chapter 18
When Audrey came to, her mother was gone. Audrey sat up on the examination table, her head pounding. She put a hand to her forehead and murmured a soft “ow.”
Dr. Zycor, sitting on a rolling stool, finished typing onto a tablet and glanced up, his eyes soft behind the wire-rimmed glasses. “Are you feeling all right?”
Fury consumed her so quickly she nearly hissed. “You bastard. You f*cking bastard.” She’d trusted him. Hurt and disbelief nearly propelled her from the table, but her legs shook, and she didn’t trust them to hold her up.
From day one, when he told her he’d be able to heal her internally, that he’d be able to save at least one of her ovaries, she’d thought they were on the same page. In the same corner. She’d thought she wasn’t so alone in the sterile medical environment. “I’m going to kill you.”
He nodded. “I can fully understand your anger.”
“Can you, now?” Disbelief flooded her. “My mother was aware of the plan from the very beginning?” she whispered, already knowing the answer.
“Of course.” Sympathy glittered in his dark eyes. “It was her idea, actually.”
Betrayal melded with outrage until focus escaped Audrey. Her mother had allowed the commander to impregnate her against her will and without her knowledge. How could she have done that?
Rage overtook the hurt.
Audrey reached under the pillow to draw out the card and jumped off to snatch her skirt off the chair. Why hide her body? The man had seen her both inside and out. “I trusted you.” She kicked one leg into the silk, discreetly sliding the card into a pocket.
“I know.” He stood and whipped off the glasses. “I apologize for deceiving you, but you knew I worked for the commander from the beginning. And the medical advances here—”
“Shut up.” If one more person talked about her body and the incredible medical advances, she’d break their nose in one punch. “Where’s Dr. Evil?” She hadn’t called her mother by the sarcastic nickname in way too long.
Zycor glanced at the closed door. “I assume she went to update the commander on the news.”
The news. Audrey’s hands trembled as she zipped up her skirt. A baby. Her baby. And Nate’s baby.
They’d used condoms when they’d had sex. Yet here Audrey had become pregnant with Nate’s baby via in vitro when he’d been nowhere around and she’d been sedated. The irony nearly choked her.
Danger instantly threatened the barely formed human for the mere fact of its parentage. Nathan’s child. The commander and Audrey’s mother would never let the child live a normal life—never let him or her see freedom. Unless Audrey stopped them.
Maternal rage surrounded her heart. This was her baby, and she’d protect it. No matter what. Its father was one of the most deadly men in the world, and he needed to live in order to help. So she had a job to do. Now.
Air swished as she shot an uppercut to Zycor’s throat, sending him sprawling against a cabinet. He cried out, arms wide, and medicinal cotton balls rained down. Twirling him, she forced him into a choke hold, fighting hard as he struggled like a caught carp. But she held fast, taller and with better leverage, until he dropped into unconsciousness. “Sorry, Doc,” she muttered while removing his lab coat and taking his security clearance card just in case.
Her shoulder ached when she shrugged into the lab coat, which smelled like bleach. Then she reached for a rubber band in a drawer and put her hair in a bun. The final accessory was the doctor’s eyeglasses.
She was well known in the facility, and she might be able to fool people into thinking she now worked with her mother. Maybe. Time ticked down. Her mother would return soon.
Audrey hurried through hallways toward the secured areas, fear and adrenaline flooding her system. Was that bad for the baby? She pressed a palm against her still-flat abdomen, trying to force herself to be calm. Her knowledge about pregnancy and forming fetuses could fit on a note card. Last time, she hadn’t been pregnant long enough to figure out how to do it right.
Maybe she should hit the bookstore on the way home. For now, she needed to center herself and relax as she committed treason, trespassing, and disloyalty. The third element was the one that would send the commander over the edge.
Her mother’s card swiped easily in a reader, and Audrey stepped through a new doorway into an area she’d never visited. A narrow hallway led to another locked door, and her boots swished on bleach-clean tiles as she made her way through the next security point and into a small vestibule leading in several different directions. She headed to the right and peered through a window in a door where a myriad of scientists worked at different stations in a lab. A series of doors led to other areas—probably more labs.
