Shadow of Doubt (An SBG Novel Book 2)

by P. A. DePaul

  Outside of the occasional hookups Cappy had nobody to blow steam off with when he needed a break from the team. Not healthy. At least Romeo had Magician or any of the other operatives in Delta to raise some hell with when a one-night stand wouldn’t do.

  Cappy had been too lonely for too long and if Romeo was reading the situation right, Michelle was in the same boat. A perfect match. And the chemistry between the two? Seriously off the charts.

  Perfect timing for it too. Romeo had noticed a trend and prayed for it to continue. First, Wraith had defied everything to save Grady, her soul mate and, fingers-crossed, the next new operative in their world. Now it appeared as if Cappy had a chance to break away from SBG’s insular mold and find happiness for himself. With Victor behind bars and the Senator preoccupied with his son’s death, Cappy had a chance to make this work and solidify a new era for SBG.

  Michelle shifted in the seat for the thousandth time. She picked at her fingers and generally gave off the helpless, in-over-her-head vibe.

  In Romeo’s book, if Cappy believed in her innocence, he’d give her the benefit of the doubt and wait until all the evidence was in before making his judgment. He had worked alongside Cappy for too long, in too many shitty situations for Romeo not to trust the CO’s instincts. Of course, the possibility existed that the guy’s feelings for Michelle colored his objectivity, but Romeo seriously doubted it. One thing he learned long ago: Cappy never put himself above the team. Then again, the man had never been faced with a situation like this either.

  Michelle sat forward. “Can you answer a question for me? Is the video the only reason why everyone thinks I did this?”

  “I haven’t even begun yet,” Senator Harris postured.

  “I think we can answer one for her before we get back to it,” Romeo answered in a voice he reserved for unpredictable jackasses. “It’ll make a good segue to the next line of questions anyway.” He flicked a glance at Mag, then Isis. The two women continued to pretend the other didn’t exist. Fine by him. He had no desire to get caught up in their weird dichotomy where the rules changed in a blink and no one gave him the update.

  He stood to help play up the Special Agent angle for a second. “You may not be aware of this yet but the FBI, with the U.S. Marshals tagging along, executed a full search warrant in your apartment yesterday within five minutes of learning your identity.”

  Michelle jerked and swallowed hard, her eyes filled with a mixture of anger and fear.

  Hmmm. Normal fear regarding law enforcement or something more behind the reaction?

  Crappy grimaced, but didn’t seem real surprised. They all had played this game too many times to know the search was bound to happen.

  “We’re just waiting on the results of certain forensic tests,” Romeo continued. “As far as the rest, you know we’re not supposed to talk about the case we’re actively building against you, right?”

  “Stiles,” Cappy growled, a huge frown tugging at his mouth. Had the man’s chest muscles just swollen when he crossed his arms?

  Romeo held in a laugh and crack about him being a puffing cock, and focused on Michelle. She was definitely a looker. With her height and curvaceous, solid frame, she matched Cappy perfectly.

  “Cappy, he’s right,” Senator Harris jumped in. “We shouldn’t discuss case details.”

  “Do you honestly think she did this after she told you how they met?” Cappy defended her, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder.

  An overabundance of touching, strong reactions, readiness to believe and defend everything she said, throwing a back-off-she’s-mine vibe, and oozing sexual tension? The guy had it bad, probably gone as far as fallen in love with her, though he wasn’t even close to admitting it yet, and she radiated the same.

  A strained undercurrent surrounded the two, proving Isis had been right by the pool. Something had happened, and by the way Cappy kept yanking his hand back or ripping his gaze away, he fought the attraction. Battle’s lost, man.

  “We only have her word for how they interacted in the club,” the Senator hurled back.

  “We can get the security footage,” Mag replied smoothly, standing and straightening her suit. “That would corroborate or disprove her story.”

  “It’s not a story,” Michelle lobbed. “Go ahead, get the tape. You’ll see it happened just like I said.” She pointedly looked around the room, holding everyone’s gaze and stopping with Romeo’s. “As far as not talking about the case you’re building against me, how can I prove I didn’t do it if I don’t know how to defend myself?”

