Zara watched her work. Risking another hit, she cleared her throat. It’d be interesting to see how Madison spun the truth. “What murders?”
“Oh.” Madison waved her free hand. “Ryker murdered a boy at the boys home as well as the home’s owner. He always had a devastating temper.” She scratched her forehead. “I’ve been investigating you for days. If you ask me, Ryker killed your friend Julie—not that detective.”
Zara snorted. “Why would Ryker do that?”
“He’s always eliminated any threats. If your friend was a threat to you—or, more important, to him—he would’ve taken her out and easily framed somebody. The boy is a genius, you know.” Madison coughed. “I mean man. He’s definitely a man now.”
“Ryker wouldn’t kill an innocent woman,” Zara said, trying to stretch her back before the muscle spasming along her right side became unbearable.
Sheriff Cobb walked around her and lifted her hair. “I like the color. Is it natural?” he asked.
She blinked. Unease ticked into her. “Yes.”
He yanked. “You like it rough? Ryker definitely is a rough guy.”
Pain spread along her scalp. “No,” she breathed out, trying not to cry. “Not at all.”
“Too bad. You will by the time we’re done.” Cobb yanked again, and her head jerked back. Holding her in place, elongating her neck, he pressed two fingers against the pulse in her throat.
She struggled against him, but she couldn’t move.
He counted. “She’s scared.”
“She should be.” Isobel watched dispassionately. “Where did Ryker live before buying the new building in Cisco?”
“I don’t know,” Zara breathed. Even if she did, no way would she tell the psycho scientist. “He was always on the move and just visited when in town.”
“That does sound like him,” Madison mused. “Are Heath or Denver seeing anybody?”
“Not that I know of.” Zara tried to free her head, and the sheriff laughed. “I just met them.”
The sheriff released her, and she lowered her chin, trying to keep from puking. Just how sadistic would Cobb become? She really didn’t want to find out. Her stomach cramped, and her legs trembled. “You have to know that Ryker will kill you if you hurt me.”
Cobb pinched her upper arm.
“Ow.” She instinctively jerked to the side.
“What’s their business?” Madison asked. “We saw the offices on the first floor of your building after we tracked Ryker from his safe house, but we didn’t get a chance to investigate. What is it?”
Zara lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure.”
Cobb grabbed her neck.
“I’m really not. They invest and do a bunch of stuff on computers,” Zara lied. “Ryker doesn’t share his work.”
“Then what did your firm hire him to do?” Madison asked silkily.
“Something about a case and tracking down missing money,” Zara said, stretching the truth. If Madison discovered the true business of finding lost people, she might be able to track their past movements, and that would probably be bad. “Again, I wasn’t involved and just met him by the watercooler, so to speak.” At this point, Madison was underestimating her enough that she might be able to get away with the lies.
“He doesn’t love you,” Madison said, setting her tablet on her thighs.
Zara just stared at her.
“I’m sorry, but he’s not capable of it. I studied that man from his birth, and I know him better than he knows himself. He’s not capable of intimacy. Sure, he’ll try to lull you into thinking you have his heart, but really, what do you know about him?” Madison asked, her tone reasonable and knowing. “Where was he born?”
“I don’t know,” Zara admitted.
“Where is the boy’s home?” Madison asked.
Zara eyed the door.
“What’s his favorite color, his favorite food, or his favorite movie?” Madison persisted.
Zara calculated the reach in her legs. If she kicked Cobb in the groin, and if he doubled over, could she knee him in the face hard enough to knock him out? It didn’t seem likely. The tracking software in her phone had to be working, and Ryker should arrive soon, hopefully. “Where’s Greg?” she whispered.
Madison sighed. “Greg is no longer your concern. Has Ryker had any contact with the Gray brothers?”
“Who?” Zara asked.
“Ryker has genetic links to others, and I wondered if those links, ones I trained well, followed his bread crumbs like I did, but apparently not.”
The door opened, and the soldier from before came into view. Todd. He eyed Madison and stepped inside, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed. “What have we discovered?”
