Total Surrender (4 page)

He paused. “Your mother wouldn’t mind?”

Hell, yes. Her mother was sketchier than a raccoon stealing dog food whenever the topic of the commander came up. But even though it was silly, the child in Piper wanted her family in one place just for once. Perhaps they could find some sort of peace. “My mother would be happy to see you.”

The commander chuckled. “I’m sure. Well, I wouldn’t mind checking in on her. I’m free tomorrow night.”

Piper’s head jerked back. Goose bumps rose along her neck. “Ah, okay. Great. I’ll make something nice.”

The commander nodded. “Very well. What did you think of Jory?”

She kept her face blank. “He’s a traitor, and he betrayed you. What is there to think?”

Approval lifted the commander’s upper lip. She warmed instantly. When in his presence, she couldn’t think of him as her father. He’d always been the commander. Maybe she could transition into calling him by his first name, Franklin.

He nodded. “So true. Jory didn’t try to convince you he was the victim here?”

A quick smile tickled Piper’s mouth. “No. That guy is no victim.” She leaned forward. “Although he did hint that Russians hadn’t planted the chip and that you’re the enemy.”

“I’m not
his
enemy.” The commander exhaled, a flash of emotion lightening his eyes. “I see the greatness in that boy, and I wish to help him.”

Piper stared. What was that emotion? She couldn’t read him. “How long have you known the prisoner?”

“A long time.” The commander pushed back from his desk and stood. “I’ve put a tremendous amount of training and energy into him, and he will live to work for me again. Whether he wants to or not.”

Piper stood, and a chill slithered down her back. “I’m sorry he betrayed you.”

Hard black eyes stared back at her. “He’ll be sorry as well. For now, go write my new program.”

Piper drove through the quaint neighborhood, passing actual white picket fences, the mountains rising with jagged peaks all around her. She loved Utah. Loved the slow pace, the brutal mountains, the distinct seasons. Well, so far she’d only felt the bite of fall, but white already dusted the mountaintops, so winter would arrive soon.

She pulled the SUV into the garage of a two-story yellow house, right next to a compact and weathered two-door car. Older than dirt. She had to buy her mother a new car. With a sigh, she tramped up the steps and into the kitchen, instantly smiling as the aromatic scent of lasagna filled her senses.

Her mother bustled around the granite counter, her black hair piled high on her head, reading glasses perched on her slim nose. “Perfect timing, snooks.”

Piper dropped her laptop bag onto a chair and washed her hands before sliding onto a seat at the round oak table. “This smells so good.”

A wet nose instantly pressed against her leg, and she smiled down at the German shepherd, yellow Lab, and who knows what else mix of dog. “Hi, Riley.”

He wagged his bushy tail and barked out a welcome. She’d taken him from the pound upon moving into the house, and he’d quickly become a dedicated watchdog. Well, he watched the television, the birds outside, and Piper’s shoes.

Her mom poured two glasses of Shiraz and sat. She’d donned a bright pink jogging outfit along with lime green tennis shoes. “I have so much time on my hands, I need to find something to do before we both end up on that show featuring six-hundred-pound people.” She sipped the red wine and pursed her lips. “Maybe I should go back to work.”

Piper sliced the lasagna and placed pieces on the plates. Then she took a bite and hummed as the flavors exploded on her tongue. She shook her head. “You sold the yogurt shops when we moved, saying it was time to retire. You worked your butt off for years with your businesses.” So many hours, so many customers, just to feed and clothe her kid. “Although—”

“Don’t say it.” Her mom raised a hand. “I don’t want to hear one more time that our life could’ve been easier if I’d stayed with the commander.” She lifted her gaze and met Piper’s directly. “I thought we were past that.”

“We are,” Piper said softly, noting her mother’s hands shaking. “I just don’t understand.”

Her mom shook her head. “He’s a dangerous, bad man, and I was attracted to the sense of bad boy. Never go for a bad boy, Piper.” She sighed. “Our affair was short, I saw how dangerous he really was, and I got the hell out with you.”

“I know.” Piper took another bite. “He’s not that bad, Mom.”

“Yes, he is.” Her mom took another drink of wine, her gaze averted. “Even though I was just a lowly receptionist, I
discovered something bad was going on there at his facility in Tennessee, and the second I found out I was pregnant, I took off. He didn’t come looking.”

No, but he hadn’t known about Piper, now had he? “What was the something bad?”

