Wicked as Lies

by Shayla Black

  “He recognized you,” she said once the man had gone on.

  “Yeah. He’ll probably say something at the reception. Follow my lead. It will be fine.” Zy sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than her.

  Once they’d made their way to the back of the garden-style venue, she caught sight of Josiah and Ashley holding hands, acting as if they were the only two people in the room. On the other side of the open space, Cutter and Rebecca did roughly the same thing. Tessa was grateful for the excuse to wrap her hand around Zy’s steely arm and press close.

  When they found the reception hall, Zy tried to skirt the receiving line, but Dr. Waxman caught sight of him and waved him over.

  “Chase! I thought that was you.”

  “Great to see you, Doctor.” His smile was counterfeit. “Beautiful wedding. I’m happy for Kendra and her groom.”

  “Thanks. I’m surprised to see you here.” The older man laughed. “I guess you’re representing your family tonight? Jennifer told me your folks couldn’t make it because your dad was summoned to DC for a senate hearing on Monday.”

  Tessa tried to hide her surprise. Why would Zy’s dad be testifying on Capitol Hill?

  “Sounds about right.” Zy shrugged noncommittally. “Beautiful event.”

  “It was. You know, there was a time Jennifer and your mother hoped that you and Kendra…” He smiled tightly. “But she’s happy with Brian. And…is this lovely lady your date?”

  He held out his hand to her, and she automatically took it. “Tessa Lawrence.”

  Zy leaned in and dropped his voice. “We’re here working for Colonel Edgington and his sons.”

  Comprehension dawned on his lined face, and he clapped Zy’s shoulder. “Good to hear. I knew the man was smart.”

  “Thanks. I don’t want to hold up the line. Congratulations.”

  Before Waxman could say anything else, Zy yanked her out of the receiving line and led her into the expansive ballroom draped in white, accented by arrangements of greenery and white hydrangeas that cascaded from the ceiling, along with massive chandeliers. Similar bouquets dotted the linen-draped tables, along with pale candles and crystal.

  “Fuck,” he muttered as he led them to a table to the right of the bridal party’s and seated her.

  “You’ve more than met the man. Your father is friends with him?”

  “I— Well, it’s…” He sighed as he sat. “Yeah. At least they used to be. I don’t know anymore.”

  “If they’d hoped at one time that you and Kendra might get together—”

  He snorted. “That was never going to happen.”

  “But you knew her.”

  “I did.”

  Tessa tried not to be hurt that he wasn’t forthcoming. After all, they weren’t a couple; his past was none of her business. But she didn’t like him being tight-lipped. Was he ashamed of something? Or did he not trust her? “Look, it’s none of my business, but—”

  “My father was fucking Kendra, okay? The summer after I turned sixteen, I caught them together. In bed.”

  “Oh, my god.” She gaped. “But Kendra is your age…”

  “A year younger, actually.”

  His father had been having sex with his friend’s fifteen-year-old daughter? “What did you do?”

  “If you’re asking me whether I told anyone, I didn’t. No one would have believed me. When I asked Kendra what the hell was going on, she told me she’d wanted better sex than her bumbling boyfriend could give her and that my dad was very accommodating.”

  Tessa felt sick to her stomach for him. “You must have been disillusioned.”

  After all, her own father’s choices hadn’t been anywhere near that horrible, and their relationship was still rocky.

  “About who my dad is?” He leveled a cynical stare her way. “No. Unfortunately, he didn’t surprise me at all.”

  Just then, other people sat down at their table, full of chatter. She and Zy fell silent, which was fine. Tessa didn’t know what to say.

  After a scrumptious dinner, the new Mr. and Mrs. cut their wedding cake and danced, all smiles. Tessa could hardly reconcile that the fresh-faced bride in front of her had allowed a grown man to defile her at fifteen. And if his dad’s behavior hadn’t shocked Zy, what did that say about their relationship?