  Bravo. His respect for her raised another notch. That’s right, honey, keep coming at me. He hoped she was innocent and Cappy worked through whatever held him back. Mag would benefit from having this fighter around to talk to. It was obvious from the scars on Michelle’s face and legs that she had suffered from some kind of tragedy. Mag could finally have a female to bond with about her captivity by the sex-slave dealers when she was undercover—she needed more than him and for some reason, she had never confided in Wraith.

  Romeo inclined his head. “That’s fair.” He pretended to capitulate. “But you didn’t hear this from anyone in this room. Got it?” Boy, did he mean that on multiple levels.

  She sat forward. “Agreed.”

  The Senator huffed.

  “You have something you want to say to the class?” Cappy asked the man.

  Romeo had to agree. The guy seemed a little more erratic than just a man who lost his son.

  “No. Just get on with it so we can get back to the real information needed.”

  Cappy dipped his chin, and Romeo took over again. “The video is a large part of it. SA Howard has been with the investigation from the beginning. She can tell you what evidence they’ve gathered so far.”

  Isis rose as if about to address the masses versus one civilian. She does love her theatrics.

  “There’re the basics,” Isis stated, holding up a hand to count. “The video being number one. The second most damning piece is your fingerprints on the champagne bottle.”

  “So?” Michelle blinked, her eyebrows furrowed as if trying to remember something. “I’m pretty sure I moved it to the side table before I closed the curtains.”

  “That’s true,” Isis agreed, “and in the video you held it by the lower half.”

  “Okay.” Michelle searched Isis’s face. “So . . .”

  “The fingerprints we found on the pieces were also on the neck.”

  Cappy straightened.

  “Neck?” Michelle pinged her gaze to everyone as if she hoped they’d tell her the punch line to the joke.

  “Pieces.” Cappy’s head snapped up. “Are you telling me Colin had been bludgeoned by the champagne bottle?”

  “Ding. Ding. Ding,” Isis chimed, pretending to shoot him with two finger-guns.

  Romeo winced. The boy’s father stood a foot away. A little respect for how his son died should be shown.

  Michelle jumped to her feet. “There is no way I could have done that!”

  “Why not?” Isis shot back. “You’ve already proven you could pick up the bottle.”

  “Barely.” Michelle began weaving in place. “Did you not see how drunk I was?” She stopped her demonstration and straightened. “That bottle was heavy. We hardly drank anything.”

  “So?” the Senator asked, planting his fists on his hips. “What’s your lack of consumption got to do with anything?”

  “I had to use both hands when I staggered to the table. There’s no way I could’ve gripped it by its neck and hit Colin with it.”

  “Why not?” Bob Harris retorted. “You could’ve held it like a baseball bat.”

  “And if the contents fell steadily out in that position, the bottle would’ve gotten lighter,” Isis continued to hammer at Michelle.

  The muted sound of bones cracking preceded C
appy as he took a step forward, but Romeo discreetly held up a hand. They were finally getting what they needed and Cappy raging like a love-whipped schoolboy wouldn’t help anything.

  Cappy’s jaw tightened and Romeo could’ve sworn he heard the guy’s molars grinding.

  “Is that what happened?” Michelle placed a hand to her mouth.

  “You tell me,” Isis answered instead.

  “I didn’t hit Colin with a bottle. I couldn’t have even if I tried.”

  “Why?” Romeo asked, the tension inside him rising higher.

  “He wasn’t as drunk as me. He’d have dodged an attempt with no problem.”

  “Not if he was handcuffed to the bed.” Isis dropped the final damning piece of evidence.

  Michelle paled and stumbled back. Cappy caught her and tucked her under his arm. She shook her head, mumbling, “No.”

