“Nothing.” Harper shrugged it off. She couldn’t talk to Rome about it. She didn’t even know where to begin. Didn’t want to burden him with her doubts and fears. He said she had enough strength to handle everything. She wanted to prove him right. “Nothing.” It was all she could say. “Let’s call Jeff later.”

Reaching with both of her hands, she pulled his face close, covering his lips with hers. Tasting. Memorizing. Hoping that this wouldn’t be their last night together, but knowing it was.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jeff Donovan sat in the plush chair of his office within the drab confines of the downtown facility, running over the disturbing events at the remote facility two days before. Someone had been eavesdropping. Two someones, actually.

His best agent, Rome Lucian, and that damned bitch, Harper Kane. The men who had chased the two of them in the forest had confirmed their identities.

And the two of them had escaped.

His cell phone trilled, and he stared at it with a withering glare, willing it to shut up.

He was angry. More than angry. How had they gotten into the laboratories? How had they known what to look for? More important, how did they manage to escape? Together, they’d managed to become seemingly unstoppable.

Another trill, this time with a buzz, sending the little phone skittering lightly across his immaculate desk. He seized the annoying device, almost chucking it against the wall just to see it break and fall apart into little pieces, just as his plans seemed to be doing.

But instead he gazed at the display. UNKNOWN CALLER. Why not? Probably another inept scientist offering up a new excuse as to why they couldn’t get the formula right.

Jeff was beginning to think maybe he shouldn’t have killed Dr. Robert Kane. If only to use his sister against him. He had so loved to hear Harper Kane’s screams when Dr. Andy had played with her in the romper room.

He opened the phone and pressed the green button to answer it.

“What?” he barked to the unknown caller on the other end.

“Mr. Donovan?” The cool voice was low and gravelly, yet very feminine. Speak of the damn devil. It was her. Harper Kane.

“Ms. Kane,” Jeff responded cordially. Somehow he should have seen this call coming. “What can I do for you?” He knew exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to dismantle her body and examine every single microscopic scrap, inside and out, to extract the formula, molecule by molecule. Instead, he decided to hear what she had in mind first.

“Well, you can start by calling off your men,” she answered conversationally. Her tone was calm and together. “It never seems to end well for them.”

Bitch. “I’ll see what I can do,” he countered, holding his anger in check. It wouldn’t do any good to piss her off.

“Besides,” she went on, “I can’t see what good it would do, given that I have original serum in me. My powers are stronger. I’ll always win.”

He could just picture the smug look on her face. She obviously knew more than she was letting on. And she’d overheard him talking to the idiot Dr. Blake.

“So, what exactly do you want?” Jeff decided to stop playing games before he chose to just kill her himself. His project was too valuable to waste on one wretched woman.

“Why don’t we get together?” she asked civilly, as if they were discussing getting together for tea.

“What did you have in mind?” She was obviously setting him up for something. This whole thing reeked of Rome. Having the skilled agent as an advocate was definitely a point in her favor. Several points, in fact.

“How about we meet back at the lab?” Harper suggested. Yes, she was undeniably setting him up. But why? She had to know he’d see through this.

“Ms. Kane,” Jeff said, figuring he better fish around for some clues as to what she was planning, “as much as I’d love to see you again, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. After all, you left so hastily last time we met. Didn’t you enjoy my hospitality?” There, that ought to throw her off a bit. Make her see that he wasn’t to be trifled with.

Her silence was good enough for him. He didn’t expect an actual answer.

“Not really,” she rallied. The bitch had guts; he’d give her that. “But I think maybe this time I can be of some help. I have something you need. Something I’d like to give you in exchange for leaving me alone.”

“Really?” Jeff was getting tired of this cat-and-mouse game. “And just what is it you think I need?”

“The formula,” Harper answered simply.

It was Jeff’s turn to be silent. She was lying. She had to be. The formula had been lost when Dr. Kane set fire to his lab, destroying every remnant of his precious creation. How in the world could she possibly have it?

“I take it you don’t believe me,” her complacent voice filtered through the connection.

“I find it hard to believe, yes,” he managed. Damn her. If she really had it, a meeting was worth the risk.

“Well, I saw that you found your men from the train tracks.” Her tone was confident. Not only had she overheard his conversation, but she’d dug around the lab as well. “I take it you saw what I left there. An empty syringe and a broken flash drive.” Yes, he had seen those. What was she getting at? “I bet you know what happened to the serum in the syringe.”

“Yes, I’m quite aware of it,” he answered, an unusual sense of foreboding washing over him.

“I’m sure you are.” She laughed, the arrogance grating on his stinging nerves. “But the flash drive wasn’t quite destroyed. I kept the memory chip.” The foreboding turned into dread. “And I have all of my brother’s data. I know what he did. And I have tangible proof. Of everything.”

Fear sank into his stomach like an anchor, latching onto the bottom. She wasn’t bluffing. He could hear it in her voice. It was his job to filter out the lies and mine for the truth. And through his many years of experience, he knew she was telling the truth. She could ruin everything he’d worked for.

But she hadn’t. Because she wanted to be left alone. Well, he could do that. For a short time. Time enough to get the formula out of her. And then he’d see to it that she was left alone. Alone to die.

“So, can we get together?” she asked once again.

“I’d like that,” Jeff answered flatly. Let her think she had him where she wanted him. Yes, she had Rome, but she was a novice at the games he could play. He just needed her unaccompanied for a few moments. “The lab, you said?”

“The courtyard outside the lab, actually,” she amended. “I’d like to stay outside, just in case. If you know what I mean.”

“I’m sure you would,” he snarked, unable to help himself. The woman needed the natural daylight to use her power. That much he knew. “Okay, I’ll agree to that. But I’d like you to come alone, just in case. If you know what I mean.” And he was sure she did.

“Of course,” she stated evenly. “One o’clock. Tomorrow.”

“One o’clock, tomorrow,” he repeated.

“Bye, then.” Her gravelly tone lifted a tad, and then the connection was severed.

He didn’t even try to trace the call. He had no need for it. Besides, he knew Rome had her use something undetectable.

Harper had accepted his terms. Though he didn’t believe her for one moment. He knew for a fact that she’d have Rome close by. For some unknown reason, the agent had decided to stand with her. Fine. Rome had clearly picked a side and would suffer dearly for it.

Once she stepped foot into the courtyard, Jeff would have her taken down. Yes, her power was superior, but he had superior numbers. And though not as strong, that many enhanced men would be able to, at the very least, subdue Harper and Rome.

And then he’d make them both suffer for choosing the wrong side.