Rhys (14 page)

“You shot them,” Tessa said, shaking her head, trying to push out the shock. “You have to let me call 911. They’re my friends. You can’t let them die.”

“If they were such good friends, you should have known better than to involve them,” he snarled. “I told you I would find you, and I would bring down anyone who stood in my way.”

Tessa twisted and squirmed in his grasp as reality seeped in. “You’re just going to stand there while two people die in front of you? You’re a psychopath.”

“And you’re finally beginning to understand,” Dylan said, a sick smile spreading across his face. “Now, where is Rhys?”

“He’s not here,” she spat at him.

Dylan didn’t look away from her as he spoke to his men. “Do a quick sweep of the apartment,” he said. “Shoot anyone on sight.”

“I told you, he’s not here.”

Dylan’s fingers twisted deeper into her arm. Sharp pain radiated out from his touch, hammering home the point that she was back under his control. And this time she wasn’t going to get away.

Not until Boyd got what he wanted.

Tessa’s heart clenched at the thought. She couldn’t let that happen. It didn’t matter what she had to do, she couldn’t allow herself to go with him.

She glanced at Dylan’s left arm. She could make out the bulky bandage under the sleeve. Like Rhys, it looked like he was still plenty capable after being patched up.

No. Dylan was nothing like Rhys. One look in his eyes told Tessa that he was running on nothing but hate and rage at this point.

And if she used her head, maybe she could use all his hostility against him.

Rhys might never forgive her, but maybe some day he’d understand.

But first she had to see if she could help her friends out.

Tessa drew in a deep breath, gathering together all of her courage, before swinging back and punching Dylan in his wounded shoulder as hard as she could.

He let out a howl that echoed off the walls, but his grip loosened on her arm. Tessa wrenched away, and ran over to Jake’s side, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she went. She kept it close to her body, hiding it from Dylan’s view as she dialed 911. She practically threw herself on top of Jake as she slipped the phone under his shirt.

A ray of hope shot through her when she noticed his chest rise and fall.

Thank God.

His breathing might be shallow but at least he was alive.

For now.

Dylan was on her a second later, dragging her to her feet. He pressed the cold barrel of his gun against her head. His eyes were hardened coal as he scowled down at her.

“Try that again, and I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Tessa taunted him. “Kill me? Go ahead, do it. Shoot me right now.”

“You think I won’t?” Dylan said, a deranged smile twisting his lips. “You think I give a shit that Boyd wants you alive. It would be worth facing his anger just to paint the walls with your brains right now. Maybe I’d wait for Rhys to come back just for the satisfaction of seeing the look on his smug face when he found you.”

“You don’t have the guts, you fucking coward,” she spat at him.

The hard muzzle of the gun dug deeper into her temple. “Are you so sure about that?”

Tessa closed her eyes.

This was it. She drew in a shaky breath and held it.

A long moment passed as Tessa waited for the end. The sound of Dylan’s cold laughter chilled her down to the bone.

“Oh, you’re clever, Doctor, aren’t you?” he said. “I see what you want. But you’re not getting out of this that easy. I’m going to hand you over to Boyd, and this time you are going to tell us
everything.
”

Tessa opened her eyes as the bottom dropped out of her belly.

Just then, Dylan’s men came back to the living room.

“We’re clear,” one of them said.

Tessa thrashed against Dylan’s hold as he started pulling her toward the front door, so much so that he tossed her toward one of his men, who had no problem pinning her arms to her side as he lifted her off the ground.

“Too bad,” Dylan said as he walked out to the elevator. “Guess I’ll just have to wait to put a bullet in your lover’s heart.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Dr. Rosenthal is a hell of a woman,” Mason said as he took the turn away from downtown San Jose and onto the freeway.

“Yes. She is.” Rhys didn’t look up from wiping the last of the black ash off his hands.

The secret nature of their mission had required them to remain as quiet as possible while they were inside the storage facility. Neither one of them had said a word as they’d gathered all her boxes of papers and prototypes into the center of the unit and torched the pile.

Even though Rhys had understood why it had to go, a part of him had hated watching everything that Tessa had worked for, everything she’d dedicated her life to, go up in flames.

But at least now she would have a chance to build something new. Something better. Something that really would help all of mankind, just like she dreamed.

And there was no doubt in Rhys’ mind that she was strong and resilient enough to do it.

“Are you in love with her?” Mason asked when they were another mile down the road.

Rhys’ heart began to pound at the mention of the word. But it wasn’t from fear.

“Does it matter?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Mason tilted his head to the side. “Does it?”

Rhys looked over at Mason from the passenger’s seat. “She doesn’t make me weak, if that’s your concern.”

“No one in their right mind would ever accuse you of that,” Mason said with a laugh. “And you don’t have to be so defensive. I’m not writing a report for Carter.”