Too many people.
So she hustled back and took a different hallway, this one leading to several armories and conference rooms littered with battle plans. An office at the end smelled like the commander and was decorated with pictures of war. His computer beckoned her, but she probably had a better chance with her mother’s.
A hand on her elbow stopped her. She gasped and glanced up at a man in a black soldier’s uniform. Dark brown eyes focused on her. “Miss Madison? Where’s your escort?” he asked.
She slipped her arm free, almost surprised when he released her. “Dr. Zycor let me in and told me to go to my mother’s office for some assignment. I wanted to pop by and say hello to Franklin.”
Suspicion tightened the soldier’s solid jaw. Standing almost as big as Nate, the guy lacked any kindness in those eyes. “I was not informed you’d be in the secured area today.”
“Need to know, buddy. I’m now working with my mother.” She turned on her heel and tried to keep her shoulders back as her stomach objected. “Get back to work.”
He escorted her down the hallway, past several offices to a large one at the end. The scent of rose water smacked Audrey, and her gut revolted. Now she got morning sickness? Swallowing, she loped inside and dropped into a chintzy guest chair. Her mother’s desk was glass, and pictures of the brain covered the walls. No pictures of Audrey. “I’ll wait here.”
The soldier reached for a phone and talked into a speaker. “I need confirmation that Miss Madison is now allowed in the secured areas without an escort.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Audrey eyed him, looking for an opening. How was she going to take him down? What if she put the baby at risk?
A crackle echoed across the speaker, and a voice hissed through. “I’ll alert the commander and track down Dr. Madison. She mentioned she had a meeting later today. For now, your orders are to get on the plane for China, Daniel,” a voice ordered. “We’re under the gun here.”
Daniel eyed Audrey. “Stay here and don’t touch anything.” Turning on his heel, he disappeared.
“No problem,” she whispered, hurrying around the desk to the computer. She punched in a couple of keys and waited until the sign-in screen came up. What would her mother’s password be? She had no clue. Taking a chance, she tried several variations for “brain” and Franklin and war. Frustration welled up. It couldn’t be. So she typed in AUDREY.
Denied.
Why would she have even thought her mother would’ve used her kid’s name as a password like a normal mother? Why did that hurt? She shoved down any pain because now wasn’t the time to deal with childhood issues. If ever.
Oh well. Audrey rolled up her sleeves and went to work. Having a superior IQ that was shaped by the best in the world came in handy. If anybody could hack her mother’s computer, it’d be Audrey. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much time. The algorithm she ran had been created by a genius ten years ago, and she’d made it even better. Faster. Trickier.
The computer dinged exactly five minutes and twenty-three seconds later, giving up the code made up of a random set of letters and numbers. Figured. Audrey sat forward and searched for “kill chips.” The computer offered no results. What would her mother call the chips? Audrey sat back, her mind reeling, and typed in “C4 neutralizing measure.” C4 came up on several documents, and Audrey began clicking through them.
She needed to vomit halfway through reading, and it wasn’t from pregnancy. How could her mother be so evil? The chips had been inserted and would certainly detonate. The only man she’d ever loved and the father of her baby.
Baby.
This baby would have a father, damn it. If Audrey didn’t find a way to deactivate Nate’s chip, he’d die. She would not allow her child to be abandoned by its father, even by death. Pressure threatened to choke her.
An outside door slammed. Air filled her lungs as she sucked it in, trying not to puke. One more page. She clicked on it and finally hit pay dirt. All the details about the computer program that controlled the chips.
Quickly printing the page, she folded the paper to cram in her back pocket. She erased her search, and instituted the password page right before her mother’s high heels clicked into the room.
Isobel sighed and clipped around the desk to see the now blank page. “Impressive move taking my security card.” She held out a hand.
Audrey slapped the card into her mother’s palm with a bit more force than was necessary. “How could you do this to me?”
Isobel sighed. “For goodness’ sake. You were so sad when you lost the baby before, I figured you’d be pleased.”
