Still Mine (12 page)

Her lips twisted with sarcasm. Oh yes, she needed to seduce Tait. Quick.

The medication hit her empty stomach and she reached for the sandwich as her belly twisted with nausea.

A solid rap on the door interrupted her. Jo simply waited for Durant to walk through. She peeled the wrapping away from the sandwich he’d left and took a bite. A second rap followed a few moments later. The concession to her privacy was unexpected. Shrugging, she moved towards the door and opened it. There was no view glass to look through. But the facility seemed to be locked up tight, offering little reason for such a device. Besides, there weren’t a whole lot of people who knew who she was.

Opening the door revealed two fatigue-clad soldiers standing with their feet shoulder-width apart and their hands locked behind their backs. Their gazes raked over her sharply. “Yes?”

“Come with us. Major Durant wants to see you.”

Jo contemplated that command. Neither man had any identifying marks on him. A little wiggle of doubt went through her brain. She considered asking for identification, but there was no way for her to know if what they presented was correct or not. She still had very little real information. Maybe they intended to escort her to someone who would solve that dilemma for her. Most majors didn’t fetch for themselves, so it made sense his boys had knocked on her door.

“Fine.”

Both men moved back, waiting for her to exit the room. After pulling the door shut behind her, she fell into step with her escort.

They took her around the outer edge of the landing pad. Night sure fell quickly because the perimeter she’d been walking along was black now, the lights from the landing area a bright glow against the night sky. Her escort wove between hangars until only one large hangar stood out in front of them. The men made no move to enter the building, they simply continued forward, intending to proceed around the corner.

That wiggle of doubt returned, a full warning bell now. As they kept going, she faced the hillside she’d gone up last night. The lights didn’t penetrate far enough to illuminate the fence but her aching hand sure reminded her that the thing was up there.

Suspicion nagged at her and Jo stepped away from both men before coming to a firm halt. Her lack of compliance was noted immediately.

“This way.” The command had been issued in the tone reserved for the disobedient. There was also an interesting lack of “ma’am”. Every man who had shown up with Durant had used the ultrapolite word anytime they spoke to her. “Keep your head clear, ma’am… Buckle up, ma’am…” Something was wrong here and Jo didn’t intend to wait around to discover just what it was. Too many people had been playing tug-o’-war with her in the last week. If her choices were her husband or the unknown factor of these two, she would take her husband. Paul’s words rose from her memory like a siren.

Think about it, Jo…that slug in your shoulder…think about it…

Turning on her heel, Jo ran back towards the landing pad. The brightly lit area held the greatest likelihood of being populated at the moment. Surrounding herself with lots of witnesses seemed the best method of defense in her current situation.

Her ears picked up the sounds of pursuit before the men reached her. Jo pivoted to face the threat head-on. The first man fell easily as she swept his knee, but his partner took advantage of her attention on the other man and secured her from behind far too easily. Screaming wasn’t dignified but it could be effective. Only half a sound escaped before a hand clamped down over her mouth.

“Shut her up!”

Her captor spat out an obscenity before ripping her sweatshirt off her chest to bind her mouth with. The metallic click of handcuffs filled her ears as her hands were locked behind her. Her captor bent and snapped another pair around her ankles as he cussed at her again. With one toss she was flung over a shoulder and they resumed their hike up the hillside. The ground bounced around under her gaze.

True fear tried to tie a knot in her gut but she resisted its grip. Panic was a one-way trip to getting killed. At the moment, the only person she had to depend on was herself.

“Here it is.” They had reached the fence. “Put her down and give me a hand with this.”

Her body was just dropped. The forest floor gave little cushion to the fall. Pain blinded her but she rolled over and attempted to find her captors in the dark. They were working carefully on the fence, weaving something along a section that was attached to a bundle of wires and some kind of large box sitting next to the fence.

“Watch the damn current. Get it wrong and the alarm goes off. Then we’re screwed.”

“Like I don’t know that.” The second man eyed the control box with a careful eye before weaving something else through another link in the fence. He grunted approval and flashed his buddy a grin. “See? I know what the fuck I’m doing.”

