Shattered Lies

by Kathleen Brooks

  She tilted her head and looked into his eyes, as green as the wilds of Scotland, and kissed him. “Don’t ever get shot again, promise?”

  Grant tossed back his head and laughed. Others turned to stare before going back to what they were doing. Valeria rested her head on his broad shoulder and smiled. “Only if you promise not to get stabbed again, lass.”

  “Deal.” Valeria sealed the promise with a kiss and closed her eyes. The madness would reignite when they returned to DC, but for right now it was just her and the man she loved.

  * * *

  “They’ve landed,” Humphrey said, storming into the Oval Office. Birch looked at his watch. A little after six o’clock. People were starting to leave for the day.

  “Have Dalton take Roland and Kirby to the holding area Jason set up. Tell him to have Kirby turn it into a legit site that only he and two or three of his most trusted agents know about. It’s where we’re going to hold everyone until they testify.”

  Humphrey was already sending out the order. “What about the others?”

  “Let’s meet at the FBI training center in Quantico at nine tonight. Classes will be out and the grounds are highly restricted. If seen, we can pass it off as a meeting about upgrading the facilities, and I was touring it.”

  “And Sebastian?”

  “Have him meet us there at ten. I need to have a word with him.”

  The door opened and Tate hurried through on her crutches. “What is it? Is there a problem?”

  Birch shook his head and kissed her quickly before Jessica got up from behind her desk and closed the door, giving them privacy. “Sorry, sweetheart. I’ve been in meetings all day. It’s been hard, but I’ve had to continue governing the entire country even as we’re handling this threat. But that threat will soon be over.”

  Tate swatted at him. “I know that, you told me that in a rush before I was shoved out the door for your meeting with the ambassador. Is everyone coming home? Is everyone safe? Do we know who is behind it all?”

  “No, yes, yes.”

  “Birch Stratton!” Tate wanted to stomp her foot if she could, so she slammed her crutch down instead. She’d been working nonstop since the bombing. She would have liked to say she had a moment to check on her friends, but she hadn’t. She’d been fielding constant questions about when the stock market would reopen, what the motivation for the bombing was, who was the mysterious hero who sacrificed himself to save others, and so on. She’d just finished all the responses for the evening news and was being flooded with questions for the late night news programs.

  “Sorry, sweetheart.” Birch looked grim for a moment. “We lost an agent and another is in the hospital, expected to make a full recovery. Grant was shot twice, but Dalton was able to stitch him up. Valeria sustained a knife wound that she described as a ‘wee little scratch.’” Tate smiled as Birch tried to imitate Valeria’s voice. “Manuel Hernandez is dead. We handed the body over to the Mexican president to claim a successful mission against drugs. Mexican authorities have raided all of Manuel’s compounds and will share with us everything they find. Roland Westwood is in custody and has already talked.”

  Tate sucked in a breath. “Sebastian?” She knew how nervous he was about his best friend’s involvement.

  “No, Bertie Geofferies, with recruiting assistance from the former first lady.” Tate grimaced at that news. It would be easier taking down the richest man in the world than a former first lady who recently lost her husband to cancer. And here she thought her job couldn’t get any harder.

  “However, Sebastian knew more than he let on. We’re all meeting in Quantico tonight at nine, you included. Then I’m meeting with Sebastian at ten.”

  Tate nodded her head. “I’m getting tons of questions about the stock market and the investigation.”

  “Tell them we foresee the opening of the stock market shortly, but have no current statement due to the ongoing investigation. Tell them I have complete faith in the FBI to eventually track down those responsible for this cowardly act.”

  “Sneaky,” Tate said, grinning. “Lull Geofferies into a false sense of security and then strike.”

  “Exactly. Let’s hope it works.”

  * * *

  Lizzy checked in at the bar while Valeria and Grant put on fresh clothes. Janet and AG Knoll had taken a separate car with Alex and Roxie ahead of everyone else to make sure the room was clean and to set up the camera equipment. Dalton and Kirby had taken Roland and would also meet them there.

