Retrieval (35 page)

He’d amazed her earlier with his vehemence, and his obvious grasp of their connection. He was persistent and with the help of her nosy sisters had managed to find his way back into her mind. She hurt to think of the pain he would now feel if she did die tomorrow, but his mind was too strong to break, at least she hoped it was. With the connection to her sisters severed, they would feel her loss, but it wouldn’t be deadly to them.

She bathed and prepared for bed; all the while her mind searching and calculating odds for various approaches to tomorrow. She was depending on Everly to get the others out once she had Smythe-Ward contained in the boardroom. It was her hope that whatever Sebastian had planned wasn’t set to begin until all the players were in place, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would ensure her safety before moving on either place. If she got really lucky, he’d hit this estate first and then come gunning for GenTech. Sometimes, though, you had to make your own luck.

She hadn’t spoken with Micah since she’d seen him in Chicago with Goolsby. She needed his help now. Reaching for her link with him, she startled the man and smiled when she realized what she’d disrupted.

“Yeah?”

“Did I interrupt something?”

“Don’t you always?”

“Whatever. I can’t help that you spend all your time off humping the closest female. I’d have to wait until you’re dead to try not to interrupt that now wouldn’t I? I have a question—think you can pull yourself away from your latest conquest to answer it?”

He was quite the ladies’ man, and both she and Kinsey were forever warning him about safe sex to which he would respond with a wink and shrug, because they all knew that what he was infected with was more dominant than any STD he could ever catch. It obliterated all sickness with just one little troublesome side effect: fur and a tail.

Since the man liked women, he’d said he considered it a fair trade. Both Sky’s and Kinsey’s link with the man had been established that night they’d rushed to his aid. It was somewhat one-sided as one of the sisters had to maintain it. Micah wasn’t able to mind-walk without help. He could kill things like nobody’s business, but the finer points of his,
er
, transformation still eluded him.

“Haven’t I helped you enough lately?”

“Yeah, uhhhh, no, not really. I don’t need a super-big thing this time, just a little bitty favor.”

“What?”

“I need you to ensure that Sebastian, and whoever the hell else is planning to go all commando with him, hit the estate first. I need time to get the ones beneath the labs safe. Have you spoken with Everly recently?”

“Yeah, she swears you bring the sun out to shine and make dolphins leap in joy. She doesn’t know you very well does she?”

“Stop it.”

“Just how the hell am I supposed to stop the train from rolling at this late hour?”

“I don’t know, I was kind of hoping you’d pull something out of your bag of tricks. By the way, do you know Dawn—is she one of yours?”

“Nope, Dray Bonner brought her into this, and Sebastian reluctantly agreed. Why? She causing you problems?”

“No, besides even if she was it wouldn’t matter, this is going down tomorrow. Stay as far away as you can after you help Everly, got it? Now how about that help I was asking for?”

“I’ll do my best midget, but I can’t promise anything. That man you’re, let’s see how did you put it when you were talking about me, humping is the word you used right? That man you’re humping is almost as stubborn as you. I’ll see what I can do to make them hit the estate first.”

“’Preciate it, Mic. I’ll let you get back to work.”
Sky snickered as she disengaged from Micah’s mind.

If anyone could do it, Micah could. She had to hope that he had enough sway to stop Sebastian and the others from getting to GenTech before she blew it sky high.

Lying down, she thought for a moment about making contact with Bastian, but she decided against it. She’d relish any contact, but at this point she needed to concentrate and not allow for the opportunity for her thoughts to bleed over. He already had way too much of an idea what she was going to do, but if he had confirmation he would place himself in the way to stop her from getting hurt.

Better to rest and prepare. She turned her eyes heavenward and began to pray.

* * * *

“She’s going to try to do this on her own. I have to stop her. If she kills him, it will do the same to her,” Sebastian said as he pounded his fist on the table in front of him and argued with the man on the phone.

“She knows what’s going on, Seb, calm down. This shit isn’t helping her any. I heard Bonner’s girl Dawn made contact with her. That probably wasn’t the wisest move on your part. She’s going to push up her own agenda if ya’ll keep on.”

