Ava Gray - Skin Tight

“Travis is dead. I know you have my woman. Tell me how to get to her.”

Rowan spat blood and turned up a defiant face. “Never.”

Smiling, he knelt before the bound man. “Look into my eyes and hear me. If I don’t get the information I want in the next thirty seconds, I’ll start cutting off pieces of you.”

“You’ll kill me anyway.”

“True,” he admitted. “But I can make it quick. If you cooperate.”

“That’s incentive? You’re a real motivational speaker.”

Each second this asshole wasted, Mia could be suffering. Just because the boss wasn’t around didn’t mean the underlings would leave her alone. Maybe they even enjoyed the chance to inflict their own personal cruelties. He curled his hands into fists to hide the tremor.

“Fine. We’ll keep playing it your way.” Søren got out a blade, the light running silver on its honed surface. “Let’s see, you’re supposed to be a scientist, right? You’ll find it hard to work without your fingers, but I warned you.”

Rowan jerked, but it was no use. Søren captured the man’s right hand and went for his index finger. As the knife bit into his flesh, the doctor screamed, as his patients must scream. Still, Søren was reluctantly impressed with the man’s fortitude. He took three fingers before the man broke.

“Enough!” His breath came in rapid gulps suspiciously like moans. “Take me back to the car. I’ll give you directions as we go.”

“Give me the directions now.”

“If I tell you, you’ll just kill me here. This leaves me a small chance to win free. Besides, you can’t get to her without me. The lift requires a ret-scan and a fingerprint.”

Though he didn’t say it aloud, the other man doubtless knew; Søren only needed a finger-and he already had three-and a head to make that work. But he wasn’t interested in carrying severed body parts unless it was unavoidable. Such things tended to arouse undesirable interest.

“Give me the first turn as a good faith payment.”

“That is fair, but I don’t know where we are. I can hardly-”

Barely keeping a lid on his impatience, Søren gave their location.

“Then from here, drive out of town and get on the highway, heading west. That’s all I will tell you right now.”

Søren’s fist lashed out, catching Rowan in the jaw. The other man went limp, and Søren slung Rowan’s arm across his shoulders, as if he were a drunken friend. In that way, he dragged him down the broken cement steps to the Toyota parked outside. By the time Rowan came to, they would be well away from here-or any possible assistance.

The car zoomed out of town and Søren followed the directions. At last Rowan stirred, taking stock of his surroundings faster than Søren would’ve credited. In fact, the other man’s composure worried him a little. Søren didn’t like Rowan’s tight little smile; he was doubtless planning something. Once they got inside the facility, he would have to be careful.

He tried not to think how long it had been since he’d seen Mia. Days now. His hands tightened on the wheel.

As the green fields flew by, he glanced over at his hostage, who said, “Here. Exit now.”

Søren marked the location on a mental map, noting the proximity to a state park. “What now?”

“Left turn. Proceed ten miles, until the forest turns to field.”

The distance passed in record time. He kept waiting for Rowan to make a move, jerk the wheel, something, but in the end, he was forced to conclude whatever would happen, the other man wouldn’t risk going for it in the car while he was driving. Smart.

“Are we almost there?” His tone reflected his edginess.

“Nearly. Take the county road on your right. Half a mile more.”

Fresh air. As the doors opened, Gillie could taste it sweeping in through the cracks. Wherever they were, it wasn’t down below, and that was enough to make her heart sing. Taye snagged her hand, towing her out of the elevator behind him. Since she wouldn’t be here except for him-none of them would-she didn’t protest him taking the lead. He’d earned the chance to be a hero.

They emerged into a room that didn’t appear to have any other exit.

“Start looking for a latch or a hidden door,” the dark-haired woman said.

Silas found the panel after a minute of searching. He flipped it open, and Taye offered a jolt that popped the door. The odor of musty grain wafted in. Tentatively, they moved as a group, peering into the next room. Gillie heard her own heart beating; she was that scared.

If Rowan was the bogeyman, then she should expect to find him lurking in the shadows. He couldn’t be permitted to take any of them back. They’d won.

“Looks like a farm,” one of the male fugitives said softly. He had a faint Southern drawl.

“We need to get out of here,” Gillie said. “Right now. Rowan could be arriving any minute.”

Her words galvanized the others. Everyone jolted into motion, rushing toward the exit. They hadn’t planned any further than this. They couldn’t. But the problems were readily apparent: no money, no car, no spare clothes, no shelter, no resources at all. Hell, they didn’t even have shoes. They looked like escaped mental patients.

And if they stayed together, it would make them more memorable and easier to track. Gillie hated to cut the others loose, but there was no way in hell she was going back, ever.

Outside the silo, the sun shone high and bright overhead. It damn near blinded her. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks, and a hard shaking set in. Taye touched her on the shoulder, steadying but gentle.

“It’s okay. We made it.”

Micor was some distance away. Søren recognized the area, but there was no way in hell he would’ve found this place on his own. Son of a bitch.

He turned down the poorly paved road and then, at Rowan’s direction, veered left onto a dusty gravel drive. A weathered white farmhouse sat at the end of the lane. There were barns and grain storage units. It looked like the fields had been tilled, for God’s sake.

“If you’re fucking with me-”

“I’m not,” Rowan said quickly. “See the silver silo? That’s where we’re headed.”

He rounded the Toyota and dragged the scientist from the vehicle. Then he marched him along like a prisoner of war. So close now. Jesus, so close to saving Mia and taking revenge for Lexie. Anticipation spiked through his veins. This wasn’t how he’d planned it over the years, but this would do.

If he could save Mia, maybe it was a sign. Maybe it meant expiation was possible. But first, he had to find her.

Getting into the silo was no problem. No special locks. And why would there be? This setup was pure genius.

“I can see you like their ingenuity.”

“They?”

“I cannot claim credit. I merely took over the project when Dr. Chapman passed.”

“So he’s the one I should thank for all of this.”

“Yes.” Rowan didn’t seem aware of his sarcasm. “You’re really quite extraordinary. In all my testing I’ve never come across anyone with powers quite like yours. Do you have full control of them?”

“You’ll never know. Get moving.”

Rowan stumbled. “Don’t push.”

The doctor fumbled along the wall, half blinded by the shift from light to shadow. At last he opened the panel and activated the secret door. Beyond, Søren saw the lift, as promised. Here it was, finally. After so long, he almost couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that it would be over at last.

He couldn’t operate as he’d planned. With Mia’s life hanging in the balance, there had been no opportunity to say good-bye to Lexie. Now, there was no way he could go forward, content in the idea he wasn’t coming back. Søren had to live; he had to bring Mia out of there. He had… other things to do.