“I don’t know. But there were so many guns and so many secrets. And Franklin, although he believed he was doing good work for the government, he had his own agenda and probably still does.” Her mom reached for her fork, still not meeting Piper’s eyes. “I told you we shouldn’t have come here.”

Piper eyed her mother. “Yet you came with me. Why?”

“Oh, I wasn’t letting you go into the lion’s den on your own. He’s a fanatic, and he’ll sacrifice anybody for his agenda.” Rachel shook her head. “I can’t believe you actually tracked him down from an old picture I’d left in storage with
commander
scrawled across the back.”

Piper smiled. “I’m a hell of a hacker.” And did Rachel just keep the picture to share someday, or was there hope there? Maybe her parents just needed to be in the same room to work things out. Her mother perhaps objected too much? “I haven’t gotten to know him yet, but I want to.”

Rachel shook her head. “We all make mistakes, but he’s not the type to learn from them.”

Piper frowned, her mind spinning. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Rachel glanced down at her full plate. “This just wasn’t supposed to happen—you weren’t supposed to go work for him. Ever.”

“He got me out of prison,” Piper said.

Rachel sighed. “Did he?”

Piper shook her head. “Yes.”

Rachel took a deep swallow of wine. “Then that’s enough talking about it. But the second you learn how dangerous
he is, we’re out of here. We can start a new chain of yogurt shops somewhere else.”

Piper nodded. “Fine.” Leaving Boston hadn’t been that difficult for either of them. “The house is owned by the company, and we have no rent. I make tons of money, so why don’t you relax? Or go back to school and study?” She peered closer at her mother. “If you could study anything, what would it be?”

Her mom lifted a slim shoulder and finally met her gaze again. At almost fifty years old, Rachel Devlin looked thirty, tops. Smooth mocha skin just a shade darker than Piper’s, bright green eyes, and generous laugh lines showed a woman who smiled often. Well, until they’d moved to Utah. “I guess I could take a photography class.” Her eyes sparkled. “Unless you’re planning to get married and give me a grandchild, in which case I’d be a nanny.”

Piper grinned. “Don’t hold your breath on that one. I’ve only been dating Brian for three months.” She’d taken the job with the commander at that time, and they’d moved to town.

Her mom’s eyes clouded. “I was just kidding.”

Piper sipped her drink. She’d started dating Brian the first weekend they’d arrived in town, and while he had a serious side, he was quite sweet. Definitely focused, which she liked. “Why don’t you like Brian?”

Her mom sipped more wine. “I like Brian just fine. But he’s so…”

“Safe?”

“Rigid. Boring. Focused.” Rachel picked at her dinner. “Life is supposed to be fun, and romance should be crazy.”

Piper shook her head. “Crazy romance didn’t work so well for you, considering you ended up as a single mom. Working your butt off with one yogurt shop that turned into ten—you worked so hard.”

Rachel kicked her under the table and paled slightly. “Enough.”

Piper frowned. “Fine. Do you think you could find some happiness with us in Utah?”

“I’ll certainly try.” Rachel dumped Parmesan cheese on her plate, her gaze averted.

Piper chewed slowly and swallowed. “Are you sure everything is okay? You get sketchy every time I talk about my—the commander.” Was there still a sort of tension there? The good kind? How crazy would it be if her parents actually ended up together? The commander was more than able to take good care of Rachel, and the idea seemed rather romantic, really.

“Everything is fine.” Her mother still didn’t meet her gaze.

“Right.”

Rachel pursed her lips together. “He gave me you. For that, I’ll always owe him.”

Warmth bloomed through Piper. “You’re one of a kind, Mom.”

“Let’s talk about something else.” Rachel cleared her throat just as a rap echoed on the back sliding glass door.

Piper jumped up. “I wondered if Earl would smell dinner.” Sharing a grin with her mother, she pushed aside curtains and tugged open the door. “Hi, Earl.”

Their neighbor stood on the back porch, his sixty-year-old frame braced against the wild wind, several mason jars filled with canned fruit in his worn hands. “I brought you peaches.”

“Thank you.” Piper moved aside. Why didn’t the guy just ask her mother out and stop pussyfooting around about it? The guy was in excellent shape, retired, and seemed to love golf and canning foods. As a widower, he could probably get a date with any single woman in the small suburb outside Salt Lake City. Yet he continued to court Rachel like a
friendly neighbor. “Would you like to join us for lasagna?” Piper asked.

