The Maze (ATCOM) (16 page)

Dropping
her hands, she said, “Well, don’t. And don’t say ‘yes, ma’am’ or I’ll kick you
in your bad knee.”

“Ouch.”

She
rolled her eyes. “God, Kincaid, you’re hopeless. Just try the code, okay?”

“And
risk another shock? Eat something first to make Santiago happy, then we’ll try
again when he’s not looking.”

“He’s
always watching.”

“Then
we’ll do it when he can’t see.”

Realizing
he was right, Attie nodded and stepped away. She was still irritated that he
had pulled a stunt like that, but at the same time she was grateful he’d been
there to absorb most of the shock. She honestly didn’t think she could handle
much more of Carlos’s games today.

It
was bad enough having the chain hang heavily on her neck, a constant reminder
of the control he had over her. What a mess. She wanted to show Noah that she
was still able to handle herself, but at the same time she wanted to take
shelter in his arms. God, she could really use Brendan’s brotherly advice right
now.

The
thought of her brother hidden somewhere inside this house of horrors made her
heart ache. She had to believe Carlos wouldn’t harm him, since he was using
Brendan as a trap for her. Brendan wasn’t his sole purpose—she was—so he’d have
no real reason to hurt him except for sport. Brendan was strong. He could
withstand whatever Carlos dished out. If anything, he would antagonize Carlos
and bring on his wrath just because that was how Brendan operated. He had a way
of getting under people’s skin and staying there.

She
hoped this time Brendan kept his mouth shut and didn’t antagonize the monster.
For his sake and theirs.

Noah
helped himself to another sandwich. He had become part of this and she was glad
ATCOM hadn’t sent in another agent, as much as it bothered her to admit. She
needed the best against a man like Carlos. Part of her regretted telling him
about the piranha, but the other part was relieved someone else knew her
secret.

Attie
walked over to the edge of the pool, forcing her wobbly legs to carry her to
the edge, even as she broke out in a cold sweat. She remembered each nibble of
those sharp teeth on her flesh and the fear of not knowing if they could tear
clean through or if they would feed until they reached bone. The uncertainty
terrified her. Who knew how far Carlos would go to punish her?

Look
how far he’d gone already.

The
water in the pool was calm except for the fish circling near the bottom. She
doubted they had been fed recently. If given the opportunity, they would tear a
man apart for their next meal. Attie shuddered at the thought and wrapped her
arms around her waist, then caught the vulnerable action and dropped her arms
to her sides. There was only one way to get over this fear.

After
taking a deep breath, she lowered herself to her knees on the edge of the pool
and slowly reached toward the water. She had to know if the fish would feed
without the scent of blood.

Her
hand shook as she skimmed the surface. Taking a deep breath, she dipped her
hand under the water. White-hot heat suddenly rippled through her body and with
a scream she toppled head first into the pool.

* * * *

Noah
heard Attie’s scream, saw her fall into the piranha-infested water.

“Attie!”
He dropped his sandwich and ran toward the pool. He didn’t know if the piranha
would feed on a human or not, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Without
hesitation he dove into the water after her.

Within
seconds he was surrounded by fish trying to bite through his clothes, their
sharp teeth nipping at his flesh. The water churned around them, making it
difficult to see. It was pure luck that he touched Attie’s arm and was able to
latch on. The fish were trying to feed on her too and she was thrashing around
trying to fend them off.

Noah
got a good hold on her, locked his arm around her waist and kicked his way to
the surface, while trying to escape sharp teeth. They broke free, gasping for
air and with a shove Noah sent her swimming toward the edge. Attie reached it the
same time he did and slipped, trying to get out. Noah pulled himself out and
reached down to grab her arms. He lifted her out of the water and pulled her
away from the pool, not stopping until they were a good ten feet away.

“Are
you okay?” he asked, running his hands up and down her arms in search of
injuries. He cupped her cheeks and tilted her head up so he could look at her.
God knew how long it would take to break open her flesh. She had only been in
the water a few seconds before he reached her but still…

“I—I’m
okay,” Attie stammered, which wasn’t like her, and she was staring at his chin.
He knew then that she wasn’t okay and was trying to hide it. She failed
miserably when a shudder quaked through her. He pulled her into his arms and
held her. This time she didn’t resist.

“What
the hell were you doing sticking your hand in the water?” Noah asked roughly a
moment later. He was angry and relieved at the same time. Angry that she’d
tempted fate and relieved that she hadn’t been eaten alive.

