"That's when I got shot and ended up in a coma. Came out of it three months ago." Jory rubbed his chin and glanced down at her bare chest. The environment shifted again. Tension spiraled around, nipping and sucking. His gaze darkened. "Either put on a shirt or let's take this where we want it to go."

She swallowed. Her body warmed and thrummed. But her mind clicked into gear, and she backed away. "Shirt?"

With a low snarl of impatience, he yanked off his T-shirt and slammed the cotton over her head.

Warmth, spice, and man filled her senses.

Then muscle, hard male, and danger filled her view. "Your chest is freakin' unbelievable." As were his abs.

"Look who's talking," he said, a smile hovering on his full lips, his intensity not diminished a bit.

She eyed the s.e.xy tattoo above his heart. "Freedom. It means everything, right?"

He glanced down and tapped the smooth lines. "All four of us got it when we escaped. You could say it's our family crest."

Sweet. Desperately sweet. She hugged herself and meandered over to sit in a chair. The adrenaline rush of the day was waning, and she needed some balance. More and more she was starting to believe him. Seeing Mara in the flesh, happy and serene, had certainly helped. "You mentioned my a.s.sisting you."

"Chance." Jory crossed the table and dropped into a matching chair. "He and two other boys are at the facility being trained by your father and threatened with death. I need you to get information about them to me so I can get them out. Get them freedom."

"I will." Chills wandered down her back. The back that had until recently held a foreign device without her consent. Her father had lied and basically tagged her like a dog.

Her heart spasmed, bombarded by harsh reality. She'd wanted to trust her father, and she'd wanted to know him. Much like she wanted to know Jory. Could either man be trusted, or were they cut from the same damaging cloth?

Her chest hurt, and she rubbed over her heart.

"The commander only knows cruelty and his own odd sense of destiny, and I'm sorry." Jory leaned both elbows on the table. "I don't want to, but I'll prove it."

"Okay." Her chin lifted.

He dragged a nondescript phone from his back pocket. "Call the commander and tell him you've been taken by PROTECT, and that they want Chance. See what he says."

She eyed the phone and considered the possibilities, her head pounding. "You want me to lie to my father?" It would be taking a side, an absolute one.

"Yes."

"I can't," she breathed, her gaze caught on the innocuous device.

Jory brushed his thumb across her lips, and she looked up. "I wouldn't ask if they weren't kids. They need help."

Tears filled her eyes. Again. "Won't he be able to track me?"

"You won't be on that long."

She swallowed, her gaze on the innocent-looking phone. Making the call, if she was caught, would forever end her relationship with her father. But he had lied to her, and he had inserted a tracking device into her flesh.

Jory slid a warm hand along her jaw. "This sucks, baby, and I know it. The commander is a sociopathic p.r.i.c.k, I'm a stone-cold killer about to die, and neither of us is a good bet. But you have to choose a side, and since I'm dead in three days, you have to choose now. Whatever side you choose, I'll support."

She lifted her head to meet his gaze directly. "If I don't choose you?"

He studied her. "I'll make sure you get home, and I'll get those boys out myself. n.o.body touches you-n.o.body hurts you. My word."

She believed him. Right or wrong, she believed him. "Jory."

"Choose me," he said softly, a strong man who could be so devastatingly gentle.

The words resonated through her, so much meaning encapsulated in them she couldn't breathe.

He waited patiently, his gaze intent.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, her mind spinning through memories of the last week. In the end, in defiance of her impressive brain, she went with her gut, or maybe her heart, which was already full of him. "Fine." Drawing the phone to her ear, she quickly dialed. Somebody had to save those kids.

"Yes," the commander barked.

"It's Piper," she whispered.

Silence for a moment. "Where are you?"

"I don't know." Her voice shook, from the lying and the adjoining confusion. "Some PROTECT group has me, and they want Chance. Why would they want that sweet kid?"

"I don't know. How far away are you?" the commander asked.

"I'm not sure." She lowered her voice. "Is it true? Are you genetically enhancing soldiers?"

He scoffed. "I expect you to get free, and once you do, contact me immediately. Not the police, not your mother, me. It's life or death for our cause here, Piper."

What cause? "I understand. But you didn't answer me about your experiments." Jory nodded, and she frowned back at him.

He sighed loudly. "Obviously you're using their phone. Give it to one of the men who has you."

She blinked at Jory, and he held out his hand. Taking the phone, he pushed the SPEAKER b.u.t.ton. "We'll kill her. You know it. Where are the newest abominations?" His voice emerged thick and with a Middle Eastern accent. If Piper hadn't been watching him, she never would've realized he was the one speaking.

"They're not abominations, and you'll never get to them." The commander growled low. "Release my a.n.a.lyst, or there's nowhere you can hide from me."

"Already hiding. Hand over your creations, or I'll kill your daughter. With great pain." Apology lingered in Jory's eyes, even as he kept up the flawless accent.

"My daughter understands my cause, and if need be, she'll die for it."

