The Maze (ATCOM) (4 page)

Carlos
walked in, his dark gaze sweeping over her. “I brought you a gift,” he said,
his Italian leather shoes making no sound on the plush carpet as he strode over
to where she sat.

Attie
turned sideways on her stool, smiling.

Carlos
held out a long, black velvet box. She accepted it and slowly lifted the lid.
Never one to appreciate jewelry, she forced a smile and pretended to be
excited. The diamond was ridiculously large and the chain pure gold.

“It’s
lovely,” she breathed.

“Allow
me.”

With
gentle hands Carlos slid the expensive necklace around her neck, letting the
teardrop jewel rest between her breasts.

“It’s
beautiful,” she said as he finished with the clasp.

“Yes,
just like you.”

She
was about to raise her cheek for his kiss when suddenly the necklace tightened
around her throat, cutting into her skin. Her first instinct was to strike out
and force him to release his hold, but she stopped herself at the last second
and forced herself to sit still and endure it. If she fought back like she was
trained to do, then she’d blow her cover. Chrystal wouldn’t fight back.

Carlos
leaned in close, his lips touching her ear. “Rule number one: You belong to me
and I will not share you unless I choose to. Antonio is off limits unless I
give you to him. Understood?”

Attie
nodded, eyes wide with fear.

The
necklace went slack around her neck. Carlos straightened and walked to the
door.

“Sweet
dreams, mi amor.”

Attie
waited until the door was closed to tear the necklace off and fling it on the
floor. When she looked in the mirror, there was a red ring around her throat.
Controlling her anger, she turned out the light and went to bed before she did
something stupid.

* * * *

Something
was wrong with Attie.

In
the soft glow of the lantern, Noah saw the color drain from her face. She
jumped when he laid a hand on her shoulder. Through the heavy parka he felt the
tension in her muscles. She was coiled tight. Waiting for something only she
could see. Her face was set in rigid lines, her brows drawn. Her chest rose and
fell in quick, shallow breaths and he felt an occasional tremor quake over her.
He wanted to crawl inside her head and see what she dreamed about. Maybe then
he would know her secrets.

Carefully,
he removed the gun from her lap and tucked it in his pocket, then rested a hand
on each of her shoulders and spoke softly. “Attie.”

She
moaned and turned her head away from him.

“Attie,
wake up.”

Again
she moaned and tried to shut him out by turning away. This time he shook her
gently, not wanting to scare her, and watched her face become a mask of terror.
Something tightened in his chest. This wasn’t Attie. She wasn’t easily
frightened.

“Attie,”
he said, louder and with more force.

Her
eyes flew open, wide and alarmed, darting frantically around the cave. She
shook like a leaf now.

“Hey,
it’s me, Noah,” he said softly.

Her
eyes focused on him, but she wasn’t seeing him. She looked through him. Fear
clouded her expression and though she tried to rein it in she failed miserably.
Wherever she was something had her waiting, scared. He wanted to chase away her
demons and make her feel safe again. He wanted to get rid of the fear in her
eyes.

In
a soft voice that was not hers she said, “Are you angry with me?”

Angry
with her? What was she talking about? Or, to whom? Because this sure as hell
wasn’t Attie talking.

“No,
I’m not angry with you,” he said gently, unsure how to handle this.

Confusion
furrowed her brow. “Then why are you here?”

Noah
felt his gut clench. He wanted to know where ‘here’ was. Her prison cell? Her
suite on Santiago’s estate? Where the hell was she? She was giving him pieces
to a puzzle she would never reveal if she were awake and he wanted more, but he
couldn’t stand seeing her this way so he gripped her shoulders and gave her a
firm shake.

“Attie,
snap out of it.”

She
came awake with a start, blinking rapidly. Still looking haunted, she drew back
and pressed herself against the wall, shaking her head.

“Attie,
you’re safe. It’s Noah.”

Confusion
clouded her expression as she fought to escape the nightmare. Noah wanted to
draw her into his arms and make it all go away, but he knew she wouldn’t allow
it. She never had, not from anyone.

