Julian's Jeopardy

Chapter Nine

“I don't know what happened.” Jack Keiser swore as Sheridan laid her hands on his arm. They occupied the couch in the family room off the kitchen. He flinched, then sighed as his bones knit together and the bruising in his muscles faded. “One minute Melissa and I were getting ready for bed. The next three big guys jumped me. I looked over, and Melissa was gone.”

He grimaced and glanced at his wife, who wept in Mrs. Sharpe's arms. She kept taking small glances at Jules in his changed form. The team didn't often change in front of Melissa or Jack.

Jules regretted alarming her more, but he'd be damned if he'd be less than prepared if the bastards returned.

“I don't know why the alarm didn't go off.” Olivia shrugged at her husband, a perplexed frown on her face. “It's state of the art, and there's no way anyone should have been able to get through without alerting us. I checked it, and the system is still working. It had to have been disabled for the intruders to come onto the property, but I don't see how they did it. Only Jack, Melissa, and I know the codes.

If they'd been broken by outside means, they'd have tripped a small alarm only I knew about.”

“So how the fuck did they get on the grounds?” Tersch asked, breathing hard.

Jules and Hayashi exchanged a glance. Hayashi and Morgan had taken over the task of keeping an eye on Tersch, and Jules now saw firsthand Tersch's burning anger to hunt down the assholes responsible and tear them apart. Stepping closer to Tersch, Jules put a hand on his shoulder and gripped tight, trying to reassure Tersch all would be well. “We'll get them. Jack, step me through it.” He watched Sheridan circle to the other side of the couch to reach Jack's right leg, which also showed signs of trauma.

“Another break,” Sheridan muttered and shook her head. “Animals did this.”

“No kidding.” Jack's face went white when she touched him.

Jules looked with his inner eye and saw Sheridan's energy flare hot and strong. Jack's was a pale green, signifying his injuries. But a light rose subtly threaded through the green, Sheridan's healing energy restoring Jack to a healthy red while he watched. She was amazing. Even though Jules still didn't fully know what to make of the story she'd told him, he had to admit she had helped more than she'd harmed while she'd been with them.

“Thanks, Sheridan,” Jack said on a breath before answering Jules. “The guys were on me before I knew it. A few of them grabbed Melissa and vanished, while the others beat the shit out of me, then tied me up and gagged me. I have a better than average response time, but I was no match for them. They had to be Circ.” Morgan frowned. “Circs? Has to be Montaña behind it. But now he's coming right at us? Why now?” He cast a suspicious glance at Sheridan, and though Jules didn't like it, he couldn't blame him.

Sheridan was the newest member among them and had been employed at Montaña's compound. All around, it didn't look good for her.

Jack continued, “They dragged my broken ass from the house and into the woods, where I rejoined Melissa. They didn't even ask me anything. Just beat the hell out of me to send a message, I'd guess. Before they left, they threatened Melissa and torched the house. They could have killed us but didn't.” Hayashi nodded. “Montaña is throwing down the gauntlet, showing us he can do whatever he wants to.”

While they spoke, Sheridan continued to tense. Jules smelled her fear, and he didn't like it. One thing he could be sure of—she didn't like Montaña at all. A sudden image of her bruised and wearing torn pajamas hit him. He turned to Melissa, who'd finally calmed down. Ava entered the room and took her place on the other side of Melissa, lending her an arm.

“Melissa, you sure they didn't hurt you?”

She shook her head. “But they wanted me scared, and they succeeded.” Mrs. Sharpe frowned and glanced from Melissa to Jack, but she didn't say anything. Jules had studied the woman enough to know she knew more than she was saying.

“Come here, honey.” Jack held out his hand, and Melissa went to him on the couch.

“Did they say anything at all?” Jules asked, not sure why his beast wanted him to pursue this. But he sensed there was more he hadn't uncovered. Hell, were the Keisers involved somehow? It made no sense that the intruders hadn't set off an alarm. And since Sheridan had been with him the whole time, he couldn't blame her for any of it. Thank God. He didn't want to think the little healer was involved directly.

Melissa shook her head, then buried her face against Jack's shoulder and started crying again.

Mrs. Sharpe stepped forward. “I think it might be best to let these two get settled in my office. I have a few questions we need answered.” Again, the look she shot Jack concerned him. What the hell did that mean?