“I
had to know,” Attie whispered against his chest. “I…just…”

“Never
mind,” Noah said, holding her tighter. “It doesn’t matter.” He understood.
Understood her need to feel some semblance of control in this out of control
situation. He just wished she’d done it without scaring him.

“Well,
well, wasn’t that interesting?” Santiago’s voice echoed through the room. “And
we didn’t even get to the best part yet. Tell me, Atalanta, did you overcome
your fear of my pets?”

Attie
stiffened and lifted her head off Noah’s shoulder, but she didn’t step out of
his embrace. He could still feel her trembling.

“I
hate your pets, Carlos,” she said. “You can’t scare me with them.”

“I
don’t believe you and I’d like to prove you wrong. Are you ready to perform the
next test?”

This
time they both stiffened. Noah wasn’t sure he was ready.

“I’d
rather not,” Attie muttered.

“Would
you prefer a nice soft bed and a shower, perhaps?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah,
sounds good.”

“Both
could be yours.”

He
could hear the excitement in Santiago’s voice and knew they weren’t going to
like what was coming.

“If…”
Attie urged.

“If
you make it through.”

“And
if we don’t?”

“Is
your confidence slipping,
mi amor
?”

“Not
a chance. I’ll run your course. Whatever it takes to reach my brother.”

“Oh,
I assure you, your brother is fine. A little riled at being held captive, but
unharmed.”

“Let’s
keep it that way. What are you waiting for, Carlos? Let’s do this. Tell me what
you want me to do.” She stepped out of Noah’s arms to make her point.

“Very
well, then. At the bottom of the pool is a key. It fits into the lock binding
your brother’s chains. Get the key and increase the chance of rescuing your
brother.”

Noah
cursed beneath his breath. He hadn’t seen any key when he rescued Attie. The
water had been churned up by the fish. And he hadn’t known to look for one.
Damn, one of them was going in that pool after it.

“I’ll
go,” Noah said before Attie had time to argue. He turned to her and said, “I’m
the stronger swimmer and I have thicker skin. I’ll go.”

Attie
shook her head and Santiago was silent.

Noah
sprinted toward the pool. He dove in before Attie could stop him.

Chapter
15

Attie
ran to the edge of the pool, furious with Noah for doing this to her. She was
the one who was supposed to go after the key. Carlos would want it no other
way. If Carlos was angry over this he would take it out on Brendan.

But
Noah was right. He was a stronger swimmer. A Navy SEAL, for God’s sake.

She
peered into the murky water, churned up by the fish, and saw Noah’s dark shape
on the bottom of the pool. She also spotted a tint of red in the water. Noah
was bleeding. Damn him, what was taking so long? He could hold his breath for
an unnatural length of time, but this was getting to be a bit much.

Her
fingers curled into her palms, her nails biting into her skin. She couldn’t see
how badly the piranha were hurting Noah. He had been down there long enough for
them to do damage and all it took was one break in the skin. They would attack
that one place until the food source was gone.

“There
better be a key down there, Carlos,” she shouted at the camera. She didn’t try
to hide the panic in her voice.

If
he didn’t surface in one minute, she was going in after him, despite her fear
of being eaten alive by a dozen hungry fish.

“Rest
assured, there is a key. Will it be worth Noah’s life? He’s been down there
much too long, don’t you think?”

“You
don’t know Noah,” she muttered, returning her gaze to the water, which was too
tumultuous to see through. She could barely make out Noah’s dark form as he
crawled along the bottom in search of the key.

Come
on, Noah, don’t do this to me
. She moved down the
edge of the pool with him, wishing he would come up for air. He had been down
there over two minutes now and though she saw only a speck of blood in the
water, she knew he was being attacked. Piranhas were merciless.

Finally,
when she was about ready to jump in after him, he surfaced. His dark head
popped up out of the water and he held in his hand a gold key. Attie breathed a
sigh of relief and hurried to his side to help him out. He dropped down on the
floor beside her, breathing heavily, and handed her the key. Attie took it out
of his hand and tucked it into her pocket before falling to her knees beside
him.

The
first thing she saw was the blood running down his arm.

“You’re
bleeding.” She grabbed his arm and pushed up his sleeve. There was a small
wound just beneath the sleeve where the fish had managed to bite through his
flesh. Not deep enough for stitches, but ragged from being nibbled at. Attie
clamped a hand over it and glanced up to see another on the side of his neck.
That one was only a small cut. He’d managed to ward them off from attacking
that one.

