Dare You to Run (10 page)

She made it into the building and up three flights of stairs, then pressed her nose to the window. Saxon came around the corner looking at his cell phone. Abruptly, he turned around and went behind another building.

She knew she was right—Saxon Hale was tracking her.

And right on the heels of that thought was a bolt of hard, cold fear. She felt like she couldn't breathe as it pierced her heart. She might have a plan for her future, but Vitus would be at her father's mercy if Jeb had any reason to suspect she might have gone off with him.

She couldn't leave him exposed. The damn fool would be a perfect target without realizing she was going to be setting in motion a plan that would enrage her sire. He would get caught in the cross fire.

What needled her was why he was back now. It would be so simple to think it was because he couldn't let her go any more than she could banish him from her heart.

But she wasn't that naive.

Vitus was a man, an experienced one. She didn't doubt that he'd been sincere in their interactions, but calling it a relationship was a true stretch. They'd had sex. Mind-blowing, spine-tingling sex that still made her blush three years later, but it had all been part of the mission for him. Unless she wanted to deal once more with the heartache that had nearly crippled her, she'd remember those harsh little facts.

Reality was a bitch, but she needed to keep a clear perspective. Her future depended on her using her wits. She was so close. Three years of planning and looking over her shoulder to make sure her sire's security personal didn't catch on to her training in microbiology instead of pediatrics. All she had to do was keep her mouth shut and her head down for two more weeks. Colonel Magnus had assured her that even the Secret Service couldn't interfere with his authority. Once she officially graduated, she'd be under the protection of the colonel's men.

Which only left Vitus and Saxon's very untimely arrival to deal with. Honestly, she didn't need the complication. She'd made sure she didn't have any close friends, no one for her sire to turn on once she revealed her plans.

It was so perfect and so close to being finished. But her sire knew she loved Vitus.

Damn it!

On impulse, she took the dragonfly off. It was from another era, the workmanship superior in every way. Made of silver, it had detailed wings and a solid weight not found in modern pieces. She walked around a huge shelving unit and scanned the journals. The security cameras would be simple for Trenton to hack into, so she milled around, selecting books and replacing them. Somewhere in the middle of her motions, she slipped the dragonfly into the spot behind the book she was pushing back onto the shelf.

She hated to leave it but it was only a thing. Vitus was flesh and blood and even if she couldn't have him, there was no way she was going to let him walk blindly into a shit-storm.

She owed him more than that, and there was no way she could live with the guilt of knowing she hadn't tried to warn him, not when she was about to do something that would send her father into a rage and looking for a target.

She had to warn him.

But what bothered her the most was the way her heart accelerated and the anticipation that zipped through her.

You'd think she would have learned, but apparently, when it came to Vitus, she was still a complete fool.

Well, just wait until he looks at you with those cold eyes …

Now there was a solid bit of truth to sober her. Vitus wouldn't be happy to see her. She'd given back his ring, and a man like him wouldn't be rolling out the welcome mat.

Her heart didn't seem to care. Seeing him was seeing him.

You're an idiot.

Yeah, well, love did that to people.

*   *   *

Kagan rapped on the door, but didn't wait for Colonel Bryan Magnus to give him permission to enter. The colonel closed the file on his tablet before looking up.

“I have to admit,” Kagan began as he slid into a chair in front of the colonel's desk, “I didn't see this one coming. You actually recruited that girl? Knowing who her father is? You're asking to get crisped in a backdraft, know that?”

“You must not have checked her IQ scores,” Magnus replied as he tapped something into his tablet. He turned the device around so that Kagan could see the screen. A moment later, Kagan let out a low whistle.

“She's loaded in the brainpan,” Kagan agreed.

“And she has a keen sense of being able to apply that knowledge to microbiology,” Mangus added. “She's a perfect candidate, one I'm willing to take some heat to get. If she were at a private university, there would be a bidding war to get her. As it is, I've spent a great deal of effort blurring her scores to keep her undetected.”

