“Yes, thank you so much!” Cat said breathlessly.
Men in dark suits hurried toward them from several directions—more casino guards. And then Genie spotted more who, by the way they were concentrating on her, could only be Emerich’s men. Behind her, the elevator dinged. The doors opened and Kyle stood inside, looking for all the world like a worried boyfriend.
He stepped forward, but halted just inside the doors. “Thanks gentlemen, for rescuing my girls.” As they started to slide closed again, he barked, “Now.”
Genie and Cat jumped into the elevator. The doors whooshed shut before the guards could even move.
“Nice timing,” Cat said.
“Thanks.” Kyle regarded her. “You must be Cat.”
“And you’re Kyle.”
His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. “Heard about me, eh?”
“You know it,” Cat said.
Then he was all smiles. Wide, charming, showing off his adorable dimples. “All good, I hope.”
Genie swallowed a groan and changed the subject. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Cameron wants all of you flown back to D.C. and secured in a safe house.”
“Would love to. But I can’t do that,” Genie said. “I have to get to the island and find our father. I’m not going to sit in some safe house twiddling my toes while Dad’s in danger.”
“You don’t know he’s—”
“And you don’t know he’s not. I’m not taking any chances.”
Kyle held up both hands. “Fine. Can we talk about this in the bird?”
Genie snorted. “You mean while you’re flying? I don’t think so.”
“Can you at least hang around long enough for us to figure out what we’re up against?”
“Kyle’s the planner. I’m the doer,” Genie explained matter-of-factly to Cat.
“I see that,” her sister said, obviously stifling a smile.
Kyle’s jaw ticked.
“We will form a plan,” Genie reassured him. “Just as soon as we get more information from my Dad’s estate.”
Kyle muttered something under his breath. “All right, but for now can we focus on getting all of you out of Reno in one piece?”
“Sounds like a sensible plan to me,” Cat said.
Kyle turned to her. “You also need to be prepared for major damage control with the Senator.”
Cat looked grim. “You mean the old dragon herself? No way. That woman’s a viper.”
“Oh, come on, Cat. No one scares you,” Genie said.
“You haven’t met my mother-in-law. And if there’s one thing the Senator hates, it’s the CTA, and once she learns her precious son is married to none other than Stuart Marsters’ daughter, all hell will break loose and Armageddon will descend.”
Genie looked at Kyle. “Do we have to tell her?”
“Absolutely. Until we know why your family is being targeted, the Senator is going to have to take greater precautions herself. You need to read her in. Tell her everything that has been happening. And tell her soon.”
“Oh, great,” Cat moaned. Cat nodded unhappily.
They reached the rooftop and Cat spotted her children and husband in the helicopter. Before she could take off, Genie grabbed hold of her sister and whispered close to her ear. “That was one of Emerich’s men. I got a reading off him. I don’t know why, but Emerich wants us. And. . . and I saw Becca.”
Cat’s mouth thinned. “With Emerich?”
Genie nodded. “What if she’s really alive, Cat? I don’t know how it could be possible, and I sure don’t know why she got involved in all this. But I have to find out.”
“How?”
“I need to find Dad. I have a feeling he has the answers.”
Cat hugged her hard. “Be careful, Genie.”
“I will.” She watched her sister run to the helo, climb onboard, and hug her kids and husband. Her heart squeezed. How she longed to go with them! To meet her brother-in-law and get to know her niece and nephew. For once in her life feel like a normal family.
Instead, she turned to Kyle. She wanted to touch him. To take his hand and make him understand why she’d had to leave him. How she wished—
But she didn’t do any of those things. “You know I can’t go with you.”
His mouth thinned into a hard line. “Genie, we don’t have time for this. Those men are going to be up here any second.”
Yes, she knew that, and she was using it to her full advantage. “Then you better get my sister and her family off this roof and out of here.”
“And what about you?” There was something in his eyes—apprehension? Worry? Whatever the emotion was, it hooked into her heart and gave a vicious tug.