“Whatever. You can make the first cut, Einstein.”

A pair of cutters was held out and the first man grabbed them with a profane retort. He applied them to the wire links. They snapped away the links of steel efficiently, little pinging sounds hitting her ears. Her hands had been bound behind her but Jo wiggled her arms around her bottom until she was able to bring her arms under her feet and up in front of her. She silently thanked God for the intense workout regime that kept her hips slim enough for her to get her arms over. Her captors were busy with their argument and had forgotten about her, believing the handcuffs would keep her contained.

She wasn’t helpless, but insane was a possibility. Considering the fence, she suppressed a shiver while her memory offered up how it felt to have the bolts of electricity going through her flesh. No way she could get down the hillside fast enough. Sending out a signal to Durant was her only hope. That meant hitting the fence. She rolled over placing her feet beneath her as she took a last deep breath. Her movement gained instant attention.

“What the fuck—”

Pushing forward, she launched her body at one man like a spear. Kneeling on one knee, he wasn’t able to grab her and keep his balance too. His body tumbled into the fence outside the area they had bypassed with their wiring. The electricity popped as it connected with his flesh.

“Shit! You stupid bitch.” His companion leapt for her and caught her around the waist. Jo dug her feet into the dirt beneath her and shoved backwards with every ounce of strength she had. It was enough to drive them both off balance and into the fence again. Her captor retained a tight hold on her body, pulling her into the current with him.

The electricity held no pity for the flesh it encountered but burnt through it in seconds. The body behind her convulsed away from the current and they both hit the ground, their limbs twitching, the scent of burning human hair filling the air.

Huge waves of pain attempted to drag her down into oblivion again. Desperation kept her from succumbing to the comfort of unconsciousness. It left her swimming through an acute haze of pain. Her body contorted from the current and refused her demand to move. Time seemed to drag as she bit into her shirt gag, grinding her teeth against the fabric. Streaks of color, so brilliant they almost blinded her, flashed across her vision as she rolled over and over. She stopped as a new light came towards her. It twinkled like a star and then flashed hot and brilliant like the sun, making her see black spots because she looked straight at it.

Movement surrounded her. The light was directly over her now and she closed her eyes against its glare. One eyelid was pulled up and the light flashed into her eyes.

“Major, you want to see this.” Those words were spoken a foot above her head and Jo forced her eyes open to find the speaker. Every muscle she owned seemed to be shaking in unison, just like her body would do if extremely cold, only she was hot. Another form loomed over her and she forced her gaze onto its face.

Goliath. The giant ran practiced eyes over her. The shaking was slowly stilling, a measure of control returning. Jo sighed in relief. Pain still pulsed from multiple spots on her body, but her brain was clearing. One large hand reached out to pull the makeshift gag from her mouth. Her tongue felt swollen and as dry as desert dirt.

“You need a leash, Deputy Benate.”

She snorted at him. “Just…ju-st try it.” She choked as she forced her tongue to work. “Give me back my gun, bright boy. And…I’ll take care…of myself.”

“That’s a possibility.”

One of Nolan’s men produced a handcuff key, offering it to his commanding officer. She lifted her hands towards him, but froze as her gaze fell on the bloody mess of her wrists. The electricity had converged around the metal bracelets, burning her skin. Bright red blood was running down her fingers from her wrists.

“Don’t look at it.” Her shirt was dropped over her hands as the cuffs around her ankles were unlocked. Jo narrowed her eyes at his coddling. “Looks like you won’t need that gun for a while longer.”

She tried to stand and had to settle for being hauled up by his men. The muscles running up and down her legs twitched so violently, she wobbled, and her balance faltered as all the signals in her brain got mixed up. Huge splotches of light flashed past her vision. Her head tried to convince her that the ground was bucking like ocean waves.

“Durant?”

“Ma’am?”

“I am really beginning to hate that fence.” A half grin lifted the man’s lips before Jo gave in to the soothing embrace of oblivion.

“Jo? Wake up.”

