Promises in the Dark (10 page)

“You need to come with me. No questions,” he said, his voice abrupt, and she didn’t argue. Her feet moved despite the fact that dizziness from rapidly dropping blood sugar made her off balance. It didn’t matter, since Caleb’s hand closed around her arm, the other held her lower back and ushered her out a door and into a waiting black truck that could’ve been the same one she’d ridden in earlier.

She strapped the seatbelt on as Caleb did the same in the driver’s seat. When he pulled away, she realized they were alone in the car and headed away from the sirens.

No questions
.

As she stared out the window, she caught sight of her surroundings. She couldn’t be sure, since the truck was moving fast, but it looked like a military facility.

She turned her attention from the side window to the front one and nearly screamed, because the gate they were rapidly approaching was indeed closed. She shifted in her seat to get a better look, saw the soldiers in front of it, waving Caleb to stop.

“Not a word,” he warned.

She nearly bit her tongue off as they got closer, and maybe this was some kind of test of her courage. She wanted to close her eyes but couldn’t. Instead, she braced herself and stared straight ahead.

And prayed a little.

Caleb muttered something—a curse maybe, or perhaps a prayer of his own—and his arm shot out protectively across her chest.

The men moved out of the way at the last minute, opening the gate as they did so, and the truck was able to continue barreling down the road at top speed.

Relief washed over her and she released a breath, hadn’t realized she’d been holding it and gripping her hands together tightly.

His arm moved away and he ran a hand through his hair.

“Can I ask a question now?” she asked finally, and so much for following the rules.

“We’re on lockdown,” he explained. “No one’s allowed on or off post.”

“Except you.”

“Looks like it took them a few seconds too long to get the orders.” He gave a small smile and Vivi realized he liked trouble, judging by the way he’d been ready to crash through the gate without attempting to slow down.

Well, at least she knew she had been on a military base … and that the man next to her was a soldier of some sort. Army … Army had posts, Navy had bases. One of her stepfathers had been a History Channel buff.

Obviously, getting her off-post was extremely important. A wave of fear washed over her, made her throat dry. She managed to croak out, “Was that … about me?”

“Maybe.”

She realized she wouldn’t get more than that, supposed she should be grateful for that bit of information, but it only made the dizziness worse. “Is there any water in here? Or soda, because …”

She was aware her voice faded a bit and felt Caleb’s hand on her cheek and then her forehead. “You’re burning up. How long have you been sick?”

“Um, the last few minutes?”

She heard the crack of a soda can, although the truck was still moving fast. “Here, drink this—I’ll hold it.”

There was even a straw, miracle of miracles. And she took long pulls of the sugary drink until the dizziness lifted somewhat.

“Are you diabetic?” he asked.

“No.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“What time is it?”

He cursed loudly, and then in a much gentler tone than he’d used since she’d met him, he said, “Vivienne—Vivi—I’m taking you someplace safe. You’ll be comfortable there.”

“You’re staying with me, or will I be handed over to some other man in black who won’t answer my questions?”

“You’ll be with me. And I’ve answered a few.”

“The devil you know,” she muttered, and heard him snort. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

She grabbed the soda can from him and drained it, the sugar working to clear her head. “How long will I be there?”

“That depends.”

“On what? Who’s after me, Caleb? I have a right to know why I’m in trouble.”

He was silent for a long minute, and then, “It’s about your father’s program.”

Something had changed in Caleb’s demeanor. There was an urgency—as if he wanted to continue believing her but was torn and he was looking for assurance. “What are you talking about?”

“You need to fix the safeguard so it works.”

“InLine Energy sent you to collect the software?”

“No.”

The thought of her constant failures in trying to rectify the safeguard was enough to tie her stomach into knots again. She didn’t like failing.

When it became obvious Caleb wasn’t going to tell her more, she finally said, “I’ll work as hard as I can to fix it.”

