She backed into the tiny bathroom.

Jory reached for the doork.n.o.b. "Say the PROTECT kidnappers had succeeded in getting you somewhere like this. After they shut the door, what would you do?"

"Look for a weapon or an escape." Of course.

He nodded and walked from the room. "Do it, then." The door closed behind him.

Well, okay then. She scrambled around, looking for a weapon, under the bed and then toward the bathroom. While dusty, the small room seemed fairly clean. Olive green toilet, sink basin, and shower... and that's it. No vanity, towel bar, or drawers anywhere. She quickly shut the door and used the bathroom before washing her hands and hustling from the room.

The door opened again, and Jory stalked inside. "You need to lie on the bed."

Just the suggestion warmed her blood and unfurled tingles in her abdomen. Her heartbeat increased again. She cleared her throat.

His cheek creased, and she c.o.c.ked her head. How in the world could he know what she was thinking about? "I am not getting in that bed."

"Just on it. As if you had to sleep." His eyebrows rose, waiting.

She had no doubt he'd toss her on the bed if she refused, so with a purely feminine huff, she gingerly sat on the bed.

"Down."

"f.u.c.k you." The words shot out of her instantly.

He eyed the dirty mattress. "Well, if you say so." Two long strides brought him knee to knee with her.

A strong hand in the middle of her chest pushed her over, and she fought a grimace as her back hit the bed. "If I get germs from this..." she muttered.

He stood back and surveyed her, his eyes glinting. "Roll around a little. Like you slept there."

She glared. The man had to stop ordering her around. She kicked the folded blanket off and rolled around, curling into a ball. "Enough?"

For answer, he pulled her up, and she smashed into a chest harder than stone. She sputtered and looked up.

Firm lips covered hers. Warm and seeking, he took her away from the dingy room-away from reality. His tongue slid against the roof of her mouth, eliciting a sigh from somewhere deep in her core. She leaned into him, kissing him back, her fingers curling into his T-shirt.

Only the snap of a padlock clicking into place jerked her back into the room.

Panting, she broke the kiss to see Jory's brother tugging on a rusty lock he'd just attached to the window. She hadn't even heard him come into the room.

"Are you two about done?" Nate asked, his tone dry.

Jory exhaled, amus.e.m.e.nt dancing across his face.

Piper patted his very hard, oh-so-nice chest and forced a sarcastic smile. "We are now. Unless you want to leave? I was just getting revved up."

Nate's face split in a smile, and his gray eyes warmed. "I love a good smart-a.s.s. Excellent."

"I don't like this." Jory gently moved her to the side and kicked the metal bed frame. The entire room shook. He kicked again, bent, and pulled on a rusty nail. "Piper? Grab this and twist it out."

He thought of everything. She knelt and grasped the head of the nail, pulling and turning. The rough metal scratched her finger pad.

"Don't cut yourself." Jory bent closer to watch.

She nearly fell back when the nail let loose, and he caught her, helping her up. "This isn't a good plan," he muttered.

Nate tapped the lock with his gloved hand. "Your woman-your call. If you don't want to go with this plan, we won't. But decide now."

Piper's head jerked back. "Whoa there, Sparky. I'm n.o.body's woman." Yeah. That didn't come out quite like she'd hoped.

Nate Dean turned his full attention on her for the first time, and she fought the urge to step back, not expecting the intensity. The seriousness-h.e.l.l, the deadliness-suddenly emanating from him proved he was every bit the dangerous predator she'd witnessed lurking in Jory.

"Did you sleep with my brother last night?" Nate asked silkily.

Fire bloomed through her face. "None of your d.a.m.n business," she ground out.

Nate shrugged. "Even so? That means he decides. If he says you're locked down, away from danger, then you are. Sparky." Warmth, amus.e.m.e.nt, and an odd gentleness coated his words and glimmered in his eyes.

Even so, that man was a lost cause, so she turned on the one she knew better. A whole h.e.l.l of a lot better. "You don't believe that nonsense, do you?" Gingerly holding the nail, she pressed her hands to her hips, expecting a nice dismissal of Nate's a.s.s-backward att.i.tude.