The owner of that voice should be shot. Whoever wanted her attention was shaking her shoulder. Jo shifted away from the touch in annoyance. She wanted to sleep! She was so tired her body ached with the fatigue. Every muscle she owned hurt. Sleeping sounded excellent.

“Come on, honey, tell me you love me again.”

Her eyes popped open as a snarl crossed her lips. “I said no such thing.” Thinking it didn’t count. She could be an idiot but still be bright enough to keep the details hidden. Better to be thought a fool than open her mouth and remove all doubt.

“Not yet anyway.” Paul grinned at her. She blinked against the glare of the lights. The smug look on her husband’s face remained as she scowled. He leaned down and whispered next to her ear. “But I haven’t given up hope, Jo. In fact, I’m looking forward to seducing you again.”

“Arrogant jerk.” She sent her fist into his shoulder to shove him away from her body. Pain shot up her hand in response. She growled and held her hand up to inspect it. The bandaging now covered her from forearm to knuckles and it adorned both her arms.

Her husband’s face caught her attention. Fury was etched into his eyes. He held onto her hands, studying the fresh bandaging.

“I’m sorry.”

He meant it too. She heard the self-recrimination and winced because she wasn’t used to anyone worrying about her so much.

“Actually, I’m the one to blame.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “I just couldn’t come up with a better plan of escape. Except to shove us all into that damn fence. I knew it would set off an alarm bell somewhere.”

Paul shot her a look full of approval. He lowered his body until his head was a few inches above her own. Warm fingers brushed her hair away from her forehead.

“You did a good job, baby. I’m proud of you.”

He pushed her head back towards his face when she tried to turn away. His black eyes glittered with determination when their gazes locked again. “I wasn’t the one who doubted you, Jo. But I couldn’t ignore the risk either.”

He stood back up, holding her hands up for her to see. “It’s pretty damn real.”

“At least I match. I think the one-white-glove thing is outdated.”

Her sarcasm hit a chord inside him. They always had shared a warped sense of humor. He smiled and it even reached up into his black eyes. She was fascinated by the view. This man reminded her very much of her husband. He reached for her, rubbing a sure hand along the back of her neck with long strokes. He found the tense muscles there and gently worked them. A little sigh of relief escaped her lips.

“Some things don’t ever go out of fashion.”

He placed his lips on hers, a gentle remembrance of a distant moment when all they had needed was each other. Her lips parted and slowly moved with his. A soft step on the tile floor behind them made him break off the kiss. As he lifted his head, Jo’s eyelashes fluttered, before she realized what she’d done, and shot him a look designed to castrate him. The corners of his lips twitched up in response.

“We’ll have to finish this later, honey.”

“Paul…”

He raised a dark eyebrow at the warning tone, determination flickering across his eyes. Warning him was like waving a red flag in front of him. Something she should have recalled. The man didn’t know the word fail. At least not when it had ever come to keeping distance between them.

“Durant wants to debrief you.”

“I bet.” Sitting up, she swung her legs off the table. Her cheeks were burning with another blush as she looked at the nurse standing three feet away. Paul had kissed her before. There was no reason for her to become so caught up in it that she couldn’t take time to notice where she was. The slight touching of lips had just seemed so intimate somehow. When he’d kissed her earlier, it had been shockingly carnal, causing her body to leap into a single hot flame. This time it had pierced her heart.

Her feet hit the floor, causing her to suck in her breath as pain shot up her legs.

“Easy, Jo.” Paul wrapped an arm around her waist and slowly pulled her from the room. She stumbled as her ankles screamed with pain and he bent to pick her up.

“Not a chance. Let me walk.” Jo stated her desire in firm tones. The pain wasn’t that bad.

Paul straightened up and glared at her. “When did you become so stubborn?”

Jo shot him a tight grin as she forced her feet to walk. “About the same time I was told I was a widow and on my own.” It was almost like her muscles had to remember the rhythm of placing one foot in front of the other. The fog sitting in front of her eyes cleared as she forced her body to respond. “Hey, you’re the one who needed me to toughen up.” She succeeded in recalling the art of walking. “Be careful what you wish for.”