The Pregnancy Plot (Brothers In Arms: Retribution Book 2) (15 page)

“What do you want to know, Nina?”

“I want to know what that agency did to Simon. What kinds of things did they make him do? What happened to him at the end? Are they just drugging agents or are they up to something else?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “Definitely something else.”

She straddled the bleacher bench and dug her fingernails into his thigh. “Tell me, Jase. I’m having Simon’s baby. We deserve to know.”

He blew out a long breath. Jack Coburn didn’t have to know everything. “I told you there was drugging and mind control going on. What Tempest hoped to accomplish, what we’ve heard anyway, is that Tempest has created a sort of superagent—strong, fearless, impervious to pain and impervious to their consciences. They sent them on assignments and then erased all memory of those assignments from their minds.”

She covered her mouth, her blue eyes swimming with tears. “That’s what they did to Simon?”

He took her hands and smoothed his thumb across her knuckles. “I’m sorry.”

She disengaged one hand and clutched her belly. “The baby. Simon must’ve been on these drugs when I conceived.”

“Yeah, it had been going on for over a year.” He drew his brows over his nose, an unnamed dread forming in his gut. “What are you getting at, Nina?”

“What if those drugs had some effect on Will? What if my baby is in danger?”

Chapter Seventeen

“No.” He placed both hands on her stomach, as if he could prevent any harm to Will. “Everything’s fine, isn’t it? I mean, you’ve had ultrasounds and an amniocentesis and all that?”

“I’ve had a few ultrasounds. I’m not old enough to warrant an amnio, but I need one now.”

She needed to stop this line of thought. He couldn’t handle another lost baby. Will had to be okay.

He took her face between his hands. “Will’s fine. Everything’s going to be fine. When this storm is over, I’m going to take you away from here, someplace safe. We’ll get the best doctors in the world to look after you.”

“So, you
do
think something might be wrong.”

“Not at all.”

She blinked. Then her eyes widened and she whispered, “You’ll never guess who’s coming up behind you.”

He dropped his hands and craned his head over his shoulder.

Kip Chandler, as scruffy as ever, stopped a few feet away and raised his hand in a peace sign. “Okay to approach, man?”

Jase swung his leg over the bench and turned to face him. “You have a lot of people looking for you.”

Kip scooped his dishwater-blond hair back from his forehead. “I figured that. I’ve already checked in with the cops. Told them I couldn’t handle the heat after...after.” He dipped his head, cupping a hand over his eyes.

Hunching forward, Jase asked, “So, you knew what had happened to Lou before you took off?”

“I told her to slow down, and then I left. I heard later that she probably OD’d.”

Nina crooked her finger at him. “Tell us what happened that night. Do you know about Chris, the redhead we were with?”

He plopped on the floor beside them, crossing his legs. “I heard. Even more reason for me to lay low.”

“Why are you still on the island?” Jase narrowed his eyes. He’d have to check with the chief to make sure he knew Kip was back. He didn’t trust the guy. “We figured you’d taken off.”

“I wanted to. I didn’t have the dough. I’ve been hiding out. There are a lot of places to hide out on this island.”

“Did you have anything to do with Lou’s death?” Nina crossed her arms, and Jase was almost grateful to Kip for getting Nina’s mind off the baby.

“No way. We’d had a few and we smoked a blunt, shared it with Red. I didn’t know Lou had any of the hard stuff. Red left and Lou and I crashed at the motel. I woke up alone, heard what happened and went underground. I can’t afford to have cops sniffing around me.”

“Do you know where Lou got the hard stuff? The EMTs thought it might be heroin.”

Nina was like a dog with a bone.

Kip held up a pair of dirty hands. “I have no clue. Maybe Red had it. He didn’t seem to be any stranger to the drug culture.”

One of the volunteers came by with some bottles of water. “Anyone thirsty? It’s going to be a long night. We’re putting out sandwiches in a few minutes, too.”

“Thanks. We’ll have two waters.” Jase picked up two bottles with one hand.

“Make that three.” Kip snatched one from the tray.

Jase rolled his eyes at Nina. He sure as hell hoped Kip didn’t plan to camp out with them all night. To discourage him, Jase reached for his backpack and pulled out his laptop.