“Yeah.” Jules nodded. “After we check to verify the house is secure. Morgan, you stay back to keep an eye on everyone here.” He glanced at Sheridan specifically, and Morgan nodded in understanding. “The rest of us will fan the perimeter and see if we pick anything else up.”

“I want to look at that computer. The logs might tell us something, unless they were tampered with too. But the security code should be fine,” Olivia muttered.

Since she, Melissa, and Jack had worked together to write it, she ought to know. “Let me know what you find, okay?”

“Can do.”

“I'm not leaving her alone.” Fallon folded his arms over his chest.

“Fine. Go with her. But I want to hear ASAP as soon as you know more.” Jules tapped his forehead. Fallon nodded, and the pair left together.

“Ava, contact the base and get a detail of men out here.” Mrs. Sharpe held up a hand to forestall Jules's objections. “We have a situation we need contained right now. There's a US Marine Corps base just half an hour from here. They can post a guard until our naval contingent arrives. Because if you think I'm going to let this stand without a fight, you're wrong.”

Jules didn't like the thought of strangers around their sanctuary. He didn't want men he didn't know around the women, and especially not around Sheridan.

His beast growled inside, but the strategist within Jules understood the need for tighter security.

He turned to Fallon and mentally added, “Fine, we’ll use the jarheads on a temporary basis. But instead of dragging some navy contractors down here, why not use some of the admiral’s men? That way we can protect his psychics while they’re protecting us. Broadcast that to the others and Ava and Mrs. Sharpe.” Fallon nodded and did so, including Jules on the repeated message.

Mrs. Sharpe seemed to ponder the idea.

Fallon frowned and broadcasted back what he'd heard. “Ava said to use just the enforcers, not the brainiacs. And she sounded way familiar with the admiral’s top secret project. She also said there are a few telekinetics he’s got on tap that could really help us.”

The team looked at Ava, and if Jules wasn't mistaken, she flushed.

“What the hell?” Tersch said aloud. He straightened and took a step in Ava's direction. “What do you know about this shit?”

“I know his men and women are a lot friendlier than some of the Circs in this house.”

Before Tersch could blow a gasket, Jules dragged him toward the door.

“Hayashi, come with us. Let's find something in the woods so we can follow these sorry pricks. Jack, you need to show us where they took you.” Jack stood on steady legs, though Melissa tried to hold him back. He shook his head. “No, honey. I'm okay. Sheridan took care of that. Thanks.”

“Sure.” Sheridan didn't look comfortable receiving his gratitude, and Jules caught a hint of guilt, which alarmed him. He felt her emotions, which didn't make a lick of sense. Jules didn't read minds. He didn't know more than what a person's aura could tell him about a body's state of health. Yet he'd swear Sheridan felt guilty.

Touch, stroke. Give her what she needs. The animal within demanded he soothe his mate.

Shit. Mate. Oh, man. Jules acknowledged the truth and heeded his instinct. He went back to Sheridan and took her face in his hands. “Everything will work out.” A threat or a promise? Either way, he couldn't stop himself from giving her a thorough kiss. Right there, in front of the others. He left her staring after him in shock.

Hayashi shook his head and looked at Morgan. “I told you.”

“Shit.” Tersch didn't look happy. He glared at Sheridan before eyeing Jules with concern.

Jules didn't care what anyone else thought. They had a mission to accomplish.

“Okay, guys. Time to hunt prey.”

Sheridan watched as Jules and the others left, taking Jack with them, stunned that such a small token of affection could make her feel so much better. She felt guilty that the attack on the place was her fault, that somehow Ricardo had found her. Burning down the cottage was definitely his way of warning her that he could still get to her. But then, considering how easily the Circs took it in stride that he'd come after them, she began to wonder if perhaps Ricardo didn't care so much about her as he did about getting his hands on Jules again. And if that were the case, what was his obsession with Jules?

She glanced at Morgan, who'd been tasked with staying behind with them.

“What now?”

Melissa clutched her side. “It hurts,” she whispered.

“Where, Melissa?” Sheridan asked as she approached. She exchanged a concerned glance with Morgan.

“Melissa?” Morgan asked.

Melissa started shivering, and Sheridan had a bad feeling. She couldn't sense pain anywhere, but Melissa obviously needed help.

