aspect of chemistry had endeared him to those of similar passion.

Now she had to wonder if anyone else had the same perspective on him or had the others seen him in a clearer light.

Which would seriously suck and make her judge her own ability to discern character.

“Where are we?” She looked around as it suddenly struck her how unlikely her position was. They were still in the house – or a house. As she hadn’t lost consciousness, she knew this wasn’t a new location but if this was part of the same house…nothing made sense.

Then she got it. “Is this an underground tunnel?” she asked excitedly. “That’s awesome.”

“It is a tunnel and it is awesome. I’ve used it for years. A great way to come and go and not let the lookouts above know what I’m doing.”

“How long is it? Does it let out to a road or another house?” She knew she was supposed to be terrified but really…she wasn’t. Dane was coming after her. He’d have noticed by now that she was gone. It didn’t matter if Michaels had locked them in. That wouldn’t stop her SEAL. And he was hers. At least for the moment. And maybe now they could get to the bottom of this nightmare. Besides, this tunnel was wonderful. She reached out a hand to touch the stone wall and marveled at the texture. “It’s a magnificent job. I can’t imagine how old this is.”

“I’m not sure how old it is. It was used to move Jews out of the hands of the Germans, but it existed long before that,” he said, keeping a close eye on her. She didn’t mind. He’d missed the paper trail she’d left and really he was waving the gun around with a loose grip. He’d killed his brother and was fully prepared to shoot her, but she didn’t get the feeling he was planning to kill her. Unless she caused trouble. But she wasn’t going to.

At least not yet.

*

T
HERE WERE ONLY
three steps then a long hallway opened up in front of Dane, round and cold, with a moistness in the air that bespoke of deep underground. He stopped and assessed the danger moving ahead. This wasn’t a hall but a tunnel. From the chipped marks on the rocks, it had been hand built. He raced into the darkness, his boots making a strong clipping sound creating an echo as he moved. Immediately he shifted to stealth mode and moved silently. And the echo stopped.

They couldn’t be more than twenty minutes ahead of him. He caught sight of something tiny and white on the stone floor. Then another piece and another. Marielle was leaving a trail for him to follow.

He watched the tiny trail of paper as he raced past. There was a larger one up ahead. He scooped it up as he moved but he never slowed his pace. He turned once to see Swede and Mason behind him. The paper was tissue. He sniffed. Marielle had one in her hands earlier. He smiled. Smart lady.

He picked up the pace and before he took another twenty steps he came up against a blank wall. And knew it was another door. But now that he’d seen the craftsmanship and style, it only took him until Swede and Mason caught up to him to find the mechanism and open the door.

To another tunnel?

He frowned but moved into the newly opened space and realized that this was no longer the same tunnel but now they were in another house. As in the two houses were joined by an underground tunnel. Fascinating, but scary as hell. How far had this asshole taken Marielle? Surely they hadn’t had time to get too far.

But now they were in a different house and that meant the likelihood of more people. Were the owners aware of the tunnel? Were they accomplices? Did Michaels own this house as well?

He came to a single wooden door with a silver handle. The door was slightly ajar. He pulled it open slowly and peered around the other side. A big empty room. But tiny pieces of paper sprinkled the steps that wove upward against the left wall.

Marielle.

His heart racing, he ran up the stairs to another room. And voices.

“I don’t care what you want me to do,” Marielle said, her voice exasperated. “I’m not interested.”

“It doesn’t matter what you want. My employer wants you, damn it. Now turn around so I can tie your hands behind you.”

Dane snuck up on the voices. Relief that she was still okay coursed through him, yet at the same time he wasn’t sure why she was being difficult. Then it was Marielle. She was a free spirit.

The man’s voice turned ugly. “Now, or I’ll knock you out.”

Instead of having the effect he wanted, Marielle laughed. “Then I’ll be useless. I’ve had so many head injuries I won’t likely survive another one.”

“And you won’t have to,” Dane snapped. “Don’t move, asshole. Keep your hands where I can see them.” He quickly added, “Marielle get over here.”

She tried to get out the way, but the gunman jumped her and held the gun to her head. Then laughed at Dane. “And now what?” He gave Dane a baleful look, shaking Marielle hard. “She’s leaving with me.”

“No, I’m not,” Marielle cried. “I won’t. You’ll have to shoot me.”

“Shut the fuck up,” the gunman cried. “I need you to go. The company wants you and what the company wants the company gets.”

“I’m not leaving here,” she said calmly, staring at Dane. “I will not be a prisoner for the rest of my life.”

“We’re all prisoners,” he cried. “To our bills, our bosses, our taxes, our families. You can’t run away.”