“Jeb Ryland won't let her go easily.”

Magnus slowly smiled. “Can't really blame me for enjoying what fate has dropped in my lap. The good congressman has no idea his daughter is signed onto my program. I certainly found that an interesting twist of fate when my own daughter got caught up in that mess a few months ago. I will enjoy dealing with Jeb Ryland's displeasure, have no doubt about that. Truth is, I'm looking forward to it.”

Kagan contemplated the colonel's response for a long moment before he pointed a finger at him. “You're offering her shelter from her father.”

Bryan nodded once. “Not a bit ashamed of it. I need her on my team, especially with Ebola rearing its ugly head. She needs protection—something I can provide.”

“That's not the only reason.” Kagan dug into the colonel's reasoning.

Bryan Magnus offered him a tilt of his head, which was as close to a shrug as the world would ever see out of the seasoned officer. “Maybe the fact that I have a daughter means I have a soft spot for seeing Damascus offered a way out of the mess she's in.”

“Maybe you just can't stand to see her potential wasted by that asshole of a father she's got,” Kagan fired back.

“Are you telling me it doesn't make you itch?” Bryan asked. “Seeing that prick operate? Seeing Tyler Martin free as a bird when he tried to take down one of your teams and put two of your boys in the ground?”

Kagan took a long moment before he nodded. “So why have you brought me into the mix?”

The colonel held up two fingers. “Your man Saxon Hale is on her six. Why?”

Kagan offered the colonel a knowing smile.

Bryan choked on a chuckle. “Fine, I already reasoned it had something to do with Tyler Martin, but the girl is mine. I don't need her getting caught in a cross fire like my daughter did. Deal with Martin however you like, but make sure Damascus Ryland is clear of the action. Tyler has proven he isn't above using innocent blood to get what he wants. She's all set to make the run, I don't want anything scaring her out of doing it.”

“Because even you will have trouble keeping her if her daddy cries to the right people. Something tells me you neglected to mention that to her.”

Magnus didn't even blink. “Her father's been daring her to run for years. I just gave her a place to go to. She made the choice of her own free will.”

“Well, I might argue that, considering what her alternatives are. Given true freedom, I bet she'd have married Vitus Hale,” Kagan said. “But life is full of crappy poker hands. She won't be the first to have to decide how to play what she's got.”

“Which is a genius-level IQ,” Magnus said. “Sometimes, fate makes sure all the players have an ace in the hole.”

There was a long silence as each man tried to impress the other. Neither was going to back off, each secure in the knowledge of his authority.

Kagan held up two fingers and pointed to the second one in question.

“The mother. Damascus was in here saying her father has threatened her mother with some bullshit about a private clinic,” Bryan responded. “Something needs to be done. You have more resources than I do in the civilian sector.”

“Why?” Kagan asked.

“Because you're right—if she buckles under her father's threat, he could make it hard for me to force her compliance, and I need her brains on my team,” the colonel responded. “I plan to take Ms. Ryland under my wing in exactly two weeks.”

“I'll let Hale know his timeline.” Kagan stood up. “And I will deal with the other issue, if it becomes a reality.”

The colonel slowly smiled, an expression that would have sent a chill down the spine of most men because it was pure intent.

“Tell Hale I can remove my asset any time he gives me the word, and I will be happy to watch his six when he takes Tyler down. I'd enjoy it after that mess he put my daughter through.”

“He had your name targeted as well,” Kagan reminded him.

“As I said, I'd enjoy it, and I'll bring a shovel.”

*   *   *

It had been a long time since she'd been alone.

Damascus smiled as she looked around the crowded shopping mall. Most people wouldn't think she was alone, but to her she was practically marooned on a desert island. A fact she was going to make sure she used.

