I checked my watch. It was quarter of eleven. “The meeting is in forty-five minutes. Did you find something?” Our plan was set. I thought we were good to go.
“I just found something on your father’s computer. Or, I should say, in the cloud.” Of course—the proverbial cloud of data that floated above our heads.
“What’d you find?” I went into the kitchen, where he was sitting in front of my father’s computer.
“He erased some files from his computer and his tablet, but the information was still stored in the cloud.” He tapped at a few buttons. “Look at these photos. Look at the dates.”
I zoomed in, pressing my fingers against the touchscreen, and my hand fell to my side. “This is a picture of Mason in uniform—in the Middle East, no less.” I observed Jake, my body growing hot, my heart rate kicking up. “The picture was taken last September. He was stationed in Saudi Arabia at the time.”
I released a strangled breath and looked at the next photo. It was of me, standing in front of my friend Michael Maddox’s brownstone.
“Your mother is in the next image. Also taken in September.”
“Was my dad spying on us?”
“Tell me, why would he have a picture of Olivia?”
Olivia was jogging at the Constitution Gardens in D.C.—it must have been before she’d started working for Declan. “What the hell?”
“There’s more—”
My ringing phone stopped him. “It’s Ben,” I said after pulling the phone from my pocket. “Hey. Everything okay?”
There was a moment of silence on the line. Then, “Olivia’s not in Vegas.”
I braced my hand on the back of the barstool as my feet staggered back. “What do you mean?” My heart started to thunder in my chest.
Jake looked at me and raised his hand in the air.
“She wasn’t at the club. I checked with my buddy who works security at the casino where her club is, and he said she never checked in. Actually, she didn’t have any type of reservation.”
Ben’s words shook me, stealing my breath as nervousness ripped through my body like a tidal wave. I couldn’t respond. My mind was racing with possibilities, and the only one that made sense was that she was in serious trouble.
“I don’t have any contacts at the airport, so I don’t know if she ever flew to Vegas. I’m sorry.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I muttered, “Thank you,” and hung up without thinking. “Olivia didn’t make it to the hotel in Vegas.”
“You think that text wasn’t from her then? Or did she lie?”
“Why would she lie?” She lied about a lot of things, but I hardly believed she’d make up a trip to Vegas.
“Well, the thing is—I know Olivia,” Jake said slowly. My hand lifted from the barstool and my fingers curved into a fist at my side as I braced myself for whatever news Jake was about to deliver.
“I recognized her from the picture.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I didn’t know your ex was Olivia Scott. She’s FBI.”
“You must be mistaken.” There was no hesitation. “That she would have told me. Right?” We came clean with each other. Why would she withhold that information from me?
“She was a student of mine at Quantico. When I realized who she was, I checked the FBI database. She’s currently on assignment in New York under the leadership of Blake Manning. The details of her case are classified, though.”
I couldn’t wrap my head around it. A lot of things were making more sense, now. But still—the FBI?
“That explains why someone was asking me about you.”
“Isn’t this a conflict of interest?” I folded my arms across my chest, still not sure if I could believe what he was telling me. Olivia, an FBI agent? “Konstantin’s guys killed her sister. Surely the FBI wouldn’t allow Olivia to work on a case involving Konstantin.”
Jake half shrugged. “When you sign up with the FBI, they learn everything about you. Hell, they use polygraph tests on us. They interview family members. They probably even know she once dated you.”
“Wait.” I held my hand out in front of me. “Really?”
“Yeah. They know all my dirty laundry.” He grimaced.
“She’s in danger, Jake. Declan must know, and he probably has her.” The color drained from my face. “Are they going to use her to get to me?”
“Shit. I hope not.”
“None of this explains why my father had surveillance photos of me, Mason, Olivia—hell, even my mother.”
“We’d better figure it out and quick because you have to meet with Declan soon.”
“If anything happened to Olivia . . .” I couldn’t finish my thought. My blood heated as I sank to the barstool, my mind clambering to make sense of it all.
“We’ll get your girl back, Connor.”
Olivia
I knew my one eye was swollen, and my “good” eye hurt, so it took me a minute to decide whether my eyes were playing tricks on me.
He moved across the large room, and I noticed an uptick in the beat of the music above. It wasn’t The Phoenix, I realized. The Phoenix didn’t play 90s throwback jams. So where was I?
When the man stopped in front of me, I squeezed my eye shut again. There was no way.
He was just a mirage. He had to be.
“You pummeled her face pretty bad.”
I sucked in a breath at the sound of Blake’s voice. What did it mean? No, I refused to accept it.
“She deserved it,” Declan answered.
Blake’s fingers curved around the bars, covering mine as my knuckles whitened. At his touch, I jerked my hands free and banged against the back of the six-foot tall, oval-shaped cage. The dark steel gleamed, taunting me, as I opened my one eye to look at him.
My boss. My mentor. My ex-lover.
My enemy?
Declan stood a few feet behind Blake, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face. He relished my shock.
“What’s going on?” A whisper stole the words from my brain and delivered them to Blake.
