Elite Ops Complete Series

by Lora Leigh

  “Not crazed, simply arrogant, and certain of her own power.” He shook his head. “She’s royalty, remember?”

  It was coming together so slowly, too slowly. Lilly felt the heavy weight of agonizing knowledge as it began to settle into her heart, to slice at her soul. She wanted to scream in denial, but she couldn’t. She had to hold it back, she had to focus on the truth rather than the fantasy world she had lived in as a child.

  Desmond wiped a hand over his face as Lilly kept a careful eye on him, as well as Isaac.

  “I was helping your father.” He stared at the whiskey in his glass for long moments before gazing back at her. “God, he loved her.” He leaned his head back against the chair and stared at the ceiling. “He loved you better, though, and she knew it.”

  Lilly’s lips trembled for a brief second before she controlled it. Instead, she met Travis’s gaze, saw the compassion in it, the regret.

  “How did she manage it?”

  Once again Desmond shook his head. “I don’t know. Harold had figured it out. He told me that night, but he didn’t tell me it was Angelica. He was going to fill me in the next morning. The next thing I knew, you were both supposedly dead. I only figured out it was Angelica about six months ago and have been trying to pin her down with hard proof ever since.”

  Lilly swallowed tightly as Travis moved from the loveseat to stand beside her, to lend her his support, his warmth.

  “How did she find me? I changed everything about myself.”

  “Everything but certain mannerisms,” Desmond pointed out. “You attended a party in Bangladesh a few years ago for the ruling family’s oldest son. We were there, along with Jared.”

  Lilly flinched at the pain that struck her temple, as well as the memory. She remembered it. Clearly. She had been forced to leave the party early when Jared had kept hitting on her. He’d danced with her, flirted with her. Her own brother. It had been more than she could bear.

  “Your mother commented several times that Lilly Belle was so similar to her Victoria.” He gave a harsh laugh. “Hell, I didn’t even catch on.”

  “The pictures found in Desmond’s files were taken by Samuel,” Travis revealed. “Your mother had him following you.” He turned back to Desmond. “I’m guessing you stumbled across the pictures in Angelica’s files and made copies.”

  Lilly watched as Desmond pinched the bridge of his nose and fought back the dampness in his eyes.

  “I hired Isaac for his reputation and his ability to keep his employers alive,” he finally stated harshly. “We’ve been trying to catch her embezzling the money. We’ve tried to find a way, especially since your return, to get the proof we needed.”

  “She’s smart, and she has the money to hire others to do her dirty work,” Travis said coldly. “She sent a hit out on Lilly yesterday. They found the safe house she was staying at. Ten men arrived to kill her and the three young women she had taken refuge with.”

  “My God.” Desmond sat forward, swallowed tightly, then looked to Isaac. “I may need another drink.”

  Isaac turned to the bar just as the large glass window of the room shattered.

  Travis pushed Lilly to the floor as Isaac was thrown against the bar by the bullet that slammed into his body and jerked him around. Another tore into his shoulder and he landed on the floor unconscious or dead, she wasn’t certain which.

  The doors to the library flew inward and four assailants rushed the room, automatic rifles drawn and leveled on them as Lilly stared up in horror.

  Her gaze went around the room quickly. She couldn’t see Nik. Where had he gone? Had he been in on this? Had he betrayed the Ops?

  She had to swallow against the bile in her throat as pain pierced her head. Memories were swarming her now, racing into her brain with a speed she couldn’t fight.

  She was an operative. A highly secret operative, one whose very existence depended on the agency that had saved her. An agency whose survival depended on their ability to never be revealed.

  “Well, Desmond, it looks as though you’re as stupid as your brother.” Angelica walked into the fray.

  Resplendent in cream silk, she wore slacks, a matching top, and heels, which, combined with her light hair, gave Angelica the angelic appearance her name implied.

  She appeared innocent, unthreatening, untouchable.

  She stopped in the middle of the room and stared down at Lilly. Her head tilted to the side, and for a moment, regret flashed in her gaze.

