Dark Deceptions

by Dee Davis

  “So can you tell me about what happened? The night the bad men took you away?”

  Adam shot Annie a nervous look, and she smiled and nodded as she leaned back against the examination table. “Well, at first I thought it was a dream,” he said, chewing the side of his lip. “A really bad one. There were men and they were wearing snow boots—inside. And one of them smelled funny.” He wrinkled his nose. “Like the food you ate at that restaurant in Alamosa.”

  “The Thai place?” Annie prompted.

  “Yeah.” If possible his nose scrunched even more. “Like that.”

  “It was a fish curry,” Annie explained.

  “That sounds pretty awful.” Nash nodded. “I don’t like fish much either.”

  “I like fish,” Adam said. “Just not that stuff.”

  “So how many of them were there?” Nash asked, moving them back on topic. “In your room, I mean.”

  “Two. They carried me out the window. I remember it was really cold.”

  Annie’s stomach clenched as she thought about how terrified he must have been. “It’s okay, sweetie, it’s all over now.”

  “Did you try to call for your mom?” Nash asked.

  “I couldn’t.” He shook his head. “They used tape. The shiny kind.”

  “Duct tape. I bet that hurt.” Nash nodded sympathetically. “So what happened next?”

  “They put me in the backseat of a car. I was really scared.” He swallowed, remembering.

  “But you were brave, too, I bet,” Nash said.

  “Like my dad.” He smiled, memories forgotten. “Mommy said he was a hero. He saved lots of people and kept our country safe. But then he got killed fighting bad guys.”

  “Your mom told me a little about him.” Nash glanced her way, but Annie made a play of studying her hands. “Did you know him?”

  “Nope.” Adam shook his head, his feet still swinging. “He died when I was just a baby. I’ve never even seen a picture of him.”

  “But I bet you have something of his.”

  “Yeah, I got his watch.” Adam grinned, then frowned. “But it’s back home in Creede. Momma, when are we going to go home?”

  “I don’t know, baby,” Annie said, her throat tightening. “There are still some things I’ve got to work out. So for the time being we’re going to stay here. Okay?”

  Adam nodded, his lower lip trembling.

  “So tell me about the watch,” Nash said, pulling Adam’s thoughts back to the positive. Annie could have kissed him.

  Adam’s eyes brightened. “I keep it by my bed. It’s supercool. It tells time in three different places at once.”

  “I had one like that, too.” Nash frowned at the memory.

  “You all right?” Adam asked as Annie tried to read Nash’s expression. She’d given him the watch. A birthday present. “Your face looks funny.”

  “I’m fine.” He smiled, with a shake of his head. “Just remembering something.”

  “Something bad?” Adam cocked his head to one side, his little face scrunched up in sympathy. “Mom says you can’t let them get the best of you. Bad memories, I mean.”

  “She said that?” He lifted his head, this time their gazes connecting. Annie swallowed and shrugged.

  “Yeah.” He nodded, solemnly. “She has real bad night—”

  “I don’t think Nash cares about my dreams, sweetie.”

  “So what happened next?” Nash asked, his mouth tightening as he turned his attention back to Adam. “After they put you in the car?”

  “They drove away. I couldn’t see much cuz I was on the floor. And then they put me on a plane. A real fancy one with really big seats. The two men were there, too. We flew a really long time,” he said, looking down at his hands, still chewing on his lip, “and I fell asleep.”

  “That’s okay, sweetheart,” Annie said, her stomach still churning as she considered all that he’d been through. “It was probably the best thing you could have done.”

  “Your mom’s right. Better to save your strength. That’s exactly what I’d have done.”

  Adam’s mouth curled into a weak smile.

  “So then what?”

  “We landed. But it wasn’t like any airport I’d ever seen. The landing place was dirt. And there weren’t any buildings.”

  “And then they took you to the farmhouse?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded, frowning as he tried to remember the details. “I was in the back of the car again. But this time they let me sit up.”

