Undercover: Secrets & Lies

by Jennifer Loren

  “I’m so happy you’re here, Ben.”

  “And I’m happy that I’ve got better things to do than stand here talking to you.” That fuck is insane. I walk into Titus’s office as he’s getting ready to leave. “Are you going somewhere? Your schedule has you in all day?”

  “Last minute business to handle,” he says, a cryptic tone in his voice. He finally takes a second to look up at me. “What are you doing here? You should be resting after yesterday. I told you to stay home.”

  “Laila stayed with me last night.” Titus takes in a deep breath, sitting back down at his desk where he begins moving things around randomly, busying his hands. He selects each piece, looking at it carefully and then moving it to another place, sometimes even moving it back to its old place. I have only seen him do this twice before. The first time was when Donovan was killed. The one good thing Titus ever did for me was introduce me to one of his best security personnel—Donovan Lincoln. Donovan was an incredibly talented fighter, accomplished in every technique known to man, and he could focus in even the most chaotic moments. He was the head of Titus’s team, his most trusted advisor, and he was like a father to me and my brother until he was murdered. I accused Titus of doing it because he was the only one I could think of that Donovan would trust enough to let in his house and turn his back on. Titus swears it was a rival, someone who was trying to weaken him. Once Donovan was gone, Nathan took over, and he and Titus took revenge out on those they believed were responsible. Everything changed when Donovan died, and Titus became more distant.

  The only other time I’d seen him so nervous was when I came to tell him my mother was sick. She lost her medical insurance when she couldn’t work anymore, and the care she really needed, we couldn’t afford. There wasn’t a job I could get or even two jobs that would help, at least not any normal job. When Titus began his random placement obsession, I took that to mean he wasn’t going to help. I left so angry that I went to an open fight competition just to relieve my frustration, but the money I bet on myself to win it all convinced me of what I needed to do. That was my first win, an easy one, but nowhere near my last. I used everything Donovan taught me and took the time to perfect it. The money got a lot better when a man who saw himself as my agent found me and booked fights around the world for me to compete in. The money was great, but the more I won, the bigger the target on my back.

  When I was attacked, Titus brought me home, broken and bruised, on a private plane with nurses to keep my care at a high level. If not for wanting to get back to say goodbye to my mother, I would have told him to fuck off. Instead, I was working for Titus a few months later. He moved me up the ranks quickly, and with good reason. I saved his life multiple times, and in the process, I saved his dynasty. Now, I am sitting here, his most trusted advisor, trying to sneak out of here with contacts to help me leave him, alone.

  “I’m going to tell her everything.” Titus glances my way briefly before returning to his game. “I need your permission to talk to KP.” Again, he pauses, but he gives me no response. “Are you going to continue to play or are you going to answer me Titus?!”

  He finally reacts with raised hands and a growl of frustration. “I don’t like any of it!” he exclaims.

  “Give me the number, Titus! It is all over. Everyone thinks you tried to kill me yesterday. Nathan tried to kill me, yet he is still here, alive. Where do your loyalties rest Titus, because they aren’t with me?” I continue, getting angrier with every word he doesn’t respond to.

  “Don’t you dare question my loyalty! I have done everything to keep you and Luca alive—your whole lives.” He gets up, goes to his secret safe, and opens it, taking out an envelope. “Take this. You will find everything you need inside. If you make this decision, be silent. Completely silent,” he says, reminding me to be careful when contacting anyone outside of us. “This is not a decision I want to hear. There is something …” He shakes his head, sitting back in his chair and looking worried. “Something is going on I can’t figure out. It’s right here under my nose, and I can’t see it. For the first time, I can’t see what’s going to happen. And I honestly don’t want either of you here when whatever it is goes down.”

  I hesitate to respond, feeling a wave of concern rush over me, not for myself, for Luca, or even Laila, but for Titus. He always senses the right thing to do, but he genuinely looks afraid right now, and I feel the need to help. “I still have some connections with the police?”