She walked into a clothing store and pulled a dress off the rack, making a wide circle around it and hitting all the departments. By the time she made it back to the register, she had everything from underwear to shoes. Her time with Vitus had been confined to a couple of weeks on the run, but she'd learned a lot from him in that time. She dug some of her emergency cash out of the side of her makeup case and paid for everything without there being a bank record. It was also a small, discount store and unlikely to have a security system, at least one linked to any major network. The Asian girl working the register was clearly the owners' daughter.

“No bag. I'm just going to wear it out.”

The girl nodded and reached under the counter for a pair of scissors. She clipped off the tags and swept them into a trash can.

Damascus scooped up her purchases and headed into a dressing room. She changed out of everything and put on the new clothing, even sliding into new shoes. They were cheap ones and pinched her toes, but there was no way to know where her sire's security team had placed their bugs. She was going off-grid and she had to do it right, because if she got caught, there wasn't going to be a second chance.

She shoved all of her personal belongings into the bag and stuffed the cash into her bra. On the way out of the changing room, she dropped the bag in a box that was sitting by the door. Yeah, she'd learned a few things from Vitus, and she'd done a lot more research into avoiding detection in the years since.

The outdated strip mall was frequented mostly by university students. They were clustered around the food shops, sitting on the sidewalk with their tablets open to take advantage of the free wireless network offered by the local coffee shop.

“Hey, Damascus!” someone called. “Don't normally see you out this way.”

She smiled at the boy who shared one of her advanced classes. He blinked at the welcome, his cheeks becoming flushed. He was fairly typical of most of her classmates—high intelligence scores and failing social interaction ones. The set of car keys dangling from his hand was exactly what she was looking for.

“Yeah, any chance I can hop a ride with you across town?” She moved closer to him. “I can toss in for gas.”

“Um…” He looked like he was half frozen in shock. “Sure.” He smacked his lips as he closed his sagging jaw. “I mean, don't worry about the gas. My parents support me. They claim it's so I make sure to put them in a nice convalescence home once they're old.”

He pointed at a decade-old car. It had a Tardis decal on the rear window and a bobblehead Darth Vader on the dashboard.

He slid the key into the ignition and turned the motor over. “Where to?”

*   *   *

“Are you sure?”

Damascus nodded as she got out of the car. She leaned over and let her driver get a good look down her cleavage, small enough payment for using the guy.

“I'm good. Thanks a million.” She straightened up.

“See you in class tonight?” he asked.

Damascus didn't answer. She crossed the street and started walking down an alleyway. No, she was going to miss class tonight, but it was the only way she was going to get the opportunity to sneak out. Advance bacteria classes were held in a secure laboratory, which meant her sire's security had to stay outside the building. They wouldn't know she was off-campus until at least midnight because the classes often went long and there was nothing to do but wait until she emerged.

It was the chance she needed and likely the only one she was going to get. She looked at the landmarks, her memory offering up the information she needed. Five more blocks and she turned east, making her way through a residential neighborhood as the sun set. Someone was walking his dog, and a pair of boys rode by on bikes. She ducked across streets and through alleyways, often looking behind her to make sure no one was following.

Her belly was in a knot when she first spied Vitus's house. Tall shrubs obscured the windows. Not that she made the mistake of thinking Vitus couldn't see out. No, he was a master of disguise. The overgrown look of the place was just a clever duck blind.

Well, she wasn't going to be shy. She walked up to the door and rang the bell. Behind the door, she heard it echoing in the hallway. Seconds crawled by like hours as she waited. She felt exposed with the street behind her, as if at any moment Trenton or Tyler was going to skid to a halt in one of the unmarked, black, tinted-window sedans and haul her off the porch.

Well, she wasn't going to have it. She went around the side of the house. He used it more than the front door because the garage was set in the back. She didn't knock on the door but swept aside part of a shrub and pressed her hand against a section of the window.

She remembered like it was yesterday, the way Vitus had shown her how to unlock the door with her palm print. There was the small flash of infrared as her hand was scanned. Her breath was frozen in her chest as she waited to see if her print was still on file. There was a series of clicks as the door unlocked.