chapter 22
Hours later, Audrey congratulated herself on a feat beyond most human beings: defying three Dean brothers at once. Even though she’d almost convinced Matt by the time Nate returned, Nate made some good arguments. They’d objected, but she’d persevered, saying she had work to do and wouldn’t leave the building—and she promised to head out of town the second they discovered the commander’s alternate training area.
She’d driven herself to work and hadn’t spotted or sensed the commander’s men tailing her, so maybe her mother had convinced them to back off.
However, now the Dean brothers had staked out the three entrances, so there was no way for her to leave without being seen. With the brothers so close, their enhanced hearing allowed them to listen in on her conversations. Was it enough for them? No. They had to give her a minute earpiece so they could communicate with her, too.
Her hair covered the device, and the volume refused to be turned off.
“What are you doing now?” Nate’s voice echoed in her ear, sending delicious tingles just under her skin.
She shifted her legs under her desk. “Trying to work on a budget for the senator’s Christmas party next year. Now stop bugging me.”
“Funny.”
She frowned. Oh. Bugging. Yeah, that was funny.
The senator limped inside to drop into a chair. “Mornin’.”
Audrey released her pen and leaned forward. “Are you all right?”
“I tripped while running last night.” The senator wiggled gray eyebrows. “Not as swift as I used to be, I guess. How was your medical appointment at the facility?”
Audrey coughed. “Fine. My leg is as good as it’s going to get.” She wasn’t quite ready to share her pregnancy news with the senator.
Nash sighed. “I do worry about so much medical knowledge and power being in one place without oversight. While I’m thankful the doctors were able to save your leg, I do fear what havoc they might wreak.”
“I agree.” The experiments conducted by the commander’s scientists needed to be revealed and studied. Who knew what laws had been broken and what victims had been used? She’d even been impregnated without her knowledge or consent. Who else had they used for experiments?
The senator leaned forward. “There are some laws of nature that can’t be broken. You don’t think they’ve tried to clone human beings, do you?”
Audrey shrugged. “I’ve read it’s medically impossible to clone humans, but who knows? I’ve never heard of it.”
“That’s an abomination against God.” The senator rarely let his religious roots show, but when he did, it was absolute. “You can’t create a soul from another human.”
Audrey kept silent, not wanting a debate so early in the morning. She figured if somebody was alive, they had a soul. But since the science of cloning had only reached sheep, cows, and possibly organs, she didn’t find the point relevant.
She also didn’t want Nate hearing such silly nonsense. The guy had always wondered if he had a soul, and she knew with every inch of her being that he did have one. “I’m sure everyone has a soul, Senator.” She shuffled papers. “Any news on Darian’s death?”
“My contacts confirm that the police have zeroed in on a suspect. Some crazy stalker from Darian’s football days.” The senator sighed. “He was such a good man. I can’t believe somebody would kill him.”
Audrey nodded. The commander had found a scapegoat to get her out of the limelight, now, hadn’t he? Even though the commander hadn’t been involved, he’d still set up some poor sap to get Audrey free and clear to continue working on his behalf. Somehow, when the truth came to light, she’d expose that lie, too. “Why did the guy kill the cabbie?”
“I don’t know. Something about wanting to kill anybody that had been in Darian’s vicinity.” The senator shrugged. “Crazy, crazy stuff. The guy is in custody, so you’re safe.”
“Good.” She’d always been safe from the setup crazy guy.
The senator sighed. “To be honest, I wondered if the commander had Darian killed.”
Audrey shook her head. “Doesn’t make sense. While Darian worked as a lobbyist for a rival military firm, his death doesn’t really change anything when it comes to funding or your recommendation. The firm is still strong and wants funding.”
“I know, but I thought maybe it was a warning to me?” The senator rubbed his wrinkled forehead. “You and I have both been working with Darian.”
“No.” Audrey’s mind reeled as she tried to make sense of chaos. “The entire situation is too obvious. The commander would never have sent three men into a public bar to kill. He would’ve sent men late at night, and there wouldn’t have been witnesses.” Plus, no way would Audrey have been able to escape three of the commander’s men.
The senator leaned forward. “Who do you think the woman was? The one with Darian?”
Audrey smoothed her face into curious lines. “I have no clue. More importantly, why hasn’t she come forward?”
“Good question.” The senator stood, and his briefcase slipped open. Manila files, pictures, and a bunch of papers spilled out all over the floor.
Audrey chuckled and hurried around the desk to help. It was amazing the senator rode horses—the guy was such a klutz. Her knowing that fact made her feel like an insider, like they were close. Although she hadn’t met the senator until adulthood, the affection she felt for him seemed daughter-like. They’d both been alone in the world, so why not bond? He was the only man she trusted besides Nate. “Let me.” She scooted everything into a pile and stilled, taking up a piece of paper.
“What’s this?” she asked.
The senator peered over her shoulder. “That’s a drawing of the brand found on Darian’s shoulder. I copied it from the FBI interviewer.”
Great drawing with wonderful detail. Smooth ink lines showed a deadly, sharp dagger with the word “PROTECT” on the glinting blade. The menacing nature of the form sent shivers down Audrey’s back. “Did you draw this?”
“Yes.” The senator puffed out his chest. “You should see the charcoal drawings I’ve done of my ranch at home. When I retire, I may paint.”
She nodded and slowly stood to hand him the bundle of papers, wincing as her leg protested. “What do you make of the brand?”