She forced an unconcerned smile, pulled out his cell phone and handed it back to him. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. Always have, always will.”
“Genie—”
She shook her head. “Don’t bother. I’m not changing my mind.”
“You are one stubborn and impossible woman.”
“Don’t I know it?” She smiled again, hardening her heart and ignoring the little voice that said to listen to him. To trust him. Instead, she turned her back on her sister and on the man who had always been her biggest weakness, and ran across the roof toward the service door.
She was determined to find her dad.
And she was just as determined to find out if Becca was still alive. And if so, why she wanted the entire world to think she was dead.
Chapter Four
“Damn,” Kyle muttered as Genie disappeared back into the building. He couldn’t go after her; he had her family to take care of. But then, she’d known that. He wished he could let her go, fly back to D.C. with Cat and put Reno and Genie long behind him. Sometimes he wondered if this job was worth all the headaches. And there was no bigger pain in his ass than Genie Marsters. That woman burrowed a hole under his skin, and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t seem to get her out.
He turned and hurried back to the helicopter and buckled himself into the cockpit. Just as he started to lift off the roof, the door burst open and four men in suits flooded the rooftop, guns raised in the air. He pulled up on the throttle and soared away from the casino, above the city toward Reno International Airport where a CTA jet was fueled and ready for takeoff.
He glanced in the back and observed Cat with her kids. She looked so damn much like Genie, for a second his heart lodged painfully in his throat. She had the same eyes, the same cheekbones, and the same long, wavy blond hair. Except there was a softness to her smile and genuine warmth in her startling blue eyes. This was what Genie would look like if she was a mom and her heart was overflowing with love instead of shriveled with fear.
He looked away from Cat, willing himself to forget about Genie, to push her out of his mind. But he couldn’t seem to stop worrying. If there was a fire, Genie was always the first in line to run into it. She was infuriating and reckless, and right now, so worried about her father, she was running headfirst into a whole lot of danger. And there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it. She wouldn’t let him help her.
He landed at the airport and was soon escorting Cat and her family to the CTA jet. As Tom and the kids climbed the stairs to the plane, he held Cat back with a light touch to her arm. “Take care of yourself and those kids.”
“You aren’t coming with us?” she asked, though she didn’t look surprised.
“No.”
She gave him a sympathetic smile. “Then you take care of my sister.”
He grimaced. “I will if she’ll let me.”
“Genie never ‘lets’ anyone do anything. You just have to do it. She has . . . trust issues.”
No freaking kidding. He took a deep breath, but didn’t respond. Wasn’t sure he could. Wasn’t sure he wanted to.
She started up the staircase, but stopped and turned back to him. “My sister might be difficult but she’s worth it. If you want the prize, you need
to grab it.” She didn’t wait for a reaction, but smiled and continued up the stairs.
The big question was—did he want that prize?
He was probably crazy even to be considering it. Genie had gone alone, without backup, into that warehouse eight months ago in order to warn Becca that she’d been found out and that the CTA was running a sting on Sean Emerich. The bastard had escaped, and Kyle and Genie had both almost died in the explosion. Becca had died.
And Genie felt she couldn’t trust him? How screwed up was that? She was the most strong-willed, stubborn, impossible…
He sighed. But for some reason, Genie Marsters fired something deep inside him that he just couldn’t seem to extinguish.
As the door shut on the plane that would take Cat and her family to D.C., Kyle turned and hurried into the terminal. Genie would want to get to her father’s estate as quickly as possible, and since she refused to bring him in and let him help her, that would mean a flight to Seattle. He strode toward the departures board and looked for the next flight heading for Seattle, then headed for the gate. As he propped himself against a nearby pillar, a woman wearing dark sunglasses, tall and stunningly gorgeous with sleek blond hair pulled back in a bun, walked down the aisle toward the ticketing counter. He felt a jolt of satisfaction. He’d recognize the gentle sway of those shapely hips and that confident swing in her step anywhere.
