Just who was Piper? The commander had been the only father figure Matt and Nate had had growing up, and yet he'd never acted as a father. Only a leader. Had the commander treated his daughter better? If so, perhaps he even cared about her.

The commander had never been Jory's father figure-not even once. Jory's loyalty, his allegiance, had been with his brothers from the first time he'd stood in the same room with both his brothers and the commander.

Sometimes a kid just knew. And when that kid had extra abilities, he accepted that knowledge.

Yet maybe the b.a.s.t.a.r.d did care about his only child. Which was something Jory could use.

As if conjured, Piper pushed open the door, a latte cup in her hand.

Even across the room, the fragrant scent of vanilla and cinnamon flared his nostrils, and it took three seconds to wonder which part was woman and which was latte. The day before, he hadn't noticed her scent, but Madison had already contaminated the room with roses and too-expensive perfume.

"What kind of drink?" he asked, stepping closer to the gla.s.s.

"Vanilla," Piper answered. "Why?"

Because now he could track her scent, anywhere in the world, just like the animal they'd created him to be. "No reason." His gaze raked her peach-colored sweater and tight jeans before focusing on her delicate face. Even though it had just been a dream, he could still see her naked, and he could still feel an echo of real emotion. Today she'd pulled her hair into a ponytail and seemed younger. More fragile. Dark circles marred the skin beneath her eyes, giving her the look of a damsel in distress.

He fleetingly wished he were the type of guy who could save her, but he quickly banished the thought. It was far too late for him to play the hero, especially since he planned to use her. And looks were deceiving. The woman might appear fragile, but she was obviously intelligent and knew whom she was working for. That put them on opposing sides.

Plus, he'd been given enough in this life with his brothers sacrificing so much, and it was his turn to give back to them. "You up late?" he asked.

"All night." She set down the cup and booted up the computer. "Rewriting a program to save your b.u.t.t. You're welcome."

Actually, his b.u.t.t was unsavable, but she wouldn't listen to him. So it was time to get down to business and figure her out, regardless of the cameras recording their every move. "Did the commander raise you?" he asked, wondering how he'd never caught a glimpse of her through the years.

"No." She turned to the side and typed quickly.

"Why not?" Jory asked, although her denial made sense.

She shrugged, her shoulders hunching forward. "I don't think we need to share our lives, Jory."

No, but he needed to get into her head and now. Plus, although he hated to admit it, he wanted to know more about her. "Come on, Piper. I'm stuck in a freakin' cell all by myself, and if somebody doesn't talk to me, I swear my head is going to explode." Far more truth lived in the words than he'd like to admit. "Please."

The final word had her turning to face him. "You put yourself in the cage."

Had he? From birth, every location had been a cage of some sort as the commander and Dr. Madison turned him into a killing machine. If he disobeyed orders, one of his brothers would be killed.

His neck ached, and he gingerly flexed his shoulders. Even that small movement caught the breath in his chest, considering his kill chip could detonate at any time. The d.a.m.n thing was broken, and any second his back might explode.

But escaping had been f.u.c.king worth the risk. The Dean boys had followed the commander's orders until nearly five years ago when they found a way to escape. They'd blown a facility in Tennessee to h.e.l.l and gotten loose. Unfortunately, the kill chips had already been implanted, and if the right code wasn't input into the right program in less than one week, the chips would detonate and kill them.

Death hung heavily around his shoulders. He had to gain Piper's trust to get free and save his brothers. "You're smart enough not to believe everything you're told-especially by Dr. Madison." Yet if Jory told Piper the full truth, she'd be a liability to the commander.

Unless he actually gave a s.h.i.t about his real daughter.

Piper sipped her coffee. "Dr. Madison?"

Jory smiled and mined deeper. "Yeah. It was obvious she dislikes you, right?"

Piper frowned and then shrugged. "So?"

"So? The woman has been in love with your father forever. You're in the way, baby." The sooner Jory could infect the little command post with insecurity and distrust, the better.

"What are you, a muscle-bound Dr. Phil?" Piper rolled her eyes. Her cell phone rang a funky tune, and she retrieved it from her pocket. "h.e.l.lo?" Her lips tightened. "I know. Yes, I understand, but-" She tapped her tennis shoe on the tile as she listened. With a glance at Jory, she turned and hunched over the phone.

