by Lexi Blake
“He’s not a traitor. He was in the military.” She kept trying to move, to get around him.
His gut took a dive. The next few minutes were going to be the hardest of his life. He did the unthinkable. He turned his back on the guys with the guns, leaving himself utterly vulnerable, but he had only seconds to make her understand.
He cupped her cheeks. “Faith, I love you. I’ve never loved anyone before. I’ve never said those words to another woman in my life, but I love you. Please believe me.”
Her body went still. “Ten, what’s going on?”
If he brought her into this, her father could kill them both. If she believed Ten, her father would have no choice, and he’d already proven he didn’t mind killing the ones he loved. He’d murdered her mother because she’d been planning to divorce him. What would he do to a daughter who could threaten his career?
Sometimes choosing her meant walking away. Meant sacrificing himself.
“I love you, Faith. It might have started out as a job, but I love you.” He stared at her, praying he could memorize every inch of her face. So much time he’d wasted. He wished he’d met her years before, but he wouldn’t have trusted this feeling then either. Sometimes he wished the cold had taken him when he was a baby. Now he was glad it hadn’t because this love for her was so fucking warm. He was warm for once in his life. “I hope you can forgive me.”
He had to walk out of here. They would almost surely kill him as soon as they were out of range. He might have a shot at getting away because they wouldn’t want Faith to see his murder. He would walk out and the senator would show her his trumped up evidence and Faith McDonald would hate him.
But she would be alive. She would be in the world even if he wasn’t.
He turned back to the senator. “Do you have a car ready for me or am I walking to the airport?”
The senator met his eyes and for a brief moment there was a silent understanding between them. The senator nodded. “I’ve got a plane ready for you. You can leave tonight.”
He would be in a shallow grave before dawn.
“He’s not going anywhere. Not until I understand what the hell is going on.” There was a fine sheen of tears in Faith’s eyes as she put her hands on his arms, keeping him close. “Ten, what is happening? What do you mean by job?”
He had to sell this because if she believed for a moment that her lover was in the right, she would back him. She would go up against her father and she would pay the price. “Your father had me burned. I was a career CIA agent and he cost me everything. I intended to give him payback. I know he’ll have plenty of evidence against me and he’ll be more than happy to show you, but I need you to hold on to one thing. I love you.”
Maybe he should have pretended to not care, but loving Faith might be the one good thing he’d done in his miserable life. He couldn’t. He couldn’t die lying to her, couldn’t leave her thinking she hadn’t touched his soul.
“You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Faith McDonald, and I would give a whole lot to go back and be a better man for you.”
“I don’t understand any of this.”
He leaned over and kissed her forehead, likely the last sweet moment of his life. He prayed Theo would watch out for her. Erin liked Faith. Theo would do anything for Erin. Theo would make sure she didn’t get hurt. “You will and I hope you can forgive me. Have a good life, Faith.” He turned back to her father, his enemy. This was the man who had killed Jamie and as he stood there in front of the bastard, all he could feel was a sense of panic that he might hurt Faith. “I’ll leave quietly, McDonald.”
“If you do, then we won’t have a problem.” McDonald nodded to one of his goons, who moved behind Ten. “You’ll understand if I have one of my men escort you.”
Because he wasn’t leaving this island alive. It was him or Faith. There was no choice. “Of course. Luckily I hadn’t unpacked.”
He grabbed his bag. He wouldn’t need it, but he had to make it look good.
“Ten, tell me what’s happening. Please tell me this isn’t true.” Faith was clutching her robe around her body. This was the bad kind of vulnerable, and he was so sorry he’d made her feel it.
“This started out as a job, Faith. I intended to use you to take your father down. I sent Theo and Erin to soften you up. They herded you to me. There were no other Doms who would have been options at Sanctum. Only me because it was all a setup to get close to you.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, causing his heart to crack. Fuck, he hadn’t realized it could do that. He started to reach for her.
She stepped back. “You didn’t want me.”
“I wanted you the moment I saw you.” He wasn’t going to lie to her about that. Never. “I fell in love with you, but I have to leave.”
She nodded. “Yeah, you have to leave. Do you honestly think I’ll believe a word you say? How could you? How could you use me like that?”
“It’s my job,” he said. He had a shitty job.
“Go. I can’t…I can’t look at you.” Her jaw firmed and it was obvious she was trying to hold it together.
But he could look at her. So pretty. Someday a man who was worthy would come along and take care of her. She glowed when she was well taken care of. He could see her on her knees, submitting with that sweet passion of hers, giving him everything she had.
He would hold on to that.
He felt a hand on his arm and then the hard shove of metal to his spine.
McDonald stopped him before he made it out the door with his “escort.”
“This is far from over, Smith,” the senator said under his breath.
A thrill went through his system. He nodded, saying nothing, and then he was in the hallway. Far from over? Did the senator have plans? Some torture, perhaps? He could handle it. Time was what he needed. The longer he had before they put a bullet in his brain, the more time his team had to find him. Theo would call in Ian and Ian would take over. Eventually, if he stayed alive, Big Tag would ride in and save the day.
