Untamed (17 page)

The General flipped on the
Bluetooth and called Jonah. “Get everything ready to evacuate. You have ten minutes to ensure everyone is ready.”

“Ten minutes…it will take me that long to tell everyone, much less grab my equipment.”

“Ten minutes is all you have. Tell the staff to rendezvous at the assigned safe houses. Inform the rest of the Phantom team to converge at the Eagle’s Nest.”

Seconds passed before Jonah replied.
“Seriously?”

“Jo
nah, do I sound like I’m joking! You now have nine minutes. We’ll meet you there. You know the way.”

The General cut off the Bluetooth and turned
down a road that skirted the outside of town.

“Where is the Eagle’s
Nest,” Tara asked. In the nine months that she’d been here, she hadn’t even heard of such a place, but then again, it seemed they trusted her with top secret information about as much as she now trusted Brody.

“It’s an underground facility similar in setup to the catacombs, but there are only a handful of people
who know where it is and how to get in.”

She nodded and laid her head back as she turned and watched the trees pass. She was numb, her mind twisting
as she tried to recall everything Brody had ever said to her, trying to figure out what was lies, and trying to see if there were any signs she’d missed, any indication she should have caught that would have warned her that she’d been played.

“Welcome to my home.” His wor
ds pulled her from her one-woman pity party, and she glanced up.

“I thought you said it was underground.”

He chuckled. “It is, Ms. Clarkston.” He glanced at her. “Grab your guns. It appears the war is coming to us.”

Chapter 17

Tara didn’t know how to reply to the General. The war…
the war was the last thing she was worried about. She was going to bring
the war
…to Brody’s ass, assuming that she ever saw him again.

She hopped out of the SUV and followed behind the General. She tried to shake Brody from her thoughts. She was now pissed and ready to take on Black and Veronica should they decide to show up. She’d use their sorry asses as an outlet until she got her hands on Brody Conn
ors.

The General bypassed his house and moved to a wooden barn
structure behind the brick dwelling. He unlocked the huge double wooden doors, pulled one side open, and stepped into the dark. She followed and stopped just inside the doorway.

Seconds later the place flickered to life. Lights illuminated the old wooden stalls that looked
as though they’d seen better days. Cobwebs hung in the corners as dust bunnies flew by her face. The place could stand a good cleaning and airing out. Tara waved her hand in front of her face, shooing away the floating dust in her path.

“You aren’t scared of a little dirt, are you
, Ms. Clarkston?”

“Nope.”
She shook her head and moved farther into the barn. He pulled on an old time lantern hanging on the wall that turned out to be a secret lever. The haystacks shifted out of the way when the floor moved, and she watched and followed in fascination as he descended steps that went deep into the ground. “Great place to hide during a game of hide and seek.” She conjured another flashlight into her palm and flicked it on. “But what was wrong with the catacombs? It needs less cleaning.”

He chuckled. “If I had to guess, the location of the catacombs has now been compromised.”

“Ah…” She slowly nodded. “You think Brody gave him the location since he’s working with them.”

He stopped his trek and spun around. “He isn’t working with them.” He stared at her for
several seconds. His eyes bored into hers as if he was trying to make her believe.  He turned around and started walking again. “Veronica has some type of gift involving manipulation of minds. My guess is that she can make you see whatever she wants.” He glanced over his shoulder. “She got me to leave by showing herself as Ridge and telling me Gracie needed me.”

The hallway widened to a big open room.
The command station.

He started flicking buttons. “Anyway, there was a bri
ef ripple, and she dropped the glamour for just a second, and that’s when I figured it out and fought back.” He pointed to his chest. “She shot me, and that was how they captured me.”

The room flickered to life, and unlike everything in the barn, this place was clean. The latest in computers and gadgets covered the walls just as they had at the base. Although the setup was a bit different, it was definitely electronically equipped.

The General moved over to one of the desk chairs and flipped the switch on the computer before he started punching on the keyboard. Only a few seconds flew by before the big screen on the wall came to life with
images of the perimeter of the General’s property.

Tara pointed to the General
’s gate that was sliding open. “Jonah?”

