Total Surrender (20 page)

Then Jory smiled. “You have no clue what you’re talking about.”

The man shook his head. “I’m willing to let you live if you give up the other locations of the creations. My group could use you.”

“Screw you.” Jory’s eyelids dropped as if the entire situation bored him enough to sleep. “We done?”

Two years later, watching the video, Piper’s shoulders relaxed. “Who’s the man?”

“A leader of the PROTECT group,” the commander said.

Piper’s mouth dropped open, and she quickly shut it. “You’ve known about the group for two years? They actually found Jory?”

“Yes. Apparently Jory had gone undercover at a facility being watched by PROTECT—everybody trying to find me.
They took him because he was watching for me and didn’t have a clue about them. Bastards.” The commander tapped his chin.

Piper looked back at the frozen screen. “You lied. The Russians didn’t shoot him.”

“Of course they didn’t.” The commander tapped the screen. “Keep watching. I fetched this video after we rescued Jory—the shooter was also wired with a camera, but you don’t need to see that one. This one will do better.”

Well. Even though it sucked she had to watch her lover get shot, she knew he survived. Since he hadn’t lied to her, she relaxed. “Let ’er rip.”

“Just watch.”

In the DVD, the PROTECT leader picked up a sharp blade.

Piper hissed out a breath. “I don’t need to see torture.”

On the screen, a commotion set up outside the torture room. A woman yelled something, and the door banged open. “I’m sorry,” a female voice whispered, the sound distorted through the screen.

The PROTECT soldier pivoted on the screen and then dove to the ground. A gun fired three times, the bullets impacting Jory’s chest and throwing him back onto the cement. Blood sprayed up and arced through the room.

Kicking up, the soldier grunted, and the gun flew across the screen. “You shot him!”

“Yes,” the shooter snapped, turning and kicking the soldier in the head.

Watching the screen, Piper frowned. Why did the voice almost sound familiar?

Heels came into focus, and then a head bent down. “He’s dead.”

Piper gasped and bolted straight from her chair. The woman in the video turned, her face fully on display.

“Mom?” Piper gasped. Two years ago, her mother had shot Jory?

The screen went dark.

The commander slowly, deliberately turned the monitor back into place. “I’m sure it’s an odd feeling knowing your mother shot your lover.”

Piper fell back into her chair. Her lungs compressed. “I don’t believe this.”

“It’s true. Your mother is actually a crack shot. Always has been.”

The world screeched to a full stop. Piper’s mind whirled. “Excuse me? A crack shot?” Piper pushed hair out of her face, her hand shaking. “My mom doesn’t even own a gun.” The woman ran yogurt shops, for hell’s sake.

He cleared his throat, black eyes serious. “Well, she might not have told you everything.”

“You think?” Piper snapped.

The commander straightened. “When our contacts in the PROTECT organization let us know that one of my soldiers had been taken, I had no clue it was Jory, so I thought to just end the problem. I needed to get somebody in there to shut the prisoner up before he spoke. Somebody unremarkable. Like a yogurt shop deliverer from a few towns over.”

Piper shook her head. “What?”

The commander nodded. “Fortune shines on the bold. You were caught hacking, and all of a sudden, I found a way to solve both your problem and mine.”

Wait a minute. Piper rapidly clicked facts into place. “Now that’s quite a coincidence.” Sarcasm coated her words.

He kept her gaze, not moving.

Oh, hell. “You set me up.” She shook her head. “You fucking set me up.” The box of stuff sent to her house had been deliberate. The one that had set her on the path to finding her real father.

His upper lip twitched. “Well… yes.”

Piper’s breath heated. “Okay. Let me see if I can figure this out without my head blowing off my shoulders.”

“Cease with the dramatics, please.” His voice remained cordial.

Asshat. “Jory was taken by the PROTECT group, and you discovered his location. So you set about learning everything you could about the PROTECT group and the area in which it worked.”

“I knew one of my soldiers was a prisoner, but I didn’t even consider it was one of the Gray brothers and just figured it was somebody expendable. Your mother’s yogurt shops weren’t close to the facility, but we sent several flyers about the business expanding and looking to move into the neighborhood to the receptionists of the building. Then we sent yogurt.”

Piper frowned. How had all this happened under her nose? “But when you found my mother—wait. Wait a minute. I’m getting confused.” It was all too much. She’d been living in a spy movie and hadn’t even known it.

The commander sighed as if truly disappointed with her lack of understanding. “I did all the prep work with the flyers and contact, and your mother was easy to google, so anybody looking for her online would’ve found her. Once we had the road paved, you tried to hack into my server and ended up in trouble.”