  Cappy thrust his chest out and glowered at Isis. “Handcuffed? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Colin Harris had been found in the bed with his arm handcuffed to the headboard.” She glanced at the Senator who turned and stared out the window. “Bludgeoned, with pieces of the champagne bottle all around him and the floor.”

  Michelle’s eyes widened, her skin leeching even more color as she continued to shake her head in denial. “He was alive when I left, I swear.”

  Come on, come on, come on, Romeo silently willed. Say it. What happened?

  “Do you still have the video?” she asked instead.

  “Ted!” Cappy bellowed, causing Michelle to jump and push out of his arms.

  “Already have it up!”

  “Watch.” Michelle waved toward the dining room. “You’ll see, he was still alive.”

  Romeo exchanged a look with Mag. Had Michelle seen a different video than they had?

  Magician shook her head and shrugged as if to answer his silent question.

  “Can you fast forward to after I shut the curtains?” Michelle asked, following the group and finding a spot between himself and Cappy.

  “What am I looking for?” Romeo asked after Ted accommodated the request.

  On the screen, Drunk Michelle bolted out of the room and paused, looking back into the bedroom.

  “There!” Michelle pointed. “Colin was alive and shouting at me.”

  Romeo winced at Drunk Michelle ralphing in the corner before stumbling out the door.

  “That’s not proof,” Isis said. “You could’ve just as easily been mortified at what you had done.”

  “What was he shouting?” Romeo asked at the same time, worried for Cappy.

  The CO’s face was unreadable except for the pulsing vein rising in his forehead. Did the man see how they still had nothing to back any of Michelle’s claims?

  Michelle swallowed hard. “All kinds of nasty stuff.” Her eyes slid to the Senator and her cheeks flamed redder.

  Yeah, having Daddy in the room made this suck harder but they needed to know. Romeo waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about him. What did Colin say?”

  Cappy opened and closed his hands by his sides, his eyes now hard and glittering.

  Michelle closed her eyes for a moment then answered, “He sneered how much I had a reputation for liking it rough and kinky. Then he called me a tease for role-playing with everyone but him.”

  “Goddamn son of a bitch,” Cappy exploded.

  Michelle flinched.

  The Senator stiffened and opened his mouth, but Romeo couldn’t let the two men go at it. His gut told him something more beyond Friday night was going on. “Anything else?”

  Her hand covered her mouth again and the trembling increased. “I don’t remember.”

  “Bullshit,” the Senator spat. “Why the theatrics then, if that’s all he said? From the sound of it, you’re not a naive virgin, unaware of what going to a man’s hotel room means.”

  Cappy’s iron gaze shifted to the politician and every impressive muscle inflated, his fists now in tight knots.

  As if sensing the impending beat down, Wraith asked, “If you didn’t hit him with the bottle, why did you run out of the room all upset?”

  At her small catch, Cappy tore his gaze away from the Senator and slung an arm over Michelle’s shoulder. Her skin lightened another shade, making pasty seem tan in comparison, and said softly, “He held up a pair of handcuffs.”

  A long growl emanated from Cappy’s throat.

  “So?” Isis asked, crossing her arms.

  Michelle hesitated, swallowing hard twice before whispering, “When I stumbled backward, he laughed and threw back the comforter, revealing the other pair already secured to the far side of the bed.”

  A string of curses flew out of Cappy’s mouth as he swiped his hands over the top of his head and paced away, every muscle rippling. The absolute fury and homicidal rage pouring off the CO as he circled made Romeo’s mouth dry.

  Oh man. Something major had gone down six years ago, probably in Colombia—and he was almost positive they weren’t talking stateside but the country.

  Suddenly, a few more pieces fell into place. Cappy revealed his real name to the team because Michelle knew him from before SBG. He also admitted his last mission as a Green Beret was classified. His intense affinity for Michelle hadn’t happened overnight, and now this reaction to handcuffs . . . Cappy hadn’t just pedestrianly “met” her like he led everyone to believe. Romeo would bet his next paycheck the CO had rescued her from sadistic bastards when he was still in the Army.

