Her fingers went limp. The gun clattered to the floor.

Lucas.

She was sobbing hard by the time he helped her to her feet. He hugged her until the hysteria subsided.

"They're here," she said when she found her voice.

Lucas nodded. "I know."

"How will we escape?"

The front door burst inward. Then the rear.

Lucas pulled her behind him and leveled his weapon on the bedroom door.

Dear G.o.d. They were coming.

Chapter Seventeen.

Marek Compound, 6:00 p.m.

Maggie sat very still in the chair to which one of the men had tied her. Across the room, the woman who called herself the Dragon spoke quietly with the men who had brought them here.

Lucas sat a few feet away. The entire trip here, tied up in the cargo area of the SUV, he had whispered rea.s.surances to Maggie. Despite the black bags over their heads, hearing his voice had kept her from losing her mind to the panic. Once they had arrived the bags had been removed as if their captors wanted them to see that there was no escape.

This place was like a prison. A huge compound with a towering wall protecting it from any outside threat. The interior was ma.s.sive and austere. The stark s.p.a.ces were frightening and cold. Several large monitors were mounted on the wall in this room. Information and images streamed on each one. The interrogation room, the woman had called it. There was nothing enduring or homey about any part of this place that Maggie had seen. The idea that Slade grew up in this heinous inst.i.tution-like setting squeezed Maggie's heart painfully.

She and Lucas had not been questioned, but Maggie imagined that was coming. Soon. The band around her neck chafed her skin. It wasn't a part of the restraints. But both she and Lucas had been fitted with one when they were dragged into this room. Maggie wondered if it was a GPS device of some sort.

As if she had telegraphed her thoughts, the Dragon turned and strode across the room. Maggie shuddered inwardly. The woman looked so much like Victoria. I t was uncanny. Disturbing.

"Where is he?"

Since she stared at Maggie, she a.s.sumed the evil witch was talking to her. "He left." She infused as much strength in her voice as she could muster. "He's never coming back. You won't find him." Pride welled inside her at how she'd managed to get it all out. "He didn't tell me where he was going," she added.

A palm collided with her jaw, sending her head snapping back. Maggie shook herself, blinked back the tears and glared at the woman who had slapped her. "You asked." Her cheek and lip throbbed. "Wasn't I supposed to answer?"

The Dragon shook her head. "You are quite pathetic. What he saw in you escapes me. I trained him better than that. I suppose there is no accounting for taste."

Maggie refused to let those ugly words touch her heart. She also held her tongue. Pushing the woman would only get her hurt and Maggie had to protect her baby. The thought of the life growing in her womb made her smile inside. That was one secret this witch would never know. She didn't deserve to know.

"Why don't you let her go," Lucas suggested. "It's me you really want."

The Dragon laughed, the sound anything but humorous. "Don't flatter yourself, Lucas. There was a time when that was indeed the case, but that time has long pa.s.sed. You are of no significance to me."

Lucas laughed. "Ah, but you remain significant to me and a number of others. There are so very many out there who still want you. The CIA and Interpol have never stopped looking for you. They're getting closer than you know."

The witch smiled. "And they will keep looking." She leaned down to put her face in his. "No one can stop me. But then-" she straightened "-you knew that, didn't you? You wouldn't be here had I not ordered your presence. I gave the order and-" she smiled "-here you are."

A smirk twisted Lucas's lips. "Do you really believe your underlings brought me in against my will? I knew they were coming. I wanted to be here."

Fury whipped across the woman's face. "Really?" She turned to her men, considered each for a trauma-filled moment. "Well? What say you?"

The two who had driven Maggie and Lucas to this awful place exchanged a look. One said, "He had a weapon. We disarmed and secured him."

Lucas shook his head. "How many did I eliminate before you disarmed me?"

"None," the man said. "We were-"

"Fool," the Dragon screeched. "If he wanted one or more of you dead, you would be dead." She adjusted the elegant suit jacket she wore. "Get out."

The men obeyed, leaving the Dragon alone with Maggie and Lucas.

"I came for my son."

Maggie stared at Lucas. What was he doing? Was he purposely trying to inflame her?

More of that red-hot fury slashed across the Dragon's face. "Your son? There you go flattering yourself again. You were the sperm donor, nothing more."

Lucas shrugged one shoulder. "He considers me his father. I guess that makes it real enough. Does he call you mother?"