He nodded, obviously pleased with her answer. “Tell me something—isn’t the point of the program itself to be unbreakable?”

“My father didn’t take anything for granted. He didn’t trust anyone.”

“Not even you?”

The question was like a knife to the heart; the answer, one she knew all too well. “Not even me.”

After she said that, she heard Caleb swear under his breath and she didn’t want to ask or answer any more questions.

While she stared out the window, lost in her own thoughts, Caleb drove them north on the highway for maybe an hour through North Carolina before exiting and cruising through a residential area she wasn’t familiar with.

He pulled into the garage of a house on a typical suburban-looking street, let the garage door come down before he said, “Wait here. I’ll check out the house.”

Alone in the garage, in the dark, she started to panic a little. The dark had never bothered her before—although she now realized that most of the time, she wasn’t in total darkness, but rather, bathed in the comforting light of a computer screen.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour but was no doubt closer to five minutes, Caleb came back to the garage and to her side of the car. He opened her door for her.

“All clear.”

She climbed down with his help and entered the house. The soda’s sugar rush had helped her feel less shaky, but he kept a firm hand on her arm. Earlier, she would’ve assumed that was to keep her from making any false moves, but now the touch was gentler.

He was making sure she didn’t fall. When she got inside, she noted that the house was clean and well furnished. And no doubt secure.

“Have a seat,” he told her, and she did, sinking gratefully into a kitchen chair while Caleb went back out to the garage.

He returned less than a minute later, carrying a large bag and two laptop computers she’d never seen before.

“Can you get started setting these up?” he asked as he placed them on the kitchen table. “They’re brand new, should be fully loaded. I’ve got your father’s program saved.”

“What about the wireless system? I don’t need to go online, but for security purposes, it needs to be protected.”

“It is. Your IP won’t be detected.”

“Where are my computers?”

“They’re being checked by Grayson—one of the men you met earlier,” he said as he rifled first through the freezer and then the fridge.

“Checked?”

He ignored the implied question and instead held another soda out to her. “I hope you’re okay with pizza.”

She nodded. It didn’t matter what she ate. She just needed fuel so she didn’t drop from the combination of exhaustion and fear. Her body and mind were essentially numb and she didn’t feel like she could process light conversation, never mind complicated software conversions.

Discovering she’d been on a military post eased her fears somewhat, but she knew she was in trouble. She’d seen her father get railroaded when she was younger—he never got over that. It was the beginning of a long, downward spiral that left him bitter, and Vivi cut off from much of the world.

She’d just started to live for herself, and now she was being drawn back into her father’s problems. Truth be told, she’d never actually gotten out from under them, but finally taking time to actually date someone, even if it hadn’t worked out—and then nearly selling her own system to the military—had been a big step forward.

When Caleb sat down next to her, she readied herself for more questions.

And two steps back.

He knew her conscience should be clean, that she’d never truly been given a choice by DMH, but he wondered if she’d ever feel the same way.

When the sun went down, they’d travel for as long as they could manage. But he had the uneasy feeling that Olivia wasn’t nearly as convinced as he was that she needed to leave this country and get herself into some serious protection for a while.

He moved toward the window and looked up at the sky. It had clouded up nicely, dissipating some of the heat. A nice soaking rain for the rest of the day would be helpful, but it would suck if it continued through the night.

Just then, one of his two phones rang, a low staccato echoing from deep inside his pack, where he’d stuck it hurriedly last night, along with the DMH guy’s cell.

Keeping his voice low, he greeted Dylan with, “What’s up?” And then he moved to a far corner and listened to Dylan’s fluent string of curses.

He used the time to wonder if D had told Caleb. Probably.

“Where. Are. You,” Dylan said finally.

“We’re …”
In the middle of the goddamned jungle, with soldiers and DMH on our ass, no transportation and no foreseeable way out of goatfuck central
. “We’re just fine.”

Dead silence on the other end, and then, “What. Did. You. Do.”