“Morgan, I think Melissa and I need some privacy.”

“The laundry room,” Melissa said, now clutching her belly.

He nodded reluctantly. “Let me double-check the garage, since it's attached.” He left and returned within moments. “It's clear. I'll be right outside.” They walked to the laundry, and Morgan stepped aside. He caught Sheridan's arm before she followed Melissa.

“Yes?”

“Be careful with her,” he said, low enough for her ears only. “I don't like this.

Something's off.”

Sheridan blinked in surprise. “I'm not going to hurt her, Morgan.”

“It's not… Never mind. Just help her if you can.” She nodded and entered the room. Melissa had raised her shirt and was looking at her stomach.

Sheridan closed the door behind her.

“Lock it,” Melissa whispered.

Sheridan did, and Morgan immediately knocked.

“What's going on? You two all right?”

Melissa nodded to her to answer. Puzzled, Sheridan called back, “We're fine.

Melissa just wants some privacy.”

“Okay.”

Morgan left them alone, and Sheridan approached Melissa, more than curious.

The moment she neared, Melissa yanked her close and whispered, “They gave me a message for you. Ricardo wants you back. If you come with me now, he won't hurt anyone else.”

The venom in Melissa's voice stunned her. “Wh-what?” Melissa kept one hand on Sheridan and waved the other at the door adjoined to the garage. To Sheridan's shock, the door opened, and Raul entered.

“Melissa, how did you do that?”

“Easily. You think that was amazing, feel this.” She squinted, and Sheridan's head pounded as if someone had taken an ax to her head. “I call it my psychic vise.

You like?”

“Go easy, Mel. You know what he said,” Raul warned.

“Raul?” Sheridan gasped, relieved when the pain stopped.

He smiled, showing his fangs, and joined them. Then he raised a pistol and put it to Melissa's head. Instead of looking horrified, the woman smiled.

Sheridan had the strange feeling that nothing was real.

Raul nuzzled Melissa's cheek. “Go ahead and scream.” Melissa yelled at the top of her lungs. “No! Sheridan, please. No!” Not sure what to do, Sheridan took a step forward. But Melissa wasn't the victim. Or was she? Because now she looked downright terrified.

Then the door behind Sheridan burst open, and Morgan shoved her aside.

“Let her go,” he growled at Raul.

“You did well infiltrating the compound, Sheridan. We'll send word to Ricardo.

Follow me, and this bitch dies,” Raul said and smacked Melissa in the side of the head with the gun. She mewed in fear. Then Raul turned the gun on Morgan and pulled the trigger, shooting him in the chest. “Again, great work, Sheridan. Ricardo is going to reward you well.”

He turned and left with Melissa, leaving her staring after them. She wanted to follow the rogues, to show Jules and the others that Melissa was the traitor. But she had to save Morgan. The chest wound be fatal without her help.

“Morgan, hold on!” She quickly knelt next to him and threw her all into stopping the bleeding and healing the damaged tissue. The bullet gradually surfaced and left his body, letting her get rid of the contaminant causing the damage. It took her a long time, and she expended a lot of energy. The exhaustion tugged at her and weighed her down.

“What the fuck…?” Morgan sputtered just as she lost consciousness and passed out on top of him.

Sheridan woke to a heated argument going on around her.

“I want her gone. Out of here, now.”

“She nearly killed him!”

“Something's not right about this. I don't like any of it.”

“What the hell did she do with Melissa?”

She blinked and slowly sat up on the living room couch. The sudden silence unnerved her. “Wh-what happened?” She clutched her head, then turned to Morgan, suddenly remembering she'd been down on the floor, trying to save him from a chest wound. “Are you all right?”

“Should I thank you?” he asked, his voice sharp. “What the hell did you do to Melissa?”

“Melissa?” Sheridan rubbed her aching head. Her hands were sore, throbbing.

And the sheer mistrust centered solely on her made her want to sink back into oblivion. The Circs, Mrs. Sharpe, Ava, and Jack Keiser stared at her with expressions ranging from puzzlement to rage to sheer disbelief. But it was Jules's face that concerned her the most. His was closed off, more than angry, but unreachable.

Sheridan cleared her throat. “All I know is that Melissa said she wasn't feeling well. She wanted privacy. Fearing she'd been…violated…we went into the laundry room after Morgan had cleared it.”

