Dragon's Prisoner: A Curvy Girl Military Romance (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 4) Page 7

  Chapter Ten

  “But you’re not thinking that you’ll just hand her over,” Adam blurted at once.

  Maura moved to the stove, holding her hands out to it. Adam felt his heart sinking as nobody answered him. Just how bad was this attack on the Academy? It had to be really bad, he realized. Why else would they risk flying through that thick snowfall to get here?

  He turned toward Karey, but she was already heading toward the basement door. Her shoulders were back to that familiar stooped look, her head bent. She glanced at him, eyes wide with fear, but before he could think of how to comfort her without making everybody else think he’d gone over to her side, she had disappeared.

  Adam grimaced as he turned to his friends and teammates. “How bad is it?”

  “They bombed several of the buildings. Nobody was killed, but twenty of the students were hurt,” Maura replied, her expression grim. “We still don’t know how they got on campus. Cooper is looking into it. In the meantime, we decided to come here. Make sure that the Pack hadn’t found out where you were.”

  “They haven’t.”

  “Looks like you have been letting the prisoner have some unorthodox freedoms, though,” Stephen said, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. “Is everything okay?”

  Adam had to remind himself that they wouldn’t be able to smell what had been going on around here, not with the smoke from the fire and the air freshener he’d hastily sprayed around when he realized that it was the Blaze Ops landing outside. He shrugged at Stephen.

  “She did manage to get away from me once and nearly froze to death in a blizzard. And then she was pretty sick for a while there and so I kept her up here because it was warmer. She’s better now,” he added, glad that they had moved things back to where they were meant to be before the Ops had arrived. “But I can hardly keep her down there all the time. I mean, she needs to shower sometimes, and it’s cold down there.”

  Stephen’s eyes narrowed and a look of worry came over them. Adam stared back at him, confused. He was never one to be all this concerned. And was it really so troublesome for Karey to be up on the main level? She couldn’t shift, and Adam was a dragon. It wasn’t like she could do anything to hurt him.

  He lowered his voice. “I’m supposed to be getting information from her, right? Pulling her to our side? How can I do that if I’m acting like a prison guard? And I have found out a lot. For one thing, she doesn’t want to go back. If we can give her actual options that don’t include jail time—”

  “I appreciate that, but circumstances have changed,” Maura interrupted. “And we shouldn’t be speaking so frankly when she can hear us. Block off the vents and then we can talk.”

  Adam grimaced. He wanted to argue with her, wanted to say that Karey had every right to know what they were planning on doing with her. But Maura was right—they shouldn’t be speaking so frankly. His time with Karey had certainly skewed his judgment.

  I shouldn’t have done anything with her, he realized, his heart sinking.

  Everything had just been so powerful. His whole body had yearned for hers. But even if it was completely consensual, it was still wrong! When his superiors found out—and they would, he knew that—they were going to be furious with him. There was no excuse he could give for his behavior.

  I shouldn’t have. Just like I should regret it more now.

  But he didn’t. There had just been something so frank and upfront about what Karey said, what she wanted and why. He believed that she didn’t want to go back to the Pack. Just like he believed that she had no choice in the matter, or at least she didn’t think she had a choice. It’d been beaten into her head so much that she was worthless and couldn’t think for herself that she doubted every thought she had.

  Maybe that was why she’d been so irresistible when she asked him for her first sexual encounter. Because he knew this was one of the few things she had ever done that was because it was something she wanted, something that would put her at odds with that voice at the back of her mind telling her she was worth nothing.

  Adam sighed as he blocked off the vents. He was going to have to tell Patrick, Fiona, and Maura what had happened, sooner rather than later. Right now, though, there were more pressing things to worry about.

  “So,” he said once he was finished. “What’s the plan? We’re not going to hand Karey back over to the Pack, are we? That would be insane. This is our most hidden base, and she probably has gained enough information to know where it is by now. Not to mention that I’ve had to share some personal details about myself in order to get her to talk more freely,” he added.

