Catch Me If You Can (Love's Command) (32 page)

“I knew. It was the price to pay for the cancer research.”

“And Eric? You knew—”

He shook his head sharply, his frown growing. “I did not know Eric would be involved. I never wanted him for you.”

Stunned, she could only shake her head in disbelief.

“I never wanted anyone for you that you didn’t want. Eric never saw your beauty, your strengths, Ky. He merely saw a means to an end. To me. My research and his glory.”

Her beauty? Her strengths
. “What are my strengths, Dad? You’ve never said such things before. Why now?” she demanded.

Sighing deeply, he looked down and planted his hands on his spread knees. The posture reminded her of her grandfather. He’d loved to sit at the parks around their home in Korea and watch people, sitting like that, with his cane near him, his body relaxed and his attention sometimes focused within.

“Ky, we may not survive this, child.” He met her eyes again, and for the first time since she could remember, he actually looked at her with something like warmth. “I would have you know that you have always made me proud. Your beauty, yes, and your intelligence have been a gift to my life and to our family.”

If she’d been stunned before, now fear danced along her spine. “You think they’ll kill us, when they need us to create more serum.”

“Do they need us? Think, Ky. Think.”

Before she could answer him, the door opened and two men entered. The younger of the two was slim, tall with the GQ looks of the immaculately dressed upper elite. He reminded her of a snake in his dark, tailored suit and light pink shirt, with a perfectly matching handkerchief in the front breast pocket.

The other man was worse. He was at least a decade older with short, gray hair, cut to barely skim his skull, and trimmed on the sides to give his tanned face an arrogant, wealthy look. He smiled and revealed a set of teeth, similar to a shark in her mind.

Of the two, the elder one scared her more. Behind them both stood two burly men, one of them the man who’d shot her and Daren.

“Ms Chung, Dr Chung, we are only moments away from landing. I wanted to assure you that both of you will be treated with the utmost courtesy. The unfortunate circumstances of the last few days can be put behind us and we can forge ahead to create the most elite force of men and women on the planet.” The older man paused as if they would say something, possibly thank him, but when neither of them spoke, he chuckled and patted the younger on the back. “See? Already we have their attention. I think our venture will benefit us both, Dr Chung. You will have everything you could ever want in your lab. The latest equipment, state of the art computers and men and women trained to assist you. Only the best, you see, for you and your daughter. Only the best.”

The plane shuddered, and Ky felt it hit with a soft thud on its landing.

“My father and I are very interested in your latest experiments, Doctor. That’s one reason for needing those files, you see. And of course, your daughter can now assist you without having to be halfway around the world.”

“But we are not being polite, are we Ms. Chung? Now that you have calmed down,” the old man said to her with a pointed glance before turning to the man next to him. “We should introduce ourselves, son.”

Nodding, the younger put on a shark smile to match his dad’s, and reached out to offer his hand. She stepped away like he was a viper. He slowly dropped his hand, but she watched the color darken his high cheek bones, and his gaze dipped down her body, the interest there apparent when he met her eyes again.

“It’s a pleasure, truly, to meet you, Ms Chung. I’m Ryan Gallagher but you can call me R, since my father is also Ryan Gallagher, of course everyone calls him Mr G.”

“Yes, it is a pleasure Ms Chung, and now that we’ve met you, I see why Mr Monroe was so eager to assist us,” Mr G said with another sickening chuckle.

“My daughter has given up science. She will not be of much use this far into my experiments. It would be better if she were allowed to leave,” her dad murmured, standing from where he’d not moved.

“Ah,” Mr G said, frowning at her then over at her father. “Well,” he said, sighing heavily. “That is unfortunate, but I believe we can find a use for her, don’t you think, R?”

“Yes, Father, I’m certain I can find several.”

Both men laughed, and the two outside the door smiled at her over the tops of the other men’s heads.

What had she gotten herself into? Her dad shifted his eyes to her. What could he do? What could she do?

“Come, it seems we’ve arrived, let’s see you to your new homes, shall we?” Mr G said, motioning them to precede them from the room. Ryan moved in close behind her, entering her personal space and bent to breathe against her neck.

“I am sure you’ll find your stay here most educational, Kylie.”

