"I can"t accomplish the reprogramming quickly. It could take weeks to-"
"I suggest you use another tactic. We now have a secret weapon that should make your patient totally cooperative."
Fear clutched Marian"s chest tightly. What secret weapon? "That"s good to hear. Exactly what sort of-"
Once again interrupting her, the man said, "Tell your patient that we are entertaining a special guest here at headquarters. The brother he sacrificed himself to save is once again back in the fold, so to speak. Tell him that his brother"s life depends on his cooperation."
"My G.o.d, you have-" The Coalition had captured Gideon Faulkner! How would Jake react when he learned that his great sacrifice had been for naught? He"d been willing to risk not only his freedom, but his own life to save his brother. Now the Coalition had Gideon and planned to use him as a bargaining tool to manipulate Jake. "Yes, I understand. You most certainly have the only secret weapon that would make my patient cooperate."
"Then use that weapon, Dr. Brooks. I will contact you tomorrow evening to see how your second session went. I expect it will go much better than today"s session since you will be able to give him a reason to cooperate fully. All most people need is the right incentive."
"Yes, sir. I look forward to your next call."
"And I will be eager to hear your progress report."
When she hung up the receiver, she stared at her hand and marveled at how steady it was. Inside she was shaking like a leaf. She had to get Jake out of here tonight. Tomorrow would be too late. But if she told him about Gideon, what would his reaction be? She was ninety-nine percent sure she already knew. From what she"d learned about Jake through the extensive files she"d researched and from their brief yet intimate acquaintance, she figured Jake would insist on trying to save his brother. But she couldn"t allow him to do that.
Gideon was quite valuable to the Coalition, but Jake was even more so. Jake Ingram was the quintessential superhuman. Although his genetic makeup varied only slightly from his siblings, the experimental genetic engineering Dr. Henry Bloomfield had performed had created children who each possessed their own unique talents. In Jake"s case that genetic tinkering had resulted in a mult.i.tude of physical and mental abilities, not the least of which was his genius-level mathematical mind and his perfect body. The guy was drop-dead gorgeous, physically superb and ruled a multi-billion dollar firm as an international financier. Of all the siblings, Jake was the one the Coalition wanted most. And it was her job to make sure they would never be able to use him. She had to keep him safe, even if it meant sacrificing his brother.
Where the h.e.l.l was Mariah? Jake had heard a vehicle leaving about fifteen minutes ago, and from what he could make out, it looked like Burgess"s SUV. Then only moments after the Saturn had disappeared down the road, the phone had rung. What was going on? Something was happening, something Jake didn"t think he"d like. Were they planning on moving him? Were Burgess and Lester being replaced? Was that the reason Mariah had sent them into town? He had thought seduction might have been Mariah"s motive, but now he wasn"t so sure. Of all his special abilities, reading women wasn"t one of them. He"d been dead wrong about Tara. What made him think he had Mariah pegged right? He had planned to use the physical attraction she felt for him to his advantage. But what if she had plans of her own- plans to use him?
Do you dare risk taking the chance? he asked himself. Why not strike first and ask questions later? After all, he was a man, which meant he was physically stronger. All he needed was a slight edge, something to counterbalance the fact that she had a gun.
Suddenly he heard footsteps on the stairs. Mariah? He inched his way to the open bedroom door and peered around the corner. His heart pounded in his ears. The element of surprise could give him the advantage he needed. She wouldn"t know for sure he was awake, would have no reason to have her weapon drawn.
He slid to the side, waiting quietly against the wall. She came closer and closer, her footsteps tapping softly on the wooden floor. A crazy thought zipped through his mind. He didn"t want to hurt her, only subdue her. Dammit, man, why do you care? She is the enemy!
Or is she?
"Jake?"
He tensed the moment she called his name.
"Jake, are you awake?"
He could feel her drawing close, almost at the door now.
"We need to talk," Mariah said.
The second she stepped over the threshold and entered the semidark bedroom, Jake grabbed her, his arms wrapping around her like a vise.
"What the-"
"I"m leaving here-tonight," Jake growled the statement in her ear.
"Let go of me," she told him. "Do it now."
"No way, honey."
"Trust me, Jake. I can help you. Just release me."
"I don"t trust you any farther than I can throw you."
She wriggled. He tightened his hold. She winced.
Without any warning, Mariah went into defense mode, and before Jake knew what was happening, she performed a couple of expert maneuvers that kicked him on his a.s.s. Reacting instantly, Jake came back at her with equal skill. Mariah gave as good as she got and within a few minutes both were perspiring and glaring at each other.
"Give up, Dr. Brooks," Jake said. "You can"t win. Not against me."
"d.a.m.n you, Jake. We don"t have to do this. If you"d just listen-"
"Listen to lies? No, thanks. I"ve heard enough lies to last a lifetime. h.e.l.l, my whole life has been a lie."
