Circle of Deception

by Carla Swafford

  A quick glance up and she caught Jack’s gaze drifting back up from where her stiff nipples pushed at her blouse. She lifted her chin and crossed her arms. Tempted to chafe her arms as if she was chilled, she refused to lie to him and herself.

  “I’m a professional. If needed, I’ll do it, but you better be sure Rex understands that’s all it is. A job and nothing more.” She pushed back her chair and stood.

  “I’ll expect nothing less from you and Rex.” He picked up a folder and tossed it to her. “Study this. There are a few facts you’ll need to know about his cover as Rurik Volkov. And I included his personnel file too. You deserve to know everything.”

  Everything?

  Abby looked at the folder in her hands. A sick feeling came over her. What would she learn? Did she really want to know? When he’d prepared to go to Peru, she’d never asked any questions. She knew as an arms dealer, he had an assignment that was more dangerous than others.

  The world of buying and selling arms was a small one, and it had taken Rex several years to establish his cover as a Russian American with no scruples when it came to making money. In fact, he’d been in Peru working on an arms deal at the time Abby had gone to New York to purchase a wedding dress. The Circle had set up her kidnapping and played on her belief, and later Jack’s, that Rex had died in Peru. Then Theo had produced pictures of Rex’s bullet-riddled body. At the time, she and Jack had no reason to mistrust The Circle. Not until a couple years later did the war start between the two covert organizations. She had no idea then she was fighting against the man she loved. The lies, so many lies. Not until later had they realized the OS had been innocent.

  Jack left her alone as she opened the thick folder.

  Clipped inside to the front flap was an old passport picture of Rex. At the time, his hair brushed his wide shoulders. With soft gray eyes narrowed and mouth straight, even grim, he appeared years younger, so exotic and yet a no-nonsense businessman. He looked nothing like the laid-back, sensual good ol’ boy she remembered.

  When she reached the year of her “death,” several pages from the OS’s psychoanalyst revealed Rex had been required to attend anger-management sessions. The order had come after he’d incapacitated three other operatives during a safety meeting. Most of the notes had sections blacked out, but one sentence had been missed:

  Mr. Drago exhibits severe grief behavior due to the violent death of a loved one.

  Tears welled as she blinked, fighting the urge to let them flow.

  She understood what it meant. She’d been there, done that. Only someone who had gone through the loss of a loved one could fully understand. When she’d heard the news of Rex’s death, she’d accused Jack of lying to her. For days, she’d told him he was wrong, but then the report came in. The Peruvian government had raided a terrorist camp. The same camp Rex had been visiting undercover as the arms dealer, Volkov. Everyone had been killed and the bodies dumped in a mass grave. The names released as evidence of their success. Rex’s undercover name listed in black and white.

  For months after she’d received the news that Rex had died, she moved from denial to anger to depression. Even after she moved on, the anniversary of that day haunted her. No matter how she fought it, as the day wore on, she would become pathetic, crying and drinking to forget the nightmare. But even in her worst moments, she’d never harmed another person. For Rex to feel such pain, to be so angry, how could she ever expect him to forgive her? Odd that, until she read it in his file, she’d never wondered what he’d gone through during that time. She selfishly had remembered only what she’d endured.

  She slammed the folder shut. Damn you, Jack! What was he up to letting her see his brother’s whole file? With a sigh, she shoved away from the table.

  It was time for her to truly move on and quit feeling sorry for herself. They were each alive but their relationship had been dead and buried years ago.

  REX TACKLED HIS brother. They rolled on the floor, fists slamming into ribs and kidneys. The hollow thuds filled the exercise room.

  “You bastard!” Though two inches taller, Rex still didn’t have an advantage. Jack fought dirty and didn’t make any bones about it.

  “Ha! What does that make you?”

  They rolled back and forth across the mat, not letting the other get an advantage. Jack broke free and jumped to his feet. Rex followed, lifting his closed hands, looking for another opening to slam his fist again into his brother’s nose. Blood coated Rex’s hands and Jack’s face, with more streaming down Jack’s chin onto his T-shirt.