  Desmond sat down slowly in his chair, his hands resting casually on the arms as he leaned his head back and obviously fought with the realization that they may have failed.

  “You always were a nosy little bitch.” Angelica sighed as she glanced at Isaac’s fallen body before turning back to Lilly. “You should have returned as my daughter rather than some little whore determined to destroy what I’ve built over the years. Really, Lilly? A call girl?” She shook her head. “I truly hope the money you made whoring was worth the loss of your life now.”

  Lilly eased up until she was sitting on the floor, partially shielded by Travis’s larger body. “Anything would have been worth escaping you,” she told her mother quietly. “I only wish I had remembered why I decided to remain dead to begin with. Tell me, what did happen the night you killed father?”

  Angelica just glared at Lilly for what felt like hours, then sighed. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now if you know since this will be over soon.”

  Lilly swallowed in relief, hoping that she had just bought them all a little more time.

  “The night of the party, your father had been acting very strange. Actually, he had been acting strangely for several days before that. He had been very distracted and he claimed that he had been tied up in work, but I had a feeling that it went deeper than that. I knew he had been looking into the embezzlement of funds from our and other families’ accounts, and up until that point I hadn’t been the least bit concerned that he would trace anything back to me. Nothing could be traced back to me, after all. When Jared began working for Dunnolly & Dunnolly, I had gotten access to his password during a lovely family visit, and that’s how I got the passcodes to the accounts of some of the other families. My accountant got the rest. He made it look like the accounts had been hacked from the outside, and after that, the money was difficult to trace, and even if they did trace it, none of the accounts were linked to me in any way. If any suspicions were to fall, it would probably fall on Jared. I suspect MI5 had him in their sights for quite some time. And besides, who in the world would suspect Angelica Harrington of pulling off such a crime? Really, it was the perfect setup.”

  “And you were just computer savvy enough to make it work with just a little help,” Lilly said, her eyes narrowed. “I always was impressed with the skill you’ve managed your own wealth.”

  Angelica pursed her lips in annoyance. “Your father managed to trace one of the offshore accounts back to my accountant—the idiot.” She looked scornful. “Once he matched that up to the fact the other families who were targeted were all represented by Dunnolly & Dunnolly, it eventually led him to suspect me. I had noticed that he was missing from the party that night and I went looking for him. He was in his study, on the phone. He sounded agitated, so I listened, trying to find out what he was talking about. Apparently he was on the phone with his MI5 contact and he told him or her that he knew who was behind the embezzlement and that he wanted to come in with the information. I couldn’t let that happen.

  “While he was finishing up his call, I slipped into my office next door, got the gun I kept in the safe there, and went in to confront him.” She laughed. “Actually, I should say that he confronted me. He asked me if I had overheard his conversation and I told him that I had. He asked me to turn myself in, which I found hilarious. Really, why would I want to do something like that?”

  “So you killed him,” Lilly said, her tone tight with fury.

  “Yes,” Angelica said, coldly. “That would have wrapped t
hings up nicely. The party was still in full swing and the study was far away enough that no one heard a thing. I was just about to call one of the associates here and tell them to dispose of the body when you came knocking. I hid behind the door, and when you came in, I knocked you unconscious.”

  “And your so-called associates put Lilly and her father in the car and sent it over the cliff,” Travis said. “You were hoping that the explosion from the car crash would disguise the fact that your husband had been shot.”

  “So clever,” Angelica said mockingly. “Yes, that’s what I was hoping. And I was sure that I could move the process along quickly enough that no one would look at his body too closely. Who wouldn’t try to accommodate the grieving Lady Harrington who had just lost her husband and daughter in such a tragic accident?” She looked at Lilly. “Well, almost lost. I had been convinced that your body had been washed out to sea.” Angelica shook her head. “Well, we’ll see if we can’t make your death a fact this time around.”

  Lilly laughed. “Oh, and how will you manage it this time? That bullet to the brain wasn’t exactly fun, Mother.”

