The Hero Read online

  She gazed into his dark eyes and melted under the flagrant desire she saw there. His hand slowly caressed down to her fingers. Breathing became difficult as her blood pounded in her ears.

  She attempted to swallow. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t look away from him. A thick black line encircled his irises, and his pupils were dilated. Their bodies were touching so that every bit of his heat soaked through her clothes and into her skin.

  Unable to help herself, she gripped his fingers. “Don’t do this,” she begged. She wasn’t strong enough to deny him. She couldn’t do it as a teenager—and she certainly couldn’t do it now.

  Not with the imposing, commanding man who held her immobile with the promise of ecstasy she knew he could deliver.

  “I don’t have a choice,” he whispered. “I’ve never had a choice with you. I see you, and I have to have you.”

  The urge to give in, to melt in his arms was overwhelming. She’d dreamed of it so many times. Now, he was offering himself.

  How could she refuse?

  How could she accept?

  It took her years to get over Owen—if she ever really had. She was beginning to seriously doubt that. But she knew there was no future together. He had his life where he thought she didn’t belong, and she had hers.

  Granted, she was now out of a job, but once the Russians no longer wanted her dead, she’d find something else. A job could be replaced. Her life couldn’t. So she wasn’t going to give her position at the embassy much thought for the moment.

  Owen, on the other hand, stood before her. It would be so easy to lean into him and let him hold her, to let him take care of her. He did it so effortlessly.

  But for how long? That’s what kept her from giving in, but that argument was wearing thin when his heat and words kept pulling her closer.

  Somehow, she found the wherewithal to pull her hand from his. Then she took an intentional step back to guard her heart. “I thought you said I didn’t fit in with your life.”

  “I was wrong.”

  “Will you still think you’re wrong once we find Orrin and stop the group after this?” she asked, holding up her purse.

  “Yes. And I like your faith in me,” he replied sarcastically.

  “I’m basing it on past experience.” She didn’t give him time to respond. She turned and started toward Emily, who stood watching with unabashed curiosity.

  “Damn,” Emily said when Natalie reached her. There was a hint of sadness and even a little envy in her black eyes. “I’ve looked for that kind of passion my entire life. Don’t be a fool and let it go.”

  “He nearly destroyed me once. I won’t go through that again.”

  Emily touched her arm in comfort. The moment was broken as one of the doors at the back of the room opened and a man in a white lab coat entered.

  His dirty blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Vivid blue eyes behind black-rimmed glasses took in the room. He held Owen’s gaze the longest.

  She noticed how Owen remained where he was, closest to the doors. Were the men out there? She hoped they’d walked on, but she doubted that was the case. Owen would know. But she didn’t ask. Sometimes the not knowing gave a person a measure of desperately needed peace.

  It was an illusion. She knew that. Yet, she grasped what little she could and held on tightly. Because the worst had yet to come.

  Emily’s welcoming smile as the man approached was genuine and reflected in her black eyes. “Simon. Thank you for agreeing to do this.”

  “I don’t know what I’m doing, and until I know for sure, I won’t be doing anything.”

  She wasn’t offended. She would be just the same in his shoes. She held out her hand to him. “Hello. I’m Natalie Dixon, and we’re in a bit of a bind. Your help would be greatly appreciated.”

  “Simon Moore,” he said as he took her hand and shook it.

  Natalie set the purse on the table between them and took out the container that held the vial. “As much as we’d like to tell you the entire story, it’s classified.”

  “You talk as if you work for the government,” Simon said, glancing at Owen.

  Owen crossed his arms over his chest. “We do. I’m a Navy SEAL. The few facts I can give you are that a vial was stolen from another country because our government wanted it, and those people want it back.”

  “Needless to say, that country is furious,” Natalie added.

  Simon braced his hands on the table, eyeing the tube and the vial within. “How angry?”

  “They killed my aunt and uncle,” Owen stated. “They’ll go after anyone associated with whatever is inside that vial.”

  Simon turned to Owen. “What’s in it?”

  “That’s what we want you to tell us.”

  Simon snorted and shook his head as he once more looked at the cylinder. “It’s dangerous, isn’t it?”

  “We think so,” Callie answered. “It’s why I put it in this tube.”

  “Smart thinking,” he told her. Then he held out his hand.

  Her heart leapt. “Are you going to help us?”

  “I’m a chemist,” he told her as he turned the cylinder over and over in his hands. “My curiosity won’t allow me to walk away without knowing what it is.”

  “Even if it puts your life in danger?” Owen asked.

  Simon swung his gaze to Owen. “Even then. Someone has hurt your family for this. Tell me, why not ask the government for help?”

  “Time,” she replied.

  With a nod, Simon walked back through the door he entered from. The top portion was glass. There was also several tempered glass windows looking into the room.

  “It’s his lab,” Emily explained. She then swiveled her head to Natalie. “They’re after you, too, aren’t they?”

  “I’m just helping some friends,” she lied.

  Emily raised a black brow and cocked her head to the side. “Nice try. Is there anything I can do?”

  “How much control do you have here?” Owen asked.