  “Whatever this is, it’s buried so deep that none of our contacts can help us, but maybe one. An old one, but I will meet with him on my own. He wouldn’t talk to anyone else.” I wait, trying to think of something that might help. “You’re so much like you’re mother.”

  “That’s Luca.”

  “You both are. She was right, by the way. She was always right. She was better than I deserved.” He sits back in his chair and waves me off.

  I only look back once before walking away. There’s nothing I can do for him now. He said so himself. I have other people I need to protect now. Before I can go, Jolie intercepts me. Taking my hand, she pulls me into a room, just the two of us. I am instantly frustrated and annoyed.

  “I have an offer that can make you very happy.”

  “I am not interested.”

  “Give me a second to explain what I have in mind. It’s a plan that will let us be together openly and forever.” I take an interest in what she says, but only because her confidence has returned. The desperation she has been sinking deeper into the last few months has completely disappeared. “I knew you would be interested.”

  “I’m not interested in you or a plan that includes you. I don’t know how you’re going to deal with Titus leaving you, and I don’t care. I would accept your destiny, Jolie, and go find another rich bastard to latch onto and do it before Titus makes you disappear for good.”

  I try to leave her grasp, but she won’t let me go without a fight. “Ben I didn’t leave you for his riches.” I look at her sideways with a laugh. “Okay, not entirely the reason. I knew if I could get in that I could help you and keep you safe until I could take over. Now, I have renewed hope that can still happen. The two of us together can do anything.” She looks so positive and hopeful. She clearly thinks it’s actually possible. “We could have everything we ever wanted—money, power, and dedicated servants. All you have to do is help me.”

  “No.”

  “No? What do you mean no? Ben?”

  “I mean, no. Laila and I are back together, and I plan on making it permanent.” She looks stunned. “Okay, nice talk. Good luck with your evil takeover, by yourself.”

  “I’m not by myself, Ben. You would be wise to work with me, rather than her.” I am not sure how many things she breaks as I walk away, but it sounds like the entire room is destroyed during her raging moment. I don’t bother to care. It feels odd to be walking out and knowing I won’t return. What’s odder, though, is Jolie following me out with Nathan taking a close personal spot right beside her. I groan with a shake of my head. I just can’t get away from this shit. I need to get out of here and make a call. There’s no answer, so I leave him a warning message as my last call of a duty. “Titus, I think I found your snake, or snakes rather. Nathan and Jolie are working together. You might want to avoid going home until you can get a hold of that. Good luck.” I leave, feeling good that Titus can handle the two without me having to worry, but just in case, I am stepping up my efforts. We are packing tonight and getting out of town until I can get us a safe exit out of our lives.

  CHAPTER 28

  Laila

  There is nothing like the feeling I have right now, that is until I realize I have to tell him everything. At least I quit before I could hurt him. He has to feel good about that. Hopefully. I haven’t done anything with what I have found so far …

  “Oh shit! Mika!” I completely forgot all about him. I turned my phone off before we checked out the warehouse, and I haven’t turned it on since. Sure enoug
h, the moment I turn it on, it goes off with multiple messages from every direction. I avoid the time to review them all and call Mika directly.

  “Oh my God. Where have you been, Laila?”

  “Long story, but things have changed greatly. I need you to shut everything down. I’ve decided not to move forward.”

  “Well, that’s too bad because I found him.”

  “You found who?”

  “Your boy, the one you’ve been looking for since this all started. You know the reason we are all here?”

  “You couldn’t have.”

  “I did, and he’s still alive, for now at least.” While I try to remember to breathe, Mika tries to bring me back into reality. “Are you going to do something or are you going to let this man die because you decided to quit?”

  “Can you tell where he is?”

  “All I have are pictures for now. I am trying to locate the GPS location off the phone they were downloaded from. It would help if I knew whose phone it was though.”