He unpropped himself and slid into step next to her. “Hey, babe.”
Her eyes cut to him behind the shades. “I can’t seem to shake free of you, can I?”
“I’m the proverbial albatross around your neck.”
“Lucky me. Where’s my sister?”
“Flying high. I suggest we do the same. My bird’s still on the tarmac, refueled and ready to go. Johnny’s waiting for us.”
“Sorry, darling, but this is one trip I want to take solo.”
He gestured toward a man in a gray suit leaning casually against the wall. “I’d say Emerich’s men have other ideas. Looks to me like you’re going to need my help after all.”
She glanced at the man. “I’m not overly worried. I say we take him out back, work him over and find out for certain who he’s working for. Since you want to help so badly.”
“Would be a good plan if he was alone.” Where there was one bad guy, there were usually more not too far behind.
“No problem.” Suddenly, she changed direction.
Kyle made a grab for her arm and missed. Cursing, he forced himself to stand still as she slinked up to the man, ran her hand along his chest and whispered in his ear. The suit looked down at her, a smug smile on his face before she patted his chest and sauntered away.
Kyle hurried to catch up to her. “What’d you say to him?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Genie, stop playing games with me. I’m here to help you, and I have no intention of leaving you alone.”
“Ah, but Kyle, games are my specialty.”
“Genie,” he said, his voice low with warning.
She glanced over her shoulder while taking a step away from him, her eyes twinkling dangerously. “I said, catch me if you can.”
His heart lurched, and his blood pulsed, and damn if that look didn’t kick up his libido a notch. Why he wanted to catch her, to have anything to do with this woman, he couldn’t fathom. He strode forward and caught up with her. And the moment his hand slipped around her waist, resting on the familiar curves, absorbing her warmth, it was all he could do not to pull her up against him and kiss her right then and there. To smother her lips with his own and try to instill some sense into her.
Too bad that would be the farthest thing from sensible.
In his peripheral vision he could see Emerich’s men approaching. “One on the right.”
“Another on the left,” she answered, sounding slightly breathless—just as she had when he’d kissed her for real, back when they were a couple. Had she sensed what he was thinking just now?
He forced himself to focus. “I’m sure your friend in the grey suit is close behind us.”
“Yep. Looks like I might have to take you up on that helicopter ride,” she said with an edge of annoyance.
“Glad to hear it.”
She scanned the surrounding gates for another few seconds, then turned to him. “Oh, I always know when to give in and call uncle.”
He barked out a humorless laugh, pulled out his cell phone, and called Johnny. “Fire her up. We’ll be there in a sec. And we won’t be alone.”
He saw the airport police up ahead and leaned down to whisper in her ear, but was momentarily distracted by the scent of lilacs and honey. She smelled good, too good. But he couldn’t think about that. Not now. Not ever. He shifted back a step and pulled himself together. “You ready to make some waves?”
She glanced toward the enemy and nodded. “Thought you’d never ask.”
…
It took a little maneuvering, but Emerich’s men weren’t allowed into the restricted area that led to where Johnny had the copter waiting. Once they were settled inside the cockpit, Genie watched Kyle expertly handle the controls as he flew them away from Reno and toward Seattle.
She’d forgotten how much fun he was to work with. Forgotten how well they worked together. The memories came flooding back, along with all the warm feelings that went with them. He had come into her life and swept her off her feet with one dimpled smile. She hadn’t asked for it to happen, hadn’t wanted it to happen, but there it was. He seemed to be able to see deep inside her and always know what she was thinking, always give her exactly what she needed. But it didn’t matter. Not anymore. He was committed to his job at the CTA, and would never leave it. Not even for her. And she could never go back to working there.
“You might as well get some rest. It’s going to be a long day before it’s over.” Kyle’s voice came through her headset, and sent a pang of longing through her. She missed the sound of his voice. She’d just forgotten how much.