He pushed his glasses up a straight nose, brown eyes twinkling. “Why, I’d love to.” Putting the peaches on the counter, he turned and frowned. “I received an e-mail from my nephew after you fixed my bank account information. He said you might have goofed up his account?”

Piper bit back an unkind remark about his nephew, the one and only relative the poor guy could claim. “Nope. I just changed your passwords so he couldn’t take any more money from you.” She smiled as she lied. Once she’d seen how much money the jerk had taken, she’d sent him a nice little computer virus to melt his hard drive.

Earl shrugged wide shoulders. “That’s what I figured. He must not understand much about computers, either.”

“They are confusing.” She was not letting her kind neighbor be taken advantage of again by his drug-sniffing shit of a nephew. So she smiled and patted Earl’s arm. “Have a seat, and Mom will dish you up.” She cast her mother a look to be nice and not get her feathers ruffled. The sweet neighbor obviously made her nervous.

Earl cleared his throat. “I want to double-check your front right tire before the first snowfall, Piper.”

She paused. “Huh?”

“It looks low.” He winked at Rachel. “Maybe you can assist me.”

Rachel sputtered and turned a lovely shade of pink. Piper hid her smile but nodded, warmth flushing through her. What a nice man. “Thanks, Earl.”

The doorbell pealed.

Piper sighed and hustled to yank open the door. “Brian.” She smiled up at his smoothly shaven face. “Did we have plans?” It wasn’t normal for him to just show up.

“No.” He pushed an errant curl off her forehead. “But
you didn’t call when you returned home from work, and you always call.”

Oh. She’d completely forgotten, but she was happy to see him. “I’m sorry.”

He shrugged, strong shoulders moving beneath his expertly cut suit. “I was in the neighborhood showing a house, so I thought to drop by.” His blond hair waved back from his cut features, giving him the look of a wayward surfer wearing a suit. Although with his sparkling blue eyes, he looked sexy in the slate gray. “Also, I sold the brick rancher up on the hill and thought we could celebrate with a quick dessert down at Possums.”

She blinked. A surprise date? Now that sounded like fun. Then she frowned, remembering the code she needed to write. “I have to work tonight.” Regret tasted bitter on her tongue.

Brian frowned. “You don’t have time for cheesecake?”

She shuffled her feet. So far, she’d disappointed every male in her life in one day. “I really shouldn’t.”

He reached for her arm, his fingers warm and firm. Reassuring. “You really should.” A quick grin counteracted the demanding tone. “We’ve talked about you wanting to give more in a relationship, and I’m trying to help break down those walls you’ve built to protect your heart, which I’d very much like to see.” He grinned, all good humor and charm.

She kind of liked her walls, but they had discussed her being more open with him, and she was seriously tired of failing at relationships. “I know, but I need to work.”

“Just one hour.” He leaned in close, and his mellow aftershave scent of salty ocean surrounded her. She breathed deep.

One hour probably wouldn’t put her that far behind, and she liked the spontaneity. Plus, Earl would love to be left
alone with Rachel for a little while, and maybe her mother would relax and have some fun. She was certainly due. If the woman wasn’t going to rehash the past with the commander, maybe she could find some sweet romance with Earl. “Well, one hour. Then I have to get back to work.”

Brian’s gaze unclouded. “Perfect. Grab a sweater—it’s getting cold.”

She nodded and ran inside to kiss her mother on the cheek before fetching a dark green cardigan. She’d celebrate with Brian and then work on the program the rest of the night. Really, who needed sleep?

J
ORY FLIPPED ONTO
his stomach on the small cot, sweat coating his body, his heart racing. Somewhere, deep in his mind, he knew he was dreaming.

Even so, he couldn’t stop the parade of images ricocheting off imaginary walls. Training as a kid—his first kill—the second he’d escaped. Memories upon memories.

Then, suddenly, the dream mellowed. Slid right into a parody of reality with him in the cage, his brain humming, death inching closer to his spine.

He came with a roar, sitting up in the bed.

His breath panted out, and he scraped both hands down
his face. It all had felt so real. Did the dream mean something? Was his subconscious just fucking with him? Sighing, he fell back and stared up at the ceiling for several moments as he controlled his body until his heart beat normally.

He stood and quickly cleaned up before pacing his cell.

