Tempest - Kris Michaels Page 0,3

knew this man wouldn't live long enough to repeat anything she'd said. "I wanted to know where she got the information she was using. At the time I had access to her stock market accounts. I was supposed to be learning about her wealth and how it was managed. I saw her sell massive amounts of stock only to have the same stock tank two days later. Of course, she funneled the ownership through countless shell companies so it wouldn't trigger FCC investigations."

"She's powerful?"

Pilar shrugged and then nodded. "Yeah."

"She wants you to follow her path." The man's eyes closed. "Regretful."

"Her path? No. She has my future planned and expects me to be the marionette on the end of her golden strings. I want nothing to do with her or her companies." Pilar jumped when the door clanked. A tray was shoved through the space in the bars. She scurried to the door and caught it before it fell.

She took it to the cot. "When was the last time you've eaten?"

The man opened his eyes. "Time is hard to gauge here. A while. They give me enough to survive."

"Okay, then we might need to take this easy." She reached for the cup with the over-the-counter pain killers dissolved in the bottom. "Drink this first and then we can work on getting some of this food into you." She motioned to the tray which held a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a carton of milk.

"No. It's yours."

"I'm always trying to lose ten pounds. You need this more than I do." She handed him the cup and watched him sip the small amount of water until it was gone. "Okay. We start with bread. If it stays down, we can move on to the other stuff."

She took the cup back and examined a triangle of bread before she tore off a small bit. "I have no idea if I'm doing this right, but I watched a movie once that said if you were starving, you needed to slowly reintroduce food."

He took the small piece from her and placed it in his mouth. "Would you leave if you could?"

Pilar glanced from the bread she held to the man. "Here or her?"

"Both."

"Here? No. Not until I know you are okay. Her? Yes, absolutely yes." Pilar sighed and tore off another small piece, handing it to the man. "What did you do? Who put you in here?"

"I don't know. My captors ask for information I don't have."

"Can I help?"

The man's eyes slid to hers. "How can I trust you?"

Pilar blinked at him and then whispered, "You think I'm one of them?" He continued to stare at her, and she handed him another small piece of bread. "I would never allow this. Never."

"Words."

"What can I do? She twisted and glanced at the door. "How do I prove to you I don't want or agree with any of this?"

He remained silent until he’d eaten both pieces of bread and the cheese slice. Finally he drew a stuttering breath and said, "There is a way to help. I know where I’m being taken."

Chapter 2

Present day:

Jason King's glower stared back at Doctor Jeremiah Wheeler from the computer screen of his desk in Hollister, South Dakota. "It's time to make the call, Remi. Are you giving him a Go or not?"

The CEO of Guardian Security could be intimidating, but Jason's resting bitch face wasn't going to change this conversation. "He's been through a significant trauma. Years of abuse, both mental and physical. Tempest is lucky to be alive."

"That's a given. Physically he's been cleared. Hell, he's running circles around our training cadre at the Rose. My concern is for his mental health."

"As is mine." Remi sighed.

Jason leaned forward. "Doc, is he cleared or not?"

"I have my doubts."

"About what specifically?"

"He's hell bent on revenge."

Jason made a noise in his throat. "Wouldn't you be?"

Ah, now that was an emotional response. Remi narrowed his eyes. "No. Would you?"

His boss shook his head and sighed. "You're not psychoanalyzing me, Doc. What else do you have?"

"I think he still hasn't told us everything. Especially during the time close to his rescue. He claims he can't remember some of the last months."

"Did you talk to Maliki? Physically, the man was near death's door. Is it a stretch to think he couldn't remember everything?"

"No, but you asked for my opinion, and I'm giving it to you. He's fixated on those last months and guarding them."

"From what?"

"Me, you, everybody. The woman who helped him is the key, I'm