  The rest of the Blaze Ops looked upset, but Fiona sighed. “As expected. But it can’t be helped. Did you share anything that can be used against you? Any sort of blackmail material, anything that would put your career or our organization in jeopardy if it came out?”

  If you count wrapping my tongue around her clit as ‘sharing’ then yeah. No way was he saying that in front of Liam or Eugene, though. Not after the hard time he gave them about sleeping with their mates before it was clear where their loyalties lay. And now I’m a fucking hypocrite who engaged in sexual activity with someone that we know has loyalties to the Pack, even if those loyalties are born solely of fear.

  On the other hand, he had to say it at some point. Right now was too soon. He’d figure it out. Stephen might be able to help him tell the rest of them, if they had the chance to talk.

  “Answer the question, Adam,” Liam rumbled, looking upset.

  “I might have,” he said, keeping it vague for now. “I’ll admit that I shared more than I thought I would. And it’s not entirely clear if she can use certain things against me or not.”

  Stephen groaned, but Maura looked like she expected that answer. “We will have to worry about that later. Right now, there have been more threats made against the Academy by the Alpha. Not just us in the secret operations, either. He’s threatened to go after other students and their families. So, we have to decide what to do with Karey.”

  His fires rose, and Adam bit back a snarl. “We can’t just hand her over to him.”

  “We might not have a choice,” Patrick replied. “I hate the idea of dealing with terrorists as much as the next man, but these are lives at stake. If we can’t find a way to eliminate that threat—”

  “But who’s to say they won’t just take Karey back and go after people anyway?” Adam interrupted. He had a feeling that right now Patrick was more in ‘Colonel Sheen’ mode, but so far nobody had been addressed by rank and he was confident enough to push it. He looked from one to another of them. “Look, I know that this is a huge switch for me. I know that I’m the last person you expected to have any sympathies for her.”

  “Please don’t tell us you’ve fucked her,” Stephen groaned. “That’s why I gave you the blowup doll!”

  The rest of the Blaze Ops gave each other uncomfortable glances. Maura and Fiona glared openly at Stephen. It was Patrick, though, as leader of the Blaze Ops, that responded to that.

  “Those accusations are unnecessary, Lieutenant. I suggest that you control your tongue. And a sex doll? Really? That sort of immature behavior is not acceptable in this team.”

  Adam felt a surge of gratitude toward Patrick even as his cheeks warmed. Technically, he didn’t fuck her. He wouldn’t refer to what they had done so crassly. The semantics of it wouldn’t be appreciated, though. He grimaced as Maura explained what the Alpha’s demands were—that he get Karey returned to him, unharmed, within the next week.

  It was difficult to pay attention, though, even when Maura started to talk about the plans they had to stall. Send a video of Karey to the Alpha, demanding things in return. As much as they all hated it, negotiations were the only way to give Cooper and the Shadow Ops enough time to do what they did best, find information and get it back to Maura.

  “The school has been shut down for now,” Maura continued as Adam tried to drag his attention back to her. “We’ve
issued warnings to the students and their families, but there is only so much we can do. We have to get the Alpha talking, stall him from continuing his attacks until we can find a way to stop him for good.”

  Adam let out a heavy sigh. He didn’t want to send Karey back to the Pack, back to the bastard that called himself her father. And he wasn’t going to let anybody else send her there, either. Somehow, he’d figure this out. He’d make sure that Karey didn’t end up back in that abusive situation. She had reached out to him, asked for his help. Even if she didn’t say it in so many words, she wanted out and she had asked him for options to keep her out.

  There was no way in hell that he was going to just send her back as though she meant nothing.

  “So are we keeping her here?” he asked, interrupting but not caring. “Or are we to be moved to another location where we can more easily communicate with the Pack?”

