Whatever It Takes (25 page)

He tucked her against him. “Whoa . . . what’s this? You told me Diego didn’t hurt you. Was that the truth?” He tipped her head and stared into her eyes.

“He didn’t . . . but he wanted to . . . would have if I hadn’t had my dagger. Thanks for bringing it back.” She laid her ear against his chest and took comfort in the beating of his heart.

He pressed his lips to her forehead. “I hope you’ll never need it again, but you’ll have it just in case.”

She wiggled free and ran her hand the length of the blade, then picked it up and went to find her empty scabbard. With the familiar weight hanging off her belt once more, she turned as Nate came from the bathroom, pulling his shirt over his head. He shrugged into his shoulder harness, checked to make sure his forty-­five was loaded, and donned a light jacket over the top.

“Come downstairs with me. I want to make sure you know the alarm codes, and I have something else for you.” He reached for her hand.

“My—­so mysterious.” Alex studied his eyes, flashing with humor.

He made her set and deactivate the alarm twice. “The same code works on the gate. I’m not very original when it comes to that sort of thing. The alarm system was Uncle Leo’s idea, so I kept the same codes he used.” Nate opened one of the cupboards and reached inside. “And . . . this is for you.” He held a set of keys at arm’s length in front of her.

Her gaze flew to his. “Your car? You’re letting me use your car? But you love that Mustang.”

He stepped toward her, took her hand, and placed the keys on her palm. “I love you more, so if you go anywhere, drive carefully.”

His kiss warmed her and sent a tingle all the way to her toes. When he released her, he grabbed another set of keys from the cupboard and headed for the door.

“Oh, hey, before I forget.” She removed Val’s wedding rings from her finger and held them out to him.

He came back and accepted the rings. “Right. I guess we don’t need those anymore. I got kind of used to them on your hand, though.” His brow furrowed as he dropped them into his jacket pocket, brushed a kiss on her cheek, and started for the door again.

“Hey, Detective.” The huge lump in her throat made it hard to get the words out. She couldn’t tell him that she was going to miss the rings—­and her role as his wife.

He stopped just inside the kitchen.

“Hurry home.” She smiled and looked away, suddenly embarrassed by the open lust in his gaze.

His eyes darkened, and he smiled. “Count on it.” He waved before he closed the door behind him.

Alex weighed the keys in her hand, amazed that he would leave them with her. Slowly, she shuffled to the door and punched in the code to activate the alarm before she shoved the keys in her pocket and headed upstairs.

She sorted her few articles of clothing, unpacked Nate’s duffel bag, and added his clothes to her piles. Then she went downstairs and started a load in the washer. On the way back through the kitchen, she noticed the light still on for the oven so she switched off the warmer, threw the food out, and placed the dishes in the dishwasher.

On the next trip upstairs, she passed the room Jimmy had stayed in and reached out to touch the knob. She stopped, suddenly battling a serious bout of homesickness. He’d be okay. He’d made it for years before she dropped into his life. Still, he was her friend, and she wasn’t about to stop worrying just because they were separated geographically.

She turned the knob, pushed the door open, and crossed the threshold. A laugh escaped at his neatly made bed—­a product of his military training, no doubt. Picking up his pillow, she brought it to her face, inhaling the scent of pine forest and coffee that always seemed to follow him. Abruptly, she dropped the pillow. This was only making her sad, and that simply wouldn’t do. Turning to leave, she stopped short when she saw Jimmy’s handgun lying on the table beside the door.

“Oh, Jimmy.” He was forever forgetting his weapon. Joe said it was due to the fact he didn’t really need one, but it was obviously a point of contention between them. She grabbed the gun and closed the door behind her. In Nate’s room, she placed it in the bottom of her bag, planning to return it to Jimmy at her first opportunity. Then she grabbed the other pile of clothing and headed downstairs again.

The laundry taken care of, she returned to the kitchen. She hadn’t eaten, and her stomach was beginning to rumble. Making herself a salad and pouring a glass of ice tea, she ate at the kitchen table, fighting the loneliness that stole over her. It wouldn’t be long now. She smiled. Her stomach did a little flip-­flop at the prospect of Nate’s return. How strange to miss someone so much.

She’d come so close to telling him she loved him as he was leaving, changing it to “Hurry home” at the last second. What was holding her back from repeating the words she’d uttered in the tunnel? Nate was a great guy—­sexy, hot, kind, and compassionate. The miracle was that he loved her. He knew her worst faults and loved her anyway. The guy was a friggin’ saint, and he deserved a constant reminder of how she felt. So, as soon as he got home, she would make sure he never had to wonder again.