“No and neither can you,” Dane said. “Dr. Michaels, I presume?”

Michaels stared at him in shock…then started to rant his displeasure. “How could she have told you? She didn’t have time?”

“She didn’t tell me, I figured it out,” Dane said, keeping an eye on the man who appeared to be losing the veneer holding him together. “I presume that’s a close relative in the morgue.”

“His brother,” Marielle said. She tried to pull free. The gunman pressed the gun into her temple.

Dane lined the gun up… “Let her go.”

“No. I need her. I’m dead without her.”

Dane understood but that was too damn bad. “You can’t have her.”

“Why the fuck not?” Michaels looked close to tears. “Why do you want her?”

Dane didn’t answer. “Put the gun down.”

Silence.

“I’m asking you to let me have her,” Michaels said calmly. Too calmly. “If you won’t, then neither of us will get her.”

“No,” Dane yelled. The look on Michaels’ face was that of a man who’d hit the end of his rope. He had to make a fast decision. He lowered his weapon.

Chapter 29

“W
HY DID YOU
do that,” Marielle cried as Dane placed the gun on the floor. “Please don’t.”

“Shut the fuck up, Marielle. I see you’ve finally met your match, haven’t you?” Michaels laughed. “Who’d have thought there would be someone in the world who’d sacrifice himself for you.”

And that was exactly what he’d done. Marielle stared wordlessly at Dane, seeing the love in his eyes. The confidence. The knowledge.

She’d trusted him all this time, how could she let him down now?

“I know he would. He loves me,” she said quietly. “And I love him. And you will never live to see another day if you try to kidnap me.”

Michaels laughed. “I’ve already got the upper hand here. And isn’t that so cute. Love is a lie. A stupid vision that society has gotten sucked into. But it’s nothing.”

She patted his hand, her smile brightening as she gazed deep into Dane’s eyes. “Maybe and maybe you are missing a major piece of DNA that everyone else has. You can’t feel joy or love, the same as you can’t feel regret or remorse.” She lowered her voice. “That’s all right, I forgive you.”

“What?” Michaels shook his head and tried to drag her backwards, his gaze shocked as he stared at her. “You’re fucking nuts.”

“Am I?” She watched Dane crouch down on the floor, a message in his eyes as he lifted his jeans’ leg.

And she remembered. She gave a slight nod, and with three fingers held out she counted down to two, then one. Then she sat down – hard.

“Wha–” Michaels was blown backwards as the bullet hit him high in the shoulder.

The gun dropped harmlessly. Marielle dove for it, snatched it up, rolled over and pointed it at Michaels. Dane approached, holding his gun back up. Michaels swore profusely. “God damn it, Marielle, what did you do? I’m a dead man now. I’m dead, do you hear me?”

“Having been through the loss once, I’m sure I can stand it,” she said, snarling. “After what you’ve put me through already and the future you were happy to convict me too?” She snorted. “I’m good with that.”

“No, you don’t understand. They will kill me now.” He wavered on his feet, the shock and loss of blood making him weak. Staring at her, he fell to his knees. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt? If you’d willingly been a part of this company, you’d have been fine.”

Blood burbled out of his mouth and she realized he was more injured than she’d initially thought. She handed the gun to Dane and ran over to Michaels’ side “Easy. We’ll get you some help.”

He looked at her. “Why?”

“Because you’re hurt,” she cried out. “I was mad at you for what you did to me, but I don’t want you to die.”

“It doesn’t matter. But you’ll need to get out of here fast. They are coming to pick you up. If I’m alive they’ll kill me. If I’m dead, they’ll assume you got away.”

“Will they come after her again, if that happens?” Dane asked in a harsh tone.

Michaels tried to answer. “Library. Bottom shelf. Journals of the company. Use them. Bring it down.” He collapsed to the ground, her hand bracing him as the blood pumped sluggishly at a steady rate. Something vital had been nicked. She watched the blood, wishing the medics would arrive faster. She held her hand over the wound but the blood slowly pumped between her fingers. “They take out all resistance before it can grow. Anyone and everything.” He gasped slowly.

“Did they have a lab in Italy?” Dane asked, remembering the innocent man gunned down on the road after talking to Mason.

Michaels nodded, whispered, “Not anymore.” He coughed once then again. “They buy, use the place for a few years then ditch it. They’ve already silenced everyone that had anything to do with the deal. They take out any one they believe is working against them.” This time when he coughed, he couldn’t stop and his weak body shook in pain.

“Easy,” Marielle said, “Help is coming.”

“Not in time,” Michaels groaned.

“I’ll find the journals. We’ll bring them down,” she promised.