  “We’re all keeping to this location for now,” Maura replied. “It’s inaccessible by foot with all this snow and the Pack doesn’t have many avian shifters as far as we know.”

  Adam grimaced. Right. They didn’t know. “Except, here’s the thing… the serum? They’ve got a new formula that they’re using. It was used on Karey. She claims she can breathe fire and has wings. Which… I know that she can breathe fire because that’s how she got out of here in the first place.”

  Patrick exploded with expletives and Fiona grabbed his arm. She dragged him into the bedroom and shut the door, probably to scold him for using the language that he knew she didn’t like. Adam faced the rest of them, waiting for his own scolding to drop.

  “And how did she get off the blockers long enough to—” Liam started with a growl in his voice, but Maura held up a hand, stopping him.

  “That isn’t the issue right now. When was her last injection?”

  “Um…” He glanced at the clock. When had he given her the injection? Before she caught him watching porn. When was that? More than two hours, that was for certain. “She’s due for another injection. I’ll—”

  “No.” Maura shook her head. “I will give her the injection. I have a few questions I want to ask her myself.”

  Would she tell Maura about their encounter? Adam retrieved the syringe and vial of blockers but didn’t protest. He didn’t think that Karey would say anything. And if she did? Well, if she did then he’d face the consequences. He was the one who decided that he would get sexy with her.

  “I’ll bring in some more wood,” he volunteered. “I need some space to think anyway.”

  He grabbed the empty Rubbermaid tubs and headed out. To his chagrin, Stephen followed him out. He didn’t protest, though. His friend wore a heavy frown. Wordlessly, Adam started to chop wood and Stephen was silent as well. The glaring accusation on his face spoke volumes, though.

  Once he’d gone through several logs, Adam set the ax aside. “Okay, yeah. Fine. I gave her oral sex. But she asked me to, and she was just so… It’s your fault!”

  Stephen, who had pinched his eyes shut, opened then again in a fury. “My fault?”

  “Yeah. Your fault. If it wasn’t for that porn you stashed it never would have come up!” Adam glared at him, even though he knew this whole thing was unfair. After all, if he had locked Karey up like he was supposed to, none of this would have happened. “I’m going to tell the others. Okay? Just not right now. It’s embarrassing. But I am going to tell them.”

  Stephen gave him a disbelieving look. “Seriously. What is wrong with all of you. How could you make such a huge fucking mistake?”

  He stalked back to the cabin, leaving Adam alone in the woodshed, feeling lower than dirt. He had a feeling that the only mistake he’d made was to tell Stephen anything.

  Chapter Eleven

  Karey wrapped her arms around her waist, trying her hardest to hear what was going on upstairs, but whatever they had put over the vents made it ridiculously sound proof. So, she had to wait here, sitting in the closed-in space with only her thoughts and the cameras for company. At least when Maura had given her the injection it hadn’t hurt as much as when Adam did it. Clearly, she had more training.

  All the same, Karey had the feeling in the pit of her stomach that she’d rather have had Adam give her the injection. He didn’t have that pinched, suspicious look on his face when he did it.

  So. Her father had attacked the Academy. That wasn’t so surprising. He’d been talking for quite a while about taking the fight to them, targeting their weak points to get them to back the hell off. Karey didn’t believe it really had anything to do with her. Or maybe he needed her for more work on the serum. Maybe he wanted to know how it had gone with her injection.

  Maybe he was tired of doing his own laundry.

  None of it would have surprised her. Whatever the reasons were, he didn’t care that she was gone. Just that she wasn’t there for his use. Wasn’t there to yell at and scold while she made him his meals, cleaned the house, looked after patients, did everything Shane Carter told her to. Come to think of it, these weeks that she had spent in Fort Stinky Butt were the laziest she had had for years. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been able to read a book straight through, beginning to end. She was never allowed to watch TV. And all the times when she and Adam just sat and talked…

  Her hands clenched as she got to her feet and started pacing from one end of the room to the other. She didn’t want to go back. She couldn’t go back. Now that she had a true taste of what life actually was? In nursing school, she had spent all her free time studying or driving to one compound or another to do the laundry and dishes and cook up meals for another week that she could just stick in the freezer.

