Reckoning

So they walked inside the cavernous room, filled with production lines and heavy machinery. This wasn’t where they made the deadly gas. It was where they made the canisters. On the surface, an innocuous enough task for the employee.

Walking quickly down one side of the long building, Boone estimated there were around seventy people in this room alone. He’d seen the parking lot, but he’d underestimated the number of employees who were bused here from Vegas and Mesquite.

The number of people who dealt directly with the gas would be small in comparison. For all Boone knew, they only did the most dangerous work on the day shift in another part of the factory. They’d have to keep exploring if they wanted to know for sure.

He looked ahead at Seth, who he knew was memorizing the layout for the moment they were free. Seth’s prosthetic hand was in his coverall pocket. He’d lost his hand in an earlier skirmish with Omicron, but Harper had saved his life. And there was more going on there. Boone grinned.

Seth led him past a large break room. There were rows of tables and benches and the walls were lined with vending machines. Two big refrigerators were in the back, along with a row of microwaves.

Next, they went past a locker room, and it was crowded. Men and women were stowing lunches or purses into their lockers, and he saw a number of them putting on hairnets. Like most workplaces, there was a smattering of laughter and a lot of talk. No one took notice of him or Seth.

Finally, they reached a door that held promise. A woman walked in, using a keycard. He only caught a glimpse, but it was enough to make him curse. There was a biometric hand scanner inside, one that read fingerprints. How the hell were they going to get past that device?

He moved on, following the wall until he got to the back door. A loud alarm rang, and his heart pounded until he realized it was just the work horn. The graveyard shift had officially started.

He pushed open the door and found Seth waiting. They headed toward building two where they’d find a bathroom, lock themselves inside stalls and diagram the production line. Then they’d go through the whole exercise again, until just before dawn.

One more time, they’d race across the desert until they reached the hole in the fence. One more time, Boone would pray they wouldn’t be spotted by the security guards in the air, in the jeeps, monitoring the surveillance cameras. All he had to do was keep his eye on the goal. A lifetime with Christie where they didn’t have to hide. Where they didn’t have to be scared. Where they could finally be free.

SHE WANTED TO SLEEP FOREVER, but Tam forced herself to sit on the edge of the bed as she waited for Nate. The bath would take more energy than she had, but more than anything she needed to wash away the remnants that clung to her skin, her hair, and under her nails from what had happened tonight.

The sound of water filling the tub lulled her even closer to sleep, and she jerked up, almost falling over.

Nate walked out of the bathroom, his jacket off, his blue chambray shirtsleeves rolled above his elbows. He smiled so warmly, she managed a smile back. She only wished she could stop shaking.

“It’s ready.”

She nodded as she stood, then looked back at the bedspread. She expected to see more ash and dirt on the clean white comforter, but it wasn’t too bad. Just a couple of smudges.

“You okay?”

He stood right next to her and she leaned against him as she’d done in the car. “I’m so tired.”

“That’s shock. I’m worried that you’re going to fall asleep in the tub.”

She yawned, not even covering her mouth. Her mother would have scolded her for that, although not until they were in private. “I probably will.”

He put his hand on her waist, gripping strongly. “Maybe we should skip it. Or put you in the shower.”

“No. Just come with me. If I start to drown, pull me up by the hair.”

He didn’t answer, and his hand tightened further on her waist. She should look at him, see what was going on, but screw it. She had to get clean. As tired as she was, sleeping in her own filth held no appeal. The very idea made her skin crawl. “Come on. Let’s do it.”

He helped her into the large bathroom, and for a moment she felt disoriented. The white tile, the white towels. Everything was clean and bright. This was the real world. The kind of place she’d dreamed about in her long stay underground.

He guided her over to the commode and after he put the seat down, he seated her. “We have to get these off,” he said. His voice sounded strange, or maybe it was her ears. She wouldn’t trust anything tonight.