“Pleased?” Audrey leaped to her feet. “You did this without my consent and without Nate’s consent. You had no right.”
“Sometimes sacrifices are made in the pursuit of excellence.” No emotion showed on Isobel’s face.
Fine. There was no getting through to her mother, and Audrey would never receive an apology or even an understanding of how badly she’d been violated. Her shoulders slumped. “I need to know more about this pregnancy.” Hopefully her mother wouldn’t search too hard into the computer, even though Audrey had erased her trail. Nothing was ever really erased.
“Why didn’t you ask me?” Isobel asked.
“Because I trust you as far as I can throw your skinny, neurotic, narcissistic ass,” Audrey said. “I even tried to use my name as your password.”
Isobel’s dark eyebrows both arched high. “Why in the world would I use your name as my password?”
That pretty much said it all, didn’t it? “What now, Mother?” Audrey asked.
“Well, now we go back to the lab where you’re supposed to be”—Isobel pointed toward the doorway—“and we go meet with Dr. Zycor to come up with your treatment plan… after you apologize to him, of course. You’ll need to take vitamins and have a weekly check-in here.”
“No.” Audrey shook her head as she lurched into the hallway.
“Listen, Audrey.” Isobel grasped her arm and twirled her around. “We don’t have time for theatrics. Either you agree to our terms or you stay here.”
Audrey towered over her mother, stepping into the older woman’s space. “I work for a United States senator. If I disappear, I guarantee he’ll call out the National Guard to find me. Plus, I’m a person of interest in an ongoing investigation.”
“The National Guard would never find you if Franklin decides to hide you, and you know it. Besides, he has taken care of the investigation.” Isobel lifted a shoulder.
Audrey coughed. “Who did he set up as Darian and the cabbie’s killer?”
“Who cares?” Isobel gestured toward the doorway. “Regardless, the police will make an arrest later today, and you’ll be in the clear.”
The commander cared little for Audrey and had put her in the clear for his own benefit. Audrey tried to concentrate, when all she wanted to do was run for safety. “I’ll check in about the pregnancy, but only if you take the tail off me. The men following me are making me nervous, and the second I see them again, I’m done cooperating.”
Isobel pursed her lips. “I can speak with Franklin, but I’m sure he’s concerned you’ll run.”
Audrey forced a grim chuckle. “Run where? There’s nowhere to go.”
Isobel nodded. “Well, I suppose that’s true. All right. I’ll speak with Franklin, because we are willing to let you continue in your work and in living on your own, so long as you report in once a week.”
Aha. They needed Audrey to continue with the senator in gaining funding. The second funding was obtained, no doubt the commander would “secure” Audrey in a place far away from DC—where he and Isobel would control the baby’s life. They had no interest in her living her own life. “Fine. Give me the prenatals, and I’m out of here.” She turned toward the secured doorway.
“I will—after the amniocentesis. We need to make sure there are no fetal defects, and you want to find out the sex of the baby, don’t you?” Isobel asked, swiping her card through the door.
Audrey stumbled. The sex of the baby?
* * *
Nate kept his position in Audrey’s living room, his gaze focused through a slat in the blinds. One man had been watching her apartment all day, while two had accompanied her to work and then to the commander’s local compound. Everything inside Nate had rebelled at allowing Audrey to go into the area secured by Nate’s greatest enemy. But his focus had to remain on saving his brothers.
Wishing for something different wasted time and energy.
Yet the muscles along his spine relaxed when she unlocked her door and stepped inside. The scent of gardenias wafted along his nose, tempting his taste buds. His groin warmed while his heart thumped. “How was your appointment?” he asked.
“Fine.” Her gaze darted around the room, and she dropped her briefcase onto a chair. “I, ah, really want to change out of this skirt, and then we can talk. We, ah, need to talk.”
“Okay. I picked up sandwiches earlier.” He didn’t know if she still liked veggie, so he’d bought veggie, ham, roast beef, and turkey. Whatever she didn’t want, he’d probably eat.
“Great. I’m starving.” She turned and headed into the bedroom, her gait stilted.
