"Did they really kill Tony?" Tremors wracked Briony's body from the violence rushing into the spaces around her. The emotions choked the breath out of her and pounded at her head. She bent over and vomited, unable to stop the cramping in her stomach.

Tyrel kept pushing her back behind him with one arm as they retreated.

"Someone hit him over the head and threw him in with one of the tigers," her brother answered grimly.

"Damn them. I told them Tony was the father of my baby. I shouldn't have done that, Tyrel. I shouldn't have said anything at all." Deep inside she was crumbling, going to pieces, screaming even. She was directly responsible for Tony's death, and a big part of her was certain she was connected to the murder of her parents. "Maybe I should go with them. If I stay with you, they'll try to kill you, Seth, Ruben, and Jebediah."

"Pull yourself together," Tyrel snapped. "Do you think for one minute we'd let them take you away from us? Get as far away from this as you can. You're already sick. In another minute you're going to go down, Bri, and I can't watch over you and keep them off of you."

Briony backpedaled until she reached the edge of the trailer. She wouldn't allow her disability to compromise Tyrel's safety. She took a deep breath, let it out, and ignored the shards of glass piercing her skull. She loved Tyrel, and Luther could just go to hell if he was counting on her crumbling under the pressure. She glanced up at the roof while Tyrel exchanged another shot with Luther. Someone would hear the shots and come running right into the middle of a war zone.

"I'm going over the roof, Tyrel, and get behind him."

He glanced back at her, his expression furious-protective. He could see the sweat on her body, the toll of violence already ripping at her. Pain shot through Briony, but at the same time she was humiliated to think that in spite of her all special gifts, her capabilities, her brothers had to protect her because she was unable to use her speed and agility or marksmanship.

"No, you're not. These people are playing for keeps. Seth and Ruben and Jebediah will be here any minute and we'll get you out of here. Just stay put."

Luther was moving, trying for a better angle on Tyrel. Briony couldn't stop to think about it, the emotions of all the men swamping her. Anger. Resolve. Luther had an eagerness to destroy-to kill. He was really angry with her-not because of the syringe, but thinking Tony was the father of her baby was somehow a blow to his ego. It made no sense to her, but he was broadcasting loud and clear.

Briony crouched and leapt straight up to the roof, bending low to stay out of sight, running lightly and leaping to the next roof and then the next. From her vantage point she could see the crowd gathered around the tiger's cage and Randall, the other trainer, inside. Jebediah stood outside with a tranq gun and the tiger lay, sides heaving, head lolling from the knockout shot. Randall bent down to pull Tony's body away from the big cat.

Below her and just to her right was Luther. He lay flat on the ground, gun in both hands, arms extended, determined to line up a shot on Tyrel.

Beside him, Ron cursed and moaned, holding his kneecap. "I think my leg's broken. She broke my leg, Luther."

"Idiot. Why do you think they picked her to mother the kid? I warned you, but you had to fall for her big brown eyes," Luther spat contemptuously. "Go to the car and get it running. We'll need to get out of here fast. She can't hold out much longer, and when I shoot her brother, she'll go down hard. I've been studying her for a while."

Luther had been studying her? He thought her knew her capabilities and her weaknesses? Briony wiped a smear of blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. He didn't know the first thing about her determination. The man wasn't killing her brothers, and he sure wasn't getting her baby. She lay flat on the roof, anchoring herself as the wind and rain slashed at her, making the roof slick.

Briony focused on the gun in Luther's hands. Ron began to inch his way back through the brush, toward the car running a few feet away. He dragged his leg, cursing every few feet. She refused to allow her mind to wander, holding to one thought, one action, her entire being focusing on the metal object Luther clutched so tightly.

The metal appeared dark in the rain and shadows, but as she continued to stare at it, it took on a slight glow. Luther suddenly swore and dropped it in the grass. The gun shone with hints of yellow and orange through the gray of the rain. Luther looked around, a small smile suddenly appearing. You're good. Better than we thought-or hoped. Come home where you belong.

The voice was pitched low, and the vibration running through her body made her stomach knot. Alarm spread through her. What was he doing? It was an attack-but not on her-on the unborn child. Stop it. Feeling desperate, Briony pressed one hand to cover the baby and clutched at the roof with the other to keep from slipping.

