The guy holding her shoved her out the pa.s.senger-side door while keeping a tight hold on her hair. Once outside, he yanked her up to his chest, a knife instantly p.r.i.c.king her jugular.

She sucked in a breath and stilled. Fear compressed her lungs.

Sirens trilled in the distance, and smoke billowed up over the surrounding buildings, which blocked her view of the bombed facility.

Her ears rang. The guy behind her panted, his chest hitting her back with each exhale. The grip across her waist bruised, and the knife at her throat hurt.

In front of her, Jory kicked Crooked Nose's gun into the air, where it flew yards away. Nose attacked with a series of punches and kicks-well ch.o.r.eographed. His training evident, he danced easily on his shoes, nailing Jory in the jaw with a solid punch.

Jory changed in front of her eyes. Not anything obvious, but the person she'd met left him, leaving cold gray behind. His jaw hardened, while his shoulders relaxed, his hands dangling by his sides. It was as if humanity had disappeared, leaving a stone-hard killer in its place.

Her breath disappeared, and her eyes widened. The guy holding her trembled.

Crooked Nose punched out, and Jory caught his fist in one hand. No expression marred his fallen-angel face. He twisted.

The loud crack of a bone breaking rent the musty alley. The man shrieked, pain in every syllable.

"Mother of G.o.d," the man holding her muttered.

Jory followed up by a smooth glide into the man to turn him, a thigh kick knocking the guy to one knee. He went for the neck next.

"No," Piper whispered, jagged ice ripping down her throat. Horror should be hot, not cold. Yet she shivered.

Jory pulled up and swiveled his torso, and Crooked Nose's eyes widened right before his neck snapped. He pitched forward, facedown in the asphalt, his head bouncing and his legs kicking up before landing hard and silent. Death clouded the air.

The knife dug into Piper's throat, bringing her back to reality. She could probably reach down and grab the guy's nut sack, but what if he shoved the blade in her throat? She'd bleed out too fast to get help. Even as her mind tried to save her life, she couldn't help but cringe when Jory took three steps toward them.

"Let her go," Jory said, his voice guttural and barely human.

Was it even him in there? She swallowed and tried to focus. Maybe he was some kind of crazy robot. Would he kill her, too?

The guy holding her tried to back away, taking her with him. "Stop there, or I'll slice her neck." The knife dug in deeper, and warmth spread down her neck.

Jory's nostrils flared like a wolf's catching a scent. Then he leaped. One hand slid past her throat for the guy's neck, and the other wrapped around the hand holding the knife.

CRACK.

The guy shrieked and dropped the knife. Jory had broken his hand. How was that even possible?

He pushed her to the side, shoved into the man, lifted him up, and flipped him over his shoulder, somehow holding his head in place. Something loud snapped, and the body went limp. Jory dropped him like a sack of garbage.

He'd just killed three men with his bare hands-easily. Piper backed up, her hands out to ward him off. "Uh."

He stalked toward her, his chin down. So big, so deadly.

She glanced frantically at the ends of the alley. The sirens increased in pitch, no doubt getting closer. But would they see her in the back of the alley? What if they didn't arrive in time? Her knees bunched to flee.

"Don't run." His force remained the same.

She trembled and focused solely on him. "Okay." No way could she outrun him. Was there any way to reason with him? Was he even in there any longer? "Thank you for saving me," she breathed, searching for any sense of humanity or kindness.

He nodded and reached her to spin her around to face the mangled Toyota. Her hands slapped the chilled and crumbled metal. "This is going to hurt," he said in a full Southern accent as he yanked her shirt down over her elbows. Fabric tore, and cold air whipped across her bare skin.

He unsnapped her bra.s.sier clasp.

She cried out softly, too softly. But fear seized her lungs, and breathing became near impossible. "Please, Jory-"

The silver glint of a knife blade caught her eye and trapped the rest of her words in her throat. Her knees wobbled, and she almost went down. Then fire raged through her. She might not be able to beat him, but she sure as h.e.l.l was going to fight until the last second. She kicked back, nailing him in the shin, and then tried to spin around.

He set the wicked knife down. His hands covered hers on the car, and his big body caged her in place. Warmth heated her bare skin from his body, frightening her anew at how close he was. "Please let me go," she whispered, tears blurring her vision.

He leaned over her, enfolding her completely. So much bigger and stronger than anybody she'd ever met. His lips hovered close to her ear. "I'm sorry I scared you. There's a tracker inserted beneath your left shoulder blade, and I have to remove it before we move. Hold still, and I'll be quick."

She bit back a sob. The man was crazier than crazy. "Please, don't."

His big hands pushed hers together, and he flattened them under one of his. His groin pressed hard against her lower back, his legs against her a.s.s, holding her in place. He retrieved the knife. "Hold still, Piper," he murmured.

Nothing could've prevented the whimper that rolled up from her gut.

He stiffened. "I'm sorry." Then the knife cut into her flesh.

Pain flared. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, but tears rolled down her face. He prodded with the knife, and nerves fired along every nerve ending in her back. She whimpered again. "There's nothing in me, Jory. Please stop." She'd beg if it meant survival.

He grunted. Something let loose in her shoulder blade. He stepped back and gently turned her around.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes. In his hand sat a tiny cylinder, silver and covered with blood. "What the h.e.l.l?"

"Tracker." He dropped it to the ground and smashed the device under his heel.

She blinked and shook her head. How was it possible? But she'd seen the device. h.e.l.l-she'd felt him pull it from her body. Realization tried to dawn, and bile rose in her throat. "I don't understand." Her teeth chattered, and she began to shake uncontrollably. She'd cut that shoulder on a chair, and Dr. Madison had st.i.tched her up.

f.u.c.king two-faced b.i.t.c.h. Did her father know? Piper pressed a hand to her roiling stomach. Yeah. He had to have known.

