Sharik was crazed. He didn't give a f.u.c.k that his own people would also die in an explosion. Jude narrowed his gaze on Sharik. "My men are willing to die for their country if it means keeping the likes of you from taking any more innocent lives." G.o.d how he hoped it didn't come to that.

Jude knew the only reason Sharik was bothering was to make Jude's last moments more unbearable. Jude's gaze shifted to the unmoving body on the floor again. The sack covered the person entirely. It was the right size to be Lori. Fury made his blood boil, and now wasn't the time for that.

He needed a level head. He had to make a decision. If Sharik were to be believed, no one would survive the explosives, but with so much gunfire, Jude doubted the explosives truly existed. His best bet would be to fake as if he were going to take himself and Sharik out with a grenade and hope no one else died when Sharik released that b.u.t.ton.

He held Sharik in one hand and set the pistol on the floor with the other.

It was time to dance. Jude yanked one of the grenades from his pocket and held it in front of Sharik's face. "I have my own explosives, a.s.shole. You wanna tango? You have judged me wrong this day, my friend." Jude released Sharik and pulled the safety pin on the grenade. He didn't bother to hide it. He just held it up in Sharik's face. "Hasta la vista, mother f.u.c.ker." He released the striker lever.

The look in Sharik's eyes as he tried to scramble away was priceless. Not only was he beyond surprised to find how little Jude valued his life, but he demonstrated how much he valued his own with his mad scramble to escape.

His eyes went wide. He released the control he'd been holding and dragged himself backward.

All Jude could think was, Holy mother of G.o.d, I hope I've judged this situation correctly. After years of researching this a.s.shole, he knew him as well as anyone. And Jude was gambling all his knowledge on this one moment in time.

The remote clattered to the floor with no explosion following its release. Relief flooded Jude. Time stood still while Sharik tried to escape the grenade. Jude stared him in the eye and counted down the seconds before the explosion would occur. As soon as those crucial seconds pa.s.sed, Sharik would be onto him.

Sure, the commanding officer had wanted to take Sharik alive, but the second that a.s.shole reached for the p.r.o.ne hostage, Jude whipped a second gun from his back and fired two rounds into the enemy's head.

Sharik fell to the ground, the life ebbing out of him in the same way it had months ago. This time it was real. No man survived two close-range shots to the head.

Shots still rang out, some coming precariously close to the hostage.

Jude tossed the fake grenade and crawled over to the sack, shoving Sharik's body out of his way. He tore at the rope holding the person inside before realizing he needed a knife and grabbed his sharp blade from his side scabbard.

He made quick work of cutting the ropes free and sliced carefully into the sack. Before he could reveal the entire person, red curls fell into his hands. He tore frantically, barely noticing the lack of gunfire around him. She lay facedown, and he searched for her pulse before flipping her over.

Be alive, baby. Please. He couldn't bear to see her face if she were dead.

A faint heartbeat was all he needed to breathe, and he gathered Lori's body up against his chest and held her tight. He pulled the wadded gag from her mouth, and she moaned and muttered something incoherent into his vest.

Jude froze. Her voice wasn't right. It was strained. Off. Too deep. He pulled her down to hold her in his lap and gasped. Her head lulled and her eyes flickered open-but this woman was not Lori.

Tears ran down Jude's face. "We need a medic over here," he screamed.

Who was she? An innocent local caught in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Two men ran forward and took the frail woman from Jude's lap. They gently laid her flat and checked her vitals.

Ike stepped up and pulled Jude to his feet. "You know her?" His brow was furrowed.

"No," Jude whispered. "No." But something still felt weird. He glanced around the room. Most of his men seemed to be standing. None of the enemy.

Ike stepped in front of his gaze. "You all right, man?" He set a hand on Jude's shoulder. "You look like you saw a ghost."