"Before I end your pathetic existence," she warned, ignoring his question, "why don't you tell me where he is and end this tedious business."

"He's gone, Dragon," Lucas said with audible pleasure. "He isn't coming back. I a.s.sured him that I would square things with you."

The Dragon glanced at Maggie. "Perhaps I'll spare his little friend if you make this easy for me."

"She doesn't know where he is, either. Anything you do to her will be a waste of time and energy. You've got me. You don't need anyone else."

Before she could toss another warning at him, he added, "Did you say easy?" Lucas cut loose with another of those deep, throaty laughs. "You getting soft in your old age?"

She strode up to him and reached down. As Maggie watched in horror, she grabbed Lucas by the right ankle and ripped off his prosthetic leg. She tossed it across the room. "Age is just a number, wouldn't you say?" She dusted her palms together. "It's the mind and body that make the man. There isn't a stronger, more powerful man alive than this woman."

In a move so fast and so fluid, Lucas drew his left knee to his chest and kicked her in the stomach. She hit the floor flat on her back. Lucas propelled himself, chair and all, on top of her.

Maggie bit back a scream. What should she do?

Three men rushed into the room. Maggie cried out a warning as she watched Lucas, still secured to the chair, struggle with the evil woman.

Two of the men dragged Lucas off her. His mouth was b.l.o.o.d.y. Maggie's breath caught as she spied the gash in the Dragon's cheek.

"Prepare him," she ordered, swiping at the blood with the back of her hand. The third man hurried to her with a cloth to hold on the wound. "I will watch you die," she snarled at Lucas. "I had planned a special ceremony, but it's clear you are in a hurry."

"You have no right to wear her face," Lucas thundered. "I will cut it off you myself."

With her two goons holding Lucas down, the Dragon moved close to him once more. "You were so besotted with her it was sickening. Pathetic. Your precious Victoria was another man's wife. I knew changing my face to look like hers would get me what I needed."

"You were that desperate? You needed to transform yourself into someone else?" Lucas didn't let up with his verbal a.s.sault. "Are you quite sure I was the pathetic one?"

"You were the target," she blasted right back. "It was my mission to know everything about you. Like how you saved your best friend in a POW camp." She pointed to his missing leg. "You paid a dear price for your loyalty. How honorable of you. Or were you just hoping to impress his fiancee?" She leaned closer still. "I knew your every secret, Lucas. Your record at the CIA was unparalleled for such a young man. You were the perfect candidate for my needs. Just ask your old friend Jennifer. She can tell you I always get what I want. But she's dead. I suppose she can't confirm that for me." She shrugged. "I let her know I planned a visit and she went and checked out before I arrived. How rude."

Maggie's stomach dropped to her feet. The horror stories Slade had told her were all true. It wasn't that she hadn't believed him...yet it was so unbelievable. "But your big plan failed."

It wasn't until the woman glowered at Maggie that she realized she had spoken the words aloud. Fear exploded in her chest as the woman moved toward her.

"What did he tell you?" she demanded.

It was too late for Maggie to take back what she'd said.

The Dragon turned to her cohort. "Give her the Sodium Pentothal. She'll talk."

The baby! Maggie couldn't let them give her drugs. "The Code. I know about the Code."

The look in the Dragon's eyes was indescribable. Rage. Hysteria. Insanity. "You're lying."

"We both know about the Code," Lucas said, drawing her attention back to him. "Did you think you could keep your secret forever?"

How did Lucas know? Was he bluffing?

The Dragon laughed. "You have no idea what I have accomplished."

"There were four," Maggie said quickly, drawing the fire from Lucas. "Three males and one female. Two failed. They couldn't live up to your warrior standards. So you terminated them. Only Tripp and Alayna are left and their allegiance is not to you." Maggie prayed she got the details right. Her head was spinning.

"Shut her up," the Dragon roared.

One of the men moved toward Maggie. "You won't have any better luck with the new ones," she shouted before the man reached her. "They'll turn on you just like the others. Then you'll have no one to torture and abuse. You'll be alone."

He grabbed Maggie's chin. She braced for the worst. He attempted to open her mouth. She fought to keep it closed. But he was strong. Her lips and teeth parted. He stuffed a cloth into her mouth.

The Dragon glared at Maggie for a long moment before ordering, "Raise the alert. Evacuate the six." Her attention moved from Lucas to Maggie and back. "These two are foolishly bluffing, but we won't take the risk."