The baby should be mine. Come with me or I won't stop and the useless kid you're carrying is going to die.

Briony didn't bother to argue. She could feel Luther's resolve. He wouldn't stop until he had Briony. She blocked out her fear for the baby and for herself and concentrated once again on the gun.

You'd better listen to me. I know you can hear me. You were promised to me-meant for me. Get in the car or I'm killing your brother. You know I can do it too.

The gun wiggled in the grass, began to rise, and dropped back to earth. Briony took a deep breath and forced calm into her mind. It didn't matter what he was thinking or feeling or saying. Only the gun mattered. It was the only thing in her world. It rose slowly, and swung around until the muzzle was aimed straight at Luther.

The most difficult part was to keep the gun in levitation while she focused on the trigger. She'd never actually fired a shot this way, but anything was possible.

Luther turned his head, the movement catching his eye. He rolled out of the line of fire, his hand snaking out so fast it was a blur, knocking the gun back to earth. You should have listened to me.

Briony saw the determination on his face as he slipped back into the bushes. He was going after Tyrel. Without hesitation, she rolled backward, straight off the edge of the roof, turning in midair the way she did during a performance, to land on her feet. Sprinting around the corner of the trailer, she raced back toward her brother.

Luther burst out of the shadows, slapping the gun out of Tyrel's hand, knife gleaming as he sliced viciously at his jugular. The blade missed by a scant half an inch as Tyrel stumbled back. He did a series of back springs to put several feet between them, but Luther was just as fast, covering the distance in a single leap, the knife slashing fast, over and over, cutting Tyrel's arms as he tried to defend against the unbelievably fast attack.

Blood splattered in all directions-drops hit Briony as she burst from the garden to strike Luther with the heel of her hand flat on his chest, putting her weight behind it and using every ounce of adrenaline and enhanced strength she had. He slashed with the knife as he fell backward. Briony felt the bite of the blade along her forearm, but she kept going straight at him, kicking at his hand to try to get rid of the blade. She missed his arm, but nailed him in the ribs.

As she attacked again, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Ron emerged, limping, gun in hand. Briony leapt at Tyrel, knocking him back as Ron fired off several rounds in rapid succession. Briony and Tyrel hit the ground, rolling away to shelter.

Luther rose and glanced toward the animal cages, where the people were beginning to turn heads. "This isn't over," Luther snarled. "And when I get my hands on you, you're going to wish you were dead."

Briony kept her head down, trying not to be sick, the pain squeezing her head almost as bad as the day she'd found her parents. Was it possible Luther could amplify what she was feeling?

Tyrel stroked her hair. "How bad, honey? Did he cut you?"

She waited until she heard the car leave before she pushed herself into a sitting position, rocking back and forth. "I'm going to pass out, Tyrel. I can't have a seizure, I don't know what it would do to the baby." She raised her hand to press her palm against her head. Blood dripped steadily.

Tyrel swore. "That's deep. You need stitches."

"Maybe we should call Dr. Sparks," Briony suggested a little hysterically and leaned over and threw up again.

Pounding footsteps announced the arrival of her other brothers. Seth reached down and plucked her out of the wet grass, while Ruben wrapped her arm in his shirt.

"How bad, Tyrel?" Jebediah asked. "You're all cut up to hell."

"They're shallow," Tyrel confirmed, "but Briony's needs stitches."

Jebediah swore. "Get her in the house. I'll take care of both of you, and then we have to get out of here."

"Where are we going?" Ruben asked. "Why are they suddenly after Briony?"

"She thinks they killed Mom and Dad," Jebediah said. "And I'm beginning to think she's right. Get everything out of the safe and let's go now."

"Jebediah." Seth's voice stopped them all. He was standing in the doorway of Jebediah's room.

They turned slowly to stare at him. He stepped back to allow them to see the chaos in the trailer. The place had been torn apart and the safe door was open-the contents gone.

"There were three of them," Briony whispered. "I didn't even smell them." She looked at her brothers with horror on her face. "Who are these people?"

CHAPTER 8.

Briony stared out the window into the pouring rain. The small villa where Jebediah had taken them belonged to an old friend of her parents, a fellow circus performer now retired. They traveled most of the night to get there and arrived tired, hungry, and irritable. Being in the close confines of the car had been hell for Briony. Her brothers were angry and scared and worried. Tyrel was in pain and trying to hide it. No one said a single word about Tony's death-but it was on all of their minds. She threw up so many times Seth even began to curse, frustrated by all the stops they had to make.

