So when he'd realized Piper was working on his chip and not helping him find the codes, he hadn't stopped her. Her dedication and near obsession to save his life hit him square in the heart. Plus, he was minutes away from breaking the algorithm, and he didn't need help.

She typed away, her concentration absolute, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. She was perfect.

s.e.xy, smart, and dedicated.

A little wounded, but who wasn't? He could heal her. If he had the chance, he could show her that good men didn't leave. Good men protected people and kept them safe.

He could keep Piper safe.

If he lived.

His computer dinged.

He froze, his fingers over the keyboard. Matt glanced up from a computer down the way, where he'd taken over for Shane an hour ago when Shane had taken Chance outside to show him the perimeter. "Jory?"

Jory sat back, his gut clenching. "I've got it."

Piper stopped typing. "What?" She leaned over to view his screen. "Oh my G.o.d."

f.u.c.king awesome. He grabbed her, lifted her right out of the chair, and whirled her around. "We broke the algorithm. There's the current code." He hugged her tight, his chest finally loosening. "Mattie-get your doctor. It's time to cut."

Piper hugged him and glanced around to the monitor. "You linked to Matt's chip."

"I did."

Piper struggled to get down, and he released her. She launched herself at his computer and quickly typed in commands. A countdown clock came up. "Eight hours. Oh my G.o.d." She swiveled to face Matt. "Your chip detonates in eight hours and three minutes." She paled and kept her eyes on the clock for several heartbeats. Finally, she breathed out. "Eight hours and two minutes."

Matt pressed a b.u.t.ton on the desk. "Shane? Nate? Get Laney and get down here." He ripped off his shirt. "I'll be the guinea pig."

Jory's breath caught. He'd been so elated at finding the codes, he'd forgotten the danger in removing them. What if the codes were wrong? What if the commander had set safeguards in place? If he had, they weren't anywhere in the computer.

But still.

Shane ran down the steps with Laney on his heels and Nate right behind her.

Laney crossed toward Matt, all feminine, all grace. She placed her palm over his heart. "We have the codes?"

"Yes." He brushed her lips with his, and Jory fought the urge to look away.

Laney turned toward him, her eyes soft. "Thank you, Jory."

He nodded, his heart cracking with a fear he couldn't afford to feel right now. "The second you get him on the table, I'll uncover the current code and will punch it in-it's active for thirty seconds. As soon as I find the deactivate option, it'll stop completely. I'll let you know, and you hurry."

She swallowed. Fear glowed bright in her stunning eyes.

Matt ran his hands down her arms. "If you can't do this, I'll have Shane pull out my chip. He's good."

Laney's shoulders went back, and she drew in a deep breath. "I was a surgeon, and my hands are quicker than Shane's. Smaller, too. I can do this, Mattie. I promise."

Jory frowned, doubt heating his lungs. "Maybe she shouldn't operate on you." There was a reason hospitals didn't allow doctors to operate on family members.

Laney wiped away a tear. "Are you sure you don't want anesthesia?"

"No-there's no need. You can do this." Matt smiled. "Right?"

She nodded. "I had a small problem with blood for a while, but now I'm okay. I can do this." She leaned in and kissed Matt's jaw. "Trust me."

He hugged her tight. "More than life, I do." Taking her hand, he led her over to the hospital bed and then turned to view everyone. "If this doesn't go well, take care of my Laney. I love you. All."

Jory swallowed. "Thank you, Matt. For everything."

Matt sprawled over the table. Laney hustled for the cupboard, while Nate and Shane followed suit. They all donned gloves, and Laney grabbed a scalpel.

She hovered over Matt's back, her gaze on Jory.

Jory turned back toward the computer. The code was 55yt#@$8tyz. He waited. And waited. And waited.

n.o.body said a word. s.h.i.t. Was anybody even breathing?

The code changed to o998&%^*@!. He quickly typed in the connecting code, the computer searched, and then he was online with Matt's chip. He typed in the kill code, and commands came up. DETONATE or RESET.

No, no, no. "c.r.a.p. There's no option to deactivate. Detonate or reset." He shook his head. He had to take it off-line.

"Reset it," Matt ordered, his head turned to the side, his eyes firm and steady.

What if it didn't work? What if he'd waited too long? What if this was a trap?

"Now," Matt said.

"Wait-" Laney breathed.

"Now, Jory. Now!" Matt ordered.

Jory clicked RESET.

A bright red warning scrolled across the screen. "s.h.i.t. You have twenty-five seconds, Laney, or it'll reset again and detonate." He leaped to his feet and reached the bed, his hands shaking.

Piper stood next to him and slid her hand into his. He squeezed and tried to think of a prayer. Any prayer.

Laney leaned close to Matt's back and slowly drew down the scalpel. Blood welled. Then she cut the other way.

Shane held out a bowl.

"Get ready," Laney said quietly. She must've slipped into surgeon mode, because her hand remained steady, and her voice threaded with command.

She cut again.

Grabbing forceps, she leaned in. The instrument hovered above the chip. "G.o.d, it's in there but good," she hissed.

"Don't jiggle it," Jory warned.

