Authors: Shannon K. Butcher
Razor's Edge (35 page)
Roxanne wouldn't lie about it, but she wasn't going to flaunt it, either. She knew it was against the rules, but some things were worth the risk, and Tanner was definitely in that category.
Even if he wasn't repulsed by her, she knew they couldn't date openly, like a normal couple. That was just a girlish fantasy.
Unless she quit her job.
She tried to picture itâdoing something else. She could go back to school and get any degree she wanted. She could start her own business. But what about the friends she'd made at the Edge? And what could she possibly do that would give her the same thrills and sense of satisfaction as catching the bad guys?
She was meant for this work. She loved it. And even if she started her own security company, it wouldn't be the same. It would take years for her to build a client list, and thanks to the non-compete clause in her contract, she couldn't be hired out by any of the Edge's clients.
She could move, but she couldn't see either her or Tanner doing the long-distance relationship thing, so what would she gain?
It was best to accept the fleeting nature of their liaison and enjoy it while it lasted. Unfortunately for any other men she might meet, she'd always judge them against Tanner. He was kind, honorable, and sexy as hell. Most men wouldn't even be able to come close.
That was going to have to be a problem for another day. Right now, she was up to her nose in problems, and needed to focus.
Forgoing makeup and sweeping her hair into a simple ponytail, she straightened her rumpled clothes and went to face the men.
Clay sat on the bed, slumped against the headboard. He was pale, almost gray. Both his eyes were black, and a cut on his cheek was red and swollen. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought something had scared him. He looked up at her as she came out of the bathroom. “Hey, Razor. How are you feeling?”
“I should be asking you the same thing. You look like hell.”
“It's been a rough day. For all of us. At least I didn't get shot.”
“I'm fine,” she assured him. “Just bruised.”
“And concussed, most likely,” said Tanner.
Her gaze strayed to him. He was standing with his feet braced and his arms crossed over his broad chest. His blue eyes seemed to darken as he stared. There were no obvious signs of revulsion, just his usual speculative interest.
She wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to feel his hands on her skin, feel him filling her until she thought she'd burst from the pleasure.
Roxanne swallowed and looked away. She couldn't see him and not want him, which was going to make things awkward if she didn't find some self-control. “Can we focus on the job?”
“Right,” said Clay. “I stole a car from one of the guys who followed us, and I found what I think is a tracking device. I pried it out of the glove box, hit a hardware store, and wrapped the sucker up in steel wool before shoving it in a thermos.”
“Where is it?”
“I left it in the car in case my efforts weren't good enough. It could be a listening device, but since it was in a car . . .” He trailed off, shrugging.
“You think that if we take it out of the thermos, they can track the signal.”
“Right,” said Clay. “I figure we set up a trap and see if we can lure in someone who knows where Jake is.”
Tanner shook his head. “I'm afraid that's not going to work.”
“Why not?” asked Roxanne.
“Payton called while you were in the shower. I answered your phone, since it might be important. It was.”
“What did he say?”
“The soldier who attacked you at the storage facilityâthe one who went to the hospitalâthey questioned him.”
“But that's a good thing,” said Roxanne.
“Not for him. You know that seizure the guy we captured had? It wasn't a seizure. He was poisoned.”
She took a step forward, angry at Tanner's accusation. “No. Gage would never have done that to him. He'd never kill a man in cold blood like that.”
Tanner held up his hands. “Gage didn't do it. Someone else did.”
“How? There was no one else there.”
“There was some kind of capsule in his body. Payton isn't sure exactly how it works, but apparently he's seen it before.”
“Seen what before?”
“He said they used to put these poison capsules in spies so they could kill themselves if they were captured and tortured for information.”
Shock exploded in her chest, making it hard to breathe. Her voice came out in a low whisper. “You're saying that the guy with Gage killed himself?”
“It's possible.”
Clay had been silent until now, staring sightlessly at the rumpled bed. He lifted his head, and the look on his face was a disturbing mix of fear and anger. “Where was it?”