He lifted her arms and pulled the T-shirt over her head. She felt no embarrassment being in her bra. Or out of it. Being naked was the least of her problems. If it had been anyone else, she probably would have been more concerned, but it was Nate, and his hands were so big and so gentle. He removed her clothes as if she were a child. Lifting one foot, then the other to take off her shoes. He stood her up to get her jeans off. Smart man, he took her panties along with them.

When he had her in the buff, he walked her over to the tub and held on to her as she got in the hot water. It took a minute for her to adjust to the temperature, but he was patient. Quiet, too. Inch by inch she lay down, letting the warmth seep deep into her bones.

When she was up to her neck in water, she looked up at Nate. He wasn’t smiling, in fact, his lips were pressed so tightly together they were white. She would have asked him what was wrong, but her head went back and her eyes shut as she tried to let the horrors of the night go…for now.

She felt him sit on the edge of the tub, and she giggled with the thought that he was the best bath toy ever. Rubber ducks included. She must be losing it.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

“Okay. Uh, you want me to put some soap on the washcloth for you?”

“Sure, why not?”

He reached over her and grabbed the bar of hotel soap and then he dipped the cloth in the water. “I’ll bet you’re a real fun drunk.”

“I wouldn’t know,” she said. “I’ve never been drunk.”

“Never? Not even in college?”

“Nope.”

“Come on. I’ve met guys from MIT. They partied as hard as anyone.”

“I was too busy being a nerd,” she said. “I didn’t have a social life.”

“I can’t picture that,” he said as he leaned toward her. He pushed her hair back with his tender touch, then slowly cleaned her face with the soft cloth. “I’ll bet every guy in Cambridge was banging at your door.”

“You’d lose your money.”

“You didn’t have a boyfriend?”

“One. But he was a bigger nerd than I was. We spent all our time in the lab. We never even did it.”

His hand stilled. She could just imagine the shocked look on his face. One thing for sure, no one would ever call Nate a nerd. He was everything women swoon over—tall, dark, handsome as sin. Those green eyes of his could seduce the pants off a girl without him even trying. Not to mention the little cleft in his chin.

“Are you a virgin?”

That got her eyes open. “Would that shock you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, don’t worry. I’m not.”

“Okay, then.” He rinsed the washcloth and went over her face with it once more.

“Kate told me all about you,” she said, bliss taking over her body. “She said you surprised her.”

“Oh? How?”

“She figured you were an out-and-out hound dog, but then you turned out to be a gentleman.”

He grunted.

“No, really. She said you made no pretense about not wanting anything serious, but you weren’t only thinking of yourself. She liked you.”

“She dumped me.”

“Doesn’t matter. She thought you were hot.”

“Hot, huh?”

His hand went behind her back and she let him push her forward. He washed her back, then rinsed it, and she just sat there like a lump.

“You want your hair washed?”

She nodded.

“You got it. Now, lean back and close your eyes.”

He dipped her into the warmth, holding her steady. She thought of movies she’d seen of people being baptized. The congregants had worn white robes, but still, it was just like that, and not only because of how he held her. She had lost the last of her innocence tonight. She’d taken a life, had seen her world turn to ashes.

He lifted her back up, and then he did the most amazing thing in the whole world. He poured shampoo in his hands and he washed her hair. So gently, so wonderfully, it was miraculous, life-changing, and he just kept massaging and massaging.

“You like that?”

She made some kind of sound, something in the affirmative vein.

He chuckled and he didn’t stop.

She jerked again, and blinked. She must have fallen asleep.

“Let’s get you rinsed off and put you to bed,” he said.

“Okay,” she mumbled.

She struggled to stay awake while he rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. Then he stood her up and got her out of the tub. Instantly, there was a big fluffy towel around her, and he dried her with the same care.

He led her out of the bath and when they were next to the bed he drew back the covers.

She looked at him. “I don’t have pajamas.”

“It’s okay.”

“You don’t either.”

“That’s okay, too. I’m going to be right over there.” He nodded toward a chair by the window.

“No,” she said. “You’re sleeping with me.”

“Tam—”

She turned to him, took hold of his shirt and met his gaze. “Please?”

