The Renegade Hunter (7 page)

"Oh God," Jo gasped, curling her fingers into the hair at the back of his head. This was... this was... She gave up trying to think what this was when his teeth and tongue came into action, his teeth catching the tender nipple and holding it as his tongue rasped over the sensitive nub.

Damn he was good, Jo thought, and she, who had never had a one-night stand in her life, decided they needed to move into one of the cells and put the cot to good use. Now, she thought as his leg suddenly slid between both of hers, rubbing against her and raising their

passion to a whole new level. Growling with need, Jo tugged at his hair, demanding he stop what he was doing and kiss her before she absolutely exploded right there on the spot.

Nicholas let her nipple slip from his mouth and lifted his head at once to claim her lips, but his kiss was less than soothing. His tongue thrust into her mouth in imitation of what she was beginning to desperately hope would follow on that cot, and his hand replaced his mouth at her breast, his thumb and finger plucking gently and then rubbing soothingly.

"Nicholas," Jo gasped when he broke the kiss to run his mouth along her cheek to her ear. "I need... ohh," she moaned as he rubbed his leg against her more firmly. "Yes... I... what's that?"

He stilled at once and then turned his head toward the end of the hall, where muffled voices could be heard..

"Christ," Nicholas muttered, and they broke apart at once, both of them quickly straightening their clothes.

Jo started to slide into the empty cell beside them then, her only thought to hide. But Nicholas caught her hand and

shook his head and tugged her behind him as he started up the hall, saying,

"They're in the garage."

"What are you doing?" Jo hissed with alarm when she realized they were moving toward the voices.

Nicholas merely glanced back and placed a silencing finger to his lips and then continued forward, staying close to the wall.

Jo closed her eyes briefly, thinking the man must be mad, but followed silently. They were nearly to the end of the hall before they could see the men in the other part of the building. Two of the six garage doors were open, the nearest one and the one farthest away. Three men stood talking in the open far door behind one of the SUVs. Jo recognized Bricker and two of the men she'd been introduced to at the party tonight.

"What-?" she began, but Nicholas pressed a finger to her lips.

"Wait here," he whispered, and then was gone.

Jo glanced around with confusion that only grew when she saw him disappearing into the office, still in a crouch. The man moved fast. She had barely turned to peer worriedly back into the garage when he was suddenly beside her again, slipping something into his pocket.

"My receiver," he explained. "They took it when they locked me up."

"What's a receiver?" Jo asked with confusion and then shook her head. That didn't really matter at this point. She was more concerned about getting caught and hissed in a whisper, "Bricker could come in here. We need to hide."

Nicholas shook his head. "I need to leave."

"What? But-" Jo began with alarm, and then gasped in surprise as Nicholas dropped to his haunches, pulling her down beside him so that they were out of sight.

"This is the only way I'm going to get out of here," he said gently, raising a hand to brush his fingers lightly along her cheek.

Jo frowned. "But-"

This time he silenced her by kissing her quickly, and it was quick, just a swift brushing of his lips over hers. Nicholas then pulled back and whispered, "Thank you for freeing me."

Jo tried to speak, but he shifted his thumb to cover her lips and added,

"They'll probably wipe your memory of me when

they realize you still have it, but I want you to know I'll never forget you...

and if you ever need me, I'll be there."

Nicholas then kissed her again, another gentle brushing of lips, and Jo let her eyes drift closed. When she opened them, he was already gone, slipping through the door to the garage in a crouch.

"Crap," Jo whispered with dismay, and waited for the inevitable shout as he was spotted. When no shout came, she hesitated and then moved swiftly to the door in a crouch. She took a deep breath and began to ease it open, freezing when it was still merely cracked and she spotted Nicholas on the floor beside the first SUV, slipping under the vehicle. She watched until he disappeared and then started to rise, thought better of it, and instead eased the door closed again and moved at a crouch into the office. Once in the safety of the shadows there, she raised herself up to peer through the windows into the garage.