  Tessa made small talk with a woman who sat beside her, a distant cousin of the groom’s. Around her, music played, people laughed, family gathered, and love abounded. All she could feel was Zy’s big, silent presence beside her as he kept a watchful eye on the festivities, doing his job judiciously.

  Josiah and Ashley pretended lust during a slow dance. If she’d only looked at their body language, Tessa would have believed them. But their astute gazes told a different story… Cutter and Rebecca seemingly argued in a back corner. Afterward, he propped himself against a wall while she scanned the room, acting as if she’d rather ignore him. Tessa wished she had any idea how to contribute to this evening, but all she’d managed to do was stir up bad memories for Zy.

  “Dance?” he asked suddenly.

  She whipped her stare to him. He was serious. He wouldn’t ask if it would interfere with the mission, right? “Sure.”

  He stood and held out his hand. She slid her palm into his, and awareness crackled through her body as they made their way to the dance floor. When they reached it, the song changed to a power ballad sung by a woman who crooned that the pieces of her heart ached for her missing lover. It felt so good to be in Zy’s arms, but she couldn’t get lost there. It was temporary. In three minutes, the music would change and they would go back to their table to smile politely and watch the party around them.

  Despite the self-pep talk, Tessa closed her eyes and relished her moments close to Zy.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

  She looked up at him. “About what?”

  “Earlier. I don’t like to talk about my dad and Kendra.”

  “I understand. Who would? If it helps you, my dad and I are in a rough patch, too. My mom died just before Christmas last year. I knew he didn’t have any idea how to take care of himself, but I never expected him to marry another woman six weeks later. Hallie was born three days after their Vegas wedding. We’ve barely talked since. I’m angry, and his new wife, Kathleen, doesn’t want him to have anything to do with his old life. She even made him sell the house I grew up in because she refused to move in with him because he’d lived there with my mom. He’s never even seen Hallie except in pictures.”

  Zy stopped scanning the room. “I had no idea. I’m sorry.”

  His expression told her he genuinely meant that.

  “Thanks. It’s been rough. I was always a daddy’s girl.”

  He brought her a little closer and held her a little tighter. He didn’t say anything more, just dropped a kiss on the top of her head and comforted her in the circle of his strong arms. He was her fortress from the storm of the outside world.

  When the music ended, they continued swaying until a dance tune forced them apart. Then he led her back to their table, where they sat without incident for the rest of the evening.

  Kendra waved to the room in general as she and her groom departed for their honeymoon. Cutter and Rebecca followed at a discreet distance. After that, guests started calling it a night and filtering out. Dr. Waxman and his wife, a petite, middle-aged brunette with sensible hair, left, as well. The older man clapped Zy on the shoulder on his way out the door. Josiah and Ashley trailed them to ensure their safety.

  That left her alone with Zy in a room quickly emptying of guests.

  He pressed a hand to his ear. “All clear.” Hunter must have replied with something affirmative, because Zy nodded and took her hand. “Let’s go.”

  Silently, they entered the elevator, and he pressed the button for the tenth floor just before he disassembled his communication device, turned it off, and shoved it in his pocket.

  Their ascent began quietly. Tessa yearned to say something, bu
t what? Their time together was almost over, and she looked at him, already aching for the moment they’d have to part.

  Suddenly, he stabbed a button on the elevator panel. The car lurched to a stop.

  “Fuck it.” He grabbed her hand again.

  Her heart started racing. “What are you doing?”

  “I don’t know. There are so many things I want to do with you. To you. Baby, I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”

  “I haven’t stopped thinking about you, either.”

  He wrapped his fingers around her arms and pulled her against his body. “I’ve tried to act like you’re just a co-worker or a friend, but I can’t anymore.”

  Never mind racing, her heart now thundered in her ears.

  Tessa knew that pursuing anything with Zy wasn’t smart. She had Hallie to think about. And being with him might end their careers or shatter her heart. In that moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care. “I can’t, either.”

