Seduced by the Storm (38 page)

Her
heart skidded to a halt so fast, she felt a burning in her chest. Scorch marks
on her soul.

They
couldn’t be a real couple. Ever. Because the motherboard was not going to be
destroyed—at least, not until TAG had studied the hell out of it. And once
Wyatt realized that she’d never intended to destroy it, the only real thing
between them would be hatred.

Erreur!
Signet non défini.

IT
HAD BEEN eight hours since Remy and Haley had arrived at the hotel. Eight hours
of agony for Remy. He’d stumbled in off the patio only once, to go to the
bathroom and eat, and Haley had lost count of the number of times they’d had
sex. Remy was exhausted, pacing the patio like a caged beast as he concentrated
on the storm.

Which
still raged.

He’d
kept it from coming closer, but the monster hurricane hadn’t weakened, and it
wasn’t backing off. At this rate, it would wear Remy down and burn him out long
before it fizzled.

Haley
had to do something, and she had to do it fast.

She opened
the sliding glass door and was immediately pelted by rain. "Remy. Come
inside. You need a break."

"No."
His voice sounded like it had been scraped over a cheese grater. "When I
came in to eat, she came closer."

He
was right. With his concentration broken, the storm had lunged westward like
she’d been let off a leash, bringing category one hurricane-force winds to the
coastline. Haley had never seen a storm move so fast.

"You
can’t keep going like this."

"I
have to."

Stubborn
man.
That
certainly hadn’t changed in the last year.

"Dammit,
Remy. Get in here. Just for an hour."

Gripping
the rail, he roared into the storm. Ignoring her.

Haley
muttered curses under her breath and slammed the door. She knew him, knew he
wasn’t going to stop until either he or the storm fell apart. The phone rang,
and a quick glance at her watch told her it was Dev. Right on time.

"No
change, Dev," she said into the cell.

"How’s
Remy holding up?"

"He’s
not."

There
was a long pause. "Haley? What are you saying?"

She
couldn’t help it. Tears sprang to her eyes. "This might be too big for
him."

"Get
him out of there," Dev snapped. "Now. The eight hours he’s held the
storm off has already saved lives. I won’t risk yours. I won’t lose any more
people."

Any
more? There was a story there she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. "Remy
won’t listen."

"This
is an order, Haley. Hand him the goddamned phone."

Knowing
Dev was asking for something that wasn’t going to happen, she opened the door
and forced the phone into Remy’s hand. He listened for a moment. Then heaved
the phone into the darkness.

"Haley,"
he rasped. "I’m going to need you again. Soon." He shuddered.
"She’s really angry…"

Lily
was breaking him down, slowly. Taking him apart and collapsing his walls—

"That’s
it," she whispered. "That’s it! Remy, hold on."

Haley
darted inside. Using the latest images, projections and observations, she
crunched numbers. Then, using Remy’s cell phone, she made a call to NOAA. By
the time she was done, hope had made her giddy. After a quick trip to the bathroom,
she was ready.

She
opened the door. "You can stop now."

"We’ve
been over this, Haley."

"Listen
to me, you big buffoon!"

He
swung around to her, fists clenched, teeth bared, and wet and naked and so fully
aroused she nearly swooned despite the dozens of orgasms she’d already had.
"I’m. Not. Stopping."

"I
have a plan. Look, if you stop, get some rest, let Lily head this way, you can
build up your strength." She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to
argue. "Hurricanes have what’s called an eye-wall replacement cycle.
Basically, the inner wall is choked by the outer one—"

"Haley…"
The warning in his voice told her how close to the edge he was.

"I’m
getting to the point." She huffed and continued. "The hurricane
weakens during this phase, but once the cycle is complete, the hurricane will
strengthen, could very well be even stronger than before. But if you rest, wait
until Lily hits her weakest point and then strike at her when you’re at your
strongest, you might be able to pound her into submission. It’s already
started."

Lightning
flashed somewhere deep in his eyes, and she knew he was going to refuse. He was
locked into his own cycle, a vortex of battle and fury he wasn’t going to walk
away from. Like the military man he was, he’d identified the enemy, targeted it
and wouldn’t retreat until one of them had won.

"I
can’t let her come closer."

"Remy.
Listen to what I’m saying. We have a shot at weakening the storm. She’ll still
hit us, but she’ll be a minimal hurricane. Maybe nothing more than a tropical
storm."

"You
don’t know that. If I keep holding her off—"

"You’ll
burn out, dammit." Her temper flared at his stubbornness. "And where
will that leave us?"

"I’ll
keep that bitch off the coast, Haley. I’ll keep her away from you. I’ll keep
you safe."

She
swallowed the lump in her throat, knew she had to play her ace. "I know
you’re willing to take chances with your life, just as I’m willing to take
chances with mine. But we’ve got another life to consider now."

He
blinked. "What?"

"I’m
pregnant, Remy." She held out her hand, and for a heartbeat as he stood
there, the rain and wind pummeled him. She knew the moment it sunk in, because
suddenly, the air stilled around them. No rain. No wind. Even the thunder had
become distant and muted.

"Are
you sure?"

She
smiled. "Yes."

Suddenly,
she found herself in his arms and twirling around in a circle. When he put her
down, the adoration in his expression made her heart turn over. She would
never, ever doubt his love for her.