What she got was one word and twice the deadly intensity.

"Yes." Jory kept her gaze, waiting. Always waiting, so d.a.m.n patiently.

"Well, that's, well-" She sputtered. "You're both a.s.sholes."

"Yep." Nate sauntered through the room. "You're not the first one to make that remark. Josie, Shane's wife, held a gun on me once."

Jory blinked. "She did?"

"Yep." Nate grinned. "Come to think of it, Laney, Matt's woman, held a Glock on me once, too." He chuckled. "Good thing Piper doesn't have a gun."

Piper sputtered, looking from Nate to Jory and back. "You guys aren't bonding over this Neanderthal code, are you?"

Nate's gaze warmed as he looked at his brother. "Nope. We bonded decades ago, as solid as can be. Right, Jory?"

"Right." Jory grinned back. "I wish I could've seen them hold a gun on you."

"Good times, and we'll make more in the future." Nate headed for the door. "I'll be outside to make sure she doesn't hurt herself when she falls. Unless the plan has changed?" He paused without looking back.

Jory studied her, no expression on his face. "Do you want to go through with this plan, and if so, will you follow orders?"

She stepped into him, knowing the move to be one of intimidation, although with their size difference, she only succeeded in cranking her neck to keep his gaze. "I am going through with this plan because it's the only way to save your a.s.s as well as rescue those poor kids. Get on board, now."

"Nate?" Jory called out, not moving an inch. "The plan is off."

d.a.m.n it. "Fine. I'll follow orders." She shuffled her feet, left with absolutely no alternative. G.o.d, she hated making such a promise. It was a somewhat military plan, right? Orders kind of made sense.

"Good." Jory took the rusty nail from her fingers and stalked to jam it into the lock, which gave easily. He stepped back. "Jump out, and be careful when you land. I'll meet you in front." Without another word, he turned on his heel and strode from the room and out of the cabin.

She had the oddest feeling he had to leave before she tried to shimmy out of the window. The gla.s.s swung up easily, and she held it open with her head. Slivers pierced her palms when she pressed on the edge and heaved herself up to plant one knee. Then gravity took over.

Her yelp as she pitched forward echoed in her head, and she landed in a bush that p.r.i.c.kled. Scrambling, she rolled into the mud and shoved to her feet just as Jory rounded the corner.

"d.a.m.n it." He started toward her, and Nate grabbed his arm.

"She's okay. Don't disturb the area." Nate squinted, eyeing her. "You are okay, right?"

"Fine." She brushed off leaves and stretched her aching back.

Nate chuckled. "Tough. Our women are tough, thank G.o.d."

She warmed from the compliment and flushed at being included in the Dean brothers' women. Old-fashioned to the point of being silly, but she kind of understood. Lost boys raised by the military with no mother? They probably did have a slightly skewed sense of relationships and protectiveness. "Now what?" she asked quietly, wondering if she'd have a chance to teach Jory how to be modern.

Jory pointed toward the rough road. "Stick to the sides, hidden by trees, until you get to the main road. Feel free to touch trees, branches, and even tumble once or twice in your desperation to get free."

Man. Somehow she'd ended up in a spy movie. "And then?" The p.r.i.c.kly bushes had scratched her arm, and she fought the urge to rub.

"Go left, hit the gas station, and call the commander. We'll keep eyes on you until you make the station. Go to work, and then I'll meet you at Earl's house afterward."

She caught her breath. "They know about Earl's house-they have surveillance there."

"I know."

She blinked. "You do?"

"Yes, but they don't know we know, so it's okay. We can feed them information this way. Trust me. This is old hat."

"But we, I mean we-"

His gaze softened. "I know, and that convinced them that we didn't know we were being watched."

Heat flared into her face. So Jory had known about the recording? That they could be heard? "You used me."

"No. Actually, I completely lost myself in the moment. I promise." He grasped her jaw and slid his finger along her lips. "Trust me, Piper."

She didn't have a choice at this point and already had enough to worry about. Plus, she'd lost herself in that moment, too. "Okay."