One day in Piper’s presence, and he wanted her naked beneath him.

The commander’s
daughter.

At first, Jory had wanted to laugh at the absurdity. Then he’d looked. Really looked at her bone structure, the indefinable elements shifting beneath her skin that only he could see. His ability to map terrain, to see patterns, to detect nuances guaranteed she told the truth. While she hadn’t inherited the commander’s size, the very shape of her eyes, the angle of her chin, and even the symmetry of her cheekbones showed her lineage. She truly was the commander’s child.

Jory’s shoulders rolled, unsettled, even after he’d cleaned up. So the commander had his own kid, not that Jory had ever wanted the bastard as a father. Matt had raised Jory with Nate’s help, giving both him and Shane the closest thing to a childhood as possible in the hellhole of a compound they called home. Not once had he forgotten what his brothers had done, had sacrificed, for him to grow. To live long enough to save them.

The impossibility of Piper struck Jory anew. How had he never known? There had never been a hint. Did the commander actually care for her? Jory had begun to forge a connection with Piper the day before, using her patriotism to question her lying to the NSA. If she believed in the government, she had to wonder why the commander remained outside of it.

The first wedge between them had been almost too easy to plant.

But although he’d be successful, a part of Jory wanted to warn her to run. Hard and fast… away from this place.

How odd that the commander actually had a girl. Lucky Piper. If she’d been a boy, the commander surely would’ve forced her into training. Interesting the misogynist hadn’t tried even though she was female, considering his ego.

Just who was Piper? The commander had been the only father figure Matt and Nate had had growing up, and yet he’d never acted as a father. Only a leader. Had the commander treated his daughter better? If so, perhaps he even cared about her.

The commander had never been Jory’s father figure—not even once. Jory’s loyalty, his allegiance, had been with his brothers from the first time he’d stood in the same room with both his brothers and the commander.

Sometimes a kid just knew. And when that kid had extra abilities, he accepted that knowledge.

Yet maybe the bastard did care about his only child. Which was something Jory could use.

As if conjured, Piper pushed open the door, a latte cup in her hand.

Even across the room, the fragrant scent of vanilla and cinnamon flared his nostrils, and it took three seconds to wonder which part was woman and which was latte. The day before, he hadn’t noticed her scent, but Madison had already contaminated the room with roses and too-expensive perfume.

“What kind of drink?” he asked, stepping closer to the glass.

“Vanilla,” Piper answered. “Why?”

Because now he could track her scent, anywhere in the world, just like the animal they’d created him to be. “No reason.” His gaze raked her peach-colored sweater and tight jeans before focusing on her delicate face. Even though it had just been a dream, he could still see her naked, and he
could still feel an echo of real emotion. Today she’d pulled her hair into a ponytail and seemed younger. More fragile. Dark circles marred the skin beneath her eyes, giving her the look of a damsel in distress.

He fleetingly wished he were the type of guy who could save her, but he quickly banished the thought. It was far too late for him to play the hero, especially since he planned to use her. And looks were deceiving. The woman might appear fragile, but she was obviously intelligent and knew whom she was working for. That put them on opposing sides.

Plus, he’d been given enough in this life with his brothers sacrificing so much, and it was his turn to give back to them. “You up late?” he asked.

“All night.” She set down the cup and booted up the computer. “Rewriting a program to save your butt. You’re welcome.”

Actually, his butt was unsavable, but she wouldn’t listen to him. So it was time to get down to business and figure her out, regardless of the cameras recording their every move. “Did the commander raise you?” he asked, wondering how he’d never caught a glimpse of her through the years.

“No.” She turned to the side and typed quickly.

“Why not?” Jory asked, although her denial made sense.

She shrugged, her shoulders hunching forward. “I don’t think we need to share our lives, Jory.”

No, but he needed to get into her head and now. Plus, although he hated to admit it, he wanted to know more about her. “Come on, Piper. I’m stuck in a freakin’ cell all by myself, and if somebody doesn’t talk to me, I swear my head is going to explode.” Far more truth lived in the words than he’d like to admit. “Please.”

The final word had her turning to face him. “You put yourself in the cage.”

Had he? From birth, every location had been a cage of some sort as the commander and Dr. Madison turned him into a killing machine. If he disobeyed orders, one of his brothers would be killed.

