"They're mine." Chance shrugged. "I'm the oldest, and well, they're mine."

Matt nodded, his gaze dark. "We're older than you."

Jory lifted his chin. "You're ours now. Like it or not."

Belonging. Chance had figured it felt like warmth and apple pie. It didn't. It was more like a wrecking ball to the chest that hit hard and burrowed right in.

"Never alone," Matt said. "It's our mantra-learn it."

He didn't need to learn it-he was living it. Finally. For the first time, he wasn't alone, and a hollow place in his gut, one he'd always tried to ignore, finally warmed and filled. He swallowed over a lump in his throat. "Okay."

Piper patted his leg. "I'll try not to shoot you today. With my being a girl with a gun and all."

He rolled his eyes while Jory grinned. The lady was a smart aleck, and she'd served to break the tension gripping him. So he looked at his brothers. "No matter what happens, I won't let either of them be harmed. You have my word."

Laney slid an arm over his shoulder and kissed him on the head. "You're a sweetie, Chance."

He stiffened. The gentle, natural affection nearly stole his breath. Plus, n.o.body who'd ever spent two seconds with him had ever thought him sweet.

Matt nodded, sympathy twisting his lip. "They say stuff like that all the time." He shook his head.

Well, if she thought he was sweet, Chance would f.u.c.king learn how to be sweet.

Piper slipped her arm between his. "You're ours, Chance. No matter what."

He leaned into her, allowing himself a brief moment to experience softness and acceptance. She was the first lady who'd ever shown him kindness, and he'd do anything to stay in her world. To be around soft and nice... and to protect her.

"You're a nice lady," he murmured.

Piper chuckled. "I'm no lady, kid. When I said I'm keeping you, I meant it. If anybody tries to mess with you, or tries to hurt you, you'll truly understand how much I'm not a lady." She hugged him close with the words.

His mouth dropped open and then shut. She meant it. He could tell, and she meant to keep him. "Thank you," he mumbled.

Then he leaned back.

For now, he needed to be the killer the commander had trained him to be. Nothing, and he meant nothing, would harm any of the people in the helicopter on his watch. No matter what he had to do. And once he got them safe, he'd do what he'd planned when he'd talked them into taking him back into h.e.l.l.

As far as he was concerned, he had one job left in this life.

Piper tried to keep her hands still and not drum her fingers on her legs as the helicopter continued to cut through the early morning. She'd said a tearful good-bye to her mother and Earl, just in case things didn't go well. But she had to go, and her mom had understood.

The combat gear was surprisingly heavy-who knew a bulletproof vest weighed so much? The gun strapped to her leg felt weird, and she truly did hope she didn't accidentally shoot somebody.

"Two minutes out," Shane said from the pilot's seat.

Jory, Matt, and Chance instantly moved into soldier mode, drawing weapons and losing any semblance of the men she knew.

Piper's breath panted out, and her heart sped up.

Jory leaned toward her. "Deep breaths, and let the adrenaline do its job. Don't fight it."

"That obvious?" she asked.

"I can hear your heart and see your breath." He smiled without any humor. "We have special gifts."

Chance gasped. "Me, too."

Matt nodded. "Use them today. All of them."

Piper set her hand on her weapon. Special gifts? Just how special? There was so much she didn't know about Jory. Would she get the chance to learn, or had he been a dead man the second he'd been shot two years ago when the bullet glanced off the kill chip?

An explosion rocked the air. Gulping, she levered to see out the front window. Holy h.e.l.l. They were about to enter a war zone. Fires lit the ground below and smoke billowed up. Several attack helicopters had landed throughout the compound, and the pattering of gunfire filled the morning. She turned back, wide-eyed.

Jory nodded. "We sent troops in a half hour ago to clear the way."

She swallowed. "How many troops do you have?"

Matt reached for the door. "A lot." He eyed Laney. "Everybody understand the plan?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good." The helicopter set down, and Matt yanked the door open. "Time to run."

A high-pitched scream rent the air, and another explosion rocked the earth. Piper jumped out, and the Dean brothers quickly herded her, Laney, and Chance into the center of them. Heat from fires blasted into them.

Smoke and debris stung Piper's eyes, and she tried to see through the pain. As one, they ran for the main building. The door hung by one hinge over the opening, swinging slowly. Shots peppered the ground before Jory, and he pivoted, already firing. A soldier in black dropped to the ground.

The Dean brothers returned fire, and soon they reached the opening.

Jory stepped inside and swept right to left. "Clear."

They jogged down the hallway. Piper kept to his heels, her heart in her throat. Or maybe that was fear. Either way, it took every ounce of concentration she had to keep moving and not panic.

Two soldiers in black ran around a corridor, and Jory fired along with Matt, neither man losing a step. They were scary and freaking amazing all at once.

Three more turns, two already-smashed open doorways, and they emerged into the infirmary. Three beds and a myriad of medical equipment took up the room. Counters, basins, machinery, and tons of drawers covered every wall.

Matt nodded toward the two entrances. "Shane. Nate." The two men hustled to stand right outside. "Chance, cover Shane. I'll cover Nate."

Chance ran to stand on the inside part of the door near Shane, while Matt did the same with Nate.

Jory holstered his gun. "Drawers. Let's find that cord."

The firefight continued outside, and Matt issued orders with a com-link attached to his ear. Piper ran to the north wall and started yanking out drawers. Cotton b.a.l.l.s... medication... syringes. Drawer after drawer, she frantically searched while Jory and Laney did the same.