  Zy cupped her face, his eyes impossibly bluer as he stared. “You’re serious?”

  “Yes. Are you going to kiss me?”

  He hesitated. “I want to so fucking bad it would probably terrify you. But if I do right now, that dress won’t survive the rest of the elevator ride.”

  Tessa swallowed the desire threatening to choke her. “Then when?”

  Zy let out a shuddering breath like he had to grapple for patience. “I dropped off some shit in the office the other night, when I came back late from that op in Houston. I overheard the bosses talking. They’ll be issuing the new employment contracts just before the Fourth of July weekend.”

  Ones that might not include a nonfraternization clause that would mean the end of their jobs if they got involved?

  “That’s only three weeks away. If the contract crosses my desk and that clause isn’t there, baby, then fair notice: I’m coming for you.”

  And she would welcome him—happily. Never mind that, as a single mother, she had no business jumping into a relationship without strings or boundaries. Never mind that Zy could crush her. She would take every moment he would give her. “I’ll be waiting.”

  July 3

  * * *

  Butterflies banged inside Tessa’s belly as she headed for the conference room late Thursday afternoon. A glance at the corner of the office told her Zy’s desk was empty. Apparently, he was even more eager to get to the conference room than she was. That giddy something in her stomach churned again.

  As she race-walked to the corner of the office, she passed One-Mile, who had just come in from an op last night and now stood at the coffee bar, looking like he dragged ass. Cutter had taken the week off to be with his mom, brother, and some friends on the lake for the long Fourth of July holiday—a blessing since he and the sniper were at each other’s throats all the time these days.

  As she walked into the conference room, Josiah and Trees sent her a sidelong stare, then walked out, thick envelopes in hand.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered.

  Were the bosses handing out the contracts for everyone’s reading pleasure over the long weekend?

  They both shrugged, but something on Trees’s face looked tense.

  “Come in, Tessa,” Hunter insisted. “And shut the door.”

  Her heart dropped to her belly as she did, shutting the two operatives outside. “Of course.”

  In the chilly room, Hunter, Logan, and Joaquin stood at the front. Zy lounged in an office chair on the far side of the room. He watched as she approached, and Logan gestured her to the seat nearest them, on the left.

  She flipped to a blank page in her notepad and took her pen in hand. “I’m ready.”

  But she was nervous as all get-out. Was Zy in some trouble? Was that why the others had been handed their papers and let go for the weekend?

  “Put the pen down,” Joaquin instructed.

  She did, her heart thudding in response to his ominous voice.

  “We want to talk to you.”

  The first thing that went through her head was Muñoz telling everyone that if the employees had to hear from him, it wasn’t a good thing. Tessa swallowed. “Of course.”

  Logan grabbed two envelopes off the credenza behind him and sent one sailing in Zy’s direction before slapping the other on the table in front of her. “Here are your new agreements. Read them over. Some of the stuff in here is negotiable. If you have a question or a problem, the door is open. We want to help you work through your issues.”

  “All right.” Tessa itched to open it now to see if she and Zy had any hope, but she waited for Logan to finish speaking.

  Zy wasn’t nearly as patient. He ripped into the envelope and flipped, quickly scanning page after page. Then he stopped and glared at their trio of bosses. “I have a problem.”

  Logan raised a dark brow. “Let us finish our explanation. Then let’s see if you want to talk.”

  Hunter stepped in. “There are two clauses we won’t bend on. The first is that if you invoke the separation clause to leave EM Security before the term of the contract expires, you cannot work for a US-based competitor for six months. Since we’re investing time and money into your training, we’re firm on that.”

  “Fine. I have no issue with that. But—”

  “Then you’re objecting to clause eight?” Hunter stepped in. “The one that prohibits intimate relationships between employees? It stands, Garrett. Hookups and romances in the office aren’t allowed. They’re too distracting and—”

  “It’s fucking ridiculous. I’m not hooking up with guys who work ops with me.”