Cobb rolled his eyes. “Nothing yet. I don’t need you here for this.”
Zara glanced at the three. “Isn’t this cozy? Do you guys have threesomes or just go one-on-one with the good doctor here when she’s in the mood? Does she make you draw straws?”
Todd snarled while Cobb leaned in casually and flicked her lips.
She gasped, and pain radiated through her mouth. Tears tried to prick the back of her eyes again, and she battled them away. That really hurt.
“Do you like pain?” Madison asked, her brows drawing down. “A little bit?”
Zara didn’t bother to answer the psychopath.
“Continue questioning her,” Todd ordered. “It’s okay to draw blood and leave scars. It won’t matter in the long run.”
Zara’s lungs seized. Her body was chilled from terror alone, much less the cold.
Cobb crouched down so they were face-to-face. “How are Denver and Heath?”
She eyed him, wanting nothing more than to kick him hard. But she couldn’t knock him out, and he’d surely retaliate. She needed to stay conscious to fight when the time came. “I think they’re fine,” she said. “I’ve met them only once.”
Madison huffed. “That’s what I was afraid of. Ryker didn’t bother to let you get to know them.” She pushed off the chair and headed for the door. “Gentlemen, do what you want with her. She’s of no use to me, because she doesn’t matter to Ryker.” She shoved out into the swirling storm. “See you tomorrow.”
The door clanged shut behind her.
Cobb stood and smiled. “Well. I guess we should get started, then.”
Todd stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Before you destroy her, I’d like to ask a few questions.”
Cobb sighed. “You have an hour, and then I get her the rest of the night.”
Pinpricks exploded across Zara’s skin. She tried to breathe evenly and not start screaming. She had to get out of there.
Todd nodded. “Fair enough. Be back in an hour.”
Cobb opened the door. “I’ll just go chat with Isobel. Have fun.” He disappeared into the storm.
Todd uncrossed his arms. “Unlike that bastard, I don’t find any pleasure in harming women. However, I have no problem doing so to get answers. Let’s get started.”
Chapter
38
Ryker rushed through the storm, impressed with how well Matt and Jory kept up. In fact, neither was breathing heavily. Whatever genetics had gone into them had been superb. For so long he’d wondered how he, Heath, and Denver were beyond the norm, and now he knew. Genetic engineering at its finest.
The men ran beside him, all calm, all focused. Inside, he tried to control himself, but he couldn’t get the idea out of his head of Zara in danger. She was soft and sweet, and she had no clue how to deal with the darker side of humanity.
If she’d let him, he’d continue protecting her for the rest of his life.
But at the moment, he had no idea what was happening to her. What if they were torturing her, hurting her? His gut felt too full, and his shoulders shook. Desperation and terror threatened to choke him.
Denver held up a hand, and the group stopped running. He grasped a phone from his pocket and read the screen. Slowly, his chin lowered.
“What?” Ryker asked.
Denver looked at him, his eyes hardening. “My contacts checked in. Sheriff Cobb boarded a plane for this location earlier this week. He’s here, Ryker.”
The words slammed into Ryker’s chest with the force of an anvil. “Here?” he whispered, his voice breaking.
Denver slowly nodded.
Panic gripped him, and he turned to run, only to have Heath intercept him.
“Wait,” Heath said. Ryker struggled, and Heath pivoted, putting him against a tree. Snow rained down on them. “Listen. Take a moment and concentrate. Zara is smart, and she knows we’ll be coming. She’s okay. There hasn’t been time for Cobb to get going. Trust me.”
True. He had to keep his head, or he wouldn’t be of any use to Zara. He took a deep breath. Matt and Jory watched him from near a line of trees while Denver covered his other side. He relaxed, and Heath released him. “I’m okay.” God, what Cobb would want to do to her. “We have to hurry though.” The bastard liked to swing belts under darkness, and they all remembered his joy in it. Cobb would take great pleasure in breaking the woman who held Ryker’s heart. “It’s nighttime.”
Heath nodded and pushed away.