  Jack darted to the side and landed another blow to Rex’s ribs, knocking the air out of his lungs. Rex bent down and inhaled deep as he looped an arm behind Jack’s knees and brought him down. Before his brother could move, he thrust his elbow beneath his chin.

  “I should end everyone’s misery and put more pressure on your trachea, you manipulative asshole.” It felt good seeing his brother’s face turning blue beneath all the blood as he leaned a little harder, blocking off his air.

  “Rex!”

  “Stay out of it, Abby!” Rex grinned down at his brother. “Don’t fuck around with my life, Jack.” He lowered his voice as he ground out each word between clenched teeth. “You’ve already done it once and I let you live, but don’t think for one minute I won’t kill you if you do that to me again. I have my limits.”

  The blue eyes staring at him looked so much like his mom’s, filled with pain and a little hopelessness, that he eased his hold. Jack took advantage of his lapse and brought his knee up. At the same time, he slammed his fist into the side of Rex’s head.

  “Enough!” Abby stepped between where he was curled up on the floor and his brother. With her hands on her hips, she faced Jack, daring him to go around her. “That’s enough! What kind of example of leadership are you showing your people?”

  Rex rolled onto his back and looked around. A large crowd surrounded the mats. He hated that Abby had come across them acting like hormonal teenagers.

  “We were sparring.” Jack lifted the end of his T-shirt to wipe off the blood.

  ABBY EYED THE bruises and blood on the men. “Yeah. Right. Sparring.”

  Before she could say more, a gleam shone in Jack’s eyes. “Be sure to tell your mom and brother about your newly acquired husband. Remember you have six days before becoming happily married to Rurik Volkov.”

  “Asshole,” she muttered at Jack’s retreating back. The spectators returned to their training while others followed their leader and left the room.

  “Your what?” Rex rolled over onto all fours and then stiffly rose to his feet.

  A clammy feeling washed over her. She’d hoped to break the information to Rex slowly and in private. When they’d been lovers, she’d hid everything about her past and her family, never stopping to think how she could explain the truth after they were married. Being involved with a covert organization had been only part of it, as any operative knew how family could be used against them. Her lying started after her mom kicked her out at the age of eighteen. Telling everyone that her family was dead eased the hurt a little. Then later, she almost believed it was true.

  A shadow fell across her face, drawing her back to the mess she’d started years ago. She looked up. Rex stood toe-to-toe with her, leaning over her with his huge tree-limb arms crossed over a broad chest. The sparks in his eyes reflected the intense anger he obviously held back.

  “You have some explaining to do.”

  “Is that like, ‘Hey, Lu-cy! You have some ’splaining to do’?” She really shouldn’t tease an overgrown ape when he was so close and pissed. Letting a wisecrack loose during tense moments was a bad habit of hers.

  He clasped her underneath her arms and lifted her until they were nose-to-nose. “I’m serious. We were going to be married. Had you started feeling guilty about lying? Is that why you never returned to the— Ugh!”

  Her first kick grazed his knee. She pulled her leg back to take better aim.

  �
��Put me down.” She dug her nails into the tender flesh near his wrists.

  “Dammit! What did you do, sharpen your claws?” He didn’t release his hold and neither did she. Then he began to shake her. “Stop it! I want answers!”

  Her hands slid up and gripped his upper arms the best she could, but the muscles were wider than her palms. The firmness beneath her fingers and the way he lifted her without a grunt reminded her of how easily he could toss her around and arrange her in any position for lovemaking. All those years ago, his strength excited her, just as much as his gentleness took her breath away.

  Memories heated the juncture of her thighs, causing tingles to race across her torso and up to her breasts. Her gaze dropped to his lips. One corner lifted in a permanent sneer from the scar on his face, giving him a lethal air. She found her lips only a breath away from his, and before the thought registered, her tongue darted out and traced the pale line of his scar.

