Circle of Desire

by Carla Swafford

  A perfect human? At the cost of hurting or killing others? She had sold her soul to Theo to become the real Dr. Frankenstein.

  “What information did Theo ask for?” he asked. Her hand clasped his tight.

  “Nothing much at first. Just wanted to know the number of wounded coming in from different raids. Every once in a while they would ask how you reacted to your people being unsuccessful.” She pulled his hand up and pressed it to her cheek. “I always gave them useless information about you.”

  What she didn’t know was that even useless information could be used against him.

  “Can you tell me some of the things you told them?” he asked.

  He turned his hand and brought hers to his mouth, rubbing her knuckles against his lips. The puppy look she gave him hurt as he hated what he was making her believe.

  “Nothing really until that woman showed up. I waited a couple of weeks before I told them. I was certain you would kill the slut. But when I saw how she was using you, I knew I needed to get rid of her.”

  The half grin on her face showed how she expected his praise. He dropped her hand and sat back. Her face paled. He wiped his hands on his camos. His hands felt oily with her sickness.

  “Did you communicate with anyone else in The Circle?” he asked.

  She shook her head, tears splattered the table.

  “Did anyone in the OS help you?” His chest tightened as he worked at remaining unmoved by her tears.

  She shook her head again and sobbed. Red-faced and trembling, she rested her head on her arms. He wouldn’t receive any more information from her.

  Standing, he held onto the table. “Rex, take her to room 999. Rick will be waiting for her.”

  “No! I saw what you did to that Mason fellow! You killed him! I’m not like him. I’m not a terrorist,” Anne screamed and reached across the table for Collin but Rex had already grabbed her arm. “You said you would set me free.”

  The taste of bile filled his mouth. He hated this part of his job.

  “You will be.”

  Her death would be one more mark on his soul. When he was growing up, his brother had been the heir trained to take over The Circle. Collin had been happy with the position of the spare heir, never expecting to be more than a valued operative, most likely in logistics, never involved in the decision of sending someone to their death.

  “You’ll be free,” he turned away and murmured, “while I’ll stay in hell.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Olivia scanned the area outside the Main Sector’s perimeter. Waving A. J. to the strip of woods beyond, she followed close behind. Running between swaying trees and bushes and jumping over the occasional fallen tree, they were fortunate the interstate snaked near The Circle’s property on this side.

  When she nearly tripped, she bit back a whimper. Her body shouted its protest at every jarring step and leap. Every inch of her body had a cut or bruise on it but she pressed on. Theo, being the persistent bastard, interrogated her weekly, never allowing her body to fully heal. Now that she’d escaped, if caught, her immediate death was guaranteed.

  They squatted behind a bush near the five-foot steel fence. What little traffic zoomed by was on the opposite side going away from Atlanta. Not more than twenty feet from them was a faded beat-up silver Ford 150 with the tailgate missing parked off the side as if the owner had abandoned it. Just like they were told by Jason.

  “I still can’t believe it,” A. J. muttered next to her and coughed.

  “That Jason’s a double agent?”

  Another swipe at a mosquito urged Olivia to hurry out of the tall grass.

  “Yeah.” She coughed into her sleeve. “Do you think Collin ordered him to release you?”

  “No. He told me he’d heard about me saving Collin’s butt in the mountains. That’s the only reason he risked detection.”

  Olivia shivered. Somehow his plan worked. When Jason sliced the guard’s neck, she almost threw up. Looking at death through a scope had helped her maintain an unreal quality to it. Distance made it appear to be part of a violent action-thriller movie. But the victim was within a few feet and she could smell the blood; it was too up close and personal. Then when he shot another man in the back, he’d said he wanted to make it look as if one of the other guards had helped. That he’d come upon the escape and shot the betrayer, killing him instantly, but the women had gotten away.

  Knowing Theo, he would believe Jason. Hadn’t she believed for years that Jason was a loyal operative? The man was a better liar than she’d ever imagined. How many times had he lied about her targets? He knew they were Circle operatives. She squeezed her eyes shut for a couple seconds. That meant Collin knew too. Would Collin ask her to kill for him? Would she? Was she so needy for his love and approval?

  Pulled down by the depressing thoughts, she pushed it away. Now wasn’t the time for a girlish pity party. Then she heard shouting behind them. “Let’s go!”

  They climbed the fence and dashed for the truck. Within seconds of jumping inside, Olivia scrambled for the keys hidden in the folds of the driver’s seat and jabbed them into the ignition. She grinned big. The truck looked like crap but cranked like a charm.

  About a mile down the interstate she found a cutoff through the median and turned, heading away from Atlanta.

  “Where’re we going?” A. J. asked after another bout of coughing. She’d pulled out the money Jason had promised to leave in the glove compartment.

  “To Birmingham. I’ve got a safe house there The Circle doesn’t know about.” At least she hoped they didn’t and she also hoped the OS hadn’t discovered it. A. J.’s cough turned into choking. Olivia slapped her on the back, watching her with concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. Just a little cold. Once we get somewhere less dank than that cell, I’ll be right as rain.” A few more miles down the road, A. J. said, “I thought you would want to return to the OS.” Her voice quivered.

