Sweet Revenge

Chapter 30

Matt leaned against the ponderosa pine, his senses tuned in to the three men stalking him. He’d made enough sound for them to realize he was near as he led them away from Laney. In attack formation, they made barely a sound while moving through the forest.

They were good, but not as good as he.

Two of them had raised heart rates and breathing, while the other remained calm as death. Matt would bet his left arm the third guy was Emery.

Anticipation lit up Matt’s spine. He’d waited for this day for as long as he could remember. When they’d blown the facility to hell, he’d had the opportunity to kill Emery, and he hadn’t taken it. He’d given the guy a chance to find a life. Even now, years later, Matt felt for any kid who’d been raised by the commander and Dr. Madison. But Emery was now hunting Laney.

That meant death.

Matt’s time on earth may be limited, but while there, he’d take care of any threat to Laney without mercy. None.

He’d done his best with Emery, and the time for mercy had passed. It was time to end this.

So he slipped around the tree and approached one of the soldiers from behind. Shoving all emotion and thought into nothingness, Matt secured the guy in a headlock and twisted. The body hadn’t hit the ground before Matt maneuvered several yards to the right.

The other two men stopped moving. Shit. They must’ve been using the sensor system Jory had developed years ago. On mission, their vitals were transmitted to each other. If one of them went down, the transmission alerted them.

Even so, he could hear their heartbeats, even through the damaging storm. So he angled toward the guy trying not to breathe and was on him within seconds. They landed on the wet pine needles, and the soldier caught Matt with an impressive choke hold.

Matt punched him in the eye, and the hold loosened. Death was quick and painless.

A crack sounded just before Emery ran around a tree, already firing. The first bullet impacted Matt’s arm. The second, his shoulder. He rolled to the side and behind a tree, the rain piercing his eyes.

“You shot me?” he growled out. “Pussy.”

Emery laughed, the sound grating above the rolling thunder. “I’ve always wanted to fill you with lead.”

Matt glanced down at his bleeding right arm. “Guess you can’t take me in a fair fight.” Yeah, the bullet had surprised him. He’d always figured they’d do this hand to hand, and may the best soldier win. Measuring blood loss because he refused to feel the pain, he quickly slid between two trees and angled slightly to the north, his movements silent as he circled around his enemy.

Seconds later, several shots ricocheted off the tree where he’d caught his breath. He smiled.

Emery’s muffled curse echoed beneath the rain pummeling down.

Matt hunted quietly and with determination, his senses on high alert. He heard Emery before he smelled him. With a roll of his injured arm, Matt flipped around a birch and tackled Emery in the midsection.

Emery punched out even as they flew through the air, his fist catching Matt in the throat.

Matt jerked his head up and brought his forehead down on Emery’s nose. The crack of cartilage breaking filled the air right before they crashed to the muddy trail. Matt’s right arm was weakening, so he used his left to knock the gun from Emery’s hand. The weapon spun through pine needles and landed at the base of a swaying conifer. Lightning struck a tree with a resounding clash, and branches pummeled them from high above.

The scents of ozone and blood permeated the night.

Emery bashed his knees into Matt’s hips and threw him to the right. Matt rolled to one knee and kicked Emery in the face just like Emery had done to Jory once.

Matt shoved to his feet as Emery did the same. They both stood to well over six feet and had spent years honing their bodies into fighting shape. Except for the genetic eye marker that showed their lineage, they might have been brothers. But Emery had the deep brown eyes of his family, and they weren’t brothers. Not even close.

“Why?” Matt asked, circling around, using his senses to predetermine every time Emery decided to move.

“Why do I hate you?” Emery dropped into a fighting crouch.

“Yeah.” It didn’t make sense. They’d both endured hell, and while Matt had fought their handlers, Emery had embraced them.

Emery feinted to the left and settled his stance. “You’re an asshole who never got it. Never understood how fortunate we are. To be gifted. To be enhanced. To be gods.”

Matt tested his damaged arm. Not good. “You’re a god?”

Emery spit out blood. “We’re as close as possible. Created by geniuses with superior genes? Yeah. Instead of fighting who you are, you ran.”

“I ran to get freedom and safety for my brothers.” Matt waited for the opening he knew would be coming. “Why didn’t you? I’ve never understood why you’d sacrifice your brothers if necessary.”

“We didn’t have a choice.” For the briefest of seconds, vulnerability flashed in Emery’s eyes.

“Yes, we did.” Matt shook his head, ready to strike. There had to be more to life than orders and killing, and he’d found that with his brothers. Love and loyalty had shaped them as much as military drills. Maybe more.