"Now
that I have your attention," she said, "come inside." She took
his hand and led him to her equipment, where the latest satellite loop showed a
distinct disturbance in Lily’s eye wall. "Look at that. It’s starting.
We’ll wait until it weakens, and then you’ll blast it."

"And
if I can’t?" he growled, and she saw that tenacious glint in his eyes
start to flicker again.

"Lily’s
eye is still a hundred and fifty miles out. If the effort to weaken her fails,
we have plenty of time to evacuate."

"
Bebe,
we’re already seeing hurricane-force winds. Getting out of here won’t be
easy."

"We
can do it."

A
streak of lightning lit the room, followed immediately by a deafening clap of
thunder. The power flickered. They were running on borrowed time now. Remy wrapped
his arm around her waist and drew her to him, more gently than she’d have
expected, given the current weather.

"We’ll
do it your way," he said roughly, his erection nudging her belly,
"but I don’t think rest is going to be a real possibility."

THE
CALL FROM Liberty’s captors came at six A.M., just eight hours after Faith
spoke with them.

"This
isn’t what we agreed upon," Faith growled into the phone, because that’s
what they’d expect. She climbed out of bed, where she’d been doing her best to
seduce Wyatt by waking him with her mouth, and stalked naked to the bedroom
window.

"Plans
change." The male voice, thickly tinged with an Irish accent, sounded
tinny, like he might be standing in the wind. "I’m texting the coordinates
to your mobile. You will arrive, alone, at 0900."

Faith
swept aside the delicate lace curtains and looked out at the well-tended
garden. "I want proof that Liberty is alive, or this doesn’t happen."

"We’ll
send video."

"I
want her to tell me what toy she gave me before she was taken away."

"Just
be at the coordinates on time. If we catch sight of any of your
friends,
your sister dies. Don’t try anything cute, Ms. Black."

Faith
disconnected with the asshole by jamming her thumb so hard into the
"End" button that she heard a crunch. Wyatt’s hands came down on her
shoulders, kneading firmly, but the knots in her muscles felt like they’d
become permanent.

"You
okay?"

Shaking
her head, she let the curtains fall closed. "We have to leave. Now."

He
didn’t bother to rail about how the bastards had moved up the timetable. He’d
expected it, as well. Instead, he kicked into high gear, grabbed the duffel and
packed the belongings they’d barely had time to unpack. "They’re trying to
rattle us."

She
drew in a shaky breath. "It’s working."

His
head whipped up, and he nailed her with a confident, take-no-fucking-prisoners
stare, which worked despite his complete nudity. "We’ll get her, Faith. I
won’t let anything happen to either of you."

Guilt
choked her more effectively than Marco’s garrote had. She made a strangled
sound and jerked her gaze away before she did something stupid and emotional,
like cry.

Or
decide to destroy the motherboard once Liberty was safe.

She
couldn’t go soft now. Studying the weather machine could save lives. The memory
of her parents, crushed and nearly unrecognizable, strengthened her resolve.
Maybe building a machine of their own wouldn’t be a great idea, but TAG
scientists might be able to use the knowledge gained from the motherboard to
prevent future enemy machines from wreaking havoc.

The
phone beeped, and the screen lit up with a choppy, grainy video of Liberty, her
face swollen and bruised. "Do you still have Mr. Wiggums?" she asked.
"I left him with you when Mum and Dad sent me away. I can’t wait to see
you, Faithie."

The
screen went black. Faith closed her eyes. Breathed. Breathed some more, and
wished the air didn’t seem to be so depleted of oxygen. Wished her throat
didn’t feel raw, as if she’d been screaming.

"I’ll
start a shower." Wyatt’s voice was the balm she needed, and she nodded.

"We’ll
need to make it fast. Then we’ll grab some maps and you can study the layout
while I drive."

Fifteen
minutes later, they piled into their rented Renault for the drive to the North
Antrim Coast. Traffic was light, the weather cooperative, and within two hours
they’d arrived in a beautiful, untamed part of Northern Ireland Faith had twice
visited while on vacation.

Liberty’s
captors had known what they were doing—it was early October, and nearby Dunluce
Castle was closed to the public on Mondays, so witnesses and traffic would be
limited. No doubt snipers would be stationed amongst the bluffs and outcrops.
How many was the question.

She
and Wyatt both donned black fatigues—ML’s foresight coming in handy once
again—and she called Paula once they’d gotten on the road. Her TAG team had
been on their way to Belfast, and despite the suddenness of the call to the
meeting, they anticipated an on-time arrival. They would hang back, watch from
a discreet distance.

One
kilometer from the meeting spot, Faith pulled over onto a dirt side road,
easing the car behind a hedge. Wyatt gripped her forearm, his strong fingers
gentle as he tugged her to him. "This will work, Faith. I’ve got your
back."

Her
throat felt like it had gone a round with sandpaper. "I don’t deserve
you."

A
cocky smile and an even cockier wink made her pulse race. "I am quite the
catch."

"Stop,"
she croaked.

"Stop
what?"

"Being
so damned…insufferable." She didn’t mean it, and he knew it. Knew it with
so much certainty that he brought his mouth down on hers and kissed her like he
had to. Kissed her like they were saying hello and good-bye, like he knew
things would never be the same for them after tonight.

He
thinks things will be better.