  Olivia’s gaze darted to A. J. and then back to the road. “Collin used me to get to the sword. I’m of no use to him now.”

  Tears welled up, blurring her vision, as her throat hurt from trying to remain stoic. If she’d meant anything to him, Collin would’ve been the one to release her from the cell.

  Five weeks. Jason confirmed she’d been in that dungeon for five weeks. Her gut told her, Collin hadn’t even attempted to save her. She’d learned years ago to not depend on anyone but herself. Expecting the best from a man only led to disappointment.

  “We’re a pitiful duo, aren’t we? Men either betray us or go off and die.” A. J. stared straight ahead and then coughed until her flushed face beaded with sweat.

  Olivia didn’t have anything to add to that. She’d decided they would first stop at a local twenty-four–hour Walmart to pick up drugs for A. J. and any supplies and food they would need. The popular store would be best in order to meld into the crowds and be near to invisible.

  By the time they made it to the house near Edwards Lake, the sun was over the horizon. She parked the truck in the back.

  The door key remained where she’d last hid it and they let themselves in. Without hesitation she punched in the alarm number and then made a quick call to the neighborhood’s security office. Last thing she needed was for a rent-a-cop to come snooping around.

  “Nice place.” A. J. held up a fist full of tissues to her mouth as she coughed.

  The Cape Cod–style home had an open floor plan with two bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs. A spacious kitchen with everything a gourmet cook would want.

  “Go ahead.” She nodded to the kitchen. “Get some medicine in you and go to bed. There’s a bedroom through the third door on the left you can use. If you need me, pick up the phone and punch one. It’ll ring in the master bedroom. I’m taking a shower and going to bed too.”

  An hour later, it felt good to be clean and her teeth brushed. Like an automaton, she wasted what little strength she possessed by blow-drying her hair.
The everyday routines helped her to keep moving until she fell into bed without bothering with pajamas.

  When her body softened and went limp, another concern floated to the top. Collin. She missed his lovely hard body and talented thick fingers. Her usual nightmare from so many years had all but vanished. Even in the dungeon, expecting to die, her dreams were filled with her time at the cabin and Collin teasing and filling her body.

  Now she often woke to tears either from reaching a climax or wanting one so badly. Her body remembered how no other lover had brought her to climax so quickly and thoroughly with only his fingers and mouth.

  She drifted off to sleep planning how to reach her hidden bank accounts and hoping The Circle or OS hadn’t cleaned them out. Any effort to stop her dreams of Collin was hopeless.

  The dream started like it always did, Collin licking and sucking on the nub between her legs as he had the first night. His chin rasped the tender skin of her thighs. She tried to move her hands. She wanted to touch his hair, feel the warm strands glide between her fingers, to hold him closer, but he had her wrists held tight in one hand. If it had been anyone but him, she would’ve fought him. Yet she expected and wanted it. Only in bed could she trust him.

  He moaned as if he’d tasted a sweetness he missed so much. She liked how he savored her, his pleasure mounting with her own. He bobbed his head, tonguing and nipping until she pressed against his face wanting more.

  Then her dream Collin slid his strong hands up her arms and cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples until she arched against him in the pleasure-pain he knew she liked. If only he could be real.

  “Oh, Collin,” she sighed.

  “Yes, lover,” his deep voice whispered in her ear.

  “Collin!” Her eyes opened. Even in the dark room, the face she loved and feared was visible above hers.

  He covered her mouth and moved his body over hers. “Shhh! No need to shout. I’m right here. You and I have some unfinished business.”

  The way he was looking at her warned she was in deep shit. Clasping him with her legs, she tried to flip him over, hopefully dislodging his hold.

  He chuckled.

  “I know all your little tricks. You’re thinner. Is The Circle not feeding you enough? We wondered how long before Theo tired of you again and kicked you out of Main Sector.”

  If her eyes could kill, he’d be ashes by now. His dark clothes were rough against her tender bare skin. A large hand covered her tender mons, not the pressure of a man trying to excite a woman but to warn her of what he could do to her. Instead of panicking, she arched into his touch as her body recognized his feel, his scent. She moaned despite the pain of wanting him, her need to have him inside her overriding all else.

  “You’re going back to headquarters with me. But first I want to see if you’re like I remember.”

  His gaze remained on her face. He moved his hand from between her legs. A second later, she heard the rasp of his zipper opening.

  She felt his cock, hard and hot, on her thigh. He clasped her hip and jerked one leg up and plunged into her. She squealed, though the sound was muffled by his fingers. My goodness, he was bigger than she remembered or she was swollen from wanting him so badly. The sensation of her nakedness against his fully clothed body was such a turn-on and he knew she liked it.

  She rejoiced when he removed his hand from her lips and brought his mouth over hers. His teeth pressed so hard against her lips she expected the taste of blood, maybe even craved it for what it represented. He’d lost control. She grinned. He hated that he couldn’t be around her without the need to fuck her overcoming his good judgment. She understood how he felt. He only needed to walk into the room for her to want to touch him, unzip and taste him.