Piper shook her head, her eyes widening. She opened her mouth to protest, and only Jory's quick snap of his fingers kept her from speaking.

"Just how far off G.o.d's course have you fallen?" Jory asked, his voice serious while his eyes rolled.

"All the way. What I've created will be the ultimate soldiers-beyond anything created by the G.o.d you love so much," the commander said.

Piper's mouth fell open. Now it sounded like he was taking full responsibility. "Is your program sanctioned by the government, or have you gone rogue?" Her voice thickened with tears.

"Stop asking stupid questions," the commander ordered.

Fine. How about a more direct question? She sucked in air. "They cut a silver tracking device out of my shoulder. Want to explain?"

He hitched in a breath. "No. Now tell them to let you free, or I'll send my best men after you."

"Why don't you f.u.c.king come get me?" Her temper exploded, erasing the hurt.

He sighed. "You'll be safe soon. Don't worry about your mother, as I'll leave her a message that you're working late and won't be home tonight."

Yeah. That'd go over like an anvil to the head.

Piper's gut hurt. Tears p.r.i.c.ked the backs of her eyes. The fantasy she'd harbored of her father wafted away like mist in a storm. He was a monster, and he didn't care about her. Plus, he'd created soldiers on his own. No way was the government involved in that program.

Jory winced and then continued. "You made your choice, old man. Your daughter dies." He ended the call.

Piper sat back, her mind spinning. "You're not going to kill me."

"No."

Was her mother safe? Piper jumped up and rushed for the door. She had to get home.

Jory was on her that quickly, his back to her front, his hands caging her against the light-colored oak. Slowly, he turned her around. "I can't let you leave, either."

She shoved him back an inch. He pushed back, and being stronger, she ended up plastered against his hard frame, the door firm against her back. "You can't stop me."

His gaze morphed into something new. Not anger, not interest, not amus.e.m.e.nt. What was that?

Her breath caught. Determination. Hard, male, iron-clad determination.

He leaned down, his gaze right above her. "You made the choice, baby, and you chose me. Period."

CHAPTER.

17.

WARMTH CAGED HER, and Piper's knees wobbled. "You can't keep me here."

"We both know that's not true." Jory's lips hovered near her right ear, spiraling along her neck. "Just for the night, and I promise I won't touch you."

"Then?" She cleared her throat to sound in control.

"Then you're going to escape your PROTECT captors and head back to the compound. I'd appreciate it if you'd get me information on Chance and the other boys, but if you don't, I'll go another route. The commander believed you, so you're not in danger."

She kept perfectly still so as not to brush up against him. "How do you know?"

"I can hear a lie. Easily." Jory's lips enclosed the top of her ear.

Her knees wobbled, and her eyes closed. "n.o.body can hear a lie."

"You trusted me, so I'm trusting you. Whatever the scientists did to me in those petri dishes gave me extra abilities. I can hear and see beyond normal, and I can detect wave patterns even in air."

She tried to focus with his heated breath against her neck. "That's impossible."

"I can also use pheromones to increase s.e.xual tension." His lips wandered down her jugular.

"Right." She tipped her head back to allow him more room.

"Pay attention to your body," he whispered against her collarbone.

Heat flared through her, vibrating with intensity, shimmering from her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to her c.l.i.t. Hunger edged into a craving that forced her to flatten her hands against his chest. Her heart thundered, and her lungs overheated.

Desire. Red hot and devastating.

She opened her eyes, her vision blurring and then clearing. "How?"

The warmth in the air caressing her skin slowly dissipated. "Don't know, just can." His gaze dropped to her lips.

Even though he'd halted the sensual attack, her body thrummed, primed and ready. She shook her head. "Don't use that on me again. Ever."

"Don't need to." He grinned. "And you know it."

True. Definitely true. "Why do you have a Southern accent sometimes?"

He stilled. "We were raised in Tennessee, and the accent gets loose every once in a while."

The tenor melted her panties. Easily. Her mind turned to the crazy plan. "I have to escape tonight and get back to the computers to save you." A large clock shaped like a bird ticked in the corner, each second a harsh reminder of the kill chip in Jory's spine.

"No. Not until tomorrow." He caressed down to nip her earlobe. "Too easy. And we need time to hide the bodies so they won't be found. Right now, you're safer here than if you returned home too quickly."

Her nipples sc.r.a.ped against his chest, and she whimpered. "What about my mother?"

"Matt is keeping an eye on her house, on her, and on her neighbor. He won't let anything happen to the people you love. I promise."

Pure truth echoed in the low tone. Piper shook her head, her body moving against his. Her nipples brushed his chest, even through the shirt he'd tossed over her head, and this time, he groaned. "You're the real deal, aren't you?" she asked, finally accepting the truth.

"I'm afraid so." Sadness and a lingering regret glimmered in his odd gray eyes.

Man. Weird as it felt, she'd give anything to comfort him. To give him some sense of hope. "I have to get back to the computer."

He shook his head. "No, you don't. My brothers have the program, and I can figure out the code to save them."