  He flung his head back. His face whitened with unseen pain. A second later, he released her.

  Abby stumbled. She reached for his arm to regain her balance, but he jerked away as if he couldn’t stand having her touch him. A knot twisted in her chest. All romantic feelings dissipated as she tried to find her voice. She’d forgotten how he’d always ignored her questions about the scar. She guessed she wasn’t the only one with secrets.

  “Why did you lie to me about your family?” His gruffness softened with each word.

  “Can you say for certain that in our line of business operatives’ families are safe?” She rubbed her upper arms. “My father died when I was a teenager, but I still have my mom and brother. Edward is married with a little boy. I don’t want to see them dead.”

  “Using a lot of caution, it’s possible to keep them safe. People getting married should be able to trust each other, tell each other everything.”

  “Like you told me about when you and Jack were kids and how you got that scar?” His attitude was justified, but she didn’t care for his tone. He’d always brushed off any questions about his life before working for the OS. She’d let it slide to stop him from asking the same of her.

  “I told you, my childhood was nothing to brag about.” He pressed his lips together as if trying to hide the scar. “This isn’t about me.”

  “Ha! It’s more about you than you obviously believe.” A glance over her shoulder showed an empty room. Someone had closed the double doors. “We knew each other a total of six weeks when we decided to get married.”

  “Time isn’t important when a man and woman are in love.”

  “Love? You mean lust,” she said in a soft tone.

  Mary and Joseph! It hurt to say that to his face. She had a hard enough time trying to convince herself. Though she was tired of lying, the need to move on and quit hurting each other required her to say it. If Nic wasn’t the woman for him, he needed to find someone else. Only it couldn’t be her. She would hurt him again. That was a fact.

  He opened his mouth and closed it as his face darkened. Earlier he’d been angry, but that was nothing compared to the fury building in his eyes. His fists balled into massive white knuckles.

  “Enough about the past.” She raised her hand. He growled, grinding his teeth. A tremor started in her belly and traveled down her legs until her knees felt like jelly. If she didn’t know him the way she did, she’d be afraid for her life. The flames of hell shot from those beautiful eyes. Doing her best to show him that he couldn’t intimidate her, she gave him her back and sauntered toward the doors. “We need to concentrate on the mission to stop this asshole from selling any more heat-seeking bullets.”

  He grabbed her arm, pulled her around, and leaned so far down that she could feel his breath against her face. “Fine. We’ll be all about the job. But I won’t forget you told my brother what you refused to tell me.” His lips came closer to hers. “Remember, that lust you mentioned will come in handy the next few weeks. I expect a great performance for your mother and the rest of your family. You never know who may report to Brody. We can’t take a chance of being exposed.”

  She refused to move back or drop her gaze. He wanted to upset her with the promise of intimacy. Pushing down the desire to cover that mouth so close to her own, she lifted one eyebrow and cupped his groin. The semihard cock surprised her but she managed to keep her composure.

  “I believe you need to worry about yourself and your performance.” She squeezed.

  He groaned and shoved her away. “You think this is a game?” His chest rose and fell.

  “No.” She dragged her gaze from below his waist. “No. I’m dead serious. And I don’t want my family to turn up that way—you know, dead. It’s only because of my connection with Brody that I’m involved in this mission, and everything we do can endanger my family. I’m willing to chance it, this time. Brody Walker and whoever created and manufactured those bullets need to be stopped.”

  He moved around her and opened one of the doors. “That’s right. When I’m pumping into you, be sure to close your eyes and remember you’re doing it for God and country.” The door closed behind him with a solid bang.

  Abby shut her eyes and breathed deep. A shudder escaped as she lowered her head. Why did she feel like karma had decided to bite her on the ass?

  Pulling in another lungful of air, she lifted her head and straightened her shoulders. She needed a drink and a sympathetic ear.

  Chapter Five

  * * *

  “WELL, LOOK AT what the cat dragged in.” Olivia Ryker stepped out onto the patio of her country home.