“No. You’ve always been headed down this path because of your self-destructive need to protect your brothers. They’re your weakness, and now it’s bringing you to heel,” Emery spat.

Sorrow for Emery’s younger brothers flowed unchecked through Matt. His family gave him strength and a purpose. “Even if I lose, I’m not alone.”

“I won’t lose.” Emery smiled.

The soldier enjoyed inflicting pain and always had. “You like the killing.”

“I have no problem being a soldier and fighting for our cause.” Emery slid his arm behind his back.

Matt lunged for him before he could grab whatever weapon was stashed. They impacted a pine tree, and needles battered them. “What cause?”

Emery shot an elbow into Matt’s gut and clamped on the bullet wounds in his arm. “Whatever the commander decides it is.”

Matt bit back a growl of pain and wrenched his arm free to leap to his feet. He tugged the unloaded weapon from his waist. “You’re crazy.”

“We’re all crazy.” Blood dripped from Emery’s teeth. He kicked out faster than Matt expected, and the gun spun through the air. “Possibly we were designed that way. I mean, you have to be nuts to fight the way we do. To survive almost anything.”

“Speaking of which, where’s my youngest brother?” Matt reared up and kicked Emery in the chest with both feet and backflipped to land easily.

Emery flew backward, turned, and dropped to a crouching position before striking for Matt’s knees. “Jory is dead. Way dead.”

Matt’s knee buckled, and he swung to the side. Pain slammed through him. “Bullshit. I already know he’s alive. What I don’t know is where he is.”

“Come back, and I’ll take you right to him.” Emery fingered a cut along his jawline. “The shooter didn’t aim as well as she should have.”

So it was true. Jory was shot by a woman. Hope tried to flare in Matt’s gut, but he couldn’t allow it. Emery was as good a liar as a soldier, and he could just be playing with Matt. “Did Dr. Madison pull the trigger? She’s a crappy shot.”

“True. But she was an incredible fuck.” Emery reached popped his shoulder back into alignment with his free hand. “Wasn’t she?”

“Dunno. I always said no.” In fact, the woman had scared the shit out of him.

Emery dropped into a fighting crouch. “You missed out. I’m not going to tell you who pulled the trigger—yet. Let’s finish this so I can go find that bitch of a doctor you have been screwing.”

Two men rushed out of the forest in full combat gear. Hell. Matt had been concentrating so hard on Emery, he hadn’t focused.

With a battle cry, Nathan leaped from the west, straight at the soldiers, a sawed-off in his hand.

How many shells did he have? Matt kept his focus on Emery. Nate could handle the other two. For now.

Matt punched Emery in the jaw, and the fight was on.

The sounds of brutal punches, grunts of pain, and snapping bones filled the small clearing. Matt knew the second Nate snapped one of the soldier’s necks, evening up his fight. Matt and Emery traded hits and kicks as Matt’s arm slowly weakened. He needed to get those two bullets out. Now.

A rapid heartbeat caught his attention.

Around a tree, a soldier all in black dragged Laney into the clearing, a knife at her throat.

All movement ceased. Everyone still standing turned toward the duo.

Emery threw back his head and laughed, the sound gurgly from a lung that must be collapsing. “Where did you find our little rabbit?”

“Tree line by the shore,” the solder said, his brown eyes dead. “She tried to stab me with a steak knife.”

Matt exhaled, his gaze on his woman. She stood, her face pale, wet hair matted to her head. Her pretty green eyes were wide with both fright and anger. She elbowed the soldier, and he tightened his grip.

“Are you all right?” Matt asked her.

“Yes. I’d be better if you just killed this guy,” she said, her eyes full of apology.

He shifted his gaze to the soldier. “I plan on it. Let her go, now, and I won’t break your neck.”

The guy smiled and revealed a gold incisor. “I’m going to fuck her senseless after you die.”

“I don’t think so, G.I. Joe.” Matt used the code word for Nate and silently counted to three. At three, both he and Nate struck.

Matt leaped for the soldier and used his superior strength to yank the knife away from Laney’s throat. Shoving her to the side, Matt broke the guy’s wrist and took the blade, slashing it across the jugular.

Pivoting, he stopped cold at the sight of Emery with a Glock pointed at him.

Nate finished off the other soldier and turned, his face a cold mask.

With a grim smile, Emery changed his aim to Laney.

She held out her hands. “Whoa, wait—”

Emery fired.

Matt exploded with a burst of energy and jumped in front of Laney. The bullet slammed into his upper arm and sliced an artery. Not feeling the pain—yet, Matt threw the knife as he pummeled to the ground.

The knife embedded in Emery’s right eye, piercing to his brain. Emery stilled and dropped the gun, falling back. He hit the wet earth with a soft thump. Dead.

