Shane shook his head. "There has to be a way to reach it. To get it out." His hands clenched into fists.

"Sure. We can have Laney try to take it out without the codes and hope it's defunct." But Jory doubted it could be that easy. "Although she may detonate the chip at that point, and I'm not sure how much of a blast will occur." Just enough to sever his spine, hopefully.

"You. Are. Not. Going. To. Die." Matt spoke slowly and through clenched teeth. "So figure it out, genius."

"I need Piper," Jory said.

Matt nodded. "Later."

Jory couldn't help the small grin, even with tension destroying the oxygen around them. "Not for that. I need her on the computer next to me. Woman's a freakin' wonder."

"Oh." Matt nodded. "What about the rest of us?"

Jory shook his head. "Two of us are all I need to find the right codes."

"Okay." Matt stepped away and pulled Jory's chair out from under the desk. "Get to work. I want to check on the boys and then will get Piper. Shane, you get on the third computer and ferret out everything you can about the PROTECT group and where they took Dr. Madison. We need to find that b.i.t.c.h before she tells them everything."

"And me?" Nate asked, his gaze remaining on Jory.

Matt nodded toward the stairway. "Go check on Audrey and the baby before coming back down. Your mind has to be in this, Nate."

"It is." Nate crossed solid arms.

"Then go check on her for me." Matt turned toward the stairwell. "This is my first nephew or niece, and all of this morning sickness is scary."

Nate visibly relaxed. "Oh. Well, okay. I'll take her some ginger ale."

Shane rolled his eyes at Jory.

Jory smiled. "Just in case, I have to tell you guys-"

"No." Matt strode toward the stairs. "There's no thank-yous, no plat.i.tudes, no good-byes. No more f.u.c.king good-byes. I am so done with that s.h.i.t and with all of us sacrificing our lives. We're f.u.c.king done, and we'll all f.u.c.king live. The first guy who tells me good-bye ever again, even if he's just going to the f.u.c.king grocery store, gets a fist planted in his f.u.c.king face." He disappeared once upstairs.

Jory retook his seat and glanced at Shane. "That went well."

Shane shook his head. "There's no Dean brothers without you, Jory." His gaze turned stark. Dark and unlike Shane. "So whatever we have to do... we do it. Never alone." They'd lived and nearly died by the mantra from childhood. They didn't have a father, definitely no mother. But no matter what, they'd always have each other.

Emotion clogged Jory's throat, and he turned back to the computer screen. "Never alone."

Piper finished toweling off her wet hair and stepped into the bedroom, stifling a scream at seeing a man sitting on the bed.

"Sorry," Matt Dean said, not looking sorry at all.

Thank goodness she'd dressed in her jeans and one of Jory's shirts after her shower. Jory's big brother was made of solid muscle with a hard-a.s.s face. Handsome but deadly.

He was the kind of guy who'd put you in the ground and whistle while doing so-if he felt like whistling.

"Can I help you?" she asked as evenly as she could.

"Yes. Can you save Jory?" Matt asked, all bada.s.s soldier and, she could admit it, Dean brother s.e.xy. He sat quietly, but his hands clenched into fists on his thighs.

She took a deep breath. "I don't know, but I'd like to keep trying." Turning, she tossed the towel behind her onto the bathroom counter. "There are different frequencies still to find. But the risk is that the chip is dead, and what if I reactivate it?"

Matt rubbed his chin and stood to pace around the room. "The frequencies of the chips are too low for even us to discern, so first we need to find out if the chip is dead."

"Yes." This would all be so much easier to deal with if the chip had gone inactive.

"Okay." Matt stopped moving and towered. He probably didn't mean to tower, but with the serious expression and his size, he just did. "Your focus, no matter what Jory says, is to work on his chip."

Piper frowned, even while her heart gave a happy hop. It was nice to have an ally in saving Jory's life. "Jory wants to save you three and then concentrate on his chip."

Matt nodded, and granite had nothing on his jaw. h.e.l.l. Granite was Jell-O compared to this man's jaw. "Jory can keep working on the codes, because his brain is there now, and I can't pull him away from the puzzle if I wanted. He's motivated, and I understand that since I'd die for him, too, but you're motivated to save him, not me."

Actually, she'd like to save them all.

Matt cleared his throat, hard gaze softening. He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels like a kid unsure of himself. "Since your mother is the one who shot him and nicked his chip..."

Piper put her hands on her hips as her face heated. "There's no need to try guilt in motivating me."

Matt peered down a very long way. He blinked and seemed to hold his breath. "What does motivate you?"

She paused. He was d.a.m.n serious. "Why?"

"Because I'll do whatever it takes. Money? Long life? Tour of the world? You ask for it, and I'll do it-if you save my brother." His voice cracked, and steel-filled determination glittered in his eyes along with a heartbreaking fear. Just like that, Matt seemed human. Frightened and determined.

Piper touched his arm, offering comfort. "I want to save Jory because he's Jory. But the second he realizes I'm working on his chip and not yours, he'll get p.i.s.sed."

Matt moved a shoulder the size of a boulder. "Jory doesn't get p.i.s.sed-he gets even."