Jo was just in time to see the men finish their conversation and break apart.

Bricker immediately headed out of the

garage and out of sight, but one of the two remaining men moved to the SUV they'd been standing behind while the other crossed the garage to the vehicle she'd seen Nicholas disappear under.

Jo watched as first the far vehicle backed

out and disappeared from view, but when the nearer vehicle did as well and the two doors began to drop closed, Jo quickly moved to peer out the window that overlooked the backyard.

By that time the first SUV had already turned itself around and headed up the drive, but she was in time to watch the second SUV do the same, and Jo bit her lip, scanning the bottom of the vehicle for any sign of Nicholas, but it was dark out and, if he was there, she couldn't see him.

That thought made her rush out of the office to the door leading into the garage. Jo pushed it open and peered at the empty spot where the first SUV had been, then ran along the vehicles just to be sure, but Nicholas wasn't there. Pausing at the end of the garage, she leaned weakly against the wall for a moment, hardly able to believe he was gone. But then she just as quickly straightened and started back along the garage, telling herself that she shouldn't be shocked that he'd left so abruptly, it was how he'd entered her life. Besides, what had she expected? Declarations of undying love because

she'd set him free and kissed him a couple of times? A marriage proposal? A happily-ever-after?

Jeez, she needed to get a grip, Jo thought with self-disgust. The guy was a rogue. He probably kissed gals all the time...

loads of them... and a lot of kisses each. The guy had certainly been good at it, and you didn't get that good without lots of practice, she was sure.

Sighing, she headed for the door, intending to leave, but then decided she'd best wait. If she was spotted coming out of the building, they'd probably check the cells and find Nicholas was gone, then stop the vehicles, and he'd be caught once more. If that happened, Jo definitely didn't think she'd be allowed anywhere near the garage again.

If she even remembered Nicholas, Jo thought with a frown as she recalled his saying that once they knew he was missing they'd realize she had her memories back and probably wipe them again. She didn't like that idea at all. Wiping her memory... How had they done that? Jo didn't doubt for a minute that they had, but how they'd done it was what bothered her.

It must be some sort of machine, she thought, and turned to peer first into the office and then toward the garage, wondering if she should search for a possible machine that might be used for that. It would help her kill some time while she waited to give Nicholas the chance to get away... and if she found it, Jo thought grimly, she'd destroy it and keep her damned memory, thank you very much.

Jo started in the office, feeling her way through the room like a blind woman on an Easter egg hunt. It was a great relief to finish in there and move into the lit areas of the building. She was heading for the garage when she recalled the tools she'd left outside the cell. Jo turned in that direction and hurried up the hall to collect them. She then carried them into the garage and quickly replaced them where she'd found them before starting a search of the garage.

Jo was quicker about this search. The light in the garage made it easier, but she was also hurrying more. She was sure Nicholas was probably off the property by now. The only thing that kept her there was the possibility of finding the

machine they used to wipe memories, but the fact was Jo didn't really have a clue what she was looking for. She had no idea what it looked like or even how big it was. For all she knew it was a shot of some drug that was given to make the person more susceptible to suggestion and that the suggestion was then given to the person to forget all about certain things.

When she reached the end of the garage without finding anything, Jo decided she'd have to give it up and head inside.

She moved to the nearest garage door and rose up on tiptoe to peer out.

When she found the yard was again empty, Jo

made her way quickly back into the entry hall and then to the door. , She slid it open just enough to slip out, and then drew it closed and started quickly across the yard at a jog that was a flatout run by the time she reached the house.

What Jo really wanted to do was to walk around the house, get in her car, and get the heck out of there before it was discovered Nicholas was missing, but she couldn't. She'd ridden in with Alex. It was all right though, she reassured herself. Nicholas had told her that Mortimer would never hurt her or Sam.

So she would stay as planned, wait for

Nicholas's absence to be discovered, and face the music like a grown-up.

Although, Jo thought, she really would rather just get the hell out of there.

