Stolen

by Allison Brennan

  “Sean, what’s happened?”

  “I needed to see you.”

  In the ten months that Lucy had known Sean, he’d never looked so vulnerable. In fact, vulnerable was the last word she’d ever have used to describe him, until now.

  “I’m glad you came,” she said. He relaxed perceptibly and started playing with her hair, twirling the ends around his finger.

  She wanted to ask him about the photo and what Brighton was up to and what he’d been working on in New York. Who’d hired him and was he in trouble? But before she could say anything, he asked, “Why do you love me?”

  “What?” She blinked. “Why are you asking me that?”

  “I know why I love you. You’re beautiful.” He smiled, tried to make it casual, but his eyes were too serious and he was assessing her every reaction, as if he doubted she could care for him. “Guys care about looks, you know.”

  “I’ve heard.” She tried to make her voice light but couldn’t pull it off. These were uncharted waters for her. It reminded her uncomfortably of the conversation they’d had months ago about Skye Jansen. It reminded Lucy about the photo and the secrets Sean had.

  “You’re smart, too. Some guys don’t care about brains, but I do. Very much.”

  “I’m glad,” she said. “Looks are temporary; brains are forever.”

  “You’ll be just as beautiful when you’re eighty as you are right now.”

  “I don’t know about that,” she said. She couldn’t smile. Sean was in pain. Her chest ached with the need to help him, but she didn’t know what to do.

  He ran his finger down her neck. “With you, I feel like tomorrow matters. There hasn’t been a moment while I’ve been in New York that you haven’t been on my mind. Thinking about you gives me peace. You make me whole, something I’ve never had before. Wherever the FBI sends you, I’ll follow. I know I’ve said we’ll make it work with me in D.C. and you wherever you go, but I need to see you every day. It’s been nearly four weeks since I touched you, Lucy. I’m lost without you.”

  She put her hand over his heart. “I’m right here.” She took his hand and put it over her heart. “You’re here.”

  Sean stared at her. He wanted an answer to his question. She didn’t know what to say—how to put her feelings into words.

  “Sean, you gave me my freedom.”

  “Freedom?”

  “I don’t know how else to explain it.” She closed her eyes, collecting her thoughts, then opened them and said with passion, “Until you, I had been in a prison of my own making. Every decision I made was for one purpose: to be a cop. An FBI agent. I never did anything for me that wasn’t directly related to my goal. I never had fun. I don’t think I saw a movie in years until you took me to see that Pixar movie in February. Remember when we went ice-skating? You make me laugh. You make me want to do more than this.” She waved her arm around her sterile room. “This is important to me, but I realize now that my goals held me captive. I can achieve my dreams, but they mean so much more to me because I have you to share them with. You help me put everything in perspective. I don’t know how, or why, but I don’t want to analyze it. It scares me to shine light on it, as if it’ll disappear and I’ll be left with nothing.”

  She put her hands on his face. “Until you, I was half-dead inside. You found the part of me I thought was gone forever. I don’t lie to myself—I know there’s always going to be situations and reactions because of my past, because of what happened, but I process them differently because you freed me. I love you because you make me a better me.”

  “Princess—”

  She kissed him until he was lying down, her on top of him. “Shh,” she said. “No more talking.”

  Sean wanted nothing more than to lose himself in Lucy for the next hour. To spend the night with her, hold her, her love and trust strengthening him.

  But he had to tell her the truth. And he didn’t have any more time.

  “Lucy.” Sean sat up, pulling himself from her arms. He grabbed her hands, needing to touch her, craving the physical contact while knowing he was going to have to leave. He wanted to feel her reaction as well as watch her expression.

  “It’s okay,” she said. She smiled slyly. “I can sneak you out later.”

  “You may have to sooner.”

  Her smile faltered. “Sean—what’s wrong? Please trust me.”

  “I do. More than anyone in the world. There’s nothing I want more than to make love to you, but I have to go.”

