This was the right thing to do.
It still sucked.
“Shelby?” Rusty called out.
“In the bathroom. Whatever the hell you ordered gave me the shits.” She turned on the fan and the faucet.
“Sorry, hey. Sliding this under the door.” A moment later, three condoms hit her foot.
Yeah, she was going to hell.
“Thanks, Rusty.”
“Any time. I’m headed to bed, don’t make too much noise.”
The tablet display went to the set-up screen. She plugged in her own information, feeling more and more rotten with each key stroke. In a matter of moments, she had Wi-Fi and email going.
The FBI monitored many of her accounts, so she didn’t dare log into any of them. Instead, she made a new account and plugged in the email from memory.
Now, what the heck did she say?
Need to talk.
—S
Shelby hit send and blew out a breath.
Her hands shouldn’t shake this much.
She bent and pocketed the condoms, then opened the vanity drawers. The tablet would need to be hidden. Somewhere no one would look.
The tablet chimed.
She groped for the volume buttons, silencing it even as she flicked her fingers over the screen.
It wasn’t a reply. It was a video chat invitation. Yeah, because talking to herself in a bathroom wasn’t suspicious.
Can’t talk here. Negotiate?
—S
Shelby sat on the toilet, her stomach knotting up.
This was it.
She’d do this. No second guessing to it.
A new message pinged moments later.
What is there to negotiate?
—I
How did she word this?
Ogden would take everything she offered. Her knee-jerk decision was to give him whatever he wanted, but that was stupid.
I want Kade safe.
—S
She bit her lip and waited.
A new email from a third party chat program created a grand total of two conversations.
A friend wants to chat with you!
Yeah, that’s what Ogden wanted.
She tapped the invite and waited for the interface to load.
The only other user in the chat was Eros. Really? The Greek god of desire and attraction. That wasn’t exactly subtle. What was he trying to do?
Hadn’t her mother done a series of Greek god paintings? Damn. Shelby hadn’t thought about those in years.
Eros: Better.
Eros: What makes you think we have anything to negotiate?
S04574o: You’re here, aren’t you?
S04574o: You wouldn’t have answered my email if I didn’t have something you wanted.
Eros: What is that?
Oh boy.
She was either right or stupid.
S04574o: Me.
She waited, holding her breath.
Her lungs began to burn.
The seconds ticked on.
Had he left the chat?
Was he laughing at her?
Eros: I’m listening.
“Oh fuck.” Shelby bit her lip.
S04574o: Brent told me the plan.
S04574o: I know you set a trap for me.
Eros: It wasn’t a trap.
Eros: It was a stage.
The hell?
Was she…performing for the guy? Was that what this was about?
She’d often wondered if Ogden was off his rocker. This exchange made her wonder about the man’s sanity. He couldn’t spend most of his life in hiding without losing a few marbles, no matter how dangerous and capable he was.
Eros: What do you propose?
Eros: I have my good name to protect.
S04574o: What’s more important than a name?
Shelby closed her eyes. She couldn’t see the next words.
S04574o: Love?
Eros: Name your terms.
Shit.
He was going for it.
She had to be careful. Sneaky.
S04574o: You forget Kade and his brothers exist. You let them off the hook. No retaliation or pound of flesh.
Eros: And what do I get in return?
S04574o: Me.
Eros: I could just take you.
S04574o: You could. You probably know where I am now.
S04574o: But I’d fight you.
S04574o: We do it this way, I walk out of here willingly. I don’t run away.
She waited, but there was no reply. No acceptance. No haggling.
Had she over-played her value?
Eros: In five minutes, walk out the patio door. A man will meet you there. He will bring you to me.
S04574o: And you’ll forget Kade exists?
Eros: He’s not worth my time.
Eros: See you soon, Sharon.
Shelby shuddered.
This was a mistake, and yet it was the right choice. She couldn’t go back on her word now.
One way or another, Ogden clearly intended on getting at her. She’d simply assumed he had tabs on her, not that he was ready and waiting outside her door. Damn.
What now?
Five minutes to consider the rest of her life.
It wasn’t long enough.
Shelby opened a new email draft and began typing. She hadn’t gotten her thoughts down before her time was up. She set the email to send in an hour, powered down the tablet and stashed it under the vanity. Maybe someone would find it, but by then it would be too late. She’d be gone, and Ogden would cover his trail.
She flushed the toilet, turned the tap and fan off, then peeked outside.
Most of the lights were off.
Kade would still be waiting for her.
The poor guy. He deserved better than her sorry ass. Look what she’d made him do? Break into buildings. Shoot people. Team up with his brothers.
Kade would be better off without her, even with blue balls.
Shelby pushed her shoulders back and walked out through the patio doors. They were even unlocked.
Shadows shrouded the yard in darkness.
Weird—hadn’t she seen some kind of security light out there?
The hair on the back of her neck rose.
The grass rustled.
Shelby turned, sucking in a deep breath.