He didn’t answer for a second as he searched her eyes. She felt sure he was going to tell her not to be ridiculous, but then he smiled and said, “Sure.”

“Nate?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“You saved yourself.”

Tam shook her head. “No. You’ve saved me every single day since I met you.”

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Not yet,” he whispered, “but I will. I promise.”

That was good enough for her. She climbed into bed, and fell asleep.

BY THE SECOND HOUR OF the weekly status meeting, CEO Leland Ingram felt a trickle of sweat snake down his neck as he forced a laugh. Senator Jackson Raines had told a joke, a bad one, but there wasn’t a man in the room who didn’t act as if Raines was as funny as Leno.

Ingram admired the senator but he didn’t like the son of a bitch one damn bit. Still, there was no option but for Leland to smile, say the right thing at the right time and do some major ass kissing. That’s just the way it went, and Leland was nothing if not a pragmatic. He might be officially in charge of Omicron’s day-to-day business, but Raines was the guiding force behind its highly secret operation. One that benefited them both.

Raines sat in the king’s chair in the conference room. It was slightly higher, slightly bigger and at the head of the table so everyone else in the meeting would have to look up at him. The decorator who’d done this building and Omicron’s office in Colorado hadn’t understood the necessity of the king’s chair until Leland had explained it to him. Men need to know who’s boss, who has the final say. In this pansy-ass age of political correctness, it wasn’t words that communicated, it was body language, position, the king’s seat.

Raines brought in the money. Therefore, he was the king pin. He’d called the meeting for 7:00 a.m., knowing it would be difficult for the managers to get here so early. When Leland’s secretary had proposed bringing in coffee and Danish, Raines had given an emphatic no. It was all games. Games with damned high stakes.

Leland himself was the Prince Regent and soon the dynamic was going to shift in his favor. Not today. Today there were going to be fireworks. Nonetheless when the shipment went out and Leland put the money in Omicron’s secret offshore account, Raines would have to give Leland his due.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” the senator said, leaning back in his chair.

That’s all that needed to be said. The underlings moved out in an orderly fashion, taking BlackBerrys and PDAs with them, leaving Ingram to hear the private word.

When the door to the conference room closed, Leland prepared by focusing his gaze on the bridge of Raines’s nose. It would appear, from the king’s seat, as if his eyes were slightly downcast, but not subservient. That he might be receiving a dressing-down, but he wasn’t a toady.

“We didn’t get the chemist,” Raines said, his voice muted. “We didn’t get her data. And we lost three men.”

“We found her once, we’ll find her again. We know she’s still in L.A. And we destroyed the lab.”

“You found her and lost her. She could be anywhere by now. And the lab was never the problem.”

“We’re on it.”

“You’re on it?”

That was about fifteen decibels louder. By the end of the conversation, Leland fully expected to hear him roar with rage.

“What the fuck does that mean, you’re on it? Do you know where she is at this moment? Do you know if she’s still connected to that Delta Force bunch? Where’s the soldier who escaped from Colorado? What the hell kind of operation is this, that you can’t find a few grunts and a chemist?”

There it was. The roar. The voice that carried across the senate floor. Now Leland’s gaze moved down a half inch and he let his shoulders sag by the same degree. “Senator, I’ve replaced the man in charge and I believe the new man will have the Delta team within the week.”

“Based on what, exactly?”

“We’re meeting later to go over the details. I’ll give you an update first thing tomorrow.”

“I’d better have answers I can count on, Leland. We cannot have this situation exposed. The American people have a great need for the money we’re bringing in with this weapon. A great need, indeed. I will not disappoint the American people, are we clear?”

“Yes, Senator. Completely.”

“I want that update by seven.”

“Yes, sir.”

Raines leaned back and his posture eased. “Bring me up to speed on the plant.”

This was the part of the meeting Leland had been waiting for. He had no idea how in hell they were going to find the scientist or the soldiers. Eventually, they’d make a mistake and that would be that. Of course, he couldn’t say that to Raines, but he wasn’t too worried. Not yet.

