Atone in Darkness Read online

  Eli pulled one of the lab coats off its hanger and studied the name embroidered above the pocket. “What do you know about her?”

  “She introduced herself as Dr. Riggs, but I have no idea if that was her real name or not. Seemed pleasant enough, but we didn’t exactly socialize.”

  He studied their surroundings. “I’ve wondered what happened to her after my group was transferred out. There were a couple of women guards when I was stationed here. But as far as I could tell, our replacements were all male, which left the doctor the only woman in the compound. None of my crew would have bothered her, but I can’t vouch for the new guys.”

  Eli hoped for her sake that Tyson was wrong about his former coworkers, but there was nothing they could do about it now. “Let’s check out the rest of the building.”

  It didn’t take long before they reached the lab at the opposite end of the building. Eli paused in the entrance to look around. Marks on the counter showed where stuff used to be. Judging by a few electrical cords left behind, it had most likely been electronic equipment of some kind. A treadmill, an exercise bike, and some weights were in the back corner.

  “What did they do in here?”

  “This is where Dr. Riggs worked. She had a bunch of machines on the counters. It all looked high-end, the kind of stuff you’d see in a medical or research lab, but I can’t tell you what she was working on.”

  Jarvis vibrated with growing tension. “Can’t tell us or won’t?”

  Tyson didn’t take offense at the accusation. “Can’t. No one ever said what she was doing, and I don’t know anything about that kind of stuff. Maybe if I looked at some pictures, I could pick out what some of it was.”

  Jarvis didn’t respond, but shoved his way past them to stalk farther into the room. When he glanced to his right, he started cursing loud and long. Eli gave him a wide berth but peeked around the corner to see what had finally shattered the other man’s tight control over his emotions. The small room looked like it belonged in a prison somewhere. The metal chair in the corner was broken in pieces, and the cot had clearly been slept in. The blanket that was wadded up on the floor was covered with dark splashes of dried blood.

  Eli spun back to shove Tyson up against the wall, his hands clamping down tight on the man’s throat. “Is that a fucking cell?”

  Tyson’s face flushed red as he struggled to breathe and speak at the same time, but he made no effort to break free. “Probably, but there was never anyone in it as long as I was here. If there had been, I would’ve done my damnedest to break him out. I don’t hold with that kind of shit.”

  Eli stared into Tyson’s steel-gray eyes for several seconds before letting him go. Tyson had sworn he’d walked away from his former spec-ops group when he couldn’t live with the orders he’d been given. He’d drawn the line when one of the men in his unit tried to kill Eli’s former commanding officer. For now, he’d take him at his word.

  “I believe you.”

  Tyson looked a little surprised as he rubbed his throat. “Like I said earlier, my crew was pulled out with no notice. If they brought a prisoner here, they did it after I was gone.”

  Jarvis looked dubious, but he didn’t press the issue. “We’ve seen everything there is to see here. Let’s keep moving.”

  Doc shook his head. “Give me a few minutes to collect samples. When we get back to headquarters, Dr. Young can run DNA tests to prove one way or another if Chase was here.”

  He collected the specimens with his usual efficiency and tucked them into his pack. When he was done, they all filed back out of the lab toward the front of the building. When they opened the door of the last room by the side exit, the smell of death poured out. A man dressed in a black uniform was sprawled on the floor. Tyson moved into the room to study the body. After a cursory exam of what he could see while standing there, he crouched and gingerly rolled the body over. Blank eyes stared up at the ceiling.

  “Double tap to the back of the head, both shots aimed to do maximal damage. No idea who he was. He’s been dead a day, two at the most.”

  Doc was already pulling out the supplies to do another DNA swab. Identifying the poor bastard might help their investigation, but they’d also make sure someone retrieved the body. He might have family sitting at home and wondering where he was.

  “We’re done here.”

  Jarvis led their small parade back to the lobby, where the others were already waiting for them. “Anything?”

  Lonzo shook his head. “A lab and some damn prison cells. They’re in pristine shape, so it’s impossible to know if they’ve ever been used or if they cleaned up really well afterward.”

  Eli really—really—wanted to get his hands on Tyson’s former employer. “The cell on this side at least used to have an occupant. It’s impossible to know at this point if it was Chase, but Doc took sample swabs from places he might have touched.”

  No one looked happy, but it was all they had to work with.

  “What exactly happened here?”

  That came from Jake, who was looking to Jarvis for direction. The Paladin leader gave it a few seconds. “They didn’t just cut bait.”

  He glanced at Tyson before continuing. “This looks more like a scorched-earth policy. Maybe whoever came in to clean house managed to convince everyone that it was a normal evacuation, but maybe not. While it’s still daylight outside, let’s go look around for any signs that someone got away. We know Chase was already in the process of trying to escape when he contacted us. Maybe he got away, and all of this”—he paused to wave his hand around the surrounding area—“is what this black-ops group did in response.”