  With every fiber of his being, Romeo knew the few scars he had seen wouldn’t be the only ones she carried. He’d stake his life she was covered with them.

  The woman had been cuffed and tortured and Cappy had witnessed the aftermath.

  Fucking hell.

  Michelle hugged herself, her shoulders slumping and her gaze unfocused on the monitor.

  Magician inched closer to Romeo and Cappy rejoined the group, his jaw and eyes completely granite.

  “I don’t get it,” Ted said in the silent, tense room. “If Colin had handcuffs, why is it a surprise he was found locked to the headboard?”

  Michelle quivered and Cappy lasered his gaze onto Ted.

  “Because,” Grady answered in his deep Carolina drawl. God bless him. Cappy was either ready to tear the genius in half with his bare hands or draw his SIG and be done with it in one shot. “They weren’t meant for him.”

  A large sob racked Michelle’s body and Cappy closed his eyes, uttering a curse before curling her into his chest.

  “Oh.” Ted slammed his mouth closed and his ears turned pink. He glanced at the paused computer screen then back at the group. “Then how did he end up in them?”

  A sheen of moisture covered the CO’s eyes when he opened them.

  Such raw emotion pouring from the normally aloof guy humbled Romeo and made his heart bleed for them. By the partial glaze, Cappy’s mental video of whatever hell he freed her from had probably pressed Play.

  Romeo pulled Magician under his wing and rubbed her bicep. She stiffened at first then incrementally relaxed and shifted her weight against him. He inhaled the soft scent of cinnamon, her signature scent, but it did nothing to calm his imagination. He kept picturing Michelle handcuffed to a ratty bed, covered in blood, and surrounded by men holding various weapons, including their cocks, who were laughing and planning to do worse. What a cluster. He blinked the images away.

  A cold chill swept over his skin, making him glance across the semi-circle to find Isis’s gaze narrowed on him. He raised an eyebrow. The last time they had an actual honest conversation—granted, copious amounts of alcohol had been involved—she’d admitted she had a thing for Talon. Something about Romeo equaling fine wine and chocolate while Talon represented whiskey and violence. Talk about a match made in hell.

  Michelle’s shoulders shuddered a
nd Magician slipped from his grasp.

  A sudden emptiness tweaked his gut, but he ignored it. Within moments, Mag returned holding a roll of toilet paper. Cappy blinked a few times and Magician tore off a wad for him.

  Wraith untangled herself from Grady and rallied to Michelle’s other side. She rubbed the suffering woman’s back, and that’s when Romeo got it. His two teammates had just said, without any words, they’d suspend judgment and offer their support.

  Cappy’s confusion morphed into a grateful smile as he exchanged meaningful looks with both women.

  The Senator shifted his feet, peering at every person in the room, silently demanding an answer. When no one said a word, he snapped, “Well? Ted’s right, how did Colin end up in the handcuffs? What’s the significance? Why the big deal over a little bit of kink?”

  Chapter 33

  Warm tears soaked into his skin, making Cappy feel completely emasculated. To see this little warrior reduced to this slayed him. Damn, he longed to transfer her pain into himself, where it belonged. He should’ve been faster, known sooner, so she’d never have to relive one minute of that hell.

  Michelle sniffed, cleared her throat, then pushed against his chest. He reluctantly let go and Magician thrust the roll of toilet paper toward her while Wraith patted her back. Michelle accepted the tissues with an embarrassed smile.

  After wiping her face, she fiddled with the three-ply. “That little bit of kink is one of my worst nightmares,” she answered, her voice now gravelly. “I can’t tell you how Colin ended up in the cuffs. One second he’s sneering about how I must like to be ordered around, then the next he’s shoving me onto the bed.”

  Every synapse in Cappy’s brain exploded. Goddamn he wished it was possible to raise the dead so he could kill the little prick himself.

  Cappy unlocked his jaw and bit out, “She most likely experienced a PTSD episode. I’d guess a cross between the one you all saw by the pool and the one that gave Talon that trophy.”