Could she do that to save Trey?

How could she not? Despite the gut-wrenching choice, she'd do anything to save her brother. She comforted herself with the fact that Bryan would want her to do this for Trey, too. Nonetheless, she kept her eyes down. "I need some time to write the story as you want it."

Johnson nodded. "You have two hours."

"Two hours?" she squeaked. That wasn't long enough. She needed every last minute he'd allow.

"I saw the rough draft, Ms. Smith. You already have most of it written. Isn't this just changing some facts around?"

Again, arguing was pointless. She had no illusions as she fought the paralyzing panic rising up inside her. As soon as he got what he wanted, or if she was foolish enough to say out loud that she wouldn't cooperate, she was dead.

"I want my freedom. The only way I can secure that is by giving you exactly what you've asked for. I want to make sure you receive my best work."

"I'm sure it will be."

"May I have a computer to work with and my original story notes from the cloud account?" she asked.

"Of course." Johnson opened the door, and a guard walked in with a laptop and a tray table, along with a small plate of food and a bottle of water.

She started to refuse the food, but she needed fuel if she was going to work. Eating would likely help her headache, too.

"There's no internet connection," explained Johnson. "We just downloaded the contents of your cloud account into a file."

"I understand." Sa.s.sy opened the computer, hoping she looked appropriately eager to start working.

"Anything else?" asked Johnson. "A shower, perhaps? I can have some clothes brought to you. Donald will be right outside your door."

She nodded. "I'd very much like to get cleaned up." A shower might help her pull it together. "Could I have some aspirin, please?"

"Of course." Johnson spoke to the guard who'd dropped off the food. He was back moments later with a small bottle and a stack of clothes: sweatpants, a long-sleeve T-shirt, and underclothes.

"I'll give you an extra hour to shower and eat, but I need the story before eight, Ms. Smith." He pointed to a large clock on the bedside table. "Don't disappoint me."

He closed the door behind him with a resounding snap.

She focused on the lushly carpeted floor for a moment, then turned to the clock. It was 5:05 PM. This was really happening.

She gazed at the computer and the bottle of pain reliever. There was no way she could write until her headache was under control. And whatever else happened this evening, she was going to make sure her brother's deal wasn't jeopardized. If there was any chance of saving Trey with this story, she'd do it. She unscrewed the top on the bottled water and popped three of the caplets.

Three hours. She checked the sliding gla.s.s door to the balcony. It was locked down with some kind of mechanism that required a key. She supposed she could try breaking the gla.s.s, but that would have to be a very last resort, since the guard would hear the noise and come running.

She went to the window in the bathroom. The same kind of locking mechanism was there as well. She studied the high-tech shower and glanced down at her wrinkled, smelly clothes.

There didn't appear any way out. But in the time it took to shower, perhaps the aspirin would kick in. Maybe then she could pull her scrambled thoughts together enough to figure a way out of her lovely prison or write the hatchet piece that would destroy AEGIS.

How had it come to this?

Chapter Twenty-six.

December 30 Evening HOW HAD IT come to this?

Bryan gave his parachute one final check and pulled himself out of the airplane's doorway onto the strut of the Beaver float plane.

He ground his teeth as he held on and prayed for the jump to be over.

"You hate this, don't you?" shouted Nick from the door.

Bryan nodded once. Oh yeah. He loathed skydiving. Night jumps in particular. Not that he wasn't proficient; he just couldn't get used to the sensation of falling through the inky black sky.

"Still can't believe you're a Marine who hates skydiving," said Nick.

"Screw you," shouted Bryan, happy for the opportunity to let the primal scream out that had been building ever since the plane had taken off. The wind buffeted his body as he stood on the strut, freshly reminding him of why he did not like this.

He was thankful Nick was there. Nightshade had pulled a 180 and the stick out of his a.s.s, cutting Leland and Nick loose, along with Jenny, Anna, and Zach. He'd also supplied them with equipment, including a plane and pilot, less than fifteen hours after meeting Bryan in the SkyLounge. Bryan didn't want to know what Risa had done to make that happen. He was just grateful for whatever it was and had decided Nightshade might be an okay guy after all.

Leland was back on crutches full-time after the fiasco at Gavin's lake house. He had stayed behind in Atlanta with Anna, her son, and Jennifer. Leland was running comms from there, making sure Bryan and Nick could access everything Bear had for them that was hackable. Nick wouldn't have felt right leaving Jenny unprotected, even though he had more reason to want Johnson than anyone, given what the man had done to his parents.

The pilot had their plane cruising at around 120 miles per hour. Nick climbed out beside Bryan on the strut. Jumping from a float plane was a challenge but not impossible. Still, it had never been on Bryan's bucket list of things to do before the year ended.

He shouted to be heard over the engines. "Meet me by the resort's dock."

Nick nodded, his teeth and eyes the only areas visible on his cammied face. They were about to parachute into the largest resort on Lake Chatuge. Two hours from every conceivable airport, flying had been the quickest and quietest way in. Johnson's compound was locked down like Fort Knox on its own private island across the lake from the White Pines Resort.