Now, the plant, on the other hand, had exceeded his expectations. Putting it inside the Air Force base had been a stroke of genius, particularly as even the road leading to the perimeter fence was restricted.

Leland felt the same obligation to the citizens of this country as Raines. He wasn’t about to let the godless liberals and pantywaists put his country at risk. This country, his country, would not be subject to terrorism again. Not while he still breathed.

3

TAMARA’S GASP WOKE NATE from the first sleep he’d had in twenty-two hours, but he was instantly alert. He turned on the bedside lamp to find her eyes were wide open, her mouth, too, and she looked as panicked as a person could be and live through it.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and raised her to a sitting position. When she still didn’t look at him, he shook her gently, then not so gently. Finally, she focused, recognized him. Fell completely apart.

It killed him to hear her sobs. In all the time he’d known her, in all the horrendous situations she’d been in, she’d never wept, not like this. It was as if he were listening to a heart shatter, to a world come apart at the seams. Which, of course, it was.

She’d worked so goddamn hard on the dispersal system for the antidote to the gas. When it hadn’t worked, something had broken inside her. Although he’d tried to get her to talk about it, she wouldn’t. All he knew for sure was that she blamed herself for the failure. Shit, it would have been a miracle if it had worked.

He took her into his arms and comforted her the only way he knew how. He wasn’t accustomed to this role, well, not unless he was trying to get laid. Then he had no trouble offering up a shoulder to cry on. This was different.

As far as he was concerned, she was a soldier under his command. He didn’t take the responsibility lightly. He’d have given anything to have kept her safe. If there was anyone in the room who’d failed, it was him. He hadn’t been at the lab to protect her. His precautions weren’t sufficient. “How did they know?”

She pushed away from his shoulder to look at him through tear-filled eyes. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s not important.”

She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, then sniffed again. “I had a bad dream.”

“I could tell,” he said, wanting to touch her, but painfully aware that she was naked and that the comforter had fallen to her waist. “Want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” she said, “but I probably should.” She gazed around the room, stopping at the window. He’d made sure the blackout curtains were closed, knowing how badly she needed to sleep. “What time is it?”

He looked at his watch. “Almost eleven.”

“In the morning, right?”

“Yeah.”

When she was settled, she pulled the comforter up, covering her breasts. He dragged his gaze up to her face. He tended to think of her as delicate because she was so petite. Though her long hair was black and straight and her eyes were darkly Asian, her skin was creamy pale, as if she’d never been in the sun. But he knew she was tough, stronger than she even realized.

“I heard someone coming down the stairs, but you hadn’t called. So I got the gun and the flash drive and I hid, you know, in that fake closet.”

The previous tenants had thought of everything, including false walls and trick doors.

“They searched the place for a long time. I heard them breaking things and cursing. I just stayed as quiet as I could.”

The words were so easily spoken, but he could just imagine how terrified she must have been. He should have been there. “When did you call me?”

She looked at him quizzically. “I didn’t have the phone. I was so busy thinking about the data, I forgot it.”

“But I got a call. From your cell.”

“Who was it?”

“That was just it. No one spoke. I answered, then I heard a gunshot.”

“There was a fire. I couldn’t stay hidden or I would have burned to death and taken the data with me. When I pushed out the wall, the man was standing right in front of me. I shot him.”

He liked to think of her as his soldier, but the truth was, she wasn’t. Before they’d met, she’d never even held a gun.

“You know,” she said, pushing her hair behind her shoulder. “I think that’s why I was able to kill him.”

“What was?”

“He hesitated. Because he was dialing the cell phone. He didn’t get his gun up quickly enough.”

“Let’s hear it for the phone company,” Nate said sardonically.

“After that, I ran. I headed straight for the stairs. I know someone was behind me, but it was so dark out there I wasn’t as afraid of him as I was of falling down an elevator shaft. I went straight to plan B, but I was sure he was going to catch me. I could practically feel the bullet in my back.”

He knew exactly what she was talking about. If anyone ever did invent eyes in the back of the head, he’d be first in line with the check. “You lost him.”