  Annie clenched her fists, her gaze meeting Nash’s. There’d been no need for secrecy. They’d never meant for Adam to walk away.

  “And it was the same two guys?”

  “No. Different ones. They didn’t talk much. And then when I got there, two new guys were waiting. One of ’em was the guy Mom shot.”

  “You know she had to shoot him, right?”

  Adam nodded. “Or he’d have taken me away again.”

  “So who was the other guy?”

  “The man with the Wii.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Nash frowned, his confusion obvious.

  “It’s a gaming system. Supercool,” he explained, looking exasperated.

  Annie bit back a smile. “It’s the latest thing.”

  “I see. And this man, was he there when we came to get you?”

  Adam shook his head. “No. He’d already gone. I only saw him twice. Once when I first got there. I was really scared, but he was kind of nice.”

  “And the other time you saw him?”

  “He brought a camera. You know, the digital kind that makes movies. He fixed it so I could talk to my mom. He even talked to her on the phone. Then he gave the other men some orders and said if I was really good and did what he said, he’d take me home. But he left. And he didn’t come back.” Tears welled up in his eyes.

  Annie pushed off the table, intent on comforting her son, but Nash was faster, reaching out for his hand. “But then we came, right? Your mom and me. And everything was okay.”

  Adam nodded. “You even made the house blow up.”

  “Well, actually that wasn’t us, sweetie,” Annie said.

  “But it was pretty exciting, wasn’t it?” Nash asked as Annie shot him an incredulous frown, and Adam grinned. “So you think you can tell me what this guy looked like?”

  Adam screwed up his face as he thought about the question. “He had dark hair,” he said. “As dark as yours, only it was smooth. And there was a streak of gray.”

  Nash nodded. “Was he tall like me?”

  “Nope. But not short either. And his face was kinda pinched up, like he was mad all the time. You know, with a tight mouth and squinty eyes.”

  “If I can round up some pictures, do you think you could look at them for me?” Nash asked. “Maybe you’ll recognize someone.”

  “You think you can do that?” Annie asked, reaching out to smooth his hair, needing to feel his skin, to assure herself that for the moment at least, he was all right.

  “Sure,” Adam said, shaking off her touch, Nash hiding his smile behind his hand. “And I could maybe draw a picture of him, too. They always do that on TV.”

  “Hey,” Lara said, appearing in the doorway, “look who’s up! How are you feeling?”

  “Hungry,” Adam said.

  “I think I can do something about that. I know where Jason keeps his cookies. And I’ll bet he wouldn’t mind if you had some. If that’s okay with your mom?”

  Annie nodded, her throat tightening at Lara’s kindness. “Go on,” she said. “Go with Lara. I’ll be right here when you finish.”

  “Thanks for your help,” Nash said as Adam followed Lara out the door. “He’s a good kid.”

  “I know. I’m pretty proud of him,” she said, moving back to stand by the table. “You don’t really think a drawing is going to help, do you?”

  “Not unless Adam’s an art prodigy.” He shook his head.

  “Unfortunately not.” She smiled, surprised at how at e
ase she felt. “He’s not much past finger paints and crayons. You were really good with him.”

  “He made it easy.” Nash shrugged.

  “You haven’t said anything about Tom,” she said, pulling up to sit on the examination table, her leg throbbing.

  “Now there’s a non sequitur.” He frowned, dropping down into the chair.

  “Not really. I mean, if he has his way I’ll be shipped off to Washington to face charges, and Adam…” She swallowed a sob, the thought of losing her son more than she could bear.

  “That’s not going to happen, Annie.”

  “You don’t know that. You know as well as I do that Tom can be pretty determined about things once he’s made up his mind. So is he here?”

  “No.” He shook his head, his expression guarded. “He’s in D.C.”

  “Doing what? Trying to convince the powers that be to transfer authority for my case to Homeland Security?”

  “Avery’s not going to let that happen. He’s got a call in to Langley. The situation is far from cut-and-dried. And if nothing else, there’s the fact that you’re ex-CIA.”