Saved Liv’s life
. “We’re fine. Might be a little late getting to the LZ.”

“Zane …”

“I had to double back,” he said, explained to Dylan about the DMH flunkie. And admitted to being caught on film.

There was cursing again. More this time, and Zane checked out the flash of lightning across the sky, counted the seconds until the rumble of thunder followed.

The storm would be here soon. “D, man, it’s all right. We’re only behind like twenty-four hours.” Maybe. “Olivia gave me intel about some of the doctors who worked at the clinic.”

He ran down what she’d told him, knew Dylan was recording all of it.

“So Olivia can make Elijah. And she stole this intel from him. Blew up a clinic.” Dylan gave a long whistle. “He won’t like being made a fool of above all else. Until he finds her, he can’t restore his pride.”

“Then we kill him.”

“Easier said than done.”

That was true. Even though Liv could identify Elijah, there was no way in hell Zane would let her get even remotely close to him again. “We’re moving out tonight—we’ll go as far as we can and then I’ll be in contact. She doesn’t want to leave, but I’ll make sure she gets to Freetown and on the boat, if it’s the last thing I do.”

No point in mentioning the drug lord baby thing, because he was sure Dylan would jump through the phone.

“It better not be the last fucking thing you do, Zane, or I’ll kill you,” Dylan said warningly before he hung up.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered to the phone as another flash of lightning lit up the small house and the floor shook with the rolling boom that came right after.

He turned to see if Liv was still sleeping and saw she was awake, watching him. By the look on her face, he could tell she’d heard every word he said.

Shit
.

“That was Dylan,” he said by way of explanation. “My brother … he was the one at the house last year, the one in Minnesota.”

“I never knew that’s where I was. I’d think DMH would pick something a little more exotic for a kidnapping.” She was half joking. But there was a fire in her eyes pointed directly at him.

I’ll make sure she gets to Freetown and on the boat, if it’s the last thing I do
.

She felt far more vulnerable than she should because he already knew so much about her. All she knew about him was that he wanted to drag her, kicking and screaming if necessary, to a place she didn’t want to go.

And now she had complete confirmation he’d never planned on giving her a choice in the matter.

“Am I your prisoner?”

“What the hell are you talking about? You know you’re not, or I would’ve had you in cuffs and back in the States already, dammit.”

“Are you going to arrest me for bombing the clinic? Are you planning to take me home against my will? Because don’t think I won’t tell the first person I see that I’m being kidnapped.”

“Liv, look,” he started, and then realized there was no way out of it. “I meant what I said. I can’t apologize for it.”

She stood then, felt her temper rise and any good feelings she’d developed toward him were quickly forgotten.

She should’ve known no one could be trusted. No one. “I don’t want your apologies—I just want you and your do-gooding to stay the hell away from me.”

“I can’t do that. Won’t.

“Why do you care so much? Is it an ego thing? They got away before you could stop them and now you’ve got to prove that you’re a big bad soldier?”

“No,” he managed through gritted teeth. “And I’m a SEAL. Navy. Not a soldier. I’ve spent months of my life looking for you, worried you were hurt. Alone. Scared. I don’t know why the hell you affected me so much, and I don’t give a shit about your ungrateful attitude or your inability to listen to reason.”

She let out a short, humorless laugh. “Oh, I get it—you’re all warrior tough and you don’t want people to think badly of you if you don’t bring back the woman. This is just another mission to you, an adventure, but this is my life,” she lashed out at him. “You have no idea what it’s like to feel so lost, to have no one to turn to. To not want to turn to anyone. So please, just take your plan and get the hell out of here.”

He didn’t respond, but his eyes darkened, his jaw tightened and an emotion she couldn’t quite place flashed over his face for a brief second before he walked out the door and into the pouring rain.

In turn, she sank down to the floor and began to sob. What the hell had happened to her? Had she really allowed DMH to turn her into someone she didn’t even recognize?