  It felt good to be back outside. They filed out through the gate and split up into three groups. One followed the outside perimeter of the fence that surrounded the installation. Another took the left side of the road leading away from the gate, while the other took the right.

  Eli made himself walk past the burned-out hulk of the busses, ignoring the toxic smell as best he could. Instead, he concentrated on the rocky soil and looked for any sign that someone had made it away from the place alive.

  There. Down in the ditch he spotted a footprint. No, there were two. One looked to be about the right length for a man Chase’s size. Right next to it was a much smaller one. He knelt to study the pair up close. Once he did, he could see another set closer to the trees that sat a few feet back from the road.

  After snapping a picture, he whistled. “I’ve found something.”

  The others came running. Once they were all there, he pointed at the ground. “Two people walked through this ditch into the woods. It looks like a man about my size, which would match the description you gave me of Chase. The other one looks like it belongs to a woman, maybe the scientist Tyson mentioned.”

  Each member of the team stooped to study the prints. After they’d all taken a careful look, Eli pointed toward the trees. “I didn’t go that far, but it looks as if the prints lead into the underbrush right there.”

  Lonzo did the honors, carefully skirting the few prints they could see. He disappeared into the trees for a few seconds. “They definitely kept going. Before we grab the gear, let’s finish looking for other prints. I don’t want to miss anything before we leave this site. I also want to boot up the computer to get a look at the map and satellite photos of this area. We need to know what kind of terrain we’ll be heading into.”

  It didn’t take long. Larem found another set of footprints heading roughly in the same direction, while DJ followed another trail off to the other side of the road. He came back looking pretty unhappy.

  When Jarvis asked him what he’d found, DJ grimaced. “The trail went about a hundred feet into the trees before they stopped. The tree next to the trail has a row of bullet holes at about chest height, and there were drag marks back toward the road.”

  “Okay, then. I’ll update Devlin on what we’ve found. While I do that, get loaded up. We’ll be heading across country as soon as I get done
.”

  Eli hung back with Tyson while the others got busy and asked, “You doing okay?”

  “Yeah.” Then Tyson drew a deep breath and sighed. “Actually, no, I’m not. I want to line up the bastards who did this and give them a dose of their own medicine. I don’t know who died here, but no one deserved this.”

  “You’re right, they didn’t.”

  He couldn’t imagine what this kind of betrayal would do to a man, especially one who took things like honor and duty seriously. He risked putting a hand on Tyson’s shoulder. “We won’t stop hunting until we find who did this and who gave the order. I can promise you that much.”

  Tyson shrugged off Eli’s hand, but he didn’t step away. He stared out into the distance, his mouth an angry slash. When he spoke, his words were chips of ice. “And when we do, there will be one helluva reckoning. I want to be there.”

  Eli met his hard gaze head-on. “Me, too.”

  Fifteen minutes later, they left the road behind, and the real hunt began.

  12

  * * *

  Damn, it felt good to hold Marisol in his arms. Chase had promised himself he’d behave, but that had been last night. Now he wasn’t sure he had it in him to miss out on the chance to do more than cuddle her close. If she’d given him any signal that she was unhappy to have woken up with him at her back, he would’ve apologized and put some space between them.

  Like an entire room.

  Instead, she’d relaxed against him and seemed content to stay that way. Having her tucked up tight next to him only made him want to get a whole lot closer. She had to be aware of the obvious effect she was having on him, especially considering her bottom was pressed right against it.

  He nuzzled her shoulder and then breathed in deep to draw in her warm scent. His efforts were rewarded when she arched her head to the side to offer him easier access. She moaned softly as he pressed a series of soft kisses along the column of her neck. At the same time he slid his hand up from where it rested at her waist to just brush against the lower curve of her breasts.

  When she stiffened in his arms, he froze.

  “Tell me you don’t want this, and I’ll stop.”

  He actually liked that she took time to think before answering. Whatever she decided, he wanted to know that it hadn’t been an easy decision for her. Finally, she rolled over onto her back, forcing him to put a little room between them. Those few inches felt like a gap they might not have an easy time closing.

  Her dark eyes looked worried when she finally met his gaze. “Are you wanting this because I’m me or just because I’m handy? Because when we reach civilization, I’m afraid you will go back to hating me for being part of what happened to you. Even if that’s understandable, this would only complicate things.”

  He should’ve known she’d ask the hard questions, and maybe it was better for both of them if they didn’t rush into anything. “I won’t lie to you, Marisol. Part of it is probably due to the situation. Chances are we will go our separate ways when this is all over. You have your career to think about, and I have important obligations I can’t walk away from.”

  When she flinched, he risked trailing the back of his fingers along the curve of her cheek as he bought himself a few seconds to consider his response. They both deserved his total honesty about his feelings about her. Did he want her? Yes. Did he trust her? He wanted to, but was that enough? It would have to be.

  He caressed her smooth skin one more time. “There are two things you need to know. The first is that I do believe you got in over your head with the bastards who hired you to do research for them, and I’m well aware of how much it bothered you to see what they did to me. The second is that I’ve been attracted to you from the beginning . . . even when I insisted on calling you my keeper.”