“Care to share?” Matt asked, jogging closer.
Ryker shook his head.
Heath snarled. “Sheriff Cobb is a sadistic bastard who tortured us as kids. He and Dr. Madison would get it on whenever she visited. He’s been, ah, searching for us since we escaped the boys home because of a little fire we may have started.”
Ryker glanced at the two men now putting their lives on the line for Zara and Greg. “After we killed the proprietor—another sadistic bastard and the sheriff’s brother.”
Neither Matt nor Jory blinked. Finally, Matt glanced at the line of trees. “Dr. Madison will want plenty of time to question Zara. We’ll have her tonight long before Madison runs out of questions.”
Ryker nodded, his mind turning over events, his hands shaking. “Zara doesn’t know much that Madison probably isn’t already aware of.”
Matt paused. “Nothing? She doesn’t have anything to share?”
“Not really.” Ryker flicked snow out of his eyes.
Matt eyed Jory. “If she doesn’t have any information for Madison, then Madison will move on to something or somebody else. We’d better hurry.” He turned and shoved between two trees, scattering snow.
Ryker charged after him. He’d just wanted to protect Zara from his past and start anew. The pain of those times didn’t need to be a burden on anybody but him. He and Zara had known each other pretty intimately, so there had to be plenty to dissect. His ears rang. “But Madison will want to talk about us, right?”
Matt turned back. “Yes, but what does Zara know?”
Nothing. She’d met Heath and Denver only recently, and he’d given her only a brief glimpse into his odd abilities. “Not enough,” Ryker said grimly. “I’ve tried to protect her from all that.”
Jory jogged by his side. “That probably isn’t good. How do you know she loves you if she doesn’t even know you?”
Ryker cut him a look. “What are you, Dr. Phil?”
Without losing a step, Jory bent and drew a wicked-looking knife from his boot. “I’m just saying if you want to keep a woman, you have to let her know all of you. Even the bad shit.” He stopped and held up a hand until everyone halted. “Right through that group of trees is the lodge.”
Ryker pivoted to the north. “Jory and Heath, take the front door. Denver and Matt, take the side. I’m going in the back.”
Matt leaned in. “I’ll go in the back—you and Denver go in the side. There should be less resistance there so you can find Zara. Remember that we’ve been trained since birth. This is the best plan.”
Ryker rolled his shoulder. “I don’t like you going in alone.”
Matt snorted. “I’ll be fine.” He paused. “How good is your hearing?”
Heath reached for a gun stuck in the back of his waistband. “We all have abnormally good senses, but Ryker’s is over the top. Is that genetic, too?”
“Yep,” Matt said. “Make sure you all tune in while we’re inside. Could save our asses.”
Ryker nodded. “Let’s go—infiltrate in exactly one minute.” He turned and ducked low, then ran through the trees and zigzagged through the darkness and falling snow until he reached the side entrance.
Denver leaned against the wall next to him. “The security here isn’t very good,” he whispered.
Maybe the Protect group didn’t have the resources they had feared, and perhaps Madison didn’t have many soldiers she’d raised. Ryker nodded, counting down in his head for the right moment. “You ready?”
“Affirmative,” Denver said, his light eyes cutting through the night. “You sure you’re okay after being shot the other day?”
“Fine. Just a scratch,” Ryker said, not feeling any pain.
“Good. Zara will be okay.”
God, Ryker hoped so.
“So will Greg,” Denver added.
“Yeah.” Ryker checked his weapon. “Let’s go.” He pivoted and gingerly tugged the door. Locked. He’d figured. Giving Denver a nod, he slid to the side and covered the area.
Denver removed a small tool set from his back pocket, leaned down, and had the door unlocked within seconds.
Ryker frowned. “That was shockingly easy.”
“They’re not expecting company.” Denver straightened and shoved the tools back into his pocket.
True. Zara had been brilliant hiding the phone down her nightgown. Ryker waited until Denver opened the door, and then he glided into a mudroom with laundry facilities, his gun at the ready. He waited until Denver had joined him before crossing the room and opening another door to reveal a hallway lined with oil paintings.
