Deceptions

by Cynthia Eden

  And even though she was trying, Elizabeth couldn’t get up. Not all the way. She managed to sit up, but that was it. She couldn’t stand because she hurt too much.

  Blood. All over me.

  “Mac?” He was the one she needed.

  “Don’t worry about him,” Evelyn said. Elizabeth looked up and saw the woman aiming the gun right at her head. “Worry about yourself.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Put down the gun,” Mac ordered, fighting to keep his voice calm when there wasn’t a single calm thing about him. Evelyn had shot Elizabeth—shot her! And he’d watched in horror as Elizabeth fell.

  Before he could run to Elizabeth’s side, Evelyn had been firing in quick succession, shooting at Celia—hitting her. Firing at Mac and at Sullivan.

  Mac’s upper arm throbbed where the bullet had hit him, but that wound wasn’t going to slow him down. He would be getting to Elizabeth.

  Nothing will stop me.

  Celia was on the floor, not moving, and Sullivan had pulled himself up to a sitting position. There was so much blood on his brother.

  Evelyn isn’t going to let any of us leave.

  Evelyn laughed at him and put the gun against Elizabeth’s forehead. “Didn’t expect me to be a good shot, did you? But I’ve been hunting since I was a girl. I know my way around guns.” She laughed again. “Though no one could miss from this close, right?”

  He held up his hands, wincing as the pain in his left arm deepened. “Don’t do it.”

  Evelyn stared into Elizabeth’s eyes. “You don’t seem so hard to kill.” Her head tilted. “Why did Nelson have so much trouble with you? It’s an easy-enough matter to put a bullet between your eyes.”

  “N-Nelson?” Elizabeth whispered.

  Evelyn nodded. “You met my Fixer, didn’t you? Dear Nelson...he’s been helping me for years.”

  Mac crept closer. He had to get near enough to take that gun away from Evelyn. “So it was you, all along? You, not your husband?”

  Evelyn cast a scornful glance toward him. “That man never had an original idea of his own, not once in all the years of our marriage. Everything he’s accomplished has been because of me.”

  A car engine growled, catching Mac’s attention. Then he heard the slam of a door. “Someone’s coming,” he told Evelyn. “It’s the police. You need to—”

  “It’s not the police. It’s my cleanup crew.”

  Footsteps raced toward them. “Evelyn!” a male voice called out. “Tell me you—”

  Mac knew that voice. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Martin Pace stumble to a stop just inside the study.

  “Evelyn,” Martin said in shock. “What the hell? I thought you were just going to shoot the governor!” He bent next to Celia and swore. “What did you do?” His fingers lingered against Celia’s neck.

  Mac cut a quick glance toward his brother. Sullivan was rising now, and it appeared he was about to lunge at the governor’s campaign manager.

  Not yet, Sully. Not yet. Because that gun was digging into Elizabeth’s forehead. If they made one wrong move, Evelyn’s finger would squeeze the trigger, and Elizabeth would be gone.

  “I did what I had to do,” Evelyn snapped. “And don’t start acting like you’re not just as involved as I am—with just as much to lose!”

  Martin still had his fingers against Celia’s throat. “It was just supposed to be the governor.” He looked up at Evelyn, glaring. “You shot her!”

  “And she sold us out! You told me that she didn’t warn you about what was coming—that she just appeared with the McGuires in tow! You owe that woman no loyalty. I’m the one you owe! I’m the one with the power!”

  “No,” Elizabeth said softly, “you’re just the killer.”

  Evelyn’s hold tightened on the gun. “And you’re just some dumb piece of trash who got in the way.”

  Mac took another step toward her. Rage nearly blinded him. “You think you’re going to kill us all now, is that it?”

  Evelyn shrugged. “The way I see it, my husband killed you. You found out that he’d hired a hit man, and he went crazy. Boom. He shot you. He shot you all, then he turned the weapon on himself. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to escape from his madness.”