  After nearly five days of training and working with Rex, Abby needed a break. Her nerves were wound up tighter than a miser staring at the offering plate on Sunday morning.

  Smiling until it hurt her face, she and Olivia hugged. There were few people she felt comfortable enough to hug, and strangely, the dangerous woman squeezing her tight was one of them.

  Laughter spilled out of the open doorway.

  Abby looked up and spotted Marie Ryker, Olivia’s sister-in-law, and Charlie standing inside talking. Disappointment weighed down her shoulders; she’d desperately wanted some one-on-one girl talk with Olivia. She shifted to high alert when she realized what Marie’s presence meant. She never left The Circle headquarters without her husband on her heels. If The Circle had royalty, Marie would be the queen and her husband, Arthur Ryker, king.

  “Come on. I’ll fix you a margarita too.” Olivia led the way through a bank of French doors into a sizable family room. “We were about to stir up a batch. The men are downstairs talking shop.”

  “How’s it going, Marie?” Abby asked, nodding at Charlie at the same time.

  “Fine. Good job on saving Rex the other day.” To Abby, Marie looked like a miniature adult, and standing next to Charlie, who was a foot taller, she appeared even smaller. No matter the woman’s size, Olivia had told her she had guts. Being married to a man like Ryker, a woman would need to be strong-willed or he would run all over her.

  “Thanks. I wasn’t alone. Rex went into a dangerous situation and despite the odds came out with what we were looking for.” She turned to catch Olivia staring at her. “What?”

  The glint in her eye worried Abby. “I’ve got an idea. We’ll have margaritas in a little while. Everyone come with me. There’s something you have to see.” Olivia walked past her and unlocked a door. Hanging on one wall were around twenty rifles and shotguns and a couple of machine guns. On the opposite wall were shelves with cases of ammo. From her prior visits, Abby knew there were more closets like it throughout the house. All set up as small armories in case of an attack, the rooms also had steel walls behind the drywall and could serve as panic rooms.

  “Take these.” She yanked off lightweight jackets from hooks, tossing them to her, Charlie, and Marie. Then she pulled a huge bag from the top shelf with a grunt. “I think I need to exercise a little more.”

  Curious as to what Olivia had planned, Abby followed her with a shrug. Charlie raised her
eyebrows and stepped in line, tagging along behind Marie. When they reached a large SUV in a garage holding about fifteen automobiles that ranged from an old ’66 silver Caddy to a new, just-off-the-line Jaguar XKR-S in Ultimate Black Metallic, Abby came to a standstill.

  “My goodness, girl. How do you decide on what to drive?”

  “Those are Collin’s babies. My baby is right here.” She patted the bag.

  Abby had a feeling something deadly was inside the olive-green duffel bag. The woman had an unnatural proclivity for weapons, sniper rifles in particular, and the bag was long enough to hold one.

  After a crazy quick ride out of the garage in a SUV and down the long drive, Olivia cut to the left and drove teeth-rattlingly fast over a field until all of the lights from surrounding houses disappeared. If Abby had a guilty conscience where Olivia was concerned, she’d be getting nervous at that moment.

  “What are you up to?” She held on to the dashboard as they came to a stop.

  “I bought myself a new rifle and haven’t tried it out yet. Collin thought maybe you would like to help me break it in.”

  Abby had been right. The bag’s contents were deadly, from-a-distance deadly, as in the sniper variety. “Well, I had hoped to share a drink with you.” She opened the door and nearly fell out onto the damp ground, her knees shaking from the jarring ride.

  The four women ambled over to a long table set up several hundred yards from a tall mound. They were at the Rykers’s private firing range. The upper beam of the headlights from the SUV lit up the area.

  Olivia unrolled what looked like a thin mattress and placed it on the ground.

  “I can’t stand for the creepy-crawly things to get on me.”

  As Abby handed each part of the rifle to Olivia to assemble, she recognized it. Similar to Olivia’s favorite rifle, the only difference was a missing microcomputer on top.