"You don't have to." His chin lowered. "But if they don't come back, we can't deactivate the chips, and they die very soon. In addition, if you don't reconnect Jory's chip, he dies. Painfully."

Tears filled her eyes. "I don't know you."

"No. But I'm not the bad guy here. For now, focus." He leaned back. "Unless you think you can help them without my resources?"

She slowly shook her head. "No." The computers and program at the facility surpa.s.sed most systems across the globe.

"Piper."

She looked up and at her father, confusion and pain plucking at her thoughts. "Yes?"

"I know we haven't been close, but I am your father. You can trust me. I had to lie to you, and while you probably don't accept our methods here, they're necessary to keep the country safe. We've done a lot of good." He kept her gaze evenly, his dark eyes intent. "Learn to trust me. Please."

She swallowed and nodded, once again standing up. How was she going to get Chance and the younger boys to freedom? She wouldn't let them be used as killers. "I understand."

"Good. I, ah, enjoyed dinner the other night and hope we can do it again."

She faked a smile. "I'd like that." Maybe there was a chance with her father, away from work, but she doubted it. She didn't know him, and what she discovered didn't feel very good.

He sighed. "Even though you're angry with me, please think clearly. Jory isn't a good man, and part of that is my fault. We trained him to manipulate and kill. He's been manipulating you-probably because you're my daughter."

"Has he?" She shook her head.

"Yes. Like I said, s.e.xual manipulation is one of his strongest skills."

She turned toward the door, her chest aching. "I have to get back to work." What was the truth? Could everybody be using her? She paused at the doorway as if just curious. "Why didn't you retake Jory last night instead of recording us together?"

Silence. Then another sigh behind her. "Because I want his brothers as well, and if he's out, he'll lead me right to them."

No response was necessary for that statement, so she didn't give one. She exited the room, her brain spinning. The short walk didn't help, and soon she stared at her keyboard, not sure where to begin, especially since Chance was gone. Where the h.e.l.l had he gone? She had more questions for him.

Well, she was a hacker. Maybe she could get into the military files and find the information she needed. Was she brave-or stupid-enough to hack into the U.S. military servers to see if there really was a program? It was the only way to see if her father worked alone or not.

High heels clopped down the hallway, and Dr. Madison entered the room. "The commander asked me to bring you this." She set a computer disk on the desk.

Piper glanced at the innocuous silver disk, her blood boiling for a good fight. "What is it?"

"Knowledge." Dr. Madison's blue eyes narrowed behind gla.s.ses, and she shoved black hair out of her face. As usual, she wore a lab coat, her tablet sticking out of a pocket. She had to be in her fifties, but the woman looked younger. Ageless, really. "I'm sure it'll help you in deciding whom to trust." Latent sarcasm tipped the words.

What a complete b.i.t.c.h. Piper leaned back in her chair. "You don't like me, do you, Dr. Madison?"

"I don't find a real use for you." Dr. Madison leaned against the door frame. "Franklin and his sentimentality have truly shocked me, to be honest."

Right. Because he was such an emotional guy. But... maybe the snotty doctor could help in that regard. If Piper didn't get some real answers, she was going to go crazy. "You've known my father a long time. Right?" Yeah. She purposefully called him that.

The doctor's perfectly symmetrical nostrils flared. "Yes, and we've been close that entire time."

Anybody with half a brain could tell they'd been lovers. Probably long-term lovers. "He doesn't seem that emotional."

"He's brilliant." Dr. Madison sniffed.

"I'd just like to be able to see beyond the mask, you know?" Piper mused.

Dr. Madison licked her pink lips, her gaze narrowing. "You silly girl. What you see is what is there. The man doesn't have a mask."

Irritation clawed down Piper's back. "n.o.body is that hard and emotionless."

The doctor glanced at her phone. "Keep telling yourself that." She turned on a four-inch heel and clicked away.

What a freaking witch. Piper eyed the silent disk. Somehow, she just knew this wasn't going to be good. But she slipped the disk into her optical drive and slowly opened it.

A word doc.u.ment, a bunch of pictures, and a video lined up. She leaned forward. Interesting. A couple of keystrokes, and the word doc.u.ment opened. Jory's picture sat in the left top corner. His black hair was shaped in a buzz cut, and his eyes lacked the warmth she'd seen in them. He looked younger-maybe the photo had been taken six years or so ago. Mission parameters were set forth next to the picture. The soldier was to make contact with Mara Jorge, a Las Vegas showgirl with ties to a local mobster. Seriously? This wasn't even the Chechnya file.