Putting
this kind of fear into her hadn’t been an easy task. He’d been beside her in
enemy territory and she’d never shown fear. She’d surged ahead with the team
and faced the enemy with confidence. She was very much like her brother when it
came to bravery. Brendan walked a little closer to the edge, but shared the
same grit as Attie. She held her own and, dammit, he hated seeing her like
this. It hit him hard knowing that in sleep she was vulnerable. Now he knew why
she didn’t want to sleep in close quarters with him. She didn’t want him to see
her like this and God knew he didn’t want to because it stirred emotions in him
he wasn’t prepared for.

“Talk
to me,” he said, telling himself he would do the same for any of his agents and
that the tightness in his chest was a normal reaction to seeing an agent
suffering, but he couldn’t quite do it. Attie was different and not only
because she was a woman.

“Tell
me what he did to you,” he murmured, watching her eyes cloud. “The stuff you didn’t
put in your reports.”

She
bolted to her knees, knocking his hands away and looking frantically around her
like a trapped animal.

“I
can’t do this,” she whispered, the anguish in her voice echoing through the
tunnel. He saw the same edgy, restlessness in her that he’d seen in the barn
two days ago.

“Attie—”

She
was gone. Just like that, she lunged out the opening of the cave into the
night.

Cursing,
Noah grabbed the lantern and went after her.

Chapter
4

Attie
was heading toward the rocky ledge they had climbed earlier. Noah lengthened
his stride to catch up with her and grabbed her elbow to stop her before she
toppled over. He spun her around and stared down into eyes as turbulent as the
storm around them.

“What
are you trying to do, get yourself killed?” he shouted.

Disbelief
widened her eyes, followed by anger, but beneath it laid pain and desperation
so strong the force of it was like a blow to his midsection. He fought between
shaking some sense into her and wrapping his arms around her.

“I
knew where I was going,” Attie shouted back, glaring at him. “Why can’t you
just go away and leave me alone?”

Rain
plastered her hair to her head, falling in icy sheets as thunder boomed and
lightning lit up the sky. Wind swirled around them with a vengeance, but
neither noticed. Another storm raged and it had nothing to do with the weather.

“Don’t
shut me out.”

She
stared at him, full of pride and defiance. She had no intentions of trusting
him, shutting him out just as she had everyone else, proving once again that
she didn’t need anybody. Noah knew better. He had failed her once and he wasn’t
going to do it again.

“Go
away,” she shouted.

He
leaned in closer until their mouths were only inches apart. “If I go what will
you do? There’s no barn here.”

He
was pushing her, forcing a reaction. He hated to do it, but their lives
depended on it. If they were going to beat Santiago at his own game they needed
to settle the past between them. His timing was bad, but he couldn’t handle
seeing her like this. He wanted in, damn it.

She
tugged at her arm, but he refused to let go.

“That’s
none of your business.”

“It’s
been my business since the day you stepped foot in my classroom.”

The
wind whipped a strand of hair across her cheek where it clung to her skin.
Attie angrily brushed it away. She was unraveling so he gave her one last push
over the edge.

“Where
do you go when you dream, Attie? Tell me.”

The
dam broke and Noah hated himself for pushing her over the edge, but knew no
other way to get through. Pain flashed in her eyes, followed by fury. Her body
went rigid and her fists clenched at her sides.

“You
want to know my secrets, Kincaid?” she taunted. “Because I don’t think you do.
You want to know why I dream of Carlos Santiago and what he did to me?”

She
visibly shook now, but he didn’t touch her, though he wanted to. He wanted to
pull her into arms and hold her. Instead he remained still, hurting for her.

“I
dream of him because he destroyed me and it’s your fault.”

She
was furious now.

“If
you had trusted me to handle Carlos, to do my job, this never would have
happened. Tell me, if I was a man, one of the other agents, would you have sent
Seth in? Would you have undermined their abilities?”

Noah
flinched as she threw the words at him. He never realized…

Attie
wasn’t done. “I could have finished the job. I was so close. You should have
trusted me to finish it. Do you have any idea what you cost me?”

Her
voice wavered on the last sentence, revealing her emotions, and Noah felt the
repercussions clear to his bones. He was getting so much more than he bargained
for, yet she still held back. There was more and he needed to hear it all, no
matter how painful. Christ, he deserved it after what he’d done. He took a step
toward her, saw her flinch, and stopped.

