Catch Me If You Can (Love's Command) (3 page)

The questions she’d fought to find a logical solution for on the eighteen hour flight from New York to Seoul remained unanswered. Eric had gotten angry with her for even questioning him on why they’d contacted him. She knew him well enough to know that any hint that he wasn’t as important as he thought he was would trigger his rage.

And now he’s the only link I have to save my father.

Save my father and keep the drug he created out of their hands.
If they needed her to fetch his extensive work on genetics, then he wasn’t giving them the information. In her mind, no one should have the information, worse, no one should use it. At least until he’d perfected it.

True, but using it on ‘volunteers’ is one reason you left, Ky.

But not the only reason.

Her dream of being a doctor, one that ran a small, affordable clinic for families while raising her own, disappeared behind the door she’d always hidden it behind. Her father had never approved of it, never given her wishes much consideration under the weight of saving so many with his work.
But you’ve not saved anyone, Dad. You can’t even save yourself from the madness you’ve started.

She stopped the flood of regrets with an effort. She’d had hours on the flight to try to unravel the mess her dad had landed in—and shoved her into. No one could answer her questions except the people who held her father. She couldn’t trust Eric. For all she knew—and worse, suspected—he was in on it. It was the only explanation why the kidnappers would contact a man who’d been thrown off her dad’s team for misappropriation accusations two years before. He had always wanted more. Always saw the dollar sign behind the science.
Too bad he’s now your only link to your dad, Ky.

Frustrated, she slowed that kind of emotional thinking and focused on the here and now. She needed to get the information the kidnappers had demanded, even if she never planned on giving it to them. She’d have to figure out how to stall them until she could find a way to save her dad without handing his work over, though, and she was afraid no amount of time would find a solution. She needed an army of storm troopers.

If only.

New phone in hand, she transferred her data as she walked quickly down the darkening street. Around her, venders stood outside in the cool weather and smoked, or talked in low voices over drinks and spicy food. She drew some looks, but she ducked into another store and managed to pick out a new set of clothing. The girls working there were more than happy to allow her to change for her ‘date’ in the dressing room. As quickly as she could, she ditched her suit jacket, red sweater and blouse for a blue and white shirt and bright yellow mini skirt with a pair of black leggings. She hid her clothes in her leather bag along with her shoes. The girls handed her a pair of cute, black combat boots to finish the look and she smiled for them like she really was going on a date, rather than into a mess she had no hope of fixing. With another line of makeup around her eyes, a bit of darker lipstick outlining her lips and her long hair tucked into a baseball cap, she bet no one, not even the snake Eric, would recognize her. A tall, drop dead gorgeous Shemar Moore look alike didn’t stand a chance.

Two blocks down from there, stomach full of butterflies, she dialed Eric.

If the Americans stood in her way, what would she do?

The question went unanswered even as Eric answered.

“Kylie! I expected your call hours ago.”

The irritated tone of voice was like nails on a chalkboard. She’d just suffered through hours of fear, worry and confusion, all the while locked on a plane, and this man sat at his desk, probably watching porn and eating one of his healthy snacks. She kept her anger down though, and counted to ten before she said, “The flight was delayed. What have you heard from my dad?”

“Your dad is fine as long as you get what they want,” Eric said, sounding crisp and emotionless—nothing new. “You have one week to deliver, and already you are behind schedule.”

She fisted her free hand until her nails bit into her palm, but she managed to keep her emotions under control. Eric reminded her of a snake in many ways, but sometimes he acted like a cat toying with a mouse. He should know she wasn’t a mouse, but then, he’d always ignored what he didn’t like to admit. She forced herself to calm down so she could test him. “I’ll be there. There were some complications at the airport, but I’m on route to pick up what I need here. I want to speak to my father. Have these men call me.”

“You know I can’t make that happen, Kylie,” Eric said.

He sounded so condescending she shook her head. Didn’t he realize his opinion, and what he thought, didn’t concern her?