  “And yet none of them had a problem signing the contract. One-Mile already finalized his. Same with Cutter. When we mentioned the clause to Josiah and Trees, they didn’t voice any objections. Got another argument?”

  Zy slanted a glance across the table at her. Tessa didn’t know what to say. She’d been hoping this agreement would be different. They both had. Not that they’d talked about it since Kendra Waxman-Hay’s wedding, but every time Tessa had looked at Zy, she’d glimpsed the desire on his face and felt the answering ping in her body.

  Apparently, everyone else had, too.

  “Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room,” Hunter insisted. “You want to take Tessa to bed. And before you open your mouth in some misguided attempt to deny it, everyone knows it. Everyone. My dad knew it. Logan saw it the minute we walked in. If I wasn’t convinced before, I was after the Waxman wedding op.”

  “Whatever I might feel didn’t compromise the mission.”

  “The fuck it didn’t.”

  Zy sat up, looking red-faced and furious. “I was aware of every person, everything, and everyone at that event. At no time was the client in any danger.”

  “You were on it,” Hunter agreed. “But I had absolutely no doubt that, if the shit had hit the fan and you’d had to make a choice between saving the bride and saving Tessa, we would have attended Kendra’s funeral.”

  “This is bullshit. Tessa doesn’t go on ops.”

  “Except when we need her in a pinch. Like last time. And you”—he pointed a finger in Zy’s face—“need to clean up your shit. We both know you don’t have the most sparkling employment record, don’t we?”

  As Zy cursed under his breath, Tessa frowned. He’d said he hadn’t left his last job under the best of circumstances, but what the hell had he done?

  Tessa cleared her throat. “I think what Mr. Garrett is trying to say is that we’re both professionals capable of—”

  “If we sold insurance or fixed people’s teeth or whatever, fine. You two would be free to have at it. But these are people’s lives. Focus matters, and we need operators front and center who have one thing on their mind: keeping clients safe. You’re wonderful around the office. My brothers and I have all remarked that nothing would work half so well without you around here. But we can’t have his head buried between your sheets rather than on his objective. And as much as I hate to say it, demolitions experts are mu
ch harder to come by.”

  Meaning that she was expendable. If she encouraged Zy, much less gave in, they would do away with her faster than she could snap her fingers. “I need this job.”

  “Then act accordingly.”

  He was threatening her. Then again, she wasn’t guaranteed a job, and these were management’s rules. Tessa blew out a breath and opened her envelope, scanning the clauses that flowed from one page to the next. Around her, the deafening silence was a bludgeon to her senses. She was painfully aware of her bosses staring, of Zy watching her. When she came to the last page of the contract, she set it down.

  “The agreement is essentially the same one your father had drafted?”

  Logan nodded. “Except with the necessary name changes and legal updates, yeah. We’ve also given you two extra holidays, more flexible sick time, and added a work-from-home clause for you specifically.”

  “I saw that. Thank you.” It would help whenever Hallie was sick and she needed to stay with her baby.

  “You’re welcome. We want you to be happy here.”

  Tessa realized that he and Hunter were playing good cop-bad cop. Joaquin was watching, seemingly ready to jump in and be the terrible cop.

  But what choice did she have? This was one of the few jobs she could find with security where she could make enough money to care for her and her daughter while keeping a roof over her head and still having the balance of a personal life.

  As long as that life didn’t include Zy.

  Finally, she risked a glance at him. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to fall. It took everything to hold them back.

  Zy leaned across the table to her. “Tessa…”

  He was begging her not to sign. And she didn’t have a choice.

  Her fingers trembled as she picked up the pen. “I’m sorry.”

  Zy sat on the ratty sofa in his pre-furnished apartment, which he usually avoided because he knew introducing a blacklight would gross him the fuck out. Tonight, he didn’t care. He tipped back his beer. He swallowed, staring at the bare white wall on the other side of the room as the night shadows crept in and he ignored his buzzing phone.