Emma: Part Three (8 page)

“It’s fine,” Emma said. “When I get it fixed, you should come over and talk to the outside world with me.”

“Really?” Rio perked up with eagerness.

“Don’t get too excited about that possibility,” Adam warned. He shot Emma a warning glance. “You need to get that contraption of yours cleared by SICO. The last thing Max or Jack needs is Gage and his boys rousting them out of bed in the middle of the night and dragging them in as suspected Faction sympathizers.”

“That’s crazy,” Rio protested. “Emma didn’t even know what Faction was until, like, half an hour ago when I told her, and Jack and Max are the most rah-rah-cyborgs on the post.”

“SICO doesn’t just show up and take new wives into custody for no reason,” Adam retorted. He pinned Emma in place with a warning look. “If there’s something you haven’t told Max and Jack about your family or your connections or your history, you better spit it out now. I can’t help you if you’re lying.”

“I’m not lying!” Panicked, Emma wrung her hands. “I don’t know why anyone on this base would be interested in me.”

“Well we’re about to find out, aren’t we?” Motioning toward the door, he said, “Let’s go.”

“I’m coming with you,” Rio decided and grabbed Emma’s hand.

Adam looked like he wanted to argue, but Rio wore such a determined expression he must have known it wouldn’t work. “Then come on.”

Trailing Adam and holding tight to Rio’s hand, Emma silently wished Max and Jack were with her, but she was infinitely grateful to the new friend she had made and the scarred protector who had come to her rescue.

A sick feeling twisted her stomach as she climbed into Adam’s vehicle. Like a bad premonition, her earlier fears that something terrible was coming had come true—and it had come for her.

5
Chapter Five

Filthy and haggard, Max stepped off the helicopter and kept his head low until he had cleared a safe range. Every muscle in his body ached, and he had to physically force each step, his boots feeling heavier and heavier with each passing moment. Torn between his desire to see Emma and his duty, he exhaled roughly and motioned for one of the soldiers to hold a spot in an idling transport vehicle. He jumped into the front passenger seat, leaned back and rested his eyes.

He wanted to block out the radio traffic banging around his head to get a few moments of peace, but he was on duty. Messages from command flashed across the lens implanted in his eye. General Adamson had been called away on urgent business, and Colonel Monroe had command of the post.

Damien Monroe was a stand-up soldier and had the respect and loyalty of every cyborg on the base, but Max had never warmed to the man. Monroe had earned his call-sign “Silver” as an interrogation specialist with a long-disbanded SICO squad. He used that silver tongue of his to get cyborgs to talk—and was a known and firm believer in enhanced interrogation techniques. Every time Max shook Monroe’s hand, he wondered how many cyborgs had been tortured by it.

Too soon, the vehicle slowed to a stop. Max thanked the driver for the ride and hauled himself out of the front seat and onto the pavement. A fine mist had started to fall and the temperature had dropped a few degrees, not enough to chill him but enough that it made him think about Emma and the coming winter.

The weather spurred his memory of Chloe’s description of the cold winter nights filled with hunger and fear. Had it been that way for Emma? He tried to imagine her alone and freezing in that house of hers. It would have been difficult to keep warm and the amount of work required to keep her small farm going would have kept her outdoors for long periods of time. There were so many ways she could have been hurt. He didn’t even want to think about how vulnerable she had been when ill.

She has us now. We’ll take care of her.
He started compiling a mental list of all the cold weather gear she would need. He’d be damned if she spent one minute of the coming winter in anything but comfort. They had promised to keep her safe and provide for her, and he was determined to make good on those vows.

Two steps into his command post, Max halted and scowled when he spotted Rio Gomez Adamson perched on the desk of the logistical specialist who kept his office running smoothly. This little troublemaker had wreaked more havoc than Max had ever imagined possible. Hell, she’d even attempted to take a helicopter for a joyride once!

His clerk was nowhere to be seen. Undoubtedly, Rio had cooked up some errand for the young man who had probably scampered off like a puppy to complete it for her. Now that she had blossomed into a strikingly beautiful young woman, Rio had single cyborgs panting after her. Only the knowledge that Eve would have their balls in a vise for trying to seduce Rio kept the men at bay. Jace’s claim to her only complicated the matter.

