Page 40 of Too Guarded to Love (Project VIPER #3)

S hit. That message hadn’t been from Joe. Nic knew that thinking and acting slow and controlled meant things would go smoothly, but he’d let his doubts make him frantic and rash. “What do you want, Natalie?”

He initiated a mind comms to headquarters and the team.

“Status?”

“In the stairwell on the third floor at the north end of the hospital with Natalie Durham. Listen for intel.”

She wouldn’t have chanced arrest if she hadn’t had something of importance to say. The cameras embedded in his steel would capture the conversation.

“Hello, Nic. We really have to stop meeting in hospitals like this.”

“Unless you’re in the morgue, I agree.”

Man, did she look like she’d risen from six feet under. Smeared black makeup rimmed her bloodshot eyes. Bits of grass clung to her bruised forehead and scratches bloodied her cheek. The ripped neckline of her black sweatshirt revealed purplish fingerprints on her pale skin.

She laughed. “You were always so funny. Is that how you got off when you were caught red-handed? By turning on the charm? You always got the benefit of the doubt and didn’t face any consequences, while I got sent to juvie for a first offense. ”

“You have no idea about the consequences I faced.” Getting locked up obviously hadn’t been enough of a consequence for her. She seemed as strung out as his mother had been the morning he’d left for school and found her dead when he got home.

“Yeah, I heard about the end of your baseball career.” She mimicked swinging a bat. “How bad did the old man beat you?”

A biofeedback alert vibrated in his comms unit. He ignored it as a raw, primal craving to pinch-hit her foul smile into next week pounded in his veins.

“ Calm down, brother ,” Chris said. “ Her blood isn’t worthy enough to touch your steel. Keep her talking. We’ll stand down until we know what her endgame is.”

Fuck, Chris was right. He’d given the same advice not too long ago when Chris had faced off with Richardson. “I’m only going to ask you this once, Natalie. Why are you here?”

“How come every time we bump into each other, you run?” She held up a hand. “Not this time. You’re going to hear all about Rachel, who wasn’t a sister by blood, but by choice. You weren’t the only one who found a family, you know.”

Yeah, he knew, and he’d never doubt any of them again.

Natalie rubbed a bloody cut on her chin. “You owe me for taking away the only person who ever loved me. Rachel supported my dreams and hooked me up with the best hackers in the world. She helped me start my little business, and I helped with hers.”

Nic wanted to shove her little business—and the dirty shit Rachel was into—down her throat.

Natalie smiled. “Imagine my surprise when I found out the man responsible for my sister’s death was the one who ruined my life. It’s only fair that I ruin yours.”

She stepped closer to him. The smell of sweat and the lingering scent of marijuana assaulted his nostrils. God knew what other drugs were in her system.

“Since Rachel died…” Natalie wiped her nose with her with the back of her hand. “I’ve spent all her cash hiring the best to carry out my revenge. I started with your buddies who were supposed to keep her safe and saved you for last.”

The faces of three women in their coffins circled in Nic’s mind like a morbid carousel.

“My plan was to amplify Stella’s kill with attacks on your VIPER family the night of her funeral. The grandmother and your teammate’s significant others were the best I could do since you didn’t have a woman in your life to target.”

And now he did. “Kane, check on Olivia.”

“I just got an update from the nurse. All is fine.”

The buzzing in Nic’s neck didn’t ease as he fought for control. “Why did you target someone I’d just met?”

Natalie smirked. “Because she was there. I had a sniper watching you after Stella’s funeral because I couldn’t decide if you deserved emotional and physical pain.

I mean, I’d already enjoyed seeing you beaten down, but a part of me wanted to let you live.

I guess I still have a thing for catchers with sexy accents.

When my sniper said some chick was giving you a blow job, I told him to take the shot. ”

Kane coughed like he’d drank something sour. “I did not need to hear the blow job part.”

“You can punch me later if you want.”

Linc snickered. “Was this chick always this psycho?”

“Yes.” If only it hadn’t taken almost his entire freshman year to recognize it. “She’s also as high as your level of asshole-ness too.”

“Fuck you, Casanova.”

The familiar insult-laden banter calmed Nic’s racing pulse. Shifting his weight so he could kick out with his steel if any other threats came through the doorway, he raised an eyebrow and encouraged Natalie to continue.

“Out of all my targets, Olivia was the one I was most disappointed didn’t die and I wanted a do-over.