  His tone, his expression, made her stomach drop. “You drove five hours to leave after twenty minutes?” She stared at him, perplexed.

  “Well, it only took me three hours. I flew,” he said with a half smile that didn’t reach his blue, blue eyes. “I had a friend from the base pick me up at the airstrip, and I need to get back to New York before dawn. But I have to tell you in person. It’s important.”

  He could see her mind running through every possible bad scenario. “You could have called,” she said, her voice catching.

  “I had to see you.” Touch you, hold you, kiss you.

  He took a deep breath, stared her in the eyes, and said, “I’ve been in New York this past month working undercover with Noah.”

  She blinked, her face frozen in surprise. “With Noah? Noah Armstrong? The FBI?”

  He almost laughed at her stunned reaction. “Yeah. Me and Noah, partners. I have some stories for you.…” His voice trailed off. “Stories for later. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry. You have so much on your mind right here”—he gestured around him—“getting your badge and gun, I didn’t want you to be divided. And I promised Rick I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

  “Rick Stockton? Assistant Director Rick Stockton?”

  “There’s so much to the story, but I’ll give you the highlights. Right after you left for the Academy, Rick and Noah came to see me. Noah has been investigating Jonathan Paxton.”

  Lucy didn’t look surprised. In a clipped voice she said, “Why? Because of the vigilantes?”

  “Partly.” How could he explain? “Paxton found out information about me, about something I did a long time ago. Paxton blackmailed me over the summer to steal something for him, and I did it.”

  “Why would you give him that kind of leverage?”

  “He lied. He said you knew about the vigilante group from the beginning, and I remembered when you went to see him and gave him the locket from his daughter—I was trying to protect you. But he lied; you didn’t know.”

  She shook her head. “I suspected,” she whispered. “But I couldn’t prove anything.”

  “Babe, I didn’t know what his game was, and I didn’t want anything to come back on you. I did what he wanted, found the locket, but I kept what was inside. A microchip. So I had his microchip and he had information on me and I was going to hold on to it until the statute of limitations was up.” Sean sighed. “It was stupid of me, I know, but—”

  “Shh. It wasn’t stupid. I know how Jonathan operates. I just wish you had told me.”

  “So do I. I don’t want secrets between us, Lucy.”

  She kissed him. “It’s okay, I understand.”

  “You’re not going to ask what I did?”

  “You’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

  Her love and trust turned his heart inside out. “I don’t deserve you.”

  “Shh. You’d never let me say that to you.” She cocked her head. “Okay, what did you do that Jonathan was holding over you?”

  “Nine and a half years ago I hacked into a bank and rerouted money a con artist had stolen from pensions.” Sean explained about Robert Martin and his scam.

  Lucy stared at him blankly. His heart fell. “Don’t hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you. But why didn’t you go to the FBI?”

  He shrugged. “At the time, I didn’t trust them. Not after what happened at Stanford, and the way I found out about the scam was illegal.”

  “But Jonathan found
out. Who else knew?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

  “But I don’t understand why you’ve been in New York.”

  “Noah uncovered a connection between Paxton and my old friend from MIT, Colton Thayer. Colton has always been trying to get me back into his group. That was my past, and with RCK I couldn’t—well, it just wasn’t going to work out. But—Noah convinced me to accept his offer.”

  “What does Jonathan have to do with your friend?”

  “He hired Colton. I needed to find out why. Noah needed me, my skills and connections, to pull off the sting. And Thursday night it all comes down. I know Paxton hired Colton to steal something from a pharmaceutical company, but I don’t know what or why. I’m not sure Colton’s telling me the whole story.”

  “Did he tell Jonathan about the scam?”

  “He says he didn’t.”

  “You believe him?”

  “I do. But—someone told Paxton. I think Colton told someone else. Maybe everyone in the group, maybe just his new girlfriend, but he told someone who talked to Jonathan. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me. I don’t see why Colton would betray me, especially now.”