The threat in his tone shot a dart of panic to her stomach and with it, a burst of adrenaline. To heal her, they’d given her the drug her father had created. Up until now, she’d not noticed any side-effects, not felt any different at all. At the direct threat, her mind went from jumbled and confused with fear to a shot-by-shot strategy for getting away.

She reached out, dragged the gun from the bruiser’s side holster, used her surprise and momentum to duck under his arm, turned on her pivot and slammed the gun to Ryan’s temple. As it impacted, she twisted, and hit his father in the stomach with her right leg, and drove her head into his. Something cracked under her forehead, but she didn’t stop to see what. He went down with a louder yell than his son. She raised the gun and fired at the burly man’s leg, shooting him point blank in his thigh. He went down with a groan.

From behind her, she felt her dad do something and the other guard hit the floor with a gasp, then groaned.

In the space of heartbeats, they’d downed four men.

She met her father’s narrow-eyed stare and nodded. “Go! To the pilot and turn this around!”

“No, you go, I will stop these men from getting up. And, Ky, be careful.”

She barely acknowledged the warning with a nod before she had to run. There wasn’t a question of what to do, or how, she had to run or her heart might explode from the amount of adrenaline flushing her system. She raced through the empty seating area and right into the captain.

“What the hell?” he demanded.

At his shout, another man came around the corner, and she spotted daylight out the open cabin door. She also faced two men. She shot him in the shoulder, sending him back and over the seats.

“Make one move and you’re going down,” she said to the captain. “Raise your hands above your head.”

He did and kept them up. Behind her she heard shouts then a gunshot, followed by her name.

“Ky, I’m fine. Discover where we are.”

Her dad’s voice sounded fine, but she didn’t turn to look, instead she gestured to the cabin with the gun. “Go, I want coordinates and—”

A woman with red hair, and dressed in black suddenly sprang up from behind the captain. She hit him with her hand against his temple and the captain fell with a soft thud. “Look, Ms Chung, you’re screwing up my mission here.”

Kylie steadied her gun, aiming it for the attacker’s head. “You’re one of the women from my father’s first trials.”

“Yeah, so glad I’m remembered.”

“I want off this plane and out of here. Are you planning on stopping me?”

“I’m planning on talking to your father. Is he still alive?”

“Yes.”

The woman anchored her hands on her hips and tilted her head. “And you’re on the meds.”

It wasn’t a question, but Kylie nodded. “I was shot. They used the drug to heal my wound.”

“I’m Sonya. And you’re Daren’s girl, Kylie Chung.”

Daren’s girl
. Relief swelled in her chest, followed by a tremble she couldn’t hide. “Is he dead?”

“Not even close.”

Daren’s voice, after so long without it, made her trembling turn to full out shakes. He appeared behind the woman, and shoved past her, reaching her within one painful heartbeat and gathered her carefully in his arms. He held her closer, gently, as if she might break.

“Shh, Ky, I’m here, baby. Don’t cry, baby. It’s okay.”

Cry? She never cried. Crying never solved anything. Never brought her what she wanted.

“Shh, Ky, really, baby, you gotta stop—”

“Let her cry, Mr Scott. My daughter has suffered a great deal, because of me, and, I believe, for you.”

She shook her head against Daren’s chest. She’d never suffered for him or her father. She’d suffered by not doing what she thought was right until it was too late. She’d been too late to save Daren from those men the first time. She’d been too late to go to him and get out without them finding her. She’d been too late to realize all her father ever wanted for her, was her happiness.

“I’m crying because I thought I’d lost you,” she managed, and reached out to grip her father’s arm. “Both of you. I thought I was too late, too late to stop this. I knew what you did was wrong, Dad. I should have said something to you. I should have told you it was wrong.”

“Ky, do you think you could have stopped me?”

“Yes,” she said, firming her voice. She reached up and brushed the tears aside angrily from her cheeks. “I could have. It wasn’t fate that led you down this path, Dad. It was a dream. Dreaming isn’t bad, but your dreams can be used to create nightmares if you’re not careful. I found that out with Eric. I wanted to please you so badly. Instead I created a monster. Without him, this may not have happened.”