  “You’re such a disrespectful little bitch,” her mother sneered. “Do you think I’m not aware that you spied on us? Sitting in the trees watching the family from afar? You would have never stayed away. Eventually, you would have returned. And we couldn’t have that. The trust fund your uncle watches so closely is too important. The charity.” She smiled slowly. “Well, it needs your money far more than you do.”

  The charity. Lilly felt her heart speed up further, a sense of realization flooding her senses.

  “The charity is a terrorist fund,” she whispered, her hands beginning to shake as the weapon tucked at the small of her back began to burn against her flesh with her need to use it.

  “Of course.” Her mother smiled. “Those quarterly donations of the interest ensures that I have a steady supply of men to do what needs to be done. The world is in horrible shape, darling. It needs some discipline.”

  Discipline. The world needed discipline.

  “Lilly Belle has such enemies as well.” Angelica clucked. “Such a shame. They broke in while I was shopping and killed you, your lover, and your uncle and his bodyguard.” She looked at Isaac’s still form. “Handsome man. It’s a shame he had to be so damned ethical.”

  A movement at the front of the room, behind the men surrounding Angelica, caught Lilly’s attention. Nik. He was slowly easing along the edge of a heavy armoire to assess the situation.

  “Poor Mother.” Lilly sighed. “You can’t get your way, so you kill. But do you truly believe we’re the only ones who know this?”

  Angelica laughed. “You have no proof, darling. What you do have, however, is the ability to irritate me and to take the money I promised my friends.” She glanced to one of the hard-eyed men beside her. “Truly, there’s nothing you can do. It’s over, darling. You’ll die for good, you’ll be mourned, and I can grieve the death of yet another husband who died trying to save you from the people you managed to tie yourself to. Whores such as yourself do manage to create bad situations. It’s a proven fact.”

  “You watch too much television.” Lilly followed Travis as he eased to his feet. “It’s not going to be that easy.”

  Angelica stepped closer, her expression hardening. Her hand lifted and she slapped Lilly across the face. Lilly didn’t even try to avoid it. She took the blow. When her mother was dead or in prison, then Lilly wanted no doubts in her own mind as to the choices she had to make.

  Nik was now in position. Desmond was slowly sliding his hand into the side of his chair. Lilly prayed he was moving for a weapon. She realized that Isaac was conscious, as she saw his good hand slide beneath his body.

  This was the only chance they were going to have.

  “Your weapon, Mr. Caine,” Angelica demanded as she turned to Travis. “Your reputation is far too good. I think I’d prefer you not keep it.”

  Travis’s hand slid beneath his jacket, slowly.

  Desmond’s hand gripped something at his side.

  Lilly, using Travis’s body for cover, slid her hand to her back.

  It happened quickly. Too quickly.

  Nik stepped out. Travis drew his weapon, Isaac rolled to his back, and Lilly dropped to her knees.

  She fired at her mother. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks as the bullet slammed into Angelica’s shoulder. It wasn’t a kill shot, but as everyone acted at once, two more bullets took her from Desmond’s and Isaac’s guns.

  Nik and Travis made quick work of the others. Lilly stared into her mother’s eyes, watched as realization surged through the other woman.

  Angelica dropped to her knees, blood soaking the cream color of her top, dripping to her slacks, as she held Lilly’s gaze. Held it. Hatred flooding it, twisting her expression.

  “Fucking whore,” Angelica wheezed as she slowly melted to the floor, her eyes losing that brilliant glitter, dimming, and slowly becoming lifeless.

  Her mother.

  Lilly crawled to her, lifted her head in her lap, and slowly brushed the hair back from her face as the gunfire eased and the smell of death began to invade the room.

  There were other men there now. Elite Ops One. Black masks covered their faces, but Lilly knew who they were. She didn’t bother to look up. She watched her fingers touching her mother’s brow, her hairline. She looked composed and peaceful in death.

  She looked innocent. She looked like the mother Lilly remembered.

  “Goodbye, Mother,” she whispered as the tears continued to fall. “I loved you.”

  She had lost everything. Everyone.

