Deceit (The Vindicated Series Book 1)

by Addison Jane

  People had been killed in that explosion—they say thirty-two were found dead.

  The word ‘terrorist’ is still being floated around, but the reality is, no one really knows who did it or why. And I think that fact has almost scared me more than actually knowing for sure.

  I don’t particularly like unknowns.

  I like to ask questions and to know facts. Information makes me feel safe, I think. It means I can work with it, devise a plan, and know how to approach something.

  Unknowns have too many risks attached.

  I narrow my eyes, looking around as I hear a tinkle, bells jingling maybe. It takes me a minute or so to realize the noise is actually coming from me—it’s my cell phone. I dig furiously through my handbag, cursing the fact that I always purchase bags that are far too big and consistently make me feel like freaking Mary Poppins as I search through them looking for keys, or tissues, or like now—my goddamn phone.

  “Ah-huh!” I cry out in triumph as I pull it out and quickly hit answer. “Hey, Mama.”

  “How’s my girl?” she asks, her voice soft and sweet just like always.

  I sigh dramatically as I look both ways down the street, preparing to cross. “I’m good, Mama. Nothing new.”

  “How’s work?” This time, I hear the tension in her question.

  She knows I don’t like it there. If she and my dad had their way, I’d be running a vet clinic out of their barn. The idea’s not entirely horrible if I’m being completely honest with myself, but it’s just not what I want.

  My parents raised me to be a hard worker and fight for the things I want. I’d spend hours feeding out hay to the cows and helping Dad fix the fences. I’m not one to sit back and wait for things to be handed to me. And this is my dream, so I want to know that I’ve worked hard to get it.

  “Haven’t seen you for a while…” she continues, “…think Nightlight might be pregnant. Want you to come check her out when you have time.” Nightlight’s one of our horses.

  I bounce excitedly as I cross the road. “Really? That’s awesome!” We haven’t had any foals around home since I was a little girl.

  “Yup. So you need to come home, bring a giant pregnancy test.”

  I giggle. “Yeah Mama, I’ll come soon, I swear.” I look at the ground as I walk up the staircase to my floor. “I do miss you guys.”

  “We miss you, too. And we aren’t that far away. I’ve been trying to get your father to come with me to see you, but you know what he’s like when it comes to the city and traffic.” She giggles and I can hear a low voice grumbling in the background, only causing her to laugh harder.

  My daddy’s a countryman, through and through. I know he’ll never be disappointed in me, but the day I told him I was moving to the city, I almost thought he was going to have a stroke.

  I laugh to myself, the sound quickly changing to a loud oomph of air as I strike something hard. Two strong hands wrap around my upper arms, stopping me from stumbling backward down the stairs.

  “Shit,” I grumble.

  My eyes run up his body, my mind trying to compute exactly what I’m seeing. He’s wearing blue scrubs that stretch tightly across his chest and thighs. A name badge hangs from the right side of his chest, and I don’t even catch the name as I realize whose picture is on it.

  My eyes shoot up, my neighbor staring down at me with his eyebrow raised. I try to calm down, suddenly realizing just how close we are, his hands touching my body.

  “I… I’m sorry.”

  Realizing I’m now stable, he releases me, much to my disappointment. But he just stares at me for a few seconds. I can hear my mom in my ear asking if I’m okay and what the hell is going on, but it’s just background noise.

  I lick my lips, drawing his attention to them, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I didn’t know you were a doctor,” I say, my voice a little shaky and strangely high-pitched.

  As though my words strike him like a hot poker, his body tightens. “I’m not,” he mutters, stepping around me, his sneakers squeaking against the wooden floor as he jogs down the stairs. I watch him go, my brow furrows in confusion as to what’s just happened.

  Pushing myself to move, I head down the hall toward my apartment, stopping outside the door.

  “Hello… Earth to Lily!” Mom calls, clearly frustrated.

  “Sorry Mom. What?” I ask in a daze as I stare back at the staircase where my mysterious neighbor and I have just officially met, after two months of me obsessing over who he is and wanting to get to know him.