She turned to him, deciding to hold out an olive branch. Okay, maybe a twig. “Thanks for taking me to Seattle. I know it’s not what Cameron told you to do.”
His face gave away nothing. “Cameron ordered me to get you back to headquarters safely. I can’t do that if you’re insistent on running off on your own.”
She smiled wryly. Always the good soldier. “Sounds like semantics to me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already cleared it with Cameron. He’s on your side, you know. He wants to find your dad as badly as you do.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” she murmured.
“Don’t. We don’t know what’s been going on with you since the explosion, but you are one of us, Genie. You always will be. We’re here to help you. Never doubt that.”
For just a second his warm gaze held hers and she let it, pretending there wasn’t an eight-month wide gulf between them, full of distrust and betrayal. Pretending she really could believe what he was saying, about them, about the CTA. In a perfect world, she would believe. She broke their gaze, turned toward the window, pulled off the headset, and closed her eyes to sleep. Or at least to pretend. Because hers wasn’t a perfect world, and there wasn’t a bridge strong enough or wide enough to cross that gap.
No matter how much she wished there were…
…
Genie’s thoughts drifted back to that awful day when everything in her life had changed…
She remembered the sun beating down on her as she crossed the deserted parking lot and walked into the dark coolness of the large industrial warehouse building. Becca had texted her to meet there, but Genie was suddenly wary.
The warehouse had obviously been empty for a long time; its silent hallways were totally devoid of life. At first, she crept slowly along the concrete floor, going from one empty room to the next, wondering what her sister had been thinking. And where the heck was Becca?
Hulking shadows from piles of boxes reached menacingly toward her. She stopped and strained her ears, lis
tening for any movement, for any sound that she wasn’t alone in the building. That Becca was there. Somewhere.
She’d reached out with her special sense, searching for any impressions of her sister, of anyone. She’d gotten a slight vibration, an audible shimmer inside her head. Becca? She’d moved quicker, following the hallways deeper into the building. It felt as if the floor were descending, though the pitch wasn’t steep enough to be certain. She remembered the smell of mildew prickling her nose as the dim light from the row of windows all but disappeared.
That’s when she’d seen her, flitting between the shadows, a mirage zipping in and out of sight. “Becca!” Or had she?
And then she caught sight of her sister again. Smiling. “Catch me if you can, Genie!” Becca had taunted. It was a familiar childhood game they’d once played.
Genie wished they could go back to those days when they’d been happy and life was easy. Before their mother’s accident. Before their world had been torn apart. But as she turned the corner, Becca was gone again, ethereal as the dust motes dancing in the dim beams of light from the grimy windows.
Or had Genie imagined her in the first place?
She couldn’t be sure. She reached out for her sister, calling with her mind. A wave of fear washed through her.
“Run Genie! Run!”
Becca! But where was she? Why was she hiding? Each step took Genie deeper into the darkness.
A faint crackling sound stopped her. She listened intently, trying to decipher the noise. A snap. A pop. Then the acrid scent of burning reached her. Genie hesitated. Becca? Every fiber within her screamed to turn and run! But she had to find her sister.
She ran through one room after another until another sound stopped her—a beep beep beep. She took hesitant steps toward an open doorway, peered around the corner and saw a room filled with machinery. Through the bluish green glow of their lights she saw a figure lying on the ground, her mass of blond hair pulled back starkly from her face.
“Becca!” she’d screamed.
Genie rushed in, but before she could reach her sister, a massive explosion rocked the building to its foundation. Black smoke poured into the room. Flames licked at the walls. Genie tried to run through it, but it was no use. She doubled over, coughing and choking as the smoke burned her lungs until she could no longer breathe. She collapsed to the floor where the air wasn’t so thick and started to crawl, moving toward the front of the building. One hand pushing forward, then another until she collapsed, unable to move any farther, struggling desperately for air…
Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies Page 5