The pilot would land on the other side of the lake and wait for word from Bryan to come pick them up when this was all over. Part one of the never-ending fun that was this evening included Bryan and Nick parachuting into White Pines, "borrowing" transport from the resort's boathouse, and getting to Johnson's island. Bryan heartily wished they could skip to the part where they were finding Sa.s.sy and getting the h.e.l.l out of Dodge.

Discovering where she was being held had been part luck and part science. Bear had done it, and on a hunch, too. Working all night, he'd "set traps" on Sa.s.sy's various cloud and email accounts that she'd used while at his house. They'd gotten lucky when Johnson had called Bryan at the accident site. Bear had taken that information and used it to locate Johnson when he hacked Sa.s.sy's cloud account an hour later.

Nightshade had done the rest in total secrecy. Nothing was official. Bryan wasn't even sure it was entirely legal, but he hadn't questioned the man's methods. He'd needed help getting Sa.s.sy, and he wasn't too proud to admit it. He also wasn't looking over that proverbial gift horse too closely.

Unfortunately, parachuting in was the only way to get to the area undetected. While Bear had been snooping around electronically, he'd found that Johnson's house was more of a compound. Even now Bear was working hard at hacking into the sophisticated security system. Bryan and Nick had to find a way to neutralize that system to get to Sa.s.sy.

"You ready?" called Nick.

"As I'll ever be." Bryan sucked in the largest breath he possibly could and took a giant step from the strut. The wind was still blasting away at his body, but as he plummeted through the air at over 110 mph, it was surprisingly quiet. Most people loved this part of the jumping experience. For Bryan, it was miserable.

He gritted his teeth. Lights from the resort glowed like jewels on the velvet blanket of the lake's sh.o.r.e. Moments later he deployed the chute. One hundred feet from the ground he lost the reflection of the ambient light, falling into what felt like a black hole before suddenly touching down on the gra.s.sy slope beside the water. He felt the jolting smack all the way up his sore back.

Light from the restaurant didn't quite reach his landing area. No one would have seen him unless they'd been looking up as he landed. He glanced up himself but couldn't see Nick, then he began folding the black chute into a stuff sack before heading to the dock. This would be the place he was most likely to be seen. The outside of the boathouse was lit up like a Christmas tree. A black shadow materialized from the other side.

Nick stepped forward, and one of the lights caught the green, brown, and black streaks covering his face. "You okay?" he asked.

"We're on the ground, and I didn't break anything. That's all that matters." Bryan straightened the pack on his back that held his weapons.

Nick snorted a quiet laugh, and they headed for the boathouse, taking care to keep to the shadows as long as possible. Finally they were able to duck inside and be completely out of sight. A fishing boat with a trolling motor was tied next to a larger ski boat.

Bryan spied a couple of paddles and opted for the fishing boat. "We can get away from the dock and start the motor once we're further out."

"Good plan." Nick nodded, and they went to work.

The stars illuminated the sky and the lake. It was a beautiful night, but on the water the bitter cold seeped through every layer Bryan was wearing. Once they were halfway across, he contacted Leland on the combination high-tech SAT phone and computer Nightshade had sent with Nick. Bryan had never seen anything like it before and a.s.sumed this was some kind of top-secret prototype. Bear would likely give up a kidney to get his hands on it.

Bryan was careful to keep his voice low, knowing the sound could easily carry and amplify over the water. Through the magic of the prototype's technology, Leland's voice was vivid and distinct in both Bryan's and Nick's earpieces. "I've been talking to Bear. He's got some news. I'm patching him through."

There was a moment of static, then Bear's voice was clear also, as if he was sitting right beside them in the boat instead of three hundred miles away. "I hacked the builder's computer system and hit the mother lode. Found the blueprints for Johnson's place including the security schematic. I'm forwarding both of those to you now through Leland. Bad news is that besides being state-of-the-art security, everything's bulletproof gla.s.s and wired out the wazoo."

"Do you have any good news?" asked Bryan.

"Yep. I do. I hacked the contractor's email while I was on the builder's site. There was some big brouhaha about the client wanting sensors that wouldn't show on all the sliding gla.s.s doors and windows. They had to be special ordered. A gazillion of the suckers. This place has a lot of sliding gla.s.s doors and windows."

"Is there a point to this?" Nick turned off the motor and picked up the paddles, preparing to row the rest of the way to the island.

"The sensors haven't all been installed yet due to holiday slowdowns in postal delivery, plus they got shorted on the last shipment. Lots of nasty emails back and forth between the contractor and the security sub-guy. Some of the second-story windows are uncovered."

"Unless they've been shipped and installed in the past twenty-four hours, you've got a clear path in," said Leland.

"You're kidding." Bryan suppressed a whoop and strained to see the lights of the compound on the island ahead of them.

"Nope. I'm not kidding. And here's the best part. Johnson doesn't know," said Leland.

"What?" hissed Bryan.

"The sub and the contractor discussed it at length. Decided not to tell the client," explained Bear.

"And they put that in an email? They should know better in the security business." Bryan kept his voice quiet, but inside he was doing handstands.