If Ian found him, he could find her. He could explain. He could protect her.
God, all he fucking cared about was Faith.
They pushed him along and Ten got ready for the fight of his life.
* * * *
Faith stared at the door where Tennessee had been. One moment she’d been safe and happy and in his arms, and the next there had been guns and accusations, and how the hell had he lied to her?
Hollow. She felt hollow.
“Baby girl, I need to talk to you.” Her father was the last one left in the room. His guards were gone, likely shoving her lover on a plane that would take him back to Dallas.
She wouldn’t see him again. Wouldn’t hold him. Wouldn’t touch him.
He’d made promises. He’d lied.
“I want to go to bed.” She didn’t want to listen to her dad. She didn’t want to hear how she’d fucked up and brought more trouble into his life.
How was he gone?
An urge to go after him overtook her. She needed to get dressed and go find his ass and have it out. That hadn’t been a good-bye. That had been an excuse, a fucking apology. She didn’t want an apology. She wanted his balls. She could keep them in a jar of formaldehyde and always know she’d had her revenge on him because the very thought of that man moving on and finding some sweet sub to fuck made her completely crazy. When she was done with him, he wouldn’t be able to fuck anyone. Ever. Again.
She could do it. She could take his balls.
God, she wanted to see him. There was more to this. There had to be.
He couldn’t walk away.
She started toward the door. She didn’t need to get dressed. He liked her naked. At least his dick did. He couldn’t lie about that. Sure, maybe he got hard any time a woman walked into the room, but she could use that.
“Faith, you can’t go after him.” Her father stood in the way. It was easy to see he’d prepared for this meeting. It was after two o’
clock in the morning, but her dad was pressed and shiny in his two thousand dollar suit that could feed all the families who visited the clinic for a year.
“I need to talk to him.”
Her dad didn’t move. “I can’t allow that to happen, Faith. He hates me. I know what he said to you and I know it sounded very believable, but that man will do anything to bring me down. I found out he was working with the enemy last year. My aides gathered information and when I presented it to the CIA, they immediately disavowed the man.”
“They disavowed him?” She knew her father. She knew his tells. There was something he wasn’t saying. “One would think if he was the traitor you say he is, they would arrest him.”
Her father stood over her, looming in a way that made her feel about five years old and in need of protection. “I’ve got a file on him. I’ll let you read it. Faith, I know you won’t believe me, but I didn’t know until earlier today. He showed up on the security feeds and I might have missed it, but he turned just the right way, so I recognized him. He hates me. He admitted it himself. You were a job to him. I’m so sorry you got dragged into this.”
He’d also told her he loved her. Why would he do that? Maybe she could understand it if he’d stood his ground and asked her to choose, but it seemed cruel to tell her he loved her when all he was planning on doing was walking away.
He didn’t seem like a cruel man. Oh, she could believe he would hurt someone if he thought they deserved it.
Could he hurt her if he was out for revenge? Was telling her he loved her his final act of vengeance?
“I need to talk to him. If only to plant my foot in his balls.” She was going to have this out. He didn’t get to walk away scot-free.
Her dad blocked her once again. “No, Faith. He’s dangerous. This is a man who sold his own brother out for cash.”
Phoebe’s husband? Phoebe’s words flitted through her brain.
At some point my brother is going to fuck up and I’m going to beg and plead with you in advance to give him a chance that you don’t think he deserves.
Had Phoebe been trying to tell her something?
“I still want to talk to him.”
“Do you know some of the things he’s done? I wouldn’t let my dog be alone with that man, much less my daughter. Do you remember Dale Albertson?”
She nodded. He’d been her father’s aide for a couple of years. She remembered him as a lanky man. He hadn’t made much of an impression. He was only interested in politics. The few times she’d met him, he’d wandered off the minute she started talking about her job. Still, she remembered her father had told her he was trustworthy and useful. That was practically a declaration of love from her dad. “Yes.”
“Tennessee Smith tortured him. He brutally beat him for information about me. Dale killed himself because he couldn’t get over what Ten Smith had done to him. I wanted to take the bastard to court, but the CIA covered it up. It would have been embarrassing for the Agency. So in my mind, he’s gotten away with murder.”
“I don’t believe it.” Not her Ten.
Her father reached into his pocket and pulled out a thumb drive. “Then believe this. This is a file on Tennessee Smith and everything he did to hurt me and mine. It includes irrefutable proof that he was with Dale shortly before he was abducted in Dubai. Since then he’s been after every single member of this family. I suspect he’s the one behind the trouble with your vaccines.”
“That’s ludicrous. How would he even do that?” She couldn’t even fathom a world where he did that to her.
“He’s a resourceful man and he’s determined to bring down my entire family, including my girls. He’s found it hard to get to me so he switched to targeting you and Hope.”
“But the vaccine was clean.”
