Sweet Revenge

Chapter 16

Matt strode back into the cabin and stopped short. The woman was sound asleep on the couch. Out cold. Her lips were pursed in sleep, and heat from the fire had pinkened her smooth skin.

Yeah, she was scared of him. Not.

If she’d been truly frightened, she’d be wide-awake.

A warmth he didn’t appreciate unfolded in his chest. On some level, she trusted him. That fact shouldn’t matter to him—at all.

Yet it did.

She’d been correct in that his feelings had been real. Sure, they were fast and inexplicable. But he’d cared for her in the short time they’d both pretended to be someone else.

But now he knew the truth. He had no doubt the commander and his scientists had tricked her into working for them by using patriotism. But once she’d discovered the truth, she’d stayed. While he didn’t want to wake her, he had to uncover the extent of her involvement in the program. Something in her memories might help him save his brothers.

She was a damn good liar, and he should’ve seen through her from the start. The fact that he’d missed signals proved beyond any doubt his emotions were fucking with his instincts. Laney had him all twisted up, and he needed to get himself centered before he went at her again. So he allowed her to sleep and turned instead to his laptop. Now that they’d figured out who’d she’d become, Shane was able to trace back her old identity. Her name had been Eleanor Roberts—and she’d made a mistake choosing Laney as her new name. It could’ve easily caught up with her, and she was plain lucky it hadn’t.

Shane was sending through more information on her, and Matt would need all the facts he could get. Her transcripts and IQ tests came first.

The woman was a fucking genius with steady hands that often held a scalpel. A surgeon whose skills were praised up and down by experts in the school.

He liked her better as a hardworking bar owner. A hell of a lot better.

Her psychological reports arrived next. Matt read them by firelight, memorizing her past. Laney had been all alone. She’d told him the truth about her childhood and that her mother had been an alcoholic. She’d survived her childhood by throwing herself into photography—another truth she’d shared with him. Her first job was babysitting when she turned eleven, and it looked like she’d taken care of herself from that time.

The drunk mother died before Laney’s seventeenth birthday, and by the time the courts got around to supplying her with a guardian, she’d turned eighteen. Full rides to college and then medical school.

She was an easy target for the commander, to be sure.

Matt tried to stifle any sympathy he had for the little girl Laney must’ve been at one time, his gaze often straying to the sleeping woman. Asleep, at peace, she appeared fragile and innocent. For the briefest of moments, he allowed himself to be confused. What if she was innocent? It was entirely possible.

Or, what if his dick and heart were messing with him?

His past colored his view, but he’d never met a doctor who had a heart. All they did was experiment on him… which often involved some type of pain. Rationally, he understood there were probably good doctors out there who wanted to help people.

He’d never met one.

She breathed out and twitched on the couch.

He straightened up, his senses going on alert.

A low moan filtered up from her throat. Shit. She was having another nightmare. He pushed the laptop away and approached the couch, touching her shoulder. “Laney?”

She bolted upright and screamed, her eyes flipping open. Then she winced as the cuffs pulled. Tears gathered in her eyes and spilled over as she looked at him. Vulnerable and wounded—defenseless.

He hurried to unlock the cuffs. Against all reason, he lifted her to sit on his lap. “You’re all right. It was a dream.”

“You hurt my shoulder,” she murmured, her gaze going to his neck.

“I’m sorry.” He rubbed her shoulder and tucked her into his chest. Damn it. This was no way to interrogate somebody. “We need to get a move on, anyway. Do you want to talk about your dream?”

“No.” She sniffled into his neck, sounding like a petulant teenager.

He couldn’t help but smile. “Then we have work to do.”

She lifted her head, tears clinging to her eyelashes. In the dim light, her eyes took on the hue of a meadow after a storm… soft and green. “I’ve been so scared.”

His heart thumped, and the need to protect roared through him. His brain was short-circuiting, and he had to get a grip on himself. He wanted to trust her—too much. Way too much. “Laney—”

“No. You need to understand. I never implanted those devices. Sure, I worked for the organization, and I helped concoct the steroids and drug regimen—”

Matt’s shoulders shot back as a rare temper flared at the base of his neck. His feelings for Laney still lived, and the thought that she’d harm one of his brothers cut deep. Deep enough to take his breath. “Those fucking steroids and drugs almost killed my brother Jory. I had to put him in a headlock once, just to keep him from tearing off his own head.” As a doctor, she should’ve known better. Plus, she was a good liar. If she had planted devices, she wasn’t stupid enough to admit the truth to him.

“We didn’t know. We thought we were helping.”

His low chuckle even felt ominous. “Helping? Right. Experimenting on us like lab rats helped a lot.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

The apology pissed him off more. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is finding the code to deactivate these things.”

“I don’t know the code.”

