Chasing Victory (The Winters Sisters) (21 page)

“No, give me the run down,” the other man said.

“Max told me that we would be pulling out the day after tomorrow,” said the first man.

“Are we leaving Winters and Grant here?”

“No stupid. Let me finish what I was saying. We’re taking Winters, Morgan, and Collin.”

“Where are we going?” asked the other man.

“Max didn’t say. It’s all very hush, hush. All I know is it’s another Kaleidoscope property,” the first man said.

“What’s happening with Grant is he being sent home?” asked the other man.

“The boss isn’t happy with Grant. He thinks Grant will just be in the way after we move Winters. It wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t finish the trip with the rest of us. Max loves tossing guys from aircraft, I’ve seen it before,” said the first man.

Victory stiffened. Her first instinct was to run, but she needed to stay and hear this out. Besides, if she got up now the two men might spot her.

“Mr. Braxton is coming in late the same afternoon we will be pulling out. He will be taking Winters with him. Max will have a second chopper; we’ll be with him, along with Morgan, Collin, and Grant. Something tells me it’s going to be a very short ride for Grant,” Max’s man said.

“It’s about time something exciting is going to happen. This whole assignment has been pretty boring except for the couple times we got to track Collin,” the second man commented. “Speaking of boring, I’m on watch in half an hour, so I should leave.”

“You mean to tell me you’ve been sitting here drinking beer and you’ve got a shift in thirty minutes?” The first man laughed.

“Yeah, like I said, it’s been really boring, I’ll be fine,” he said as he got up to leave.

“Not if Max finds out. You will find yourself with more excitement than you want.” The two men headed for the door.

Victory started to leave then she thought better of it. The last thing she needed is to run into one of them on her way out of the canteen. She sat patiently sipping on her wine and glancing at her watch. Thirty minutes later she was on her way back to her room.

Victory unlocked her door, went into her bedroom and found Tristan lying on the bed wearing only his jeans. His hair was damp, from his recent shower. She looked at her watch, she had been gone for two hours.

“Hey, where have you been?” He smiled up at her. “I was beginning to worry.”

“Sorry, I lost track of time. Tristan, we’re in real trouble,” she blurted out as she struggled to remove her jacket.

He got up off the bed and went over to help her. “Here let me help, you’re getting yourself all tangled up.” After helping her get out of the jacket he walked her over to the bed and made her sit, and then sat down beside her. “Now, take a deep breath, relax and tell me what happened.”

“I decided to go out for a walk around midnight. I was done with my work for the night and feeling slightly edgy. So, I thought some fresh air would do me good. I walked to the canteen. I hadn’t been in there yet, and I thought a glass of wine would help me relax. The place was buzzing with activity and the level of noise was more than I could deal with. I took my wine and went out back to sit on the veranda. While I was sitting there I picked up on a conversation across the way. It was two of Max’s men.” She relayed the men’s conversation to Tristan word for word.

“Are you sure they didn’t see you?” he asked, more concerned for her immediate safety.

She shook her head in response. “They didn’t see me. I started to get up right after they left the veranda, then I thought better of it and stayed sipping on my wine for thirty minutes.”

“Good,” he replied with pure relief in his voice.

“What are we going to do Tristan? We have less than two days to get out of here,” she was almost in a panic.

“Don’t worry. I knew the time would come when we would have to get out of here. That’s one of the things that Noah and Logan have been working on since we got here. It sounds like we will have to step up the timetable. Okay, so when we met back at the campground, you said that you work with plants and could make remedies.”

“Yes, I’ve done it for years. They come in handy with my practice and my family uses them on a regular basis, why?” she asked.

“Great. I’ve used them too, but I’m sure you have more experience for what we will need. So, if you can tell me what types of plants you need, I can get them for you,” he said.

“You mean you really are a botanist?” She said with a look of surprise.

“Yes, I never lied to you Victory, I might not have told you the whole truth, but I didn’t lie. We’re getting off the subject, can you tell me what type of plants you need?”

“Yes, depending on what you want to use the remedy for.”

“I want you to prepare an odorless liquid that will cause someone to fall asleep,” he said.

“I can do that, but it would be easier if we went out together. I take it you already have a plan,” she said.

“Yes,” he replied. “I will go out and get our morning lattes. Like I usually do, I’ll pick up a coffee for Max and I will put the remedy in his drink. While I’m gone you will ask him to bring Morgan to the exam room. After Max is out cold, we get Morgan loose and head for Collin. Then we all head out to our rendezvous point where we meet up with Logan and Noah.”

“There could be one problem with that plan,” she said thinking aloud.

“Really,” Tristan grinned. “And what would that be?”

“Getting through the gate where Collin is being held, you said that it has a fingerprint scan at the gate.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” he replied.

“I don’t think your print will work. Morgan and Collin have been getting out of the compound, why don’t we use the same route they have been using?” she asked.

“I wish. They are jumping over the fence,” he said, still surprised himself that they could accomplish that feat.

“Jumping a fifteen foot high voltage fence? I’m impressed, that wolf DNA is improving their abilities,” Victory said.

“Yeah, but we don’t have the advantage of wolf DNA, not that I want it. But I have planned on a way to get in.” He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a tiny tin of Altoids. He placed the tin in her hands.

“Are you trying to tell me I have bad breath?” she scowled at him.

“No, open it,” he chuckled at her.

She looked at him then down at the tin and opened it. Inside there were no mints, only a couple pieces of plastic or gum. “What is it?” she asked.

He carefully pulled one of the pieces out and placed it on his thumb. “Meet Max’s print.”

“So, you have been busy working at night, when did you get that, more to the point, how did you get that?” she asked.