  It was strange being back at the bar filled with laughing Marines after the long night in Mexico. Snip and Buzz didn’t ask questions, but did comment on how tired she looked. But the end was in sight. Revenge for her father’s death was at hand. One more big fish and then the rest would fall like dominos.

  Lizzy, Grant, and Valeria met behind the bar and drove the short distance to the FBI training center in silence. They arrived as four other SUVs pulled up. One with Dalton and Kirby, and one with Birch, Tate, Humphrey, and some older guy with an old-time leather medical bag. The other two SUVs were filled with Secret Service agents who swarmed Birch the second his door opened.

  The three of them went on ahead, knowing Birch would ditch his agents once inside the conference room. Sure enough, a couple minutes later only Birch, Tate, Humphrey, and the older man walked into the small conference room.

  “I am so glad to see y’all!” Tate’s southern belle voice slipped out when she was emotional, and it made Lizzy and Valeria smile as they hugged her.

  “Valeria, Grant, this is Dr. Wilson. He’s here to check you two out after we talk.”

  Val and Grant shook his hand. “Thanks, Doc,” Grant said with a grimace. His pain level was obviously high.

  “I’ll set up in one of the nearby rooms. Come see me as soon as you’re finished here.”

  Dr. Wilson handed Grant what looked to be a lollipop. “Take a couple of licks on this now, but no more than half. You can have the other half after you finish your meeting,” he said of the painkilling lollipop. “It’s faster than morphine, and I can better control the dosage so you can still focus. So, no more than half. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Grant tore open the lollipop and stuck it into his mouth with a sigh. “Thank you again, Doc.”

  Dr. Wilson made his way out the door as the rest of the group hugged Tate, Birch, and Humphrey. Janet, Kirby, and Knoll looked on with interest. Knoll shook his head. “You have a fucking secret group of soldiers carrying out missions for you, don’t you?”

  “Soldiers get paid, right?” Lizzy asked with a smile. “Because Birch hasn’t paid me anything. In fact, he told me straight out he wouldn’t do anything to help us.”

  Knoll rolled his eyes. “Volunteers, is that what you’re going with?”

  “Concerned citizens,” Lizzy said innocently.

  “What they are doesn’t matter. When they went on the mission to Mexico, they were government agents with long records of service.”

  “And those two,” Knoll said, looking to Grant and Dalton.

  “Military rescue,” Humphrey responded, tossing what looked to be orders sending Major Cage and his pilot, Grant Macay, to evacuate an injured American agent.

  “Okay, it’ll pass if they’re real.” Knoll sighed as he looked at the papers. Lizzy hid a smile as Humphrey sent a wink to Alex and Roxie.

  But Dalton looked confused. “Major?” he mouthed to Humphrey who came over to them as Janet began talking.

  “I might have fibbed when I said you were kicked out of the Air Force. You’ve been receiving pay the entire time and listed as reassigned to DC from the second I pulled you out of the jail in England.”

  Lizzy didn’t know what Dalton’s reaction to be, but laughter wasn’t it. He thumped Humphrey on the back, sending his glasses sliding down his nose. “Good one, Humphrey. You got me there.”

  Birch nodded his head approvingly at Dalton, who nodded back. “Okay, Janet, show us what you’ve got.”

  * * *


  The tape from Mexico was shown, followed by the footage from the boat. Alex and Roxie had been in the corner with earphones on, working on their laptops the entire time. They were probably texting each other. Lizzy went back to Knoll’s talk about what their options were to charge Gene, Thurmond, and Roland.

  “But where is Sandra Cummings?” Knoll suddenly asked.

  Dalton’s breathing changed, but nothing else did. Sandra had hung herself in a secret prison. It’s not like they could publicize that.

  “We don’t know. We’re trying to find her. Sometimes she uses an alias. We’ll find her,” Birch promised. “First, what do we need in order to bring Bertie Geofferies down?”

  “Who do you want more? Geofferies or Mrs. Mitchell?” Knoll asked. “Whichever one you want more, turn the other.”

  “Valeria,” Birch said, turning to her. “Bring me Mrs. Mitchell later tonight.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  “Of course, a confession would be good, too,” Knoll smirked.