  “Who were you talking to?” she asks with a deep sigh, as though she’s already asked me a million times. Which I bet she probably has.

  My mind’s focused entirely on him, though. He was wearing scrubs and had a doctor’s ID pinned to his chest. But he said he wasn’t a doctor.

  I bite my lip. “It was just my neighbor,” I answer, once again pulling open my ridiculously large handbag in search of my keys.

  “Ooh…” she says. “And he’s a doctor?”

  Finally fishing them out, I push my key in the lock and turn it before moving the door open. For some reason, I turn my head and take one last look back down the hall.

  “Who is he?” my mom asks with a little too much enthusiasm in her voice.

  I laugh and shake my head. “You know, Mom… I really have no idea.”

  But I’m going to find out.

  You’d think I’d be nervous, but instead, a rush of excitement flows through me as I traipse the halls of the hospital in my fake scrubs dressed convincingly as a doctor.

  I look the part.

  I always look the part.

  My counterfeit ID badge sits proudly where I want it, allowing me to slip in where I need to be. Flashing my badge to the security guards stationed at the door, I walk straight in closing it behind me, just as I knew I would.

  I have to do this.

  You’d think considering a terrorist attack occurred not so long ago they’d be better prepared than this. As long as I look the part, and have the appropriate badge, they’re convinced I am that person.

  But I’m not. I’m here for one reason and one reason only, and he’s lying here in this hospital room hooked up to the endlessly beeping machines, pumping oxygen and God knows what else in an inane attempt to keep him alive.

  This man is the sole survivor of the attack. I wasn’t able to bring him down then, so my task is to bring him down now.

  Sliding the curtain around his bed as I step up to him, the metal rings clink along the railing while my heart races in my chest. Killing is something that comes naturally to me. I’ve done it for so long now it’s ingrained in my persona.

  I can’t count the number of men I’ve taken out—all in the name of the Seven.

  Taking a deep breath, I pull the syringe out of my pocket and take a quick glance behind me making sure no one is entering. Turning back toward the scum before me, I grit my teeth and pick up his IV line inserting the syringe quickly into it. The pure toxic mix flows straight through the clear plastic line and into his blood stream, giving me a euphoric sense of relief that I’ve succeeded in my task.

  “For the Seven,” I murmur as I watch the clear liquid drain into his system. With a brief smile—I know I don’t have long—I pull the syringe from the IV and take a deep breath while looking at him, taking in his features once more.

  His heart rate begins to register a decline on the machine, and I know that’s my cue to leave. Turning, I pull open the curtain a fraction and walk out of the room, nodding to security as I go. My feet hit the floor hard and fast as I walk briskly, but not too fast as to draw attention. The distant sound of a heart monitor flatlining and the ‘real’ doctors rushing around echoes down the halls. I throw off my scrub top and place it in a nearby bin along with the syringe, before I hasten my pace out of the hospital with a spring in my step and a smile on my face.

  Molly’s over for dinner, and we’re eating our usual takeout Chinese from House of Chow as she talks ab
out her latest conquest. This is our typical date night. We call it a date night because Molly only fucks guys, and I’ve had too many bad experiences with men to date, so basically Molly and I date each other. But not in a weird way, just in a best friends eating takeout and vegging kind of way. It’s not bizarre, it’s just us. We’re a strange dynamic, but we fit so well together. I can’t imagine a better best friend than Molly McDonald, with her long brown hair, chocolate eyes, and a curvy body that men drool over.

  At the age of twenty-six, Molly really has her head screwed on. She’s a dancer. She lives and breathes dancing, and when she isn’t trying out for music’s hottest video clips, she’s teaching children how to dance. One small thing, though… Molly hates kids. I mean really hates kids. So that’s an endless source of entertainment. The thing Molly loves though is men, and right now she has a thing for my neighbor, Mister Mysterious.

  “So… I can fuck him, right? You said I could.”

