Dark Deceptions

by Dee Davis

  “The newspaper,” Rivon said, pointing to a white square on the table beside Adam. As if on cue the camera zoomed in on the cover. “See, it has today’s date.”

  She squinted down at the tiny screen, the lines of the newspaper coming into focus, confirming that it was in fact today’s Post. Two seconds later, the screen went blank. “I want to see it again.”

  Rivon frowned, his annoyance apparent, but he shrugged and leaned over to restart the video sequence.

  Annie studied the visual, trying to find something in the shots that might yield location, but her eyes kept locking on her son. The video ended, and her heart wrenched as if Adam had been taken away from her all over again. “I want to talk to him.”

  “Not a problem. Just kill Dominico and you can talk all you want.” Rivon snatched the phone from her hand.

  She clenched her fist to keep from snatching the cell from his hand. Better to play along. Keep him believing she was playing the game by his rules.

  “So we’re good,” she said instead.

  “I think I have what I need.” He patted the portfolio. “I’ll call if there are any questions.”

  Behind them, near the entrance, the bushes rattled ominously, a spray of gravel skittering across the path. They both swiveled, Rivon producing a gun.

  “What the hell was that?”

  “The wind,” Annie said, squinting into the shadows to be sure.

  “Sounded like more than that to me.” He took a pace forward, still holding his weapon. Annie followed behind, moving cautiously, her fingers closing again on the gun in her pocket. Not certain who she’d shoot if it came to it, Rivon or an intruder.

  The bushes rattled again as something fell from the steps above them.

  “Who’s there?” Rivon called, his voice swallowed by the mist.

  Annie leaned down and picked up a piece of cement, a chip off the balustrade above them. “I’m telling you it’s just the wind,” she said, tossing the chunk of debris.

  Rivon stared upward for a minute or so and then lowered his gun. “Yeah, well, I’m sure you’ll understand if I don’t take your word for it. Anyway, we’re through here. I’ll go first. We don’t want anyone seeing us together.”

  “Might be better if you put the gun away as well.”

  Rivon scowled at her, but slid the gun into his waistband. “I’ll be in touch as soon as we’ve got the weapon.”

  “You do that,” she said, holding her ground as Rivon walked away, instinct screaming that he was her only link to Adam. That she shouldn’t let him walk away. Better to take him down. Try to trade his life for Adam’s. But intellectually she knew it wouldn’t work. The people holding Adam didn’t give a rat’s ass about Rivon’s life. He was nothing more than a means to an end. An expendable one at that.

  Better to let him go. Let A-Tac do their thing.

  She glanced down at her watch, waiting an agonizing five minutes before bidding Peter Pan and his grotto adieu. She walked up the steps, careful to keep a close watch for any sign that she was being monitored. If things had gone as planned, she should be on her own, Nash and Drake already on their way to finding Adam.

  At the top of the stairs, the air grew colder, the wind wilder as it raced between the undulating branches of the canopy of trees. Quickening her pace, she retraced her steps past the basketball court and playground.

  In the distance, she could see that the van was gone. The street empty. Beyond that the East River flowed. Backward now as the tide reversed itself. She crossed in front of an equipment building, its walls momentarily blocking what little illumination the park’s lighting provided. She stopped to give her eyes a chance to adjust to the gloom, and as she did so she heard the telltale sound of a footstep behind her.

  Drawing her gun, she pressed her back to the wall, listening for something to help her identify the direction of the intruder. Silence hung heavily as she held her ground. If someone was indeed behind her, he had to round the corner of the building before he’d be able to see her. Which meant that she had a two- or three-second advantage.

  Holding her breath, she inched forward, leading with the barrel of her gun. Then froze on her side of the corner, waiting—listening.

  Again she heard the soft sound of leather on concrete, this time no more than a few feet away. Adrenaline rushed through her as the shadowy shape of a man rounded the corner, his own gun glistening in the misty half-light. Resisting the urge to fire, she pressed back against the wall, deep into the shadows, until he was almost even with her. Then, moving with a speed acquired through years of training, she kicked up and out, sending the man sprawling onto the concrete pathway.

  “Don’t move,” she said, leveling her gun at the back of his head.

  “Put the fucking gun down,” came the beleaguered answer. “It’s just me.”

  “Son of a bitch,” she whispered, anger only adding to the adrenaline rush. “What the hell did you think you were doing? I could have killed you.”

  Before she had time to say anything more, Nash grabbed her behind the knees, pulling her down and flipping her over, her gun sliding across the pavement as his weight pinned her to the ground. “I think maybe you’re overestimating your abilities.”

  “You know as well as I do that you’d be dead right now if I hadn’t recognized your voice. You just got lucky.”

  “Think whatever you want.” He shrugged, pushing to his feet. “But I think the facts speak for themselves. After all, I was the one who ended up on top.”

  “Bastard,” she taunted, ignoring his extended hand as she rolled to her feet.

  “Hey. I just call it like I see it.”

  She glared at him, then bent to retrieve her gun. “What are you doing here anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be following Rivon?”

  “Drake’s on it. Avery tasked me with watching you.”