Too bad she didn't know about his super-senses. He could hear her in the next room, if he wanted.

"I know." Her voice softened. "I guess. I'm sorry, too. Okay. Talk to you later." She hung up, her gaze meeting Jory's. Pink splashed across her cheeks.

Jory grinned. "Fight with the boyfriend?"

She blinked. "How-"

He shrugged. "My training goes beyond firing guns, sweetheart. What did he do?"

Her brows drew down. "Nothing. We just had a little misunderstanding last night."

He didn't like the kick in the gut at the thought of Piper with some guy. Why the h.e.l.l did he even care? Man, he was off his game. "I thought you wrote code all night," Jory said.

Piper rolled expressive eyes. "I had a nice dessert and then went home to work all night."

"What was the misunderstanding?" Jory asked softly.

"None of your d.a.m.n business." Her shoulders hunched.

"Tell me anyway." The direct approach seemed to work best with her, so Jory went with that.

She glanced at him through her lashes, thoughts flashing across her face. "Nope. Now stop bugging me." She turned back to the computer.

Jory nodded and sat down, having learned early on that his size intimidated people. Piper was more likely to confide in him if he appeared innocuous. "When did you move here?" he asked.

"About three months ago," she said absently, her fingers flying over a keyboard.

Interesting. "So you must've met the boyfriend at that time?" Now, that wasn't suspicious in any way, was it? G.o.d.

"I could have you tranqed, I think," she said, still not looking at him.

He lifted an eyebrow. In profile, he could still read her. "Piper, maybe you should cooperate with me."

"Why?" she snapped.

Ah. He was getting to her. "Because in the very near future, I'm gonna be out of this cage, and you're gonna need help. Work with me now, and I'll help you." So long as it didn't interfere with his main mission.

She snorted and turned toward him, although her gaze held an awareness he appreciated. "There's no way you're getting out, buddy. Sorry." She bit her lip, expressions chasing across her face while she apparently debated with herself. "Why do you think I'll need help?"

He stood and approached the wall again. "This is a dangerous place, and you're playing a deadly game. The second you're not useful, you're a liability." The words rang true, and he kept his gaze level, but he wondered. Would the commander protect his flesh-and-blood daughter? Perhaps. Although Jory didn't allow one ounce of doubt to show.

"f.u.c.k you."

"I just wanted to have a nice conversation," he said calmly.

"Bulls.h.i.t. You wanted to get into my head for an advantage. Sorry, pal. No chance." Her green eyes sparked all sorts of glimmers and shards. Truly beautiful.

Jory smiled and set his pheromones to work raising her blood pressure. "Oh, sweetheart. I'm already in your head."

"Oh yeah?" She blinked and narrowed her focus. "You're full of it."

He'd known she'd pick up the challenge. "Wanna bet?"

"No." She lowered her chin. "I'm trying to save your life here, and you're trying to distract me. What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you?"

"You can't save me." He exhaled slowly, wanting nothing more than to punch through the gla.s.s. He had to get free. "Unless you help me get out of here."

"Not gonna happen." She started to turn back to the screen.

Fine. He'd get her attention one way or the other. "I'm a.s.suming you met the boyfriend upon arriving in town?"

She snorted and shifted in her seat.

"Let's see. What would a convenient but realistic meeting be? Is he a banker?"

"You're an idiot." She shook her head and brushed back her hair with trembling hands.

Not a banker. "Car salesman?"

She sighed and kept typing.

"Realtor?"

"No." Her chin rose.

Ah. He was a realtor. "Don't you think it's a very nice coincidence that you met your charming boyfriend the second you came to town?" The guy probably could fight like a true killer, and Piper had no clue.

"No, and your attempts to make me doubt my job here are ridiculous." She straightened her sweater.

He let off on the sensual attack, just a little, pleased he'd thrown her with his accurate guess. "I'm thinking he's a realtor, which would lead to him being organized, ambitious, stable, and even a little controlling."

Her back stiffened just enough to let him know she was trying not to react.

Yeah. He'd nailed that one. "You like being controlled, baby?" He allowed his voice to rumble down to a masculine tone while sending s.e.xual tension her way.

A pretty pink wandered up her neck, and she glared at her phone. "I'm having you tranquilized just so you shut the h.e.l.l up."