  “And Patrick and Duke were in on it? So you really didn’t quit RCK?”

  “I had to make it real. No one knew. No one except Noah and Rick.”

  “You mean the fight with Duke—”

  “It was all real. At least on Duke’s end. I helped Colton with a side project and made sure Duke found out about it. I knew he’d blow, and he did. He doesn’t know why I did it.”

  “You need to tell him.”

  “I can’t, not until this is over. And—” Sean looked away.

  Lucy touched his cheek, turning him to face her.

  “He didn’t mean what he said. He didn’t know the truth.”

  “He meant every word. Duke and I have had a rocky relationship ever since our parents died. Up and down. But it’s fine.” It wasn’t fine. Sean would have to work through things with Duke when this was over. He just didn’t know how.

  “I really have to go, Luce. I’ll fill you in on all the details later, but I have to get back to New York. Something happened tonight—a friend of mine was killed because I asked him to research a few things. I have to figure out what he learned that got him a bullet in the head. And that FBI agent, Deanna Brighton, is trying to convince the authorities that I’m the killer and shot at her while escaping.”

  Lucy’s hands tightened around his. “Oh, God.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “I know.”

  Relief flooded through him. Lucy believed him, without hesitation. He kissed her. “It’s gotten out of control, but I’m going to fix it. It ends in forty-eight hours.”

  “I’m coming to New York with you.”

  “No.”

  “Yes,” Lucy said.

  “No,” Sean repeated. “Brighton is crazy. She threatened to destroy you. She put an APB out on me.”

  Lucy said, “She gave me a photograph of you and Skye Jansen.”

  It felt like a knife twisted in his heart. “Photos? What kind of photos? Lucy, I haven’t—”

  “I know. They were of you and Skye in a park. You were talking, your heads close together—”

  Sean’s heart nearly stopped. “Lucy—you can’t believe I would ever betray you. I love you. Skye and I were over nine years ago.”

  “I know. I trust you, Sean.”

  “That bitch.”

  “I’m okay. Just full disclosure—I didn’t know who she was and I went to your house and used your photo recognition software to identify her.”

  “Monday night when you were using my computer.”

  She nodded. “But it means that Brighton has been following you for some time.”

  “Do you have the pictures?” He needed to figure out when Brighton took them.

  Lucy got up, retrieved the envelope from her desk, and handed it to Sean. He didn’t look, not yet. He was so angry that Deanna Brighton had tried to put a wedge between him and Lucy.

  Lucy said, “If there’s a rogue agent out to get you because of something that happened in your past—”

  “Lucy, I destroyed her career. She’s trying to destroy mine.”

  “You didn’t destroy anything—she’s still an agent.”

  “Nutshell? I didn’t do it on purpose. She’s the one who created the cybersecurity network I exploited to expose my professor who was a pedophile.”

  “Duke told me. Her system was flawed. Whatever you did, you don’t deserve to be hunted like this. It’s not normal for her to hold a grudge for so long.”

  “She thinks I should be in prison for that stunt.”

  Lucy nodded. “To her, it’s personal. When I found out who she was, I realized why she’d come here and threatened me, why she is so driven to go after you. You need to be careful with her; I don’t think she can be reasoned with.”

  “Noah is taking care of it. In fact, he’s the only one who can clear me. I need to get back to New York, though, and find out who killed Hunter. I owe him that.”

  He pulled Lucy close to him and held her. Just held her. He didn’t want to leave.

  “It’ll all be over Thursday night. And maybe we can go away this weekend.”

  “Maybe we should lock ourselves in your house for forty-eight hours. Trips aren’t very relaxing for us.”

  “You, me, alone for two whole days?” He smiled. “I’m there.”

  He could tell by Lucy’s expression that she was not only worried but also planning something.