“Convenient.” Morgan crossed his massive arms over his chest and glared at her.

“I don't know what happened! One minute, Melissa was clutching her stomach, as if in pain, and the next, she made the door open by itself behind her and zapped me with some sort of mental whammy. Then Raul walked through the door.”

“You're saying Melissa's psychic?” Jack snapped. “Give me a break. That's my wife.”

“Really?” Mrs. Sharpe murmured, her eyes dark, pensive.

“Raul?” Jules asked, his voice deceptively quiet.

Sheridan nodded.

“The same Raul who saved you only a few months ago? The one who left me in that hotel room? Your friend, Raul?”

Okay, put that way, it didn't look good for her. “I don't know why he was there or why Melissa started shouting at me. She told me Ricardo wanted me back and to come with her. It didn't make any sense. But I didn't do anything. She's the one who lured me in there. Raul shot Morgan, and I saved him. I didn't plan any of this.” Jules glanced away from her, his jaw tight. Did he blame her for Raul's presence?

Morgan shook his head. “Nice try, but I heard him thank you. Even after he shot me, he told you that you'd be rewarded for your help. Why? Why would you involve Melissa? Why not just attack us head-to-head? She's not involved in this.” Olivia frowned. “I don't think—”

“Don't think,” Jack yelled. “Don't do any of your freaky shit. Don't try to explain this away. I want my fucking wife back!”

“Easy, Jack,” Jesse said with a frown. He stared at the man, looking confused.

The glance he shared with Olivia didn't make sense.

Then again, nothing much did.

Sheridan started to get really scared. The men were no longer treating this like a mix-up. Instead, the accusatory glares and deliberate blame seemed to be settling on her. She turned to the one person whose opinion really mattered.

“Jules?”

He didn't answer.

Mrs. Sharpe frowned. “Sheridan, tell me again why you and Melissa went into the laundry room.”

“I told you. She wanted privacy. She was holding her side, then her stomach, which was odd, because I didn't sense any pain. But I wasn't sure. Everything was so tense, and she seemed scared. She's the one who wanted privacy. It wasn't my idea.”

“Wasn't it?” Morgan asked. “You locked the damned door.”

“I did,” she admitted and swallowed hard. “But Melissa asked me to.” Sheridan wasn't stupid. Melissa had deliberately set her up. But why? Why show her to be one with the enemy? And why the absolute hatred and venom in Melissa's voice when she'd talked to her? It made no sense. “Melissa isn't who you think she is. She opened that door with her mind. And she threw some kind of attack at me. It made my head hurt.”

The others scoffed in disbelief, and Kisho had to hold Jack back from attacking her.

“Where’s my wife?”

Sheridan didn't know what to think. She stood and immediately wished she hadn't. Tersch invaded her personal space and smiled. The grin threatened more than his scowls did. “Give me a few minutes with her.” He cracked his knuckles. “I'll find out the truth.”

She tumbled back onto the couch before Jules pushed the others aside.

Thinking he'd finally come to his senses, she wasn't prepared when he pulled her off the couch and dragged her away. Not toward her room, but toward the stairs leading to the basement.

“Jules?”

He didn't speak.

She had to run not to fall as he dragged her down into the laboratory. He strode through the corridor toward one of the locked rooms she hadn't yet explored and punched in a keycode. Then he shoved her inside.

“Jules?”

He didn't speak, but he didn't have to. The disappointment and anger in his eyes stopped her from saying anything more. The door closed, and a snick let her know it was locked.

Tried and convicted without a jury. Terrific.

Sheridan sniffed, determined not to cry. Then she sat on a cot, stared at the open toilet, sink, and mirror, and noticed the lack of anything else in the small room. Not room—cell. The tears started, and she couldn't stop.

Jules heard her soft sobs and wanted to pound his fist through the wall. Why the hell had she done it? What had Sheridan hoped to accomplish? Why take Melissa? None of this made any sense. To top it off, whereas before he'd sensed her guilt, now he felt nothing from the woman. Her grief robbed his ability to reason when it came to her.

He strode back upstairs before he did something he'd regret, like open the door to her cell and shake the truth out of her. Just as he was coming to accept the absurd possibility of falling in love with a strange woman in even stranger circumstances, he learned she was really the enemy.