“No, but you probably know more than you think. So here’s the plan. We’re going to wait until dawn breaks, and then we’re going back to the bar as if nothing has happened. Got it?” He’d cuff her if he had to.

“I figured you’d want to run.”

“Oh, we’re running. The second I get my picture off the sheriff’s phone, we’re out of town.” He figured it’d take a day at the most to erase any evidence of his existence in town.

She frowned. “Why care about a picture? The people after you know what you look like, and if you leave town, who cares?”

“None of your business.” The sheriff hadn’t been bluffing about plastering Matt’s face all over the news if he left town. He looked too much like his brothers, and they’d all be vulnerable. Especially considering they couldn’t just hide out… They needed the freedom to infiltrate whatever organizations were standing in their way in finding that code. He lowered his face toward hers. “Have I made myself clear?”

She rolled her eyes.

The breath caught in his gut. The woman had dared to roll her eyes at him. “You understand what I’m capable of, right?”

“Sure. But I don’t think you’re going to hurt me.” Confidence now shined in her pretty eyes. “I mean, I know you’re dangerous and well trained. Your reflexes and strength are enhanced, and you probably know a hundred ways to kill somebody.”

He tried to focus. “Okay.”

“But you won’t kill me.”

He frowned. “How do you know that?”

She shrugged. “I just do.” She wiggled a little on his lap. “Finding out the truth probably ruined anything we might have had, and I’m sure you’re no longer interested, but I don’t see you strangling me.”

His balls leaped to life from her sweet butt on his groin. She was wrong. He didn’t trust her… but damn, he still wanted her. Shit, he’d slept with plenty of women he didn’t even like. In spite of everything, he wanted to like Laney. But he was losing control of the situation, and that wouldn’t do. He needed her help.

So he clasped her waist and turned her to straddle him.

She caught her breath, and her eyes widened.

His palms slid down, and he cupped her ass. “You’ve misread me.” He allowed the natural dominance he’d been born with to echo in his voice.

Her face flushed, and her pupils dilated. While her voice could lie, those eyes spoke the truth every time. She wanted him. “Stop.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, tugging her closer into his erection. He’d been trained by the best in sexual manipulation, and he could seduce her to orgasm within a minute. But as his hands tightened on her fragile bones, he couldn’t do it. “Here’s the deal. I do want you—that hasn’t changed. No, I don’t trust you, and frankly, I’m still pissed.”

“I know.” She flattened her hands on his chest.

“I love my brothers, Laney. From the time I realized they were mine, I’ve done whatever I had to do to keep them safe.” He needed her to understand the truth. “You will help me save them.”

She dropped her hands. “What are you saying?”

“If you run, I’ll find you. Do you believe me?”

She studied him for a moment. “Yes.”

“Good. Besides, if I’ve found you, the commander will find you, too. I’m your best bet for surviving the next six weeks.” He’d keep her safe while they found the truth. “Do you know who the commander is?”

“Yes.” Fear filled her voice.

Irritation slammed into him. He didn’t like her afraid. “How did you get away?”

“I transferred from the base in Colorado to the one in Tennessee right before the whole place exploded.”

He stilled. “What base in Colorado?”

“Headquarters for the organization was actually in Colorado. I was only in Tennessee for a week to replace a doctor who’d had his hand broken.”

“Crushed.” Matt swallowed, his ears ringing. “I crushed Dr. Rodriquez’s hand when he injected Nate with a concoction that almost put him in a coma.”

She glanced at the door and back. “I’m sorry.”

“So you showed up to continue his work? To implant us?”

“I said no. The second I found out about the chips, I refused. Which is why I was locked up when the whole place exploded.” She shuddered. “I should’ve stayed and helped the wounded, but I ran… and I kept running.”

“You’re done now.” Even if she hadn’t had a choice, she’d worked for the commander for at least a year. The damage she must’ve wrought. He released her hips and sat back. “How did you find Joe-Joe in Philly?”

She licked her lips and tried to scoot back, relenting when he held her in place. “A kid I went to college with came from that neighborhood and used to tell fun stories about Joe-Joe and his pals. I headed that way the first second I could.”

That was slightly plausible. “And then? Why Charmed?”

A small smile lifted her pink lips. “Why not? I wanted a small town, away from Tennessee, and figured a place called Charmed had to be a good choice. It was a whim, and I’ve enjoyed my life there.”

“I see.” Was she telling the truth? He wanted to believe her so badly.

“Do we have a chance of surviving this?” she asked, her voice soft.

“Yes. If you help me, I promise I’ll make sure you’re safe. Even if we don’t find the code, and I, ah—”

She grabbed his shoulders. “I’ll help you in whatever way I can. You can’t die, Matt. You just can’t.”