  He said, “Luce, I’m deadly serious about this. You can’t leave Quantico. Not until I know who killed Hunter and if you’re in danger. You’re the only way they can get to me, do you understand? I never kept you a secret, I never wanted to bring you in at all, but it was easier to keep the lies to a minimum, so I told them about our relationship. Colton already knew. But if Evan or Skye or Carol—I don’t trust any of them—if they need leverage over me, they’ll come for you. You’re safe here. I mean, I know you can take care of yourself, but—”

  “Shh. I understand. I don’t want your attention divided. But call me. As soon as it’s over.”

  “Noah’s trying to save my ass right now, but I’ll have him call you later. Keep you in the loop.” Sean grinned. “I think he might actually have started to like me.”

  Lucy smiled. “You might be stretching it.”

  Sean forced himself to relax. “I understand him better now. Wait until I tell you how closely we’ve had to work for the last month.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  Sean reluctantly walked to the door. He didn’t want to go. He had to.

  “I love you, Lucy.”

  “I love you. Please—watch yourself.”

  “Always.”

  She pulled him back into a kiss. “Stay safe,” she whispered.

  Sean left and Lucy closed the door behind him.

  No funny comment, no reassurance that he knew what he was doing. Just a wistful look that told Lucy more than any words.

  Sean was worried. And scared.

  It took all of Lucy’s willpower not to go after him. But she knew him well enough to know if she left Quantico she would be added to his list of worries—as if she’d resent him for jeopardizing her future.

  But she could help.

  She walked over to her cell phone and dialed Noah’s number. It went straight to voice mail.

  “Noah, it’s Lucy. Call me as soon as you get this message, or I’m on the first available flight to New York City.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Noah had left Suzanne and the NYPD in charge of the crime scene and gone to headquarters to meet with the assistant special agent in charge, Gregory Torres. Torres was a fifty-year-old FBI veteran with an impeccable reputation but deemed to be extremely cautious as an agent. He’d been promoted quickly and hadn’t been a field agent in more than fifteen years.

  Steve Gannon was
in his office but not Deanna Brighton. “Sir,” Noah said, “I need to speak with Agent Brighton.”

  “I sent her home after she gave her statement,” Torres said. “She was highly agitated and not doing herself or this division any favors.”

  “Sir, with all due respect, I still need to talk to her.”

  “Deanna is one of my agents, and we have established protocols in place to deal with conflicting statements. I took her statement, and Agent Gannon’s. They don’t contradict each other.” The way Torres looked at Noah meant that Noah’s statement was the odd version of events.

  Noah glanced at Gannon. He looked worried, and Noah didn’t blame him for trying to protect his partner.

  Gannon said, “Just because I only heard four shots doesn’t mean Rogan didn’t shoot at Deanna.”

  “The apartment—”

  “She went in first. I can’t say what she saw or didn’t see,” Gannon said. “Look, I understand where you’re coming from, but you need to know that there’s a long history with Rogan getting away with crimes, and Deanna simply wants justice.”

  Noah wished he could see Deanna’s files on Sean. What did she know? Was Sean in deeper with Colton than what he’d told Rick and Noah back in August when they originally came up with this undercover plan? Rick had given him blanket immunity—had Sean used that to his advantage? What else was he hiding?

  Noah rubbed his face. He had to look at the physical evidence. He’d been in Hunter Nash’s apartment. From where Deanna was standing, there was no way she could have seen Sean in the room like she said. Noah had never seen Sean with a silencer, but he had no proof Sean didn’t have one. Sean had no motive to kill Nash. But Sean had taken Nash’s cell phone. What if Sean had also taken the laptop?

  Noah had to trust Sean’s version, even knowing he was letting his personal involvement in the case cloud his judgment. His primary concern was that he didn’t know if he was trusting Sean too much—or not enough.

  “Sir,” he said to Torres, “may I see Agent Brighton’s statement?”

  Torres opened a file and handed it to Noah. He scanned it. It was consistent with what both Gannon and Brighton had previously said, but there was something missing. “Why were you at Nash’s apartment in the first place?”