“Nothing
serious,” Noah said.

Nothing
was ever serious to him. He could be half-dead and still say it was only a
scratch.

“Serious
enough. Now hold still,” she ordered when he attempted to move away.

“Yes,
ma’am.”

She
sent him a warning glance and wrapped her fingers tighter around his bicep.
Well, her fingers didn’t exactly wrap around it, more like laid across it. But
she wasn’t going to think about that or the way his shirt molded to his chest.

“Nice
job, Noah,” Carlos said. “Are you ready for what’s next?”

Attie
sighed. When would this end? She’d had enough excitement for one day.

“What
do you want us to do?”

“Stand
up.”

They
did. By now Noah’s breathing was back to normal. He always had bounced back
easily.

“Take
three steps forward.”

In
unison they did.

“Here
we go,” Carlos said.

The
floor opened up and they were free-falling for the second time that day.

* * * *

Attie
landed with a thud on a floor that gave when she hit. It knocked the breath out
of her and she lay there, momentarily stunned. Sprawled on her back, she heard
a groan beneath her. Dazed, she looked up to see nothing but a very high
ceiling and four walls. The room was narrow, more like a vertical hallway which
made her head spin. They were lucky to have survived the fall.

“Mind
getting off me?”

Attie
tensed. She hadn’t landed on the floor at all. She’d landed on top of Noah.
Wincing, she rolled off him and onto her knees. His eyes were closed and he
wasn’t moving.

“Kincaid?”
she said, grabbing his arm. When he didn’t answer, she leaned closer. “Answer
me.”

Eyes
still closed, he muttered, “Can you call me something besides by my last name?”

She
gaped at him. “What?”

He
still didn’t move. “My name, Attie. You always call me by my last name.”

Dumbfounded,
she said, “You’re kidding right? We just fell one hundred feet and you’re
worried about what name I use? How hard did you hit your head?”

Noah
groaned. “The floor gives.”

“What?”

“How
hard did
you
hit
your
head?” he mused. “You sound like a parrot
again.”

“What
do you mean the floor gives?”

“Bounce
on it. It gives.”

Frowning,
Attie bounced on her knees. Sure enough, it moved with her. “I’ll be,” she
murmured. “He didn’t want us to break every bone in our bodies.”

“Nope,
just let us believe we were going to.”

“Sick
bastard.”

“Indeed.
Are you hurt?”

Attie
raised a brow. “No, I had you to break my fall.”

“Glad
to be of service.” He grimaced as he sat up, holding his ribs.

“One
of the advantages of being lighter.”

“Uh-huh.”

They
glanced around, taking stock of where they were. The room was small and made of
rock, not a surprise since they were inside a mountain.

“If
there’s a camera in here it’s well hidden,” Noah said. “Should we try the
necklace?”

Attie
shook her head. “No sense in trying the code. Carlos is watching somewhere.”

“I
still want to try.”

With
a shrug, Attie lifted her chin so he could try the code she gave him. She felt
his fingers slide under the chain, warm against her skin, and tried to remain
unruffled by the gentle touch. Her traitorous body defied her when a delectable
shudder passed through her as his fingers moved against her skin while he
pressed the proper buttons.

“Cold?”
Noah asked, amused.

He
knew damn well she wasn’t cold. The small room was like a steam bath.

“Can
it,” she muttered.

He
chuckled and her insides turned to mush. If a chuckle could be sexy, then he
had her vote.

“The
code didn’t work. Do you have another?”

Where
was the shock? Either Carlos wasn’t watching or he was gloating because he knew
they wouldn’t get the necklace off. Personally, she was glad they had a minute
to catch their breath. She was tired of this game already.

They’d
survived the anaconda, a pool full of piranha, almost being drowned in the
first tunnel, and a one-hundred-foot free-fall. She had the key that would help
her free Brendan, though part of her dreaded what the key belonged to. Carlos’s
idea of bonds would be different than anyone else’s and that worried her. Good
thing Brendan was strong and could endure anything Carlos threw at him because
she had no doubt he would be tested. Carlos liked to play with his toys.

“Try
it again.”

He
did. Again, no luck.

“Any
other numbers significant to Santiago?”