The General stood
and disappeared back down the tunnel where they’d just exited. Tara watched on screen as Jonah pulled up and climbed out with Ethan and Cathy in tow.

Seconds later B
riggs, Jamie, and Jamie’s sister, Sarah, climbed out of a second vehicle. The only ones missing were Ridge, Gracie, Lydia, the fortuneteller who was hidden away and in some sort of coma, and her husband, Rick. And then there was Brody, the one man that, until a half hour ago, she’d thought had her back. Her partner.

Half of the Phantoms were missing
, along with the gifts and fighting powers. Their team was dwindling by epic proportions, along with their chances of winning this fight. If she was a betting woman, she’d still pick the underdogs, but then again, with her track record, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Tara plopped down in one of the chairs. After everything that had happened in the last few days
, she was exhausted and running on pure determination and fumes. She rubbed at her temples and closed her eyes. She didn’t know how the hell they were going to get Brody back, how the hell they were going to kill Veronica and her merry band of thugs, or even how the hell they were going to wake up the visionary so they wouldn’t be caught off guard when Black attacked.

Tara’s lids slid open when she heard the creak of the chair next to hers. Cathy’s worried look said it all. They’d been friends long enough for Tara to know that the lines on Cathy’s forehead were due to stress.

“How are you holding up?” Cathy asked as she reached for Tara’s hand and squeezed.

“I made it out alive, but they’ve got Brody now.”

The wrinkles deepened as she glanced up at Ethan, who was now standing next to her chair.

“How are we going to get him back?”

Tara squeezed the bridge of her nose. “I guess the same way we got the General out. I’m going back in.”

The General’s voice cut into their conversation.
“No, you’re not. We know where they are now. We’ll go in on foot.”

Tara glanced around the room before meeting the General’s gaze and tilting her head. “No offense, oh great one…
” She couldn’t help the sarcasm in her tone, but pressed on. “But we’re kind of outnumbered, out-gunned, and out-trained.” She glanced up at Briggs and Jamie. “Unlike you two, we aren’t all mercenaries. We haven’t ever been in a fight, and I’m not sure how much use the rest of us will be.”

She rose out of the chair. “I’ll go in the same way, get him, and get out undetected, just like I did with you.”

The General crossed his arms over his chest. “No…we’ll do this my way.”

Tara let out a sigh of resignation
, and her head fell forward. Just because the General declared it wasn’t going to make it law. She’d do this with or without his approval, just as she had with Brody. She glanced up. “Is there somewhere I can rest while you devise your plans? I haven’t slept in almost forty-eight hours.”

He gave a curt nod. Jonah moved to her side
, escorted her out of the command post, and down a hall with a bunch of doors. He stopped in front of one of the doors and pushed it open. The room looked just like one of the barrack rooms from the compound, only a tad smaller. “Thanks.”

“Why don’
t you try and rest, and I’ll wake you in a bit.” Jonah walked over to the fridge in the small makeshift kitchen and pulled the door open. He grabbed a water bottle and handed it to her. “I’m not sure how stocked the rest of the place is, but I’m sure you’re starving. So I’ll bring you back some food.”

Tara gave him a small smile. “Thanks
, Jonah.”

He nodded and walked out, pulling the door closed behind him.

****

The throbbing increased in Brody’s head to the point where he couldn’t keep his eyes open. He dropped to his knees. He’d been confused when Tara had come walking out with Peter and the thug from the bar. He’d wanted to grab her and shove her behind him and out of their reach. She’d told him everything was going to be al
l right and laced her arm through his. Every nerve in his body had seized up when he’d crossed the threshold into the building and she’d dropped the charade. Tara’s image disappeared, and Veronica’s emerged with a sadistic smile splayed across her lips.

Before he’d even had a second to lift his shields in an attempt to bubble
himself in the protective, yet invisible, bubble, she’d taken control of his body. His mind rebelled as his legs betrayed him, and he was walking farther into the old warehouse. Unable to fight his body’s response to whatever she was doing to him, his gaze roamed over everyone and everything he crossed in an attempt to find an exit, and he would be finding an exit.

She pushed open the door to a room and turned to address Peter
, the scumbag, and the guy from the bar. Peter would pay. Brody would make sure of it. He planned to make the scumbag beg for his life. Veronica ran her palms up and down their chests. “I’ll be interrogating this one… Go check on our other guest.”