Max dreaded the day that Rio announced she was ready to find a mate or two. There would be a bloody street brawl for her hand.

“Off the desk!” Max barked, not at all in the mood for her shenanigans today.

“Yes, sir!” she offered an emphasized salute as she jumped to her feet and followed him into his office.

He started to strip his gear and stow it in the locker in the corner of his room. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced back at her and asked, “What do you want, kid?”

She glared at him for that kid remark. “I went to see your lady this morning.”

Max groaned inwardly at the thought of Emma becoming friendly with Rio. After meeting Leila Keaton he could spot the similarities between the two young women. Rio had always made it clear that she wanted a sibling, and now she had the perfect big sister within reach. He didn’t even want to think about the kind of trouble Rio might cook up with Emma as her sidekick.

“You can thank me later for making her breakfast and keeping her company,” Rio continued. “But right now you might want to hustle over to Building Twelve before the SICO squad tears into her—”

Max stopped yanking on the Velcro attached to his thigh holster and spun around to face Rio. “What?”

“Some asshole from the SICO team damn near beat down your front door this morning,” she said. “I had to fight him off when he tried to force himself inside your house. Thankfully Gray got there in time, but—”

“Adam is with her?” Max cut in, his heart in his throat as he imagined Emma with the shadowy men who worked in intelligence.

“I tried to stay, but General Gage threw me out of the building.”

Max’s pulse sprinted. His earlier discussion with Jake seemed almost prescient now. “Gage is
here
? At Outpost 9?”

She nodded. “Weird, right? Mom goes out of town for a few days and suddenly SICO shows up? Some coincidence, huh”

“Hardly,” he muttered. Storming to the door, he paused briefly and looked back at her. She was the biggest pain in the ass he’d ever met—but she had a good heart. “Thank you for visiting Emma this morning.”

She shrugged. “I need a friend, and I thought she could use one, too.”

“Yes, I’m sure she could.” He gestured to the door. “Now get the hell out of my office and get back to your duty station.”

She rolled her eyes and sauntered out of his office. He locked the door to his office, and still wearing his gear, sprinted toward Building Twelve. Part of the jail complex, the building sat away from the others and required four different security checks before entrance could be granted. Fuming at the ridiculous red tape bullshit, Max peeled out of his gear and thrust it at the first guard so he could get through the weapons check. By the fourth guard and locked gate, he was on the verge of losing his shit.

“Let him through,” General Gage ordered, stepping out of Building Twelve to meet him personally. Tall and solid as a rock, Gage filled the doorway and eyed the guards with an imperious air. Everyone feared him—and for good reason. He could make anyone disappear.

“I apologize for the security,” Gage said when Max reached him. “I didn’t realize you were back on the post or I would have sent someone to retrieve you to bypass security.”

“The same way you sent someone to my home to beat up my wife?”

“That’s a gross mischaracterization of the scuffle that occurred.”

“I tell you what. When you have a mate, I’ll swing by for a visit, knock your door down and rampage around your living area.”

Gage settled those coal black eyes on Max. “We should speak inside.”

Without any other choice, Max followed Gage into the secure building and down a dark hallway lined with doors.

“In here,” Gage said and opened a door. Max trailed him inside an observation chamber and immediately spotted Emma in the adjacent room. The interrogation suites were separated by a retractable panel of heavy-duty glass that was opaque when viewed from Emma’s side and clear when viewed from the observation room.

Max stepped up to the glass partition and looked over Emma. She sat cross-legged on a metal chair and fiddled with the hem of her untucked shirt. She seemed anxious but otherwise unharmed. Gray stood near the door, his arms crossed and his jaw set with irritation as he glared at the glass panel.

“Gray wouldn’t leave her side,” Gage said, stepping closer and extending a tablet. “I allowed him to stay, but sent Rio packing.”

“She ended up in my office.”

“Better yours than mine,” Gage grunted. “Here.” Tapping the tablet screen, he showed Max the security camera footage taken from the front porch of their house. It reminded him that he needed to tell Emma about the constant surveillance on the post. She probably had no idea that she was being watched every minute.