They'd tagged her like a dog. Tears filled her eyes again.

Jory frowned and drew her shirt back up, handing her the ripped ends to cover her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "Get in the SUV, Piper."

A Jeep careened around the far end of the alley, speeding straight for them. Shock kept Piper in place. The car screeched to a stop, and two hulking men jumped out. Gray-eyed men.

"You-your brothers." Piper shook her head, trying to clear the dizziness.

Jory swept her up and strode toward his damaged SUV to set her in the pa.s.senger seat. "Scoot over." Then he turned back around.

The black-haired brother frowned, surveying the scene. "I told you we needed one of them alive."

Jory shrugged. "No choice. Take care of the bodies and the car. I need to get Piper patched up, and then I'll call." He pushed her to the pa.s.senger side and slammed the door, which only partially closed due to the damage.

Piper gulped and peered out the window. Identical frowns marred the rugged faces of the guys outside, and the brown-haired one muttered something that made Jory grin.

At the smile, a buzz of relief spread through Piper's abdomen. "Should we leave them?"

"Yes." Jory ignited the engine. "Matt and Shane can handle the bodies. For now, we need to get somewhere and talk."

She hunched down, her shoulder hurting, her head aching, and her heart f.u.c.king breaking.

CHAPTER.

16.

JORY OUTWARDLY KEPT his gaze on the road while in reality he watched the woman huddled against the door of the vehicle. Her smooth skin had paled, and her hands trembled in her lap.

He'd scared the ever living s.h.i.t out of her.

His hands tightened on the wheel, and his shoulders hunched forward. Yeah. He'd give his left nut to be able to shield her from his true self, but it was too late now.

She'd seen him in action. h.e.l.l. She'd seen him kill.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Piper." Why was he apologizing to her? There was no going back now.

She blinked and wiggled her back against the door frame. "How could he have inserted a tagging device in my shoulder?" The bewildered tone of her voice hit Jory somewhere deep in his gut.

Jory sighed, wanting to lie to her. To tell her that maybe the commander had tagged her to keep her safe. "They don't trust anybody, and every person is merely a p.a.w.n. Even you."

Her eyes narrowed to a deep jade, the usual emerald sparks subdued. "Who were those men you killed?"

He shrugged, eyeing another back street. The noticeable damage in the SUV made them conspicuous, and they had to get away from the public. "I don't know."

She frowned. "Yet you were conveniently in place to smash your car into theirs right after they kidnapped me?"

Now she got suspicious? "No. I was in place to seek you out after work." Yeah, he'd planned to get her help in freeing Chance, and he might've thought about kidnapping her again to do it. But he hadn't considered removing her tracking device until the opportunity arose and he had to get her out of there. "What did those men say to you?" None of this was making any sense.

She sighed. "Just a bunch of nonsense about bringing my father to his knees and ending his unholy quest."

Jory started and glanced at her while turning onto a narrow back road. "They knew the commander was your father?"

"Yes." She shook her head. "I don't know how they knew. There was a hack into the system the other day, but that information can't be in the files, right?"

Who the h.e.l.l knew? "Maybe. So they said they wanted to take the commander down? Unholy quest? Exact words?"

"Yes." She pursed her lips. "All three had PROTECT tattooed somewhere on their bodies."

Unease tingled through his gut. "What does that mean?"

"How the h.e.l.l should I know?"

His burner phone buzzed, and he lifted it to his ear. "Yeah."

"We're in a bigger cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k than we feared," Nate said without preamble.

Weren't they always? "I figured. What's going on?"

"The men who tried to take the woman-"

"Piper. Her name is Piper." Jory took a hard left onto a main road, hoping the window tint hid their faces enough from any cameras.

Nate growled. "Fine. The men who tried to take Piper are part of a crazy group against any genetic manipulation. They've been after the commander for years." He sighed. "We thought we'd taken them out in DC, but it looks like there are more people in the group than we knew."

That's all Jory freakin' needed. "How dangerous are they?"

"They're insane. Apparently they know about your girl and her paternity."

"s.h.i.t." Jory didn't bother to argue the designation of her as his girl. As of the moment, she was his responsibility, and that was just fine with him. "Did Matt take care of the bodies?"

"Yes."

"How bad is the facility?" He couldn't miss Piper's sudden focus on him, and he couldn't blame her for wanting to know about her father, regardless of his betrayal in tagging her without her knowledge. "Any casualties?"

"Yes. Two deaths and several injured-none the commander or Dr. Madison. Right now they're no doubt trying to deal with the publicity of the bombing, so you have a little time before they come looking for Piper."

"If we're lucky, the commander will think the PROTECT group took out her tracker."

"When have we ever been lucky?" With the last shot, Nate hung up.

Good d.a.m.n point. He glanced toward the pale woman. "It looks like your father survived the bombing."

She shuddered and suddenly focused on the rough foliage outside. "Where are we going?"

He could hear her heart speed up, and frankly, he couldn't blame her for being frightened of him, even though he'd lose a limb before he allowed anything to harm her. "Somewhere safe. I'm taking you there to talk, and when we're finished, I promise I'll take you home."

A myriad of expressions crossed her face as she weighed her options, finally resulting in a quick nod and a resigned sigh.

While he appreciated her agreement, he didn't want her giving up or losing that spirit. "I need your help, Piper."

She coughed out a slightly hysterical chuckle. "You're kidding, right?" Crossing her arms across her chest, she pressed her feet to the dashboard and focused outside at the residential subdivisions blurring by.

"I'm not kidding. How's your shoulder?" They needed to get a bandage on it as soon as they arrived.