Kip leveled a finger at the computer. “You working on your book?”

Who told him about the book? Jase slid a glance at Nina, who ignored him while she twisted off the cap from her bottle of water. “Yeah.”

“I got some stories for you, man.”

“I’m sure you do, Kip, but this one’s about my experiences in Afghanistan.” Jase lowered himself to the floor, stretched his legs in front of him and leaned against the bottom of the bleachers.

After several minutes of Nina grilling Kip about Lou, she raised her head. “They’re putting some food out. Do you want me to get you something?”

Jase lifted his laptop. “I’ll get it.”

Nina had already jumped to her feet. “You’re all settled. I need to stretch my legs, anyway.”

A sudden fear gripped the back of his neck. “Don’t go outside.”

“Why would I do that? The storm’s coming at us in full force.”

Kip rose to his feet. “I could use some food, but I’d better wash my hands first.”

“The bathrooms are through those doors by where the food is set up.”

Kip ambled after Nina across the gym and Jase kept his eye on both of them. Kip hadn’t had any serious offenses on his rap sheet, but the dude was no angel.

Nina returned first with four wrapped sandwiches, two bags of chips and a couple of apples. “It’s not Mandy’s fish-and-chips, but the sandwiches look pretty good.”

Jase took a paper plate from her, unwrapped two sandwiches and put them on the plate. He chugged some water and put the bottle on the floor next to the plate.

Kip came back, munching on an apple. “I already wolfed down one sandwich. My meals have been a little sketchy, so that hit the spot.

“Are you going to read us any of your book?” Kip came in close to Jase and leaned over his laptop. Then his foot hit Jase’s bottle of water and it fell across his plate, soaking his sandwiches.

“Sorry, man.” Kip jumped back from the puddle. “Let me get you some paper towels and a couple more sandwiches.”

“That’s all right.” Jase scooted away from the water on the floor. Were they ever going to get rid of this guy?

As if reading his thoughts or maybe just his expression, Kip said, “No, really. I’ll drop off your sandwiches and go find a place to hole up in here and get some sleep. I’m hoping the ferry will be giving free rides back to the mainland tomorrow or whenever this storm lets up.”

Jase watched Kip cross the room and turned to Nina. “What do you think about Kip’s story?”

“I’m not sure. You?”

He tapped his wrist. “He had his sleeves rolled up, so I glanced at his arms and he doesn’t have any track marks or anything. Plus, he looks too buff to be into those hard drugs.”

“Kip? Buff?”

“He had his sweatshirt unzipped, too, and he’s got some muscle there.”

“If you say so.”

He didn’t want her worrying about any of this. Brushing her cheek with one knuckle, he whispered, “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing just fine, but if you think I’ve forgotten about what those drugs could’ve been doing to my baby, you’re wrong.”

“Nina.”

“I told you, Jase. You don’t have to pretend to care about us anymore.”

“And I told you...”

“Sandwiches.” Kip handed Jase two wrapped sandwiches on a plate. “I also picked up a blanket, so I’m going to try to get some shut-eye.”

Kip wandered away, the blanket pinned between his arm and the side of his body.

Nina heaved a sigh. “Let’s just leave this alone, Jase. I’m not embarrassed to admit that I felt something for you, but now I realize it was all fake.”

“I was here under false pretenses, but that has nothing to do with how I feel about you.”

She put down her sandwich. “And how is that? Protective because it’s your job? Protective because Maggie lost your baby?”

He put a finger to her lips and then replaced it with his own lips.

She resisted his attempts at a kiss by sealing her lips, but when he ran a hand along her throat and cupped one full breast in his palm, she sighed and her lips softened beneath his.

He deepened the kiss until she made squeaking noises.

He pulled away. “You don’t like that?”

“I like it a lot, but we’re in the middle of a gym with hundreds of other evacuees.”

He picked up his sandwich and took a huge bite, his appetite surging back. “Nobody noticed a thing—besides, aren’t we engaged?”

She nibbled on the edge of her sandwich. “One kiss is not going to make me forget that you lied to me and kept Simon’s death from me.”

“I know, Nina, but look at it this way. Simon was in the same line of work, and he kept it all from you. He lied to you every day. He had to. He did it to keep you safe.”