Nothing.

Ten minutes later, they'd gone through every cabinet and drawer.

Jory turned toward her, no expression on his rugged face. "It was a long shot."

The simple words, the easy acceptance from him, pierced her heart. No. There had to be a way. She glanced at her watch. Fifteen minutes. He had fifteen minutes to live. Oh G.o.d.

Matt growled. "Lie down, then. We might as well try to take it out." Pain and fury radiated with his words spoken in a full Southern accent.

Laney nodded. "I'll be as quick as I can." Terror filled her dark eyes, but her voice remained steady.

Chance pushed off the door, panic across his face. "There's nothing we can do? Nothing?"

Jory shook his head. "This is it, I guess. Let's give it a shot." He reached out a hand to Piper, and she ran to him, burrowing into his chest. He patted her back. "It's all right. I figured the commander wouldn't just leave the right cord for us to find."

The commander. Find. Oh, s.h.i.t. Where would he hide it? The room. His secret little hidey-hole of a room off his office. It had to be there.

Piper levered back. "I know where it is." She grabbed her gun and started for the door. "I know where he'd hide it." Maybe. Who the h.e.l.l knew?

Matt yanked open the door, and Nate fanned out. "Where?"

"Left. Toward the commander's office." She hustled toward Matt, and Jory dragged her behind him.

"Stay clear," Jory ordered. "Chance, have her back."

A ruckus set up on the other side of Chance's door.

Nate dodged inside and went to help his brother.

Matt immediately took his position. "I'll clear the way. Jory, you take Piper and Chance to get the cord. Laney and I will keep the infirmary clear. Get back here now." He ducked a bullet and then fired three shots. No cry of pain echoed. "Clear," Matt said.

Jory took the lead. "Direct me."

Piper coughed out smoke-filled air. "Go left and then right at the end." Jory launched into action, and Piper followed with Chance protecting her back. They made it down two hallways before meeting resistance.

Jory fired before Piper could scream, instantly killing two soldiers in black. Running boot steps heralded behind them, and she turned in time to see Chance calmly fire his gun, hitting one of the commander's soldiers between the eyes.

She gulped down bile. Strength. She needed to be strong.

They kept moving and finally found the commander's office. Jory splintered the door open with one hard kick. He swept high while Chance swept low. Piper shut the door behind them, and it hung drunkenly from one side. Running around the ma.s.sive desk, she felt for the b.u.t.ton.

Click.

The hidden door opened.

Jory pivoted and took a defensive stance at the main door. "Piper, go through the room. Chance, go through the desk and this office."

Piper nodded and moved for the room, while Chance sprang into action. Piper stepped inside the quiet room and went still at the barrel of a gun pointed at her head. Her father grabbed her, held the gun to her temple, and yanked her back into the room.

Jory and Chance froze, their gazes on Piper.

Bubbles of energy rippled up her esophagus, and she bit her lip to keep sane. To think. "Please don't do this," she whispered.

Her father laughed an eerie, deep chuckle. "So. I get to watch a chip explode now. Nice."

Jory slid his gun back into the holster, calculating the exact distance between him and the commander. Chance remained quiet on the other side of the desk, his gun pointed down.

"Holster, boy," the commander ordered, keeping his focus on Jory.

Chance shoved his weapon home, his gaze direct.

Jory motioned him back. The smart move would be for the commander to take out Chance, but the commander had an ego, didn't he? Quite possibly he didn't see the kid as a threat.

"She's your daughter," Jory said.

The commander shrugged, his chest b.u.mping the back of Piper's head and jerking it. "She betrayed me, which isn't surprising since she's a woman. However, Jory, your betrayal shocked me, and now it's too late to make amends."

Jory forced an eyebrow up. "Betrayal? How the h.e.l.l did I betray you?"

The commander's dark eyes blackened further. "You followed Matt and not me. I created you." He pressed the gun harder against Piper's temple, and she winced.

Everything in Jory narrowed in focus by that one wince. "I love Matt. He's my brother." Without seeming to move, Jory edged closer. "You're nothing to me." Another movement.

"Hey-" The commander shook his head.

Chance cleared his throat. "Where's Dr. Madison? Did you get her back from the PROTECT soldiers?"

The commander swung his gaze toward the kid, his eyes blazing. "Not yet, but I have most of my forces out looking for her. We will avenge her, and she will be home soon."

Nice job, kid. Jory took another sliding step.

"Move again, Jory. Try it. I'll blow her brains out before you can take another step." The commander leaned to the side and glanced at his computer. "Looks like you have about eight minutes left before we watch you implode."

Piper hissed a small cry of distress. "Please don't do this."

"Now!" Jory ordered.

Piper jerked her head away from the gun and went limp. Chance shot forward and tried to grab her. Jory leaped for the commander's wrist and shoved as hard as he could.

The gun went off.

For the briefest of seconds, everybody froze.

Blood burst onto Chance's face.

Jory pushed the commander back and into a filing cabinet before punching the b.a.s.t.a.r.d in the wrist three times. Hard.

Bones cracked and cartilage smashed. Satisfying, but a rage rolled up in Jory that he'd never experienced. Too hot and too dangerous, the beast at his core finally roared.

"Chance," Piper breathed. "How bad?"

"Through and through on the shoulder. I'll live," the kid said. "Go find the cord."