Jory took a deep breath, his ma.s.sive chest moving. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She took in his serious gaze and allowed for a moment to think. She had to do this. If she didn't, she was leaving three boys in h.e.l.l, and she couldn't live with that. Plus, if anybody had a chance at finding the correct algorithm for the codes, it had to be her. "I'm sure. Trust me."

"I do." His eyes darkened, and the muscles visibly shuddered in his well-developed arms.

Plus, she'd d.a.m.n well find a way to reach his chip so it would accept the codes. She'd just found him, and she wanted a future with him. "Don't worry," she breathed. She'd be the one to save the super-soldier, and she had to get to it.

He exhaled, tension filling the air around them. Harsh tension filled with worry and a hint of anger. Yet he trusted her enough to let her go. "Be careful... and good luck."

CHAPTER.

20.

HER FATHER HADN'T come for her personally. For all he knew, Piper had been kidnapped, possibly harmed, and had escaped... and her father hadn't come personally. He'd sent a contingent of soldiers to the gas station, who'd promptly loaded her up and driven her to the center of Utah and the heavily armed compound.

Yeah, Jory had been right. Inner compound, here she was-and if she didn't convince the commander she was telling the truth about her ordeal, she'd probably never leave. She took a deep breath and slowly let out the air, counting to ten. Sweat slicked her palms, and time slowed down.

Once arriving, she'd instantly been debriefed by two soldiers after being told her father was on an important conference call.

Now she waited alone in the commander's office, trying to push down hurt. It wasn't as if he'd ever acted like a father. Why would she expect concern now?

She clasped her hands together and wondered what it would've been like to have had a father. One who cared. Her stomach hurt, and tears clogged her throat. She'd managed to call her mother to rea.s.sure her she was all right, and Earl had been there comforting Rachel. Earl had even gotten on the phone to hear Piper's voice himself.

Why couldn't Earl have been her father?

The hurt she could handle-the fear, maybe not. Pounding ached along her temples as the first adrenaline rush faded. She swallowed over a lump in her throat and allowed herself to wallow for just a moment. Okay, enough of this. She didn't have time for fear or regret if she wanted to survive, so she steeled her shoulders. Time to figure things out.

She had to get out of this meeting and back to the computer to figure out the algorithm that changed the codes, and to finish the new program that would hopefully bypa.s.s Jory's damaged chip. If she'd had any doubts about helping Jory and his brothers-and frankly, she hadn't-they'd be long gone now. She didn't give a hoot that they were trained killers and quite possibly not the good guys.

Her father sucked.

This office was much more plush than the city one that had been blown up. Well, if leather chairs, oiled weapons, and heavy walnut furniture could be considered plush. The scent of gunpowder and rich cigars permeated the furnishings. On his desk he had a computer and a stack of files. Peering closer, she studied a gla.s.s paperweight encapsulating a bullet casing. Weird.

High heels tapped down a hallway outside, and Dr. Madison swept in. White lab coat, red heels, a computer tablet in her hands. Her lipstick matched her shoes, and she'd pulled back her black hair. No gray. "I've been told you hurt your arm." All business, Madison brushed around the other leather chair and sat, leaning forward and grabbing Piper's left wrist.

"I fell in a bush." How dangerous was the rude woman? Piper studied her and played along, wrinkling her nose at the heavy floral perfume cascading around the brilliant doctor. "I'm fine."

Madison reached in her lab coat for a tube of ointment to hand over. "Use this. It'll take care of the burn."

"Okay." Piper extricated her arm and unwound the top of the tube. She had some size on the woman, but she'd bet her last penny Dr. Madison had been trained in hand-to-hand. The woman moved with a grace that suddenly appeared deadly.

"Our men swept the cabin in which you were kept. The PROTECT men were no longer present." Madison sat back, sharp eyes narrowing.

Piper rubbed ointment on her arm and tried to appear casual. "I suppose they left when they discovered I'd jumped out the window?"

"I suppose." No emotion colored the doctor's monotone. "I read your report and have a couple of questions."

Fine hairs rose down Piper's back. She'd never been a good liar. "Go ahead."