Piper’s head slowly lifted. Heat flushed through her. “I wasn’t arrested by the government, was I?” Son of a bitch. She’d been scared out of her mind.

“No. That was us.” He shrugged. “We have facilities that appear like a jail.”

The fucking liar. She’d been so easy to set up. The scenario was unbelievable, and her brain quickly caught up. Fire lashed through her. “When you pretended to arrest me—you blackmailed my mother.”

The commander kept Piper’s gaze. “Yes.”

Oh God. “But she worked as a receptionist for you so long ago.” Not a super-spy.

“True, but she was undergoing training to be an operative when she discovered our genetic experiments, and she had qualms. She became pregnant and ran.” He shrugged as if the entire scenario wasn’t ass-backward crazy.

Piper shook her head almost in slow motion. “You didn’t follow her?”

He chuckled. “I found her within three days, Piper. But I let her be until I needed her again. This time to shoot one of my captured soldiers before he gave everything up about our organization.”

So he had never given a crap about Piper or had wanted to reach out to meet her. She tried to slow her erratic heartbeat. “Why not just rescue Jory?”

The commander sighed. “We didn’t know it was one of the Gray brothers until your mother reported back after the shooting. We’d wired her with a camera, of course. Our sources said the PROTECT group had one of our soldiers, but at that time, we were still regrouping after the Tennessee mess and working to save face with the government, so we didn’t know it was a Gray brother.”

Dean brother, asshole.

Piper frowned. “This was more than just you making my mom shoot an absent soldier.”

The commander finally smiled. “There’s the brain I’m hoping you have. You’re right. This was about getting rid of the soldier, pulling you into my organization, and neutralizing your mother from stopping me. With the recording of her committing murder, of course.”

Piper swallowed. “So you wanted me?”

“You have impressive computer skills—quite impressive. Your skills combined with one of my super-soldiers might
create an unheard-of next generation.” He nodded as if giving her approval.

She shoved back against the chair. “You wanted to
breed
me?” she yelled.

He nodded. “Yes.”

Her head actually spasmed. “You’re fucking crazy.”

“Really, Piper.”

She covered her face with her hands. “I don’t believe this. I really don’t.” She lifted up and frowned. “Wait a minute. Jory didn’t die.”

“No.” The commander blew out air. “The second I saw the video, we went on a mission to retrieve his body. At that point, we didn’t care about the publicity. Of course, we found him alive, took him, and our surgeons went to work.”

Piper gagged and swallowed quickly. “Why didn’t you seek me out before—when I was young?”

“You were a girl.” His voice remained dispassionate. “It wasn’t until I discovered you were exceptional that I considered using you.”

A figurative blade sliced into Piper’s heart. What an asshole. And what a relief that she didn’t have to worry about him any longer. They weren’t on the same side. They never really had been. “So if I hadn’t had an aptitude for computers?”

“Then I wouldn’t have interceded.” No emotion showed in his black eyes.

Piper blew out air, letting go of any hurt. Then she focused on the problem at hand. “My mother has lived with this for two years? This video?”

“Yes. If she tells you about me, or about our past, she goes to jail.” The commander scratched his arm. “She might not know Jory survived.”

So her mother might’ve been living with the thought she’d murdered a man? Piper stood. “I have to get to her.”

“No. Work with me, or I’ll turn the DVD over to the
authorities along with a body pretty much matching Jory. Close enough. Your mother will go to prison.”

“Bullshit.” Piper turned and headed for the door.

“Try me, Piper.”

She stopped. He was serious. Could she get her mother to safety? Away from Utah?

“I’ll have soldiers on her the second she tries to flee, and she’ll be in federal custody a moment later. Believe me, I have excellent connections within the United States government.”

A rock slammed into Piper’s gut. The commander contracted with the government for assignments and missions. He probably did have decent connections. She slowly turned around. Her hands shook, so she stuffed them in her pockets. Time had moved from ticking to a full-out run, and she had to get back to her computer. Maybe Jory could protect her mother while Piper figured out how to save his life. “What do you want?”

“Well, for starters, I want your help bringing in Jory.”

“I don’t know where—”

The commander lifted a large hand. “Stop lying. I have cameras lining the street outside the old facility and saw Jory rescue you. I’d like to say I’m disappointed in you, but women always lie. Worthless bitches, all of you.”

“Well. So much for the soft touch, Dad.”