  That was the only real time she’d spent away from the Pack. A few months ago, she had done the most daring thing she’d ever done and joined with the Academy long enough to make an anti-serum in order to save her father from a previous version of the serum that was causing other Pack members to self-combust. Now, she wondered what would have happened if she had just stayed with them. Refused to go back, instead of running away.

  Her father would be dead by now if she hadn’t. And she wasn’t entirely certain that wasn’t an outcome she would have preferred.

  Would they use the anti-serum on her? Cut out whatever dragon characteristics she might gain before they had a chance to develop?

  Would they keep her on the blockers if she offered them her help? Or were they just going to pass her off to her father anyway? And when he had her back, would he assume that she had been a collaborator due to her previous involvement, or would he believe that she had been taken prisoner?

  And no matter what he believed, would she stay? Could she get away again?

  Now, after being free from him, after seeing the kind of man Adam was, so gentle even with a prisoner, she couldn’t help but wonder—why the hell was she so loyal to her father? Why did she care if he lived or died? Why had she worked so hard to see his dreams realized? Why had she put herself through a potentially fatal procedure, just to make him proud of her?

  She deserved better. She might not know what she deserved, and she knew she didn’t deserve the kind of person Adam had shown himself to be, but she knew she deserved better than her father. And he deserved none of her loyalty. He had given her nothing while he had taken everything from her.

  If she went back, he’d continue taking everything. Her self-esteem, her time, her talents, her freedom. She could well imagine what would happen if she retook the trials, improved her station and then refused to mate with Shane Carter. Her father would take it as a personal insult.

  But going back wasn’t her choice. It was the Academy’s. If they decided that it was too risky to keep her, if they thought that they could get the Alpha to back off by returning her to him, then what could she do? She had no information that would help them stop him from bombing out more places or going after their students.

  On the other hand, she did have other types of information she could give them. Names. Places
where his spies lived. Locations of compounds that they might not know about. If she could give them everything she knew, maybe then they’d keep her.

  Maybe she would have a chance at being free.

  Her heart slammed against her ribs as she considered it. Freedom. Real, true freedom. But Father would still find me. He’d kill me for betraying him.

  Unless… Unless maybe Adam would protect her? The Alpha hadn’t found this spot. Maybe they had other places where they could hide her. The isolation wasn’t so bad, really. She was less lonely here with just Adam to talk to than she had been with the Pack. And if she had to be alone for days or weeks while he worked and he could only come to visit occasionally—

  Karey pressed her palms to her eyes, shaking her head. No. She couldn’t start thinking like that. Adam was only here with her because he was following orders. He wasn’t going to willingly subject himself to a life of isolation for her.

  No way.

  Just because he’d given her the most intimate experience of her life didn’t mean that he actually cared.

  At least, not that way.

  She let out a heavy sigh. Well, she wasn’t going to get anywhere with her brain all unsorted like this. The Blaze Ops was probably discussing their options now. Well, they had to know what options she was going to offer, too. Maybe it’d be enough to make them consider…

  She pushed those thoughts from her head as well. Speculating wouldn’t do any good and would only cause her to spiral into fear.

  Her mind made up, she walked up the stairs, fully intending to tell them she wanted to completely switch sides. When she reached the top and was about to knock, though, she heard Adam’s voice. Instantly, her heart jumped to her throat. Her hand froze as she listened intently.

  “I already told you, I’m going to tell them, okay? Just because I haven’t yet doesn’t mean I won’t.”

  A deeper, angrier voice answered. “Yeah, I know you said that. I also know that you volunteered to stay behind with her alone while the others went to meet with Cooper and set up a video exchange with the Alpha. You don’t think I know what you were planning here?”