When the final load of laundry was dry, she selected some clean things for herself and put the rest away, then shut the door on the bathroom and turned on the shower.

The Ace bandage around her ribs had to be removed, and she wasn’t as good as she probably should have been at keeping the stitches in her forehead dry, but the hot water pouring over her bruised body was regenerative. Who knew how long she would have stood there, but eventually, light-­headedness forced her to stop.

Dressing in fresh-­smelling clothes was like a glorious spring day. She didn’t have the patience to dry her hair so she pulled it back loosely and clipped a barrette on the back of her head. Her dagger went in its scabbard on her hip, and she looked around the room. Nate had said it was
her
room now, too. How unbelievable was that? She stepped out, closed the door, and continued to the stairs, happiness lightening her heart and her step.

Halfway down the stairs, she heard Nate’s Jeep and quickened her pace. She rushed across the kitchen, intending to fly into his arms as soon as he appeared.

The door banged open and flew back. Nate stumbled through the gap, pushed by someone behind him, his hands locked behind his head. His jaw clenched when he saw her, and his eyes conveyed a silent warning.

A cut over his right eye bled profusely, and a wound on his shoulder seeped blood that had already soaked the front of his shirt. Pain and rage dulled his eyes. The man who had shoved him stepped out of his shadow and waved his gun at Alex.

Her hand skimmed her dagger as she slid to a stop. Daniels. She recognized the man Nate had been crossways with at the bar a few nights ago. Two of his Herculean henchmen pushed through the door behind him, along with a smaller man Alex couldn’t get a good look at who stayed in the shadows.

“Ah, there you are, Alexandria Morgan. I’ll take that dagger now.” Daniels stepped toward her and held out his hand.

Alex couldn’t breathe, much less move. Only one person had ever called her that.

“Or . . . one of my men is going to kill Detective Sanders.” A cruel smile thinned his lips.

Alex flinched when she heard a shell inject into the barrel of a gun. She pulled her blade free and handed it to Daniels.

He accepted the dagger and passed it to the small man behind him.

“I had to do a lot of digging to find out about you after you interfered in my business last week, but it was worth it.” He circled her like she was a prize painting on the auction block. “Don’t you want to know how I learned about you?”

Alex stared into Nate’s eyes, ignoring the taunting voice in her ear.

Daniels stopped in front of her, blocking her line of sight. “I have a few friends on the police force, and they were happy to provide me a copy of the report your friend Captain Morris filed after our meeting in the bar. Interesting reading. I wonder . . . did you tell the captain about Hu Sun, or did Nate? Or perhaps the captain was simply curious about you and decided to do some digging.” Daniels stepped aside so she could again see Nate.

The force of the tremor that raced through her almost brought her to her knees. She looked at Nate, and he met her gaze with a silent shake of his head. Of course she’d known he wouldn’t have disclosed her shame to anyone. Had Captain Morris thought it necessary to investigate her before he believed her account of what happened that night? She could understand that, but it didn’t change the fact that this scumbag now apparently knew about Hu Sun. What did he plan to do with the information?

“The rest was simply dumb luck. Once I had Hu Sun’s name and learned you spent all that time in Hong Kong, I put out a few feelers, greased the wheels in a few places. Of course, getting him to cooperate was the hard part.”

Alex gasped, and her gaze flew to the man who still hung back by the door. Nate turned slowly and followed her gaze.

Daniels laughed. “It turns out I can supply him with something he wants very badly—­drugs to continue his . . . um . . . research. He was very anxious to see you again. You remember Hu Sun, don’t you?”

Alex’s heart dropped like a stone as the man stepped into the light. Lifeless gray eyes surveyed her from head to toe, and a shudder of revulsion crawled along her skin. She’d heard the story of his Asian mother and American father at least a dozen times during her captivity. He’d be wasted on opium and rant about how he’d been ostracized because of it. As a result, Hu Sun had strived to fit in the only place he could—­in the seamy underside of Hong Kong. What was he doing in Portland, Oregon?

“I’ve missed you, Alexandria. I put a lot of work into you, and you disappeared without a trace.” An arrogant smirk twisted his lips, just like in her nightmares. “I’d love to take you home and get reacquainted. Unfortunately, these gentlemen have a different agenda, and, sadly, your next job will be your last.”