While Mortimer might not hurt her, he was

definitely not going to be pleased that she'd let Nicholas go and she wasn't looking for ward to his anger when he figured out she'd been the one to help him.

Grimacing at this sudden streak of cowardice running through her, Jo shook her head and slid into the house. She could hear voices coming from somewhere at the front of the house. It sounded like Sam and Mortimer talking, and Jo found herself glancing at the kitchen clock as she moved through the room. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw that it was nearly three a.m. Her surprise wasn't because it was that late, but because it was that early. While it had been after midnight when she'd stepped outside for a walk, so much had happened since then that Jo wouldn't have been surprised to find it was nearly dawn. It felt like she'd lived a lifetime in the past few hours.

She moved silently up the hall to the stairwell, her heart beating a rapid tattoo, and was relieved when she made it up the stairs without encountering anyone. Jo was just thinking she'd get to her room and be able to avoid all this business until morning when the front door suddenly opened behind her. Freezing on the top stair, Jo turned and glanced down toward the door, a sudden wave of wariness rolling over her as she saw the man entering. Tall, blond, and grim as death, he had already spotted her before he lifted his first foot over the threshold, and he was looking at her with the same intense stare she'd suffered all night as Sam had introduced her to the men at the party.

Jo shifted uncomfortably under his piercing glare, her eyes sliding to the door of her guest room and the haven it offered, but before she could move, the blond said, "Come downstairs, Josephine. I need to decide what to do with you."

Jo blinked at him in surprise, startled that the stranger knew her name, and then her gaze slid to the doorway to the living room as Mortimer suddenly appeared there.

"Lucian?" he said with surprise and then glanced to Jo at the top of the stairs. He frowned when he spotted her. "Jo? You should be asleep. What are you doing still up?"

"She just came from setting Nicholas free," the man Mortimer had called Lucian announced.

Jo's jaw dropped at the words, and then her eyes shifted to Mortimer as he cursed and started up the hall toward the back of the house.

"Don't bother," Lucian growled, bringing him to a halt. "He's long gone."

Mortimer turned back, and then moved quickly to the door of the living room as Sam appeared there, her worried gaze seeking out Jo.

"Josephine Lea Willan. What have you done?" Sam asked with alarm, and Jo grimaced at the use of her full name. She knew she was in trouble when Sam brought out the big guns, and using the full name had always been considered a big gun in their home while growing up.

"I set him free," Jo said defiantly. "And why shouldn't I? I don't know what the hell's going on here, but Mortimer had no right to lock up Nicholas like he's some criminal. He's not a cop or anything, and Nicholas didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh, Jo," Sam breathed, and then leaned into Mortimer when he slid an arm around her waist. Jo couldn't help but notice, though, that her sister's worried gaze was on this Lucian, person, as if her main concern was what he might do.

Mortimer was also looking at the man, appearing to await something from him, Jo noted, and reluctantly turned her own gaze his way. It appeared this Lucian was the one in charge. A pity, she decided. He looked like a big meanie and his glare was making it hard for her to hold on to her defiance and not fidget nervously like a teenager caught returning after curfew.

"She is Nicholas's life mate," Lucian said suddenly.

Mortimer cursed and Sam muttered, "Oh crap," but Jo scowled at the man and asked, "What is a life mate?" She'd heard the term before from Mortimer and Bricker, but that had been in reference to Sam. She had just assumed it was the same thing as a girlfriend and she definitely didn't feel she could call herself Nicholas's girlfriend. A couple of kisses did not a girlfriend make.

Much to her annoyance the man remained silent, his gaze solemn and intent, and Jo found herself grinding her teeth with frustration. Really, Mortimer had seemed all right up north in cottage country, but she was beginning to rethink her opinion of him. If a person was judged by his friends, he must be a weirdo because his friends were certainly strange.

A sudden snort of laughter slid from Lucian and he stopped staring at her to turn to Sam. "I like her. She's feisty like my Leigh. Tell her she may go to bed."