“Yeah, well, she’s the only one we could get in on such short notice, remember? Smythe-Ward is probably suspicious as hell of her, but she’s easy on the eyes, and you told us he likes the skirts. How the hell do you know about Dawn meeting Sky anyway?” Sebastian asked in a hard voice.

“Man, I got eyes and ears everywhere, don’t doubt it. I wanted someone in there so they could monitor her safety, not make contact and set her off. Anyway, what’s the final plan for tomorrow?”

Micah hated being subversive toward Sebastian, but Skylar’s success held his concern. She could get this done for them all, and if Sebastian or any of the others got in the way, they could easily die with Smythe-Ward. Plus, Sebastian had no idea about the lives Sky was going to save tomorrow. But Micah did; there were amazing beings in the cells under the floors of GenTech, and Skylar was his best hope for saving them.

“We’re going in at oh-seven hundred hours. Intel puts Dempsey, Cobb, and that weasel Goolsby present at GenTech at that time.”

“Where’s your intel coming from?” Micah asked just, barely managing to keep the panic from his tone. Oh-seven hundred was way too early. Sky was planning to make her move at noon.

“Connor Parks has a bead on Cobb. He relayed the info so it’s good. Why?” Suspicion was now in Sebastian’s tone.

“My intel says that Dempsey and Goolsby won’t arrive until after thirteen-hundred hours. You delay, and you get them all.” Micah kept his lie short and sweet enough to bait the fly.

“Okay, well, let me get that word out, and we’ll reorganize on our end. You going to be around at thirteen-hundred, Mic?” Sebastian asked him, giving in too easily to Micah’s way of thinking.

“Wouldn’t be anywhere else with our girl on the line would I?” Micah teased his friend.

“
My
girl, Mic.
My
girl,” Sebastian stated in a low growl.

“Okay, okay, I got it. Geesh already. The idea of you playing kissy face with a woman who I consider a sister is gross in the extreme.”

“Yeah, and I could really care less. Hit me back in about an hour, and I’ll give you the final plan,” Sebastian said and then disconnected.

Man
, Micah thought.
Seb and Sky are a match made in Heaven
. Neither one of them had any phone, or in Sky’s case, mind etiquette. He’d accomplished what Sky wanted, and now he had to say his own prayers that she made it out alive and that Seb didn’t kill him when he found out about his lies.

* * * *

Sebastian lay on his bed in the big room overlooking the Atlantic. It was getting darker, the sun finally setting on the horizon. The days were longer now that summer had arrived, and the oppressive heat that normally blanketed Charleston was in full force. He’d purchased this property with the thought that one day, if he was lucky, he might have a family that could enjoy the beach right outside. As he’d grown older and met no one he wanted to settle down with, his hopes for that family had diminished. Then he’d met Skylar, and he’d had nothing but hope ever since. She turned him inside out and upside down, and the whirlwind she was had blown through his life wrecking him and then putting him back together.

His sister, the one he hadn’t spoken with in years, would laugh if she could see his present turmoil. Sebastian falling in love? No way, she’d say. The bratty teenager she’d been when he left for the service would’ve mocked him. The surly woman she’d become would cackle in glee. How the mighty have fallen she would say.

But there was no way around it. He loved Skylar McKannon with every breath left to him, and he would make damn sure that she lived to see more days with him. He was going to paddle that ass something fierce, but that was okay, because he’d kiss away the sting.

He’d taken a great risk by reestablishing their connection through Dawn. He knew that Sky wasn’t happy about it, but he’d thought that maybe if their connection was there, she wouldn’t be so risky in her actions to off her father.

Yeah, he’d taken a risk, yet he was sure she wasn’t going to back down and let him handle Smythe-Ward. She was going to take the bastard down herself, and to hell with Sebastian and how he would feel about losing her.

There was the anger. It was a seething, living thing inside of him, and he still couldn’t find a way to not be in love with her. She’d destroyed his house in Idaho, betrayed his trust in her, and that said nothing about what she had done to his ego—and still, he loved her.