“I’ve been researching it on the Internet.” The senator glanced around as if to make sure nobody listened. He lowered his voice. “I haven’t found anything yet.”
Audrey bit her lip. The last thing she needed was a U.S. senator acting like Sherlock Holmes and getting himself shot. “I suggest you leave the investigation to the FBI. Whoever sent those men to kill Darian meant business.”
The senator shoved the mass back into his briefcase. “I know, but I’m so curious. The FBI agent said Darian had recently been branded, so it had to have something to do with his death, right?”
“Maybe.” Audrey discreetly backed up to her desk to place the drawing behind her. “But we have work to do, Senator.”
“Right.” The senator shook himself and angled his body toward the doorway. “I have a meeting with the commander tomorrow morning, and I hope to get the information from him. Would you like to attend?”
“Yes,” she said, just as a resounding, “Absolutely not,” echoed in her ear.
She swallowed. “I would love to attend.”
Nate growled over the transmitter stuck in her ear. “You are not attending any meeting with the commander.”
“What time and where?” Audrey asked the senator.
“He’s having a car pick us up at eight, and we’re having breakfast at the facility,” the senator said.
An instant flurry of threats and expletives poured out of the device in Audrey’s ear. She blinked several times and tapped the device, clearing her throat. “That sounds lovely, Senator.”
“No f*cking way,” Nate said.
The senator glanced down at his white dress shirt. “Should I wear a tie tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Audrey smiled as her ear finally went silent. “Maybe the blue and white striped one? It’s in your top desk drawer.”
“Ah, good.” The senator grinned, suddenly looking years younger. “You’re the best.”
“Thanks.”
The senator reached the doorway and turned back around. “I’m quite curious to meet your mother. Are you sure you don’t mind tagging along?”
“Not at all.” Audrey leaned back against her desk. “My mother is quite charming, if she wants to be. I imagine you’ll see her good side tomorrow.” Not the real woman, without question.
The senator’s faded blue eyes filled with sympathy. “Don’t worry, Audrey. We’re gonna take them down.”
* * *
Nate quit swearing and rolled out a blueprint he’d created of the commander’s local facility. The rickety chair squeaked loudly around the cabin when he moved. “The weak points are here and here,” he said, pointing to the south and east of the area. “Though, it’s obvious those are the weak areas.”
Matt nodded and tapped an entrance to the west. “This one looks well manned, but I think we could get through there the easiest. The other two are traps.”
“Yeah.” He reached back and rubbed the rock-hard muscles in his neck as Audrey hummed show tunes in his ear. The woman probably didn’t even know she was singing. “Aud? I’m going to tune out for a few minutes. Don’t leave your office,” he said.
“Bite me,” she answered cheerfully.
He removed the earpiece to toss on the table. “I’d forgotten how crazy she makes me.” Romance and rosy glasses shaped his memories of Audrey. Now, having her in his world again, reality arrived with a bite. The woman drove him insane sometimes.
Matt nodded, his gaze serious. “I have Shane out acquiring materials to wire Audrey tomorrow when she goes into the facility. You need to decide right now if we’re taking this route or not.”
Nate’s temples began to pound. “If I say no?”
“We find another plan.” Matt’s voice stayed level. “I can’t make this decision for you, and I won’t. If you decide we force her to Montana, then that’s what we do.”
“But the intel she could gather tomorrow might be invaluable.” Nate wanted nothing more than to force Audrey to safety—and not only because of the baby. The idea of anything happening to the blue-eyed smart-ass shot spikes of terror through his brain.
“Definitely.” Matt leaned back, stretching. “If Audrey didn’t want to go, it’d be a done deal, and we would come up with plan B. But Audrey wants to go. So the ball is in your court. Does she go or not?”
“I don’t think she’d appreciate our deciding for her—or even our thinking we had a right to decide.” Nate wondered again why he couldn’t have fallen for a nice, compliant woman.
“Definitely not.” Matt snorted. “When she went after Shane this morning, even after almost fainting, I almost laughed my ass off. I always knew she was tough, but the woman has no clue how delicate she is. I really like that.”
“I like that, too.” Nate shook his head, trying to uncover the fine line between protecting someone and making them want to kill you. “While Audrey was raised by Dr. Madison and knows the commander, she truly doesn’t realize who he is. She spent so much time in boarding school and then college abroad that she doesn’t realize what he’s capable of.”
“I know.” Matt’s gaze shared remembered horrors of being trained by the monster. “So your point is that Audrey can’t really make an educated decision based on her knowledge of the situation?”
Man, that sounded good. Too bad Audrey wouldn’t fall for it. “While that’s true, I don’t think Audrey will care.”
Matt leaned forward. “She’s trying to save you and now this baby. You can’t blame her for taking risks.”
“I don’t.” But that didn’t mean he had to allow her to take the risk. While she’d probably hate him, he did have the strength and the determination to get her out of town against her will. But something in him, something deep, wanted her to work with him instead of against him. “What would you do?” Nate asked Matt.
Matt exhaled and rubbed his eyes. “F*ck, I don’t know.”
Yeah, that about summed up the shit-storm going on.
The door burst open, and Shane lurched inside. “You guys watching the news?”
Nate sat straighter. “No. Why?”
Shane hurried over to flip on a flat screen he’d bought the day before. The scene filled with reporters outside of Audrey’s apartment building.
“What now?” Nate stretched to his feet.
“Dead body.” Shane turned toward Nate, his eyes wide. “Found inside Audrey’s apartment. Some guy named George Fairbanks.”