"I might have, Ike. I might have." Jude shook his head and stared back at the woman who eerily resembled his woman. A chill raced down his spine. All those times he'd felt someone watching him in the woods behind the house... Maybe he hadn't been crazy. Maybe this b.a.s.t.a.r.d had seen Lori and had kidnapped this lookalike to f.u.c.k with Jude's head. How long had Sharik been holding this woman hostage?

"Good thing you're about to retire." Ike chuckled. "I might have had to turn you in for being unstable." He grew serious again. "Hey. You did good work. And that grenade trick was f.u.c.king awesome. You should have seen the look on that b.a.s.t.a.r.d's face as he tried to get away.

"Here's what I don't understand-how did you know the remote was a fake?"

Jude lifted his face to look Ike in the eye. "I didn't. It was a gamble. But I saw no evidence of any explosives in here. And I never noticed him holding the remote before that moment. I think he pulled it out to use as leverage. He failed."

"f.u.c.k. You're one risky dude." Ike's eyes widened in disbelief and respect. "Let's get out of here. I've had enough of this job for one day."

"Yeah. Well, I'm on vacation."

Ike cringed. "I think you might want to put in for a little more time." He set a hand on Jude's shoulder as they left the warehouse. "I'll buy you a drink."

"Nah, man. I have to be somewhere after we debrief."

"Oh, yeah." He chuckled. "Is she hot?"

"That she is." Jude stepped outside and lifted his face to the sun. It was warm out. He spun around and watched the sky for a minute. He'd tempted fate a second time and won. He surely didn't have more lives. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a second grenade. This one was real. He felt it between his fingers and thanked G.o.d he'd chosen the fake.

Several troops had pulled up in jeeps, and Jude jogged over to one, anxious to get back to the base, debrief, shower and get the h.e.l.l back to Lori.

Chapter Twenty-One.

It took six hours for Jude to make it back to Jason's house. He held a dozen roses and had a nervous gait he was well aware of. Lori had every right to kick his a.s.s to the curb and send him packing. But he was here to fight for her, and he wouldn't go down without trying.

Jude knocked at the door and it swung open so fast he flinched.

Jason stood just inside, his phone to his ear, his shirt open, his hair disheveled, his face frantic. For a second Jude thought he'd caught the man having s.e.x. And then he changed his mind.

Jason's mouth fell open. The phone fell away to his side without him telling the caller goodbye. He stepped past Jude through the door and spun around outside. "What the h.e.l.l?" Jason asked.

Jude lowered the roses. Something wasn't right.

"Where's Lori?" Jason asked.

"What the f.u.c.k do you mean, where's Lori? I left her here with you."

Jason stopped looking around and turned to set his confused gaze on Jude. "She's not here. Why the h.e.l.l are you here?" He stepped back inside.

Jude followed, shutting the door behind him.

Jason lifted his arm to his head and seemed to realize he was holding a phone and in the middle of a call. "s.h.i.t. Carlton?... No, it's not Lori, it's Jude... I don't f.u.c.king know yet... I'll call you back." He hung up and put the cell in his pocket.

"Explain to me how you don't know where Lori is?"

"Explain to me how you're here at my house less than twenty-four hours after shattering that woman for the second time."

"Fair enough." Jude deflated. He entered the living room and set the roses on the coffee table. "I deserve that. You know I can't tell you where I've been, but suffice to say, I'm done now. It won't happen again."

"And you somehow miraculously tempted fate again?"

"It would appear that way, yes. Now what happened here?"

"I don't know." Jason started to pace. "You dropped her off, and I took her directly to the guest room to sleep off the stress and exhaustion. I busied myself all morning and she never emerged. At about one, I went to wake her up to try to get her to eat something and she was gone."

"f.u.c.k."

"Yeah, f.u.c.k."

The foreboding he'd felt earlier returned. Had he pushed her so far off the deep end she might try to take her own life?

G.o.d, please no. Please make it so she went out for air. Maybe she needed a walk. Maybe she needed a drink. He'd certainly driven her in that direction.

Jude thanked G.o.d at least Lori had good loyal people on her side. Hopefully Lori knew that too and wouldn't do anything stupid.