"Briony?" Tyrel stood in the doorway. "Are you up to talking or do you need to be alone for a while?"

She turned away from the rain to look at her brother, love for him overwhelming her for a moment. He always inquired, and that meant a lot to her. "What are you doing up? I thought you'd be sound asleep by now." Deliberately she curled up on the sofa to indicate she didn't mind company.

"I was asleep, but my arms were hurting so I got up to try to find some aspirin. I brought you some just in case." He held up the tablets and a glass of water.

"Thanks, Tyrel, I appreciate how thoughtful you always are. I'm not really sure if I should take aspirin. I didn't ask Sparks how to take care of the baby." She flashed a rueful smile. "It never occurred to me I'd ever be having a baby, so I never bothered to research what to do if I got pregnant. I wouldn't want to take anything that might be harmful."

Tyrel dropped into the chair opposite her. "I still can't believe you're having a baby. I had no idea you were seeing anyone."

"I wasn't-not exactly. I can't be around anyone long enough to get intimate with them as a rule."

"Are you saying Tony isn't the father?"

She ducked her head, looking down at her hands. "I told Sparks he was. I wanted to see his reaction. He was acting so strange and I didn't want to name the real father, so I used Tony's name." She looked up at her brother, horror in her gaze. "I swear, I had no idea they would kill him."

"Briony." Tyrel laid his hand over hers in an effort to comfort her. "Of course you didn't."

With anyone else, Briony would have drawn away, but Tyrel was always genuine. She could easily read his thoughts filled with love and concern. She let his hand stay over hers even those it was uncomfortable.

"Whatever these men do, it isn't your fault. No one could have known they were going to harm Tony. We just have to figure out what they want."

Briony frowned. "At first I thought they wanted the baby, but then the big man-Luther-seemed upset that Tony was the father. He even said I was promised to him-that he had volunteered to be a sperm donor." She rubbed her temples. "I have a strange feeling that I'm supposed to give birth to a superchild."

Instead of laughing at her, Tyrel nodded his head. "That makes sense if you think about it, Bri. You can run faster than anyone I know and you're far stronger than even Jebediah."

Briony took a deep breath and moistened her lips. "I think I was an experiment-genetically engineered. I don't think I was Whitney's daughter at all, Tyrel."

Tyrel sat back in the chair, regarding her with his serious gaze. Before Sparks had tried to kidnap her, any one of her other brothers would have laughed and accused her of watching too much sci-fi, but Tyrel always took everything she said seriously. "It never made sense to Mom that Whitney insisted on providing his doctor for you. It bothered her, especially as you got older. We traveled so much, and it was inconvenient to wait for Sparks to fly in to see you when we had a doctor traveling with us."

"I detested going to Sparks." Briony shivered and looked at her gauze-wrapped arm. "I think this was an accident. I honestly think Luther would have killed you, but I don't believe they want me dead at all. I think I'm the baby carrier."

"Are you going to tell me who the father is?"

Briony sighed. "Jebediah will kill me." Even as she said it, she knew her oldest brother was close. She caught his scent and looked up. He lounged in the doorway, beefy arms folded across his chest.

He shrugged lightly. "More likely I'll pound the guy into the ground. Who?"

"Jack Norton." Even saying his name still hurt. She bowed her head, waiting for the firestorm to erupt around her.

There was a stunned silence. Jebediah looked as if someone had punched him. "He touched you? That son of a bitch put his hands on you? After we risked our lives for him?"

"Jebediah," Tyrel cautioned. "It's been a long day. She's gone through enough."

"Jack Norton?" Jebediah repeated, obviously dazed. He sank into another chair and put his head in his hands. "Briony, you have no idea what you've done."

"I got pregnant, Jebediah," Briony said, allowing exasperation to creep into her voice. "I'm not a teenager. I grew up a long time ago, and being pregnant isn't the end of the world. If you don't want me around, just say so."

Jebediah's head jerked up, shock showing on his face. "I'm not upset that you're having a baby. Shocked maybe. Traumatized that my baby sister actually had sex, but nieces or nephews are fine with me. But Jack Norton... " He broke off abruptly.