“Where was what?”
“The capsule. They found it, right?”
Tanner nodded. “At the base of the skull. Why?”
“Because someone who was bound to a chair would have had a hard time reaching that spot, and you wouldn't want it to be too easy to trigger. You wouldn't want the thing to burst accidentally when you were getting your head bashed in a fight.”
“What are you saying, Clay?” she asked.
“You said that your friend Jake was recruited into what he thought was some kind of secret special forces group, right?”
“Right.”
“And that he wasn't alone? There were more men with him?”
“Yes.”
“If I was building a secret army of badasses for some nefarious purpose, I'd want a way to control the men.”
Tanner's body went still. “You think the poison is the control. Anyone steps out of line and they die.”
Clay nodded. “It would be pretty fucking effective, don't you think? I'd sure as hell think twice before trying anything.”
Roxanne sank to the bed, struggling to keep herself from going to all the dark places this line of thought opened up. “How would theyâwhoever they areâhave known that one of their men was going to talk?”
Tanner stepped closer but didn't touch her. She wished he would. To hell with what Clay thought. She needed his comfort right nowâshe needed to know he didn't hate her for what she's done. If these people were willing to kill their own men, Jake was in even more danger than she'd thought, and she wasn't sure she could face that alone.
“With the technology we have today,” said Clay, “who knows? Mira would have some ideas, but I'd really rather not ask her to think about it. It's pretty dark shit. And she's squeamish.”
“Both men died while being questioned,” said Tanner. “Maybe it's activated by a key word or phrase. They wouldn't want it to respond to adrenaline or body temperature, since that could kill someone accidentally.”
“My guess is that it's activated remotely,” said Clay. “Or it goes off if someone is out of touch for too long. Maybe there's some kind of reset switch that has to be triggered every few hours or days. If one of the men goes missing for too long, it's activated.”
She couldn't stand to hear them talk anymore. Her stomach turned sour, and she started to shake. For all she knew, Jake had one of those things inside him right now. He could be walking around with a ticking time bomb in his head.
Roxanne lurched from the bed and moved away. There was nowhere to go in the small room, but she had to move, had to do something. “We can't set a trap,” she told them as she paced. “We could kill another man if we do. Maybe more than one.”
“These men aren't innocent,” said Clay. “We've seen them in action.”
“Jake is innocent. What if the rest of them started out the same way? They could be good men who were turned into something else. We can't just keep killing them off in the hopes that one of them will give us information before he dies.”
“Razor's right,” said Tanner. “We need to find out how the poison thing works. Maybe we can block the signal or remove it before it's activated.”
He'd called her Razor, not Roxanne as he had when they'd been together earlier, before he knew about the scars. She tried not to read anything into it. She knew they had to keep their feelings hidden, but she missed the sound of her name coming from his lips.
“I'll call Payton,” said Clay. “Maybe he can find someone to analyze it and create countermeasures.”
Roxanne's phone rang, making her jump. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath before she pulled it from her pocket. She didn't recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Rox? Is that you?” The voice filled the line, sounding like a chorus of angels.
Tears welled up in Roxanne's eyes, and relief at the sound of his voice clamped her throat closed for a moment. Seconds ticked by; yet she couldn't find the breath to utter even a single word.
“Rox? Are you there? It's Jake. I'm in big trouble. I need you.”
Chapter Twenty-two
T
anner saw the color drain from Roxanne's face. Her hand shook as she gripped the phone so tight her knuckles turned white. He crossed the room, resisting the urge to snatch it from her grasp and snarl at the person on the other endâthe one who'd clearly upset her.
anner saw the color drain from Roxanne's face. Her hand shook as she gripped the phone so tight her knuckles turned white. He crossed the room, resisting the urge to snatch it from her grasp and snarl at the person on the other endâthe one who'd clearly upset her.
She looked up at him, her golden eyes full of tears and pleading for help.
He took it as permission to put his nose directly into her business.
Tanner eased the phone from her hand. “Who is this?” he snapped.
