"Fine." Noah didn"t look at him now. Instead, he allowed the minutes he and Blue had spent making love to replay over and over in his head. The burn disappeared, all else faded into nothing, as he relived those tender moments. No matter what happened, he would always have that.
The introduction of the second injection had little effect as far as Noah could tell. No burn...no dizziness...nothing. What he would label a distant headache had started in his skull. It wasn"t disturbing just yet, but it was there, somewhere way in the back of his head.
"How do you feel now?" Edgar asked as he sat down directly in front of Noah.
Noah conducted a quick survey. "Nothing but a mild headache."
Edgar nodded. "That"s to be expected considering what the serum is attempting to do."
As Noah understood it, the serum would actually pinpoint the implant and attempt to neutralize the cells there, effectively destroying their ability to function, thus leaving Noah in his former-as G.o.d intended-state. If that happened he and Blue could have a life together. If it didn"t...
"How will we know if it worked?" Noah hadn"t thought of that until now.
"We"ll start by increasing the wattage of light in the room. We"ll do it in slow increments so as not to cause any pain or damage if the serum has failed."
Noah nodded. Sounded reasonable. But time consuming.
"How long do we have to wait?"
"I"d like to give the serum a full twenty-four hours to do its work."
Rothman checked Noah"s blood pressure again. "You"re staying amazingly calm," he noted aloud.
"I want this to work." His gaze connected fully with Edgar"s. "There are things I want to do."
Rothman sighed. "I imagine there are."
The telephone rang. The sound set Noah"s nerves on edge. He forced himself to calm. It was probably some of Blue"s team wanting to know if she"d left yet.
He nodded to the phone and said to Edgar, "Do you mind?"
"Certainly not." Edgar picked up the cordless handset just as it rang a third time and brought it to Noah.
Noah depressed the Talk b.u.t.ton. "Drake here."
He couldn"t remember the last time he"d even answered a phone.
"h.e.l.lo, Drake, hope you"re doing well this morning."
Ice slid through Noah"s veins.
General Regan Bonner.
"What do you want?" Noah demanded, his teeth clenched in rage. He could very well be on the verge of getting his life back. He didn"t want this sick SOB interfering...not now that Noah actually had a reason to want it back.
"I want to make you pay for what you took from me," Bonner said as if Noah should have known the answer without asking. "Five years of my life. Not to mention my wife and daughter, neither of whom will even speak to me now."
"That was your own doing," Noah lashed out.
The b.a.s.t.a.r.d laughed. "I guess we"ll just have to agree to disagree on that one. Now, let"s get down to business. I"m at the cart-rental warehouse near the dock. You leave now and come straight here and we"ll set this matter to rights."
Near the dock! Blue would be there about now, catching a ride from Mr. Venable. Chester had made the arrangements.
"No," Noah demanded. "You come here."
Another evil laugh. "I don"t think so, Drake. This is my war, we"ll fight it on my terms. Now, you have ten minutes to get here or I"ll slit your girlfriend"s throat. Or maybe I"ll just poke out those pretty blue eyes and then slit her throat later."
Fear knotted in Noah"s gut.
Too late.
He had Blue already.
"I"m on my way." Noah dropped the telephone and stood. He ripped off the tape holding the needle in his arm and removed it, wincing at the sting.
"What are you doing?" Edgar looked fl.u.s.tered. "Who was that on the phone?"
"Give me your keys."
"What?"
"You rented that old truck you arrived in from someone. It"s still there. I saw it when I came back a couple hours ago. You must still have the keys."
Edgar reached into his pocket and removed the keys. "Tell me what"s happened. Where is it you"re going?"
Noah leveled a gaze on him that let him know there would be no more questions. "The general is here. He"s got Blue."
He s.n.a.t.c.hed the keys and headed for the front door.
"Wait!" Edgar shouted, running past him to get to the door first. "It"s no more than twenty minutes or so until sunrise."
Noah reached for the lock and the doork.n.o.b simultaneously. "I don"t have a choice."
Edgar stayed his hand when he would have opened the door. "What if-?"
"Step out of my way, Rothman."
Edgar blinked, the lethal tone Noah had used getting through. He nodded, then stepped aside. "I"ve done all I can."
Noah looked at him one last time before leaving. The man was behaving even more bizarrely than normal. "Call Director Casey. See if he can get some of his people back here. h.e.l.l, call the sheriff. Chester"s probably hurt out there, if not dead. They"re holding her at the rental warehouse. Blue will need the backup in case Bonner..."
He didn"t have to say the rest.
NOAH DROVE to Weber"s general store and parked the truck. He"d pa.s.sed Chester"s vehicle en route. The man was wounded but alive. Noah suffered a moment of vertigo now as he climbed out. The d.a.m.ned serum was starting to play havoc with his senses. He could see and hear normally, but he suffered a number of visual disturbances. Depth perception and the like.
The sun hovered just beneath the horizon. Already pink and gold hues were streaking across the sky. He had to hurry. As quickly as he dared, he moved toward the warehouse. Once he"d found a suitable route of entrance, he concentrated hard to invoke the chameleon process.
Within five seconds his exposed flesh was as dark as the night. He knew a moment of regret. Well, at least he didn"t have to wonder or harbor false hope. Edgar"s serum had failed to even slow down the process. At the moment, rescuing Blue was all that mattered. Noah had never really held out hope that his condition could be changed. Forcing all other thought from his mind, he entered the building.
