No One Lives Forever

Jasmine left, shutting the door behind her.

What the hell did that mean? Do what alone?

After she left, Christian downed his coffee and set the cup on the bar. He rushed to his room, grabbing the Glock and his wallet, his mind racing. Jasmine wasn't going anywhere without him. Too risky to fly solo. He thought she understood that. But when he got to the suite door and swung it open, he stopped cold.

His jaw dropped. Standing in the hall, with her arm raised, ready to knock, was...

'Raven,' he whispered.

This time she wasn't a dream.

CHAPTER 14

In the quiet of the morning, speaking Raven's name gave Christian the feeling of . . . home. Wide dark eyes held him in place and the smell of her perfume mingled with the warmth of her skin. Intoxicating. His eyes, his senses, took everything in. A lump wedged in his throat.

'Christian.' Raven took a guarded step toward him, unsure how she'd be received. She held her breath, then spoke, 'I had to come.'

Her voice shot tingles over his skin.

Before she said another word, Christian wrapped her in his arms and lowered his lips to hers. Nothing felt so right. He forgot all the reasons for her not to come to Brazil.

Now, none of them mattered.

Dr. Phillips stared at himself in his bathroom mirror, having trouble with the Windsor knot in his tie. He'd done it a million times, but today his nerves were shot. Anxiety raced through him like an electrical charge. He had a bad feeling about today.

'Damn it.' He yanked the knot apart again and undid the top button of his white dress shirt to get some air.

His predicament had come to a head. He couldn't go back to change things, and moving forward left him wondering: Move forward to where?

Head down, Phillips shut his eyes and flattened his palms on the bathroom counter. Taking deep breaths, he let the sounds of his family downstairs wash over him, hoping their normalcy over the breakfast table would calm his raw nerves. When he looked up, he caught the movement of a dark shadow behind him ... in the mirror.

'What the hell?' He turned around, eyes wide. Abject fear gripped his throat. 'What are you doing here?'

Jasmine Lee inched closer. Her eyes never strayed from his. In a low seductive voice she whispered, 'Bet you wished you had added security now, don't you, Doctor?'

His next breath wedged deep in his throat. He swallowed hard. When she reached for his tie, Phillips tensed, grounded where he stood. Like staring into the hypnotic eyes of a cobra about to strike, he couldn't turn away ... or move. His feet were rooted.

'I suppose you are wondering how I knew where you lived.' Charboneau's so-called bodyguard tugged at his tie, drawing it tight around his neck. A slow, deliberate move. 'You'd be surprised what I know about you, Doc. Mr. Charboneau makes it a habit to know his associates.'

'Please . . . my family is downstairs. Don't hurt them,' he begged, despising the tremble in his voice.

'That is entirely up to you, as it's always been.' Her voice was low and throaty.

Jasmine released the tension from the tie and initiated the knot, not looking at her handiwork. She kept her gaze drilled on him like a weapon. Even though he outweighed her, something in her eyes told him that he wouldn't stand a chance if he resisted.

'Tell me where they have Nicholas Charboneau.' She wrapped the wide end of his tie over the narrow part, tugging at his neck. When he didn't answer fast enough, she added, 'Surely your family means more to you than keeping their secret.'

'Please ... don't do this,' he begged. 'I don't know who is pulling the strings or where they're keeping Mr. Charboneau. They threatened to kill my family if I didn't cooperate. If I knew more, I'd tell you. I'm not a brave man. Please believe me.'

'Oh, that, I do believe, Dr. Phillips. Go on.' She pulled one end of the tie under and over, tucking it through a loop. Her eyes never drifted from his.

'Some time back I started getting phone calls. The kind that made my skin crawl. He threatened my family and sent messages home with my kids. It made me sick.' Phillips grimaced. The veins at his temple pulsed. 'I've never met the guy. All I know is he's local and has a Brazilian accent. He calls me. Communication is a one- way street. I don't have a number for him.'

'How is this man connected to Santo ... the one who took Nicholas?'

'I told you the truth when I said I didn't recognize Santo. I have no idea who he is.'

She tensed her jaw, not happy. 'And the clinic? How did he get you to add the medical facility if you never met? Mr. Charboneau didn't know about it . . . or approve the capital expenditure.' Jasmine finished the knot and tightened it, yanking him forward to make her point. She cut off his air with a twist of her fist around the tie. 'You better start making sense, Doc.'

'Before I got the first call, someone contacted me asking to verify my passport. They said they were from the government and the inspection was just a formality, standard protocol. They wanted to see not only my passport, but for every member of my family.' His eyes glazed over, bitterness reflected in them. 'Several men in suits came to my office at Genotech, part of the arrangement. When I presented our documents, they confiscated them without giving me a reason. After that, the calls began. Now, even if I arranged for my wife to visit her parents back in the States, I couldn't get them to safety.'

A voice muffled outside the bedroom door.

'Honey, your breakfast is getting cold,' his wife called from downstairs. 'You better get moving.'

'Oh, God.' His heart thrashed in his chest.

In reflex, Phillips pulled away from Jasmine's grip. His back hit a wall, giving him no place to go. Anticipating his move, she swept a foot under him and toppled him to the floor, using the tie for leverage. His hip hit the tile and sent a jolt of pain down his leg.

'Arrghh.'

Before he knew where it came from, Jasmine held a knife to his throat and used his dress tie to pin him down. She shoved a knee to his chest. Her long hair hung over him, shadowing her menacing face.

His lungs burned and his face rushed with heat. She cut off his air, choking him.

'You make a move like that again . . .' She glared with fierce eyes. '. . . you're gonna mess up my tie. And that is no way to repay my . . . good deed.'

The tip of the blade stung his neck. A warm trickle rolled along his jaw and the coppery smell of blood filled his senses. Oh God, she's cut my throat.

'Don't . . . p-please.' He forced his arms to the floor, raising them above his head. A complete show of submission. 'Just don't . . . hurt my . . . family.'

He barely got the words out. No air.

'This silent partner of yours. He must be linked to the police.' She loosened her grip on his tie so he could breathe. 'We saw you take two homeless men into your lab last night, with the help of local cops. Guess that little point slipped your mind. What else are you leaving out, Doctor?'

Damn it! The man had told him Delacorte and Lee were under surveillance and everything was