“Jake. Who the hell are you?”
Surprise flickered through him for a moment before he regained his wits. He pressed the button to activate the speaker phone. “My name is Tanner. I'm a friend of Razor's.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“I'm right here, Jake,” she said, her voice faint. She cleared her throat. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I don't have a lot of time. I stole this phone so they can't trace it, but I don't want to talk long. They may be keeping tabs on your calls.”
“Who?”
“Not now. Just listen. I need your help. I need to find . . .” A strangling sound filled the line.
“Jake? What's going on?”
When he spoke, he sounded out of breath. “I'm all fucked up, Rox.”
“Where are you? I'll come get you.”
“I don't know if they're following me.”
“I don't care. I'm not alone. I'll be safe.”
Jake hesitated, but finally said, “Do you remember that vacation we took with my mom?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember the place where we got those banana pancakes?”
A sad smile touched her mouth and tears spilled from her eyes. “Yes, inâ”
“No. Don't say it. Just meet me there.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow. The same time we were there before. Do you remember?”
“I do. I'll be there, Jake.”
“Come armed. Bring your friends. Bringâ” He gasped as if in pain.
“Jake? Are you hurt?” asked Tanner.
“No. Just my fucking head. They cut my head open, Rox.”
“Oh God,” breathed Roxanne. She covered her mouth with her hand and choked back a sob.
Tanner took over. “Listen to me very carefully, Jake. It's possible they put a device inside you that can poison you. We don't know how it's triggered, but we're going to find out, okay. Until then, don't say anything to anyone. What you say could kill you.”
“Could?”
“All we know is that two men who may have connections to Dr. Stynger died while being questioned.”
“I understand. Gotta go.” He hung up.
Roxanne turned away, and although her anguished cry was quiet, he heard it all the same.
Tanner pocketed her phone and stepped up behind her. He cupped her shoulders, hoping to offer some sliver of comfort. She turned, folding into his embrace and hiding her face against his chest.
His heart broke open. He stroked her hair and her back. He held her tight, telling her without words that he was here. He wouldn't leave her.
Clay regarded them for a moment before he stood. “I'm going to grab a soda,” he said as he walked out.
“Shhh,” Tanner whispered against her hair. “We won't let anything happen to Jake. We'll find him. We'll get him help.”
She sniffed and looked up at him. Her nose was red and her eyes were bloodshot, but she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her pain grated against him, making him want to lash out at whoever had hurt her friend.
“I'm so glad he's alive. I just hope we're not too late.”
“Of course we're not. We're going to find him, Roxanne. I'm going to make it happen.”
She wiped her eyes and gave him a lopsided smile. “I almost believe you when you look all fierce like that.”
“It's not just a look, honey. I
am
all fierce, especially when someone is fucking with the friend of someone I care about.”
am
all fierce, especially when someone is fucking with the friend of someone I care about.”
She cupped his cheek. Her slender fingers sent sensation rioting down his spine. Part of him hated that she could make him respond so easily, but the rest of him reveled in the feeling. He'd never had a woman go to his head like she did. It was as if his whole world rotated around her and stopped spinning when she suffered.
He was going to fix it. He was going to find Jake and get that damn thing out of his head before it killed him.
And then what? Roxanne would kiss him in thanks, and they'd go their separate ways?
He didn't want that. He wanted her to stick around, to be part of his life. But if he did that, he'd lose his job and his family would suffer. They'd already suffered enough because of him. He couldn't put his own selfish needs before them. Not again.
Other books
In the Line of Duty: First Responders, Book 2 by Donna Alward
Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot by J. Randy Taraborrelli
To John by Kim Itae
Sapphire: A Paranormal Romance by Alaspa, Bryan W.
The Late John Marquand by Birmingham, Stephen;
Lady Beware by Jo Beverley
Tale of Ginger and Pickles by Potter, Beatrix
Crystal by V. C. Andrews
The Justice Game by RANDY SINGER
Love's Fiery Jewel by Elaine Barbieri
