Returning her to her old life was too dangerous now that they knew someone had trashed her house, likely looking for anyclues he and his team may have left behind. As if they would be stupid enough to do that.
But if dropping her back off at her house left her vulnerable, they might have to keep her there with them. Something the little ladybug was not going to accept easily. She’d fight them every step of the way, and there was no chance he was putting her back in the basement even once they got it fixed. Locking her in a room likely meant she’d just try to jump out of a window, even if he moved her up to the fourth floor.
Which didn't give them many other options. They might have to read her in on the truth.
But first, he had to catch her.
Lucky for her—or unlucky depending on how you looked at it—Steel loved a good hunt.
“Need help?” Thunder asked, sticking his head into the kitchen.
The man’s extraordinary speed would make this quicker, but Steel found he looked forward to playing with his little ladybug. “Nope, I got it. Not like she’s going to get far. She had no shoes and nothing but a pair of pajamas, and it’s snowing out there. Add in her cracked ribs, bruises, and broken arm, and she’s not going anywhere.”
Striding to the front door, he stepped out onto the porch, immediately catching sight of Rose not even to the trees yet.
“Running is pointless, little ladybug. When I catch you, I'm going to spank that pretty backside of yours until it’s bright red and you remember your punishment every time you sit. I told you what would happen if you kept causing yourself pain,” he called out.
Chances were, he could probably be persuaded not to tie her to the bed, and he wasn't going to spank her when she was already hurting and in pain. When he did, and he was starting to feel as though that were an inevitability at this point, he wantedher to beg for it, wanted her to enjoy it as much as he would, wanted her screaming his name as pleasure tore through her system.
Rose didn't falter at his words, and he had to give her credit for determination. The little ladybug was nothing like he’d expected her to be when they’d broken into her home less than five days ago. He’d expected a weak woman who would easily break and give them what they needed to get her brother to fall into their trap. Instead, he’d gotten a woman who fought them at every turn, who was strong and confident, who took anything life threw at her.
A survivor who hid her pain and trauma behind a shield.
A woman more like him and his team than he ever could have imagined.
Now she was running from him and his primal side, which had been enhanced by Dr. Gardner as his humanity was washed away, found it didn't like that very much.
Damn, did he want to claim the woman? Mark her as his?
That wasn't going to work, but still something inside him urged him to chase, to catch, to claim.
Because he wanted this to be fun, instead of running right after Rose, he instead headed off at a ninety-degree angle from the route she was taking. The little ladybug really should have assumed that the front door would be alarmed and they would be alerted to her leaving.
Actually, they’d known the second she opened the door to her bedroom and heard her creep around. Too bad she didn't completely understand who she was dealing with, beyond knowing there was something weird about their abilities. If she’d known Blade had heard her door opening, then she likely would have stayed in her bed where he’d left her.
Dressed more appropriately for the weather than Rose was, Steel at least had on shoes, jeans, and a long-sleeve shirt.His body was better able to cope with extreme temperatures, whether they be hot or cold, another side effect of Dr. Gardner’s psychotic games.
The man had managed to create the super soldiers he’d wanted, but he’d underestimated his creations. He’d thought they would develop blind loyalty to him, accept him as their leader. Now the man would do anything to get them back, but he wasn't stupid enough to walk into a trap unless they found something he cared about more than himself.
That wasn't his sister, and Steel doubted there was anything. Which meant they’d have to find another way to locate where the cowardly scientist had hidden himself away.
For now, though, he wanted to enjoy the hunt.
His legs ate up the distance to the trees, and he’d learned in his regular military training how to move without making a sound, keeping each footfall light. His enhanced skills had only added to that, and Rose wasn't going to know he was there until he grabbed her.
It had been years since he’d actually had fun. He and his team worked for Prey, and they searched for Dr. Gardner, they hung around the house, passing the time, but they didn't have fun.
While he knew how to move quietly, he hadn't expected Rose to be as silent as she was. Although he paused every so often and listened, it took him longer than he would have anticipated to pinpoint her location.
The only thing that gave her away was her ragged breathing, caused by overexerting her injured and weak body, exacerbated by her cracked ribs. Seemed she, too, had learned how to run without making a lot of sound, and he hated that it was likely her brother who had taught her that.
What hell had she lived through as a child?
Had she suffered more at the hands of Ridge Gardner than he and his team had?
“Don’t worry, little ladybug, I won't stop hunting your brother until I get him, and I won't end his life until his screams soothe the pain inside you,” he vowed softly.
Tracking Rose was easy enough, and although she was constantly trying to alter her path to make herself harder to follow, he quickly noticed the patterns in her movements and circled past her so that she’d run right into him.
