They immediately stepped forward.

Montgomery stiffened. “The lab?” He gave a rough laugh. “Throw my ass out of here. Fire me, whatever. But I’m not going to the damn lab—”

“Yes, you are.” Richard nodded to the guards.

They grabbed Montgomery’s arms. He tried to struggle against them. How annoying.

Richard put the gun on the desk and picked up a syringe. While Montgomery snarled and fought, Richard walked right up to him and plunged the needle into the man’s throat.

Montgomery’s eyes rolled back into his head. The guards dragged him toward the door.

The man would make a good addition to the new super-soldier program. His body was the right size. He was in top shape. He might be able to survive the transformation.

And if he didn’t . . .

No death is a waste.

Richard reached for the intercom. “Unit Twelve, report to the east side of the mountain.” The side just beyond the rocks. When Cain broke free, that was where he’d be.

And maybe, just maybe Richard would get lucky. Maybe the phoenix would manage to drag Eve from the rubble.

Life and death . . . both always had a purpose.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Cain’s head broke from the icy water. He gasped, sucking in a deep gulp of air. His arms were around Eve, and her breath heaved out as they made their way from the lake.

Sodden and exhausted, they fell onto the earth. The stars stared down at them, too bright after the darkness of the cave.

Eve’s hands slid over his chest. “Are you all right?” She pushed up to study him. Her wet hair clung to her neck and shoulders.

Cain nodded. He was the one who should be asking about her. He hadn’t been sure that he’d succeed in getting her out of there alive.

Her lips trembled into a small smile. “How about we don’t do that again, huh?”

In spite of the hell they’d just faced, Cain found himself laughing. He didn’t know how she did it, but Eve could get to him. As no one else ever had. He reached for her, sinking his fingers into her wet hair. “How about we don’t,” he agreed. Then he kissed her. A light, soft kiss that wasn’t about the rough lust between them. The desperate hunger. It was just about . . . her.

Eve pulled back from the kiss as if startled. Her gaze searched his, but he had no idea what she was looking for in his eyes.

“Isn’t this f**king lovely,” a dark voice drawled from the right. “In the middle of hell, you two are taking time to screw.”

Cain leaped to his feet. He knew that annoying voice. It belonged to a vampire that was long overdue for death. “Ryder.”

The vamp gave a little salute. “As impressive as it was watching you two leap out from the inside of that mountain, why the hell were you running away from Wyatt? You were supposed to be taking him down.”

Eve rose and came to Cain’s side. “Sorry. We were a little busy fighting to stay alive.”

Ryder just laughed. “Like that matters to him.”

There were plenty of trees around them. Easy enough to make a stake. Cain figured he could have a stake in that vamp’s heart in about, oh, thirty seconds or less.

“Did you see her?” Ryder demanded, stepping forward. Cain could all but smell the guy’s desperation. “Did you see my—”

“All we saw were more fanged ass**les like you,” Cain told him and offered his own smile. “Only they burned fast enough.” Actually, they’d burned faster than any vamp Cain had ever seen.

Ryder shrugged. “What? Am I supposed to care that you killed some vamps? You think I wanted to be this way? A bastard turned me . . . and I staked him as soon as I could.”

Why didn’t Cain buy that story?

The vamp shook his head. “Do you have to be naked out here? Damn man. Seriously, you don’t go to war naked.”

Cain’s teeth ground together. “After I kill you, I’ll be sure to take your clothing.”

“Come and try,” Ryder taunted.

Fine. Cain rushed forward in an instant and shattered the closest tree. He turned back with his makeshift stake, ready to drive it into Ryder’s heart.

Ryder had moved. He stood behind Eve. Not touching her. Just smirking as he gazed at Cain over Eve’s delicate shoulder. “Do you think you could go through her,” he asked Cain, “in order to kill me?”

Cain advanced. He could push Eve aside before the vampire would have a chance to attack. He could—

“They weren’t like you.” Eve turned away from Cain as she faced the vampire. “The vampires in that mountain didn’t look like you. They didn’t smell like you, and they didn’t attack like you.”