Eternally Bound: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (12 page)

“Good morning, handsome,” Delaine replied into her speaker phone as she ran her fingers through her thick hair to undo the twists she’d put in before she’d gone to sleep. She’d hoped he would call, and he hadn’t disappointed her in the two weeks they’d been seeing each other. She was glad he couldn’t see her looking at herself in her bathroom mirror, grinning like a loon.

“I enjoyed spending time with you last night,” he said seductively. “When can we get together again?”

“Well, you don’t waste any time getting to the point, do you?” she asked saucily.

“Baby, I don’t have any time to waste. If I see a priceless jewel should I reach for it? Or should I pretend I don’t see it and hope it’s still there the next time I happen to come around?”

Well, didn’t he have a way with words? He made her feel all warm and gooey inside, like melting caramel.

“How about dinner tonight?”

“I’m not sure if I can make it tonight,” she said, disappointed that it was true. She really needed to do some surveillance. She was really close to getting what she needed on Baker but was frustrated because she wasn’t further along in the case. That damned Sarah Ann was on her like white on rice since that day Delaine had shaken her off her trail.

“Have another hot date lined up already, eh,” Justin said, half-serious.

“Sorry, but this sistah can’t move that fast,” she teased.

“Baby, I happen to like your moves,” he crooned into the phone. “So how about it? My place, say, seven o’clock? If we get through dinner early, we can work on getting my bed to smell like hot sex and you, like your bed does.”

“You are such a freak,” she giggled.

“Yeah, and you like it.”

“All right, I give!” she laughed, knowing he was out of her league when it came to sexual banter, but she was catching up. “I’ll come as long as I don’t have to eat delivered Chinese food.”

Justin’s totally male laugh made her breath catch as her insides danced at his masculine chuckle. Lord, she just loved his voice. They finalized their plans and Delaine headed out the door for what was becoming a habit of Sunday morning breakfast at Le Peep with Pam.

If Pam noticed Delaine was dressed in black tactical gear and SWAT-issued boots, she didn’t mention it.

* * * * *

Justin parked several blocks away from Astin Pharma, snuck in the back gate and into the building through a back door some idiot left propped open so they could take a smoke break.

It was Saturday and there shouldn’t be anyone in the building except the process engineers on the main production floors. But lately, Baker hadn’t been sticking to his regular schedule. If the man was anything, he was meticulous and predictable, and Justin wondered if Delaine’s presence was the reason for his out-of-character behavior.

He made his way to one of the restricted elevators, flipped open his cell phone, hit the speed dial and spoke quietly.

“Okay, I’m in. Do your thing,” he whispered into the mouthpiece. He held the display panel of the phone up to the badge scanner. A moment later a beep sounded and the elevator doors slid smoothly open. Another beep and a click later, it started its descent. Justin spoke quickly into the mouthpiece.

“Thanks, Derrick. Now tell me what you did in case I have to explain my way out of it later.”

“I hacked the database and saw that Baker recently gave the Sarah Ann chick who’s been tailing your girl access to The Vault. I displayed the barcode from her badge onto the screen of your digital cell. The reader in the elevator doesn’t know the difference between the badge and the phone.”

“But what about the logs that show who’s been in and out of the elevator?”

“Baker tried to be slick by programming Sarah Ann’s badge with a fictitious name, but that works to our advantage. The system won’t show that either you or she were ever there.”

“You’re a genius. Thanks, man.”

“No problem. By the way, I’m still working on getting more details on Delaine. We’re almost one hundred percent sure she’s with Aegis, which is good for us. Spencer’s calling one of his contacts to verify. And there’s a small problem.”

“What?” Justin asked impatiently, not liking the hesitation in his partner’s voice.

“You’re going to have to keep an even closer eye on Delaine than you already are.”

Justin’s brow furrowed as a lump formed in the pit of his stomach. This couldn’t possibly be good. Hell, he’d been spending so much time with Delaine, if he watched her any closer he’d be living with her. While that particular thought held appeal, he pushed it away and focused on the conversation with Derrick.

“What do you mean keep a closer eye on her?”