Whatever tests they’d conducted had left her sore. Maybe he should force her somewhere safe now instead of later.
Nate strode into the kitchen to fetch the sandwiches from the refrigerator. The cat downstairs suddenly came alive, its heartbeat hammering. There must be a mouse or something down there, because Nate hadn’t heard the little bugger all day. Weird.
He set the food out and waited for her. Should he say something about the previous night? If so, what?
She stepped into the room wearing cropped yoga pants, a blue tank top that showed full breasts, and bright-purple fuzzy socks. A band secured her thick hair in a sexy mass, and no makeup remained on her face.
The woman was f*cking perfect.
She eyed the food and then him. “I think you need to sit down.”
Pale. All color had fled her face, leaving her skin nearly see-through.
Nothing could’ve kept him from reaching for her arm. “Sit down, Aud. Are you okay?”
Panic lightened her eyes. “No. I mean, yes. We can’t talk about this in the kitchen.” Slight hysteria lifted her voice. Slender fingers tangled through his as she led him into the living room and all but pushed him onto the sofa. “Yeah. This is better.”
What in the hell was going on?
He reached for her, and she waved him off.
“No. I need to be standing.” She turned toward the window and rubbed a hand over her eyes. Then she took a deep breath, her chest moving. “Okay. You need to keep calm.”
Instantly he became anything but calm. “What happened?” He shot to his feet, already planning an attack on the compound. “What did they do to you? How hurt are you?” He studied her from head to toe, calculating the weapons he’d need.
“I’m not hurt.” She gently pushed him back down on the couch. “Take a deep breath.”
Was she talking to him or to herself? He frowned. Oh God. “Did you find out about Jory?” He braced himself for the pain. Jory was dead.
“Jory?” She shook her head, her hair band letting go. The dark mass fell around her shoulders. “No, sorry. I didn’t find out anything about Jory.”
Oh. Nate shook his head, trying to regain his bearings. Okay. Well, good. He forced himself into a calm place and smiled. “What’s going on, Audrey?” He kept his voice low and soothing, like he’d been trained.
He frowned. That cat downstairs was distracting him again.
Audrey drew in air. “My last surgery wasn’t needed. At all.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Okay…”
“No.” She shook her head, her hands trembling as she clasped them together. “I’m doing this wrong.”
“Just tell me. It’s okay.” He’d help her—he’d have to.
“I’mpregnant,” she said in a rush. Then she took a deep breath. “Oh, good. Okay. I said it.”
He blinked. Once. Twice. “You’re what?”
She stepped forward and dropped next to him on the sofa. “Pregnant—about fourteen weeks.”
Oh. Holy f*cking shit. Pregnant? In a fight years ago, he’d taken a sledgehammer to the gut… and that was a tickle compared to this. He pulled away from her to stand, facing her. She’d lied to him? So much for not being with anybody else. The thrumming of the cat’s heartbeat became louder in his ears, and his gaze dropped to her abdomen. Oh. Not a cat. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” She rubbed her eyes, her body relaxing. “I’ve been freaking out about telling you all afternoon.”
Yeah, considering she’d lied. Something hurt deep in his chest, and he fought the urge to rub it. His brain suddenly slowed, each neuron in pain. “Who’s the father?”
She stilled, her chin lifting, her brows drawing down. “Huh?”
“The father.” That was not a tough question.
She shook her head. “Oh. I didn’t explain. Um, you’re the father.”
He coughed, his breath heating. Damn her. “I’m sure my sperm is super and all of that, but we only just had sex. Plus, I used protection both times. So I’m going to ask you again—who’s the father?”
She rolled her eyes. “You. Are.” With a sigh, she drew her legs up to sit cross-legged, wincing as she set the left one in place. “My surgery three months ago wasn’t a surgery. They inseminated me with the last vial of your sperm that had been kept at a different place than the one you blew up.”
His vision grayed.
She nodded. “Yep.”
His mind shut down while his chest expanded until he couldn’t breathe. Panic? He staggered over to drop next to her on the couch.
“I told you to sit down.” She reached out and patted his knee. “By the way… it’s a boy.”