“I took it off a coffee mug that he left on his desk in his office.” He smiled at her, quite pleased with himself. “Of course I’ve been working, what did you think I was doing? Never mind don’t answer that, but I’ll tell you I would’ve rather been in bed with you,” he teased.  “Speaking of which, it’s been a long night for both of us. Let’s try and get a few hours sleep.”

“Sleep,” she repeated raising one eyebrow.

“Yeah, after we unwind.” He smiled at her as he grabbed hold of the tie holding her shorts up. Her shorts dropped to the floor leaving her naked from the waist down.

Victory didn’t move a muscle, bewitched by the pure lust in Tristan’s dazzling violet eyes. He took a step towards her and placed a hand on each side of her waist, right below the hem of her tee shirt. Leisurely he moved his hands up the sides of her body stopping at her breasts. He stroked both buds and felt her pulse beneath his hands suddenly increase. He continued up until he could slide the tee shirt off of her. Bringing the inferno that was Victory to him, he claimed her mouth with a fervor that consumed him. He felt her hands pull down the zipper to his jeans, then surround his shaft. He stepped out of his jeans as he pushed Victory back towards the wall.

He lifted her off the floor, and she wrapped her legs around him. He positioned his body directly under her and slid her down the wall at the same time plunging up into her. She moaned with pleasure and wrapped her legs even more tightly around him as she thrust her hips towards him. Tristan could swear he saw flashing colors flood his head. No one ever made him feel like Victory could.

Tristan carried her to the bed and the two of them fell into it. “I like your definition of unwinding Mr. Farraday,” she whispered into his ear as she began to nibble on his earlobe.

She used his real name. Was she trying to tell him something? Was she telling him that this was very real to her? Hundreds of thoughts ran through his mind, but this was not the time to question her. Instead he simply responded, “I figured you would. I still feel wound up,” he teased.

“We can’t have that,” she answered, as she pulled Tristan over the top of her.

TWENTY-ONE

After putting in a long day at the lab, Tristan and Victory headed out to take a walk in the jungle. With any luck he would locate the plants that Victory needed to make her sleeping potion. Victory was familiar with much of the foliage indigenous to the island, but Tristan was an expert. She enjoyed watching him wander through the forest looking at all the different plants. He would point out unusual plants and tell her their names and some interesting properties. He found everything she needed and then they headed back to the compound.

“I’ll need to dry them before I make up the mixture. I’ll head back to my room and get them all laid out, then I’ll met you for dinner,” she said as she headed in the direction of their rooms.

It was after nine when they sauntered out of the dining room, hand in hand. The compound was already quieting down for the night. Clouds were coming in from the ocean blocking the glow of the moon.

“Looks like we have a storm heading this way,” Victory commented.

“It’s the start of that season. But on the up side it will make it easier to get around the compound tonight. Morgan will be coming by in an hour or so,” Tristan breathed in her ear as they walked up the path.

She slipped the keycard into the door and pushed it open. “I have a slight headache Tristan, I think I’m going to take a couple aspirins and lay down.”

“Sounds like a good idea, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard,” he said.

“I’m trying to get some results for Braxton.” She walked into her bedroom with Tristan behind her, he shut the door. “We’re getting really good at playing our parts,” she said with a grin.

“A couple of real actors,” he responded. “Mission accomplished, whoever is listening will believe that we are in for the night and hopefully tune us out for the evening.”

“You are going to take out Morgan’s tracker chip tonight?” she asked, as she sat on the edge of the bed taking her sneakers off.

“No, I took a scalpel from the lab and I’m going to give it to him tonight, so that he will be ready tomorrow.”

“You mean he has to remove the chip himself?” she asked.

“That’s the plan,” he said.

The thought of using a scalpel on herself sent shivers down her. “Morgan is approaching,” she turned her head towards the window.

“You’re right, I caught his scent.” He walked to the window, opened it and waited for Morgan.

“Hey Tristan, we’re ready for tomorrow on our end,” Morgan said shaking Tristan’s outstretched hand.

“We’re on. We got all the plants we needed today. Victory has gone into the bathroom to work on Max’s sleeping potion. Here is a scalpel, and one of my team’s communication ear buds.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool; so give me the rundown on it.”

“Press this little button and you will automatically be linked to the team. It’s sound sensitive, when you speak we will all be able to hear you. Make sure you don’t turn it on until I have taken the security grid down,” Tristan said.

“Got it,”

“How are things with Collin?” Tristan asked.

“He’s getting jumpy and wants to leave asap.”

“It’s your job to keep him under control Morgan. If anyone can do that, you can.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll take care of him.”

As if on cue the compound alarm went off. At nearly the same time the two men smelled smoke. “You smell that.” Tristan said.

“Yeah, I do. Son of a bitch, it’s Collin. He said he needed some entertainment, that he might go find a book. I told him to stay put and I would bring him back something to read. He’s left the damn enclosure,” Morgan swore.

“Damn it Morgan, I thought you said that you had him under control?” Tristan all but spat back.

“I thought I did. He promised me he would stay put, but he’s getting more and more unpredictable each day.”

Victory came running out of the bathroom. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Collin, he’s left his enclosure again and this time he has started a fire to add to the confusion,” Tristan answered.

“So now what?” Morgan asked. “They are probably out to shoot him this time.”

Tristan answered without hesitation. “Looks like he’s forced our hand, we leave tonight. We’ll have to make some changes to the plan on the fly. Morgan you track Collin down and then stick to the plan, meet us at the rendezvous point as soon as you have Collin secure. I hope you have some idea where he is going.”

“Like always, he’ll be heading for the forest,” Morgan said beginning to get antsy himself.

“Okay, you are going to have to kick it into high gear when you leave here. Give me twenty minutes to take down the grid, then put in your ear bud. After I get that done we will contact Noah and Logan so that they can make the necessary changes to our escape. Victory, you will be with me.”