Taken by Fire (32 page)

Especially because the loss of life in the Australian and satellite attacks had been staggering.

“I can’t believe Jason is dead,” she murmured. “And Samantha. Henry. Neema. Zach.” Jason, Samantha, and Henry had been at ACRO since the beginning, were incredibly powerful in their fields, as well as experienced. They would be sorely missed. Annika hadn’t known Neema well, but she and Rik had grown close, and Rik couldn’t be taking it well.

“I’m promoting Kira to Animal Division director,” Dev said. “Zach’s death is hitting her hard, but I know she’ll do a great job.”

No doubt. And Ender had to be fucking relieved as shit that he’d put his foot down on Kira’s request to go to Australia.

Of course, in all the tragedy, the one person Annika would have liked to see killed hadn’t been. Phoebe … Mel … whatever … was imprisoned in the fireproof cave—by choice, apparently—but that wasn’t enough for Annika. Phoebe had lost her father, Itor, and her freedom, and she wasn’t going to go peacefully into the night.

Still, Dev was all defensive and crap, had, in fact, just come from seeing Mel.

“I think that if you talk to Mel, you’ll feel differently about her,” he was saying, had somehow moved from the subject of Kira to Mel without her noticing; Annika just rolled her eyes.

“She’s your sister. I get that.” Actually, Annika didn’t. Because she’d never had a sister or a brother. The people she let into her life were people she loved because of who they were, not because they were related. “But Dev, she’s trouble.”

“Annika—”

“This isn’t a jealousy thing,” she interrupted. “I mean, yeah, okay, maybe a little. But mostly I’m just worried. I have a bad feeling. She’s insane. If she could kill Akbar the way she did …”

“You know it wasn’t Melanie who did that.”

Annika shoved off the couch, partly out of frustration and partly so she could get away from the bassinet, which was rocking a little too hard. Nice. She was going to make her daughter seasick. “I’m tired of hearing that! You weren’t there, Dev. You didn’t see …” She trailed off, her throat closing up too tight to speak anymore.

Dev stood from the recliner and folded her into his arms. “I know you don’t understand this, but I have to give her a chance. I told you how she helped take down Itor. And I haven’t had a family in a long time, Annika.”

“We’re your family,” she whispered, and he hugged her tighter.

“You are. And you, and Creed, Ender, Wyatt, Haley—everyone at ACRO—you can’t be replaced. But all the bad shit my father did, it’s like my blood was tainted. I have to believe that something good came from him.”

“
You
did.”

“I know, but he was poison to everything else he touched. If I have a sister who isn’t completely evil, then maybe all of the pain he’s caused will have been worth it.”

Annika didn’t completely understand, but Dev had always been a lot softer than he liked people to believe. He’d definitely put up with her shit, when he could have spanked her really, really hard. And probably should have.

“Dev?”

“Yeah?”

She pulled back to look up at him. “I’m not one for the religious ceremony bullshit, but it’s important to Creed’s parents, so we’re having Renee christened. Next Wednesday. And we want you to be her godfather. I mean, I’m not sure it’ll be official or anything, because you’re not Catholic and I’m not and … well, I just don’t understand any of it, but … will you?”

Dev’s brown eyes grew liquid. “Yeah,” he rasped. “I’d be honored.”

T
he flight back to ACRO had been interesting. Since Melanie and Stryker had been alone, she’d shot up with the suppressant, and he’d spent the entire time trying to persuade her to change her mind.

He’d seduced her with gourmet food, champagne, and the most fabulous sex ever. He’d even combined the three, and she’d never look at chocolate-covered strawberries or vanilla sauce in the same light again. The way the man could use food and his tongue was sinful.

His plying had almost worked. By the time they landed, she’d been exhausted in that well-used, tingly way that made her want to go home with him and stay there for the rest of her life.

But then they’d gotten off the plane, and Dev had been there, all warm smiles and wanting to take them to the park, where all of ACRO was celebrating its victory over Itor. As much as Mel had wanted to go, she couldn’t. Phoebe was fighting the drug—and the damage she could cause if she came out in a crowd of people …

The reality only emphasized why Mel had to lock herself away. She longed to be part of the big ACRO family and to get to know her brother, so much it hurt … but it would hurt far more if Phoebe killed any of them.