  “Try Nathan’s phone first. It has to be him.” I forward Mika all the information I have collected on Nathan in hopes that it will make it easier for him to break into his account and find the photos and Noah’s location. In the meantime, I go to Titus’s to see if I can find the location on my own. Titus has images of every property he owns proudly hanging in the team room, and I think I have seen the distinctive windows in one of the pictures before. After a few failed attempts to contact Ben via cell, I leave him a note. He needs to go and go as soon as possible.

  Ben,

  I have something important to tell you about me, and I will, but for now I need you to leave. I need for you to go to that place you told me about last night. Take Luca and get out within the hour. I will find you later. Please don’t question, just go.

  I love you,

  Laila

  I leave Harrison with Henry and tell him to be on watch for my call. He’s excited that I am back in, but I make him promise to leave Ben out of it. The best I could get was that he would try. I borrow Henry’s car and head to Titus’s estate. I am happy to see Ben is not there when I arrive. That means he’s on his way home and, hopefully, heading away from trouble. However, Luca is here, and I make sure to find him first thing.

  “Hey. I want you and Ben to come over for dinner tonight to celebrate. I proposed last night. It was perfect. You should have seen her eyes light up when she saw the ring.” Luca is so love-struck and dreamy that I can’t get him back into reality.

  “Luca!” I shake him back to me, “I need for you to go now, get out of here. Find Ben and get out of town and do it as soon as possible. Don’t bother packing, just go.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Just do it, Luca. Go. Now.”

  “I have a few more things to get. Besides, we are leaving tomorrow. What difference does it make when?”

  I pull him in close. “Luca, don’t question me, go. Trust me.”

  He nods but looks over me and around me as if he is concerned. “Are you in trouble?”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m leaving right behind you.” I point Luca towards the door as I head straight for the team room to go through every image on the wall. I scan the images, piecing together details to match the photo Mika showed me. Once I find it, I rip the image from the wall and start to text Henry the location when Jolie walks in.

  “Working on your day off. How lucky for me,” she says.

  “I am working on something special for Titus. I don’t have much time to chat right now.” I get back to my phone and try to walk around Jolie when a gun is put in my face.

  “You like it? I had it made special. I’m thinking about having my name engraved on the side,” Jolie says proudly as she shows me her glimmering Colt with gold in-lays. “I love the mother of pearl handle most of all. Don’t you?”

  “I prefer something simpler, but whatever you would like to use on her, I’m for,” Nathan says, sneaking in behind me with his own gun on me and a shot of drugs to my neck. “We should have just shot her and moved on. Too many others to worry about to deal with her.” I’m on my knees in an instant, becoming lost by the second.

  “No, that’s way too easy. I want Ben to think she was murdered in some horrific fashion. Hmmm—what would destroy Ben the most? Oh! I know, raping her to a bloody mess and leaving her nude body in a drug house until she dies.”

  “That’s a lot of trouble for one person, and we have so much more to do, Jolie.” Before she can respond to Nathan’s frustration, my phone rings, and Jolie grabs it from my hand.

  “Is that Ben calling you?” she asks, answering the call, “Hello.” She hits the speaker button and lays it down, preparing to make my death Ben’s worst nightmare. Only, it’s not Ben on the other end of the line.

  “Laila, I was able to break into Nathan’s phone and get the coordinates. Your cop friend is at the address I am sending you now. Be careful. And hey, it looks like your mission is finally over, revenge for your parents and you rescued a fellow cop. Congratulations. Call me when it’s all over. I will be relaxing here until then.” Mika confesses all of my secrets.

  “Oh, I will,” Jolie says, smiling wide as she hangs up my phone. If her expression didn’t send chills down my spine, Nathan’s does.

  “She’s mine.” He simmers with excited intent his eyes. “I knew there was something up with you. A cop. Ha! If I could only tell Titus. To see his face when he realizes I was right about you, and that Ben was all wrong. Oh, how I crave to see that.”

  Jolie pulls her gun from my face. “Take her. Make sure to have a lot of fun and take lots of pictures.”

