Free Blind Faith by Rebecca Zanetti Page B

storms over mountains, and antique furniture all showed class and femininity. Two open doors
    led to a walk-in closet and attached bath.
    The closet looked as if a hurricane had passed through, and discarded clothing littered the floor around
    the bed.
    He’d forgotten what a slob she was. At the memory, his lips twitched.
    Then a voice from his biggest nightmares echoed from the other room. The commander—in the flesh
    and close enough to kill. Nate’s system instantly shot into cold, deadly alertness.
    He crept forward and cracked the bedroom door open to better see the man who’d ordered his creation.
    The bastard hadn’t changed much in twenty years. Tall, lean, and muscular, the emotionless soldier even sat
    at attention on Audrey’s floral sofa.
    His black hair had turned a steel gray, shaped in a buzz cut as always.
    The gun lay heavy against Nate’s back, offering opportunity. His fingers twitched with the need to hold
    cold silver and end the man who’d created such a hellacious childhood for Nate’s brothers. But now wasn’t
    the time. Not until Nate found the codes to defuse the kill chips, and not until he discovered what had
    happened to his youngest brother.
    But having the commander sit so close to Audrey heated the breath in Nate’s lungs.
    “So these are the other pseudo-military organizations currently vying for funding,” the commander said,
    pointing at a series of papers laid out on Audrey’s coffee table. “What do you know about them?”
    Audrey leaned forward, her slender face pale. “The NSA decommissioned this one a day ago.” She
    tapped her nails on a piece of paper. While she appeared calm, Nate could hear her heart racing and a
    stressed tenor in her voice.
    Would the commander notice?
    Apparently Audrey understood that being allies with the commander wouldn’t guarantee her safety if
    she screwed up. So why would the woman align with him? Nate rubbed his chin, trying to make sense of
    the situation.
    The commander glanced at her. “Why did the NSA get involved with that organization?”
    She shrugged. “Failure to complete several covert operations that almost brought attention to the
    States.”
    A satisfied gleam filled the commander’s eyes. “Good. Were they also operating outside of the U.S.’s
    military reach?”
    “No. You’re the only organization, as far as I know, that considers the United States as merely a client.
    Of course, our military and political leaders have no idea about that.” While she kept her expression bland,
    a bite echoed in her words.
    The commander nodded as if he hadn’t noticed the tone. “What about these other two groups?”
    “They’re in the running for funding from the subcommittee,” Audrey said.
    The commander anchored her arm. “We put you in place to prevent that.”
    Nate felt a growl low in his belly at the sight of the commander touching Audrey. Even now, he wanted
    her away from the sadistic monster. So when she patted the commander’s arm, all feeling left Nate’s legs.
    Audrey chuckled. “The senator is on board with your plan and realizes your organization can
    accomplish much more than the other two. I believe he will be able to convince the remaining members of
    the subcommittee to earmark all of the funds for you. Don’t worry, Franklin.”
    Franklin ? She fucking called him by his first name? Who the hell was this woman, and how could Nate
    have been so wrong about her?
    “Good.” The commander brushed the papers into a pile and pointed to something on the top page. “The
    base out of North Carolina run by this group is going to experience a gas explosion late tomorrow that will
    put them out of commission, so they’ll be out of the running.”
    Audrey pursed her lips and slid a paper from the bottom. “So that leaves TechnoZyn Corporation and
    the Red Force group that’s headquartered in Florida.”
    The commander chuckled. “Such amateurs. A computer company and Red Force . Having a name is a
    bad