“Make it happen, Eric. Why did they call you? You’ve never answered that for me.” She made sure not to let her anger filter into her voice, and kept her questions low, as if she still needed him. She did, too, she knew that, even if it made her sick to her stomach.

“I didn’t want to tell you this, but he wasn’t able to speak to me the last time I communicated with his kidnappers.”

Kylie halted so fast the people behind her bumped into her. She apologized quickly before moving on. The reason why her father couldn’t talk wasn’t lost on her. They’d hurt him. Tortured him. She shivered from her head to her toes remembering her own torture. Certainly they’d not do anything to him that would limit what he could do for them. She counted on that. She swallowed past the dryness in her throat.
Was Eric lying?

“I hope you can do this. Need I remind you that your father is depending on you?”

She bit her lip at the threat in Eric’s voice. He could be lying, or he could be telling her the truth. She couldn’t find out, either. Not now. But she would, she would buy herself some time now and try to analyze the situation without fear and anger clouding her mind.

Slowing her breathing, she nodded even though Eric couldn’t see her. “I will get what they want. All of it.”

“Good, Kylie. I would hate for you to be responsible for your father’s death. You’ve done well so far. Just don’t make mistakes.”

Like I have before, right?

Kylie swallowed, and held in the angry response that jumped in her mind. “I will be there.”

“See that you are. He’s counting on you.”

The silence after that comment made her want to throw her phone.

Did Eric sound odd then? It’s almost like he wants me to fail.

He’d been unable to speak to her dad.

The chill racing along her arms had nothing to do with the air around her and everything to do with the fear making her heart hurt.

What have they done to you, Dad?

She would have to go to Japan after this, then on to LA.

Her doubts and fears rose up like they were going to choke her. She increased her steps until she was running, until the people made moving faster impossible without drawing too much attention. Slowing, she was forced to keep pace with the crowd even as her heart raced from the need to run.

Minutes dragged on more like hours until finally she reached the side of town she’d headed for since landing in Seoul. Here, she’d pick up what she needed and go as straight as possible for the ferry she’d take to Japan. In Japan, they’d already arranged for her flight to the US. She just had to get there on time. Once there, she would get to her father’s lab, then on a flight to LA.

Her father’s life depended on it.

At the corner she stopped and waited for the cars speeding by. Even this side street was packed with drivers, none, thankfully, her Americans.

Someone bumped her from behind. She ignored it, but seconds later, someone eased closer, then the smooth metal of a gun barrel rested against the back of her neck, sending a chill down her spine.

“I have someone who wishes to speak to you concerning your father,” a brisk, British accented man informed her.

She gathered her nerve and turned her head to spot a dark-skinned, bearded man of Arab descent.

What is going on
? she thought at the same time as she heard someone yelling her name.

Chapter Two

“So you want to explain the screw up?” Tazz drawled. His accent, already thick, deepened when he got pissed. Right now his buddy could have scored a ten on the Texan angry scale.

“What’s to explain,” Dare hedged. He drummed his fingers on his knee and gave Tazz a hard look. “I was supposed to stop her from leaving, wasn’t I?”

“Like hell. You were supposed to stop her, but unseen
by
her.”

“And how’s that work?” he asked, already knowing the answer, but willing to dodge the real issue for a while longer. If this woman, this Kylie Chung, was the woman who’d saved his life in the desert, and damn near driven him nuts since then with dreams of her, he wanted to know.

“Drop a stack of luggage on her head, I don’t know! But what I damn well know is you shouldn’t let some woman get the drop on you. It can only mean one thing,” Tazz muttered.

Dare knew what Tazz was going to say even before the dark-haired Texan opened his mouth, and half an hour ago, he would have been spot on. Dare had built a reputation for losing his concentration if a beautiful woman caught his eye, but never on a mission. And for some reason, it rubbed him the wrong way how true that had been—until a half an hour ago. Now he had one woman on the brain, the one woman who’d been bugging him forever and now might be in the same zip code.

“So? Explain this—”

“I’ve never let a woman get the drop on me during a mission.”

“Yeah? That so? What was that in South America, then?”