  Emily said, “Quite a lot. What do you have in mind?”

  “There are two large men looking for us. They’ll make their way into the building, if they haven’t already. Think you can get rid of them?”

  Emily winked. “Give me a second, sugar.”

  “No,” Natalie said. “I don’t want anyone else involved.”

  “They won’t know I am,” Emily assured her and exited through a back door.

  She pulled up a stool from another table and sat. Her gaze swung to Owen. He watched the door in case the men came through.

  She’d used to joke that he had eyes in the back of his head. No one was ever able to come up behind Owen and scare him. He always knew when anyone ever tried.

  And she had attempted it many different ways.

  Suddenly, his eyes slid to her. She recalled his words, and chills raced over her skin. She wanted him with a desperation that was all too familiar. Not even the long years apart could make her body forget him.

  Once Orrin was found—because she knew they would find him—Owen would return to his unit of the SEALs. And everything would go back to the way it was.

  He was so sure she wouldn’t like the military life. What irritated her was that he was right. She wanted her time with him, and to have that reduced to just a few weeks a year wasn’t much of a relationship.

  How could she stay angry with him for protecting their country? He risked his life every day for their freedom. He was a hero in every way possible.

  He wanted her. It was there for the world to see. He wasn’t hiding it. But she refused to allow him back into her life—and her heart.

  Even if being with him was pure, unadulterated bliss.

  “What’s Simon doing?” Owen said.

  She blinked and looked away from him. “I don’t know. I always hated chemistry.”

  He moved to stand near one of the windows and looked inside. “He’s trying to figure out the compounds within the liquid.”

 
She glanced at the biosuit Simon wore and wondered how safe they were in the lab next to him. Would walls and glass stop Ragnarok?

  Probably not with a name like that.

  The door opened, and Emily walked in. “The men following you are out of the building, but they haven’t left the campus. They’ll be waiting.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “They won’t just follow us back will they?” Natalie asked.

  Owen looked at his watch. “No.”

  “I suppose that means you’re going to take care of them?”

  “Yes.” He had been waiting for this since they decided to go to Baylor. It was time he had a face-to-face with the Russians.

  And take two more off the list.

  That would leave only the remaining four. An easy target to take out.

  Easy.

  “Too easy,” he mumbled.

  “What did you say?” Natalie asked.

  He shook his head. “Nothing.”

  What were they missing? Callie had checked. There were twelve men from Russia. Just twelve. But why would they put themselves in a position to only leave four to find the vial?

  They wouldn’t.

  “There’s more,” he said as he faced Natalie.

  Her forehead furrowed. “More? More what?”

  “Men.”

  “But Callie looked.”

  He nodded as he strode to her. “I know. Maybe they were already here.”

  “We need Callie.”

  His lips compressed as he sent off a coded text to Wyatt.

  Meanwhile, Natalie turned to Emily. “Is there a computer I can borrow?”

  Emily left the lab and returned almost immediately with a laptop. “It’s my personal computer. The campus can’t track whatever you’re going to do.”

  Natalie opened the laptop and began punching keys as he looked to see what she was doing.

  “There’s a group of expat Russians in Dallas. I didn’t even think about them yesterday. I should have,” she told him.

  “We’ve had a lot going on.”

  Emily’s eyes widened as she pieced it together. “Natalie, you work for the Russian Embassy.”

  “Did. I’m pretty sure I no longer have a job,” she said.

  Seconds later, a website pulled up for the Russian expat group. Natalie went to every link, but there was no way to know how big the group was.

  “I’m not a hacker,” she said as she met Owen’s gaze. “Callie could find out all there is to know with little effort.”

  “It’s a good place to start. There has to be a contact name,” he said.

  He looked over his shoulder at Dr. Simon Moore, who was still sorting through the ingredients of the vial. He’d likely be there for some time. And there was no telling how long it would take Callie to get their information.

  All they had now was time on their hands. Which made Owen uneasy.

  “Umm,” Emily said. “I might know someone who could get into the website.”

  Natalie was shaking her head before Emily finished. “No. You’re doing too much already.”

  He pointed to the contact name on the screen. “Perhaps your hacker friend could give us information on Irina Matveev?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Sklad …

  Orrin had no idea what day it was or the time. The small room had no windows. Then there was the fact that he’d been knocked unconscious so many times he could’ve slept for days and not known it.

  Yuri was becoming impatient. The torture sessions were coming more frequently, but he could take them. He would tell Yuri nothing.

  He dimly heard something. He cracked open his good eye and saw that the door wasn’t shut all the way. He saw the boots of one of his guards.

  But that crack allowed in sound. The two guards were talking. Or rather, one was giving his not so pleasant thoughts about someone in power while the other merely grunted in response.

  He was about to disregard them when he heard mention of the Saints. That name had come to his attention years ago when he was on another mission. He’d learned nothing about the faction, and sadly, soon forgot.

  But, apparently, the sect had quietly worked behind the scenes.

  A thread of unease wound through him. Shadow organizations were always the hardest to bring down, because finding the head of such a nefarious group was nearly impossible.

