Total Surrender by Rebecca Zanetti Page A

bruises and lumps showed on his neck, and torn flesh marred his knuckles. “What happened?” she breathed.
    One soldier eyed the other and typed in the code. “The guy is a fucking machine. Did you see him take out Anders? And Jonese?”
    The other guy nodded, heaving Jory inside with a harsh grunt. “Guy ain’t human. No way, no how.”
    Jory lurched forward to land on the cot. Blood dripped across the entire cell.
    The door closed, and both soldiers heaved sighs. The first rubbed his neck. “If the commander hadn’t darted him, this guy would’ve taken us all out.”
    The second soldier nodded and patted the glass. “Thank goodness for cells.” They hurried from the room as if something predatory chased them.
    Piper swallowed and slowly approached the cell. “Jory?”
    He groaned.
    “How badly are you hurt?” She squinted to see better. Maybe the soldiers were supposed to take him to the infirmary.
    He rolled over and fell onto the floor, his eyes closed. Blood sprayed across the cell to land on the far wall.
    Oh God. She pressed her hand on the glass. “Jory?”
    His eyes opened, dark gray and in pain. Then his mouth worked, but no sound emerged.
    “Take a deep breath. How badly are you hurt?” she asked, turning to eye the door. She should find help.
    He huffed out a breath, and his eyes rolled back in his head. That quickly, his entire body convulsed, his head hitting the metal end of the cot. More blood spurted.
    The world tilted. Dizziness swung her head around. Her stomach lurched. “Jory?” she breathed. He was going to kill himself. If he hit the metal any harder, he could nailhimself in the temple. God, he might even puncture the kill chip, thus deploying the blades. His body continued to convulse, his large frame slamming the concrete.
    Going on instinct, she rushed to the keypad and punched in the code the last soldier had used, her eidetic memory easily keeping track of the numbers. The door breezed open, and she rushed inside, dropping to her knees. Putting a hand to his heaving chest, she glanced frantically around for something to put in his mouth to prevent him from biting off his tongue.
    His hand wrapped around her wrist.
    She tried to shrug him off. “I’m trying to help you,” she said as gently as she could.
    “I know.” Faster than a whip, he jumped up, taking her with him.
    Her brain fuzzed. “What—”
    An iron band of an arm wrapped around her waist, turned her, and lifted her against his chest. “I’m sorry,” he murmured against her ear, his warm breath brushing tender flesh. More than a foot off the ground, her back against his chest, her butt against his groin, realization slapped her hard in the face.
    “Let me go.” She struggled against him, her nails scraping his arm.
    “No.” He tightened his hold until she couldn’t breathe. “Don’t fight me, Piper. You won’t win.”
    Her lungs screamed. Tears filled her eyes, and she stopped moving. Slowly, his hold relaxed marginally, just enough to allow her air. “Don’t do this,” she whispered.
    A shout echoed down the hall just as an alarm blared through the facility. Jory rushed them out of the cell and through the computer room, kicking open the door and carrying her easily. Way too easily.
    Soldiers ran from the northern end of the hall, their boots clomping.
    Jory turned the other way, grabbing her key card and swiping a pad without missing a beat. The door closed behind them, and he pivoted, kicking the pad square in the middle. Wires popped out, and sparks flew. Then he calmly proceeded down the hall again and through another doorway.
    Chance barreled around a corner.
    Jory paused. “Chance! Come with us.”
    Chance faltered, his gaze going from Jory to Piper. “No. Can’t leave them.”
    “Damn it, Chance,” Jory hissed. “Come with me now, and we’ll come back for them. You have my word.”
    Chance’s eyes veiled. He shook his head. “No.” He disappeared around the corner again, and running