She shut the door behind her and leaned against it as she let her gaze glide down Brody’s body and back up.

Oh, he could use that. He’d charmed her before; he could do it again. All he had to do was play nice with the crazy woman, and he’d have her eating out of the palm of his hand. “Why don’t you drop whatever you’re doing to my body so I can give you what you want?”

One side of her mouth ti
lted up. “And what do you think it is that I want?”

She pushed off the door and
moved closer to him. She ran her nails over his shoulder until she circled him and was standing right in front of him.

“My lips on yours as I take my time exploring and pleasuring every inch of your body.”
Brody grinned. “Or maybe you’d prefer hard against the wall.” He shrugged. “Either way…I’m game and won’t resist.”

If he could get her to drop
the little hold she had on him for even a brief second, he’d be able to throw up his shield, effectively blocking the bitch out. Then he could work on an escape.

She used her mind to maneuver him over to the queen
-sized bed pressed up against the wall. Her hands slid down the front of his shirt. He was helpless to stop her as she lifted it over his head and off his body. Her cold fingers ran over his muscles as she maneuvered him to lie down on the bed. His arms splayed open wide.

He helplessly watched as she clicked first one and then a second handcuff around his wrists. Shit
had just gotten real. It appeared she was going to have her way with or without his cooperation.

She climbed on the bed and straddled his waist. Brody ground his teeth
.

“You’ll tell me what I want to know
, and if you’re a good boy…” She altered her appearance to look like Tara and ground her hips into his. “I’ll give you what
you
want.”

She leaned down and was about to kiss him as the alarm blared
in the room. The red light above the door flashed in rhythm, and someone started pounding on her door, hollering from the other side. “We have a problem, Veronica.”

“Handle it. I’m busy
,” Veronica yelled back as she held Brody’s gaze. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his. She might be able to appear as Tara, but their kisses were completely different. Veronica’s kiss was stiff and unmoving, whereas Tara’s kiss had the ability to leave him begging for more.

“He escaped.”

Veronica rested her forehead against Brody’s. “Do I have to do everything myself?”

She pushed off him and walked to the door. She glanced over her shoulder. “
We’re just getting started, lover boy. Don’t go anywhere.”

She pulled the door open. The asshole from the bar was standing on the other side. His eyes narrowed as he glared into the room at Brody.
Just perfect. Not only was there a psychotic woman who wanted to rape him, a jealous asshole wanted to rip his head off. The door slammed closed behind her, effectively cutting off the unspoken death threats.

Brody pulled his arms against the handcuffs.
The hard metal pressed against his wrists, cutting into the skin. “This bites.”

Brody slid his eyes closed and released a sigh.

“No, baby…that would be you.” Tara’s voice had Brody’s eyes popping open. Was it Veronica and he hadn’t heard her return, or was his angel really standing in the middle of the room? Could he trust what he was seeing? Could he believe his own eyes after knowing what Veronica was capable of, or was this some part of her master plan?

“I hope you have a key.”

The Tara lookalike pulled a metal handcuff key out of her pocket.

“Where did you get that?”

The woman moved to the side of the bed, shoved the key in one of the cuffs, and turned. “I had it from earlier. They had the General cuffed.”

If that was true
, then both Tara and Veronica would know that fact. It wasn’t something he could use to figure out if it was really her. She moved to the other side of the bed and unlocked his other hand. He scurried off the bed, pulled Tara into his arms, and pressed his lips to hers, the only way he knew for sure to tell the women apart. Her lips were soft and pliable and molded to his. He moved to deepen the kiss, but she pushed against his chest. “Now isn’t the time for that.”

Brody grinned
like he’d just secretly eaten the last brownie on earth. He winked. This was definitely his Tara. He pressed his lips to hers once more for a quick kiss before he grabbed her hand. “That was the only way I could tell you two apart.”

Tara stiffened. “You kissed her?”

“She kissed me.” Brody glanced around the room. “We need a way out.”

Tara pulled him to a
n open door in the room and pointed to the ceiling. “This is the way the General and I got out.”