  “Afraid I’d run?”

  “You admitted yourself you were thinking about it.” He frowned. “You always seemed to prefer acting on your own.”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it. We were good together.” The minute the words came out, she regretted them, her words morphing into something bigger than she’d intended.

  “You don’t have to remind me, angel,” he said, taking a step closer, his gaze colliding with hers. “I was there, remember?”

  She swallowed, steeling herself against the onslaught of memories, emotion threatening her composure. “I was talking about our business relationship.”

  “I wasn’t.” He moved closer still, his breath warm against her cheek.

  “Nash, I—”

  He swallowed her words, his lips crushing down on hers. Sensory memory kicked in and she opened her mouth, welcoming him inside, reveling in the feel of his tongue, entering, possessing. It was take-no-prisoners contact, as much a battle of wills as an expression of emotion.

  He brushed her lips with his and then tugged softly at her lower lip. She tensed, thinking to push him away, but her body rebelled at the thought, and of their own volition, her lips opened to his kiss.

  She pressed closer, feeling the heat of his hands against her back. His mouth moved, tracing the soft skin along the inside of her neck, kissing the pulse at the base of her throat. Shivers racked through her, and her mind raced with memories—their bodies pressed together, skin to skin, hot and sticky.

  Sliding her hands inside the warm leather of his jacket, her palms flat against his hard muscled chest, she closed her eyes, allowing sensation to wash over her in hypnotic waves of heat, igniting her, filling her, the power of his touch almost more than she could bear.

  His mouth closed over hers again, the heat inside her building to a fever pitch. When his thumb rasped across her nipple, she moaned, the sound swallowed by his kiss. Then he lowered his head and took her breast into his mouth, his tongue rasping through the thin cotton of her shirt. Her nipple hardened and throbbed and she moaned, her voice trembling with passion.

  He suckled harder, rolling the nipple
between his teeth, his other hand pulling her closer, the flame inside her building in intensity until she wasn’t certain she could survive it, wasn’t sure anything could be as wonderful as the feel of his mouth on her breast. So many memories. But this wasn’t a dream, he was here… now…

  Somewhere, beyond the magic of his touch, she heard the wail of the wind, the sound bringing reality crashing in.

  Adam.

  How could she have forgotten her child?

  She shoved back, anger replacing any semblance of passion. “We can’t do this.”

  “Annie.” He reached for her, his face awash with the same confusion she was feeling.

  “No.” She shook her head, holding up a hand to ward him off. “This was a mistake.”

  “I see.” There was an edge to his voice, but she was too agitated to analyze it.

  “Oh, come on. You know as well as I do that whatever we had died a long time ago. The only reason we’re together at all is because of the mess I’m in. And the only thing that matters now is finding my son.”

  “My bad,” he said, stepping back, the distance stretching between them. “Clearly I was out of line.”

  Annie winced at the chill in his voice. “Nash…”

  “Let it go.” He shook his head, his expression hardening. “You’re right. There’s nothing between us anymore. You made your choices and I made mine. There’s no going back.”

  She should have been pleased. He was agreeing with her after all. And yet, instead, his words cut deep, hurting more than she could possibly have imagined. Especially after all this time.

  But then again, maybe the saying was wrong—maybe time didn’t heal a goddamned thing.

  CHAPTER 10

  I still think she should be under the protection of Homeland Security,” Tom said, arms crossed as he paced in front of the fireplace. “This should have been our case in the first place. But now that she’s done her part, I figure the sooner we get her to Washington the better.”

  “I can understand your misgivings,” Avery acknowledged, “but so far she’s followed our instructions to the letter.”

  “More or less,” Nash mumbled, still trying to deal with the aftermath of his hormones or pheromones or whatever the hell they were called. He and Annie had made it back to the brownstone without further incident, but that didn’t mean things were settled between them. It was as if all the shadows of the past had raised their ugly heads the minute he’d kissed her.

  What the hell had he been thinking?

  At least for the moment, he had a reprieve. Tyler was debriefing Annie in the next room while everyone else waited in the parlor for the final word from Drake.

  “Are you saying she tried something at the park?” Tom frowned as Nash pulled his attention back to the conversation at hand.

  “No.” He shook his head. “Of course not. Nothing happened. I was just sounding off.”

  “I’m not sure I believe you,” Tom said.

  “Well, I don’t give a flying fuck what you think,” Nash snapped. It was clear that the man didn’t trust Annie. Which under the circumstances probably wasn’t that far off base. Hell, he had his own set of conflicting emotions to deal with. But something in Tom’s tone pissed Nash off.

  “Maybe I was wrong to bring you into this.” Avery frowned.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’m the best person for the job. It’s just harder than I thought it would be. Can we just leave it at that?”

  “Yeah,” Tom said with a nod. “Your feelings are understandable. Hell, I’ve got issues, too. We all worked together a long time, and it’s hard to think of Annie as one of the bad guys. But that doesn’t negate the fact that she tried to assassinate a U.S. dignitary.” Nash opened his mouth to argue, but Tom raised his hand. “I realize there were mitigating circumstances, but that doesn’t change the reality of what she tried to do.”