“Fuck you. She
was
the mission. It’s not my fault I got screwed by the target and almost ended up in an early grave.” It pissed him off that Tazz would even bring up that mission. The woman who’d nearly gotten him killed down there had been his cover—and acting the hot American lover had been his role. He’d not let his guard down—not more than any other man would have when his cover relied on screwing the real target’s sister—any time or anywhere she’d wanted him.

This time, shit, this time he’d not been chasing tail, he’d been chasing…a dream.

“There! There she is, right? Damn woman can melt into the shadows.” Tazz jerked the wheel, sending them across a median and into a side street.

Sure enough, Dare spotted a small, slender woman, but this time her hair was up in a Red Sox cap and she’d changed clothes again. She crossed the street diagonally, unknowingly heading right for them, and again he had a clear, uninterrupted view of her face.

It
was
her.

All this time he’d looked everywhere, even back to the desert, and here she was. Kylie Chung. If that was her real name.

“It’s her.”

Tazz pulled the SUV to a halt. “Yeah, I know, now we follow.”

“No,” he said, stopping him by gripping his shirt. “It’s her.”

Tazz turned fully to face him at that, his dark eyebrows turned down in a familiar scowl. The man he’d known since boot camp stared at him like he’d lost his mind, then realization filled his gray eyes. His scowl deepened, but he sat back and waited. Six years ago, Dare had gone through hell in that desert. Tazz and the rest of their SEAL team had pulled him out, and later told him that if someone hadn’t seen to his wounds, he would have been dead on arrival.

Of the six men he could call friends, Tazz knew what that was like more than any of them. He’d gone through his own shit and had nearly died. But Tazz had died—at least officially. Even his baby sister had been told he’d been killed in action. The surgeries Tazz had gone through had changed him in more ways than just his looks. The man was still one of the few Dare would have at his back, but Dare sensed Tazz had reached the end of his endurance. He’d literally already given his life for his country. Dare thought there was a limit to how much more his friend could take

Hell, he could relate. He’d not given his life for his country, but he knew there was something more out there, and for him, the woman slowly making her way toward them might be that
something more
.

No matter what this mission was, or turned into, he wanted to see if she lived up to all he’d dreamed. He wanted to so badly it was like his skin was covered in nettles, digging in and making him itch all over.

“She’s the woman from the desert,” Tazz said.

It wasn’t a question, but Dare nodded, quickly checking in on her to see her almost upon them, before he met Tazz’s hard stare again.

“You know I have to go out there alone, talk to her, see if she’s real.”

“Hell, of course she’s real, man,” Tazz growled. “She’s also rumored to be on a mission to hand over the key to the North Korean’s ability to guide their nuclear weapons. Do I need to remind you those weapons are aimed at us?”

“Rumored. Besides, I just want to talk to her.”

Tazz snorted. “Have you ever talked to a woman?”

“What? Of course I have. Shit, man, I can—”

“No, you fuck women,” Tazz said, turning to watch Kylie out of the window. “Then you leave them.”

Dare stiffened and would have grabbed Tazz by more than the shirt, but he held up a hand and turned back.

“Just listen. Have you ever taken the time to talk to one without the aim being to get laid?” Tazz demanded.

“Sure, I talk to your sister all the time.”

Tazz shook his head. “Mandy doesn’t count. You know damn well she doesn’t. Neither does Lacey.” Tazz turned and watched the area, another frown marring his face. “I mean, have you ever wanted to hear a woman talk, really hear her, see what makes her happy so you can try your damnedest to make sure she is? Or even held a woman all night without trying to get laid? Slept near one, held hands, walked down the beach, all that?”

“Sure, of course, hell, what do you think I am?”

Tazz snapped his attention back on Dare, but if he had to guess, Tazz had never really lost focus on him. If anything, Tazz was persistent. He’d gotten Dare on this team, and first mission out, Dare was screwing the mission up. He owed his buddy at least enough to listen, but if Kylie passed the vehicle, he was gone.

“Man, I don’t have the time for this, but go on, make your point.”