  Each thrust brought a grunt like he wanted deeper and more of her. What was another bruise? She preferred his bruises, his scent all over her. Her nails bit into his back.

  “Bitch!”

  His tongue thrust into her mouth proving to her he loved having her marks too. Before morning she would make sure she wasn’t the only one with new tender spots.

  “Collin!” Rex shouted on the other side of the bedroom door. “Rick’s got the other woman wrapped up and in the van. We need to get going before The Circle shows up.”

  “Just one fucking minute!” Collin said, startling her with his vehemence.

  She hooked her heels around his legs. No way would he stop before they both got what they were working toward. He pounded into her and she sucked on his neck, certain to leave a love bite. Determined he would have as many marks on him as she could leave before he was finished, she reached between them and pinched his nipples hard. He howled and they shuddered together.

  Instead of collapsing on her, he held himself off her. His eyes closed, and he fought for every breath. Then he looked down at her in the half light. She wished she could tell if those eyes were flaring amber or not. The dark room showed only different shades of gray. His large hands clasped her face as his thumbs rested beneath her chin. With his strength it wouldn’t take much for him to snap her neck. She wasn’t sure if he could see it but she lifted her chin as much as he would allow and challenged him to do it.

  “Does Theo still have to spank your ass to get it off? Or do you spank his?” he asked in a tone conveying his hatred for her and Theo and maybe for himself.

  Even with all the cuts and bruises on her body, she sensed Collin would claim she asked for them. Maybe it was the wild combination of an intense escape, lack of sleep mixed with torture topped with an explosive climax, but all she wanted was for him to leave her alone or kill her.

  “Go to hell.”

  She wished he would go ahead and end it all. Loving him was slowly eating away at her sanity.

  “Oh, we’re going together, baby. And I’ll make sure your lover gets there first.”

  He moved off her and straightened his clothes and then zipped up his pants.

  She flipped him the bird as she wrapped a sheet around her. He actually believed Theo was still her lover.

  “You’re an idiot,” she sneered.

  He merely raised an eyebrow at her. With her chin up, she was proud of how she strolled over to the closet without betraying one ache or pain.

  “Get some clothes on.”

  Collin opened the bedroom door, hitting the lights and said something to Rex.

  By the time he turned back to her, she wore jeans and a red silk blouse she’d always liked. Most of the cuts and bruises hidden beneath the clothing. The blue, green, and black bruises on her face would tell their own story to Collin. She refused to accept his sympathy if he had any.

  He grimaced on seeing her face but still held out the handcuffs. “Hold your hands out.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.” She waited for him to back down. Now who was kidding who? “I don’t understand. What’s your problem? I’m not going to let you put those on me.”

  “Rex! Come in here and hold her.” Collin’s eyes narrowed.

  She didn’t like this.

  “Okay! I don’t want Big Foot touching me.” Proud that her hands remained steady, she held them out for Collin to place the stainless steel bracelets around her wrists.

  Rex grabbed her arms from the back.

  “Tell him to let me go!” What was happening? This was all wrong. She fought to keep herself steady and not panic. Her throat tightened with a need to cry.

  Collin’s cold gaze stayed on her. Not one spark of regret softened his face.

  “When we get to headquarters take her to room 999.”

  During her time at the OS, she’d heard horror tales of people going into the room and never coming out the same. Either they were mentally impaired by the treatments or dead.

  “No fucking way!”

  Before she even thought it through her foot kicked back and she heard the big guy yowl.

  A blur caught her attention before Collin caught her around the waist, lifting her and squeezing. Normally the move would only i
mmobilize her for a few seconds but with all the damage her body had endured the past few weeks, pain shot through her body from all directions and she saw stars.

  As she sunk to the floor, her legs refused to cooperate, she mumbled, “Oh, shit, not again.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Every cell in his being screamed that he was wrong. She would never betray him, but all the evidence proved the opposite. Another betrayal in a long line of betrayals. He felt as if he was standing on a cliff, teetering near the edge of madness.

  He forced himself to watch Rick work on her. The sterile all-white room with huge overhead lights resembling the type in an operating room was enough to scare any normal person. But Olivia wasn’t normal, that he was already aware of.

  The bruises on her face, he’d assumed Theo had gotten rough as he reminded her who was boss. Theo was never known for his gentle touch. And when they cut her clothes off, he saw the numerous blue and green bruises and more cuts than could be counted on her torso, he was certain Theo had gone over the edge of reason and taken Olivia with him.

  How any human could do this to another was beyond him. Theo was a sick individual. Her long body stretched across a hospital bed looked unnaturally small. Tied down wearing only a simple hospital gown, she’d fought them until Rick shot her with a truth serum mixture. She looked around the room with eyes that appeared not to focus too well and a crooked grin.

  Besides the feeling of euphoria, another side effect of the serum was numbness to any pain, causing torture to be unproductive. So for now, he would be spared the ordeal of watching Rick torture the woman he loved. No matter what she’d done, he hadn’t rid his tender thoughts toward her. He had hundreds of OS personnel depending on him for protection. What happened in his personal life couldn’t affect his decisions. Theo had changed the directive of The Circle and must be stopped.