"Some folks are box-of-rocks stupid. Ain't it grand?" said Bear.

"Thank G.o.d for that," said Bryan, still incredulous. "Any idea where Sa.s.sy is located in the house?"

"No," said Bear. "But I'm looking at the blueprints and can give you an educated guess about where she's not."

"We're too far out of range to use them yet, but once we land, we've got thermal imaging optics." Nick rowed as he spoke, drawing them ever closer to sh.o.r.e.

"Excellent," said Bear. "There are two sets of bedrooms suites on the second floor of the southeast and northwest corners. Kitchens, living areas, workout room, dining room, office are all on the first floor. She's probably upstairs."

Bryan scanned the fast-approaching island with the regular night-vision goggles provided courtesy of Nightshade. "Once we're closer, we'll start with the bedroom suites."

"You'll have to do a little climbing to get to those second-story windows," said Bear.

"Tell us exactly which windows are uncovered," said Nick.

Bear gave them the details and explained what needed to happen on their end to get in without tripping any internal alarms. "It'd be best if you could use the southeast corner," he finished.

"Got it," said Nick.

Bryan put down the goggles and looked at Nick. "Thanks, guys. We couldn't do this without you."

"No problem, Hollywood. Just get her out safe," said Bear.

"That's what I intend to do."

Sa.s.sY ENDED UP tweaking the story to Johnson's specifications before cleaning up. Once she was finished writing, she climbed into the high-tech shower to wash away the dirty feeling it had given her to twist the facts and lie about AEGIS. The article of fiction wasn't her best work, but it was finished.

She'd just turned off the blow dryer when she heard what sounded like thumping and a sliding gla.s.s door opening in her bedroom. She rewrapped the luxurious towel around herself and opened the bathroom door. Curtains from the balcony billowed in a frigid breeze, and two hulking men in dark clothes and fully camouflaged faces stood just inside the doorway with automatic weapons hanging from their sides.

How had they gotten in? That balcony door had been locked when she'd checked earlier. She fought the scream rising up in her throat, recognizing both Bryan and Nick a split second before she let loose with a banshee yell.

Bryan moved toward her with an expression that was hard to read through the cammo paint, but his eyes were a molten gray. "Oh my G.o.d," she murmured in a squeaky sigh. "It's you."

Under Bryan's hot stare, she pulled the towel a little tighter around her chest and barely stopped herself from stepping forward into his arms. Instead, she remained rooted in the doorway, forcing him to come to her.

He'd left her yesterday morning without a word. He couldn't be here out of anything more than an overblown sense of obligation. While she was extraordinarily grateful he was here, she wasn't going to embarra.s.s him or make it more than it was. She couldn't trust him with her heart. He was standing just inches away from her as she struggled to puzzle it all out under his mesmerizing stare. Heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway.

Bryan put a finger to her lips, reminding her of the last time he'd done that under such different circ.u.mstances. There was a knock at the bedroom door. Nick melted back onto the patio, but there was nowhere for Bryan to go except against the wall behind that bedroom door. He flattened himself against the paneling, but he would be seen as soon as the door opened if Sa.s.sy didn't do something. Fast.

There weren't many options. h.e.l.l. There was really only one. Her stomach churned at the thought, even as she made up her mind to do it.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the middle of the room as the door opened and let the towel drop to the floor.

BRYAN'S HEART CLENCHED even as he took in the splendor that was Sa.s.sy Smith in the nude. The guard stopped in the doorway as if he'd been struck dumb. Bryan truly understood why.

Sa.s.sy au naturel was a sight to behold.

Given everything she'd told him earlier about what had happened to her in high school and the fact that she'd never slept with anyone until forty-eight hours ago, he had a pretty good idea of what it had taken for her to drop the towel. And she'd done it to protect him. Bryan wanted to pick the bath sheet up and wrap it around her himself. Because while she might talk a big game, underneath that tough exterior was a fiercely modest person.

"What do we have here?" the guard mumbled under his breath even as he leered, never taking his eyes from Sa.s.sy's body.

"I need to get my clothes," she murmured in a breathy voice that sounded like something straight out of a p.o.r.n movie.

The guard said nothing but continued to ogle her lasciviously as Bryan stepped from behind the door and hit the man in the back of the head with the b.u.t.t of his MP5.

The guard sank to the floor. Bryan closed and locked the door. When he turned back, Nick was already tying the man's hands and feet as Sa.s.sy scrambled for her towel. She was trying hard not to moon anyone in the process. Not that Bryan would have minded.

"Don't think I'm not grateful you hit him over the head, but what in h.e.l.l were you waiting for?" she asked, rewrapping herself in the bath sheet.

Feeling inexplicably happy given their current situation, Bryan shrugged and smiled. "I was caught up in the glory of a naked Sa.s.sy Smith."

She frowned and stared at him a moment as if he'd lost his mind. "It's nothing you haven't seen before," she retorted.

There was a long pause. A blush bloomed across her face and neck as she belatedly recognized what she'd alluded to in front of Nick. There was nothing Bryan could say that wouldn't make this exponentially worse. He wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.