  “Lilly.” Travis was behind her, easing down, his hands settling on her shoulders as she realized she was sobbing. “It’s over, baby.”

  She shook her head.

  “It’s okay, Lilly.” He sat beside her and eased her into his arms. “I have you, baby. It’s over.”

  “I love you, Travis,” she whispered as she laid her head on his shoulder. “I love you.”

  “I love you.” He laid his cheek against the top of her head.

  “You’ll have to leave me now,” she whispered. “I know that.”

  “Shhh,” he shushed her gently as he whispered. “Keep the memories inside, sweetheart. You don’t remember anything. Keep it that way.” He turned her face to him. “Keep it that way, and I’ll hold you forever.”

  Forever? Could she truly have a forever now?

  With Travis?

  She felt the smile that touched her lips, felt the pain and loss as it eased from her heart.

  “I’ll have you forever?”

  “Forever,” he swore.

  She turned her head to him, her lips touching his as she whispered. “Then I don’t remember a damned thing, Black Jack.”

  He smiled against her kiss. “That’s the way, Night Hawk. Now, let me hold you forever.”

  His arms surrounded her. There, amid her past, all the death, and the things she thought she had lost, Lilly found love.

  A love she could hold on to forever.

  EPILOGUE

  IT WAS OVER.

  Lilly stood aside, Travis’s arms wrapped around her, as agents of Homeland Security arrived at the house and began taking over the situation.

  Senator Stanton was there, as was Jared Malone. The Homeland Security agent assigned to the case didn’t question Travis’s presence too deeply, though he questioned Lilly extensively.

  But it was over. Her mother was dead and the threat that had followed Lilly since the night her father had died was gone.

  “Lilly, come sit down,” Travis urged her as the agents continued to question Desmond. “Let me get you a drink.”

  She nodded shakily. She felt as though she were in shock, though it wasn’t exactly shock. Or perhaps it was. She couldn’t make sense of the grief tearing through her.

  She had lost everything. Her entire family.

  “Here, baby.” Travis pressed a glass in he
r hand. “It’s your favorite.”

  Her favorite. Whisky. She had never been a champagne girl. Another disappointment to her mother, she remembered.

  She wiped at the tear that escaped and wanted to huddle into herself and wail like a child. She had no family.

  “Let me in there.”

  Lilly’s head jerked around at the sound of her brother’s voice.

  “Damn you, I bloody well don’t care what kind of a crime scene it is, let me see my sister.”

  The shock was building.

  Lilly stood to her feet and watched with a sense of complete disbelief as her brother pushed past the agents standing at the door and stalked into the room.

  And he wasn’t alone.

  The glass in her hand dropped to the floor, the sound of it shattering at her feet, ignored at the sight of her brother.

  “Jared,” she whispered, the tears falling now, shudders racing through her body at the sight of her brother, older, his eyes filled with remorse as he opened his arms to her.

  Lilly pressed back against Travis, her hands gripping his arms now as she stared at him. Stared.

  He had disowned. Her he had been such an important part of her life yet he had turned his back on her. There was a conversation behind her, Travis ordering someone to get him another drink.

  “Lilly.” He stopped in front of her, his gaze tormented.

  She stared at him, unable to understand why he was here now.

  “You look just like grandmother’s pictures when she was younger. It’s no surprise Mother knew who you were at that party.”

  Lilly stared back at him painfully. “You disowned me.”

  He shook his head wearily as he raked his fingers through his overly long hair. “I had no choice, Lilly. I had to stay away, and I had to have a reason for doing so. I was working to uncover the truth of what she was doing; I couldn’t do that if I was here, allowing her to draw me into her machinations.”

  Lilly shook her head, as she tried to make sense of everything. “You were going to help her have me commited.”

  “Lilly.” Desmond moved beside him. “He would have never done such a thing. But she had to believe he would. We needed every moment to gain the proof we needed against her. She wasn’t working alone, though she did, I believe, like to convince herself that she was smart enough to steal the funds she’d embezzled without any help. We had to learn how deep it went.”