"Who was it?'He had to know who she saw. The need to kill filled him with the fury of hatred. He wanted the b.a.s.t.a.r.d's blood.

He felt her hesitation and wondered if she sensed the fury he was fighting to hold back. He didn't want her to feel it, didn't want her to know the black hatred welling inside him.

"I thought he was a friend." She kept her voice low, fighting the pain rising inside her. Confusion filled the room, the fight to accept, to get past the denial of the answers she had found within herself.

"Megan." He stood slowly and moved to her, catching her shoulders as he stared down at her. "I need to know who it was. I have to know what we're facing."

"It makes sense now." A brittle, bitter laugh left her lips as she stared back. "How he managed to pull in the military. How he could find my schedule. All of it."

An eerie foreboding began to fill him.

"I thought he was a friend," she said again, her voice hoa.r.s.e as betrayal filled her. "But he wasn't. He killed those Breeds and now he wants to kill me, because he suspected their deaths could trigger the memory of seeing him with them. And he's my father's best friend, Braden. It's Senator Cooley. Senator Mac Cooley."

Bingo.

Chapter Twenty.

Senator Mac Cooley. It all made sense now. He had been one of the strongest opponents of Breed Law, the new legal mandates that gave Breeds autonomy and had declared them human despite their DNA. He was also the reason why two military advisors were now required to be at the Bureau of Breed Affairs in Washington as well as two to oversee all security and interrogation at Sanctuary. Not that it wasn't easy to fool the bureaucratic twits, but the thought of a spy in the house made Braden's a.s.s itch.

The spy was most likely the reason why the attacks at Sanctuary were always so precise and why their weaknesses were exploited so easily.

"Show me your weapons." They were moving down the stairs as Braden glanced toward the shadecovered windows.

Night was falling quickly.

"Hall closet." They made the turn and moved to the door. Megan threw it open, pushed boxes to the side and ripped coats from their hangers, tossing them to the comers of the closet to reveal a heavy metal safe door.

"I rarely keep it locked." It clanged open to reveal an impressive display of weapons and ammunition. Nothing on par with what he could have found at Sanctuary, but impressive all the same.

Until she threw open the back. Braden lifted his brows at what lay in there.

"Do you have night vision?" She jerked a pair of the most advanced military field goggles from their protective pouch and strapped them to her head before pushing them to her forehead. Held by secure elastic straps, the small eye socket-sized goggles were the most technologically advanced in the field. They eliminated the need for unwieldy larger models, and had several little fringe benefits thrown in as extras in the lenses. They literally saw through the dark. Instead of the confusing green illumination, the wearer saw in shades of gray, with pretty little neon colors to pick up anything with a heartbeat.

"Not as good as yours." He snorted. "How the h.e.l.l did you get those?

Even the SEAL teams haven't been blessed yet." "I have friends." Her comment wasn't satisfactory, but he let it go for the moment. He was more concerned with the other toys she was pulling out. Knives that belonged in sci-fi flicks and a laser-guided pistol that hadn't even hit the military yet.

"s.h.i.t, Megan, I think your friends are a bad influence on you." He watched as she strapped the knives along various points of her body-her forearm, her lower legs-and tucked the gun behind her back.

"Us psychic freaks tend to stick together," she informed him breathlessly as she finished, then slammed the inner door closed again before giving him a glare. "And Lance really doesn't need to know about that other door."

"h.e.l.l, I don't think I needed to know."

He jerked the cell phone from its holster and hit the command b.u.t.ton.

"Tarek." The other man was on the line as Megan pa.s.sed the ear-held comm links they had stored there the day before.

"Activate field link." He gave the order quickly. "Prepare for early extraction and removal."

"Link active," Tarek reported through the link, which would now be received by the six Breeds outside.

"Secure. Set Field Beta Three." Beta Three was the only code the advisors at Sanctuary did not have.

"What the f.u.c.k is up, Braden?'Tarek's tone was hard, concerned. Secure Field Beta Three was also the channel set for use only if top command was considered compromised. And Tarek's wife was in the same compound as top command.

"We have a rat at headquarters," Braden confirmed. "Preparing for removal now. Pull in. I repeat, all teams pull in."

The closest point to contact Pride Command securely was the sheriff's office. Braden knew the risk: Cooley had connections within the military who could make the drive to town a fatal one. There was no doubt the roads were being watched, just as the canyon had been watched the day before.