Jude turned to Jason. "Tell me exactly what happened."

Jason led him to the guest room. "She was asleep in here. There isn't much to tell. And then she was gone."

Jude entered. He stepped to the bed. "Did you move anything?"

"No," Jason said.

Jude fingered the blankets thrown haphazardly away like the person who'd slept there had been tossing and turning. Lori didn't create such a mess when she slept, but this wasn't an ordinary day. She could have been distraught even in rest.

Jude looked around on the floor. "What was she wearing?"

"The same thing you brought her in. I only removed her shoes." Jason pointed at the floor. "They're gone."

Jude stepped over to the window. "You said you were in the kitchen and you never saw her go past?"

"That's right. What are you thinking?"

Jude pointed toward the window. "Is this usually locked?"

Jason eased beside him. "G.o.d, I don't know. Could have been. Maybe. Maybe not. You think she went out the window?"

Jude lifted the pane easily and stuck his head out to peer down at the ground. Only a few feet. Not far to jump. It was impossible to tell if the gra.s.s below was disturbed or not.

Jason reached for the window.

"Don't." Jude grabbed his hand.

Jason looked up at him as though he'd grown an extra head.

"Just in case."

He swallowed and nodded. "So maybe she went out the window, but why? She wasn't a hostage here. She could have told me she needed some air."

Jude jumped out of his skin when Jason said hostage. Flashes of the similar redhead at the warehouse flooded his mind's eye.

He squeezed his eyes closed against the images. And then tried to relax his features. What was important now was finding Lori. "Let's say she went for a walk. Where to? She never came back." He glanced at his watch. It was after nine o'clock. "She's been gone at least eight hours." He looked toward Jason. "No messages. No texts?"

Jason shook his head. "But there's another thing."

"What?" Jude asked.

"She didn't take her purse. It's in the bedroom. Her phone's inside."

Jude pulled out his cell and dialed nine one one. Fear spread through his veins. Had she been that distraught? Enough to wander away with nothing and not return?

His hands shook as he fed details to the officer and asked a unit to be sent over immediately. He put the phone back in his pocket and followed Jason back to the living room.

Jason broke the silence. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for all this."

Jude paced. "She was too calm. I should have realized..." He ran his fingers through his hair.

When the police showed up ten minutes later, Jude walked them through the entire scene. He answered all their questions, checking with Jason when he was unsure of any detail. Jason was falling apart.

Jude was too, but in his own way. He compartmentalized the fear, the pain and the guilt and took care of what needed to be done.

Jude wasn't stupid. He knew there was very little the police could do at this point, but the file needed to be opened.

When the questions turned to personal things, Jude fielded those too. Had they fought? Was she upset? Had she ever run away? Did she have suicidal tendencies?

The man remained stoic and kept lengthy notes while Jude answered everything as directly and honestly as possible.

As soon as the police left, someone else came to the door.

Jude opened it again, even though it was Jason's house.

Carlton stood there bigger than life. "What the f.u.c.k is going on and why are cops pulling away from the curb?" He plowed past Jude and headed for Jason.

Jude deserved everything he got and more. He was an a.s.shole of the largest variety. He deserved their anger and their wrath. All he cared about was making sure Lori was okay. He'd trade everything that had happened in the last three weeks if it meant she was okay.

Jason brought Carlton up to date, and when the man had calmed down enough to stop screaming, he stomped toward the kitchen.

"What do we do now?" Jason asked.

Jude didn't have the answers. "I guess we should comb the neighborhood and make sure she didn't actually head out for a walk and twist an ankle or something." He didn't believe a word of that, but it would give them something to do.

Jason shook his head. "Unless she's in a coma, there's no way she wouldn't have called by now."

Everyone froze. Two seconds later, they all had their phones in their hands and were dialing the local hospitals. Ten minutes later, they'd exhausted every emergency room in a twenty-mile radius. No one had either a Lori Polluck or a Jane Doe.