Rogue Alliance (17 page)

             
Something stirred in the bushes and startled the mother. She bolted into the brush, her baby following close behind.

             
When he remembered that Shyla was next to him he turned and looked at her. She had an amused look on her face
as she stared up at him
.

             
“Did you see them?”
he asked, “w
eren’t they fabulous
?”

             
“Yeah, I saw them. But what was more interesting was watching you. You act like you’ve never seen deer before?”

             
Brennan realized his mistake. He was acting like a fool.

             
“Oh. Well…
” he said, “
I have, but not for a long time. I lived in the city for a very long time. There were no deer around.”

             
He walked away
and hoped she’d drop the subject.

             
“Yeah, okay,” she s
aid, catching up with him, “b
ut…
you look like that a lot of the time. I haven’t known you for very long. I don’t know
jack-shit about you. You
’
r
e
fairly
quiet and keep to yourself, but sometimes
,
something will catch your eye and
it
’
s like you’re seeing the world for the first time, like a kid.
”

             
He didn’t
know how to respond. She was so much more observant than he was comfortable with
.

             
“Where
did you say you were from?” Shyla
asked.

             
“I didn’t.”

             
Her head was tipped up and she squinted into the morning sun
as she walked with him
.

             
“Yeah, that’s right. You avoid the question every time. I wonder why that is?”
             
She took a step forward and suddenly she was uncomfortably close. He could breathe her in. The scent of female and sweat was intoxicating.
Two opposin
g urges fought one another; one,
the urge to take a step back,
the other, an
urge to step in and close the distance. He resisted both and stood firm.

             
He looked into her face. H
er head was tilted up and she was searchi
ng his eyes. It took him off guard when she reached up and touched his cheek.

             
“You haven’t shaved.
It’s nice. I like it.
”

             
Even through his stubble he could feel the softness of her palm. The instinct to take her right there on the running path
loomed large in the forefront of his mind. She was toying with him. Why, he wasn
’t sure. But she was
doing a damn fine job of it.

Gently he put his hand over hers. They stood and locked gazes. Then he wrapped his grip around her wrist and gave it a firm squeeze.
The warning was strong in his tone.

             
“
I’m not someone to play your little games with, Shyla.”

             
Her
expression was wide eyed and
innocent as she took a step back.

             
“Well it’s a good thing that I’m not playing games then, now isn’t it? Now are you going to give me a ride or not?”

             
She flashed a smile but he could sense her
serious undertones. He clenched his jaw and kept quiet as he turned down the path.

             
When they were both seated in Victor’s Acura he tried to make small talk
.

             
“Why couldn’t you get back to sleep?”
he asked.

             
“Huh?”

             
“You said
you woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.
”

             
“Oh” she said, brows furrowed, “d
reams,
I had a bad dream. That’s all.”

             
He could see she didn’t want to elaborate.

             
“I have a lot of those, too,” he said,
“
I don’t sleep very well either.
”

             
T
hey drove the rest of the way in silence
until
S
hyla pointed toward a cluster of apartment buildings
.
“

             
“
That’s it.”

             
She turned in her seat.

             
“Thanks for the water and for the ride home, Brennan.”

             
“You’re welcome. You should keep running though.”

             
“I’m not so sure about that, but we
’ll see,
”
she chuckled, stepping out of the car,
“I’ll see you this weekend.”

             
“That’s right,” Brennan said,
“y
ou’re going down to San Francisco with us. I’ll see you then.”

             
Shyla
shut the door and he pulled away. Of course he had remembered she was going with them. It had been on his mind ever since he’d found out.

EIGHTEEN

             
Brennan slid the needle into a plump vein in the crook of his left arm just as he heard footsteps ascend the stairs to his apartmen
t. He recognized Victor’s heavy-
footed approach. He was the only person who ever came to his quarters, and even that was rare.

The infusion would take half an hour, which is why he chose the early morning, just before his run. It lessened the chances of interrupti
on. He wondered what had brought
Victor to his door so early.

             
“Come in,” he shouted
,
before Victor had a chance to knock.

             
Sunshine spilled in through the front door and Victor walked in with a burst of energy. Brennan was self-conscious but continued to run the supplement.

             
“I’d get up, but…”

             
V
ictor waved him off.

             
“No problem,” he said, “s
tay where you are. I’ve got a bit of news for you.”