"I know." She reached around, leaning down for a better look. "The chip is cylinder shaped, and it's... s.h.i.t... dented."

One touch, and it might go off, code or not. Jory glanced back at the computer. Fifteen seconds. Fourteen. Thirteen. He couldn't lose his brother. Not now, not after everything.

Piper tightened her hold on his hand, and he focused on Laney. Should he take over?

She groaned and sweat dripped into her eyes. She blinked.

Shane reached over with cotton to wipe her face.

"Thanks," she muttered. "The second I clamp this, it might go off. Everybody step back."

n.o.body moved, but Jory did check the countdown clock. Five. Four. Three. "Now, Laney," he ordered, turning to watch her hands, panic ripping up his throat.

With a soft cry, she dug in and clamped. Sparks flew. Fast as a whip, she struck and yanked the chip from Matt's body.

The chip clattered into the bowl.

For a moment, they all stared at the quiet cylinder.

Laney staggered back. "It's out. Oh my G.o.d. It's out."

Jory glanced down. The rectangular chip was about two inches long and made of metal. Or some type of new plastic perhaps. Smoke rose from it. The device seemed pretty flat, but he didn't want to pick it up.

The computer dinged a warning.

Steam cascaded from the chip. A spark flew, and it jumped inches. Blades cracked open, unfolding from the base. Slicing hard and fast into the metal.

Everyone stepped back.

"Holy f.u.c.k," Nate breathed.

Yeah. That would've definitely severed Matt's spine and killed him. The smell of burned metal filled the air. Nausea filled Jory's gut. He couldn't go out like that. If he came close, he'd use a gun. He'd have to.

Matt turned his head. "Am I done?"

"Wait." Laney grabbed thread and quickly sewed him up. "You're good."

He turned and jumped from the table to grab her in a huge hug.

She sniffled against his chest.

Jory stood, so much emotion in him he thought he might explode.

Matt released Laney and leaped for him, grabbing him. "You did it. You f.u.c.king did it."

Jory hugged him. "We all did it." Matt was saved. Thank G.o.d.

For now, he forced a smile. "You're next, Nate. Hop up." G.o.d, hopefully Nate's chip was damaged less than Matt's. He'd figured getting the codes would be the tough part, but each cut into their backs was an invitation for death to attack.

He turned back to his computer and quickly linked to Nate's chip. "Seven hours and fifty-five minutes. It's on the exact same timer as Matt's. They must've set them all to detonate at the same time."

Figured. He could see the commander finding irony there.

Jory shook off thoughts of the evil b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Time to save his brothers. He glanced over at Piper, who had sat back down at her computer.

She'd paled again. For once, her fingers were silent on the keyboard.

"Piper?" he asked.

She swallowed. Tears filled her eyes. "I, ah, wrote a program that will identify any signals sent out from any device in the room. It finally just kicked into gear."

Yeah. Made sense. Even though the chips weren't sending out signals, they still had a frequency. "So you found the frequencies?"

"Yes." She swallowed.

The rock always in his gut expanded. He stood and walked around to view her screen. After ignoring computers and cell phones, he could make out signatures. Two very strong and one weak.

"d.a.m.n it." He ran a hand through his hair.

She nodded and pointed to the weaker light. "Your chip, Jory. We can't reach it, but it's active. I'd hoped when it was damaged it had just shut down. Stupid." She craned her neck to see his screen, and her voice cracked hard enough to fill the room with despair. "You have seven hours and fifty-four minutes until your chip detonates."

He nodded. "Let's get the chips out of Nate and Shane. One thing at a time." His solar plexus clenched as if hit with a medicine ball, hurting deep. He'd known somehow that he wouldn't make it out of this, but he'd had a goal, and as soon as Nate and Shane lived through this, he could relax and enjoy what little time he had left with the one woman he'd never thought to find.

His.

Piper glared at the computer screen, desperation tasting like sulfur in her mouth. She couldn't connect. No matter what she did, she hadn't found a way to connect to Jory's chip.

They'd taken out Nate and Shane's chips, and both had been dinged and dented enough that the procedures had been nerve-wracking. But they'd done it.

Afterward, they'd double-checked the kids to make sure they hadn't been tagged yet. They hadn't.

Now she'd spent another four hours logging in code in the computer with no d.a.m.n luck.

Jory sighed next to her at the computer console. "Okay. What are we missing?"

Matt groaned. "There has to be something we can do." He sat in front of yet another computer that wasn't helping. Shane and Nate perched on chairs, waiting. For anything. All soldier hard, all emitting fury at their inability to do anything. The men were doers, and the tension in the room was choking Piper.

She leaned back and stretched her aching neck, her mind spinning uselessly. "We can't connect wirelessly." She halted. Waited a minute. Her heart stopped for a second. "We can't connect wirelessly."

"You're repeating yourself," Jory said, his gaze still on his screen.

She jumped from her chair and ran to the bowls sitting on the hospital bed. Holding her breath, she reached for Matt's chip.

Jory instantly halted her hand. She hadn't even heard him move.

"Be careful," he said. "The blades will slice your fingers."