“Because Baker knows she’s undercover. I don’t know how, but she’s been compromised.”

This was not what he wanted to hear. Baker was a dangerous son of a bitch and the thought of anything happening to Delaine at his hands made the blood behind Justin’s eyes boil. He was so angry, he literally saw red. “Shit!” Justin fumed, raking his hand through his thick red hair as the elevator continued to plummet.

“My sentiments exactly. All indications are the two of you are on the same side. Why don’t you just talk to her about what we know?”

“Are you crazy? And have Spencer fry my ass?” Justin growled into the mouthpiece, squeezing the phone so hard it was a wonder the thing didn’t break in two.

“Look, Justin, you’ve never been this crazy about a woman in the ten years I’ve been working with you. I know you care about her. Besides, Baker is your target, not Delaine. I’m not saying you should blow your own cover, but talking to her about Baker may be the only way she’ll let you help her. I know you can come up with some way to talk to her about Baker without telling her you’re D.E.A.”

“Look, Derrick, there’s no way in hell I’m lying to Delaine! I’ll just have to watch her back without her finding out.”

“You don’t have authorization for that, man. You know regulations.”

“Fuck regulations! She’s my woman, damn it! And I’m not going to let Baker get his hands on her just because the regs say I can’t get involved in another agent’s case without auth!”

“All right, man, I feel you. I’ll run it by Spencer and get back to you.”

“What the hell do I do in the meantime?”

“If Delaine hears from someone else that you’re working the same case, she’s going to fry your ass and you won’t have to worry about Spencer. She’s a sistah, and they don’t play. Trust me, I know. And there’s the possibility that if Baker knows …

“…then someone else knows too,” Justin reasoned quickly. “Damn it! I may have no choice but to talk to her, but not today. I’ll catch up with you later, Derrick. I’m going to lose the signal any second. Almost at the bottom.”

“Good luck, man.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Justin disconnected the call and turned off his cell completely. He flipped it over to make sure the homing beacon still flashed faintly, then slipped it into his back pocket just as the elevator doors hissed open.

* * * * *

Delaine walked right through the front door, her long cloak hiding the jacket and black tactical gear. She headed straight for her office, locked the door and did a little creative hacking. In minutes she’d bypassed the main security camera program and fed the digital photos she wanted the security guards to see into the system that controlled all the camera links. The program would only run for ten minutes, which was more than enough time to get into a restricted elevator unseen.

Her badge and digital key worked perfectly, just like before, and in moments she was speeding down to The Vault. Before the doors opened, she checked the guns in the holsters under her jacket, a lethal black bowie knife tucked in her boot and the homing device hidden behind her ear.

She knew exactly which lab she needed to break into, having explored all the tunnels over the last few weeks. Every tunnel led to a legitimate research and development lab, except for the two tunnels on the far right. Both these labs were always locked. The first, which she’d successfully broken into, appeared to be scrubbed clean after every use. Whoever had been using it left no evidence of what they were doing in there. She’d found no dust, no residue. Not even a fingerprint. The second tunnel led to an identical lab she hadn’t been in yet. It was larger and had another door near the back. And she headed straight to it.

She encountered no one as she slipped her gloves on and picked the lock. Once inside, she eased the door closed and slid the deadbolt home. A quick sweep of this front room found it clean but not spotless. There were a couple of used vials, a pair of tweezers and even a small dissolution test kit. On one of the metal tables she found a small bit of some kind of pink powder. Delaine put a sample in a small glass vial, careful not to inhale or get it anywhere on her skin or clothes. Sealed and secured in a plastic baggie, she tucked it inside her inner jacket pocket and made her way to the door at the back of the room.

Closing the door softly behind her, she threw the deadbolt and stepped fully into the room. Her gut promptly twisted. This room was soundproof and would prevent her from hearing anyone approach. She’d have to work fast. She passed by the lab equipment, three doors that she assumed were closets for storage, along with file cabinets, and went directly to a wide-screen monitor with playback equipment hooked up to it. The playback cables were connected to three video cameras arranged in front of small neatly made beds, and a medical table with stirrups on one end.