  Rolling my eyes, I giggle. “I’ve never actually seen him bring a girl home.”

  “Eh, I’ll fuck him wherever. I don’t need a bed. Oh, wait… you don’t think he’s gay, do you? Damn, the sexy ones always play for the other team.” She throws her hands in the air in an exacerbated sigh.

  Chuckling to myself, I shake my head. “I don’t know if he’s gay, I’m just saying I’ve never seen him with a girl.”

  She furrows her brows. “Well, have you seen him with a guy?”

  Looking up at the ceiling as I wrack my brain thinking, I shake my head. “No, actually he’s always alone.”

  She smiles and puffs out her chest as if he can see her and would be impressed by her sizable rack. “Well then, he’s just holding out for me, isn’t he?”

  Laughing, I nod. “Yeah, that’s exactly what Mister Mysterious is doing. Anyway enough about my neighbor, what’s happening with your music video?”

  She shrugs and rolls her eyes picking up the container of Singapore noodles and shoving the chopsticks entirely into her mouth. “Every time I try out for a video they always want me to twerk ‘cause of my amazing bootaaay. But c’mon there’s nothing classy about twerking,” she says through mouthfuls of noodles making me giggle.

  “Well, your bootaaay is only going to get bigger if you keep shoveling those noodles like that.”

  “Hey!” she calls out, and picks up a piece of chicken with her chopsticks and hurtles it at me. Holding back my laugh, I pick it up and eat it.

  “Well, if you can have a booty I can too. Right?”

  “Amen sister!” she replies and brings her chopsticks up to clink with mine in a cheers motion.

  We both chuckle and continue to devour our takeout. After finishing off the entire order and drinking a bottle of wine between us, Molly decides she’s heading home for the night.

  “You sure you’re okay to drive? You know the car is perfectly safe locked in the apartment’s underground parking lot. Not that I’m judging your driving, but maybe it would be safer for the other drivers if you just left it there?”

  She scowls at me. “Bitch, please. Remember that time we drank all those mojitos, and then I drove back home to DC all the way from Baltimore?”

  A burst of laughter comes from deep inside me and Molly scrunches her face in confusion. “Um you didn’t drive, your sister had to come and pick us up, and then the usual hour trip took us nearly three ‘cause she had to keep pulling over for you to pee.”

  “Really?” She shrugs. “So I pee when I’m drunk, that’s not a crime. Sheesh… judgmental much there, Lily,” she teases.

  “Oh, shut up and get out of my apartment!” We both chuckle as I walk her to the door. Opening it she steps through, and I step forward to hug her when my neighbor walks down the hallway toward us with two women, one under each arm. I look to Molly, and she smirks at me raising her eyebrows.

  “There goes the gay theory,” she whispers then looks back at him. “Don’t be a fool and wrap your tool,” she calls out to him. My heart jumps up into my throat in embarrassment as she smirks and scurries off past him down the hall. My cheeks flush red hot as he ushers the women inside his apartment, and I stand like a fool watching him stunned to the spot. Whether I’m astounded by Molly’s words or just the sheer fact that he looks so goddamned gorgeous tonight I’m not sure, but something about this situation is taking my breath away.

  “Friend of yours?” he asks.

  His voice is like deep rich velvet, and it makes my knees wobble as he looks at me with a slight smirk.

  My mouth opens, and I gasp slightly trying to catch my breath before I’m able to eventually speak. “She’s actually really nice… once you get to know her.”

  He looks back into his room and my chest pounds ferociously as my breath is knocked from me again. What the hell?

  “Yeah, all is not as it seems,” he says, and my brows crease together at his odd choice of words.

  What isn’t as it seems?

  Molly?

  Or the fact that he just took two, what looks like hookers, into his room?

  “Have a nice night, Lily.”

  I nod, and then it suddenly hits me—how the fuck does he know my name?

  Chewing on my bottom lip, I flare my nostrils. “What’s your name?”