She nodded. “I don’t know how.”

“Training. That’s what it’s all about. I’m just sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”

“How could you have known?”

“The question is, how did they know? I would have expected them to find me long before you. That lab was way the hell off the radar.”

“I don’t know. I also don’t know what they took out before they torched the place.”

“Every computer in there was wired to blow without the proper access keys,” Nate assured her. “They won’t get anything important.”

“But they’ll know that I was working, and they’d have to be stupid not to realize I was all over the antidote.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true.”

“Which means…”

“That whatever they’re planning, the timetable just moved up.”

“Oh, crap,” she said, with such a heavy sigh that it made Nate laugh.

“I don’t think it’s very funny.”

“It’s not. It’s a damn tragedy. But all we can do is what we can do.”

She shook her head, looking at him seriously, as if she needed him to hear her. He lost his smile and listened.

“I don’t want to die alone,” she said.

He almost spoke, but the words had been uttered so softly, so forcefully, that he waited and thought. With her hair a wild dark tangle, her eyes puffy from crying and her skin so smooth all he wanted was to touch her, he understood clearly. It wasn’t that she was almost killed last night, or that she’d had to take a life, but that she was alone. Had been alone for months. He had Seth, Boone, Cade. They all understood exactly what it was to be a soldier. They knew what the risks were, how to cope with the unbearable stress of a mission that seemed to have no end. Even Kate and Christie were holding up their end. But Tam had been forced into a bubble, a tiny world where there was no one to lean on or to question or run her ideas by. She’d been flying solo since Kosovo, and she was exhausted.

He nodded slowly, wondering briefly how he could justify kidnapping another biochemist to work with her. That was no answer. He had none. “What can I do?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “But you can start by taking off your clothes.”

“Pardon me?”

Her cheeks had blushed a vivid pink and her hands were twisted tightly together but she looked him right in the eyes. “I think, I hope, that I haven’t been wildly off the mark with you being attracted to me.”

He thought she was going to continue but when she just kept staring, he nodded. “Yeah.” It was an understatement, but he wasn’t exactly at his best at the moment.

“I’m attracted to you, too. And since the odds of us living long, happy lives is about one in a million, I think we should do whatever we can in whatever time we have that brings us pleasure. And happiness. And comfort.”

He ought to have some kind of reasonable argument. He was the team leader. He was responsible for her, for all of them. Having sex would complicate things in ways he couldn’t possibly foresee. But all he kept thinking was thank you, God. Thank you, thank you.

“On the other hand, if I’m totally freaking you out, we can pretend I never said a word.”

“What?”

She looked away, then back again. “Nate, cut it out. If you don’t want to, just say so.”

“Don’t want to? Oh, Tam…”

“Oh, Tam, what?” She looked down pointedly. “Naked here. Can we say vulnerable?”

“Vulnera—Shit. I’m sorry. No. I want to. I just haven’t thought about us actually, you know…”

“You haven’t thought about it? Wow. I have. A lot.”

“You have?”

She nodded. “I had a lot of time alone in that lab.”

“That’s great,” he said. “Seriously, that’s great, because I have, too.”

“But you just said—”

“Don’t listen to me. I think I had a small stroke when you asked me to take off my clothes. I’m better now.”

Her smile blossomed and it made everything in the world feel as soft and clean as the pretty white sheets. “You’re weird, but then I’ve always liked weird.”

“Thanks.”

She laughed. “So we’re just gonna talk about it?”

“Huh?”

Her eyes rolled, but she didn’t lose the grin. “I meant now.”

“Oh. Oh!”

She flopped her hands on the comforter as she shook her head. “How long has it been for you?”

His shirt was already on the floor, and he was in the middle of toeing off his socks and undoing his belt. “Doesn’t matter.”

“No?”

He shook his head as he unzipped his fly. “Nope. None of it mattered until right this minute.”

“Because…”

He slipped off his jeans and his boxers then jumped under the covers. He found her hand and squeezed it gently. “Because now it’s you.”