“You son of a bitch!” Nate roared, slammed his shoulder into the man beside him, and lunged toward Hu Sun. He swung a powerful fist into the smaller man’s chin that sent him lurching backward. Hu Sun tripped and rolled, coming back to his feet in a fighting stance that Alex was far too familiar with. Nate moved in, rage apparently overcoming caution.

“Nate, look out!” Alex’s cry of warning went unheeded as one of Daniels’s muscle-­bound gorillas struck the butt of his gun into Nate’s head, and he collapsed.

Alex wanted to scream and rush to him, but her legs gave out, and she crashed to her knees. The horror of Hu Sun, past and present, constricted her throat. For three long years, she’d hoped to come face to face with this man. She’d dreamed of what she would do to him, but she’d been caught off guard. She wasn’t ready. Fear was a living thing, so powerful she couldn’t see or hear anyone but Hu Sun, and, once again, she waited for him to tell her what he wanted her to do.

Chapter 21

N
ATE GRITTED HIS
teeth against the pounding in his skull. A dull ache spread outward from the gash in his forehead. In fact, he hurt everywhere from the beating he’d taken.

Daniels and his goons had ambushed him on his way home from the precinct as he opened the gate to his property. Fuck! He should have been paying more attention, but the only thing on his mind had been getting home to Alex. Instead, he’d led them right to her, unaware that one of them was her worst enemy—­Hu Sun. The fear in her eyes when she recognized that bastard would haunt Nate forever—­but forever would be a fairly short time unless he figured out a way to get them out of this.

He drew in a deep breath and released it slowly in an effort to keep his rage in check. Forcing himself to remain still, he listened. Men conversed in low voices from the vicinity of the table. A chair scraped across the floor. The sound that he wanted to hear eluded him. Where was Alex?

He was still at his uncle’s house. Seated, his forearms and legs were secured to one of the wooden kitchen chairs. Gradually, he raised his head and opened his eyes.

Alex sat in another chair six feet away, facing him, her wrists bound to the arms. She stared at him, but if she realized he was awake, she gave no indication. He got the distinct impression she wasn’t completely there. The fear was gone, her eyes lifeless. No emotion played across her face.

“Alex.” He whispered her name and received the slightest twitch in response. Was she hurt? He swept his gaze over her, but saw no obvious wounds.

Suddenly, his breath left him in a rush. An empty syringe lay on the table behind her.

What the hell had they given her? His heart pounded and he yanked futilely on his bonds. “Stay with me, Alex. Don’t let him win.”

Alex’s gaze fixed on him with a heartbeat of recognition and then it was gone.

“Oh good. Our hero is awake.” Hu Sun strolled over, raised Alex’s eyelids, and peered within. “Looks like our girl is ready too. Are you sure they both have to die, Daniels? She’s the best assistant I’ve ever had.”

Daniels laughed. “Assistant? That’s an odd title for someone who killed for you. In any case, the assortment of drugs I’m delivering to you, at your request, will make you forget all about her.”

“Yes. I’ll be able to expand my research . . . and that will keep me occupied for quite some time.” Hu Sun laughed and turned away.

Alex flinched. Nate watched for any other signs that she was in there, but she focused on a spot over his head, and it was like she wasn’t even in the room.

“Daniels, how is this going to get back whatever it is you think Uncle Leo took?” Nate was positive he wouldn’t be able to talk Daniels out of the plan he’d hatched with Hu Sun, but maybe he could buy them some time—­for what, he wasn’t sure. If he could keep talking, maybe he’d be able to reach Alex in whatever place she’d retreated.

“If I can’t have it, I’ll be happy if nobody else finds it either. Your uncle liked to play poker. We had a regular table at one of the clubs downtown. One of our game nights, Leo stumbled on a notebook I’d misplaced. When he realized what he had, he decided that he suddenly knew too much, and the notebook put him in a dangerous position.”

“And what did he have, exactly?”

“Names, dates, events—­stuff like that. Ironically, I was keeping the notebook as insurance that certain other parties wouldn’t go after me or my family. Leo thought the only way he’d be safe was to hold the damn thing over my head. I humored him while he was alive. We had a gentlemen’s agreement of sorts. But now he’s dead. Certain business associates of mine are pressuring me to locate the item. They don’t want Leo’s cop nephew getting his hands on the book. You see my problem?”

“I couldn’t care less what’s in your little book, Daniels. Anyway, I told you it’s not here.”

“It has to be here, but once I burn the place down it won’t matter.” Daniels glanced toward his goons and smirked.

Nate wrenched on his bindings. “You bastard!”