She sniffled and ripped a piece of crust from her bread. “He didn’t do a very good job, did he?”

“He did his best.” He demolished the rest of his sandwich and finished off his second one, too.

She held up a blanket. “Unless they also plan to show a movie tonight, I’m going to try to get some sleep.”

“I’ll put my laptop on the bench.” He patted his lap. “Put your head here and tuck that blanket around you.”

“Aren’t you sleeping?”

He gazed around the gym, cluttered with people, some he’d seen before in the shops and businesses and along the wharf and some he’d never laid eyes on in his life.

“I’m going to stay awake, keep watch.”

She spread out one blanket on the polished wood and curled up on her side, resting her head on his thighs.

He tugged the other blanket around her and whispered, “When you wake up, this will all be over. The storm will pass.”

* * *

T
HE
THUNDER
BOOMED
, shaking the floor beneath him. Jase blinked as cold water splashed on his face. His stomach turned.

He opened his eyes and tried to focus on the ceiling. Where was he?

Several drops of water hit him and rolled down his cheeks. He gagged as his gut churned.

The gym. They had been evacuated to the school gym. God, he felt nauseous. He dropped his chin to his chest, his neck stiff and sore, his mouth dry—until it wasn’t.

He rubbed the back of his neck, and several more drops of water splashed onto his head. He looked up into the recesses of the ceiling. The roof of the gym must have a leak.

As his mouth watered, he brought his knees to his chest. He was going to vomit. Was it the sandwiches? Was Nina sick, too?

He glanced down, but Nina was gone. His head jerked up and he scanned the darkened gym. Shapes huddled around the floor of the gym, a few flashlights and penlights punctuated the gloom and low conversations hummed in the night.

Where did Nina go? He knew pregnant women had to pee a lot, so maybe she’d headed to the restroom.

That’s where he needed to be if his stomach wouldn’t stop roiling and churning. He didn’t want to throw up on the gym floor.

He stretched and reached for his almost-empty bottle of water and nearly knocked it over when his laptop beeped at him. The screen saver flashed and flickered, and he brushed his fingers across the touchpad to wake it up and log in.

A red square pulsated on the display, indicating he had an urgent message. He clicked on it, and an email from Coburn popped up on the screen.

He read the message once. He read the message twice.

Kip Chandler’s body was found in a garbage dump. He’d been dead for two weeks. The man calling himself Kip Chandler is an imposter. I repeat. Kip Chandler is an imposter.

Chapter Eighteen

The cold rain lashed her face and the wind plucked at her ponytail, yanking strands loose and plastering them against her wet cheeks. “Where are you taking me? We can’t go anywhere in this storm.”

The man with Kip pressed the barrel of his gun against the small of her back. “Stop talking.”

She threw a beseeching glance at Kip, walking by her side, gripping her arm. “Where are we going, Kip? What’s this all about?”

She didn’t want to show her hand and mention Simon or Tempest. “Is this about Lou? The cops aren’t even looking for you. They’ve written it off as a drug overdose.”

“Do be quiet, Nina. This bloke isn’t kidding. He really wants you to shut up and he has no sense of humor.”

Just as it had when she’d first heard it, Kip’s English accent jolted her. Who the hell was he and how had he hooked up with Lou? Why had he hooked up with Lou?

She shook the rain from her face and shivered. She knew why—to get to her.

“Wh-what did you do to Jase? He wasn’t just sleeping, was he?”

“I drugged his sandwiches.”

The robot prodding her with the gun grunted. “Enough to kill him?”

“It should be.”

Nina choked on a sob.

“You just never know with those bloody Prospero agents, do you?”

“Do you want me to make sure?”

“Maybe later. We need to get her to the warehouse.”

“Warehouse?” The only warehouses she knew about were located on the pier. “Why are we going to a warehouse?”

Kip had grown tired of her, and the man with the gun had no intention of answering her questions.

She should’ve never gone off so willingly with Kip from the gym. With Jase sleeping soundly, Kip explained that he had more info about Lou and Chris but he suspected Jase of being an undercover cop.

Nothing she told Kip, or whoever he was, could convince him otherwise, so she’d left the gym with him only to be met by the goon with the gun.

