Truth in the agent’s claim?

Ninety-seven percent chance he believes what he said.

No, she thought again. She shook her head violently, whipping strawberry-colored strands of hair against her cheeks. “I’ll protect him. I won’t let anything happen to him.” I’m going to die. Not him.

“You may not have a choice.”

Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits, his warning playing through her mind yet again. “You said you think he’ll die. You think or you know?”

A muscle ticked under his eye. “Think. I haven’t seen him take his final breath.”

Her shoulder straightened, hope beaming bright rays inside her. “What did you see? Exactly?”

“Him, begging for your life. Him, fighting to get to you. You, shooting him in the heart.”

“He’s not going to suffer a single scratch,” she said, because she still couldn’t believe otherwise. “I won’t let him.” But part of her feared Dallas’s words all the way to her bones, and she floundered with what to do.

They just want to drive me away, and they would do and say anything to make it happen. True, so true. “I’m going to help him with this case, and then I’m going to disappear. Okay? None of you will have to see me again. Until then, leave me the hell alone.”

“Mishka!”

“Jaxon?” Surprise, relief, and joy shot through her like rockets. Her eyes widened and she popped to her feet. Jaxon was here! Her heart pounded inside her chest, and every nerve inside her body suddenly tingled. He was back! He was alive and well.

For the moment, Dallas’s warning faded to the back of her mind. Only one thing mattered just then: being in her man’s arms.

“Where is she?” He sounded closer.

“Jaxon!” She raced toward the door just as he shoved past Dallas and Mia.

He spotted her and opened his arms. She plowed into his strength. She wanted to kiss him but she ended up shaking him. “Don’t leave like that again!”

He cupped the back of her neck and pierced her with his gaze. She noticed worry lines around his mouth. His muscles were tense underneath her hands.

“Are you okay?” he asked before she could do the same.

“Yes. Now.”

“I was going crazy without you. I couldn’t find you at the hotel, almost went to Nolan’s but decided to check here first. Did they hurt you?”

They. She didn’t have to ask who they were. “No. They showed up at the hotel about an hour after you left and escorted me here.”

His eyelids closed briefly, and he sighed. “Thank you for not killing them.”

“You’re welcome.”

He jerked her closer, hugged her, and squeezed the breath right out of her. And then their lips met in a heated kiss. No preliminaries. One of his hands tangled in her hair, the other cupped her jaw, angling her head for deeper contact. She held on to him, afraid to let go.

Desire swept through her, hot and hungry. He tasted as decadent as she remembered, was her anchor in the midst of a storm as she’d always craved, and gave her a sense of wholeness she’d never found with anyone else.

How had she ever lived without him?

He lifted his head and simply stared down at her, silver eyes intense. “God, I missed you.”

“What took you so long?” she asked, nuzzling her cheek against his neck. His pulse was strong and fast. Dallas had to be wrong. No way this powerful man could be destroyed.

He traced the tip of his thumb over her lips, and she shivered. “We’ll talk about that in a bit,” he said. He turned toward his friends, keeping Mishka snuggled at his side. “You locked her up?”

No longer was his voice tender and loving. He sounded mean, like he could coldly murder anyone who stepped into his path.

Unrepentant, Mia squared her shoulders. “Seemed like a good idea. She wrote a list, detailing all the ways to kill you.”

He shrugged, unconcerned.

Just like that. He trusted her, she realized with shock and awe. He didn’t even have to hear her reasoning.

Mia shook her head in disgust. “Where have you been?”

“I’ll explain later.”

“It is later! We’ve been waiting. You left without warning. What else were we supposed to do? Let her go back to the otherworlder? Who has contacted his brethren, by the way. Not that you asked or even seemed to care.”

A muscle ticked below Jaxon’s left eye, causing his scar to dance. “She’s mine, and I will not tolerate poor treatment of her. Understand?”

Mute, Mia scowled at him.

