Hilton caught Lily's hands and yanked them out in front of her, snapping handcuffs tightly around her wrists. On the pretense of checking to see if they were on solidly he jerked her wrists back and forth maliciously.

"That's enough, Hilton. Let's get out of here." Lily slid off the desk, testing her bad leg. She could limp, dragging her leg along, but it would never hold up if she had to run. With a sigh of resignation, she fell into line behind Hilton. Somewhere outside, the GhostWalkers were waiting. She hoped they were all the colonel said they were. Chameleons. Lying in wait to ambush her kidnappers.

Eighteen

LILY wasn't in the least surprised at the lack of security guards. Phillip Thornton had to be in on whatever Colonel Higgens was up to and he must have insisted Higgens have full cooperation. The guards had been pulled to another part of the laboratories. She kept her head down, concentrating on the mechanism locking the handcuffs. She had never been good with locks. Even after studying how they worked, she rarely succeeded in opening them. It took finite concentration, a focused energy with pinpoint precision and skill. Lily was angry with herself for not taking more care to acquire the skill.

We're in place, Lily. Use your leg. Slow them down. We don't want the colonel to think you're capable of running. Ryland sounded very confident.

Lily frowned. I'm not capable of running. And don't get yourself caught. I can get out of this.

You're such a little liar. You need me to rescue you.

The taunting amusement in his voice warmed her. It was only then she realized she was shivering with fear. Lily tossed her hair and rolled her eyes in case by some miracle Ryland could see her, but she slowed her pace, dragging her bad leg a little more.

Colonel Higgens put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll have Hilton bring the car around so you don't have to walk so far." Now that he thought she believed Miller had disposed of her father, he could afford to be civil.

"He looks like the captain I danced with at the benefit," Lily ventured, to keep him distracted.

"They're brothers. Neither is very bright, but they come in handy." The colonel put his hand on his gun as they entered the elevator. He had little control of the guards on the ground area and any of them might spot the handcuffs. "I'll shoot anyone who tries to stop us," he warned. "Think of this as a national security mission. You have a chance to save lives, Dr. Whitney. You choose."

He paused to snatch two lab coats from a small room close to the elevators, tossing one to Hilton. "You look a little worse for the wear-put that on and cover up the blood." The other jacket he arranged over Lily's wrists to hide the cuffs. "We're going to walk out all together, very close to one another. Hilton, you'll go get the car and bring it up to us."

He's sending his henchman to get the car. This man killed my father.

The warmth suddenly surrounding her was strong. She realized immediately the other men were tapped into the telepathic wave of energy, listening, waiting and ready to strike on her behalf. It made her feel a part of something. When had she gone from being so alone and devastated to belonging?

Does anyone actually use the word "henchman"? Ryland asked.

There was a collective murmur of negatives, a few laughs and snorts of derision.

I'm sorry, honey. The verdict is no one uses that antiquated word.

Antiquated? Her breath nearly stopped in her lungs when she spotted two security guards coming toward them near the end of the long corridor. Should I have used "bad guy"? Would that be more modern? The overload of adrenaline was making her shaky, almost high, but it numbed the pain in her leg, allowing her to function properly.

A few more minutes, Lily, Ryland encouraged her. Your heart is beating too fast. Slow it down.

Another voice broke in. It's the anticipation of seeing us again. She likes me. Gator drawled the words in his Cajun accent.

Lily had to keep from laughing in spite of the dangerous situation. She didn't dare look at Higgens, afraid her expression would give her away. The men were outrageous in their efforts to be reassuring.

I do, Gator. I thought you were so cute when I first saw you. The guards nodded to Higgens as they hurried past.

Changing of the shift. Everyone was tired. Higgens wasn't quite so stupid after all. The guards would not want to see anything unusual. They just wanted to go home to their families and rest.

You don't need to be looking at Gator anymore, Ryland decided. Not if you're thinking he's cute. What the hell is cute anyway?

Not you, Gator pointed out.

In spite of the banter, Lily sensed the edge of grim tension building in their voices. The double doors leading out into the complex were looming. She kept her head down and walked slowly, dragging her leg.

Hilton pushed open the doors and waved her through. Lily didn't look at him. He was dead. He just didn't know it yet. She kept walking until Higgens tugged on her arm, bringing her abruptly to a halt. Hilton trotted off. "That was smart to stay quiet with the guards. You wouldn't want blood on your hands."

Lily lifted her head to look him directly in the eye. "Don't let the fact that I'm a woman fool you, Colonel. I don't mind violence under the right circumstances. Someone is responsible for killing my father and I'm going to find them."

He smiled at her. His eyes were flat. "I hope you do, Dr. Whitney."

The car pulled up beside them. Higgens reached out to open the door for her. Lily half turned as if to slide onto the passenger seat. Instead she snapped out a front kick, putting her weight behind it. The kick took Higgens precisely in the solar plexus, driving the air from his lungs so that he collapsed like a deflated balloon. As he went down, Kaden loomed up behind him, finishing her work with a vicious chop to his neck. Colonel Higgens dropped to the asphalt like stone.

Kaden didn't hesitate, shoving Lily into the car and crowding in after her. "Go, go." Phase one completed. We have recovery. Repeat, we have recovery.

"They'll stop us at the gate," Lily pointed out. "Kaden, get these cuffs off me. I can't stand them." She was phase one. The retrieved object. The idea irritated her but not as much as the metal cuffs on her wrists.

"We're in possession of the gate at the moment, Lily," he replied gently. "Just a few more minutes. As soon as I know we're clear."

"Did Arly get out?" She was looking at the driver in an effort to identify him. He wore the white lab coat Hilton had been wearing.

Jonas glanced at her in the mirror and winked. "Arly's waiting outside the gates with the Porsche. Sweet little number, that car. I'd like to drive it sometime." He sounded very hopeful. He pulled the car right up to the gate. The uniformed man simply opened the door and slid in on the other side of Lily so she was surrounded.

Ryland framed her face in his hands and kissed her hard. "Damn it, Lily, I'm going to find a padded room and lock you up in it where I know you're safe," he said, then turned to watch their back trail. Lily could see the gun in his hand.

Behind them, the laboratories rocked with several loud explosions. She turned to look out the back window. Smoke billowed into the sky. "Who did that?"

"Kyle, of course. He does like to blow things up."

"There are a lot of innocent people working there," she pointed out.

Jonas drew the car up beside the Porsche. Arly was out of the car and pacing back and forth. They were four blocks from the laboratories and could hear the sirens blaring in alarm. Ryland dragged Lily out of the backseat and put her in the Porsche, taking the keys from Arly before the man could protest.