It wasn’t dark enough for her to not recognize that face.
“Hi, Shelby.”
“Rusty?” She gaped at her, her friend. Her handler. The man she’d spent the last few years working for.
“I guess we both made a bargain with the devil.” He jangled his keys. “Come on, before Kade wakes up.”
“What? What did you do to him?”
“Nothing. Just—a sleeping pill. Promise. I wouldn’t hurt him. You coming?”
She stared at Rusty’s back. He was wearing a black track jacket that made him harder to see. Had she ever known him? How long was this going on?
“When?” She trailed after Rusty.
“When he came downstairs to get the food. Said his head was hurting.”
“You…this was the plan.”
“Not really, but close enough.” Rusty opened the door to his car. “I’m sorry, Shelby.”
“How long?”
“A year. Get in. The security will cycle in a second.” Rusty’s tone was flat. Dead. This wasn’t him. And yet, it was.
She sat down, the blow hitting her harder than she wanted to admit.
To think, the one person she’d thought was in her corner all along, was really the person she should have been afraid of.
27.
Shelby stared at Rusty’s profile. Was his deception etched into his face? Had she missed it? He’d been good, she had to give him that. She still didn’t entirely believe this was happening.
What had he said?
He made his bargain a year ago?
That’s when they’d gotten closer. Things had changed.
Where had he been? What’d
happened? Why?
Think.
There was a bigger picture at work here. All of this, from the theft, to the sting operation and even now, it was an orchestrated plan. And she’d been blind to it.
They’d worked the Maui gig. Rusty had been different. She’d been a bit taken aback, but the truth was, this life was so lonely she’d taken his friendship at face value. They’d always been friendly, but…they’d become closer. Friendlier.
Why?
“What does he have on you?” Shelby knew Rusty. Deep down, he was a patriot. Someone who believed in the greater good bullshit stuff she was too jaded to buy into.
“This isn’t about me.” Rusty stared straight ahead. Poised. Calm under pressure. She’d never seen this coming. Was this the real him? Or was he hiding?
“What happened before Maui?”
They passed under a street light in time for her to see the minute twitch at the corner of Rusty’s mouth. She was right. Something had happened around the Maui gig.
“Is it family? A friend? Did you do something? Someone you were dating? Married?”
“Enough.”
“Married then. I knew you were seeing someone, I just didn’t—”
“That’s ridiculous.” Rusty glanced at her. “I’ve never been married.”
“You were—what? About to be?” She was onto something. She could feel it.
“Shelby—stop.”
“I’m going to die. Tell me why my only friend was planning to betray me. Come on.”
“I wasn’t—I didn’t know it would go this way.” He eased the car to a stop at a red light and turned to face her. “I really didn’t.”
There.
That was her Rusty.
His face creased with a mix of emotions. This was the face of a desperate man, trying to save someone. Who? Why? What was the leverage?
“Who was he? What happened?” Shelby felt like she was channeling Kade, with all his questions and insightful tendencies.
Rusty sighed and lay on the gas a little too hard.
Did she wear him down, or wait him out?
What did it matter?
She was doing this, going to Ogden, regardless. For Kade. Not Rusty or anyone else.
“I never… I haven’t talked a lot about my relationships at work. You…” Rusty sighed and pulled into the empty parking lot of a strip mall. He shifted into park and stared straight ahead, shoulders slumped. “What? What do you want to know?”
“What does he have on you? Were we ever fucking friends?”
“We certainly never fucked.” Rusty’s lips quirked up.
Shelby snorted a laugh and shook her head. This was her friend. And he was caught between a rock and a hard place. She just wanted to know she was doing the right thing here.
“I was dating someone. It was serious. We were going to skip the engagement and just get married. Somewhere exotic. Johnny was a pilot. He got hired to do a few under-the-table jobs on his down time. His mom had cancer, terminal, and he just wanted to make her comfortable.”
“Can I guess?” Shelby leaned her head back, a sick knot of foreboding in her gut. She knew this story. “He did a job for the wrong person, things went bad and now—what? Ogden is using him as…bait? Leverage?”
“Kind of. Ogden helped Johnny’s mom, put her up in one of his places, she gets the best care, but Johnny doesn’t get to see her.”
“Sounds like Johnny’s problem. How’d he get to you?”
“Johnny.”
“You two still together?”
“Johnny died.”
“Shit.” Wasn’t that a punch to the gut?
“At least that’s what Ogden told me.” Rusty glanced at her, his eyes so dark and tortured. What kind of hell had he been living in? “Ogden had him flying a deal, things went bad and Johnny got caught on the wrong side. Ogden let me believe Johnny was dead.”
“But he’s not?”
“No..”
“So—the investigation? All of this?”
“Happy accident.”
“I don’t believe in accidents. You don’t either.”