Dallas rubbed at his temples, as if warding off an ache. “Why don’t I go with my instincts anymore?” he muttered. “Just lift my gun and shoot.”

Jaxon growled low in his throat.

“Look,” Mishka said. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Just tell him about Nolan so we can all get back to work.”

Dallas just shook his head in frustration and stomped off. He cared about Jaxon, she knew that. But no matter what his visions told him, she wasn’t going to let Jaxon get hurt. She’d die first.

Facing Jaxon and ignoring Mishka as if she wasn’t even in the room, Mia said, “Eden snuck into Nolan’s apartment. She used X-ray goggles. That bubbly plaster in the bedroom wall is being used to hide something, a book of some sort, but she couldn’t get to it without letting Nolan know she was there.”

“Did he do his disappearing act?”

Mia nodded. “Twice. Lucius was able to monitor his body heat, though, and learned something interesting. Nolan doesn’t go to another planet or even to another parallel, as we first suspected. He doesn’t even molecularly transport. He just becomes invisible.”

“But I watched him walk through a wall,” Jaxon said.

Now Mia shook her head. “No. That’s what he wanted you to think. All he did was disappear in front of a wall, bit by bit. He stayed in the club the entire time, is my bet. Might even have followed you home.”

Shit, Mishka thought, impressed. Sneaky bastard.

“We’re not sure who he’s playing,” Mia said. “Us or his brethren.”

“We need to find out what his ultimate goal is,” Mishka said.

“No shit,” Mia muttered.

Jaxon stiffened.

“Don’t,” Mishka told him, knowing he was about to yell at the agent.

Slowly he relaxed, and she fought a smile. She loved how protective he was of her, how he rushed to her defense. He’s mine. For now. The stray thought brought a frown. Don’t think like that.

“If Nolan can’t transport, that means he can be locked away.” Jaxon stroked a finger along the stubble of his jaw. “Which means the others can be locked away, too.”

Mia gave another nod.

“Any more victims?”

Yet another nod from Mia, this one grim. “Two civilians. Jack has them and he’s ceased all testing since three of the doctors became infected. Also, one of our own succumbed. Jaffee. She was dating one of the doctors.”

Mishka kissed Jaxon’s neck. “I’m sorry.”

He massaged her shoulder in acknowledgment. “I need a few hours with Mishka. Alone. And then—”

Mia growled. “You’re putting another halt to the case to screw your murdering girlfriend?”

He released Mishka and was in Mia’s face a moment later. “First, there’s not much we can do until we find the other Schön. And we can’t find them until Nolan makes a move. Right now, he’s not moving. Second, don’t talk about Mishka like that. I will retaliate. She’s endured more than you’ll ever know. She suffered for your friend, did you know that? She—”

“Jaxon,” Mishka said. “Don’t. Please.”

He ran his tongue over his teeth and quieted. He didn’t want to, she could tell, but he did it. For her.

Suddenly Kyrin shoved Mia behind him, violet eyes glaring hotly at Jaxon. “I will retaliate, as well. You do not yell at Mia.”

“Bring it on.”

Mishka had always wanted someone to fight for her, and now a man was doing it. Truly, Jaxon had made all her dreams come true. But now she realized that it would be better for him to not fight for her. He could lose his friends, people he cherished.

Now his happiness came before her own.

When she died, she did not want him left with nothing.

“Jaxon, they didn’t hurt me.” She stroked a hand over his spine. “They fed me, gave me shelter, and were even mildly entertaining.”

The stiffness did not leave his body. “You deserve better.”

Okay. Seriously. She loved this man. “I wanted to be here. I knew you’d show up sooner or later.”

His shallow breaths became more even and deep.

Huffing with indignation, Mia pushed her way back to front and center and glared at Jaxon. “Look at the trouble she’s causing already. I wouldn’t doubt if she caused this strife on purpose. And that list—”

“Isn’t important. I need her for the case, so I’m taking her,” Jaxon said, getting them back on track. “She’s our best chance for success, and you know it. Just give me a fucking couple of hours. I have something to show her and then she’ll be able to convince Nolan to lead us directly to the other Schön.”