  “I always do,” Nathan says, kicking me in the stomach every time I try to stand. I scream out, and the door flies open with Luca holding a gun up at my attackers.

  “What’s going on? What did you do to her?” Everything is so blurry I can hardly make out what is happening.

  “She passed out. I guess she still isn’t over what happened yesterday. I was just going to take her to the hospital,” Nathan says with no gun in sight.

  “No, I’ll take her.” Luca puts his gun away and helps me to my feet to lead me out the door. “I got you. Don’t worry. We’re leaving here now.” I shake my head and try to warn him, but it’s too late. A gun shot rings through my ears, sending us both to the ground. Luca’s blood splatters all over me.

  “No! No. Luca, no.” I cradle his head as I look up at Nathan and his malicious smile. “Luca.” I cry to him with no sign of life. “Why didn’t you go?”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Jolie says.

  “Oh yes I did. I have been wanting to do that for a while now. Don’t worry. Your precious Ben will think she did it. The cop. The cop killed his brother. This should lure him back in for us to kill.” He takes pictures of me hovering over him. “That look on your face, I don’t like it. You promised we would kill him right after we kill Titus.”

  “We will. Don’t worry. I certainly can’t trust him now that you killed his brother.”

  Nathan grabs me and pulls me away from Luca, throwing me over his shoulder to carry me out. I fade in and out as he drives me to an out of the way place. He drags me out of the car by my hair before carrying me into an abandoned building.

  “Well, Laila, you wanted to find this place, so now you have.” I look up to see the cop I have been looking for. Noah lies on a cell floor in front of me. He’s alive, but he’s not going to be much help to me. “Paul, I mean Noah, your rescue is here. You’re going to have a new friend to play with, a fellow cop.”

  “You’re a sick son of a bitch. Leave her alone. What could you possibly get out of torturing her in front of me?” he mutters with a swollen face.

  “This is not for you. Oh, no. This one got herself into this trouble all by herself. She’s here to rescue you. Impressive, isn’t she? You should be grateful though, Noah. Now, I can kill you, end your misery, and put her in your place. Don’t worry, though. I will let you have a little enjoyment and w
atch for a change.” Nathan kicks me and throws me around the room, forcing out every fight I might have left. My hands are bound, and he lifts me up onto a hook by my wrists, leaving me hanging off the ground. Nathan prepares himself like a psycho and roughly rips and cuts half my clothes off, leaving me in nothing but my underwear. “Smile. We are going to have fun. You like sexual torture? I know I do. Now, we can get back to what we never finished. This fancy underwear is a bit much for the occasion, but I’ll make it work.” He grabs my head and pulls me in close to his vile, coarse face, and kisses me hard. Leaving my lip bleeding, he grabs my breast and bites it. “I always like to leave a mark. It excites me when I review the pictures over and over again.” I look up to see his excitement growing. The tools he’s set out cause me to scream for help while trying to get loose from my restraints. “Keep screaming. I like it,” he says, salivating and moving towards me. Noah screams in my defense, trying everything to distract Nathan, but his broken body is of no help. Nathan unzips his pants and enjoys himself while I can do no more than endure his vile torture.

  CHAPTER 29

  Ben

  Going silent to talk to KP is not easy, the man is overly sheltered from the world for a reason. He knows too much about the people who have disappeared. Still I can’t ask Laila to leave without telling her everything. When I walk in, I don’t see Harrison or Laila. “Laila?” I call out, looking for her, but when I see Harrison’s leash gone, I assume she’s walking him and begin packing. It’s not until I am halfway through do I notice the note on the refrigerator door. I read through it and immediately try to call her, but there’s no answer. Her messages are no help either. I decide to call Luca and see if he’s heard from her, but he doesn’t answer. I try calling Laila one more time, and she answers.

  “Laila, where are you?”

  “She’s not here, Ben,” a familiar voice purrs into the phone.