The drugging of Jase terrified her but made sense. He wouldn’t have abandoned his job by falling asleep. He wouldn’t have abandoned her.

She said a silent prayer that someone would notice him and try to wake him. She felt sure that once awake, Jase would do anything to fight the effects of the drug.

She glanced at Kip, his shaggy hair slicked back to reveal sharp features. What did Tempest want with her? As Jase said, they could’ve killed her long ago. Kip and his henchman could’ve killed her outside the gym. Instead, they were marching her to some warehouse.

For what purpose? Torture? Would they try to find out what Simon had told her? They’d be sorely disappointed. She knew nothing.

She placed her hand on her tummy and patted, sending soothing vibes to Will.

“Don’t worry about your baby, Nina. We’re not going to hurt him.”

Bitter bile rose in her throat and she spit it out, aiming for Kip’s shoes. Even the fact that these people knew about her baby terrified her.

After relentlessly fighting the wind and slogging through puddles of water, they came upon the wharf. She’d been right about the warehouse.

Is this where Kip had been hiding out for the past few days?

The boats moored in their slips thrashed and bucked like wild horses in a stable. The row of abandoned warehouses huddled beyond the bait shop and they trudged toward them.

When they reached the last one, Kip produced a key for the shiny new lock and pulled the door open. He pushed her through first and she stumbled in the darkness.

“Be careful.” He caught her arm and steadied her.

“That’s a little ridiculous—coming from you.”

He clicked his tongue. “We’re here to take care of you, Nina, until the next stage of your journey.”

Her wet flesh turned icy cold. What the hell was he talking about? “I don’t understand any of this. Who are you? Is this some plan of Lou’s?”

“That junkie?” He brushed his hands together. “She was just a means to an end—you. I have to say she proved to be more loyal to you than I expected. When I tried to convince her to get close enough to you so that I could kidnap you, she refused. Even after I offered her money. Of course, I would’ve taken that money back once I killed her, but she didn’t know that.”

Nina’s throat burned with tears. “You killed her.”

“I offered her some smack and she took it.”

“And Chris Kitchens? What happened to him?”

“He snooped where he shouldn’t have snooped, but you already knew that about him—nosy, intrusive.”

He flipped on a lamp powered by a generator and she gasped and stepped back.

“What is all this?” Her gaze darted around the room, where Kip had created a cozy enclave—a bed, space heaters, a platter of cheese and fruit, a carafe of orange juice and one of milk.

“We’re here to take care of you, Nina. I believe the storm will abate enough tomorrow morning so that we can leave.”

Her heart slammed against her rib cage. “Leave? Where are we going?”

“To a secure location where we can nurture your baby until he’s born.”

Her knees buckled but Kip caught her. “You see? You need care.”

“What are you? Who are you?”

“Let’s get you settled.”

She wrenched away from him. “I don’t want to get settled here and I’m not going anywhere with you.”

The guard dog loomed over her, brandishing his gun.

“You’ll do what I say, Nina, or Zeke will make your life miserable.”

Eyeing Zeke’s gun and expressionless face, she asked, “What do you want me to do?”

“That’s so much better for everyone.” He plucked at the sleeve of her wet jacket. “Get out of these wet clothes and change into the nightgown across the bed.”

She crossed her arms. “I’m not taking my clothes off.”

“We’re not here to molest you.” He snapped his fingers, and Zeke yanked off her jacket. “Now, you can undress yourself and get into that nightgown or Zeke can undress you and perhaps accidently molest you.”

She swallowed hard and then crept toward the bed. “Keep your backs turned toward me.”

“So you can run off or do something equally stupid?” He followed her to the bed and cranked on all the space heaters. “I don’t think so.”

“I don’t...”

One look from Kip and Zeke started stalking toward her.

“Okay, okay.” She toed off her boots and peeled her wet socks from her feet. She rolled down her leggings and then turned her back as she pulled her sweater over her head. Wearing just her underwear, she reached for the nightgown.

“Everything.” Kip threw a towel at her back. “Remove all your clothing. It’s damp and we don’t want you taking a chill.”

With her underwear still in place, she toweled off. She kept the towel around her waist and slipped the nightgown over her head. Then she dropped the towel and shimmied out of her panties and bra.