He cut her a hard look. “There’s no need to try a soft touch with you any longer. This is the truth, and this is reality. You will help me, and like I said, I saw Jory rescue you.”

She blinked, and her shoulders slumped. All of the running through woods, the preparations, the use of the cabin. “We didn’t see cameras.”

“Where is Jory?”

“I don’t know. Once I’m home, I’m supposed to meet up with him.” How could she save her mother and Jory at the same time?

“Have you met any of the brothers?”

“Yes—” She paused. Shouldn’t he know that? Two of the brothers had shown up and taken the bodies. She gasped.

The commander nodded. “Yes. I lied. No cameras.”

Stupid. God, she was so fucking stupid. “You didn’t know Jory was around.”

“No, and now I do.”

Oh man, she’d just betrayed Jory. Just set him up along with his brothers. Her belly knotted, and she scrubbed both hands down her face. “What have I done?” she whispered.

“You’ve been quite helpful. So either do what I ask, or I send your mother to prison for the rest of her life. What’s it to be?”

There wasn’t much of a choice, now was there? “What do you want me to do?” Piper whispered, her chest lighting with pain.

J
ORY WAITED IN
the darkened room, tuning out the tick, tick, tick of the mantle clock. Menthol scented the air along with lemon cleanser. Neighbor Earl must have an ache or pain somewhere.

He had already, rather predictably, scurried through the backyard to Piper’s house right at dinnertime. Jory had immediately abandoned his hiding place in the back room. A monstrous orange cat eyed him from across the room and then turned, apparently bored.

Good. He wasn’t used to animals, and he was pretty sure
the cat wouldn’t like him. Animals had good instincts with other predators.

Now his abnormal senses allowed him to hear Piper’s door shut across two yards, and he could make out her footsteps. Slow and plodding, while her heartbeat was elevated.

For the last night, he could do nothing but think about her. Her skin, her scent, her spectacular brain nearly haunted him. He didn’t believe in fate, and he sure as hell didn’t believe in love, but somehow the pretty computer hacker had dug right into his heart, maybe deeper, and found a home. One that warmed him while scaring the ever-living crap out of him.

What had he been thinking letting her go back into the lion’s den? The commander didn’t care about her, and if he thought she was betraying him, he’d harm her. Jory had been an ass for allowing her to help.

The sliding glass door opened, and she stepped inside. “Jory?” she whispered.

He flicked on the light.

Pale. The woman was too pale, and even from across the room, he could see the small vein along her neck pulsing. She was about two seconds away from an anxiety attack.

He frowned and stood, allowing adrenaline to flood his system. To narrow his already unreal focus. “Are you all right?” He reached her in two strides and found comfort with wrapping his hand around her arm. Touching her. Reassuring himself that she was safe.

“Yes.” The smile she forced to her pretty face hurt to see. “I’m fine.”

“Good.” He leaned in and brushed her lips, keeping his expression clear when her mouth trembled against his. More than anything, he wanted to gather her close and reassure her that everything would be all right. He would make
sure of it. Instead, he levered back and studied her. The air around her.

It morphed, waves cascading. He shouldn’t be able to see such a thing, but there it was. In fact… different frequencies expanded in nearly invisible waves. Piper had been wired. Sight and sound. Probably the top button of her simple shirt.

She licked her lips and glanced around the room.

Ah. They were being watched from afar as well. Jory tuned in, but the narrow beams shot by the heat devices were hard to detect through walls unless he was closer to a window. No need to move, considering now he fully knew they were watching as well as listening.

Good thing the commander hadn’t a clue about the Dean brothers’ extra abilities. They’d faced death in hiding such a thing from him as they grew up, but the risk had been worth the payoff. Now they had an advantage over the bastard.

Tears gathered in Piper’s eyes.

Fury threatened to choke him. She was the worst spy in the entire universe. He loved that about her. So he decided to help her out. “I’ve been worried about you going back to the commander. Did he believe your story about the PROTECT soldiers?”

She blanched. “Yes.” Panic clearly bubbled up, and her eyes widened.

Shit. She was going to blow the entire thing. He grabbed her and kissed her. Hard.

She shook her head.

He leaned in, softened his assault, and took her under. With a soft groan, she grabbed his chest and nearly threw herself into him, kissing him back with a desperation he felt in his own bones. Heat slammed into his cock, and he ground against her softness. Yet he kept his chest from crushing hers, not wanting to harm the camera.

Giving her arms a little shake,
trust me
, he pulled away. “I promise this will all be okay, Piper.”