"BEFORE DRAKE DIES, I want him to watch you die a slow, painful death," the general said to Blue.
He leaned down, putting his face close to hers. "Perhaps then we"ll be almost even. But I won"t rest until the sun rises and destroys him once and for all."
She spat in the man"s face and told him what he could do as far as she was concerned.
He slapped her so hard she barely remained conscious. Stars appeared behind her closed lids. At least she"d had her say. Five of his cohorts were standing by, antic.i.p.ating Noah"s arrival. There could be more, but she"d only counted five. She had to stay alert so that she could attempt to help Noah when he arrived. She"d worked until the ropes binding her hands were somewhat looser. The skin was rubbed raw at her wrists, it stung like h.e.l.l but the blood would facilitate her ability to slip free. Except she had to be careful that no one noticed what she was up to.
The light in the warehouse was not bright by any means, but it was stronger than the watts Noah could take, she was sure. She didn"t want to think what kind of pain Noah would endure just coming inside. And then, if they survived, he would not be able to leave since the sun would be up. What was she saying? Rothman"s serum could be killing him already. He"d said only a ten-percent risk of harmful side effects, but he could be wrong. If only she could break free and escape before Noah arrived...or in time to help him if he needed her. A part of her hoped he didn"t come.
She might still escape without any a.s.sistance.
Surely Rothman would know what to do if things took a turn for the worse with the serum.
One of the general"s men grunted and suddenly crumpled to the floor.
All eyes turned in that direction.
Nothing. No one was there.
Noah was here.
Blue struggled harder to free her hands. Though she was unarmed, she could fight.
Another guard dropped.
All h.e.l.l broke loose then.
The remaining men scrambled to fight what they couldn"t see. The general shouted orders.
Then the unexpected happened. Noah was suddenly standing right in front of the general for all to see.
He held the .38 Blue had left behind aimed right at the general"s forehead. "Tell them to let her go," Noah commanded, his tone soft but unmistakably dangerous.
Tears welled in Blue"s eyes at the sight of him. Her heart hurtled into double-time. He"d come for her. But it would surely cost him his life.
She jerked hard against her bindings.
"Go ahead," the general said, laughing, "kill me. My men have orders to kill her first and then you. They won"t hesitate even if I"m dead. You see, that"s what I"ve waited for all this time. It wasn"t enough that you were sentenced to darkness. I wanted more."
Blue was almost free. If only he kept talking...
"I"ve had people watching you from the beginning. I could have taken you out one month ago or two years ago. You certainly didn"t appear to care. But I waited. I wanted you to suffer just as I had. I needed to be patient until you developed an attachment. The right kind of attachment." His smile was menacing, cruel. "I must say that I"ve enjoyed watching the goose chase your man Lowell took you on. But, more important, this moment has been worth the wait. She"s going to die and you"re going to be the reason. For a very, very short time you"ll live with that reality. Then we"ll be even."
Pain etched deeply across his face, Noah drew the hammer back with a resounding click of metal on metal. "But you won"t see any of it."
"I"ll die relishing the triumph," the general returned.
Suddenly Blue was free.
The attention of the three remaining guards was focused on Noah and the general. She had to make a move...distract them.
She slung the closest object, a bicycle chain, to the right and dashed between the carts and bicycles to her left.
Gunfire erupted.
Unfortunately, the guards weren"t the only ones distracted.
Concerned for her welfare, Noah took his eyes off the general for a split second. The general knocked him to the floor. The .38 discharged when it hit, then slid several feet on the concrete. Blue made a dive for it, then rolled to cover.
She got off a single shot, disabling one of the guards. Then she fired again, knocking out the main overhead light. The room dimmed considerably.
Noah gained the upper hand on the general.
Darting through the maze of carts, Blue moved into a better position to bring down yet another guard.
Only one left.
The general regained control.
Blue tried not to focus on that. She needed...
"Drop it."
The last guard was right behind her.
A weapon exploded. Once...twice. The second bullet whizzed just over her head. The guard dropped.
Noah staggered to his feet, the general"s weapon in his hands.
The general lay crumpled on the floor.
Blue scrambled from her hiding place and hurried to Noah. He looked ready to drop himself.
"We have to get you out of this light." She ushered him toward the darker side of the building. The fluorescent lights were high overhead directly in the middle of the warehouse. Though she"d put the main one out of commission, the wattage was still too much. The outer perimeter of the warehouse was blessedly dimmer.
"You okay?" Noah"s voice was tight, laced with the pain he could not hide. But his only concern was for her, she could see that. Her heart melted with an emotion that scared her to death.
"Don"t try to talk. Rest. There has to be a phone in here. I"ll call Rothman." She didn"t like the way Noah looked. Pale, lifeless. The serum. Was this a reaction to the serum or to the light?
A grating, rattling sound echoed from the front of the warehouse.
She needed to find out the source of the noise but Noah"s eyes had closed and he"d leaned back against the nearest crate sending a new flood of worry through her.
"Noah." She shook him gently.
Light spilled across the concrete. The screech of metal hissed through the air.
Fear sped through her veins as, seemingly in slow motion, her head turned toward the light.