Kip scooped up all her clothing and laid it out in front of one of the space heaters. “You can have your clothes back tomorrow morning or whenever we get out of here.”

“How are you leaving the island? Do you have a boat?”

He ignored her while he hovered over the food.

She perched on the edge of the bed. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on now?”

He poured a glass of milk and selected cheese and fruit to arrange on another plate. “Have your snack and we’ll talk.”

She took the plate from him and balanced it on her lap. This whole situation was creeping her out.

“Your prenatal vitamin.” He shook a big white pill onto her plate.

“I already take them.”

“Take these.”

With trembling fingers she picked up the vitamin, or whatever it was, and dropped it onto her tongue. She took a sip of milk and lodged the pill in her cheek.

Before she could blink an eyelash, Zeke was in front of her, shoving his thick fingers into her mouth. He found the pill and held it up to Kip. Then he smacked her across the face.

Her head whipped to the side as Kip swore.

“Control yourself, Zeke.” Kip handed her another vitamin. “Swallow the pill, Nina. They’re just prenatal vitamins.”

With her eyes watering, she gulped down the pill. “Why are you doing this?”

Kip poured himself a glass of juice. “Because you’re carrying Simon Skinner’s baby.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“Simon worked for us. I know you know that now because Jase Bennett told you. You also know Simon Skinner is dead. He went berserk in a lab and was killed by one of our other agents.”

Nina covered her mouth with her hand. Jase had never told her how it happened.

“Simon Skinner was very special to us—until he rebelled.” He rolled the glass between his hands. “He was one of our superagents, conditioned, prepped and primed—like Zeke here. Elite.”

“It put him over the edge of madness.”

“Only because he stopped taking the medication that made him special—but not before he impregnated you.”

Her hands cupped her belly beneath the soft flannel of the nightgown. She and Jase had been following the wrong path. Tempest didn’t believe the drugs Simon was taking were going to hurt her baby—just the opposite.

“What are you saying?”

“I can see by your face that you already understand, Nina. We believe your baby is genetically predisposed to all the qualities we want in an agent.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Is it?” He nodded toward Zeke. “Let’s take Zeke. He’s a man, but a reconstituted one. He’s special—stronger, heightened senses, oblivious to pain—perfect for our purposes, as your baby will be.”

She stood up suddenly and the plate of food crashed to the floor. “You’re not getting anywhere near my baby.”

“We already are, Nina. We have him. He’s ours and you’re ours for the next...four months. We’ll pamper you, make sure you have the best of everything, make sure the baby has the best of everything. Your position will be quite enviable.”

“And once I’ve given birth?”

“A baby needs his mother. Breast-feeding is the best start to life, and your breast milk will be very special, Nina.”

Nausea swept through her body and she broke into a cold sweat. These people were insane. They really believed they could turn her baby into some kind of superbaby they could groom into the perfect agent.

“I’m not going to be a party to this insanity.”

“You no longer have a choice in the matter. Once this storm clears, we’re going to whisk you away to a very secure and secret location. Nobody will be able to find us—not Jase Bennett, not fifty Prospero agents, not Jack Coburn himself.”

Kip took a turn around the room, his face illuminated with an almost religious zeal. “Think of it, Nina. Your boy will be the first, our test subject. Once we meet with success, our agents can impregnate other strong women like you. Our superagents have no problem in that area at all—our special formula, T-101, makes them especially potent and virile. Didn’t you find that with Simon?”

Lou’s craziness didn’t hold a candle to this guy’s. She couldn’t allow him to take her off the island. Once they left Break Island, it would be over for her, for Will. Their drugs would probably kill him.

She swooped down and grabbed a shard of glass from the plate and ran for the door of the warehouse. But Zeke was at the door before she got there and twisted her hand until she dropped the glass.

He lifted her in his arms as she beat against his chest and face, but she might as well have been fighting against a slab of granite. He deposited her back on the bed and held her while Kip secured her arms and legs with leather straps lined with sheepskin.

Looking down at her, Kip clicked his tongue. “I don’t know why you have to make this so difficult. You belong to us now. Your son belongs to us. And there’s not a damned thing Jase Bennett can do about it.”