  Sullivan was on his feet, waiting for a signal. Mac understood and tried to figure out just when they needed to attack. I have to get Evelyn to move the gun.

  “You were worried that we’d connect you,” Elizabeth said. She didn’t sound afraid. Not even with that gun pointed at her forehead, she wasn’t afraid. She was angry. “Or maybe your husband...did he make the connection? Is that what happened? When we left...did he confront you? Maybe he realized that you had also known about Nate’s letter all those years ago.”

  “I didn’t need the damn letter,” Evelyn shouted. “I had Nelson following my husband. He started as a PI. My PI. When he learned about Gloria and her brat, I offered him fifty thousand dollars cash to make that problem go away. And guess what? He did. He fixed that problem for me, just like he learned to fix problems for plenty of others. I’m the one who sent clients his way. I made him.”

  Mac had seen plenty of monsters over the years. They came in all shapes and sizes. Some of the most evil killers could hide so very well. “You hoped Nate would never figure out who his father was, right? But then you learned he was coming to meet the governor.”

  The gun lifted—just a bit—from Elizabeth’s forehead. Elizabeth was sitting up, but her body had started to sway. Where had the bullet hit her? Not near her heart. Please, not there.

  “Having an illegitimate child would have ruined everything.”

  “No, learning that his wife had killed his mistress,” Elizabeth whispered, “that would have ruined...everything. You were never trying to protect anyone...but yourself.” Her words were weaker, and she trembled.

  Mac tried to keep Evelyn’s attention on him, not Elizabeth. “He realized the truth tonight. He was going to send you to prison, wasn’t he? He was going to tell the world exactly what you are.”

  “It’s all her fault!” Evelyn screamed. “She just wouldn’t stop!” She was glaring at Elizabeth once more, and that gun barrel was flush against Elizabeth’s skin again. “You wanted to find a connection between Nelson and Wesley... I was the only connection. You would have exposed me! I wasn’t made for jail. I wasn’t made for a normal life. I was made for more.”

  “You’re...crazy,” Elizabeth told her. “That’s all you are.”

  Evelyn’s smile was cold and cruel. “Martin, if Celia isn’t already dead, then take out your gun and put a bullet in her heart.”

  “Wh-what?”

  “You brought your gun, didn’t you? Just like I asked?” She was still staring at Elizabeth. “Shoot Celia. Then kill the men. They won’t move—they can’t.” Her head turned, and she met Mac’s stare. “Soldiers. SEALs. Your family is full of protectors. And you won’t attack, you will protect, right up until the last moment. You will do anything to try and save Elizabeth here. So you won’t move. You’ll just be slaughtered because you realize that I will pull the trigger—”

  “You’re...gonna pull it...no matter what...” Elizabeth gasped out the words.

  “He loves you, fool that he is,” Evelyn said, sounding smug and crazy and cold. “You don’t risk the life of the person you love. So he won’t move. He’ll be a good soldier and follow orders...”

  From the corner of his eye, Mac saw that Martin had a gun in his hand.

  The time to act...it’s now. Mac gave a small inclination of his head, knowing that Sullivan would see the movement. Evelyn was wrong about them. They weren’t just good soldiers.

  They were well-trained killers.

  Time to let their darkness out.

  Nothing will stop us.

  �
�My brothers have the evidence,” Mac said as he took an aggressive step forward. He was bluffing for all he was worth as he went on a hunch and said, “We’d already linked you to Gloria’s death. You should never have gone down there to see her, but you just had to lay eyes on the woman who nearly ruined your perfect dreams.”

  Evelyn’s jaw dropped. “How did you—”

  She did go see her.

  “You’re lying! You have proof of nothing!”

  “My brothers are going to contact Steve Yeldon’s reporter friends. They’re going to run the story on you. You’ll be the one who’s dead—dead in the media. In politics. You’ll rot in jail, and there will be no more for you.”

  “No!” Evelyn screamed, and her rage made her reckless. She yanked the gun away from Elizabeth and pointed it at Mac. “You—”

  She was squeezing the trigger.