So she’d asked to be taken to the cave. Stryker refused at first, but when she began to wince at Phoebe’s clawing inside her skull, he’d been forced to comply.

Now, three days later, he was sitting just outside the fireproof glass, still trying to wear her down. He’d been here every day, bringing her food, talking to her, keeping her company. Dev had come too, and even though she’d been nervous at first, she’d eventually found him to be genuine, friendly, and warm. He’d told her about growing up with loving parents, his time in the Air Force, and his life at ACRO.

She’d been curious about Oz, especially because if his prediction really did have something to do with her … well, she couldn’t allow herself to hope, but what she really didn’t want was for his prediction to be about another virgin.

It was selfish of her, she knew that. She should want Stryker to be happy—and be with someone else, because there wasn’t any way she was letting herself out of the cave. Ever. But she also couldn’t bear the inevitable; that in time, Stryker was going to come see her less often. Daily visits would turn into weekly visits, and then monthly visits … and eventually, he’d stop altogether.

Don’t think about it
. Stryker was here now, even though he was looking at his watch and getting up from one of the comfy-looking leather chairs Dev had delivered for her visitors.

“I have to go to a christening, but I’ll come back when it’s over. Will you be here?”

She gave a casual shrug. “I was thinking of going shopping and then maybe to hang out at a bar.”

His sensual smile made her belly flutter. “You know what I mean.”

Yeah, she did. The frequent use of the suppressants during her time in Australia had thrown off her ability to regulate Phoebe’s appearances, and she sometimes popped out without warning and stayed for several hours. The same thing had happened on many occasions when Phoebe had needed the drug on missions. Mel had sometimes been thrown into consciousness, and other times, she’d found it easy to emerge just by thinking about it.

“I’ll try to be here. I’d like to hear about the ceremony.” She eyed his dark slacks and blue shirt that set off his gorgeous eyes, and imagined herself stripping him. “You look nice, by the way.”

One blond eyebrow cocked up. “Yeah? How nice?”

“So nice that I’m drooling a little.”

He drifted closer, and even through the thick glass she could feel the raw sexuality coming off him in waves. “Tell me to come in.”

Oh, God. Her heart went a little crazy in her chest, her breasts tightened, and damn if her thighs didn’t quiver. “You have a christening to go to,” she rasped.

He slapped his palm on the glass and leaned in. “I’d miss my own crowning to be the king of England to be with you.” His gaze heated, the colors in his eyes swirling, and his voice became a deep, hungry growl. “Let me in.”

She swallowed. Hard. Nothing had ever been so tempting. Her hand trembled as she brought it up so their palms were together,
separated by an inch of glass that might as well have been a mile thick.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and hung his head. A minute passed. Two. Mel’s heart broke open wider with every passing second. Finally, he stepped back, and she gasped when she saw that nothing had changed in his eyes. The heat was still there, hotter than before, and fueled by a fierce determination that actually frightened her.

“I won’t give up, Mel.” Pivoting, he turned and stalked out of the cave, leaving her shaking with unquenched desire and the certain fear that he wouldn’t give up … and she would give in.

There was no way any good could come of that.

Sighing, she looked over at the stone table and the burger that had been delivered a few minutes earlier. For the first time ever, she didn’t feel the need to eat just because there was food in front of her.

With startling clarity, she realized that she wasn’t afraid. Oh, she was terrified that Phoebe would do something awful, but she wasn’t afraid of the people who were holding her, who had complete control over her. At some point, she’d grown to trust Stryker, Dev, and even her guards enough to know that they would never keep food from her—or anything else she needed, for that matter.

They were even working on making the chamber larger and more comfortable, turning it from a one-room hole into a sizable living area with a private bedroom and bathroom. No doors, but there would be walls in place to shield her from anyone outside the glass pane.

For fun, Dev was having a TV built into the stone, and then covering it with the fire-and-impact-resistant glass. He was also putting in a small heated pool that would allow her to not only bathe, but to discharge her power. She could freeze the water, and the heating elements in the rock would melt it quickly. Right
now she was having to make do with discharging in the air and turning the chamber into a deep freeze.