Attie
lowered her head and searched her mind for another. She didn’t like being
forced to go back in time and recall her experiences with Carlos, but she
didn’t have any other choice. It seemed to be a common theme here, so she may
as well accept it. Carlos was taking her back into the past to make sure she
knew exactly why she was being punished.

“I
don’t know. He had three dogs, two pools, a zillion low life drug runners,
anacondas, piranhas, two floors to his estate…this is a waste of time.”

“How
about a birthday or anniversary?”

“I
doubt he would use his birthday, even though he threw a big party when he
turned forty. I think that would be too easy.”

“Then
I’ll try yours. February tenth, right?”

With
a reluctant sigh she nodded and lifted her head so he could try it. She didn’t
want to feel his fingers against her skin again, but she did want the necklace
off. It was worth a try. His fingers brushed her skin and she gritted her
teeth. No man’s touch had ever affected her this way. Why his? And when had she
lost the ability to ignore it? Her eyes caught something moving above their
heads. She couldn’t quite make it out, but it swayed back and forth as it
slowly lowered toward them.

“What
is that?” she said.

Noah
glanced up, paused and said, “The necklace is going to have to wait. Get up.”

Frowning,
Attie rose to her feet with him. “What is it?”

“Start
looking for a way out.”

Still
frowning, she watched him start searching the tiny space for a door. She
noticed a slight hitch in his movements and the way he favored his left leg.

“You
injured your bad knee in the fall, didn’t you?”

“Landed
wrong. Search that wall for a door.”

His
tone indicated the subject was closed. Attie let it go, though she would keep
an eye on his leg. The last thing they could afford was for his knee to slow
them down.

She
started feeling the wall. “You know we aren’t going to find one.”

Looking
up, she saw the reason Noah was anxious to find a way out. The object coming
down toward them was a large, round steel ball with dozens of spikes protruding
from all sides. Like the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball with spikes, swinging
like the pendulum in Edgar Allen Poe’s famous story.

She
looked around the room that was definitely not big enough for the three of
them. If that ball fell they were going to get ripped to shreds by those
spikes.

“Oh,
you have to be kidding me,” she said, turning and searching more frantically
for an escape route. “We need another plan.”

“I’m
all ears.”

Her
stomach clenched and precious time passed as they ran their hands over the wall
and tried to get out. The low woosh-woosh of the ball grew closer. She was
about to look up when he ordered, “Flat against the wall, Attie. Now.”

* * * *

Her
back to Noah, Attie pressed against the wall. She recognized the urgency in
Noah’s tone and knew better than to ignore it. She barely made it before there
was a loud whoosh as the ball dropped to the ground. The cable snapped and the
ball whistled through the air seconds before one of the spikes tore open the
flesh of her shoulder. She cried out and flattened against the wall before any
of the other spikes could tear into her. White-hot pain shot through her
shoulder and warmth immediately seeped down her back.

The
ball hit the floor with a loud crack that hurt her eardrums, one of the spikes
tearing her pant leg. It rolled in place like a giant steel top before coming
to a stop.

Noah
came up behind her, standing close. “Don’t move,” he said, touching her
shoulder where the spike had caught her.

“I
don’t think I can, the stupid ball has me pinned to the wall. I think it’s
caught in my pant leg.”

“I’ll
get it. Don’t move your shoulder.”

She
heard him moving behind her. A second later he pressed something warm and soft
against her shoulder. His shirt. Great, he was bare-chested. He applied
pressure to stop the bleeding and she fought back a wince as sharp pain jolted
through her. She felt it clear to her toes.

“It
doesn’t feel like more than a scratch,” she muttered, hoping it was true. She
couldn’t afford to be seriously hurt. Instinct told her this was far from over.
Experience told her she was right even if she didn’t want to admit it. They
were lucky the ball hadn’t done serious damage to either one of them.

“Are
you hurt?” she asked, attempting to turn around and look at him.

He
held her in place and wouldn’t let her “I wasn’t hit,” he said. “Hold still.
Your
scratch
needs stitches.”

His
breath teased her skin as he bent over her to inspect the wound. He lifted the
shirt and gently prodded her shoulder. Attie drew in a sharp breath and
distracted herself by saying, “Stitches aren’t an option unless Carlos supplies
a First Aid kit.”

“I’m
sure he won’t want his prize possession out of the game this early. He’ll
provide.”

Attie
scoffed as he replaced the shirt and held if firm against her shoulder.

“I’m
not a possession.”

“You
are to him.”

Ignoring
that, she said, “How bad is it?”