Next, he keyed in Lance's number, waited for the first ring.

"Lance." The other man was alert.

"Extraction in progress," Braden informed him quietly. "We have possible military alerts and a high level breach of security. We're coming in."

He heard the other man cursing as he disconnected. There would be only way out of this mess. The Senator wouldn't dare send the regular military into Broken b.u.t.te, the political repercussions would be too severe. Braden bet the men in the canyon the day before had been malcontents, or part of the senator's private force drawn from those who were dishonorably discharged, or considered too violent for the government forces. He bet they were military-trained mercenaries and nothing more.

Braden gathered up several powerful submachine rifles and ammo cartridges, then watched as Megan continued to weapon up. The single submachine handgun was strapped to her hip and secured at her thigh. A heavy knapsack filled with ammo was tossed to him.

"We won't be able to take the main road," she verified as she closed the closet door, turning to him. "I suggest heading to Carlsbad rather than Broken b.u.t.te. They won't expect that."

"Broken b.u.t.te is our only option. We'll never make it to Carlsbad," Braden disagreed as he disengaged the tracker on the cell phone, knowing the emergency signal it would send through to Sanctuary. If there was a way to get to them, Callan would do it. He would also immediately isolate the military advisors on site. It was a clear signal to the compound that security had been breached. Until then, Braden was taking active measures to protect their a.s.ses now.

"Carlsbad has a military post, manned and operational," Megan pointed out.

He shook his head, then tilted it to watch curiously as she lifted and unb.u.t.toned her shirt and stuck two sheathed, three-inch blades beneath the lace of each bra cup.

"Sweet." His c.o.c.k jerked at thought of the weapons lying so close to intimate flesh. "Remind me not to p.i.s.s you off when you're armed and ready to go."

She flashed him a wicked smile, her gaze almost electric as she reb.u.t.toned the shirt.

"It occurs to me you might like the danger a bit more than could be healthy," he pointed out with no small amount of amus.e.m.e.nt. And d.a.m.n if the thought of it didn't make him just want to throw her to the floor and f.u.c.k her for the sheer pleasure of being inside a creature filled with such incredible daring.

"And you don't?' She arched her brows mockingly. "Takes a junkie to know one, Braden."

This was too true. They were doomed. He'd be d.a.m.ned if he hadn't found a woman who loved adventure and life as much as he did. It wasn't just the rush of adrenaline. It was fighting for what was right, it was pitting his strength and his intelligence against the enemy and coming out the victor. Not that he had won every battle, and he knew death could lurk just outside the door. But by G.o.d, he would die free. And freedom was worth dying for.

"Well, if we live through this one, remind me to spank you again." He tied his hair back quickly with the leather strip he carried in his jeans before flashing her a wicked smile.

"For what?" Incredulity filled her voice as he turned on his heel and headed for the back door.

"Just 'cause I like to make your bare a.s.s blush." Turning quickly, he grabbed her around the neck, pulled her close for a quick, brief kiss then released her just as suddenly.

"Ready to party, baby?"

"Let's party."

Braden opened the door slowly, his eyes narrowing then adjusting to the darkness to allow for near perfect vision.

The DNA he carried had given him eyesight superior to any normal human as it pierced the dark, shadowy night.

"Ready?' Tarek stood at the side of the door, the five Breeds a.s.signed with him placed at various points close to the Raiders.

"Stop baby-sitting me." Megan punched his arm. "Let's get the h.e.l.l out of here before they have time to move. And trust me, they are getting ready to move."

Megan could feel them. She didn't know how many there were, or where they were, but the vibrations were pouring through the air.

"Interstate or back roads?' Braden snapped as they began to move, rushing to the Raiders and jumping into the opened doors quickly.

"Back roads." Interstate was out of the question. It was the quickest, most likely route. It was sure to be heavily guarded. "If Cooley has pulled a military unit in on this, our best bet is back roads, no lights. Even a mercenary force could have better gadgets than I do. A deputy's pay sucks, you know."

"Not a problem." The Raider shot from the driveway and headed into the desert, away from the ridges that surrounded Megan's home on three sides.

"Security engaged, GPS location and override deactivated."

"Here." Megan punched a map up on the screen, laying out the coordinates to one of the back roads that led into town. "It's not the best route but it's the most defensible."

The road was little more than a dirt track that bypa.s.sed the gullies and caverns that could provide easy ambush.