Matt’s shoulders impacted first followed by the rest of his body. Pain lanced up his face.

Shit. He blinked rain and blood out of his eyes.

Laney skidded to her knees next to him, cradling his head. Nate dropped to his haunches, concern lightening his eyes.

Matt swallowed. He knew a kill shot when he felt one. He tried to speak to both Nate and Laney. “I’m sorry.” The world wavered in front of his eyes.

Laney applied pressure to the wound in Matt’s upper arm. Blood squirted out. “Oh God. The bullet sliced the brachial artery.” Blood. So much damn blood. The liquid filled her hand, trying to escape through her fingers, still warm from Matt’s body.

She pressed harder. Nausea filled her stomach, and bile rose up her throat.

If she didn’t hold it together, he was going to die. A roaring rippled through her head, and she swayed. The forest went fuzzy.

“Laney.” Nate’s sharp tone jerked up her head. “Press harder.”

She blinked rain out of her eyes. Or maybe that was tears. She yanked off her shirt and pressed it to the wound, trying to stem the blood. He’d lost too much already.

Matt swallowed and focused on Nate. “Plan?”

“Get your ass up, and I’ll show you the plan.” Nate grabbed his arm.

“Wait. We can’t move him.” Laney flattened her palm around the injury.

Nate lifted Matt up. “We have to move, now. More troops are coming.”

Matt smiled at her, but with his face so pale, he looked more gruesome than reassuring. He slapped a hand over her drenched shirt and pushed. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”

He wasn’t fine. Not at all. Laney nodded and stumbled, following Nate through the path. Matt followed doggedly after her, and she turned several times to view his progress. His face lost all color, but he kept moving.

The man was a machine.

Whatever genetics they’d used to create him were beyond belief. The guy should be passed out and almost dead. Instead, he sent her a smart-assed smile.

They reached the shoreline, and Nate had already uncovered a small wooden boat with three tiny benches stretching across. “I found it scouting last night.”

Laney glanced out at the churning lake and dangerous clouds. She shivered in her wet bra as the rain drenched her bare skin. “We can’t go out in that.”

Nate yanked off his wet T-shirt and tugged it over her head. Then he grabbed her hips and plunked her on the middle seat of the boat. “We stay here, we die. I’d rather take my chances.” Sliding his arm around his brother’s waist, he helped ease Matt onto the third seat and shoved the boat out to the violent lake.

This was such a terrible idea. Laney reached for Matt to lean back against her. “Let me see.”

“You’ll faint,” he murmured with a quirk of his lips.

“No, I won’t.” And she wouldn’t. She’d suck it up and deal with ghosts in order to save him. “Let me see.”

He moved his hand. Red coated the shirt. Bile rippled up her throat. She glanced at the wound and quickly replaced the shirt. “You’re still bleeding, but it’s stemming.” Not really, but he didn’t need to know that. She angled around toward Nate, who was rowing the boat against the wind with fierce grunts. “As soon as we dock, I need to tie off the artery.” God. Could she do it? A real surgery in these conditions?

As she glanced at Matt’s gray face, she realized she didn’t have a choice. “Hurry, Nate.”

The boat bucked and spun in the dangerous waters. Water poured from the sky, and lightning lit up the night. It’d be a miracle if they made it to the other side without being electrocuted. Water splashed over the sides, and the boat began to fill. Laney wanted to bail, but she had to keep pressure on Matt’s wound. If the boat began to sink, she’d have to release him.

He glanced over his shoulder, flashed her a halfhearted grin, and his eyes fluttered shut.

“Matt!” she cried, grabbing his undamaged shoulder and yanking him toward her to prevent his falling overboard. His rear slid down, and she allowed his butt to fall into the waterlogged bottom of the boat, keeping his head elevated to avoid venous bleeding.

The boat pitched dangerously, and Laney glanced wildly over her shoulder.

Nate kept rowing, his face a grim mask. “Is he okay?” he yelled over the storm.

She shook her head and bit back a sob. “No. We need to tie off the artery. Now.” The wind slapped her wet hair onto her cheeks.

Nate nodded and turned the boat just slightly. Rain slammed into him, coating his bare chest and his tattoo, which was identical to Matt’s.

Freedom.

The price they’d already paid for it stunned Laney. She turned back to Matt with determination. They wouldn’t pay any more… not today.

Nate beached the boat, jumped out, and dragged it along the shoreline. Hustling over, he studied his brother, concern bright in his eyes. “If I throw him over my shoulder, he’ll bleed out.”

Yes. Gravity was a disaster they didn’t need right now. Laney kept her hand on Matt’s wound and stood, her shoes squishing in the water. “How about you take his torso, keeping pressure on his injury, and I take his feet?”