Why did that sound worse? Even more, why did Matt sound so proud of that fact, even while in sorrow? "I'm not sure how to respond to that."

"No response necessary. Just saying that Jory will take action when he needs to... and if he's alive, you can handle him then, don't you think?" Matt clasped his hands behind his back, his lips twitching. "You love him, right?"

Her mouth opened and then closed. She swallowed. "I've known him less than a week."

"So?"

"So a week is too fast to fall in love." Her voice emerged way too wimpy to deal with a guy like Matt Dean, even as she told the lie.

"Ah." Amus.e.m.e.nt lit his eyes. "Our lives have been surrounded by death from the beginning. We faced it, we fought it. h.e.l.l, we've even dealt it. Time doesn't mean a d.a.m.n thing. If you've got something good, fight for it."

She bit her lip even though she agreed with every word. "You're still trying to motivate me."

"How am I doing?"

"You're kind of impossible." She smiled. "But likable."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. I'm the nice one." He didn't crack a smile, but the irony was there. "For now, let me handle Jory the second he discovers what you're doing."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Jory's bigger than you."

"He's taller by one inch-I'm broader. Besides, I'm meaner."

She shrugged. "Maybe usually. But he's fighting to save his brothers-you-and I don't think you've seen mean yet."

Matt grinned. "Listen to you defending your man." He turned her toward the door. "Let's just hope I don't have to put him in another coma to save his a.s.s."

She paused, facing the door. "I do love him," she whispered.

"I know," Matt said softly from behind her, his breath brushing her hair. "Welcome to the family, Piper."

The words slid inside her skin and pierced her heart. Home. She shut her eyes to shove down tears, and then lifted her chin. "Let's do this."

"Yes." He propelled her through the house to the kitchen, where they found a prowling Chance.

"Where's the pa.s.sageway to the secured areas?" Chance asked, gray eyes curious.

Piper eyed the boy. Was he delusional?

Matt leaned around her and slid open a hidden panel before typing in a code. "Zero-eight-zero-eight," he said. "For future reference."

A panel in the wall opened, and a set of stairs became visible. Piper gasped and stepped back.

"What's down there?" Chance asked.

"Go and see," Matt said gently.

Chance eyed him and then glanced around the kitchen.

Matt's chin lifted, and understanding filled his eyes. "Our younger brothers are safe here, and you can take a moment to explore. You have my word."

They studied each other. Piper's breath quickened, while her heart ached. Matt and Chance looked so much alike-same eyes, same chin, same large frame. Those poor boys.

All of them.

Finally, Chance nodded. "Okay." Then he turned and cautiously made his way down the steps.

Matt let out a slow breath.

Piper turned toward the stairs. "It'll take time, Matt."

"I know." His gaze remained thoughtful.

She hoped they had time. Following Chance down, she emerged in a long cavern surrounded by solid steel walls. A bank of computers took up one side, while a makeshift hospital room took up the other side. Chairs were scattered throughout. "Wow. Quite the panic room."

Jory turned from one of the computers and flashed a smile that turned her insides upside down. He patted the chair next to him. "Come put that incredible brain to use, would you?"

She couldn't help smiling back, even in the intimidating environment. It was nice to be admired for her brain-as well as her a.s.s. He did say he liked both. "Love to."

Matt dropped an arm over Chance's shoulders. "I'll show you the escape routes, the weapons systems, and the armory."

Chance stilled. "Really?"

"Of course. You're one of us now-all three of you are ours. There are no secrets here among family, and you need to know how to defend and protect your family, right?"

Chance swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Um, okay. Thanks." Bewilderment and hope slid across his face and broke Piper's heart. He nodded. "I need to go back to the compound."

Matt frowned. "Why?"

"My brother is buried there. I can't leave him." Chance's jaw hardened and looked exactly like Matt's.

Matt slowly nodded. "Your brother is my brother, buddy. We'll get him. I promise."

Chance bit his lip, and tears glimmered in his eyes.

Piper sat down, and next to her, raw emotion glinted in Jory's eyes. Swallowing, she began to punch in keys.

To save him. G.o.d. She had to save him.

CHAPTER.

26.

JORY KEPT TYPING away, trying to ignore the woman at his side and the emotion clawing at his gut. He'd seen the second that Chance had almost believed he had a family, one that would protect him, and he'd felt Piper's response.

The woman was all heart and brains... and he wanted her. Not for once, not for a moment, but for all f.u.c.king life.

Now he was p.i.s.sed he didn't have one to give to her.

For months, he'd been fine with the thought of dying, so long as he could save his brothers. But that was before Piper had stormed her way into his heart, before he knew he could love a woman. The raw need to stay with her, to grow old with her, to protect her from the dangers he knew too well existed in life heated his very blood.

The commander wasn't done-not by a long shot. Dr. Madison was with the PROTECT group, and she knew every weakness of the Dean brothers. h.e.l.l, if the woman broke, she'd tell them everything.

Would she tell them about her unborn grandchild? Audrey was her daughter, and now she carried Nate's baby. If Nate was an aberration to the PROTECT group, was the baby?

s.h.i.t. Jory needed to be alive and protect that baby. And Audrey. And definitely Nate.