“Emma and Rio made a complaint about the soldier sent for retrieval. Gray backed them up, but I had the surveillance footage pulled just to be thorough. You can see that he went far beyond the parameters of acceptable behavior here.”

Max’s fingers curled at his sides as he watched the footage recorded by the cameras on the porch and across the street. It clearly showed the soldier putting his hands on Rio and forcing his way into the home. “Where is he?”

Gage shot him a look. “He’s been busted down to private and sent packing. I have him waiting on the next flight back to the base. He isn’t a good fit for Outpost 9 or SICO.”

“Clearly,” Max grumbled.

“You know how it goes,” Gage said with a shrug. “Sometimes the men who are best suited for SICO have other issues that make them unsuitable for working with the public. We’ll retrain him for analysis or he’ll get punted to the logistics corps.”

Not really caring what happened to the soldier now that he was no longer a threat to Emma, Max asked, “Why is Emma here? Why is she here
now
when I was conveniently in the field?” Wondering if this was the opening salvo for revenge on Jack, he added, “If this is about that shit that went down between you and Jack—”

“I know what you’re thinking, Max, and you’re wrong,” Gage interrupted. “Am I still irritated with Jack about that sucker punch he threw? Fuck yes! But am I going to haul in some innocent woman and run her through the wringer to get back at him? Hell no. That’s now how this went down,” Gage insisted. “When the intel came across my desk last night, I pulled together my team for an immediate deployment. It truly was a coincidence that Eve is away on business, and you were in the field with Jack. No one expected that damn bombing. We were coming here before Monroe asked me to bring in a team to investigate the attacks.”

Max decided to believe Gage about the timing. “Why are you here for Emma?” he asked again. “She’s a human who grew up on an isolated farm. Jack and I were the first cyborgs she’d ever interacted with in her entire life. She doesn’t know anything about our world. She can’t possibly help you.”

“It’s not about what she knows or doesn’t know. It’s about her body.” Gage tossed his tablet onto the desk against the far wall. “There was a problem with her physical.”

Max’s heart stuttered. “What do you mean? Is she sick?” He glanced at his mate who seemed healthy and strong. “If there was a problem with her med check, why isn’t she in the infirmary?”

“It’s not that kind of problem,” Gage cryptically replied. “When Roman gets here, he can explain it to both of you. I was waiting for you to arrive before I asked her any questions.”

“Well I’m here now,” Max snapped. “Let’s get this over with so we can go home.”

Gage studied him in that cold way of his. “You look like hell.”

“It was a long night.”

“So I heard. Tell me the truth, Max. Do you think it was Faction?”

Max didn’t have to wonder what Gage was thinking. So much progress had been made in the last eleven years. If Faction was back—if they had been rebuilding and growing in strength and numbers—everything good that been accomplished would be threatened and all that had been sacrificed would have been in vain.

“It had that Faction feeling,” Max admitted reluctantly. “Maybe the old rumors are true. It’s possible some of the Faction leadership survived the kill-switch. Maybe they’re back for their revenge.”

Gage’s stony expression confirmed Max’s fears. The SICO chief had probably long suspected the old rumors were true. Knowing what Max did of the black sites and the torture cells there, he could only imagine what stories Gage had heard from the unlucky Faction members who had been caught during the insurrection.

Someone knocked on the observation room door before stepping inside. Max recognized Colonel Roman Kodorovsky. Roman was a brilliant doctor, but his specialty in epidemiology worried Max. What the hell did Roman want with Emma?

“Sorry I’m late,” Roman apologized. “That storm and the bombing made it absolute hell to get here. We lost an engine on the first flight, had to make an emergency landing at Outpost 6 and then I had to hop onto a medical flight to finally make it here.” He extended his hand toward Max. “Long time since I’ve seen you, Max.”

He shook the doctor’s hand. “Roman.”

“I suppose we should skip the pleasantries and get right to business,” Roman said, lifting his tablet and briefcase. “I imagine you’d like to get Emma back home as quickly as possible.”

Gage touched the controls on the retractable glass panel and the slab lifted straight up into the ceiling. Obviously frightened by the sudden and unexpected movement of the glass, Emma jumped to her feet and started backing into the corner. Gray shoved off the wall he had been leaning against and looked ready for a fight.