When All Else Fails (A Push of a Button Novella)

Chapter Nine

DANE APPROACHED THE perimeter around the farmhouse with a grim smile. His men waited in positions around the house, and there was no way they'd escape this time. The Supremacy had activated Auclaire's back-up kill switch, so next time the man used the button, it would end him instead of conjuring up some random way out. Auclaire's luck was about to run out, finally. As long as nothing went wrong with the backup switch, which at this point would hardly be surprising. Honestly, the man was more slippery than the fish he'd tried to catch as a child while playing in the streams on the McGayen estates.

But no. This would work. He was trapped, caught, and hooked even if he didn't know it yet. No more waiting to see if he'd conform. It was obvious now that he wouldn't, and he was just in the way. Still, he'd be spared and warned about the trigger he'd pull if he used his button just so long as he didn't fight. For Vivian, Dane would grant that much even if he had to put out fires with his superiors for it later.

With Vivian's button now offline, he'd had to move fast. It would take time for her to recover from the surgery required, and she'd been half-dead when he'd last seen her. By now, they'd be getting close to ready to move on, but they'd still be here. He knew Auclaire. The man loved Vivian too much to risk her life unnecessarily. Even if they could have moved on a day or two ago, Auclaire would keep her here just a little longer.

He motioned to two of his men to move forward and followed behind them, closing the ring on the house. Not long now. He'd have Vivian in his grasp again, and this time, he would spirit her away to his cabin out in the wilderness. She'd have nowhere to go, and without her button, she wouldn't be able to run far enough to hide. He'd keep her there until she was legally bound to him, not just his according to some contract, and then he would make sure to break her thoroughly before they returned. He didn't like the idea of subduing her that way, but he had no choice. If he didn't, the Supremacy would take away everything that made her who she was. He couldn't watch that happen.

But, with any luck, she'd see reason, and it wouldn't be a massive battle to see whose will would win out. He could offer her the world. She'd be his queen when everything settled, and who didn't want power? Vivian had grown up with it. She knew what it tasted like, and no one gave that up.

But she'd given up her button, something no normal person would ever consider. That lodged in his mind, and he frowned. He wasn't that bad, was he? Going to the extreme of disabling and destroying her button, a procedure that wasn't safe outside Supremacy labs, seemed too far to go to escape him. Yet, she'd done it. She was so desperate to get away from him that she'd not only run, but also risked death.

He clenched his fist around his Blaze 216 blaster and locked his jaw. It didn't matter. She'd either come around or be broken to pieces and remade for her own good. They no longer had other options because she'd taken them away when she ran. His stomach flipped, and an unbearable ache settled in his chest. He'd spent his whole life knowing she would be his. He'd protected her, loved her, and stood up for her no matter what. Now, she repaid him like this? What was so wrong about being married to him?

Someone tapped his shoulder. "Sir?"

He glanced over at the man beside him. Just one of many grunts he'd brought along to make sure Auclaire and his accomplice didn't escape with Vivian again. "What is it?"

"The others are in position. Just came over the ear-piece."

He frowned. Had it? He didn't remember hearing it, but it must have. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he nodded. "Good. Shine the signal light then so they know to move in."

The man saluted and rushed off to do as told. Dane turned his attention to the silent, dark windows of the house. Somewhere in there, Vivian was sleeping. She'd better sleep well. It would probably be her last night of good sleep for a while, even if she cooperated. After this, things would change, and not being able to run again wouldn't be easy for her. She'd feel trapped and resentful no matter how he handled her, and he would have to give her space and time to come to terms with her new life. While she did that, life was going to be miserable for them both.