The Battlefield Series 7: Disguising the Truth (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
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The Battlefield Series 7: Disguising the Truth
Disguising the truth in a small town like Repose seems simple enough. That is, until Chloe falls in love, and destiny plays a trick on her.
She has been through hell and back. She was shot three times protecting a criminal she fell in love with while undercover. He escaped afterwards. Now she is forced to abandon her identity and start her life over. That’s when things get complicated.
Chloe doesn’t want to get involved with any man. Her heart is broken, the wounds from her battle still raw and healing. When the attraction to a local cop becomes too strong to ignore, she takes a chance and meets his two brothers as well, and sparks fly. Just when she thinks maybe she can do this, their fourth brother arrives and gives her the shock of her life. He is the criminal she fell in love with and nearly died protecting.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Romantic Suspense
Length: 50,664 words
THE BATTLEFIELD SERIES 7:
DISGUISING THE TRUTH
Dixie Lynn Dwyer
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
THE BATTLEFIELD SERIES 7: DISGUISING THE TRUTH
Copyright © 2016 by Dixie Lynn Dwyer
E-book ISBN 978-1-68295-465-2
First E-book Publication: September 2016
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of The Battlefield Series 7: Disguising the Truth by Dixie Lynn Dwyer from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Dixie Lynn Dwyer’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Dixie Lynn Dwyer’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
Dear readers,
Thank you for purchasing this legal copy of Disguising The Truth.
Sometimes things aren’t always as they appear. Sometimes love is so pure, so strong that it can survive even the most traumatic of events. May you enjoy Chloe’s story as she struggles to forget the past and a bond of love so strong she can’t move on with her future. It will take some special men, even more interesting chain of events to give her the happy ending she deserves after surviving the battlefield of her life.
Happy reading.
Hugs!
~Dixie~
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
About the Author
THE BATTLEFIELD
SERIES 7:
DISGUISING THE TRUTH
DIXIE LYNN DWYER
Copyright © 2016
Prologue
“I want to take you away from here, Celeste,” Scallone whispered to her as they made love. She ran her palms up and over his shoulders. The intricate black tattoo along his chest and shoulder made him appear so sexy and mysterious. Those dark brown eyes, his long shoulder length hair were complete turn-ons to her. “Say yes. Say you’ll leave with me tomorrow.”
Her heart hammered inside of her chest. She was so tired of playing this role, yet here she was falling in love with a man she hardly knew—a criminal, when she was supposed to be helping to destroy Copias.
“I can’t,” she whispered and he thrust harder, then gripped her arms and pressed them above her head. He was commanding and powerful but she had to remind herself that he was one of the bad guys. She felt her heart ache. How badly she wished Scallone wasn’t who he was. That she didn’t need to play this role in order to trick Copias and get the information needed to take down the entire operation, but it was her job. She was deep undercover.
She closed her eyes and felt her body tighten as she came. She gave in to the desires. They both did tonight, and she prayed Copias didn’t find out or Scallone would be killed. Scallone didn’t seem to care about the risks either. The attraction between them was extraordinary.
He grunted and thrust, causing the bed to creak and Celeste lost her breath. Never had she had a lover so grand, as effective as Scallone.
He came with a roar and then hugged her so tight he nearly crushed her. She gasped as he rolled to the side, his body perfection against her heated skin.
She felt emotional and that wasn’t good. She reached up and cupped his cheek.
“You are so special to me, Scallone.”
He closed his eyes and tensed up.
She was shocked when he let her go and moved to the edge of the bed. He ran his hands over his face.
“Scallone, what is it?”
He turned to her with anger in his eyes. “I don’t want you in his bed. I can’t stand the thought of him touching you, let alone fucking you.”
She swallowed hard. She had her cover to protect. She should never have fallen in love with Scallone and now it seemed he was feeling the same way. She couldn’t stand this. He was the man she wanted to be with. Despite h
is part in this drug deal and arms deals operations, she didn’t care. She wanted him. She took a deep breath and willed away the tears. She was trained for this. She had to get her shit together. If she fucked up now after a year of undercover work, her life would be over.