She blinked, her eyes cloudy and her lips a pretty pink. Color returned to her skin over her fine cheekbones. “Jory, I—”

“No. I won’t stop kissing you.” He slid his foot over hers and tapped out Morse code.
Trust me.

She frowned, confusion blanketing her features.

Okay. It was a long shot that she’d know Morse code. So he kept tapping just random taps and pressed down hard enough to still her. The camera couldn’t see their feet, and he’d keep the taps silent.

She licked her lips and tried to free her foot.

So he stepped on it. “I missed you today, baby.”

“Jory?” Her eyebrows drew down, and she tried to pull away.

He flattened her foot and kept tapping. “You feel me, baby? I missed you.”

She cocked her head, still frowning. “I, ah feel you.”

“Good.” Even though she obviously didn’t know Morse code, and why the hell not, by the way… she must’ve realized he was trying to tell her something.

Realization dawned in her emerald eyes. She half shook her head, her eyebrows drawing down.

He nodded.
Yeah. Not clueless here.

She exhaled slowly, her eyes filling with hope and gratitude.

Relief blasted into him with the force of a wrecking ball. Having her afraid, hurting, had dug deep inside him with a surprising sharpness. Leaving her behind when he died would fucking suck, but his brothers would protect her. He knew it. “How was the main compound?” he asked.

She shrugged, the pinched look leaving her face. Her small hands caressed down his arms in a show of comfort.
Natural and so damn feminine. “Um, I didn’t get very far inside. Just saw the main building and my father’s office. He’s not worried about the PROTECT soldiers.”

“He should be. The guys I took out were well trained. In fact, I doubt any of the commander’s other soldiers could’ve beaten them.” Yeah. Making the dig while the bastard was surely listening felt good. “Not that it matters. The commander and his organization are down to one tiny little compound in Utah. Soon he’ll have nothing.” All right. Probably enough goading. He reached out and enclosed her hands, providing warmth. She was still chilled. “Did you get the algorithm for figuring out how the code is chosen and changes every thirty seconds?”

“No.” She shook her head. “But I figured out how to get it.”

“Really?” He forced a smile. She had to sound more relaxed, or the commander would know she couldn’t lie. So he leaned in and took her lips again, hovering over them to talk, intrigue sweeping down his spine from her softness. “Awesome. When?”

“Tomorrow.” She took a shaky breath, obviously repeating what she’d been told. “I’m back on computers tomorrow, and I think I can save the algorithm on a USB drive. Will you and, ah, Nate meet me tomorrow night? Right here?”

Did the commander really believe Jory would fall for this? Arrogant bastard. “Yes.” Jory rubbed her arms and tried to look like a lovesick puppy as he levered back. “My other brothers are in town, too. Ready to get those chips deactivated.” That would have the commander salivating.

Her head jerked back. “Oh. Okay. That’s good.”

“You’re so special to me, Piper. Do you think we can really be together after all of this? If we somehow can reach my chip?” He poured on the charm and the lovesickness.

Her lips tightened, and she cut him a look.
Knock it off.
“I really do.”

Good thing the camera only focused on him and not on her. He rubbed her arms. “I’ve never met anyone as much into computers as I am.” Which was the absolute truth, actually.

Fire leaped into her eyes, although her mouth curved in a sad smile. “You are geekier than my normal type, to be honest.”

His girl had a backbone, did she? Good. At least she wasn’t sounding like a high schooler who’d memorized a speech for class. And the sadness, he understood but couldn’t help. Time was too short. “Geekier?” Jory asked.

She shrugged. “Yes. I usually go for more physical guys. Tough guys, you know. But you’re a sweetie, Jory.”

Sweetie? Nobody on earth found him sweet. “No. You’re the sweet one.” He moved into her and caressed down to her butt to clench. Her “eep” of surprise flooded him with amusement. She should’ve thought twice before starting this game.

She struggled to retreat, and he kept her easily in place. “I should get going soon so they don’t know I’m talking to you.”

Nice try.
All of a sudden, with death breathing down his neck, he was having fun. Real fun, and he didn’t have much time left to play around, considering the commander would wait until tomorrow to capture all the brothers. The bittersweet moment cut him deep, so he ran with it. “The commander isn’t smart enough to have surveillance here, so I’m sure we have time. How about we go for round two of last night?”

Her mouth dropped open. Pink flushed up her face. “But—”

He silenced her with another kiss. Hauling her up, he made them both forget they had listeners. She touched him deep inside, and he wanted to keep her there forever. Finally, when his jeans were about to burst, he released her. “That’ll have to do, I guess. The second you get home with the USB,
come over here. We can then go meet my brothers with the information.”