They've seen us leave though, tracking us by sight won't be that d.a.m.ned hard," she added.

She could feel them. Her neck itched, and just behind her left ear she could hear the strange little sizzle in her brain that heralded a rush of information. Not military, but heavily armed, and heavily payrolled. They would have the gadgets.

She shook her head, tightening the shields around her mind that she pulled from Braden as her pulse began to throb in her veins. Someone was betraying the senator, but who? And why?

"Someone isn't good at blocking. I have an unknown pouring information at me Braden," she yelled over the whine of the Raider's motor as Braden pushed it to its highest speed.

"Keep the path to him open Megan," he barked out. "Doesn't matter if he's friendly or enemy. I'll block him from taking info, but draw in as much as you can."

This mult.i.tasking was going to get ugly , she thought with a grimace as she fought to do just what Braden had asked, to keep the channel open as she began to plot the best course into town.

"They're on the move, and tracking. Son of a b.i.t.c.h, I knew I should have gotten that loan for those nifty little radar and laser blockers I saw last month," she yelled as she felt the information stream into her head.

"Loan?" She ignored the incredulous look her shot her, as well as the snickers of the two men behind her.

"Sure, you think the outside of my house looks like s.h.i.t because I'm lazy." She laughed in sheer delight.

"I'll owe the local bank till I'm eighty, Braden. They finance my little playthings."

She flipped the Raider's radar and laser tracker, cursing as it came up empty.

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h. I hate it when they don't play fair." She tapped the screen roughly, knowing the pinpoints of movement should be there, snarling at the thought that they were jamming their signals.

She lifted her hand to her head as she shook it fiercely. She needed more information.

"b.a.s.t.a.r.ds should know to be blocking," she b.i.t.c.hed as she felt, literally felt, one of the soldiers as they headed from the nearest ridge into the desert. "We have them on our a.s.ses, tracking our location and coming up on us."

She hit the lock to the dash keyboard, punching in commands before it fully leveled out over her lap.

Instantly the windshield displayed a subtle glowing map.

"There, seven dash four," she snapped as the turn came up. "To your right. It will be harder to follow."

There was nothing ahead. No ambushes, no one lying in wait. The clarity of the information was disturbing, almost familiar.

"Can you trust this, Megan?' Braden jerked the wheel to the left and headed into a more hilly part of the desert, toward the canyons that crisscrossed the desert.

"Someone's opened up to me." She continued to input the information into the map. "The information isn't a trap, but I'll be d.a.m.ned if I know why. They can't be as d.a.m.ned stupid as they're acting."

Perhaps she was stronger. She bit her lip fiercely, disturbed by how quickly the information flooded her mind, without the pain.

"Tarek's behind us, riding us close. Is he being fed the map?' one of the Breeds behind them snapped out with a tone of imperative demand.

"As I put it in, they get it."

"What about those bad boys coming up behind us?' Another snarled. "I can see the dust trail behind us."

"Vehicle to vehicle only." Megan kept tapping, keeping the link to the other vehicle secure against any attempt to hack. "I know what I'm doing."

At least, she hoped she did. It had been a long time since her uncle Steven and his military buddies had been out to play. As she kept the communication link between the two vehicles clear, a sudden burning at the back of her neck had her eyes widening.

"Break off!" she was only barely aware that she was nearly screaming as she felt the sudden order shoot through her brain. 'They have missiles_ You f.u.c.kers!" The blast rocked the Raider as Braden twisted the wheel, snarling as the vehicle behind them swerved and nearly rammed into them before righting itself.

"Attempted radar lock." The computer voice came through as three furious Breed snarls echoed around her.

And she swore the link at her ear was filled with the same sound.

"Yeah, snarling is going to help," she yelled back at them, fighting to stay in place as Braden began twisting the wheel while the computer continued to warn of the attempted lock.

"Canyon ahead." She pointed to the turn on the map. "Two hundred feet. We have a series of roads through several canyons we can use. It will block the missiles."

"Missile lock."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Where the h.e.l.l is the speed, Megan?'' he yelled out.

"Empty. We'll make it." She braced for the turn, gritting her teeth as the Raiders took it on two wheels only seconds ahead of the strike.

The missile exploded into the wall of the canyon entrance as the vehicles shot through it.

"Road's narrow," she warned him as the night-vision goggles she wore picked up the canyon walls.

"Radar is showing no obstructions ahead. That's all we have to watch for."