He knew that she wasn"t going to give up, not until he had subdued her completely. He had no choice but to finish this fight. They battled for several more minutes. Mariah"s skill impressed him. But in the end, he managed to toss her onto the bed and pin her down. The more she struggled against him, the more aroused he became. His s.e.x was hard and throbbing, and getting more so with every stroke of her body against his.
"Stop fighting me," he told her. "You"ll only hurt yourself. And I don"t want you to get hurt."
She looked up at him, her expression softening as her chest rose and fell with her slightly labored breath. "Jake..."
Ah, h.e.l.l. How could he resist her? She"d fought him like a pro, which she probably was. But she had accepted defeat, hadn"t she? And from the hungry look in her big blue eyes, he could tell she wanted him as desperately as he wanted her. When all was said and done, she could tell herself that she"d put up a good fight, but Jake knew she was his now- his for the taking. And he most certainly intended to take her.
Common sense flew out the window as Jake lowered his mouth to hers. She sucked in a deep breath. His tongue glided in a circular motion, surrounding her lips. She sighed. Her hips lifted, pushing her mound firmly against his erection. When his lips brushed across hers, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth. Jake took her actions as an invitation and delved his tongue inside her moist, welcoming warmth. He wanted to taste her, touch her, every inch of mat long, lean body. He longed to discover for himself how full and firm her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were, how hot and wet her femininity was, how wild she"d be when he buried himself inside her.
She not only accepted his kiss, but returned it, sending her tongue into play. When he loosened his hold on her to slip one hand between them in order to fondle her breast, she eased her arms free, then lifted one hand to caress the back of his head. He deepened the kiss, devouring her, longing to strip her naked and take her quickly. He was hurting so bad he didn"t know how much longer he could hold out. He hadn"t been this homy since he"d been a teenager with raging hormones.
When he nuzzled the top of her shirt where it lay open just below her throat, she whimpered. And when he began undoing the b.u.t.tons, she squirmed against him, sliding her legs up and down his. Just as he managed to jerk her shirt from her slacks and loosen the final b.u.t.ton, Mariah lifted her leg and kneed him in the groin. Jake yelped. He saw stars as the pain radiated through his body. Mariah shoved him aside and jumped to her feet. Jake writhed in agony for a couple of minutes, then rolled over on the bed and glared up at her.
"I should have known," he said. "Your compliance was just a ploy to get away from me, wasn"t it?"
Mariah inhaled strongly, then released the breath. Perspiration dampened her face and throat. A pink flush colored her cheeks. Her blouse gaped open, revealing a simple white cotton bra filled to capacity with a pair of large, round b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Jake forced himself to move his gaze from the swell of those luscious b.r.e.a.s.t.s to her face. He felt like kicking himself. Or better yet, pinning a big sign on his back that read Sucker!
"If you plan on keeping me under control, you"d better use your gun." Jake eyed the hip holster she wore. Why the h.e.l.l hadn"t he removed the d.a.m.n thing when he"d had the chance? Because he"d been too d.a.m.n worked up about the prospect of getting laid.
"Jake, please listen to me. I"m not your enemy. You"ve got to trust me. We don"t have much time. I have no idea how long Burgess and Lester will stay in town."
Jake sat on the edge of the bed as the pain subsided. "You want me to trust you? You"ve got to be kidding."
Marian came forward, but paused several feet from the bed. "I want to sit down beside you and talk to you calmly. Promise me you won"t do anything stupid."
Jake chuckled sarcastically. "I"ve already done something stupid. I let you outsmart me. I had you right where I wanted you- " He ended his sentence abruptly when he realized that he had indeed had her where he"d wanted her. Flat on her back, lying beneath him, ready for s.e.x.
"Look, Jake, you"re not the only one confused by the way we react to each other. Believe it or not, having the hots for you complicates my job immensely. You have no idea."
"Not exactly Coalition procedure to hop into the sack with your kidnap victim, huh?"
"I don"t work for the Coalition," Mariah told him.
"Is that so?" He eyed her skeptically.
"I really need you to believe me. We have only a brief window of time when we can leave here and get a head start before Burgess and Lester return." Mariah hurried to the closet, removed their coats from hangers and tossed his coat to him. When he made no move to put it on, she huffed. "Come on. Let"s go."
Jake took his time putting on his coat and standing up, all the while amused by Mariah"s nervousness. When he finally walked over to her, he asked, "So, you don"t work for the Coalition, huh?"
"That"s right."
"Then, Dr. Brooks, would you mind telling me why they sent you here to try to reprogram me?"
"First of all, I"m not Dr. Brooks. I"m not a doctor of any kind, certainly not a psychiatrist. And secondly my name is not Mariah Brooks. It"s Mariah Daley."
He stared at her quizzically. "Let me get this straight. You"re not a doctor, not a psychiatrist, your name isn"t Brooks and you aren"t a member of the Coalition?"
"That"s right."
"Okay. Then who are you and what the h.e.l.l are you doing here?"