Something to show her? What?

“You know how to reach me,” he continued. “Call me if anything happens.”

“Yeah? I should call you if she tries number eleven? Injecting a virus into the tip of your penis so no one will find the puncture wound and know what happened?”

“Yeah.”

“Fine,” Mia snapped, “but you’re stupid to trust her. She’s been in touch with her boss since you left. He ordered her to kill you. Did you know that?” With that, Mia and Kyrin stomped off, their footsteps echoing in the hall.

CHAPTER 23

I’m not going to kill you,” Le’Ace assured him, a sort of desperate panic in her voice. She gripped his shirt. “I’m not even going to try, I swear. I made the list because I was planning how best to protect you, to fortify your vulnerabilities. As for Estap—”

“I know, sweetheart.”

Jaxon glanced over at Mishka, and his heart swelled in his chest. At the word sweetheart, her red lips had parted on a gasp and tears had misted her hazel eyes.

God, she was lovely. His friends hadn’t let her bathe; her hair hung in tangles, and dark circles formed half-moons under her eyes, but she was still the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. Strong, courageous, and loving. Yeah, he could see it in her gaze.

The woman loved him.

Her face glowed with the emotion, softening her features with all kinds of sexy. More than that, she wouldn’t have given herself to him otherwise. She wouldn’t have waited here with people who hated her. He knew her skills; she could have escaped at any time and killed everyone in residence.

She was probably scared right now. Not of him, but of Estap. She probably expected punishment and pain. Yet still she remained in place, unwilling to hurt Jaxon in any way.

“You trust me?” she asked, incredulous. “I mean, I realized you did when you didn’t care about the list, but…”

“But you need to hear me say it. I understand. Absolutely I trust you. No question. I see your heart, woman, I know who you really are.” He drew her closer, so close their chests pressed together. He cupped her cheeks and traced his thumbs over her smooth skin, wishing he could give her the world. Would give it to her, in fact. “Come on. I need to show you something.”

She swallowed. “You mentioned that already. What?”

“Sweetheart, you’re just going to have to trust me. It’s a surprise.”

Her eyes misted again. Obviously she liked being called by the endearment, so he was going to make sure he called her sweetheart at least fifty times a day.

“I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“You will,” he promised. He twined their hands together and tugged her from the cell, up a flight of stairs, and into the main area.

His friends were congregated in the living room, where they’d set up observation. Snack wrappers and empty cups littered the floor. Eden and Lucius manned the computers. Devyn lounged in a chair, flipping through a holocopy of Kink magazine, it looked like. Not that Jaxon had a subscription or anything. Mia and Kyrin sat on the love seat and Mia was outlining Jaxon’s “dumb-ass behavior.”

“Call my cell if anything changes,” Jaxon told them.

“Will do,” Eden said, flashing him an amused grin. Her skin and hair were so golden they glittered in the light. A honey scent wafted from her, and that scent apparently affected Lucius in a big way. The man’s cheeks were flushed and he was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Jaxon knew the feeling. He’d like nothing more than to whisk Mishka away for heart-pounding, sweat-dripping sex, her pleasure screams in his ears, her nails in his ass, her legs on his shoulders. Afterward, he wanted to hold her, talk to her.

Soon…

He’d missed her more than anything he’d ever missed before.

Outside, the sun shone brightly and he had to blink against its harsh rays as they stepped past the garage’s bared walls. The midday air was warmer than usual, beading sweat over his body. Cars sped down the surrounding streets, flashes of color quickly gone. To the right, he could see the gates to Nolan’s building. A group of people were leaving, talking and laughing.

Jaxon helped Mishka into his SUV and buckled her in. After giving her a swift kiss, he settled in the driver’s seat and programmed their location. Automatically the car jostled into gear and onto the road, its sensors and navigation system in control, freeing him to face his woman.