             
Brennan leaned back.

             
“Oh, yeah. What kind of news?”

             
“A friend of mine, the one who was a mutual friend of Shinto’s who told me about you, gave me a call just a bit ago. It seems that the government has been able to keep your escape fro
m the media thus far. They apparently
want to keep everything that happened there under w
raps. They’ve relocated
the other subjects and will most likely continue their research under a new leader.”

             
Everything inside of Brennan hardened. The thought of ‘the other subjects’ made his blood run cold. What other abominations had Shinto created?

             
“The only problem is that the main financial contributor, who my contact happens to know quite well as they were both avid investors, well he is a bit put out that one of his investments has fled the scene and killed his doctor and a few guards in the process.”

             
Brennan sensed what was already coming. He’d been waiting for this news.

             
“He’s hired a hit ma
n to find the both of us,
”
Victor said.

             
“You do
n’t look surprised or concerned,
”
Brennan said.

             
“Why would I be? We knew something like this would happen. The chances of us walking away Scott-free were unlikely. Besides, it’s kind of fun, don’t you think?”

             
There was a new glisten in Victor’s eye. He looked amused. This was a game to him. Brennan found his disregard for the gravity of the situation a bit unsettling.

             
“I would
n’t go so far as to call it fun,” he said, “b
ut we’ll be ready for
him when he comes.”

             
He
adjusted his arm to allow the infusion flow to quicken. He felt restless and wanted to be out of the chair.

             
“Damn right we’ll be ready,” Victor said, “t
his hit man has no idea who he’s messing with.”

             
“Was there any feedback as to whether or not he knows who you are or where to find us?”

             
Victor shook his head.

             
“No, but I’m not exactly inconspicuous. I’m sure it won’t be more than a week before he’s at our doorstep, so to speak.”

             
“That fast, huh? Okay, let him come. But you an
d I are inseparable until then,” Brennan warned, “w
e can’t take the chance of him finding either one of us alon
e and off guard.
”

             
“
Okay. I see your point, but I can’t have you hanging around when I’m with Shyla. It will freak her out.”

             
“We should be fine while we’re away this weekend. It
’
s not likely we’ll get trailed to San Francisc
o.”

             
Victor casually opened up the refrigerator, peeked inside, then closed it again and turned to face Brennan.

             
“Can I get you something?”
Brennan asked.

             
“No. I’m fine,
I have to get back to the house and make
some phone calls.”

             
Victor
opened the front
door but turned
to Brennan
before he l
eft.

             
“I’ve been meaning to a
sk; what do you think of Shyla?”

             
Brennan kept his eyes averted.

             
“She’s alright,
” he said,
“
seems like you two have hit it off pretty well.”

             
Still standing in the doorway with
the rising sun at his back, Victor’s
silhouette
gave an eerie quality. Brennan sensed that he was fishing for more of a response.

             
“We have,” Victor said,
“
and
I like her a lot. I don’t want her hurt.”

             
“
She won’t get hurt. We’ll keep an eye on her safety as well.”

             
“Good. That’s good. I’ll see you in the house.”

NINETEEN

             
“I don’t like it one bit,” Shawn said
, shaking his head, “h
ow in the heck are we supposed to help you if things go sideways when you’re an hour’s flight away?”

             
Shyla wasn’t as
frustrated with Shawn’s behavior
, this time
. His concern was real and warranted. It was better than dealing with his persistent
anger and
irritation toward
s
her.
M
aybe Jason had been right and he really wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

             
“Listen, I appreciate your concern,
” she said,
“
but this is what we’ve been hoping for. I can’t believe we’ve managed to get to this point so fast, and we aren’t going to waste the opportunity.
”

             
“Okay, well you’re taking your gun right?”

             
“Shawn, as much as I’d like to, I can’t be found with a gun, Victor would be suspicious for sure. Besides, if I really were just a secretary going on a weekend getaway with my boyfriend, I wouldn’t be thinking twice about protec
tion. You guys have to remember
that
,
to you, I’m a cop and going in to a sketchy situation, but to Victor, I’m just his love interest for the time being. He wouldn’t take me if there was anything to worry about. We’ll be on a romantic sailing trip for most of the weekend. His meeting’s not until Sunday. It’ll be smooth as
pie.”