Harding waited until her legs were secured, then pulled a chair in front of her and sat down. His knees rubbed against her first. He leaned toward her, his gaze raking up her body. His breathing sped up as he flexed his hands then lowered them to her knees.

Her body flinched. She couldn't help it. He smiled, then gripped until she had to bite her lower lip to keep from crying out. Her soul retreated from him because her body couldn't. She used her eyes to deflect and defy him. He'd never gotten total submission from her. Not then and he wouldn't now. If it was her only victory today, she wouldn't give it to him. She wouldn't.

His hands slid down to her feet, removing the black heels she'd been wearing when Jake arrested her. He looked at them, then smiled. "We'll save these. I might need them later."

His eyes reminded her what he could do with a high heel to the skin of a bare back as his hands started moving over her knees and up her legs. Under the edge of the black dress, he stopped.

"You wearing a wire, Nadine?" He kneaded and pinched the flesh on the inside of her legs. It took all her control not to respond in any way.

"If I am wired, you won't find it by groping me. My friends get their equipment from the same place as the CIA."

Rage flared in his eyes. He dug his nails into her flesh, leaving red crescents on her bare skin.

"Careful, Nadine. You know how I feel about disrespect. We have a couple of hours to get...reacquainted before the meeting with your partner. I'd hate to spend too much of it going over...old ground. There's so much new ground to cover."

He ran his hand up under her dress, fingering the edge of her panties. He retreated, then went up again. Her body jerked, and he smiled. I can do anything I want and you can't stop me, his eyes told her as his hands finally retreated.

He rose, his eyes strangely lit as he cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. She knew what was coming and rode out the slaps, first one side, then the other. A blood trail, warm and thick, formed on either side of her mouth.

"Think about it, Nadine. This can be pleasant,"-he stroked her breast-"or hard." He pinched her nipple, his gasp of pleasure coming on top of her gasp of pain. "Think about it very carefully, while I take care of some new business." He pushed the chair back, but before he left, he grabbed her chin and held her immobile while he licked the blood off her mouth, first one side, then the other. He whispered in her ear, "Yum. You taste good, Nadine, much better than Kerry Anne."

He straightened. "Will you be as good as her?"

"Go to hell."

"We'll see who goes to hell today."

She didn't see the punch coming. The blow snapped her head back and turned everything black. When her vision cleared, Harding was standing by Stern.

"I'd like to take care of you myself, Barrett, but the video's worth more if Lily does you. And it will be so educational for Nadine. I'll sit next to her and enlighten her on her options and the consequences of defying me." He turned to Harley and Farley, who were both looking queasy. "Get those cameras going and-"

The ring of a phone cut across his instructions. Annoyed, he signaled Farley, who was nearest the office, to answer it. "Take a message."

In a minute the man was back. "Wouldn't leave a message. Said you better come to the phone if you want your rabbit."

With a muttered curse, Harding left them. Both Harley and Farley looked relieved as they mopped their sweaty brows.

"Who's Lily?" Harley croaked. He looked a little green around the gills. He turned and bumped a tray of what looked like surgical instruments.

"Lily?" Stern smiled. "You don't want to meet Lily. But you will."

From the office they heard the phone slam back into the cradle. Harding emerged, his face a thundercloud. "It seems we'll have to postpone our business here for a short time." He frowned. "Put her in the van, and drive North. Take your cell phone; make sure it's charged. Wait for instructions."

Farley nodded and went to work on Phoebe's cuffs. Harley nodded toward Stern. "What about him?"

Harding hesitated. "Leave him. This won't take long. We'll deal with him when we get back. It'll give him time to ponder the error of his ways."

Phoebe waited until they'd were driving away from Harding to say to the two men, "I hope you've both got strong stomachs."

Harley turned a deeper shade of green, Farley white as a sheet.

The rain was starting to let up when Jake, Alice and Bryn cautiously approached the warehouse. Weapons out, Jake signaled for Alice to stay where she was. Bryn went right. Jake went left. There were no windows, but Jake rounded a corner and found a door standing ajar.

Policy dictated he wait for Bryn to back him up, but Jake was sick of waiting. He nudged the door open just wide enough for him to slip through, then stopped so his eyes could adjust to the dim interior.

Ahead of him, dirty skylights cast uneven light in a line down the center. He rounded a partition that could have been an office and saw a sight that stopped him in his tracks.

"Jake? Where are you?" Bryn's voice came softly through the radio earpiece.

"I'm inside."

"Without backup? Are you nuts?"

"Trust me when I say there is no threat here." Despite this reassurance, he did a quick recon of the area, with his held gun out, the barrel pointed slightly down. Only then did he approach the bed and its gagged, manacled, and very naked occupant. Around him, among some very interesting bondage equipment, were the tattered remains of what were probably his clothes.

Jake picked up a piece and examined it. It appeared to have been cut off. Possibly with the knife stuck in the mattress between his bare thighs.

"Do you require assistance?" Jake asked, trying not to grin.

He gave Jake an eye rolling, "Are you shitting me?" look.

Jake removed the gag, then looked around for the keys to the handcuffs.

"What happened?" He heard Bryn and Alice coming in and grabbed a piece of shirt, tossing it over the guy's family jewels, which weren't exactly doing him proud.

Farley looked glum. "An unfortunate error in judgment."

Chapter 20.

Phoebe had hoped she'd done the right thing, helping Farley convince Harley that Farley should go back and release Stern. Both of them agreed Harding wasn't what they'd expected, but Harley thought it was too late to change back to Stern's camp. Farley hadn't called in, which seemed to indicate Harley had been right. A pity right didn't seem to be much comfort, Phoebe thought as Harley wiped his sweaty brow again. If Farley had freed Stern, Harley was now squarely in the very nasty, very dangerous middle. She just hoped it would help things break their way. They could use a break right now.

While Harley drove and sweated and muttered, Phoebe went to work on her handcuffs. They'd secured her hands in front, a lucky miscalculation for her. It didn't seem to be their day for making good decisions.

Keeping a wary eye on wild-eyed Harley, Phoebe unpinned the rose Dewey had given her and put it to good use. The small snick of the handcuff lock releasing came at the same moment Harley's cell phone rang. They both jumped at the sound.

Phoebe met Harley's gaze in the rearview mirror.

He rubbed his face, his hand shaking, then picked up the phone. "Y-y-yes?" He listened for a moment. "Okay. Sure...Fine. Everything's fine." He looked at her again, perplexity written large on his face. "He wants me to take you to the TelTech parking lot."

"Better do what he says." When he wasn't looking, Phoebe pinned the rose to the inside of her waistband. Just in case. Then she positioned the cuffs so she appeared to be secured.

She leaned back, getting as comfortable as the metal panels would allow. So, she'd been right to think Harding would choose his own turf. It was obvious he thought he could get RABBIT and keep her, which meant he intended to pop Dewey as soon as he turned over the chip. She thought about the warehouse, the bed and the things around that bed. If Harding got his way, Dewey would be the lucky one.

She tried to wet her dry throat with a painful swallow; well, they'd just have to make sure Harding didn't get his way. Or die trying.

The offices and halls of TelTech were deserted when Harding let himself in. He'd realized earlier that it was pointless to try to keep things going while the theft was being investigated. The security office was empty, crime-scene tape still strung across the doorway.