“I wish things were different. I truly do.”
“Bullshit.” He stood up in all his glorious nakedness—and damn it—she wanted to lick her lips, to memorize every bit of his body so she would never forget the most perfect man and lover she ever had. It was love. It wasn’t sex. It was so much more but damn it, it was also a game, a role she was forced to play as an undercover agent.
She crawled to the side of the bed and went to grab her things to get dressed.
“You can’t react like this. Maybe it’s best if we don’t see each other like this. It’s too risky. If Copias finds out—”
He snagged her arm and pulled her hard against his chest, shocking her. His teeth were clenched, his dark brown eyes filled with fury.
“I don’t fucking care. I’ll kill him if I have to.”
Her eyes widened. She was making a mess of things.
“No, Scallone. You know his power. You know he gets what he wants when he wants it. He will kill you if I don’t do what he says.”
“Fuck.” He grunted and ran his hand along his jaw.
“I haven’t slept with him.”
“He wants you. You just said he gets what he wants. Let me get you out of here. We’ll leave, take off and disappear.”
Oh God, it sounded so possible when he said it. She knew Scallone was well-trained and capable of more than he let on. His part in this operation seemed to be organizing shipments and transactions as well as some money dealing. From the other agents’ investigation, Scallone was one of Copias’s top contacts. Copias trusted him, therefore, he would go down just like Copias when the feds gave the signal and moved in to raid the operation. Then all of this would be over.
She felt instantly sick. Scallone would go to jail, too, or maybe he’d be killed in that raid if he were here. Could she somehow warn him? Maybe get him to leave when the time came? Protect him somehow?
She closed her eyes and willed those thoughts away. Why had she fallen in love with the bad guy? Why?
She heard her cell phone go off. She walked over to it. Her gut clenched. It was one of the other agents who worked at the mansion. Copias was looking for her.
“I need to go,” she said as she disconnected the call.
“Was that him? Was he beckoning you to get to him now?”
“Scallone, please. I need to go.” She went to walk away and he pulled her back and kissed her deeply. He ran his hands over her ass and up and down her body so possessively. He was suckling her neck and she pulled from him. “Don’t.” She pulled back, knowing that if he left marks on her body and Copias saw them her whole operation would be over.
She hurried to the bathroom, took a quick shower, and fixed herself up before she got dressed. When she walked out of the bathroom fully ready to go, Scallone was pulling on his gun, dressed in a suit, looking like the bad guy gangster she wished he wasn’t.
“I think you’re right, Celeste. I think it’s best we never see one another like this again.”
Her heart ached and her eyes filled with tears, but she would do anything she could to keep him safe. Even sleep with Copias and pretend she was loyal to the monster.
“It’s best, Scallone.”
* * * *
One year later
“Why haven’t you checked in, Celeste?”
“I’ve no need to check in. Celeste doesn’t exist anymore, so why call me that?” she said into the phone.
“Chloe, come on. I know it hasn’t been easy.”
“Oh really, Michael? How do you know that? Last I checked you were still working for the federal government. You even got a promotion. How about the dozen agents who were killed? How about me nearly getting killed and dying there? I gave my everything to that case.”
“You sure did, and it’s why just about all those people involved are dead or behind bars. We’ll get Copias. I have men working on finding him.”
“Why, when the feds are doing that? This isn’t a police investigation anymore. They just used us.”
“They need our help. Scallone probably had help getting Copias out of there. We’re just helping with some leads.”
“Well, that’s great but it has nothing to do with me.”
“Come on, Chloe, I’m still your friend and I said I was sorry. I know the other agents fucked up with you. It’s why I pushed so much for this assignment. So that I can be your lifeline to the case and the department.”
“What lifeline, Michael? The department cleaned up the mess and hid part of what went down. The feds got what they wanted, except for Copias. I lost my identity, my job—everything I worked so hard for—and now I’m in another state pretending to be someone I’m not. Don’t worry about me. My new life is just perfect.”