When I couldn’t find the little slut, I tracked the Jonathan guy at the hospital who was looking for her to the coffee shop.

With some hacking, so you couldn’t find either of us, I lured him to my apartment.

I only had to flirt with him for a few minutes before the narcotic I slipped in his drink had him crying about how Olivia ruined his life, and oh, what makes you and your buddies special. ”

A smile as cold as the fury in Nic’s veins slipped onto his face. “Then you know I can kill you before you even have time to scream.”

“Don’t.” Edgar repeated the command, “We need to find out what she knows.”

Nic fought to keep his mask in place as she studied his steel hand. “I know you won’t use any of your bionic body parts on me, cause if you do, I won’t tell you what the Diablos have planned for Olivia when she finishes the surgery.”

His nostrils flared like the dragon he wished would burst through the doors and incinerate every inch of her. “Tell me.”

“After I escaped the Diablos, I wrote a program to lock down the operating room. I engaged the locks once I knew you were headed to me. The only way they can be opened is with a code. Once the surgery is over in a few minutes, your girl is going to die in there unless you do what I ask. But if you agree to help me, I’ll unlock the doors so you can bust in there and save the day.

I’ll also throw in how the Diablos plan to kill her. ”

Olivia hummed to the country song playing over the speakers. Her feet hurt and her head ached, but Harlee’s surgery was going better than she’d expected.

A faint beep chimed in her head.

“Olivia?”

“Scarlett?” Olivia stilled. Where was Nic? He’d said this connection was just for the two of them.

“Yes, it’s me. Are you in a position to listen?”

Olivia flinched at the gravity in her tone. “Yes.”

“Are you okay, Dr. Darren?”

Olivia glanced at Dr. Morgan, who’d scrubbed in to assist. She forced herself to concentrate on the country music softly playing over the speakers so she wouldn’t hyperventilate.

Checking in with Nic periodically had helped calm her, but Scarlett’s tone did the opposite. “ What’s going on? Is Nic okay?”

“He’s fine. Patience showed me your latest X-ray because something looked off. We used nano imaging to get a better look. The spot on your clavicle isn’t a benign lesion. It’s a tracker.”

Olivia couldn’t hold back her squeak. “A tracker?”

“Not just a tracker. I’ve seen prototypes of miniature devices that can video and record through skin and clothes. I can’t be sure, but I believe that’s what is in your bone.”

“What?” Olivia swayed as fear coalesced with exhaustion . “That’s not possible.”

The ortho representative touched the small of her back. “Whoa there.”

“I’m good.” She shrugged off the thirty-something man with the raspy voice and dark-blue eyes who was on-site to troubleshoot issues with the bone saw or other equipment she’d used during the surgery. Thankfully there hadn’t been any problems—until now—and he couldn’t solve them.

“Shooting lasers with one’s mind isn’t possible either,” Scarlett said . “But I’m sure you’ve figured out it’s a reality. ”

“Fair point.”

“Who did your surgery?”

“One of Jonathan’s colleagues. He suddenly quit the day after my surgery.” The timing slapped her across the face so hard her skin stung. “Son of a bitch.”

Jonathan had checked her mountain bike minutes before they’d tackled a steep downhill. He must have messed with the chain and caused the accident. Had she even broken the bone, or had Jonathan manipulated her X-ray so his hunting buddy could plant a damn tracker in her body?

Dr. Morgan caught Olivia’s gaze. “Are you sure you’re okay, Dr. Darren? Let me close for you?”

“Say no.”

“No.” Olivia tensed every muscle in her body, but fear shook her to the core. “I got this.”

“Listen, Olivia. You need to draw out this surgery as long as you can until we figure out how to get you out of there.”

She glanced at the door, expecting to see a barricade. Instead, she spotted the nurse typing on the computer. “ What do you mean get me out of here? Where’s Nic?”

“He’s with Natalie now. She’s asking for help in exchange for information.”

“Help with what?” She slowed down her progress. “And why wouldn’t I be able to get out of here when I’m done?”

“Just operate slow. Can you do that?”

A series of beeps jolted her like she’d been brought back to life with a defibrillator.

“Heart rate is dropping,” the anesthesiologist said. “We need to close up the patient. Now.”

Dr. Morgan held out her hand. “Let me take over if you aren’t capable of finishing the job.”