  “Look, I understand where you’re coming from, Tom, but you know as well as I do that there’s no such thing as black and white in this business,” Avery observed. “Only shades of gray. She might have chosen the wrong way to deal with the situation, but it’s an understandable decision nevertheless.”

  “I suppose,” Tom replied, clearly unconvinced.

  “Anyway, the bottom line here is that until we see how Drake fares, I think we’re better off having Annie go through the motions of following Ashad’s instructions.”

  “You’re in charge.” Tom shrugged, dropping down into the wing chair across from Avery. “But I want my objection to go on record.”

  “Duly noted.” Avery nodded, turning his attention to Jason, who was monitoring a computer satellite hookup. “What’s the word from Drake?”

  “Rivon’s still on the move,” Jason said. “Drake’s about a mile behind him. They’re just outside the city now. Heading north on Highway 9.”

  “Our luck, he’s headed for his mother’s.” Tom stood up again, nervous energy getting the better of him.

  “So what’s the plan?” Nash asked.

  “As soon as Drake’s ascertained that he’s not on a wild-goose chase,” Avery said, “he’ll give us coordinates and you’ll join him in the field. He won’t make a move until you’re in place.”

  Nash walked over to the window and looked outside. The city was still awake. Even at this hour, there were people on the streets and lights in the windows. Life—24/7. He dropped the curtain back into place.

  “So do we have any more information on Bruebaker? Or whatever the hell his real name is?” he asked. “I know Hannah’s been working on it.”

  “Nothing yet.” Avery shook his head. “Fingerprints aren’t in the system.”

  “We’re running everything a second time,” Jason said. “As well as waiting for Langley to confirm our findings.”

  Nash frowned. “Anything on the DNA?”

  “The sample was good. But unfortunately that doesn’t speed the process of using it for identification purposes,” Jason said. “Besides, if this guy’s working with Ashad, then I’m figuring he won’t be in any of our databases anyway.”

  “What about your team, Tom?” Avery asked. “They come up with anything?”

  “It’s too soon to say. Hannah sent the prints and copies of Lara’s preliminary report on the DNA, but like you said, it all takes time.”

  “Well, in the meantime,” Jason said, “Hannah’s still working on finding something. Hell, she’s got sources even Langley doesn’t know about.” Nash smiled. Hannah’s intuition alone was worth anything Langley and Homeland Security could throw at the problem.

  “What about Annie?” Nash asked. “I mean, once Drake reports in.”

  “She stays here in New York.”

  “The hell I do,” Annie said, walking into the room, followed by an apologetic-looking Tyler.

  “She wouldn’t stay put.”

  “Not surprising,” Nash observed, the tension in the room ratcheting up at least five degrees as Annie faced off with Avery.

  “I’m not staying here. I’m going with Nash to meet Drake.”

  “Annie, that’s not a wise idea and you know it.”

  “I don’t have to be involved in the operation itself. I’ll just stay in the background. But I need to be there. He’s my son.”

  “Exactly why you need to stay in New York,” Avery said. “You know that emotions are only a handicap in the field.”

  “I’m more than capable of keeping my emotions in check. It’s not like I haven’t been dealing with this already. And so far I’ve managed just fine.”

  “Look,” Avery said, holding up his hands, his voice placating, “there’s a good chance that Rivon will try to contact you after he drops off the plans. You need to be available in case we need to take action from this end.”

  “If your team is as good as you say they are, Rivon won’t have the chance to call me. And besides, I can take the damn phone with me.” She glanced over at Jason, looking for support.

  He shrugged. “It’ll be okay. I c
an rig it so that if they ping it, it’ll register a false location.”

  “And you can monitor me. Nash and Drake will be there. So it’s not like I won’t have babysitters.”

  “They’re going to be a little busy,” Tom said. “And for the record, I think this is highly irregular.”

  “Well, it’s not your call,” Avery said, his eyes narrowing as he studied Annie. “How do I know you won’t take matters into your own hands?”

  “Because if I were going to do that, I already would have. If I wanted to rid myself of you and your people, I could have done so any number of times. But I didn’t. I’m here. And I’m playing by your rules. But I won’t sit by idly while my son’s life is in danger. I’m going with Nash.”

  “Actually, I think she’s right,” Tyler said.

  Annie swung around to look at Tyler, her surprise almost comical.

  “What’s your thinking?” Avery asked.

  “No matter where she is, her head is going to be out there with Adam. And she’s correct in thinking Rivon isn’t likely to call. And if he does, she’ll have the phone. But more important, if she’s on site, she’ll be able to provide intel. Things about Adam that might facilitate his rescue. Or even Rivon, for that matter. I’m not advocating that she take part in the operation. Just that it seems feasible, practical even, that she be allowed on site.”

  “You’re not for one minute considering this?” Tom asked, clearly appalled. “What if the worst happens? What if the boy is collateral damage? What’s to keep her from taking matters into her own hands?”

  “Nash?” Avery queried, ignoring Tom. “What do you think?”

  “She knows the risks,” Nash said, nodding his support. There was no question in his mind that if someone he loved were in danger, he’d want to be there.