“I didn’t call to fight with you, Chloe.”
“Then why did you call? You want something from me? I don’t have a connection to the job, to informants, to anything in New York anymore, and I’m fine with that. I was lucky to get out alive.”
“I know you were. No one else I know could take three bullets to their body and survive, but you did. I called because I care and I miss you. I want you to know that we’re still actively looking for Copias.”
“Save it, Michael. I’m fine. No one around here will ever know who I really am, or what I was involved in. The case is closed. The bad guys are all behind bars except for him, but I don’t care about that anymore. It’s over as far as I’m concerned. I’ve made a bunch of new friends, and it’s a great place.”
“I’m glad that you like it there. I’ve heard great things about it, and I want you as safe as can be.”
“Despite your need to be in charge, and for me to check in with you, I don’t need to. Do both of us a favor and leave me the hell alone.”
“Wait, Chloe. I want you to call me if you need anything. We’ve got your whole alibi covered. If you need anything verified, I’ll do it.”
“I’ll let you know.” She disconnected the call and then leaned back in the sofa.
A dozen undercover officers killed, two federal agents beaten, tortured, and then killed, my cover blown and shot three times protecting Scallone—who disappeared afterwards—and somehow surviving, and a massive fucked up operation gone to shit in minutes. Despite the risks, I was forced to handle Copias on my own. Goddamn it, why I need to check in is over. I’m not doing it anymore. All these calls do is remind me of what happened and what he tried to do to me and how close I came to being whisked off out of this country and under our government’s noses. Copias attempted to take me away.
There was no need to talk to Michael, or anyone from New York. That was the point of getting a new name and identity. The feds knew the shit hit the fan. No one expected Copias to be so manipulative or obsessed with her. She shook her head. She was not going to think about that man. He was in another country and hiding from the feds. He would never step back into the United States, and as far as she knew his entire organization was annihilated. She personally took out more than fifteen of them herself before she was shot. Before she protected Scallone and took the bullets meant to kill him. She shook her head.
While she recovered from her injuries she cried of a broken heart, of a used body, and of the experience that destroyed her heart and soul. How do you recover from something like that? She fell in love with a criminal, and in order to protect Scallone from getting killed she had to pretend to fall in love with Copias, who had truly set his eyes on her. What a clusterfuck.
She stretched her arms out and wiggled her fingers. She suddenly wanted her gun. Wanted to be able to carry her weapon around town wherever she went, but she couldn’t. No one could know she was an agent for the government. She was handpicked because of her capabilities, her sharp senses, and undercover
work. She even had government credentials, and special privileges. Those still existed despite the change of her name and being let go. One phone call to her contact in the government and she could have her life back—she could have anything she wanted—but when she decided to leave she assumed it would be permanent. If she called, then they would take it as her wanting back in. They would use her to smoke out Copias and capture him. She wouldn’t let that happen. If she did get back involved with the case, it would be to hunt Copias down and kill him herself.
Did she want back in? Initially, after recovering from her injuries she wanted Copias’s head on a platter, but he was long gone, which made her realize that someone helped him escape. She felt cold and shivered. The agents said it was Scallone that helped him. That thought made bile rise in her throat. Had she been played by both men? By the feds, too?
She placed the cell phone down onto the table and exhaled, then tried to do her breathing exercises. She thought of her family. Well, they came with their own set of problems, and despite being told by the government that she couldn’t tell her family where she was going, she knew one phone call—to one man specifically—would get her anything and everything she needed no matter what the danger. Who said the mafia was nonexistent anymore?
She shook the thoughts from her head and prepared to head to work at the Filling Station. She was bartending and helping to interview a few new women to hire, along with Antonia and Brooklyn. Brooklyn spoke with Chloe about taking on more responsibilities as an assistant manager and she was up for it. She liked this kind of work. She liked people, and she was set financially. Chloe didn’t have to work if she didn’t want to, but knew she would be bored. She was twenty-five years old. She couldn’t retire yet, she would lose her mind if she had nothing to do.