Her skin heating, Piper opened the pictures into a slide show to see different shots of Jory with a stacked blonde. A blonde with gorgeous blue eyes, perfect bone structure, and a dancer's body. Slim and sinewed. As he squired her everywhere from a park to a museum to a show, Jory wore Armani. Even with the short hair, he looked amazing-strong and virile in the expensive suit.

He and the woman seemed close, and his hand often rested at the small of her back or on her arm. His smile seemed to be for her only.

A surprising pang pierced Piper's heart. Was she that easy to fool?

When the slide show ended, she took a deep breath. All right. In for a penny...

The video opened up to show a plush hotel suite with a sparkling view of the Vegas strip. The woman wore a long red gown, and Jory wore a black suit, an amber-colored drink in his hand.

"You're beautiful, Mara," he murmured, his gaze hot. "Lose the dress."

The woman laughed, her voice low and throaty. Slowly, as if drawing out the moment, she slid the dress to the floor, leaving her nude. Perfectly in shape, nicely muscled, dancer nude. "If he had any idea you're here, he'd kill us both."

Jory set his drink down and tugged free his tie. "I'll protect you."

Mara chuckled. "You sound so sure, for a stockbroker."

Jory grinned, not revealing anything in his handsome face. "You're special and worth killing for. Don't ever forget it." His clothes joined hers on the floor.

If Piper hadn't known better, if she hadn't seen the doc.u.ments about the mission, she would've believed he was entranced. Willing and falling in love. Something in her solar plexus ached. Even so, she couldn't help but marvel at his amazing physique. Hard, muscled, so d.a.m.n tough-lacking the three new scars or new tattoo across his chest.

She should turn off the video.

Yet she watched the couple fall to the bearskin rug. Watched as Jory took the woman, soft and gentle. Treating her as something precious.

Three f.u.c.king times.

Finally, the blonde fell asleep in front of the fire.

Jory stood and stretched, no expression on his brutal face. But something burned in those eyes. Lava and regret? He covered the woman with a sofa blanket and tugged his pants back on. Glancing around, he stalked to a laptop sitting near the window and punched in keys, seeming unconcerned for the woman sleeping on the rug.

After several more moments, he shut down the computer. Must've stolen whatever information he needed.

The video was a little grainy, but soon Jory looked up at the camera, and now, years later, Piper drew back. She shook her head. This was from the past.

Jory nodded.

The screen went black.

Blood rushing through veins in her head roared sound through Piper's ears. Her taste in men truly, truly, truly sucked. Not only was her father a world-cla.s.s liar, but Jory was a master manipulator.

She clenched her teeth, and her stomach burned. How screwed up was she? A part of her, deep down, searched for a way to make Jory the hero. Proof that the DVD had been doctored. But it hadn't. She could tell. Her father and Jory were two of a kind, and they both lied and manipulated people. Even worse, Jory had probably learned his skills at the commander's knee. She didn't mean a thing to either of them.

She was alone again.

CHAPTER.

15.

PIPER FINISHED OUT her workday in a trance, cursing her own stupidity. How in the h.e.l.l could she have been so wrong? Even now, she tried to find a rational explanation for what she'd seen. Besides Jory's ability to go the distance three times. With a mental shake, she shoved the image of his hard a.s.s out of her mind.

The guy was a professional liar, and she'd been had. Worse yet, she'd been used. Kind of. Could a guy use you if he didn't o.r.g.a.s.m? Of course, that certainly had gained her trust.

Apparently he'd learned more from the commander than she had.

As she exited the building to the parking lot, her phone rang. She glanced down and sighed at seeing Brian's smiling face cover the screen. Why wouldn't he give up?

At this point, she'd believe any explanation. Maybe Brian, Jory, and the commander were in it together like some weird spy movie. But Brian needed to get lost and maybe get some anger management therapy or something. Either way, he wasn't her problem.

At the moment, she was heading home to check on her mother, eat dinner, and then come back to work. The time clicked quicker and quicker, and she only had a short time to figure out the damaged kill chip.

She reached her car, and the earth shattered.

Warmth rushed over her. She ducked and cried out. A rush of heat slammed into her, nearly burning her skin. Fear poured through her veins.

Turning almost in slow motion, she caught fire billowing from the building. Her keys dropped. Several car alarms began to blare. Her knees shaking, she took a step toward the door, only to have another explosion knock her onto her b.u.t.t. Pain ricocheted up her spine, and the concrete chilled her skin. She scrambled up, her breath panting.

A man shouted from the other end of the lot. "There she is."

She turned, the air wheezing from her panicked lungs. Three men, all running-two with guns. s.h.i.t. Pointed toward her.

All instinct, she turned and ran through cars, trying to reach the main street. The quiet street in an industrial part of town. Warehouses and storage units lined the road, and in the chilly air, n.o.body lounged about. Running bootsteps came closer.