His neck ached, and he gingerly flexed his shoulders. Even that small movement caught the breath in his chest, considering his kill chip could detonate at any time. The damn thing was broken, and any second his back might explode.

But escaping had been fucking worth the risk. The Dean boys had followed the commander’s orders until nearly five years ago when they found a way to escape. They’d blown a facility in Tennessee to hell and gotten loose. Unfortunately, the kill chips had already been implanted, and if the right code wasn’t input into the right program in less than one week, the chips would detonate and kill them.

Death hung heavily around his shoulders. He had to gain Piper’s trust to get free and save his brothers. “You’re smart enough not to believe everything you’re told—especially by Dr. Madison.” Yet if Jory told Piper the full truth, she’d be a liability to the commander.

Unless he actually gave a shit about his real daughter.

Piper sipped her coffee. “Dr. Madison?”

Jory smiled and mined deeper. “Yeah. It was obvious she dislikes you, right?”

Piper frowned and then shrugged. “So?”

“So? The woman has been in love with your father forever. You’re in the way, baby.” The sooner Jory could infect the little command post with insecurity and distrust, the better.

“What are you, a muscle-bound Dr. Phil?” Piper rolled her eyes. Her cell phone rang a funky tune, and she retrieved it from her pocket. “Hello?” Her lips tightened. “I know. Yes, I understand, but—” She tapped her tennis shoe on the
tile as she listened. With a glance at Jory, she turned and hunched over the phone.

Too bad she didn’t know about his super-senses. He could hear her in the next room, if he wanted.

“I know.” Her voice softened. “I guess. I’m sorry, too. Okay. Talk to you later.” She hung up, her gaze meeting Jory’s. Pink splashed across her cheeks.

Jory grinned. “Fight with the boyfriend?”

She blinked. “How—”

He shrugged. “My training goes beyond firing guns, sweetheart. What did he do?”

Her brows drew down. “Nothing. We just had a little misunderstanding last night.”

He didn’t like the kick in the gut at the thought of Piper with some guy. Why the hell did he even care? Man, he was off his game. “I thought you wrote code all night,” Jory said.

Piper rolled expressive eyes. “I had a nice dessert and then went home to work all night.”

“What was the misunderstanding?” Jory asked softly.

“None of your damn business.” Her shoulders hunched.

“Tell me anyway.” The direct approach seemed to work best with her, so Jory went with that.

She glanced at him through her lashes, thoughts flashing across her face. “Nope. Now stop bugging me.” She turned back to the computer.

Jory nodded and sat down, having learned early on that his size intimidated people. Piper was more likely to confide in him if he appeared innocuous. “When did you move here?” he asked.

“About three months ago,” she said absently, her fingers flying over a keyboard.

Interesting. “So you must’ve met the boyfriend at that time?” Now, that wasn’t suspicious in any way, was it? God.

“I could have you tranqed, I think,” she said, still not looking at him.

He lifted an eyebrow. In profile, he could still read her. “Piper, maybe you should cooperate with me.”

“Why?” she snapped.

Ah. He was getting to her. “Because in the very near future, I’m gonna be out of this cage, and you’re gonna need help. Work with me now, and I’ll help you.” So long as it didn’t interfere with his main mission.

She snorted and turned toward him, although her gaze held an awareness he appreciated. “There’s no way you’re getting out, buddy. Sorry.” She bit her lip, expressions chasing across her face while she apparently debated with herself. “Why do you think I’ll need help?”

He stood and approached the wall again. “This is a dangerous place, and you’re playing a deadly game. The second you’re not useful, you’re a liability.” The words rang true, and he kept his gaze level, but he wondered. Would the commander protect his flesh-and-blood daughter? Perhaps. Although Jory didn’t allow one ounce of doubt to show.

“Fuck you.”

“I just wanted to have a nice conversation,” he said calmly.

“Bullshit. You wanted to get into my head for an advantage. Sorry, pal. No chance.” Her green eyes sparked all sorts of glimmers and shards. Truly beautiful.

Jory smiled and set his pheromones to work raising her blood pressure. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m already in your head.”

“Oh yeah?” She blinked and narrowed her focus. “You’re full of it.”

He’d known she’d pick up the challenge. “Wanna bet?”

“No.” She lowered her chin. “I’m trying to save your life here, and you’re trying to distract me. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“You can’t save me.” He exhaled slowly, wanting nothing more than to punch through the glass. He had to get free. “Unless you help me get out of here.”