Blake removed his hands from the bars and gripped the back of his neck with one hand. “I help Konstantin out whenever our interests align. I volunteered to be on the case when I heard they were going after him again.” Blake’s blue eyes were sharp on me.
A knife of betrayal impaled me, and I had to gather my strength. I thought it was luck that he’d landed the case—lucky for me so I could help lock the man up. “And how’d your interests align?”
Money?
“How long have you been on the take?” My cheeks grew warm, and my hands clawed at the fabric of my pants as anger gathered inside me.
Blake leaned his back against the empty cage and stared down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with me. Was he embarrassed by his deceit? Remorseful? Not that it mattered at this point. I groaned as I realized the sheer futility of it all. The man I’d been reporting to for the last nine months had been on the other team, all this time. All of my sacrifices had been for nothing.
“You wouldn’t understand, Olivia. Things aren’t always so black and white.”
“FBI.” I raised one hand, then the other. “Criminals. Pretty clear cut to me.” I forced myself to remain standing, even though my body begged to drop, to mourn my losses. “Well, until an FBI agent becomes a criminal.” I shook my head in disgust. “So, I wasted the last nine months, for you to do—what? Destroy any evidence and report that Konstantin can’t be taken down?”
Blake’s eyes were finally on me, but it was Declan’s voice in my ears. “Do you really think any of this is a coincidence, Olivia?” Declan came up next to Blake, eager to hammer me down.
My nostrils flared. “What do you mean?”
“Your idea to come after me set everything in motion. And now, I have you to thank for the fact that I’m thirty minutes away from finally getting my hands on the EMF gun. I’m about to become a billionaire.” Declan toyed with the cuffs on his blazer. “You think that a job just happened to co
me open at my company in September when you pitched your idea to Blake? Or that your promotion had nothing to do with the fact that Edward Matthews was dead, and your ex-lover would be taking over the company?”
My lower lip trembled at his words. “Even the Russian mafia’s not safe if terrorists attack New York again.”
Declan angled his head and studied me. “What are you talking about?”
Blake pushed away from the cage and came near me. “She’s—”
“I didn’t tell you about the terrorists,” Declan interrupted. “What’s going on?” Declan was standing in front of Blake, his finger against Blake’s muscled chest.
“Oh? He didn’t tell you that we hacked your computer at the club? Maybe Blake was saving a little something in his back pocket to use against you.” I tried to remain confident as I dealt with the two magnum-sized egos that held my fate in their hands.
“I had to. She ran the idea by Sean, and I couldn’t say no, or it would look suspicious,” Blake defended. “I didn’t think Sean would uncover anything.”
Blake was now the target of Declan’s vicious stare. “Why didn’t you tell me you found something?”
“I didn’t have a chance.” Blake cleared his throat. “Besides, you never told me the weapons from Matthews Tech were going to extremists in the Middle East.”
Declan sniggered. “Would that have mattered?”
Blake shook his head. “But I might have demanded more cash.”
Disappointment stabbed me. “I understand Declan’s lack of morals, but Blake, you’re a federal agent, what happened to you?” I couldn’t allow myself to indulge in the sadness that attempted to strangle hold of me. I needed to stay strong. I had to get through this.
“Money goes a long way, sweet thing,” Declan answered for him.
“Call me sweet thing one more time.” I gripped the bars, wishing I had Hulk-like strength to tear them apart.
Declan ignored me, his focus on Blake. “I want whatever information you took from my computer.” His deep voice grew loud in my ears. At least my hearing was fully functional again.
“Of course,” Blake said, holding his hands up.
I tried to run through the last nine months in my mind, searching for signs I’d missed. “You really used me to try and get Connor to make the deal?” I cringed at the thought, but everything made sense now.
Both Blake and Declan had pushed me to get close to Connor—manipulating my past to their advantage. Even going so far as to scare me with Andrei and Oleg’s presence. Blake had never been worried for my safety. Goddamn him. He should have been nominated for actor of the year. “How’d you know I wouldn’t go behind your back and reveal the truth to Connor?”
“Of course you told Connor the truth.” Declan guffawed. “Can you believe this one, Blake? She’ll say anything.” He pulled out his cell phone and tapped at the screen before his cold eyes focused back on me.
“I ordered her not to tell him, but I don’t know. It doesn’t matter anyway, right? You just need to get the weapon, and then we can finally be done with Matthews Tech.”
Too many lies had been buried—it was time to reveal the truth. I scrounged up the energy deep inside to keep fighting. “Tell me one thing. Why me? I brought up the idea of using Declan, but you could have used the idea without me.”
Blake didn’t say anything, and I didn’t know how to interpret his silence. Was he conflicted? I didn’t want to care, but perhaps I could switch him back to the right side of the law somehow. “Blake, we had something special,” I lied.
That was the wrong choice of words, apparently. Blake’s blue eyes turned liquid cool. “You fucked Connor. Don’t try and play me, Olivia.” He shook his head and closed the gap between him and the cage.
I took a small step back, all that the cage would afford, and noticed for the first time the true evil inside the man I’d once called my superior. Men like him were worse than Konstantin and Declan. Because they seemed good on the outside. “Answer my question, Blake. Tell me why you decided to ruin my life,” I said through gritted teeth, defiance blazing fast and furious through my body.