Her father was quiet for a moment. “No. It wasn’t. Baby girl, Hope called me in a panic. I bribed the lab to say it was clean because I didn’t understand what was going on. The vaccine was a trial drug. I don’t even know how the bastard got it, but he did. It’s a memory drug your sister’s been working on. Smith intended for you to find it and go to the press. He was going to claim that your sister and Kronberg were testing their drugs in a manner the FDA would utterly disapprove of. That would have decimated your sister’s career and taken down your clinic and all your good works. He knew how to really get to me. Through you and your sister.”
She wanted to believe him. God, he was her father, but she’d never felt for anyone the way she did Tennessee Graham. Smith. He’d lied about his name. How much more would he lie about?
Her father put a hand on her shoulder. “Will you read the file? Can you give me a chance? If you run off after him now, he’ll use his charm on you. He’ll pull you back in. I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”
She glanced toward the balcony. She’d found him out there not ten minutes before. She’d woken up and missed him. Would she wake up tomorrow and every day after missing him? He’d lied to her. They’d all lied to her. Theo and Erin. Ten. All the people at Sanctum. One big lie. She’d thought she’d found a home and all she’d found was betrayal.
“I’ll read it.” Maybe it was better this way. If she confronted Tennessee right then, she wasn’t sure if she would really cut his balls off or cry in his arms and beg him to take her with him. She might melt at his feet and take him any way she could.
She was pathetic and she wanted to believe what he’d said. She wanted to believe that he’d loved her.
She should try to be rational. Logical.
Her father handed her a thumb drive. “Everything you need to know is on here, sweetheart. Read it and we’ll talk about it all in the morning. I can’t tell you how sorry I am that you got dragged into this. I love you. I know we’ve had our problems, but I would do anything to protect you, Faith. When your mother died, I vowed to her that I would protect you. I vowed it on her grave and I failed today. I let that man hurt you.”
Hurt. It was a silly word for what she felt. Hollow. Scraped raw. Her very bones seemed to ache with the loss.
Her father sighed heavily and stepped back toward the door. “I’m going to give you some time. Don’t be surprised if you see more security around the island for a few days. I’m worried about you and Hope. I can’t trust that man not to try to hurt you in a physical way.”
Had he already? Had he been the one to send the man who tried to kill her? Her mind whirled with conspiracy theories. Ten could have hired the assassin and then taken him out himself in an effort to send her right into his arms. He had the backing of one of the world’s elite security companies. McKay-Taggart could have sent agents to set her clinic on fire.
“He tried to burn down my clinic.”
“Bastard. I knew he was going to try something like that. He’s had men working in your clinic for months. I’m sure one of them set the place on fire to hurt you. Don’t you worry. We’ll rebuild what he destroyed.” Her father’s eyes widened. “I should have killed him.”
“Maybe you should have.” She turned away. Now she really wanted to be alone. She would read everything her father had on Ten Smith.
The question was what could she believe when her father had just lied to her?
She’d said he’d tried to burn down the clinic. She’d wanted to see what her father knew and he’d stepped right into it. She hadn’t told him she’d lost a building and yet he knew. Beyond that, Tennessee had zero reason to burn down the clinic. He would have wanted it whole if what her father said was true. He would have wanted those vaccines so she could test them again and begin his nefarious campaign against them all.
But her father hadn’t batted an eyelash as he’d let the man take credit for the crime he’d very likely committed himself. If her father had lied about that, what else was he lying about? She wasn’t an idiot. She knew her father was capable of doing nasty things to keep his position.
“I love you, baby.” The door closed quietly as he left.
And she was left with
a million questions and a very broken heart.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Well, he’d made it inside the building. It wasn’t exactly the way he’d thought it would be. Far from it. He’d envisioned a covert operation. Sneak in. Sneak out. Not that he would be hanging from a hook, battered and beaten once again.
“Would you like to tell us where your friends are, Smith?” The head of the torture squad was far more slender and refined looking than any man wielding a cattle prod should be.
“I would love to tell you.” He was still feeling a bit feisty. He needed this session to last for a good long while. He thought about how long it would take for Big Tag to get from Dallas to the islands. He might need a week. Could he make this last a week?
Where was Faith? Did she hate him now? The first woman—the only woman he’d ever loved and she would likely go to her grave hating him.
“We’re waiting, Mr. Smith.” The prod in his hand crackled with energy.
Yes, they were all waiting. This was a waiting game now. “I would love to tell you, but I don’t know. They’re probably halfway to Dallas by now.”
“They aren’t. We’re monitoring all aviation on and off the island. They’re still here and your life is going to be so much easier if you simply tell us where they are.”
“I’ve always preferred complicated. So much more interesting.”
“Tell me something. Do you find this interesting?” The asshole touched the cattle prod to his side.
His whole body clenched, muscles firing off in seemingly impossible patterns, bones threatening to break. At least that’s what it felt like. Sucked to be a cow.
The prod was removed, but his body continued to shake. He hated this. Hated the loss of control. Loathed the vulnerability.
He wanted Faith. He wanted to be in bed with Faith, to roll over and find himself in her arms. Safe and warm and wanted.