“Then why do you ask?”

“Just curious. She doesn’t seem like your type is all.”

“She’s too nice, you mean,” Rhys said.

Mason shrugged his shoulders.

Rhys recognized the diplomatic non-answer for what it was. He wasn’t offended. Mason was right. Tessa was too nice for him. Too kind. Too good.

But when she was with him he felt like he could be those things himself.

Not that it was any of Mason’s business.

Rhys turned his head and looked out the window again.

“Well, you’re a lucky man,” Mason said.

“Yes,” Rhys said. “I am.”

They drove down the freeway again in silence for a few more miles. Rhys checked his watch. It was almost time to call and report in to Carter again. He was just reaching for his phone when it began to ring. Carter’s name popped up on the screen.

A sudden sense of unease twisted Rhys’ stomach as he put the call on speaker. Carter never called early for a check in. Never.

Mason must have been thinking the same thing because he looked over at Rhys. His brows pulled together in an uncharacteristic show of concern.

“Hey,
Captain
,” Mason said.

“What’s your location?” Carter asked. His voice was tight and shaky.

Rhys felt every muscle in his body tense. He knew instantly that something had happened. Something bad. Something so terrible that he almost didn’t want to hear what Carter was going to say next.

“We’re headed back now, just driving up 101,” Mason said. “What’s going on?”

Carter didn’t answer right away.

The knot in Rhys’ stomach tightened.

“How fast can you get back to the city?” Carter asked.

“We’re about fifteen minutes out,” Mason said.

Rhys saw the muscle on the side of Mason’s jaw tick. So, he wasn’t the only one who thought the worst.

“What’s happened?” Rhys repeated Mason’s question.

There was a pause on the other end and a sick, burning feeling rose up in Rhys’ throat.

“There’s been an incident at Charlie’s apartment,” Carter said.

“An incident?” Mason asked.

“What happened?” Rhys demanded.

He didn’t know why he was shouting. He already knew the answer. The despair in Carter’s voice told him everything.

“Jake and Charlie have been wounded,” Carter said. “They’re both on their way to SF General.”

“Wounded how?” Mason asked through gritted teeth.

“Gunshot wounds to the chest.”

All the blood rushed from Rhys’ face.

Dylan.

It had to be.

Damn it. He’d had his chance to kill the son of a bitch, and he hadn’t taken the shot.

“What’s their condition?” Mason asked.

“Critical, both of them,” Carter answered.

Silence fell over the car.

Mason’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel, gripping it so tight that his knuckles turned white, but somehow he managed to keep the car steady on the road.

“And Tessa?” Rhys asked.

Another pause. This one even heavier than the last.

“What about Tessa?” he demanded.

“The paramedics didn’t find anyone else in the apartment,” Carter said. “Charlie and Jake were in no condition to talk when they were found, but it sounds like Tessa dialed 911 on her phone and left it behind to lead the paramedics there. The operator believes she heard someone abduct Tessa.”

Rhys’ blood turned to ice. Cold rage exploded inside him.

Boyd had Tessa. Dylan had shot his friends.

And Rhys was going to kill them both.

Before anything could happen to Tessa.

Before she could do anything to herself.

It was just like she’d explained last night. She was the last remaining link to her work. The last piece that needed to be destroyed.

There was no way in hell he was going to let that happen.

“I need you both to come into the office, right away,” Carter said.

Rhys stared down at the phone in his hand. He knew what Carter would want to do. He’d want to come up with a plan—a good, detailed plan. One that would cover every contingency. One that would take time.

Time that Tessa didn’t have.

Rhys’ jaw tightened as he readied himself to tell his boss to go to hell.

But it turned out he shouldn’t have worried.

“I’m sorry, Carter,” Mason said. “But you’re cutting out.”

“Don’t do thi—” Carter started to say before Mason hit the end button on the phone.

In the next instant, Mason swung the car toward the nearest exit, and stopped the car at the end of the off ramp. He turned toward Rhys.

“So, how do we get her back?” he asked.

***

“Get your damned hands off me,” Tessa screamed as Dylan dragged her over the concrete floor of the dockside warehouse.

Dylan shot her a violent stare, but Tessa ignored it.

What was he going to do? Kill her? She could only wish.

And as long as he wasn’t going to give her what she wanted, Tessa didn’t see any reason to make Dylan’s life any easier.

It wasn’t like she’d be able to rile Boyd to the point of murdering her. There was no temper in him. Just cold calculation.

Not that she wanted to die. The cruelest part of this was that Dylan had come for her just when she had found a reason to fight for her life.

And God help her, she wanted to live for Rhys. She wanted to live for those little moments in the morning when she was just waking up, when the world was still quiet enough that she could hear the beating of his heart in his chest. She wanted to live for the thrill of one of his unexpected smiles, the heat of his touch, that spark in his eye that told her that, even in a crowded room, she was the only one who truly mattered.