Talk about a cruel twist of fate.

Once back upstairs, he interrupted an argument about what to do with Sheridan.

“We need to look into this. It doesn't ring true,” Olivia was saying. “Jack wasn't feeling scared. He was angry.”

Fallon nodded in agreement. “Excessively angry. And I couldn't read his thoughts at all. Or Sheridan's, when before I could read her easily. It's like someone doesn't want us to know what the hell's going on.” Tersch and Hayashi wanted Sheridan out on her ass.

Morgan remained quiet as he watched the others argue. He shared a glance with Mrs. Sharpe that didn't tell Jules anything.

“Come on, Jules. What do you think?” Hayashi asked when he noticed him standing there.

“I don't know what to think.” Jules exhaled a long, weary breath. “Why would Sheridan help rogue Circs burn down Jack and Melissa's house?” Hayashi added, “Why take Melissa?”

“But it's the how that bothers me most,” Morgan murmured. “Melissa acted like she was hurt, but when we asked her earlier, when we found her outside, she said nothing had happened. She was the one who wouldn't talk in front of me.”

“But you said Sheridan locked them in the laundry room,” Tersch pointed out.

Morgan shook his head. “She said Melissa told her to. When I heard Melissa scream through the door, she was yelling at Sheridan. Why would Sheridan let her alert me like that?”

“To get you in the room with them,” Tersch answered.

Morgan disagreed. “Then why have her buddies kidnap Melissa and shoot me, then Sheridan turns around and saves me?”

“See, that's what I don't understand.” Fallon clutched Olivia's hand in his.

“Sheridan's intelligent. All this did was put her under suspicion. The smart thing would have been to let Morgan die and take off with her friends.”

“Thanks.” Morgan scowled.

Fallon shrugged. “It's true. All she did by saving you was throw herself under the bus.”

“Yeah. And that doesn't make sense.” Olivia rubbed the back of her neck.

“Jules, you know Sheridan better than we do. Her shock and grief overwhelmed every other feeling she had. Once she settles down, I'll try to read her again.” He tried to piece the puzzle together. “When I was held captive, Sheridan healed me, and she definitely saved my life there at the end, before Morgan and Hayashi found me. If she and Raul were really working together, why help me escape? And when I was down, why not take me back to Montaña?”

“Unless the good colonel is up to something none of us knows about,” Mrs.

Sharpe added quietly. “We really don't know what Sheridan's motivations are. I get the sense she has to heal, that it's a compulsion with her.” Jules frowned. “She said something similar to me. So maybe she never wanted Raul to shoot Morgan. Maybe by doing so, he ruined her escape. Or he double-crossed her. Hell, I don't know what's going on.” Mrs. Sharpe didn't look happy. She seemed out of sorts, so different from the calm manner in which she normally held herself. “Here's what we do know. The security force is on its way. Admiral London is making a trip out here to see what's going on. Jack's wife is missing, and Jack is working with Ava right now to detail everything that happened, word for word, minute by minute, when he was taken from his house. We'll keep Sheridan downstairs for her safety and ours. Until we know more, that's how things will play out.”

“Yeah, that's a good idea.” Jules needed to get some distance from the situation. His beast was warning him to take note, that he'd missed something important, something that had to do with Sheridan. But damned if he could figure out what. He kept seeing Jack's panic over losing his wife and hearing Sheridan's heartfelt sorrow. Then he glanced at the bloodstained tear in Morgan's shirt and resolved to stand firm.

“Let's get those new guards locked in position. I don't want any new people but the ones we have out there right now. Get to know each and every one of them. And let's come up with a plan to answer our questions. I want this place on lockdown ASAP,” he growled at his team.

They nodded.

“Olivia, you're in charge of our prisoner. She so much as hiccups, you report it to me. But under no circumstances are you to go into her cell or have any physical contact with the woman. Clear?”

Olivia frowned. “Yes, sir.” She gave him a sharp salute. “Hard-ass,” she muttered.

“And don't you forget it,” he replied and almost ran over Tersch when he turned around. Jules shoved the Viking aside. “And you, quit breathing down my neck. I told you to give me some space.”

“Yes, sir.” Tersch gave Jules the same salute Olivia had. “Now let's track down some rogue Circs and have a barbecue. My beast is hungry.”