  But Elizabeth surged up and slammed into her. Both women crashed onto the floor. Mac leaped forward and pulled Elizabeth back even as Evelyn brought up her gun once more.

  He was faster than Evelyn. He knocked the gun away before she could fire, and then Elizabeth slammed her fist into Evelyn’s face.

  Evelyn fell back, and her head hit the side of the desk.

  “Drop that gun,” Sullivan ordered, his voice a low snarl. “Drop it and get the hell away from Celia.”

  Mac whirled around. Martin stood over Celia’s body and he had the gun in his hand, but he wasn’t pointing it at her. He’d aimed the weapon at Sullivan instead.

  Mac kept his body in front of Elizabeth’s. No one would be getting another shot at her. The bullet will have to go through me first.

  “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Martin said, his words rushing out frantically. “I didn’t... I didn’t know what Evelyn was doing. I noticed that money was missing. I told her about it...then, hell, she paid me to keep quiet. I thought she might have a drug habit. I didn’t know she was killing people!”

  “You know now,” Mac said flatly. “Drop the gun and get away from Celia.”

  Martin peered down at Celia. “I think she’s already gone. I—I think—”

  A cry of rage broke from Sullivan, and he launched at the other man, driving into him hard and fast. They slammed into the wall, and the gun fell from Martin’s hand. Sullivan started pounding the guy, again and again.

  “S-Sully...?” Celia’s weak voice.

  He froze. Then he dropped Martin and grabbed her, pulling her close. “We need an ambulance!” Sullivan yelled.

  Mac felt Elizabeth’s fingers on his back. He turned toward her—

  And he caught her as she fell.

  He was still holding her when the ambulance came, still cradling her tightly against him. But when the EMTs loaded Elizabeth onto the stretcher, her lashes opened and she whispered, “Nothing...nothing is going to stop us.”

  “Not a single thing,” he vowed.

  “I...love you.”

  And she damn well owned his soul.

  Elizabeth smiled.

  * * *

  SHE HAD A SCAR. A nice, interesting battle wound. Evelyn Sutherfield had been arrested. The media was currently ripping her life apart.

  Martin Pace had only been too happy to make a deal with prosecutors. Elizabeth knew he’d been talking pretty much constantly, and spilling every secret that he possessed.

  Her nightmare was over. Nate had gotten his justice. She wasn’t being hunted any longer.

  There was nothing stopping her now.

  Except Mac.

  Elizabeth gazed out at the lake. Mac was being extremely problematic lately. They’d gotten home a few days ago, and he’d been in a rather überprotective mode. Sweet, in its way. Also...stifling, in its way.

  The danger was over for them, and it was definitely time to move on.

  “Elizabeth...”

  She glanced to the left and saw Mac walking up the bluff toward her. The sun hit his dark hair and slid over the hard lines of his face. As always, a thrill shot through her when she saw him. Her heart beat a little faster. Her breath came a little quicker. And her smile spread slowly.

  “Are you sure you feel up to being out here?” Mac asked her, frowning as he closed the distance between them. “The doctor said—”

  “Stop.” Because this had to end. “I’m okay, and you can’t keep acting as if I’m going to collapse at any moment. I’m not. I’m fine.” More than fine...if he’d just stop treating her with kid gloves! She missed his passion. His warmth.

  Time to get their lives back on track.

  “You scared me,” Mac said, voice stark. “There was so much blood, and I knew the bullet had gone into your chest.”

  It had. But... “You heard the doctors. I’m lucky. My heart’s fine—and so is everything else.”

  He brushed back the hair that blew across her cheek. “No,” he told her starkly. “I’m lucky. Because if something had happened to you, I would’ve lost my mind.” He swallowed, and his fingers gently caressed her cheek. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

  She stared at him, waiting. I’d really like to know.

  “I can’t imagine a world without you in it, Elizabeth. I don’t want to imagine one.”