She shook her head, her eyes cloudy with passion. Pretty pink lips pouted at him. “Have you told them that your chip was damaged?”

“Not yet.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, his gut churning. “We’ll tell them after we save them, and maybe we’ll figure out a way to reach my chip. If we don’t, I need to tell you how much you’ve already meant to me. Thank you, Piper.” He gave the truth, not caring of the camera. She’d made a difference in his life in a very short amount of time, and no matter what happened, he wanted her to know that. To maybe remember him with a smile.

“Jory, I care about you.” She rubbed her foot against his.

“I know.” His chest filled.

The arrogance brought a genuine smile to her face. Finally. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow night with the info. I can’t wait to see your brothers.”

He nodded and led her to the sliding glass door and watched her walk through the night to her house. The sight of her leaving him, of being too far away to protect, uncoiled heat inside his gut. He had to fight himself, his every instinct, to let her go. Shutting down all emotion, he ran outside, full bore for the back fence. He’d be followed, but he could lose a tail.

Then he had plans to make.

Morning came too damn early. Jory’s chip would explode the next day. Did he even know at what time?

Piper rubbed her eyes and opened the front door dressed in jeans and a green sweater. She’d pulled her hair up and tried to hide the dark circles under her eyes with makeup, but at this point, she was finished trying to make an effort for her father. She’d spent the entire night on the
Internet looking for any sort of help with the algorithm program, and she’d even reached out to the few hackers she still knew.

Nothing. Failure weighed down her shoulders, compounded with raw fear. She couldn’t lose Jory now.

After leaving Jory, she’d headed upstairs for her computer, leaving her mother and Earl to a peaceful night. Once in her room, she’d tossed the shirt with camera into her purse. There were men watching the house, so the commander would know she didn’t leave. They didn’t need to listen to her visit the bathroom or toss and work all night. She’d disconnected the tiny battery out of spite. Now they couldn’t see or hear her.

Jory knew.

Somehow, he’d figured out about the camera. Thank God. Then he’d totally messed with her and suggested they make out again. While she’d still been reeling from that offer, he’d kissed her senseless, not caring who listened.

Now, Piper had to save her mother from federal prison. Somehow. She didn’t have a lot of faith in the running and hiding plan, but if that’s what they had to do, they would. After she saved Jory and those poor kids at the facility.

The creak of the porch swing caught her up short, and she whirled to see Brian slowly pushing back and forth. “What in the world?” she asked.

He held out a latte cup. “Peace offering.”

“No thanks.” What in the hell was he doing on her porch? Jory’s warnings ran through her mind. Was this guy actually dangerous? No, she was seeing subterfuge everywhere.

Brian smiled and pushed a hand through his already tousled blond hair. “Can we talk? I’m sorry I was unkind.”

She frowned. “Hell, no. We’re not dating, and we’re not friends. Sorry.” She didn’t have time for niceties or playing games. Life was unfortunately too damn short. “I
seriously think you need anger management. Plus, I’m pretty infatuated with somebody else.” Why not give him the truth?

Brian stood, towering over her. “I don’t believe this.” Irritation sparked his eyes, and his body stiffened.

She shrugged. At this point, a pissed-off realtor didn’t scare her much. “No offense, but I have bigger problems than your disbelief. Bye.” Turning to go, she halted when he grabbed her arm.

“You have no idea what you’re doing.” Tension cut hard into the sides of his mouth.

“I usually don’t.” She tried to wrench her arm free, but he held tight. Brian was much stronger than she would’ve thought, and she stilled. “However, I know a dickhead when I see one, and right now that’s you. So we’re over, you’re done, and let’s just move on.”

He yanked her close. “That is not how this is going to happen. You do not break up with me.”

“Okay.” Her temper began to heat the skin down her back. “Then you break up with me. Either way, let’s get this over with.”

“Oh, hell no.” Arrogance and something darker crossed his face.

The door opened, and her mother stalked outside, a frying pan in one hand. “Let her go, or I’ll break your head.”

Piper coughed out a laugh, even while her body went on alert. “Okay dokay here. Brian, let go.”

He glared at Rachel. “Go back inside.”

Earl shoved beyond Rachel, his hair mussed, the buttons on his shirt askew. His still impressive chest vibrated as he stepped onto the porch. “Let her go, or I’ll break your hand, boy.”

Piper’s mouth hung open. “Mom?”