While she was immune to the cold, it still frosted up the glass pane and made it hard to see through to talk to anyone.

The improvements in the cell would definitely be nice.

So as Phoebe began to knock at the walls of her skull to get out, Melanie smiled. Because for the first time since they’d been whisked to Itor, the tables were turned. Melanie might be a prisoner, but it was
her
choice. Phoebe was trapped, and Mel had no doubt that the bitch was miserable as hell.

“Come on out, Phoebe,” Mel whispered. “Embrace the suck that is your life.”

S
omeone had brought Phoebe a fucking hamburger. Or, more accurately, they’d brought Melanie a fucking hamburger. The chickenshit, dumb cow ate like a pig. She was a barnyard unto herself. It was a wonder they didn’t weigh three hundred pounds.

But there was nothing better to do in this fucking hole than eat, so she snatched up the greasy burger and took a huge bite. Gross. Who the hell put mayonnaise on burgers? Grimacing, she swallowed.

And choked. She coughed, wheezed, dropped the burger on the floor. She heard the pounding of footsteps, and then the guard, a wiry towhead named Jerry, was at the glass, his hand hovering over the control panel.

“Melanie? You okay?”

She started to nod as the piece of meat finally went down … and then realized that she had an opportunity she couldn’t waste. Coughing harder, she doubled over and went down on her knees.

“Melanie! Shit!” Still, he didn’t enter, but there was panic and uncertainty in his expression. “Dan!”

Phoebe grabbed her throat with both hands and did her best bug-eyed I’m-dying act, and as she fell over, the pane slid open.
She reached for her power, but as expected, Mel had drained it. Looked like she’d be doing the good old-fashioned brand of fighting.

Jerry rushed in, and the second he kneeled next to her, she sprung the trap. In two quick motions, she slammed her fist in his face and grabbed his sidearm. A flick of her thumb took off the safety, and a pull of the trigger took out his brains.

Before Dan got a chance to even draw his weapon or use whatever power he had, she put two bullets into his chest. Hoping no one heard the gunfire, she stripped Jerry, who was the smaller of the two men, and dressed in his BDUs. She tucked her hair up under the cap and then sprinted to the mouth of the cave, where she eased her head out into the bright sunlight. It appeared that the cave had been built into the side of a hill on the edge of the ACRO compound, so unless someone was fairly close by, the shots wouldn’t be heard or even paid heed … not when the firing range—or, at least, what she assumed from the constant gunfire was the range—was within earshot.

Quickly, she tucked the pistol into her waistband and covered it with the BDU top. With any luck, no one would take note of her—not every individual on the base could possibly be known to everyone, especially given that trainees were probably common. And if someone recognized her, they might think she was Mel.

Turned out that no one looked at her at all. She stayed on the outskirts of the base, keeping an eye out for anyone she might know—especially Dev. Her goal wasn’t escape. It was to find her brother and kill him.

Walking purposefully, as if she owned the place, she headed toward the center of the base, where signs indicated the command facilities would be. As she passed a group of squat brick buildings, a lone female recruit wearing an orange training badge exited the gym. Phoebe smiled like they were old friends.

“Hey … I’m new here, and I’m trying to find Devlin O’Malley. Do you know where his office is?”

“Sure.” The girl, whose badge gave her name as Alda Lee, pointed down the road. “It’s that way. Take your first right, and the building will be on the left. But right now he’s probably at Annika and Creed’s new baby’s christening.”

“Christening?”

“It’s the talk of the base. Everyone is invited to the party afterward.” She glanced at her watch. “Party should be in about half an hour in the reception hall.”

“Where’s the christening?”

“Hospital chapel. Down the same street, but take a left instead of a right. The chapel is connected to the south side of the medical facility. You can’t miss it.”

“Excellent.” Phoebe threw her arm around Alda’s shoulders, doing the buddy thing as she guided her toward the side of the building. “Thank you. ACRO people are just so freaking friendly.”

“No problem—” Alda let out a gasp. Last one ever, given that Phoebe had broken her neck.

She tucked the body into the bushes, brushed off her hands, and grinned as she hoofed it to the chapel. When it came into view, her adrenaline spiked, jacking her up with a rush that no amount of cocaine could match.