  That was no lie. He found Marisol compelling on so many levels beyond the purely physical, although she definitely scored high marks in that category. He loved her soft curves and those chocolate-brown eyes he could just fall into. The tenderness she’d shown him as she’d tended his wounds had healed not just his injuries, but his soul as well. Although it drove him crazy, he loved the way she stubbornly asked questions even when she knew she might not like his answers. Yeah, he really liked that razor-sharp mind. Had he ever really understood how sexy intelligence could be?

  He withdrew his hand. “So I guess the next move is yours. I don’t want to make things any harder for you than they already are. After all, you’re trapped here with me, a man you really know nothing about but you need to help get you through this mess. I promise I will do everything I can to keep you safe no matter what happens—or doesn’t happen—between us.”

  He must have said something right, because Marisol scooted next to him, closing the small space between them. As she did, her frown slowly morphed into a soft smile. Leaning into him, she used her lips rather than words to respond. The kiss was soft and tentative, as if she wasn’t quite sure of her welcome. He smiled against her mouth and cupped the back of her head to hold her in exactly the right position. When he traced her lips with the tip of his tongue, she smiled back and allowed him entrance.

  He tugged her over to sprawl on his chest, enjoying the warm press of her body against his. As their tongues tangled and danced in an erotic rhythm, he cupped her ass and centered her right over his erection. She broke off the kiss long enough to reward his efforts by swiveling her hips against his, creating a heated friction between them.

  It was so damn tempting to wrest control from her, but right now he was content to lie back and let her work her magic. But that didn’t mean he was willing to be totally passive. He eased his hands under the waistband of her oversized shorts to stroke his fingers over the silk of her skin. When that was no longer enough, he withdrew one hand.

  “Raise up a little.”

  Marisol hesitated and then gave in to his demand. Watching for any sign that he was moving too fast, he slipped his hand under the front of her pants this time to do a little exploring. Her eyes briefly widened in surprise and drifted closed as he slowly stroked her, gradually increasing pressure. When he finally eased one finger deep inside her core, she shuddered and rolled back onto her side of the bed.

  As she did, she issued an order of her own. “Strip. I want your skin against mine.”

  Okay, then. His sweatshirt went flying, and his pants followed right behind. He would’ve been all too glad to help Marisol remove her own clothing, but she seemed determined to take care of that little chore herself. Disappointing, but at least she let him watch.

  “You’re gorgeous.”

  She blushed and dropped her gaze as if she didn’t know whether she believed his blunt assessment, but he meant it. She was everything feminine, with her blond hair tumbling down around her shoulders in soft waves, and her perfect breasts practically begged to be kissed and caressed.

  Unable to resist the temptation, he zeroed on the tightly budded tip of one breast with his mouth, tugging on it with his lips and tongue. “So sweet.”

  She protested when he let go, but then sighed as he turned his attention to her second breast. Suckling hard, he kneaded the other one hard enough to skate the narrow divide between pleasure and pain.

  Meanwhile, she did a little exploring of her own. When she grasped his cock and gave it two long, slow strokes, his eyes about rolled back in his head. Before she could do it again, he tugged her hand back up to his chest.

  “Spoilsport.”

  He kissed her fingertips. “No, just trying to slow things down.”

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  While he struggled to come up with a logical reason, she turned the tables on him and pulled his hand up to her lips and gently sucked on one of his fingers. His cock jerked in response, making him wish her mouth was a whole lot farther south on his body. She knew it, too, the little minx.

  “There will be payback.”

  “Really? Bring it on, big guy.”

  Had she forgotten
about his ninjalike reflexes? The dare had barely left her lips when he had her on her back, pinned to the bed with the full weight of his body. “I win.”

  The satisfied look on her face said she had a different opinion on that. That was all right as long as they were together for this ride. There was one thing they hadn’t discussed. As much as he hated to interrupt the smooth flow, there was no avoiding the subject. He caught her wandering hands in his and brushed his lips across hers. “I don’t have any protection with me.”

  Her fair complexion flushed even rosier. “We’re good.”

  Dropping his forehead down to rest on hers, he let out a sigh of relief. “I would’ve stopped, but I’m glad I don’t have to.”

  She arched her back, pressing her breasts up against his chest. “Me, too.”

  As much as he wanted to take her hard and fast, there was no need to rush. Surely the gods would grant them this one interlude. With that hopeful thought, he went exploring. Kissing her mouth, he loved the way her lips melded with his as if they’d been designed to fit together perfectly.

  From there, he moved down her body, taking his time and paying homage to each luscious curve and valley. When he reached the damp curls at the juncture of her thighs, he gave her a quick look to make sure she was okay with what he was about to do. Her eyes were open wide and a little wild, but she didn’t protest when he savored the taste of her most private secrets. He could’ve feasted forever on the sexy sounds she made when he did something just right.