A cracking sound drew Iris's eyes upward, and she saw a support beam sagging precariously through the gap in the ceiling, 'Maddox!' she cried as the beam started to come apart. 'Let him go! The place is going to collapse!'
He looked up as the beam snapped free and started to fall. Scrambling out of the way, he grabbed Tahir's discarded gun, tucked it in the waistband of his jeans and raced to Iris. Taking his own weapon from her shaking hands, he half pushed, halt earned her toward the exit at the end of the hallway.
They burst into the rain-washed air outside as the rumbling behind them grew to deafening proportions. An explosion rocked the jungle, the shock wave slamming into their backs. Maddox grabbed Iris as she lost her footing. He lifted her over his shoulder and carried her fireman-style into the jungle.
Tom Stanton greeted them as they reached the rendezvous point, his gaze moving toward the laboratory. Maddox looked behind him and saw that the building had begun a slow, thunderous implosion, the outer walls toppling in on themselves. He set Iris on her feet. She sagged against him, agony etched in her delicate features, 'There are people in there-'
Maddox caught her face between his hands. 'Look at me.' She struggled to focus her gaze on his face, 'Give it to me. Iris. Let go of it and give it to me.' She seemed uncertain what he was asking for a moment, but he bent his forehead to hers and whispered.
'Give it to me.'
He saw understanding in her eyes just before they fluttered closed. He couldn't feel whatever she was releasing into him through her touch, but her cheeks grew pink and the tension in her body melted away. Her knees buckled and he caught her up in his arms, pressing a kiss to her temple. 'There you go'
She lilted her head. 'Sandrine?'
'Right over here, baby' He helped her to the wheelchair where a camouflage-clad man was checking Sandrine's vitals,
'Sandrine.' she cried, grabbing her friend's arm. She swayed slightly, and Maddox eased her to a crouch by the wheelchair, tucking himself behind her to cradle her body while she talked to her friend. He felt her trembling and tightened his grip, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.
Sandrine's eyes fluttered open. 'Iris?'
'That's right, Sandy. It's me, I found you.'
Sandrine managed a weak smile. 'I knew you would.'
The medic gently removed Iris's hand from Sandrine's arm, slanting a look at Maddox. Maddox returned the gaze, daring the man to say a word.
He kissed Iris's hair. 'Let's get out of here, baby.'
As soon as the extraction team delivered the survivors to the U.S consulate. Quinn and a pair of grim-looking CIA types had separated everyone out for questioning. Now, twenty-four hours later, Maddox had reached the end of his patience. He knew now why Sandrine Beck had been spared- apparently Grinkov and Mahmoud had ordered tests to determine how the experiments had caused her coma in the hopes of counteracting those side effects in the future.
He knew that Mahmoud had ordered lab security to dispose of Celia Shore and Andrea Marquez once Grinkov determined they were faking their so-called psychic abilities. What he didn't know was where the hell Iris was and why they wouldn't let him see her.
'I want out of here.' he growled at the interrogator across the table from him, 'I've answered every damn question three times, and nothing has changed. Where's Quinn? I want to talk to Alexander Quinn.'
A moment later, verifying Maddox's certainty that he was being observed, Quinn entered the cramped interrogation room. 'What do you want?'
Maddox rose to his feet. 'Out.'
'We have more questions-'
'That's crap and you know it. Where is Iris Browning?'
Quinn glanced at his watch. 'Probably boarding a plane to the States as we speak.'
'What?' Maddox's heart dropped. She'd left? No goodbye, no 'Thanks, it's been fun'? Pain settled in his chest, black and hot.
'Now, can we get back to the questions?' Quinn asked.
'How about you answering one for me?' He closed the distance between himself and Quinn, letting his gathering pain feed his anger.
'Did you find Mahmoud?'
'Yes. We found Grinkov, as well. Both dead.'
He thought he'd feel relief. He didn't, 'What about the experiments?'
Quinn shook his head. 'We debriefed the participants. There are any number of uses for the infiltration Grinkov and the focus-group members were experimenting with'
And now the CIA knew what Iris and her friends could do. Was that why Quinn was keeping him away from Iris? 'Can I go now?'
'We have a few more questions-'
'No, you don't' Nicholas Darcy said from the doorway. 'Mr. Heller, thank you for your cooperation. I will be happy to return you to your home now.' The RSO glared at Quinn as if daring him to argue.
Quinn gave a shrug and got out of the way.
'Thanks, man. I owe you.' Maddox told Darcy as they walked through the back hallway of the consulate building.
'Quinn is an ass.' Darcy opened a door and bright sunlight slanted through the opening, making Maddox squint.
He followed Darcy into the consulate's back lot, where a dark sedan was idling.
Darcy turned to look at him. 'The plane to the U.S. is currently waiting out a twenty-minute boarding delay. I've instructed the driver to take you to the airport posthaste.'
Maddox stared at the RSO, a flutter of hope tickling his chest. 'You're a stand-up guy, Darcy.'
Darcy's lips twitched, but he managed to hold back a smile. 'I wouldn't delay if I were you'
Maddox settled in the backseat of the sedan, his heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.
Iris paced the boarding gate area, glaring at the CIA agent keeping watch a few feet away. Sandrine sat in a wheelchair nearby, watching her with a bemused expression.
'Wearing a hole in the carpet won't make them let us board any faster.'
Iris pressed her lips into a thin line. She didn't want to board any faster. She didn't want to board at all. Not without seeing Maddox one last time. Not without knowing if he shared the ripping sensation currently burning through her gut at the thought of never seeing him again.
Sandrine caught her hand, stilling her movements. 'You don't want to go, do you?'
Iris slumped into a nearby chair, 'Why are they rushing us out of here? You're not even recovered yet.'
She and Sandrine had spent the night St.Ignacio Hospital, and while Sandrine had improved drastically. Iris had been surprised when Alexander Quinn had arrived that morning and told them they were booked on a 10 a.m flight to the U.S.
She'd asked about Maddox. Quinn claimed not to know where he was and suggested she try phoning him on the way to the airport. But so far, Maddox hadn't answered her calls. What if he didn't want to see her again, now that the mystery of Sandrine's disappearance had been solved? What if she'd ever been to him was a diversion to pass the time?
The sound of a scuffle elsewhere in the terminal drew her attention. Frustration tinged with anxiety slammed into her as she recognized Maddox's voice. 'You damn well are going to let me through!'
She jumped up and raced toward the cluster of guards she saw gathered about twenty yards away, catching the CIA guard by surprise. Maddox was grappling with two uniformed security guards at the security gate, but he looked up as she called his name.
His blue eyes lit up from the inside, and the sensation that washed through her made her knees wobble and her heart sing. 'Iris!'
She tried to pull the guards away from him. 'Let him go!'
A Sebastian policeman entered the fray, speaking quietly to the security guards. A moment later, they let