The coziness of the place caught him unawares. He moved into the hall, following it to a large gathering room with a huge stone fireplace. He scouted the area and reached stairs leading up and down just as the other men did. Jory and Heath headed up, he and Denver moved down, and Matt stayed central to cover the stairs.
Ryker’s heart pounded, and he took several breaths to calm himself and focus. The place was way too quiet. He crept down the stairs and turned right at the bottom. A small conference room sat empty at the side while a hallway containing several doorways extended to the north. He hustled past the large table and reached the first door, nudging it open to an office smelling of cigar smoke and bourbon. Maps covered the far wall with pins stuck in different places.
He moved past the room while Denver stuck his head in, using his phone to take several pictures of the maps.
The next office was utilitarian with a couple of desks and phones.
He stilled and tuned in to the area. Nothing. No heartbeats, breaths, sounds. Where were Zara and Greg? Increasing his speed, he hustled for the next office and pushed open a door. Feminine desk, high-end furniture, and the smell of fancy and too sweet perfume. The scent instantly took him back to his teenaged years. “This is her office.” He strode inside and looked around quickly. Papers, files, and maps were organized perfectly on the desk. “You catalog the place and grab what you can,” he said, moving past Denver back toward the hallway. “I’ll keep looking.”
Denver drew up short. “Shit.”
Ryker turned toward the computer on the desk, noting a flashing red light. Heat slammed into his abdomen, and he looked up at the ceiling to see two barely discernible boxes. “Motion sensors.” He hustled into the hallway and ran for the stairs. “Matt? We’re compromised,” he whispered into his comm device before heading back and kicking the doors open to the last two offices.
The shouts of men echoed through the building.
He met Denver in the hallway, and they ran up the stairs to join Matt just as three men rushed in the front door. Matt instantly engaged one in hand-to-hand, and his moves were a work of art. The guy he’d been fighting was unconscious on the floor before Ryker could even jump into the fray.
>
“Holy shit,” Denver muttered.
Ryker nodded and leaped forward to take the next guy down.
Matt looked over his shoulder at Denver. “You want this one?” He pointed to a tall soldier circling him.
“Nah. Go ahead.” Denver turned toward the back of the building as men shouted from that direction. “I’ll go this way.”
Heath and Jory rushed in from the area by the mud room, leaped over the fallen guy, and followed Denver toward the sound of running boots in back.
Ryker took a hard punch to the face, and he smiled as he grabbed his attacker around the neck and tossed his ass to the floor. Ryker followed him down, punching his face. Blood sprayed. He leaned in. “I don’t want to kill you, so tell me where the woman and kid are.”
The guy blinked.
Ryker punched him in the nose, and cartilage cracked. The man screamed in pain.
“Where. Are. They?” Ryker asked. “Last chance or I slice your throat and move on to your buddy.”
“One of the outbuildings. I don’t know which one. They’re spaced fifty yards beyond the trees to the west and east,” the guy gasped through blood pouring from his nose.
“Thanks.” Ryker punched him in the jaw, and the guy slumped into unconsciousness. Then Ryker stood and nudged the guy onto his side so he didn’t choke to death. No reason to kill.
He glanced at Matt, who stood and wiped blood off his lip. “Outbuildings?”
Matt leaned to the side to glance out a window. “Three enemy here, three in kitchen…and it looks like fifteen or so running up the hill.” He frowned.
“What?” Ryker asked, quickly frisking the downed men for weapons. Two guns and four knives. He tossed a couple to Matt.
Matt shook his head. “These guys aren’t part of Madison’s original troops. Not even close.” He watched the men outside running through the storm. “Those don’t look like it either. All of these guys are Protect soldiers with minimal training.” He turned, his gaze hardening. “Let’s go find Zara and worry about Madison later.”
Ryker’s lungs seized. “Side door.” He turned and ran for the mudroom, Matt on his heels. They reached the storm. “You go east, and I’ll check the western trees,” Ryker ordered.