How many people had been hurt in the blast?

With a sob, she shrugged out of her long coat to allow more freedom. Her boots weren't the best for running, but at least the heel was short. Her brain shrieked a message to run, so she did. Ducking her head against the wind, she pumped her hands and feet as hard as her cold breath would allow. If she could just reach the corner, she could turn onto a much busier thoroughfare.

Fear propelled her, and adrenaline increased her speed.

From the corner of her eye, she caught movement on the other side of the street.

Solid arms grabbed her at the waist, and she flew forward in a tackle. Her knees. .h.i.t first, followed by her hands. Instant pain. Even so, she couldn't stop her face from smacking the frosty concrete and turned to the side so only one cheek took the impact. Pain exploded through her head, and she moaned, shocked into stilling.

"I've got her." Thick fingers banded around her upper arms and yanked her to stand. The world spun around, and she tried to settle her stance. Bile rose in her throat. She gulped it down, blinking to focus as the hands whipped her around.

The guy who'd tackled her wore a tight T-shirt over tattoos. Many tattoos. A scar crossed over his many-times broken nose, and calculation filtered through his brown eyes. "You run again, and I'll knock you out." A slight accent colored his words, but she couldn't quite place it. He shoved his gun into his waistband. The hand on her arm tightened until she could almost feel bruises forming, so she nodded.

The other guy jogged across the street. "Nice tackle." This one had nearly white hair, green eyes, and pocked skin. A tat along his forearm matched the one on crooked nose's neck. PROTECT.

Now that wasn't creepy in the slightest.

A small Toyota lurched to a stop, and Crooked Nose opened the back door. She couldn't get in there. Pivoting on one aching heel, she kicked him square in the gut. Her foot landed, and she turned to flee.

Fingers clawed her hair and yanked her back. Raw agony ripped along her scalp, popping down her back. The other guy moved fast. She yelled, her arms swinging, until he cracked his knuckles across her already pounding cheek. Stars flashed behind her eyes, and she coughed out a sob.

Using her hair for leverage, he threw her into the car. Her forehead smacked into the far door, and pain filled her cheek. She scrambled to sit. He sat next to her, manacling a hand around her arm while Crooked Nose jumped into the front seat next to a stocky man with a black goatee. The PROTECT tattoo wound down the side of his neck and disappeared into his shirt.

"Go," the guy next to her ordered.

The driver torpedoed the car away from the curb and toward the main road.

Piper struggled, trying to reach for the door handle. They were crazy if they thought she wouldn't fight. Wherever they wanted to take her wasn't good, so she needed to get out. Now.

A huge SUV barreled out of the nearest alley, headed straight for the pa.s.senger side of their vehicle. She gasped in shock at Jory at the wheel, leaning forward, his gaze intent. He held a phone to one ear, obviously bellowing out orders to somebody.

"s.h.i.t," her driver screamed, yanking the car up onto the sidewalk. Sparks flew as they sc.r.a.ped against a chain-link fence. Swearing, he turned the wheel onto a wide alley between two metal industrial buildings. Jory drove up next to them, slamming into garbage cans and sending them spiraling away.

Piper slapped her hands on the back of the seat, trying not to pummel into it. "Who the h.e.l.l are you people?" she yelled.

The guy next to her slid down his window and pushed the barrel of his gun out. "We're G.o.d's right hand, b.i.t.c.h. Soldiers directed to take down your father and finish his unholy quest." He fired, and bullet holes sprayed the front of Jory's silver SUV.

How in the h.e.l.l had they found her connection to the commander? It couldn't have been in the files that were just hacked, could it? Had to be.

Taking a deep breath, Piper shoved the guy into his door, and his face smacked the window frame with a satisfying thunk. He bellowed and threw an elbow back into her shoulder.

Hurt swelled. She cried out and fell back, already swinging her legs up to kick.

He growled and half turned to swat at her, his weapon still out the window.

Jory creased into the right front side of the vehicle with a terrifying thud, shoving it across the road and onto the opposite curb. Piper screamed and rocked into her door. Gla.s.s shattered, and she ducked her head to avoid getting cut. The pa.s.senger-side door was ripped away, and the guy next to her disappeared. She blinked and scrambled over gla.s.s shards for the gaping doorway, seeing Jory twist the guy's neck with a loud pop. The guy dropped, his eyes blank.

The driver gripped her hair and yanked her over the front seat. Pain a.s.saulted her scalp. She fought, kicking and screaming, yet landed hard on the console between the two seats just as Jory tore Crooked Nose from the front seat. Grunting and the impact of flesh hitting flesh echoed followed by pained gasps.