"I told you, I"m Mariah Daley. Special Agent Mariah Daley."
"Are you saying you"re an FBI agent?"
She nodded.
"I don"t understand-"
"The Coalition is a threat to national security. The FBI has been investigating the organization for quite some time and after the World Bank Heist, the bureau sent in several agents to infiltrate the group. I was actually put in place as a psychiatrist to help your brother Gideon, if and when the occasion arose. But once you were kidnapped, I volunteered for the job of reprogramming you."
"You expect me to simply take your word that you"re an FBI agent."
"My mission was to protect you and get you out of here as soon as possible. That"s what I"m trying to do... if you"ll cooperate."
"If you"re really a federal agent, then you must know that there"s no way I"m running away to safety before I retrieve a very valuable item from Coalition headquarters."
"Gideon"s disk will be retrieved, but not by you," she said. "You"re far too valuable for us to allow you to take such a dangerous risk. We will handle things from the inside once we locate the Coalition"s new headquarters here in Arizona."
Jake reached out and cupped Mariah"s chin. "The Coalition has moved its headquarters?"
She nodded. "The bureau will discover the location soon, I"m sure. Then we"ll do what has to be done from the inside."
"When we leave here we"re going straight to their new headquarters to get Gideon"s disk and to access the disk that will cut off the Coalition accounts. You"ll need me-need my expertise."
"No way. I"m taking you to a safe place, where the Coalition can"t find you. You"ll have to leave the rest to us. Besides, I told you that we don"t know the exact location-"
"You wouldn"t lie to me, would you? You can find out what your superiors know. And I"ll bet they have a good idea where the new Coalition headquarters might be." Jake eased his hand from her chin, down her throat and then across to her shoulder. Gripping gently, he squeezed her upper arm. "I"m afraid you"re mistaken, Special Agent Daley, if you think you"re the one in charge. We"ll do this my way or we won"t do it."
"What do you mean, we won"t do it?"
"I mean I"ll stay right here until Burgess and Lester return, unless you agree to my terms."
Mariah blew out an exasperated breath. "Are you crazy? Tonight is probably our only chance of escaping and you"re wasting time arguing over who goes in to retrieve Gideon"s disk?"
"That"s right, honey. Either I do it or-"
"Why does it have to be you?"
"Because apparently none of your undercover agents have been able to retrieve it, have you? I know exactly what I"m looking for and I"m not afraid to risk everything to get what I want."
"We"ll get that disk, when the time is right. But until then-"
Taking a defiant stance, Jake crossed his arms over his chest. "Make this easy on both of us, Special Agent Daley, and agree to what I want. If you do, we can leave right now. And if you don"t want to a.s.sist me, then once we"re away from this place, you can drop me at the nearest bus depot-after you tell me where the Coalition has moved their headquarters. You go your way and I"ll go mine."
"What makes you think that"s an option?"
"Apparently you"re afraid of going after the disk. Afraid to blow your cover. So be it." Jake shrugged. "I"ll go in alone while you report back to your boss."
"If you think for one minute that I"d let you go in alone and risk your life, then you don"t know me, mister. I"d never desert you that way."
Jake grinned. When he reached out to caress her cheek, she shivered. "Is that your way of saying you"re the kind of woman who stands by her man?"
"Don"t make this personal."
"Too late. Anything that happens between us is personal and there"s not a d.a.m.n thing either of us can do about it."
"We can"t risk your falling into enemy hands again." Marian looked at him pleadingly. "Try to see things from my point of view."
"We agree on one thing-we shouldn"t waste any more time arguing." He grabbed her wrist. "Come on. Let"s head out of here. We can argue about our destination on the way."
She hesitated, then nodded. Not for one minute did he think he"d won the war, only this one battle. Later, once they were miles away from this place, he"d find a way to persuade her to come around to his way of thinking. If not, he"d have to overpower her again and head off on his own.
When they reached the kitchen, Marian paused before unlocking the back door that led into the garage. "About halfway down this mountain, there"s a back road we can take so we can bypa.s.s Flagstaff and hit I-40 about forty-five miles from here."
Jake held out his hand. "I"ll drive."
She narrowed her gaze and frowned.
"Come on, hand over the keys." He wiggled his fingers.
She reached in her pocket, pulled out the keys and held them out to him, but when he reached for them, she closed them up in her palm.
"What?" he asked.
"You drive, but I"ll navigate. I can get us off this mountain and to the interstate with little chance of running into Burgess and Lester."
"Agreed."
Lifting her clutched fingers, she opened her palm to him. He grabbed the keys, placed his hand in the center of her back and urged her into motion. Just as they reached the garage and Jake hit the b.u.t.ton on the keypad to unlock Mariah"s Chevy TrailBlazer, they heard the sound of a vehicle and saw the flash of headlights through the side windows in the garage.
"What the h.e.l.l? That can"t be Burgess and Lester," Jake said.