He finally gave up on even remotely trying to settle down enough to rest. He got up and padded over to the big bay window. He had hours yet before they moved. Thanks to Micah’s information they’d delayed their operation until thirteen-hundred hours, which meant they could hopefully kill all the birds with one stone. Where would Skylar be? Was Micah going to ensure her safety?

He hadn’t tried to contact her since their earlier exchange; he was too furious. With himself for caring, and her for not caring enough. Sighing deeply, he turned and found Raina standing at his door.

“Thought you could use some cheering up,” she said quietly.

This sister, even more than the others, had earned his respect and admiration. For a woman with such a grave disability, she saw things no other did, and she sought to right the wrongs.

“I’m pissed, not sad,” he told her carefully but firmly.

She snorted her disbelief. “Sure.”

“Raina, you need to get some rest. You and your sisters are up for hell tomorrow, and we need you full strength. I don’t need a pep talk, but we all need rest.”

Please let that send her on her way. I can’t deal with talking about Skylar tonight.

“Okay then. I see how it is, but let me leave you with one little thing. She loves you, and I know I’ve said it before, but you shouldn’t doubt it. She needs to do this and apparently has figured out some way to destroy that monster without killing herself, or she wouldn’t risk the damage to us. ‘Us’ being you and her sisters. Have a little faith Sebastian, and don’t let your ego destroy what you guys could have.”

With that she turned but stopped when he called her name.

“When the time comes for you to do the same, I’m going to make sure that I repeat those exact words to you.”

“I would expect no less from you, brother,” she said and left.

Skylar had done this to him. Made him so nervous he couldn’t even sleep.

“I’m coming for you, baby. You better hold on,” he said aloud and then went to go over their plans to get her out of there one more time.

Chapter 21

“Skylar!”

Everly’s urgent whisper woke her from a dreamless sleep.

“What?” Sky asked groggily, trying to shake off the effects of her slumber.

When was the last time she’d slept so hard? Over a month ago in Sebastian’s arms, her heart taunted her.

“He’s moving them.” Everly’s voice was panicked.

“Moving who?”

“The ones in the cages,” Everly stated in a hurried tone, then she slapped her hands over her ears suddenly.

A grimace contorted the woman’s lovely features. Her grimace contorted Skylar’s heart in fear.

“Where is he now?” Sky demanded.

Everly was bent at the waist now whispering, “No, no, no, no, no” over and over.

“Everly,” Skylar said in a sharp voice. “Tell me where he is.”

It was only 10:00 a.m., and Skylar had to wonder just what the hell had made her sleep so damn long? Had her father spiked her supper last night? Surely Everly would have warned her? Unless … no wait, it hadn’t been Everly who brought her meal last night; it had been another person. Thing. Person.

Damn. He’d spiked her meal and was even now trying to relocate the ones beneath the lab. For some reason he wanted her nowhere near them, and that was just too damn bad for him.

She dressed quickly, stuffing her feet into tennis shoes just as Everly stood and then collapsed with a grunt of pain.

She rushed to her side and noted that the other woman’s skin was clammy and pale.

“Everly? Tell me what’s going on,” Sky urged her.

“He’s tranqed them, well all of them except for Aleksei—he’s not susceptible to their medicine. They’re pulling out in just a few minutes. If they leave, he’ll take them where we can’t ever find them. Please, Skylar. Get them,” Everly begged.

“I have to know where they are right now, Everly. Give me directions,” she ordered the prone woman.

“You’ll have to look in my head. He’s shutting me down.”

Sky placed her hand on the other woman’s head and got the location for the transport vehicle. It was a tractor-trailer. They were moving them like cattle or hogs for God’s sake.

“Listen to me, Everly, you need to find Micah. I’m going to GenTech to stop this right now.”

“You can’t go alone, please wait for Micah,” Everly pleaded and then groaned as the pain inside her head intensified.

“I can’t wait. They’ll move them, and once they do, they’re lost to us. When Smythe-Ward is gone GenTech will crumble, and Cobb will erase any and all evidence about what went on there. I get them now or they die. Everly? I’m sorry I couldn’t have prevented your pain all these years. Had I known you existed, I would have come for you all much sooner.”