He'd sworn he'd never wear it again.

Chance moved up and ran past Jory. "Follow me." He skirted the building and jogged toward a field edged by trees. Stopping, he let out a low whistle. "We have a contingency plan in case anybody ever attacks. Hide in the trees, find each other, and get the f.u.c.k out of here."

Good plan. Jory's shoulders relaxed as two boys hustled out of the forest. Dressed in the uniform, wearing buzz cuts, weapons strapped to their legs, they reminded him of his childhood. Of his brothers. Something in his gut ached and bad.

They hustled up, eyes on him.

"Kyle and Wade, this is Jory." Chance turned and pointed his gun at Jory. "We're all going, and we have to run. Now."

Jory stilled. Ah. Kyle had green eyes, and Wade had blue. That's what Chance had been hiding. They weren't genetic links. He blinked, his skin tingling. His shoulders straightened with understanding. If they were raised in this place, regardless of genetic donor, they were his.

Wade stared at his brother. "Why you aiming, Chance?"

"He knows why," Chance said softly, sounding so much like Matt that Jory's gut hurt. Bad.

Jory turned toward the other boys. "I'm Jory, and I'm your brother, too. We have three other brothers, and they're waiting to get us out of here. You with me?"

Wade nodded, and Kyle lifted his chin.

Jory turned toward Chance, letting the boy see the truth in his eyes. He didn't give a s.h.i.t about genetics. Brothers were brothers. "You with me, kid?"

Chance slowly lowered his gun. "You for real?" Chance asked.

Jory turned toward the kid, his chest burning. "All real. We're together, Chance. All of us. Brothers."

Chance's shoulders relaxed, and for the first time, actual hope glimmered in his too-worldly eyes. "Good."

"You guys go." Kyle shook his head. "I'm not leaving Greg."

Jory glanced at Chance. "Greg?"

Chance paled and jerked his head toward a field on the other side of a barbed wire fence. "Our brother. Buried over there."

A mini-explosion rocked the earth. "We have to go," Jory said.

Chance nodded. "We'll come back for him. I promise."

"No." Kyle shook his head. "Go, Chance. It's okay." He turned to head back to the forest.

Chance grabbed him from behind in a solid bear hug. "You're coming."

"No." Kyle began to kick and struggle, his voice going hoa.r.s.e. "I'm not leaving him. I'm not."

Tears sliding down his face, Chance moved his brother into a chokehold. Kyle struggled, and then his eyelids fluttered shut.

Jory's heart hurt so bad he wanted to double over. Instead, he kept his voice calm. "Here. I'll take him."

"No. He's my brother." Chance flipped Kyle around and yanked him over his shoulder.

Jory nodded, his shoulders going back. "He's mine now, too." Now they had to get to Piper.

They zigged and zagged through the rain, reaching the helicopter just as soldiers poured out of the main building. Jory didn't know which group came out first, and frankly, he didn't care.

His steps slowed as the soldier who'd shot the commander dragged out a protesting Dr. Madison by the lab coat. The woman gave a good fight, struggling, even kicking with her pointy shoes. Within seconds, the soldier had tossed the woman into another helicopter.

Her eyes met his, and she screamed for help.

He paused, his memories flashing of his childhood and her presence. But the woman he loved was behind him, wounded and worried. He made the choice and turned to jump inside his helicopter. Piper had been shot, and he had to get the kids to safety, both trumping thoughts of saving the evil doctor.

He ignited the copter, his motions routine, although he hadn't flown in nearly four years. Piper sat next to him, while the boys remained in the back of the helicopter. Her pain resonated through the air, as did the coppery scent of her blood, and the animal deep inside him stretched awake, wanting to destroy whatever had hurt her.

Rising into the air, he yanked a burner phone from his pocket and dialed Matt.

"Status?" Matt barked.

"s.h.i.t-storm of epic proportions." Soldiers began firing up, and Jory took evasive maneuvers. "I'm landing outside of Base 2 in about twenty, and you need to evacuate and jump in for headquarters."

Silence came over the line. "You have the code algorithm?"

"Maybe." It depended on how badly the tower had been damaged. The hard drive for the computer was in the tower, and Piper had managed to secure it. Everything they needed was there... if the bullet hadn't destroyed it. "We have the best we're going to get."

"Copy that." Matt clicked off.

Jory turned and eyed Chance. "What did you mean that Piper getting shot was your fault?"

The kid paled, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he didn't look away. "I sent out a message telling the PROTECT people our location."

Jory's head jerked, and his body calmed in preparation for a f.u.c.king fight. "You did what?"

Chance shrugged. "I weakened our system to allow for a big hack, and then I planted files that gave our exact location so they'd attack." He leaned up and patted Piper's arm, tears filling his eyes. "I'm really sorry you got shot. Didn't think that would happen."

Piper smiled wanly and caught his hand. The poor kid had done what he'd needed to do to save his brothers. "It's okay, sweetie."

He blinked and then frowned. "I, um, I got you shot."

"Nope. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d who shot me... shot me. Not you." She sighed and released him. "It was a good plan, really."

Jory blinked. Gray shards of ice glittered in his eyes. "What?"