“And
now you may have cost me my brother,” she added in a strangled voice he barely
heard over the wind.

They
stood in the rain staring at each other, both breathing heavily. More of her
hair had come free of its bond and whipped wildly around her face. Her eyes
were wide with emotion and he felt like a bastard for doing this to her. All
he’d done was manage to drive a bigger wedge between them.

He
hadn’t sent Seth in because he didn’t trust her, but because his sixth sense
had kicked into overdrive. If an agent’s cover was compromised in any way, his
first concern was protecting them. The only way he could do that was by pulling
her out or sending someone in to be his eyes and ears. He told himself it was a
professional judgment and not biased by his personal feelings for her, but
couldn’t quite do it. Dammit, he’d done the right thing.

Trying
to explain was out of the question, he knew she wasn’t in a place where she
could listen, so he set the lantern on the ground and stepped back. “Come on,
Devayne, take what you need from me.”

“You
have nothing I need.”

“Oh,
I think I do. Let’s work on your fighting skills before we meet up with
Santiago.”

It
worked. Attie took off her parka and hung it on a tree limb. Then she lunged.
Noah simply allowed her to release her pent up emotions on him, parrying her
blows, challenging her and offering what she needed. She flew at and around him
with skill and agility that impressed him once again. She jabbed with her
fists, kicked and danced as if she were weightless.

The
ground below them grew muddy from rain and their boots. Anyone watching would
no doubt think them crazy to be out in such weather—Noah would have agreed—but
this was important. Attie’s state of mind took precedence over the storm.

Dodging
a jab to his kidney, he put his hands together in a time-out gesture as
lightning flashed overhead. Attie ignored it and trotted toward him. Deflecting
the blow, he said loudly to be heard, “Enough. You’re going to catch
pneumonia.”

Again,
she ignored him.

Annoyed,
he waited for her to turn just like so…and in one swift move spun her into his
arms and trapped her arms at her sides, holding her tight against him.

Green
ice met his stare and her beauty struck him again. Anger never looked so good
on a woman. Raindrops clung to her lashes and slid over the smooth flesh of her
cheeks. Her hair clung like a deep flame to her head and shoulders. She looked
hostile and aggressive and sexy as hell with her eyes flashing, cheeks flushed
and clothes plastered to her lithe body. Her chin jutted out stubbornly.

“I’ll
tell you when I’m done,” she snapped, struggling against him.

“You’re
done.”

Like
a wildcat she fought to be released. She managed to slip an elbow free and
slammed it into his ribs. The same as she had the night he rescued her from
that cell. She’d landed a good blow to his jaw despite her battered state.

“Ouch,”
he growled.

Somehow,
she managed to wrap her leg around his. He tried to stop their descent, but the
ground beneath them was slippery from where they had churned it up with their boots,
and they both went down.

Noah
managed to take the brunt of the fall, banging his elbow on a rock when they
hit. Attie landed on top of him in a tangle of arms and legs and she was more
furious than ever.

“Let
me go.”

“Not
until we finish this.” He clamped an arm around her waist to still her
movements. She collapsed against him, her breath heaving in and out of her
lungs. Her forehead dropped down on his shoulder and he tightened his arm
around her waist. Slim and delicate against him, her curves fitting into his
contours like puzzle pieces.

The
air changed around them. Attie’s breath hitched. Like it or not, the chemistry
was still there. Years of attraction, years of fighting it, broke him. His
control snapped and he lifted his head and captured her mouth in his.

* * * *

Attie
had wondered for a long time what it would be like to be kissed by Noah. Now
she knew. It was like being sucked into another world. A world of pleasure and
hunger and peace. For the first time in a long time she felt her fears and
pains disappear as if they had never existed. They faded into nothing under the
pressure of Noah’s mouth, leaving only erotic sensations she had never
experienced before.

Noah’s
arm tightened on her waist and the other slid up to cup the back of her neck,
his fingers sliding into her hair and sending a warm sensation through her. She
fisted her hands on his shoulders for a moment before flattening and flexing
over hard muscle.