Apparently he'd hit a nerve. The picture began to form. While Jory didn't know much about her relationship with the commander, he did know the commander, who had always been present at the military compound, so he couldn't have spent much time with his daughter. "So you like someone else taking charge," Jory said, easily spotting her need to please.

"No."

He let his upper lip quirk. Little girl raised without a father falling for a control freak? Yeah, that was a new one. Not. "So you like this take charge guy, but apparently you got in a fight last night. I'm thinking he went too far and turned into a jerk, huh?" d.a.m.n, this was too easy.

She turned toward him and eyed the phone next to her, but didn't pick it up to call for help. Little sweetheart didn't want to have him shot full of poison, now did she? With a shrug, she reached for her coffee cup and took a deep drink. Her pink tongue darted out to lick her cup.

Jory's b.a.l.l.s drew tight and he grimaced. She had no clue what she'd just done to him. "So, ah"-he shifted on the cot to adjust a sudden rigid hard-on-"you do know that this a.s.shole you're dating is wrong for you, right?"

She shook her head. "This is my last warning."

Jory opened his senses, truly reading her and ignoring the d.a.m.n warning. "You need a good guy, one who knows the difference between right and wrong. One who is spontaneous, protective, and would kill or die for you."

"Oh, do I?" she muttered.

Yeah. How would she take a bit more truth? He watched her carefully. "While you're obviously independent and very smart, you do like to be told what to do, Piper. Possibly only in bed, but I'd bet the idea of an overprotective mate would make you feel safe. Whole and complete."

She paled, her chin lowering, sparks flashing in those gorgeous eyes.

He kept her gaze. "The p.r.i.c.k you're dating isn't just overprotective, or you wouldn't have gotten p.i.s.sed at him last night. My bet is that he's condescending, and that doesn't work for you."

She swallowed. "Have you made up enough stories about me?"

"No. Your ideal guy would have to be absolute in his beliefs, and he'd have to end up on the right side of the line, every time. You're a true believer, baby, and G.o.d help anybody who crosses the line."

She set down the cup. "Are you describing yourself?"

"No. I lost the line a long time ago." Had there even been a line? If the woman had an idea of what he'd done, who he'd had to become to survive, she'd run screaming from the room. "Although I think you should consider the timing with this p.r.i.c.k. When you work for a covert operation, don't trust anybody."

She shifted on her chair. "Including you?"

"Definitely including me." He'd use her to get to safety and rescue his brothers, whether he wanted to or not.

"I don't trust you." She spoke the words quietly, while he could hear her heartbeat speed up with what had to be anger. "And while I appreciate your attention to my love life, maybe you should be more concerned with your own. As in, you're never going to have one... ever again. Might want to get used to solitude, a.s.shole."

f.u.c.kin' direct hit. Jory's temper, already frayed by the close confinement, sprang free, surprising him so much he didn't have a chance to reign it in. "I'm just trying to help you out, feisty. Don't trust the commander. Blood or not."

Her eyes hardened to green chips of ice. "You don't know him."

"The b.a.s.t.a.r.d raised me, so I think I know him pretty well." The words popped out before Jory could stop them, his laconic temper flashing in a rare moment. What the h.e.l.l was going on with him? "Although I wouldn't let him know I said that. How safe do you really think you are here?" He had to get his emotions under control, but even at the thought, the walls seemed to close in.

Who the h.e.l.l was Piper?

She rose and hitched toward the cell wall. Her hands slapped together, and her boots stomped on the rough concrete. Red spiraled through the pink still under her smooth skin, and air hissed out of her mouth. "He raised you? My father raised you." Her voice rose at the last.

"Not really." Jory sighed. He was f.u.c.king losing it in the cell. The guy who never lost control suddenly couldn't hold on to it with both hands. d.a.m.n it, he really shouldn't have told her that, and while she remained unaware, he could hear the hum of cameras busily recording. "The commander and Dr. Madison were constantly there, training us and studying us. I have brothers, and my brothers definitely raised me. The best they could, anyway."

Piper frowned. "What in the world are you talking about?"

She didn't know her father at all. "We should forget this entire conversation. Trust me." Man, he'd screwed up this time.

"Too late. Spill it, Jory." She put her hands on fit hips. "Now."

"No." He stood, easily towering over her even through the gla.s.s. Although he appreciated her fight to stay in place and not move back. The woman had grit, now didn't she?