Declan shook his head. “Tell her, Blake. Tell her she’s the reason why there’s a pile of bodies.”
I stared at Blake, confusion capturing my face. What sick game were they playing? If the bars weren’t in between us, I’d grab him by his T-shirt and stab the son of a bitch. If only I had a knife. “What the hell are you talking about?” I growled.
“As much as I’d love to stay and chat, I have a meeting to attend.” Declan was taunting me. He had no intention of telling me anything. He turned and started through the dimly lit basement. The music faded in and out above my head. And the second cage sat empty, waiting.
28
Connor
“I thought I was meeting with your associates.” I held on to the steel briefcase and studied the three men who stood in front of the boxing ring with folded arms. Were they supposed to be intimidating? “These are the men you’re working with?” I asked in disbelief, eying Andrei and Oleg.
“They work for him,” Declan answered.
I already knew he was referring to Konstantin, but where the hell was he? As Declan closed in on me, my eyes shot to his knuckles. They were red and swollen. He’d been in a fight recently, and my stomach shrank at the possibility of it being with Olivia. No, he wouldn’t hit her. Would he?
Declan gestured to the men to approach me. “They need to check you for wires if you don’t mind.”
I lowered the case to the ground, reached into my pocket, and tossed Declan my phone. “It’s off. And I’m not armed.” I raised my hands up, allowing the men to scan me, and then pat me down.
“He’s clear,” Andrei said, nodding at Declan.
Declan slipped my phone into his pocket. “Is that the gun?” He started to reach for the case, but I lifted it and pulled it back.
“You can see the weapon when you meet your end of the deal,” I snapped, my eyes narrowing on him.
He whipped a quick smile to his face, smoothing it on for the sake of appearances. But we both knew better. I could see it in his eyes. He knew I had no intention of handing him the gun.
“Where’s Olivia?” I wanted to charge him, to have him feel the weight of my knuckles as I broke his nose.
Declan took a step back and glanced at Andrei out of the corner of his eye. “Vegas,” he said while looking back at me. His lips flattened like the line on a heart rate monitor.
“Sure. And you’re not working with Alexander Konstantin. And these men aren’t hitmen.”
He rubbed a hand over his jaw and held up a finger in front of me. “I’ve always liked your honesty. You’re far more respectable than your father was.”
“Is that why you killed him?”
“I have to say that I’m pleased we’re done acting. I was growing tired of it. It’s much easier when we just talk straight.”
“How long have you known I had no intention of working with an asshole like yourself?” I stood my ground, and my fingers tightened on the handle.
“Oh. I knew long before you took over the company.”
“Do you always do business deals by threatening potential partners? I’m not sure if my father would have cared if you killed my mother, to be honest, but Olivia? That has me curious. I’ve been struggling to figure out how you think she fits into the picture.” I scratched my jaw but held firm in my stance. “Not unless you have inside information.”
He turned away from me and waved his hand at the two Russians.
Andrei reached inside his blazer and produced a 9mm. The black barrel of the gun was a few feet away from me, but I didn’t flinch. I’d been expecting it.
“Olivia’s the reason you’re here. Or I should say her past connection with you is what made everything possible.” He cocked his head, and I had to suppress my desire to attack. “Konstantin had been looking for a weapons company to make a deal, and when the Feds decided to go after him aga
in, your little angel came up with a great plan to get to him through me.” He shrugged his shoulders and moved closer. “When I discovered her connection to Matthews Tech, a failing, and struggling weapons company, the plan made itself.”
I couldn’t wait to rip the smug bastard’s face off. Tension rippled through my body, and I was prepared to blast him, but I had to be patient. His arrogance was revealing. “So, you threatened my father into making a deal with you, huh? Promised to kill my brother or I?”
A disgusting grin smeared his face. “You’d be surprised.”
“Why’d you kill him, though? He went behind your back to take you all down?” It was hard for me to believe. I’d thought my father was guilty of corporate bribery and hated the idea that he’d worked with such a snake. All this time, he’d been doing it not to save his company, but to save his family. “He knew he was going to die, didn’t he? That’s why he wrote those letters? He discovered that you found out what he and Tyson had been working on.”
“Hell, he let my men right in the door. He refused to open the safe, but that was a bridge we could cross on another day.” Declan checked his watch and looked back at me.
My father must have known Declan would come after Mason or I after he died, but he probably assumed I’d open his letter right away. What an idiot I had been.
Another thought crossed my mind, and I couldn’t help but be curious. “So, tell me something. Why the games with me? Why not just pressure me the way you did my father?”
“We would have threatened you, but you didn’t open the letter. You stuck the damn thing in your car!” He laughed. “So we developed a new idea—one that involved you making a deal with me, and Olivia pushing you to do it.” Declan reached into his pocket. He waved a white envelope before me—my letter. “This was an interesting read.”
“Oh yeah? If you give me the key, I’d be happy to open the box.” I took a step closer to him, not the least bit intimidated by the goons. The briefcase would easily deflect a gunshot.
The Hidden Truths Series Box Set Page 69