"Take two enemies, let them fight it out, and escape during the carnage." She smiled as if proud at Chance. "You're such a smart boy, and it worked. You're free, and I promise you'll stay safe. We're sticking together, Chance."

The kid wiped a tear off his cheek. "Okay." He sat back with his brothers and then quietly asked, "What is Base 2?"

"Piper's house." Jory glanced toward the bleeding woman, impressed by her amazing brain. She was right, and Chance's move had been brilliant, yet he had to shove down pure fury that wanted to consume him. Only his force of will kept his voice level. "We'll get your mother to safety."

Piper nodded, her head leaning against the chair and her eyes closing. "We probably should talk about my mother."

Lightning flashed, and Jory jerked the stick. "Now?"

"No." Piper sighed. "Soon though."

Jory frowned. What in the world did that mean?

CHAPTER.

23.

PIPER TRIED TO wipe some of the blood off her shirt, her mind fuzzing. She'd been shot. Now she rode through a sleeting rain in a helicopter, about to set down on the street in front of her house.

Life had gotten way too bizarre. Three young kids, trained as killers, sat quietly in the back. The unconscious one, Kyle, had awakened and promptly begun throwing punches until Chance ordered him to knock it off or be choked out again. Kyle had then chosen to stare silently into nothingness and ignore them all.

The smallest kid, Wade, seemed to huddle into himself as the other two boys fought.

Poor kid. She sighed.

Jory reached over and covered her hand with his. Warm, solid, and big, he provided safety in an entirely unsafe world. "Thank you for getting me out," she murmured. How in the h.e.l.l was she going to tell him that her mother had shot him?

"Of course." The way he said the statement, with so much easy confidence, showed the trained soldier in full force. A thread of anger still wove through his words, however. Fury that she'd been harmed on his watch. He turned to the back. "We'll touch down, and you three cover the copter." He turned to Piper. "You have exactly two minutes from touch-down to back in the air to get whatever you want to take."

She nodded.

"How's the wound?" he asked, his jaw tightening. Concern and fury glowed in his eyes, and tension vibrated from him as it if had wings, turning him back into the too-scary, deadly soldier she'd first met.

"Good." Hurt like h.e.l.l, actually. But the blood flow had seemed to stem, and she needed to calm him down. They had less than a day to fix the chips, and he had to focus.

"We'll get you patched up as soon as we can. Just keep pressure on it." He expertly maneuvered the helicopter through the storm and dropped down along Piper's and Earl's front lawns. "Go. Now."

Piper jumped out and ran for the house, shoving open the door while holding tight to her bleeding shoulder. "Mom?"

Rachel came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "What-" Her eyes widened, and she rushed forward. "You're bleeding."

Piper nodded and grabbed her arm. "I need you to listen. We have two minutes to take whatever we want and get out of here. Now."

Rachel shook her head. "I don't understand."

Earl hustled in from the kitchen. "What's going on?"

"We have to go." Piper gave her mom a little push toward the bedrooms.

The front door opened, and Jory hurried inside, followed by Nate.

Rachel froze like an animal being scoped. Her face paled so much, blue veins stood out in her forehead.

Piper took a deep breath. "Mom, this is Jory."

Rachel blinked, her mouth opening and closing. She swayed.

Piper shook her. Hard. "Later, Mom. Right now, the commander is after us, and we have to go." She dragged her mother down the hallway and pushed her toward her bedroom. Rachel stumbled but kept on going. Piper scurried into her bedroom and shoved her photo alb.u.ms, laptop, and jewelry into bags. She nearly collided with her too pale mother in the hallway, who'd also grabbed a couple of bags.

Riley ran around their legs, barking wildly.

They all hurried toward the doorway and out onto the front porch.

Piper paused. Shock stilled her. "Brian?"

The realtor stood on the porch, next to Jory, fury in his gaze. "We need to talk, Piper. There's a f.u.c.king helicopter on your lawn."

Rain cut a harsh path down and over the helicopter. Piper nodded. "Yeah. I have to go. Bye."

"No." He moved to grab her arm, his eyes widening. "You're bleeding."

Jory shoved him into the vinyl siding and pressed a gun to his jugular. "I'm finding it interesting that you started dating Piper right when she arrived in town. Working for the commander, are you?"

Brian squawked and shook his head. "Nooo. Really. I just met the guy once at dinner."

Jory frowned. "Why don't we just fight it out now?"

Brian shook his head, and his eyes filled. "No fighting. Let's use our words."

Nate whistled from the damp lawn. "Hurry up, Jory. The clock is ticking. Fast."

Jory growled and leaned in. "You're working for the commander."

"No. Really." Brian coughed loudly.

Jory frowned and sniffed the air before turning toward Nate, who stood in the rain waiting. "Nate?"

"Truth." Nate grunted. "He's telling the truth."

Jory growled. "That's my read, too."

Piper glanced from one to the other.

Jory slowly removed the gun and released Brian. "Nate's a human lie detector."

Interesting. Piper brushed by Jory. "You're not working for my father?" To be honest, since Jory had planted the thought that she shouldn't trust anybody, she had wondered.