  “I know how to get one,” Lizzy said slowly.

  “How?” Birch asked suspiciously.

  “I need Sebastian.”

  Birch’s lips thinned. He was thinking the same thing she was, but could Sebastian be trusted?

  * * *

  Birch sighed as the room cleared. Valeria and Grant were with Dr. Wilson. The feds had headed back to DC. Alex and Roxie still hadn’t come out of their corner. Dalton and Lizzy were talking quietly as Tate hobbled up to him. “I want to go with Valeria. I know women like Mrs. Mitchell. I can reason with her.”

  “She’ll eat you alive.”

  “I can handle her.”

  “Okay. Go see how Val is, and bring me what you can.” Birch watched as Tate turned to leave, but Alex stopped her.

  “How about all of Mrs. Mitchell’s emails trying to recruit people to Mollia Domini with promises of power and the access to the president?” Alex asked as he turned his laptop around.

  “Good job, you two,” Tate said, reading over the emails. “Send those to me.” Tate leaned up and kissed Birch’s cheek. “Love you.”

  “Love you, too, and be safe.”

  “Can Lizzy and I have the room?” Birch asked as Humphrey and Dalton looked at each other, and with a shrug headed out with Alex and Roxie. “Send in Sebastian when he gets here.” Birch waited for the door to close. “Do you really think you can handle Sebastian?”

  “We’re about to find out,” Lizzy said instead of answering. Sebastian was early. Birch should have guessed that.

  Sebastian strolled in as if nothing was wrong in the world. As if he hadn’t lied to the president of the United States. As if he hadn’t sided with Mollia Domini, even if it was just keeping his mouth shut instead of reporting them. Anger raged through Birch and Lizzy. When Sebastian held out his hand, Birch slammed his fist into Sebastian’s stomach. Pain shot through Birch from his own injuries, causing his vision to blur. But he refused to show the pain as Sebastian hunched over.

  “What the fuck?” he asked, gasping.

  Birch grabbed Alex’s laptop and pulled up the clip Alex had ready for him. Roland’s image came on screen as his voice filled the room. “Sebastian knew something was going on—”

  Birch watched as his friend’s face tightened until the end of the clip. Birch closed the laptop and crossed his arms over his chest. A lifetime of friendship, over like that. “Congratulations,” Sebastian said. “You caught Roland and you found out Bertie Geofferies is the head of the organization. I’m assuming you’ll arrest him tonight.”

  “You kept it from me,” Birch growled. “You knew the whole fucking time and you kept it from me.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “I had a hunch. That’s different from knowing and certainly different from proving. And I gave you everything you needed to look into him to find out if he was the head.”

  “You only did once it was clear Bertie was freezing you out of the organization.”

  Sebastian shrugged. “It’s business. I knew he wouldn’t want his biggest competitor in the game as soon as I said you wouldn’t bend to my power. I was useless. But I got the last laugh, didn’t I? I’m not the traitor, Birch. I gave you money, access to my properties, my tech expert, and everything you needed to catch the bad guys.”

  “I’m sure when this blows up and as Bertie is being hauled off in handcuffs, you’ll be on television telling how you and your best friend worked together to bring down this organization.” Birch took a deep breath, trying to calm his temper.

  “While you might not think it, Birch, I have always had your back.”

  “You just did it in the most self-serving way,” Lizzy added.

  “Business is business. You don’t climb the ladder like I have from the bottom without knocking some people off to get ahead.”

  “What if Bertie had included you from the beginning?” Birch asked quietly.

  “It had nothing to do with you then, Birch. It was President Mitchell then. I would never do anything to hurt you. I may be a self-serving ass, but I’d never turn against you.”

  “Prove it,” Birch said simply.

  “How?” Sebastian asked, getting ready to negotiate.

  “Wear a wire with me,” Lizzy said. “We’ll meet with Bertie, and you’ll tell him you caught me spying on your AI for him.”

  Sebastian’s eyes widened. “You—?”

  Lizzy smiled. “It’s business.” She shrugged.