  “Ex being the operative word,” she sighed. “Who’d have thought we’d have wound up on different sides of the fence?”

  “It’s not as bad as all that,” he said, his words meant to be comforting, but Annie knew he didn’t believe them any more than she did. Whatever they’d shared was gone. Or maybe Nash was right and it had never existed at all.

  One thing was for certain, though. It’d be a hell of a lot easier if she could just accept the fact that it was over and move on. But the heart was a stubborn thing. And love, it seemed, had no statute of limitations.

  CHAPTER 16

  Annie closed the bedroom door. It had taken three stories, and a lot of reassurance, but Adam had finally fallen asleep. She walked down the hall, stopping at the top of the stairs, glancing out the window at the perfectly manicured neighborhood. A block and a half off campus, the cul-de-sac felt more like a back lot than reality, especially when one considered that the occupants of the half circle of houses were all members of A-Tac.

  Dubbed “Professor Cove” by students, the mixture of Cape Cods, Colonials, and Saltboxes recalled an earlier time. A more gentle America. The irony was not lost on Annie. She’d dreamed of living in a neighborhood like this, of having a shot at normalcy.

  But this was only a facade. Play pretend. CIA meets Ozzie and Harriet.

  She and Adam had a real life. In Colorado. And if she was lucky, they’d find their way back or at least have a shot at building something new. But in the meantime, she was stuck here. Avery hadn’t left her with a choice. He’d managed to keep Tom and Homeland Security at bay for at least a little while longer, but that didn’t mean she was totally off the hook, just a stay of execution. And for the duration, she and Adam had been assigned quarters in Nash’s house, which meant she had to play nice.

  Easier said than done.

  Sucking in a breath, she headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Lightning flashed on the horizon, the wind whistling through the open French doors. The air was heavy with the smell of roses, and Annie frowned at the sensory memory, her mind jumping to the black lacquer box nestled in her gear upstairs.

  She’d grabbed three things when she’d left Colorado: Adam’s favorite stuffed bear, her Beretta, and the puzzle box. An odd trio, yet somehow indicative of her life. She shook her head, dismissing her troubled thoughts.

  “Is Adam asleep?” Nash asked, appearing in the doorway, his dark gaze shuttered.

  “Yes. But I’m not sure for how long. This has all been really hard on him.” She frowned, wishing for the millionth time that she could have somehow prevented the kidnapping.

  “You couldn’t have known,” Nash said, reading her thoughts.

  “Maybe not. But that doesn’t change the fact that my son has been through hell—because of me.”

  “And some bastard with an ax to grind.” Nash held out a glass, the wine glowing crimson in the soft half light. “I thought maybe you could use a drink. I know I could.”

  She took the glass with a nod, settling into an Adirondack chair facing the garden. Lightning flashed like a strobe, momentarily filling the small garden with color, green grass against the red and white of a rose-covered gazebo. The pink of a lily contrasted against the dark green leaves of a rhododendron.

  “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything new?” she asked, closing her eyes as she sipped her wine.

  “Nothing of substance. Drake is still working on the prisoner. And Hannah’s trying to sort through intel. But basically we’re just waiting.”

  “I’ve never been any good at that.”

  “Like hell.” His smile was fierce, and her heart quickened. “You’ve made an art form out of stillness. Hunting—waiting.”

  “That was before.” She shook her head. “But not anymore. Not when my son’s life is hanging in the balance.”

  “He’s safe here.”

  “Is he?” She turned to look at Nash, her gaze probing. “I thought he was safe in Creede, too. And I was wrong.”

  “Avery’s doubled security. That has to count for something.”

  “Yes, but Avery is also charged with finding the person behind this. And if that means using me or my son…” she trailed off, dropping her gaze to the glass in her hands.

  “Every effort will be made to keep Adam safe.”

  “I know how the game is played, Nash. And besides, this guy has already gotten to us twice. Once in your protection. I’m not sure that anywhere is truly safe.”