Delaine went to the digital video camera. There was still a tape inside. She popped it into the playback unit and Baker’s face immediately came up on the screen. The date and time at the bottom of the screen was six-thirty yesterday morning.

Baker moved away from the screen and a blonde woman Delaine had seen a couple of times in the lunchroom sat on one of the beds naked. Her arms were crossed over her breasts, her legs clenched tightly and her head down. She looked up at Baker through lowered lashes and appeared decidedly uncomfortable. But this blonde wasn’t the one she’d seen in her vision.

In the video, he approached the woman with a little pink tablet balanced on the end of his finger. Delaine’s hand immediately felt for the vial inside her jacket, wondering if the residue inside was from the same stuff. Baker placed the tablet under the girl’s tongue and the timer on the video started counting.

At thirty seconds, the girl still sat on the edge of the bed, but her eyes were now wide and frightened. Her hands dropped to her breasts and she watched her hands massage and pull on them as if she couldn’t believe what she was doing to herself.

At a full minute, the woman writhed on the bed, pumping her hips at something that wasn’t there. Her legs fell open and she ground down into the mattress. As she panted and moaned, her eyes followed Baker’s every movement.

At two minutes, she wept and begged Baker to take her. The perverted bastard obliged.

Delaine watched the tape and almost gagged when he approached the bed with his skinny hard cock poking out of the fly of his pants. He lay down on top of the woman and her legs immediately wrapped around his hips. The woman was like a wild animal under him and screamed, yelled and clawed at his back while he pumped into her body with his pants, shoes and shirt still on. The woman came on a tormented scream. Then Baker flipped her over, told her to get up on her hands and knees and took her from behind. She screamed as she came again.

No wonder the walls were soundproof. Baker had plowed his blonde guinea pig for fifteen minutes and she’d come several times. When he was done, she still writhed and rolled around on the bed. Then Sarah Ann came into the picture. Before the blonde collapsed from exhaustion, she’d come almost non-stop, compliments of Sarah Ann and a dildo.

Sapa roared loud and long in her mind. The lioness had obviously been trying to warn her about something, but she’d been so absorbed in the disgusting video, she hadn’t been paying attention. Delaine snapped out of her incredulity at the turn of a key in the lock. Shit! She snatched the tape out of the playback unit, stuffed it into her pocket and moved silently to the first closet door. Hell, it was locked and there was no way she’d have time to pick it. On to the second door. Locked. Relief coursed through her when the third door opened and closed smoothly just before Baker stepped into the room.

‘Sapa, I need a little help with my hearing,’ Delaine called to her spirit guide. The great hunter’s keen senses flowed through the bond and manifested inside Delaine’s body. Through the door, she heard everything going on in the lab as if she were sitting right there. Crouched in the dark, she listened while Baker fussed at Sarah Ann for dead-bolting the doors and leaving the lights on.

Ready to take the bastard down, she silently unsnapped the secure strap on her holster to slide her gun free. Delaine had all the proof she needed.

A wicked, sharp knife pressed against her throat from behind. She didn’t move a hair further.

Chapter Ten

Justin couldn’t believe it. The woman was supposed to be having breakfast with Pam, not nearly getting herself killed. He was furious.

“Don’t make a sound, Delaine, or we’re both dead,” he hissed as he removed the blade from her throat and pocketed it in the sheath hidden in his boot.

She hissed to her spirit guide, ‘Damn it, Sapa. Why didn’t you warn me Justin was here?’

*
Because he is not a danger to us
.*

He pressed so tightly against her back, she was practically in his lap. Against her will, her skin heated and her nipples tingled. She didn’t need this, not right now. She needed to concentrate on taking down the bad guy.

“What the hell are you doing here, Justin?” she whispered furiously to her man crouched behind her.

“Can we talk about this later and concentrate on getting out of here in one piece?”

“I’m a law enforcement officer. Don’t interfere with the arrest I’m about to make,” she warned in a no-nonsense tone.

“Don’t think so, baby. Baker is alone in this room, but he’s not alone in the facility. If we’re discovered, we’ll find ourselves ‘disappeared’, and probably with lots of pain involved.”