Something flashed in Alex’s eyes, but then her gaze drifted away from his again.

“Don’t worry. You’ll both be dead before the place goes up. It has to be murder/suicide to make everything look right. Thanks to Hu Sun here, I’ve got the perfect answer. Your girlfriend is going to kill you, but first she’s going to kill herself.” Daniels tipped back his head and laughed.

What the hell was he talking about? Kill herself first?

Nate tensed as Hu Sun strolled toward Alex with her dagger in his hand, and sliced through the ropes securing her.

“It’s not personal, Detective. She won’t know she’s pulling the trigger, and she won’t remember. Have you heard of scopolamine?”

“It’s a date-­rape drug.” Nate concentrated on Alex, willing her to look at him.

“You Americans have such one-­track minds. Scopolamine has been used for years in China for its mind-­control characteristics. Alexandria was one of my most successful experiments.”

“If your experiments were so successful, how did she get away?”
Keep him talking.
That’s all Nate had left.

“Without the subject of the experiment at hand, it was impossible to know. A bad batch . . . the dose too low . . . inaccurate measurements . . . it could’ve been anything.” Hu Sun touched her shoulder possessively. “I guess I’ll never know.”

“You make me sick,” Nate growled.

“Enough! Let’s finish this.” Daniels barged in between them and leveled his weapon at Nate’s head. His two bodyguards milled around near the back door, obviously unnerved by the scene playing out before them.

“Alex, fight the drug, darlin’. You’re stronger than he is. He can’t control you anymore.” Nate whispered the words and was rewarded with a direct glance before she focused on Hu Sun.

“Don’t waste your time, Detective. The only voice she hears is mine.” Hu Sun reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Alexandria, we have work to do. See the weapon that Mr. Daniels is holding? You’re going to take that gun and shoot Detective Sanders.”

A tremor coursed through her, and she lifted her hand to her forehead. Then her gaze shifted to the weapon, and she took a step forward.

Hu Sun caught her arm to stop her and spoke close to her ear. “I need you to do something for me first, to prove where your loyalties lie.” He opened her hand and laid the dagger on her palm. “I want you to slit your wrists.”

“No! Alex, don’t! Look at me, Alex. Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t care about you. I do. Alex, please . . . Fuck!” Nate watched in horror as she positioned the tip of the dagger on her left wrist and drew it slowly upward in a vertical cut. She didn’t flinch or hesitate when blood spewed out, but moved the blade to her left hand and awkwardly sliced her right wrist.

Watching her cut herself was like having all the skin torn off his body. She was his life, and all he could do was strain against his bonds, horrified at the blood pulsing from her wounds in time with her heartbeats. He’d never been so helpless before, and rage boiled in his veins to the point where he surely would explode. Alex was bleeding to death right in front of him, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do.

Hu Sun nodded. “Good girl, Alexandria. Now, you may take the gun and kill the detective.”

Alex strode toward Daniels and stopped directly in front of Nate. Their eyes met.

For a split second, consciousness flickered somewhere deep inside, but it disappeared just as quickly. “I love you, Alex. Don’t forget.” In that moment, he was glad she wouldn’t remember—­that she’d never suffer a moment of regret because of him.

His gaze swept her face, then suddenly darted back to lock on her eyes. Shit! He must be seeing things now. He could have sworn she winked at him.

Obviously deep in her drug-­induced trance, she thrust her dagger into its scabbard and accepted the weapon Daniels held out to her. As though following some kind of preset routine, she yanked the clip out and checked the ammo. One bullet. Did she let him see it on purpose?

She slammed the clip home and maneuvered the slide to inject the lone shell into the chamber. That sound—­the one Nate lived with every day—­had never seemed quite so loud. The hair was standing up on Nate’s neck, and whether by experience, instinct, or premonition, he was now watching her every move.

Alex stepped between Daniels and the arm of Nate’s chair, turning her back on the slimy hood. With barely a movement, the dagger appeared in her hand, and she sliced through the bindings holding Nate’s right hand. In a blur of motion, she whirled to face Daniels, whose only warning was the knife coming toward him in a swift arc. Off balance, he backed away, but not fast enough. She slammed the blade home in his sternum, then jerked it free as he started to fall. Before he hit the floor, she handed the gun off to Nate, swapped the dagger into her right hand, and advanced toward Hu Sun.

The two musclemen at the door hesitated, obviously taken by surprise, but they soon recovered, drew their weapons, and stalked toward Alex.
Bad choice.
Nate took his one shot, hitting the man in front in the middle of his forehead and alarming his cohort enough to instill a bit more caution. He hit the floor and started crawling.