“Ms Chung, you’re wrong. Men like the Galligers, powerful men, always draw the men like Mr. Monroe—weak men who want something they have no right to.”

Kylie nodded at Sonya’s words, understanding her point. There were always more sides to a coin, wasn’t there?

“Ky? Where were you shot?” Daren used his grip on her to move her back, scanning her face, then arms and down for a wound.

“It’s healed. What about your wound? I saw you shot. I thought—”

“Baby, it takes more than a bullet to take me down, you know that.” His grin grew until she couldn’t stop herself from hugging him tightly. She didn’t care if everyone was watching, she had to feel Daren’s strength, his love, flowing between them and taking the nightmare away.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I will love you forever, Ky.”

Chapter Nineteen

Daren sat next to Kylie, holding her small hand, while he listened to the subtle and not so subtle ribbing everyone was giving Tazz, and him and Kylie to some extent.
My team
—plus two, he thought with a glance at Ky, then over at Sonya.

Tazz folded his arms across his chest, and scooted down in his chair to give Sonya a serious look.

“So, they sent you, huh?” Tazz asked.

Dare saw a smile filter over Ky’s lips, but she hid it by glancing at him. No doubt she saw the humor in Tazz’s situation. Daren did.

“I came on my own. More of us want answers. It’s not just a Lone Ranger mission, Robert,” Sonya said, barely taking her attention away from her nails to give Tazz a quick frown.

“Tazz,” Tazz grumbled, with a rub of his unruly hair. “So how many are left?”

“From the Superman program?” Sonya clarified. “A few,” she said with a shrug, like she hadn’t a care in the world.

Ace walked in without knocking, interrupting whatever Tazz would have said. Ace took a quick look around the hotel room, before he continued in to take a seat beside Mac and nodded to the room. “What’s wrong now?”

“Nada man, just watching Tazz sweat. Pretty entertaining, but I got better places to be.” Mac jerked a thumb at Eagle. “We all do. What about you, Dare, man. You going to celebrate with us?”

At the reference to his upcoming wedding to Tazz’s sister, Mac grinned. Tazz slouched down in his chair even lower. Sonya though, perked up. The little spy had a way of making everyone around her feel like they needed to check their wallets, but she also made him, and he guessed the guys present feel like no matter what, she’d have their back. Maybe that was from the knowledge she’d saved their team time and again, but it was also in her steady look and calm persona.

“I like her,” Kylie whispered.

Dare glanced at Ky and grinned. “She’s solid people. So, are we going to this wedding, or should we go have our own?”

“Why not double up?” Sonya asked with a slow grin. She had no apparent accent, even though her background was Russian. From what little Dare knew about her, she’d not stayed in her homeland past her teens. She’d begun her career as a spy that young, and only shifted to work for the US seven or eight years ago. Since then, she’d ferreted out information to save soldiers’ lives. It was a shock to realize she had been given the same drugs as Tazz.

“Daren?”

Daren blinked, only then realizing he’d been lost in thought.

Sonya raised a delicate eyebrow at him and Kylie laughed.

“Did you hear Sonya?” Kylie asked.

“I did. I also think Mac and Mandy need their own—”

“Mandy already suggested it, bro. We’re on if you are. Getting cold feet?” Mac asked.

At Mac’s grin, Dare smiled. “Not in this life time or any other.”

“I take it you’ve already spoken to her father and grandfather?” Sonya asked.

Ace snorted.

Eagle laughed outright. “Oh, man, you are one sorry fella right now. Kylie, how tough is this granddad of yours?”

She smiled and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “He’s eighty five. I think he might be tougher than nails.”

All the men laughed, even Daren. Sonya patted Ky’s leg and smiled. “Good. That gives Scott here two weeks to get to Korea, ask your granddad and fly you both to some God forsaken Wild West wedding.”

“Wild West?” Ky asked, looking from him to Mac then back again. “What does that mean?”

“She’s teasing. Sorta,” he tacked on when Eagle laughed again. He stood and dragged Ky to her feet, tired of sharing her with the team and Sonya. Tazz got to his feet too and nodded to Ky.

“I’m glad it all worked out for you,” he said.

“Do what I suggested, Robert. My father is waiting for you. I’ve already let him know and he’s preparing the necessary anti-serums.”