Those were the things that made her want to fight for her life, even if it was selfish. Even if she wasn’t sure that she could hold her tongue against the cut of Dylan’s knife this time.

Dylan pulled her into a small room along the back wall and tossed her on the floor. She skidded on her knees before coming to a stop in front of Anders Boyd. Tessa flicked back her hair as she glared up at him.

“Nice place you got here,” Tessa said, arching her brows as she looked around the dimly lit metal office. “Guess I’ve worn out my welcome at the mansion.”

Boyd sneered down at her. “Well, you were a terrible guest.”

“You, on the other hand, were a hell of a host,” she shot back.

Boyd’s brows shot up in surprise. “It seems you’ve grown a backbone in your time away from us. A gift from your new friends I take it.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Maybe they did teach me a thing or two.”

A slow, evil smile spread across Boyd’s face. “And how did that end up for them?”

Tessa felt a stab of pain right in the middle of her heart. The memory of Jake and Charlie collapsed in bloody heaps rose up in her mind.

“You’ll never get away with what you did to them,” she said.

“I think we both know that I already have,” Boyd said, leaning in close enough to whisper in her ear. “And that I could do it again and again if I wanted to.”

Tessa’s brows pulled together. “What are you talking about?”

Boyd clasped his hands behind his back as he stood up. “You have a lot of friends don’t you, Dr. Rosenthal. Family too. I’ve even heard a rumor that you’ve recently grown
very
close to Rhys Vaughn.”

Tessa glared up at him. “I won’t let you touch any of them. I’ll kill myself first.”

“No, you won’t,” Boyd said, shaking his head. “Because if you do, I will personally shoot Rhys Vaughn through the heart myself.”

“You’re a monster,” she said.

“No. I’m a businessman,” he said calmly. “Which makes things so much simpler. See, I only want one thing—the working prototype that you promised me.”

“You mean, the weapon you sold to the highest bidder with no thought of the consequences.”

“You want to talk about consequences?” Boyd asked, his glare sharpening. “How about this? If you don’t do what I tell you, I will kill everyone that you love one by one and tack up their murder scene photos on the walls of your new lab until you
give me the one thing I want
.”

Tessa ground her back teeth as her heart clenched painfully. “And what happens if I consent to make the prototype?”

“Simple. Dylan will execute you with a single, painless round to the back of the head, and everyone you care about will be spared.” Boyd clapped his hands, wringing them together as he looked down at her. “So what do you say? Do we have a deal?”

Tessa narrowed her eyes as she looked up at Boyd. They didn’t. But she couldn’t let him know that.

“You’re not leaving me much of a choice are you?” Tessa said.

He shook his head slowly. “No, I’m not.”

Tessa turned her face down and stared at the barren floor beneath her. There was no way in hell that she was going to make a weapon that was capable of wiping out entire swaths of humanity. Especially not when she knew that Boyd had no intention of keeping his side of the bargain.

Knowing him, he would probably test the effectiveness of Project Exodus out on her loved ones first.

Her only hope was to get away from Boyd long enough to warn them of the danger they were in. Tessa glanced around at the heavily armed, stern-faced guards surrounding her.

Something told her that this time it was going to be a lot harder to escape than the last.

Hell, she didn’t even know what city he’d brought her to. Dylan blindfolded her on the drive over. Tessa had done her best to keep her bearings, but after five minutes of twists and turns, she’d been hopelessly lost.

All she knew was that she was somewhere close to the water. It was a good start, but she could use a little more information.

“Is this going to be my new lab?” Tessa asked.

“Not hardly,” Boyd answered with a laugh. “It’s close.”

“Where exactly?” she tried.

Boyd’s brows pulled together, and Tessa knew instantly that she’d pushed too hard.

“What does that matter?” he asked.

“It doesn’t,” she said, shaking her head a little too fast. “I was just wondering, that’s all.”

Boyd stilled before reaching down and grabbing her arm. His gray eyes went hard as he hauled her up to her feet.

“I made the mistake last time you were my
guest
of forcing Dylan to go easy on you,” he snarled in her ear. “I let my admiration of both you and your work cloud my judgment. It’s a mistake I don’t plan on repeating.”

Tessa swallowed down past the lump that was quickly growing in her throat. He categorized what Dylan had done to her as
easy
?

“So, this time let me make myself perfectly clear,” Boyd continued, wrenching her head around so that she faced Dylan. “If I believe, for even a second, that you are trying to play me, I will give Dylan free rein to do his worst. He might not be able to kill you, Dr. Rosenthal, but I’m sure he knows all kinds of tricks to make you wish that you were dead. And after the ways that you’ve humiliated him lately, I’m sure he’s more than eager to try them out on you. Aren’t you, Dylan?”