  Orrin closed his eyes and concentrated, blocking out the closest voices. Until he picked up another voice, one that he recognized—Yuri’s. Yuri was speaking in Russian, and by the profanity-laced rant, things weren’t going well.

  “What are they doing at Baylor?” Yuri demanded, half in Russian, and the other half in English. It was a habit of Yuri’s when he got upset.

  The question caught Orrin’s attention. So the boys were at Baylor. Most likely, they were attempting to discover what was in the biochemical. It was the smart thing to do.

  He knew without having to wonder that Callie was right in the mix of things, as well. She was like a daughter, and he worried endlessly about her. Callie was strong, but she had a soft heart and a driving desire to be wanted and needed. She was more than competent in the field, but he knew firsthand what could happen to people in their profession.

  He hadn’t wanted it for Callie. It’s why he’d turned her from the FBI. It was also why he kept her at the base, away from the danger.

  Not so much now.

  Yuri was speaking again, but it was too fast and fading in and out, as if he were pacing, for Orrin to hear everything. He did pick up a few things, though.

  Whoever Yuri spoke with must be in Texas. He also heard something about Dallas and Russians dying. He inwardly let out a shout. His boys were doing damage to the group and taking them out one by one.

  It wasn’t until he heard Yuri say the name Natalie Dixon that Orrin drew up short. She must have found something about Ragnarok. That’s the only reason she’d be involved.

  He knew the boys and Callie would take care of her, but it was another life he had to worry about. Still, he wondered how Owen was taking it. Perhaps it would force his middle son to realize one of his biggest mistakes and rectify it.

  The men were coming at his boys from every angle. Not that it would slow his children down. If only he could be there, helping them kick some Russian ass.

  His sons were prepared, though. All three were the best of their branches. They hadn’t gotten there by chance. They did it because it was in their blood—and because no Loughman knew how to fail.

  Yuri ended the call and then proceeded to yell at anyone near him. That temper of his was going to get him one day. Yet Yuri played the political dance within the military excellently, enough to get him where he was.

  Orrin had enjoyed that dance once. Now it sickened him. All the deceit and backstabbing left a bitter taste in his mouth.

  A phone rang. Yuri stopped yelling mid-sentence. The quiet told Orrin that whoever was calling wasn’t someone Yuri wanted to speak with.

  “Da?” Yuri’s voice was filled with reverence. And a heavy dose of anxiety. “I understand, sir. It is perfectly clear. I know how important it is. I will find Ragnarok.”

  Orrin wished he knew who it was on the other end of the call. He made a mental list of all the officers who outranked Yuri. There had been a couple through the years who didn’t exactly like Yuri.

  But which one?

  “He is not talking,” Yuri said. There was a long beat of silence before Yuri replied, “I will get it out of him one way or the other.”

  If Orrin had the energy, he’d snort. Yuri was good at what he did, but Orrin’s family was at stake. He hadn’t been able to protect his wife, but he was going to make damn sure his sons, Natalie, and Callie were spared.

  The door to his room slammed open and hit the wall. Yuri’s heavy footsteps stopped inches from his face, but Orrin didn’t so much as flinch.

  “Wake him,” Yuri ordered.

  Water was unceremoniously poured atop his head once aga
in. Orrin blew out, spraying water. He rolled his head so he could look up at Yuri with his good eye.

  “I have been nice,” Yuri said. “That stops now. I know you are hurt. I know several ribs are broken as well as your wrist.”

  Orrin didn’t bother to tell him that his right shoulder was dislocated from falling on it at the last beating. It wouldn’t have happened had his hands not been bound.

  “I can end your misery. Just tell me where the vial is,” Yuri urged.

  Orrin closed his eyes. He couldn’t be too eager, lest his plan not work. Yuri had to think he’d managed to get the information on his own.

  “No matter how good your sons are, Orrin, they will not be able to withstand what I am sending their way. Three men can only do so much against a dozen of my men.”

  He had faith in his sons. He’d seen them in combat situations. He’d seen them training, and he’d seen them on missions. He knew just how good they were. They were ten times as good as he was at his best—which had been damn good.

  “One more punch to your ribs and you could have a punctured lung,” Yuri said. “Do not go out like this. The vial does not belong to your country. It is ours. Give it back, and I will leave your family alone.”

  He knew that for the lie that it was, but he opened his eye and met Yuri’s gaze. “You swear no one will come after my sons?”

  “I give you my word.”

  How many times had Yuri said those words to him? And how many of them had been laced with the same lie? He didn’t want to think about that now. He’d consider it later once Yuri was dead.

  “Tell me,” Yuri said. He squatted down beside him and smiled. “We share a lot of good memories, stariy droog. Let us be friends again. You were only following orders, as am I. There is no reason this has to end badly for either of us. This is for our countries to bicker about, not us.”

  Orrin hesitated, darting his gaze away from Yuri. He had to make it look convincing. Because the one thing Orrin wasn’t was a traitor to his country or his family.

  He’d had plenty of beatings before, and he was prepared to withstand much more of the torture Yuri had already doled out. But if he could give his sons even a few more hours, then it was worth what this small lie was going to cost him.