  “And,” Birch said sternly, “that AI software is to be destroyed.”

  Sebastian whirled on Birch. “That’s worth billions.”

  “What is our friendship worth?”

  Sebastian looked ready to explode. “Is that what it takes to prove to you that I never intended to hurt you? That I have been your friend and will continue to be your friend?”

  “It’s a start. Furthermore, you’ll help me write limitations of AI use and testify against Bertie.”

  Sebastian suddenly looked ten years younger as he slouched. He let the hardness fade from his face as he held out his hand. “Deal. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry you were caught. I’ll believe you’re sorry when your actions demonstrate it.”

  “No matter what, you’re still my best friend—my brother.”

  Birch smirked and shook Sebastian’s hand. “Shit, I’m the only friend you have.”

  “I’ll meet you at SA Tech in the morning,” Lizzy said as Sebastian turned to leave. He nodded and left the room. “Do you trust him?”

  “I do. We have a history. But what I said was true. He’s only sorry he was caught. Sebastian will do the right thing. Not because it’s right, but because it’s the smart play for him right now. But it’ll be the right move anyway. And in his own way, he did help bring down Bertie.”

  Lizzy walked out of the room with Birch. “Which was the biggest self-serving play of all. With Bertie out of the way, Sebastian becomes the most powerful man in America. Even more powerful than you.”

  “So he does.”

  33

  Tate stared emotionlessly at the car driving Mrs. Mitchell and Valeria to the secret holding facility. In the morning, she would be blindfolded and moved to a secure location to meet with her lawyers. She would be testifying against Bertie Geofferies for treason. The first case to be tried in decades, but Birch was insisting on it. The others were testifying in exchange for lesser charges, but they would still be facing jail time.

  Tate slid into the backseat of the SUV driven by her newly assigned Secret Service agent, Ashley Palmer. Tate had handpicked her and so far so good. She hadn’t tried to kill her, so that was a plus.

  Mrs. Mitchell had accused Tate of trying to ruin her and her husband’s legacy. She had accused Tate of wanting to be the official first lady. Maybe she had been right. She did want that, but not because of the title. That she would happily hand back. She wanted it because it meant she’d be with Birch. All of this had taught her the world could be
a dark place. But when you found light in the goodness and love of another person, it was there you should focus. Otherwise the shadows would suck you in and never let you go.

  “To the White House?” Agent Palmer asked.

  “Yes, please.”

  * * *

  “So help me, if you screw Birch over one more time, I’ll kill you myself,” Lizzy told Sebastian as she purposefully taped the wire over as much chest hair as possible.

  “Has anyone told you’re sexy when you’re mad?”

  “I’m pretty sure you’ve mentioned it before. Whoops, that’s not where I want the wire.” Lizzy ripped the tape off, and Sebastian grimaced in pain.

  She used new tape over some more of his chest hair and patted it down tight. Sebastian could flirt his way into getting his way almost every time, but not with her. It didn’t matter that his pecs were sculpted muscle, or that the ridges of his abs begged to be touched. Sebastian lived in the gray area of life, and Lizzy didn’t trust anyone who lived there.

  “Ready?”

  Sebastian nodded. “The question is: are you? I know Bertie way better than you do, so you better be one hell of an actress or it’ll be you who blows this.”

  “Do your worst.”

  Sebastian gave a killer smile. “I plan to.”

  * * *

  Lizzy didn’t have to fake the scream when Sebastian grabbed her arm so hard she fell. Sebastian didn’t stop as he dragged her off the elevator and down the hall toward Bertie’s office. Lizzy also didn’t have to fake the cuss words and threats that came out of her mouth as she scrambled to get back on her feet.

  The people in the office stood stunned at the aggressive display, and no one bothered to step forward as Sebastian flung open the office door and literally shoved Lizzy to the floor at Bertie’s feet.

  Sebastian stepped forward and threw a punch connecting with Bertie’s face, sending him falling against his desk. Rue jumped forward, and as Lizzy screamed for Sebastian to stop, he broke Rue’s nose. Rue fell back onto the couch, clutching his face.