The desperation flashing across her face warmed him way too much. “Then I need to know everything you know… from the time they first approached you in medical school until the time you escaped. But first, tell me all about Colorado.”

Laney dropped her bag on the main couch in her living room, acutely aware of the man at her back as he shut the door to her apartment. He dropped his bag next to hers, and her mind reeled. “You’re not staying here.”

“Sure I am. We’re dating, it’s been a whirlwind, and we’re moving in together.” His voice remained level as he fastened the locks and maneuvered around the apartment, checking all of the windows. “You might as well start believing it so others will, too.”

Matt in her space? All day and night? She shook her head even as tingles wandered through her abdomen. Sure, she still wanted him. The guy was sexy as hell, and he’d brought her to orgasm multiple times during their nights together. Now she knew he was strong and brave… and wounded. So terribly wounded as a kid in the horrible place. He’d survived, and that impressed her. Even so, they couldn’t stay together. “You’re not sleeping here.”

“I am.” He finished his tour and returned to pat a couch cushion. Dare and determination hardened his cut jaw.

“I am not sleeping with you again.” She said the words with force, reminding them both.

He shrugged a massive shoulder. “Your choice.” A slight Southern accent lifted his consonants. “The sofa will do fine.”

She put her hands on her hips. “My choice? Sex is fine with you?” Against all logic, she was furious. The man could just sleep with her without any emotion—without it meaning anything. Without trust?

His eyes turned to slate and gleamed in assessment. “Darlin’, I could happily fuck you three ways to Sunday… just say the word.” The accent broke completely free this time, and hunger streaked across his face.

She reacted without thinking, tightening her hand into a fist and aiming for his mouth. He could’ve easily blocked the hit. His gaze remained steady on hers, and he didn’t even flinch as she connected. Pain ricocheted up her arm to land hard in her shoulder. His jaw was made of rock.

Slowly, deliberately, he wiped a spot of blood off his bottom lip.

No anger, no expression crossed his face.

For some reason, that was terrifying. Her breath panted out, and a roaring filled her ears. She’d never hit another human being in her entire life, and so she stepped back.

“Stop moving.” His soft order held enough of an edge that her feet instantly halted.

She swallowed.

“Feel better?” he asked with a raise of one eyebrow.

“Not really.” Her palms were suddenly sweaty. Hitting him had been incredibly stupid. The guy could probably kill her with his pinkie.

“We should probably have some ground rules if we’re going to be roommates,” he said, his reasonable tone a deadly contrast to the tension emanating from him.

She cleared her throat. “No more hitting?”

“Yes. I’m not a guy you hit.” He cocked his head to the side. “Understand?”

“You’re fine. Don’t be a baby.” He was trained. And big. Really big.

He inhaled as if trying to draw in patience. “Just no more hitting. You’re better than that.”

Heat spiraled into her face. “You don’t know me.”

“Don’t I?” He slipped out of his leather jacket, his voice rumbling low in a tone that licked down her spine with heat. “I believe I know a lot about you. In addition, I suggest you play the part of the doting girlfriend until I get my picture from the sheriff. If anybody suspects the truth, I’ll have to take them out.”

Her stomach dropped. “You’d hurt Smitty?”

Matt blinked. “In a heartbeat. You understand my motivation here.”

His brothers. He’d do anything to save his brothers, including harming somebody innocent. “You can truly be an asshole.”

His chin lowered. “I’m glad we’re seeing eye to eye. Smitty’s safety is in your hands. You control who gets hurt here.”

“I’m not that good of an actress.”

“Bullshit.” Fire leaped into his eyes. “You had me fooled from day one, and that’s not easy. Which brings to light my final rule.”

Rule? The anger returned full force. “Which is?”

He manacled her elbow. “No more lying. Period. If you even think of lying to me again, I promise you won’t like the result. You won’t like me.”

“I don’t like you already.” She jerked her arm free. Anger and hurt ached through her. “Let’s go get the sheriff’s phone so we can forget all about this charade. I’m not a good enough liar to pretend I’m dating you. Not even close.”

“Fine by me.” He reached back into his bag and tugged out a masculine silver bracelet. “Give me your wrist.”

She faltered and then held out her hand. “You don’t seem a bracelet kind of guy.”

“I’m not.” He wound the heavy silver twice around her left wrist. While chunky, the jewelry was surprisingly intriguing. “Do not take this off.”

She shook out her arm. “Why not?”

“The clasp has a transmitter so I can find you.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s go find the sheriff’s phone.”

“You got it.” She’d remove the bracelet the first chance she found.

Somebody rapped several times on the door, and they both turned.

“Laney?” Smitty called. “The police are here and need to talk to you.”

She gasped and cut her eyes to Matt. He drew his gun from his bag and slipped the weapon under his shirt against his lower back. Finally, he nodded toward the door. “Answer it.”