Noah’s
hand splayed on her lower back beneath her shirt, his touch warm on her skin.
She shuddered and pressed closer, wanting to feel his hands on her everywhere.
Her lips parted beneath his and he groaned when their tongues met.

She
could stay in Noah’s arms forever. It was safe and comfortable and she hadn’t
felt either of those things in a long time. Not since the day she went
undercover and certainly not since her return. Unable to think clearly with
Noah’s hand massaging her neck and his lips caressing hers, she shifted and
sank deeper into him, wanting to lose herself in this safe little world he
created. Here, Carlos didn’t exist and her nightmares didn’t haunt her. Here,
she was a whole, healthy woman without scars. Until this moment she hadn’t
realized how much that meant to her.

Her
hands slid beneath Noah’s shirt, seeking warmth, finding that and more. Wet
smooth skin stretched taut over hard muscle. She let her palms glide over his
chest and across his broad, muscular shoulders. Pure, masculine heat radiated
from him into her. She wanted more, needed more. Attie dug her fingers into his
flesh. Beneath her, Noah shifted, rolling her into a more intimate position and
her fingers flexed on his chest. His heart beat wildly beneath her palm,
betraying his true emotion, and empowering her.

She
had waited too long for this. Had she known it would be like this, she would
have thrown her career away long ago. This was a much more pleasurable way to
lose it.

* * * *

Noah
groaned as Attie let her guard down and gave in to the heat of their kiss. He
hadn’t intended for this to happen, hadn’t expected to feel desire, hot and
raw, stab through him. He wanted to roll her beneath him, but couldn’t in their
current location. Desire slammed through him, driving his need for her. His
control slipped more with every second that passed.

Attie
moved sensuously against him. He found his way beneath her layers of clothing
and slid his hand across her bare skin. If he didn’t get closer to her he was
going to explode. For so many years he’d buried his attraction to her, ignored
the need to taste her to see if her kiss was as fiery as her attitude.

He’d
never had a woman imbed herself so far into his psyche that just the thought of
having her made his blood run hot. Attie clung to him as if she wanted to crawl
inside his skin. It drove him closer to the edge.

With
a low growl, he rose until they were sitting and in one motion brought them
both to their feet. He needed to feel her beneath him, taking his full weight,
knowing how much he wanted her. Attie wrapped her legs around his waist, her
hands burrowing into his hair. Their lips devoured, frantic for more of this
thing they’d found.

Noah
carried her to the nearest tree, mindless of the storm, and backed her against
it. Attie gasped and he immediately backed off, thinking he’d hurt her, but she
squeezed her legs around him, urging him closer. She kissed him with a hunger
that he matched with equal measure, the tattered shreds of his control
slipping.

* * * *

Dimly,
Attie was aware of tree bark scraping her back and her pulse pounding in her
head. She had never felt so consumed by need that she felt she might die if she
didn’t have Noah inside her soon…

Noah.

His
name registered through the passion-induced haze in her brain and reality
crashed in. Her safe little world centered on the one man she vowed never to
allow herself to have, for more reasons than she could count.

She
tore her mouth away from his and pushed against his shoulders. He immediately
let her go and set her feet on the ground. She wobbled for a moment before her
legs would hold her, and then stepped back. Noah’s chest rose and fell as if
he’d just finished a 5k run. She was in no better shape, her breathing just as
ragged. He was covered in mud and she realized that he had been out here all
this time in nothing but a t-shirt. He didn’t seem to notice the cold but she
did, felt it clear to her bones, and not just because of the weather. She tried
not to notice the way the fabric clung to his broad chest like a second skin or
that she could count his abs. Standing there in the rain, staring at her with
barely concealed desire, he looked like every woman’s delicious wet dream. Hot.
Hard. Rugged.

What
was she doing? Noah Kincaid wasn’t a fantasy. Not hers anyway. How could she
have betrayed herself like that? Good God, she’d let Noah touch her bare skin
and she’d
liked
the way his hands felt. She’d been one step away from
taking off her clothes and letting him take her right there against a tree.
What a nightmare that would have been. He had seen her in that prison cell, but
not after her body had healed. No man had. And she wasn’t sure any man ever
would. That part of her past wasn’t something she wanted to explain to a lover.
She spent enough time in the past in her nightmares.