“Yeah, well, it’s easier if I try to believe that. For a year, Ogden left me alone, and then a couple weeks ago…Johnny calls me. Tells me he’s alive, that Ogden’s got him. What am I supposed to do, Shelby? I want him caught, but if he is…”
“Then Johnny dies.” She grimaced. This was the plan all along, then. It’d been set into motion before she even knew there was a chance to capture Ogden. “Ogden picked Johnny. He picked you. You’re deluding yourself, if you think it’s all coincidence.”
Rusty stared at the steering wheel, his head nodding the tiniest bit as she spoke. He might not be ready to accept reality, but there it was.
“Look, I get it. I’m agreeing to this because…because of Kade. So, I guess, if this will save two lives, it’s worth it.”
“It isn’t, though. You don’t deserve this.”
“Maybe I do?”
“You don’t,” Rusty said over her, the force of his voice making her ears ring in the confined space. “You don’t deserve this. Neither does Johnny. You’re both good people.”
Shelby reached across and covered Rusty’s clenched fist with her hand. They’d been out maneuvered. If she had more time, more resources or less heart, maybe she could see a way out. But she wasn’t willing to play with Kade or Johnny’s life because of it.
“Will you be able to find someone else for the Interpol job?” she asked.
“There isn’t anyone like you.”
“I have a few recommendations, if you want them.”
“Put them in an email.”
“What are you going to tell them about me?” What lies would he spin?
“I don’t know yet.”
“I was a flight risk. Tell them…tell them you think I ran because the way things are going I’m of no use. I’m just another criminal. That story should hold water.” And paint her to be everything she’d been trying to make right.
“You aren’t. You’re a good person, Shelby.”
“That doesn’t cover your ass, though.” She didn’t want to admit how easily that story would be received by everyone. “And when Johnny shows up, when Ogden lets him go, he’ll need you.”
“Why would you want to cover my ass?”
“You were still a friend part of the time. You aren’t that good of an actor.” At least that’s what she’d tell herself. “Besides, Johnny.”
“What about Kade?”
“Don’t tell him anything. You can’t lie to him, Rusty. He’s too good at picking apart liars.”
“Is that how he got to you?” Rusty shifted into drive and hit the road again.
Shelby opted to keep that answer to herself.
“Thank you, Shelby. I’m so sorry it’s come to this.”
“Me, too.”
She’d picked this path. Who or how she got this far didn’t matter. It was time to gird her loins, because her future wasn’t getting any better from here on out.
Someone was playing drums on Kade’s skull. He groaned and rolled over, pulling the pillow over his head in an attempt to block out the sound.
It didn’t work.
What the hell had he drank last night?
Kade rolled over to his back. Light filtered through the blinds. Even the dim light was too much.
Blinds?
He didn’t have blinds.
Kade peered around the foreign room. Fuck, he was still dressed and everything. What the hell happened last night? He groped for his phone but it was neither in his pocket nor on the nightstand.
He had a vague memory handing it to someone, and then—
Gil.
The heist.
Everything going wrong.
Fuck.
Kade swung his feet off the bed and sat up. The pounding intensified.
His mouth was dry. His head hurt. There was a lingering groggy sensation that wasn’t natural. It was like—
He’d been drugged.
“Shelby?” Her name came out slurred and unclear.
No answer.
Kade stumbled into the bathroom. He had this mental picture, looking at her in the mirror.
What happened?
He turned on the tap, cupped his hands and drank from the water. His stomach cramped almost immediately. Hunger. Dehydration. Drugged. What the fuck had happened? And where was Shelby?
A rat.
Kade straightened and turned off the tap.
Worst case scenario, someone drugged him to get at Shelby. Then where were all the FBI agents? Why weren’t they storming the room? What the hell was going on?
Kade glanced around, looking for something to use as a weapon or a defensive tool, but the bare necessities of the safe house didn’t lend themselves to that sort of help.
He pulled the door open.
It hadn’t even been latched, let alone locked.
The house was quiet, but there was still movement below.
He crept to the stairs, avoiding the first one because it squeaked a bit. He made it all the way to the ground floor without seeing a soul.
The living room was stripped bare, back down to the furniture.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll give you a call.” Rusty paced from the front office into the kitchen. He caught sight of Kade and waved.
Something was off. It wasn’t right.
If Shelby was gone—she’d been taken. Why wasn’t this a man hunt? Was this the Twilight Zone?
Rusty hung up the phone and took a few steps toward him, hands on his hips.
“What happened?” Kade asked.
“She’s gone. I’m sorry, man.” Rusty shook his head and scrubbed his hand across his mouth. He never took his eyes off Kade.
“Where’d she go?” He remained still, the pounding in his head muddying his thoughts. Something was wrong.
“Away? No clue. I guess…she thought with the way things went down, her best option was to run.”
Too much eye contact.
Rusty was hardly blinking.
Usually, people glanced around, maintained eye contact for a few seconds. Rusty was…still. Watchful.
He was lying. About which part, Kade didn’t know.
Her Prince (Twisted Royals #2) Page 24