  He smiles. “I’m Kace Colt.” He shuts the door behind him, and I take a deep breath shaking my head wondering… Who is Kace Colt?

  Apart from my parents’ farm, the zoo that’s conveniently located just two blocks from my apartment is the only other place that I feel at complete peace. I love my work, but Steven’s bad attitude and the constant need to degrade his staff, makes it feel like I’m always walking on egg shells.

  I hate it.

  I volunteer at the zoo one day a week, helping out the vets who work here, assisting with the daily care of the animals, or assisting with large operations where more hands are needed. It breathes life into my body.

  Not only am I able to go behind the scenes, but I’m continuously learning, thanks to the head zoo veterinarian, Marshall. He fuels my thirst for knowledge and my passion.

  Today we are working in an area that both scares and excites me—the lions.

  One of the females gave birth a few days ago, and it’s time to give the three new baby cubs a check-up. Today’s actually my day off from work, but when Marshall called, I couldn’t give up the opportunity to snuggle with these new little ones.

  I bounce on the balls of my feet as Marshall explains to the team of people around him, just how fast we’re going to get the job done. The last thing we want is to stress Momma out. Marshall and I have been working with this proud girl, Misty, for over a year, and we seem to have created a strong bond. I’m not under the false impression that she won’t attack me if she catches me trying to snatch away one of her babies, though.

  “Ready, Lily?” Marshall asks with an excited smile.

  I clap my hands. “So ready.”

  The separation of Misty from her three little ones goes to plan, and I take my time enjoying the softness of their fur while Marshall and one of the other vets speed through their health checks. Weighing, finding out the sex of each, taking temperatures, and having a quick cuddle before returning them to a pacing Mom.

  Misty’s eyes watch me through the cage as I handle each of her children with gentle hands. We may have become friends over the past year, but I have her life in my hands, and if she thinks for a second I’m hurting them, she’ll go straight for my jugular.

  These beautiful animals, so stunning and graceful. The power in their bodies is enormous, but yet, for the most part, they seem so peaceful. Almost like a larger version of your house cat that enjoys just eating and sleeping in awkward places.

  It’s almost like a defense, or disguise.

  How can something so beautiful, be so damn deadly?

  Once finished, I’m walking out the back doors of the enclosure with Marshall, my body buzzing with excitement when something stops me in my tracks.

  He’s dr
essed differently today. Casual jeans and a button down blue shirt hanging open to reveal a tight white wife beater that’s almost molded to his body. His strong arms stretch at the fabric of his sleeves. They almost seem tense, like they’re ready to strike at any moment.

  “Lily?” Marshall’s voice draws me away from the sight in front of me so I turn to him.

  Forcing a smile. “Sorry, what?”

  He laughs, shaking his head. “I’m gonna take these results for the cubs back to the vet clinic. Do you want to meet me round the other side in say…” he checks his watch, “…around thirty minutes? We’re thinking about letting Dad see his new babies through the cage, and try to gauge how long we might have to wait to introduce them properly.”

  My head bobs enthusiastically. “Yeah, for sure. I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

  He grins, gripping the papers in his hands. “I’ll meet you over there soon.”

  I give him a quick wave, turning my attention back to where I’d seen Kace standing moments before. A frown forms on my face when I realize he’s no longer there. I walk forward, my steps light and dainty as I scan through the small amount of people who are at the zoo this early.

  We only opened an hour ago, so it’s reasonably quiet, for now.

  A flash of blue out the corner of my eye draws my attention, and there he is once again. His back is to me, and there’s another man positioned close beside him now as they stand at the fence of one of the exhibits. Even with my mind telling me over and over not to intrude and to mind my own business, my feet carry me toward them, my running shoes barely making a sound on the concrete path.

  The man standing beside Kace is dressed in a suit, a strange outfit for a day out at the zoo. It piques my interest further, the need to know more about this man who lives next door to me driving me forward. His broad shoulders, chest, and trim waist, are sexy and inviting. My body shivers as I imagine the power and strength he holds within them.