Nate nodded. “You keep the pressure on until I get him from the boat.” Reaching for Matt’s armpits, Nate turned his brother and lifted him over the boat with a fierce grunt and kept him in the bear-hug position. “Jesus. What has he been eating?”

Laney snorted and tried to ignore the fact that Matt might bleed out anyway. The guy was solid muscle. She gingerly stepped over the side, keeping the pressure strong. Finally on squishy sand, she took Nate’s hand and put it into place. “We need to hurry,” she yelled while running to grasp Matt’s ankles. Wrapping her arms around him, she bent with her knees and lifted. He did weigh a ton, and his huge feet took up her entire torso.

Nate strode backward, up the embankment, keeping a quick pace.

Laney kept a strong hold of Matt, even while her shoes slipped in the waterlogged sand. Her knees and shoulders shook from the exertion of carrying Matt, although Nate had kept most of the burden. Even so, her breath panted out with the difficulty.

They arrived at a rough wooden shack, and Nathan kicked the door open without even turning around. Matt didn’t make a sound as they carried him inside and all but dropped him on a crude kitchen table.

“I need a knife.” Laney took over again with the wound, her mind fuzzing. Fear made her hands tremble, and that wouldn’t do. Matt deserved better. “And a light.”

Nathan dug a survival pocket knife out of his left boot and tossed it to her. Then he reached into Matt’s pocket and drew out a cell phone. “Go, satellite phone.” He quickly dialed. “Shane, lock on to this phone or on Laney’s bracelet. We need extraction now. It’s Mattie.” His voice cracked on the end. “We’re at the north end of the lake and might have an hour before the commander’s standing force of fifteen get here. Unless they’re dumb enough to come across the lake like we did.”

Tears filled Laney’s eyes even as she glanced around the space as she gently removed Matt’s shirt. There was only the table, so she yanked Nate’s shirt off of her and slipped it under Matt’s head to minimize bleeding. “I need string. Some type of string.”

Blood slid down Matt’s arm, and the room tilted. Laney dropped to her knees, her forehead hitting the table.

“Damn.” Nate hustled around and yanked her back up, his breath brushing her hair. “You okay?”

She slid both hands onto the table and tried to tighten her knee. “Yes.” She loved Matt, and she was the only person who could save him. The warrior was defenseless, and she’d protect him, even if it meant cutting into him. She could do this. “Get the string.”

Nate released her and hurried toward a row of haphazard cupboards, returning with a ball of twine. “It’s thick, but it won’t cut him.” Nate grabbed a half-full bottle of whiskey and ran it over the knife.

Laney nodded. “Light.”

Nate used his burner phone as a flashlight.

Laney glanced up. “Infection is a strong possibility.”

“One thing at a time, Laney Lou,” Nate said softly. “Stop the bleeding.”

Swallowing, she nodded. Taking away the saturated cloth, she peered at the wound, the knife in her hand. She turned Matt’s head to the side and extended his arm just enough. Nausea swamped her, and she swayed.

“Whoa, there.” Nate clamped her shoulder. “You can do this. Talk me through the procedure, and you’ll be fine.”

She wiped away tears. “Okay. First, we make an incision just above the antecubital fossa, and we don’t want to mess with the median nerve.” Falling back into her old life, she slowly made the cut. “Sharp knife, Nate.”

“Always.”

She squinted to see better. “I’m extending the incision to see better.” Whew. So far, so good. “Now, let’s repair this ugly hole in his nice artery.” Her hands stopped shaking. “Twine.”

Nate handed her unrolled twine, and she slid it around the brachial and tied it as close to the origin as possible. She exhaled slowly and put everything back into place. “It’s tied, but I don’t have anything to stitch him up with.”

Nate took duct tape off the small counter. “This will do until we’re somewhere safe.”

Laney’s eyebrows rose. “I guess.” She took the strip Nate offered and plastered it around Matt’s arm, trying not to wince.

Her hands shook again when she stepped back. “If this works—”

“You saved his life, Laney Lou,” Nate said somberly. “When he wakes, I won’t even tell him you spent all night trying to show me your boobs.”

Laney coughed out a laugh. “What?”

“You took your shirt off. Twice.” Lines of fatigue cut into Nate’s strong face, but his tone was light.

“To save your brother.”

Nate shrugged. “So you say.” He stretched across Matt and gave her a half-armed hug, his gaze serious. “Thank you for saving my brother.”

Laney glanced down at the silent patient. It was way too early to tell if Matt would survive or not. “We might as well dig those two bullets out while we’re here.” Angling for a better look at his other arm, she went to work.