"Don't waste your time," Lucas said, his voice oddly weary. "Your game is over."

What was wrong with Lucas? Maggie tried to see around the goon hovering over him. When he stepped back, she saw the IV-like bag hanging on the back of Lucas's chair. A line ran to his chest and disappeared beneath his shirt. Were they giving him the drug they had talked about? Maggie had heard of it before. Truth serum.

The Dragon leaned down to look Lucas in the eyes. "This drug takes a full two hours to destroy the human body from the inside out. It's a slower method than I had initially intended, but so far it has gotten rave reviews from others." She smiled. "It's new and I've been dying to try it out." She flashed that smile at Maggie. "Say goodbye to your pathetic little friend."

Desperation erupted inside Maggie.

"Get Raby in here," the Dragon ordered.

Maggie watched the man rush out of the room. What now? The need to heave ached in her throat. She closed her eyes and prayed hard that someone would come to rescue them. That this evil woman would not have her way again.

The witch laughed long and loud. Maggie's eyes flew open. A new man had arrived, this one older and unarmed. He ushered the Dragon into a chair and seemed to be tending to the wound on her cheek.

"Are you praying?" the Dragon asked Lucas. She shook her head. "Pathetic."

Maggie's throat and eyes burned. She turned to Lucas. His head had lolled to one side. Her chest constricted with panic. She was killing him. Maggie had to do something.

"Can you take care of this, Raby?"

Maggie's attention swung back to the Dragon and the man working on her face.

"Of course. Once it's healed, I'll make it go away. At the moment we just need to get it closed to avoid infection. Now, be still."

Maggie's eyes widened as she watched. Raby ordered a tray. When the stainless-steel tray loaded with instruments arrived, he began st.i.tching the wound. Maggie replayed those last few steps. The man had not injected any sort of anesthetic. The Dragon never even flinched as the needle slid through her skin.

Maggie blinked, felt herself sinking into the escape offered by her mind's denial. She fought the lure. Have to stay alert...to pay attention.

The Dragon stared at her. She smirked. "After enough Botox you lose all sensation."

When Raby had applied a small bandage to the sutured wound, the Dragon pushed him away. He hurried from the room without once glancing at the hostages. Maggie didn't blame him. See no evil, fear no evil.

The Dragon stalked over to Lucas and lifted his head. "Feels good, doesn't it?" She laughed. "I understand the intense burning is the worst. It's the buildup of the toxin that actually kills you. That's why it can't be a single injection. Why don't you weigh in for us, Mr. Master Spy?" She sighed. "You really threw a wrinkle into my plans. I wanted you to watch your son die before we reached this point, but I guess we'll just go with plan B."

Think, Maggie! Do something!

She started moaning. Talking was not happening with the gag stuck in her mouth. The goon standing near her yanked her by the hair. She screamed as best she could around the gag. The Dragon turned to her. Maggie nodded and groaned as loud as she could. She widened her eyes in hopes of making the woman understand she had something she needed to say. "What is she trying to say?" The Dragon dropped Lucas's head and strode toward Maggie.

The gag was yanked from Maggie's mouth. She gasped, bit back the instinct to retch.

"You have something to say?" The Dragon grabbed a handful of Maggie's hair and jerked her head back. "I hate when my time is wasted."

"Lucas didn't tell you the whole truth." Maggie's head felt as if it was going to explode. She wasn't in the spy business. She didn't know how to do this. But she had to do something. Making stuff up was the only option she could think of.

The Dragon's gaze narrowed. "I'm waiting."

"A...a CIA team is on the way. He made it easy for your men to catch him because that team was going to follow us here." Maggie had no idea if that made sense. She didn't have a clue if the CIA had teams. Dear G.o.d, please let her desperate plan buy them some time.

The Dragon turned to one of her henchmen. "Stop the IV. We may need him."

Relief rushed through Maggie. Thank G.o.d.

The Dragon approached her. "If you're lying, I will make your final hours more painful than you can possibly imagine."

"It's the truth," Maggie urged. "I heard him talking to whoever is in charge."

"Thomas Casey," Lucas said, his voice weak.

Maggie's chest inflated with new hope. He was still alive and, evidently, she had done well. He was running with the story she had started.

"Casey?" The Dragon strolled across the room and studied one of the monitors mounted on the wall. "He is on the move." She turned back to Lucas. "I keep tabs on certain high-level members of compet.i.tion."