  “I’m not going anyplace,” she told him. You don’t have to know that world.

  “I know I can be overprotective—”

  She raised her brows.

  “I can be intense,” he added. “And I tend to like adrenaline a bit too much.”

  Elizabeth waited.

  “I would trade everything I have and everything I am in order to keep you safe. You matter more to me than anything.” He pulled in a deep breath and dropped to his knee before her. Mac reached into his pocket.

  “Mac...”

  He offered her a ring. A beautiful diamond ring that sparkled in the sunlight. “My life is better when you’re in it,” he said simply. “Please, baby...will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

  She saw it then, the hint of fear in his eyes. The nervousness that tightened his mouth. Her fierce warrior, waiting, hoping...

  Did he think that she might say no?

  Elizabeth pulled him to his feet. “My life is better,” she told him softly, “when you’re by my side.” She kissed him. Loved him. “And yes, you wonderful man, I’ll marry you.”

  He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. His laughter boomed out, so happy and free.

  She kissed him again, totally lost and in love, safe and happy...

  She could be wild with him. She could be controlled. She could be anything she wanted—and she knew that Mac would always be there for her.

  No more ghosts from the past haunted her, and only the future waited.

  A future with Mac.

  Epilogue

  “Hello, Sullivan.”

  At that voice—a voice Sullivan heard far too many times in his dreams—his head whipped up. He blinked, sure that he had to be imagining the figure standing in his office doorway. He even shook his head.

  She laughed. “No, sorry, you can’t blink or even wish me away. I’m here.” Celia stepped inside and shut the door.

  He rose to his feet. “I wouldn’t wish you away.” Just the opposite. His voice had sounded too gruff, so he cleared his throat. “Should you...should you be here? You were hurt—”

  Celia waved that away. “A flesh wound. I’ve had worse.” Sadness flickered in her eyes. “It’s Elizabeth who took the direct hit. I was afraid for a while...but I heard she’s better now.”

  He nodded and crept closer to her. “She’s out at the ranch. And I’m sure Mac is about to drive her crazy. I think his protective instincts kicked into overdrive.” So did mine. When I saw you on the floor...

  “I was knocked out for a few
moments. My head hit the wall.” She shook her head. “The bullet just grazed me.”

  He hadn’t realized that, not at first. He’d just known that she’d been limp in his arms.

  A whole lot had sure come into crystal-clear perspective for him in those desperate moments.

  “I came to make you a deal.”

  His head tilted to the side. “A deal?”

  “I have information that you want.” She pulled a white envelope out of her purse. “I’ll give it to you, but you have to promise me one favor.”

  Suspicious now, he asked, “And just what favor would that be?”

  Her smile flashed. A smile that showed off her dimples. Those dimples were so innocently deceptive. So gorgeous.

  So Celia.

  “You have to agree before I tell you what I want.” She shrugged. “Sorry, but it’s one of those deal-in-the-dark situations. Promise me that you’ll be there when I call in this debt. That you’ll agree to what I need, and this information is yours.”

  He wanted to touch her. Needed to kiss her. Instead, he stood there and forced his body to be still. “Just what information is it that you think you have?”

  “I have your mother’s real name.”

  They had that already. He knew—

  “And I have the reason she was put in the Witness Protection Program.” She offered the envelope to him. “Do we have a deal? One favor, no questions asked...and you can have her past.”

  He looked down at the envelope, then he looked back up into Celia’s eyes. “Deal.”

  * * * * *

  Read on for an excerpt from

  HARD RAIN,

  the next installment in

  New York Times bestselling author

  B.J. Daniels’s series

  THE MONTANA HAMILTONS.

  When Brody McTavish sees Harper Hamilton’s runaway horse galloping across the pastures, he does what any good cowboy would do—gives chase and rescues her. But they soon have bigger problems when they make a gruesome discovery—human remains that will dredge up old Hamilton family mysteries...and bring about a scandal that could threaten all Harper’s loved ones.