  “You know, sometimes you just have to have a little faith.”

  “In what?” Annie’s laugh was bitter. “The CIA? The system? I’ve seen firsthand how that works. As long as you play the game, they’re on your side, but the minute things go wrong—they turn their backs and you’re on your own. I’ve been there, Nash. More than once.” She stood up and walked to the edge of the patio, the storm clouds billowing dark and threatening as the wind whipped through the garden.

  “Annie…” He came to stand behind her, his breath stirring the back of her hair.

  “No.” She shook her head, resisting the urge to lean back into his strength. “You’re talking bullshit. Faith is just a foolish person’s way of staving off the dark.”

  Behind her, his phone rang, and she turned as he pulled it from his pocket and flipped it open.

  “Brennon.” There was a moment’s silence as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry, Annie,” he said, his expression shuttering. “I’ve got to take this.”

  Just as well, she thought as he walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. They’d been treading on dangerous ground. She released a breath, turning back to the garden. It stretched the length of the backyard, separated from the woods beyond the back of the house by a wooden fence. Beyond the roses and peonies she could see pine trees and sumac whipping in the wind. White oaks, leaves trembling with the onslaught of the coming rain, standing sentry as the sky filled with nature’s fury.

  For as long as she could remember, Annie had loved storms. Once when she was little, she’d snuck out in the middle of the night, thunder thrumming in the air, the dark clouds silhouetted with crooked streaks of lightning. The wind had whipped through her hair, and she’d felt supercharged, as if she were capable of flying high into the clouds.

  She’d have stayed until the maelstrom descended, but then her mother, realizing she was missing, had pulled her back into the house. At the time she’d been angry, certain her mother lived to ruin her life. But now, as a mother herself, Annie realized the danger she’d been in, and that her mother’s anger had been the result of fear for her child.

  She smiled, remembering her mother. If she closed her eyes, she could still smell her perfume—L’air du temps.

  Or maybe it was just the roses.

  Her mother had been the one bright spot in her life. Laughing, loving. Always there for he
r. Until the cancer took her away, emaciating her body, eroding her mind. And then Annie’s father had shown up, taking everything but his daughter, his rejection still haunting her after all this time.

  “I’m sorry,” he’d said, his voice cold and distant, “but there’s no room in my life for a kid. I told your mother that over and over again. And now that she’s gone—well, you’ll just have to find your own way, won’t you? Men like me aren’t made for family and kids. Your momma never understood that.”

  He’d turned then and walked away, leaving her sitting on the porch of an empty house, never once looking back. In the space of a heartbeat, Annie had been forced to face the fact that she was truly on her own. She’d been nine years old, and her first great life lesson had been driven home. Count on no one but yourself. Ever.

  The sky splintered with light, the air crackling with electricity. Walking out into the garden, she lifted her chin, letting the storm carry her away from pain and rejection of the past, from the nightmare that threatened her present.

  The thunder echoed through the garden, the roses shimmering in the wind. She raised her head to the sky, the cold breeze washing across her face. She couldn’t change the past, but she could protect her child.

  The wind whipped through her hair, the first drops of rain falling like a fine mist against her skin. She breathed deeply, the cool air filling her lungs, filling her soul. Clearing her head. There was no going back. No matter how many times she considered the possibility, the answer was always the same.

  The risk was too great. She could never allow Adam to be hurt the way she had been. It was her job to protect him. And that’s exactly what she’d continue to do. Nothing had changed. Nash had made that more than clear. Still, her heart was having trouble accepting the fact. There were so many wonderful memories. But none of them negated the fact that he’d made his feelings clear—no relationships. Like her father, he wasn’t that kind of man.

  Annie shivered as the wind wailed through the fence boards. Staying here, close to Nash, was a mistake. She needed to go. To walk away. To take Adam and simply disappear again. To hell with the danger. She’d manage. She always did. All she had to do was pack her things and walk out the door.