Briony sighed. "Does it really matter who the father is, Jeb? He isn't ever going to be in the picture. He's in the States, far away, we're in Italy. What does it matter?"

"Oh, honey," Jebediah assured her, "it matters. Jack Norton always matters. He's totally unpredictable and he lives by an entirely different set of rules than the rest of us. Do you remember when I first saw him in your room and I was yelling at you for going out into the jungle by yourself?"

"Of course."

"Do you remember the threat he made?"

"He said he was going to rip out your heart if you kept talking to me like that," Briony said.

"That's right. It wasn't a threat, Bri. Jack would have done it." He leaned forward. "I'm serious, honey. Jack Norton is a straight-up killer. He has a code and all that, but when push comes to shove, Jack's going to be the one standing. There's something different about him."

Pain twisted her heart. "He's like me."

"He's nothing like you," Jebediah objected. "Where did you ever get an idea like that?"

"I thought you liked him."

"You don't like Jack Norton. You respect him. You might fear him-but you don't like him. Jack's someone you want on your side in a tight spot, but you're never going to invite him home for dinner."

"That's strange, Jeb, because for the first time in my life, I was comfortable. I didn't hurt at all when I was with him, not a single headache. I relaxed. I laughed. I enjoyed being with him."

Jebediah exchanged a long look with Tyrel. Her tone had wavered, alerting both brothers that she was close to tears. "I've never known Jack to talk much and I sure have never seen him laugh. You must have brought out the best in him, Briony. Did I ever tell you that he saved my life once?"

"He did?" It didn't make sense to her the way Jebediah felt about Jack, yet now, when she needed it the most, her brother had given her a gift and she was grateful. "You never mentioned it-and neither did he."

"Jack would never say a word. We were running a rescue, going after two Rangers caught in enemy territory. The Rangers were supposed to hump it out to the extraction point but ended up right in the middle of a hornet's nest."

"Where were you?" Tyrel asked.

Jebediah shot him a quelling look. "Somewhere we weren't supposed to be and would never admit to being, so it was imperative to get them out of there without anyone getting caught. We came in on the north side, wanting to be able to cover them. Jack lay up in some trees and waited, and I moved into position on the ground. We just needed to provide them with enough time to get into the ravine, where the team members had set up an ambush. The Rangers would go in, drawing the enemy after them, and the canyon was going to be blown all to hell. That would give us time to get back to our ride."

"Something went wrong?" Tyrel prodded when Jebediah fell silent.

Jebediah smiled, but the amusement didn't quite reach his eyes. "You could say that. A guy came out of the ground, practically in my face. I swear his knife was the size of Texas. I didn't even hear the shot, my heart was pounding so loud, but I saw the hole right in the middle of his forehead. Jack took him out before he could finish his first slash with the knife. Later, I thanked him for saving my butt and he just shrugged. Never said a word to anyone about it. He probably saved a lot of us that day."

"He said I was a liability."

Tyrel's head jerked up. "He doesn't deserve you, Briony."

"It still hurts."

"Of course it does, honey," Jebediah said. "But it's for the best. Life with Jack would be difficult at best. He's not a man easy to be around. I don't know why he was so good with you, but that isn't the norm. He'd go days without speaking a single word. His brother, Ken, joked around some, but not Jack. He never seemed to sleep. Some of the guys liked to play pranks, but the smart ones knew better than to try to creep into Jack's area. More than one found themselves on the floor with a knife to the throat, and he wasn't gentle about it. You ever look into his eyes and you could see death there." Jebediah spread his hands out. "You wouldn't want to raise your child with him, honey. You want a place where there's laughter and joy. We'll help you. You know we love you and want you with us."

"I feel very lucky to have you all. Thanks, Jeb. It was very sweet of you to tell me about Jack. It's something for the baby, you know. I don't know much about him."

"I know a little," Jebediah admitted. "I'll tell the baby Jack stories."

"The rain is so loud," Tyrel complained. He rubbed his head, his bandages very white in the dimly lit room. "I'm tired tonight."

The rain was loud-too loud. A small alarm bell went off in Briony's head. Somewhere, a window or door in the house was open, allowing the force of the storm to penetrate into the villa. Her gaze jumped to her two brothers. Both had gone very still, awareness hitting them at the same time.