Great. Nate was out of bullets and a very big bad guy was getting ready to throw lead his way . . . and he was still tied to a chair by two legs and an arm. He smirked. Hell, yeah. He was a damn sight better off than he was two minutes ago.

Nate rocked his chair until it tipped over on top of Daniels’s body. Rummaging under the man’s jacket, he jammed his fingers against cold steel and pulled out a .357 Magnum.

All right! Now we’re talkin’.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Hu Sun as he pulled a gun from under his coat, holding it alongside his leg. “Alexandria, you were always my best student. I knew Daniels couldn’t fool you.”

“What are you talking about?” Uncertainty rang in her voice.

“He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him, but you saw through his lies. Now we can be together again.” Hu Sun spoke in a strangely rhythmic cadence while keeping constant eye contact with Alex.

She trembled violently, stumbled backward a step, and pressed her fingers to her forehead. An anguished moan escaped her as the hand clutching the dagger dropped to her side. “My family—­where are they?”

“I wondered when you would ask. Come with me, Alexandria, and I’ll take you to them.” Hu Sun held out his free hand.

Alex teetered on the soles of her feet, whether from the offer or the blood loss, Nate wasn’t sure. “I don’t buy it, Hu Sun. After all the years you held her captive and never once offered to return Alex to her family, why are you suddenly willing to take her home now?”

Hu Sun’s gaze slowly drifted to him, then swept back to Alex as though Nate were a mere annoyance. “We mustn’t forget Detective Sanders. You have one more mission to complete to make up for the one you walked away from the last time we were together.”

“You finished the only mission that mattered, Alex. You set Marco free. Remember?” Nate wished she would turn and look at him.

Alex straightened and faced her enemy, strength in her stance and the tilt of her chin. “You’re wasting your breath, Hu Sun. You don’t control me anymore. I’m not that scared little girl you stole. I’m all grown up. I can take care of myself, and I’m taking my life back.”

Hu Sun laughed derisively, “Only one thing wrong with that. If you don’t finish your mission, I’ll have to finish it for you.” He leveled his weapon at Nate.

Hu Sun should have known better. Before Nate could even raise the .357 Magnum, Alex brought her dagger up, flipped the blade over in her hand, and flung it, leaving a very surprised Hu Sun to grab for the hilt that suddenly protruded from his throat.

“Go to hell, Hu Sun,” Alex said as he collapsed to his knees.

At that moment, the remaining bodyguard jumped from cover, firing several shots at Alex. She ducked and stumbled toward the door leading to the laundry room and disappeared.

Nate opened fire, red-­hot hatred in his blood. After the man went down, three bullets in his chest, Nate still clutched the gun, his finger curled around the trigger, until the utter silence finally reminded him he wasn’t alone.

“Alex? Alex?” He scooted his chair toward the counter where the knives sat, hauled himself off the floor to grab one, and made short work of the rest of his bindings. Then he followed her into the laundry room, sliding to a stop on his knees in the blood that surrounded her.

He rolled her over, and she gave him a weak smile. “How’d I do, Detective?”

“You were amazing, darlin’, except for the part where you cut your own wrists.” He retrieved a kitchen towel, ripped it into strips, and tied a tourniquet above each wrist.

She sighed as though bone weary. “I wasn’t thrilled about that part either, but they’d never have given me the gun if I hadn’t. I had to make them think I was under the influence of the drug.”

“Why weren’t you?”

“It was the same drug I’d grown immune to—­the one I was on when I was able to escape. I guess I’m still immune. Or maybe your influence is stronger.” The breath of a smile brought some color to her chalky white face.

That was a conversation he intended to continue later, after she was safe, comfortable, and definitely not under the influence of anything . . . but him. “You really are certifiably crazy, aren’t you?” He brushed the hair back from her face.

She wrinkled her nose. “Told you.”

He hefted her limp form into his arms. She was listless and cold—­losing too much blood. They were at least forty-­five minutes from a hospital. He’d call for an ambulance in the car and hope it would meet them halfway.

“Do you still have the car keys?” The Mustang would get them there faster.

“My pocket.” She was drifting in and out.

He held her tighter and raced to the garage. The keys were in her front pants pocket where she said they’d be, and the car roared to life. She was on the edge of consciousness, so it startled him when she suddenly gripped his arm with determined strength.

“Do you . . . hear that?” Alex craned to look out the window as he backed from the garage.