Deadly Promises

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  As if that wasn't terrifying enough.

  "Yes, that was the man arrested." Denton stood away from the door and crossed his arms. "And you didn't have any photos or videotapes he wanted?"

  Photos and videotapes? "What are you insinuating?" She sat forward in the chair, hands balled into fists. "That I do some kind of porn work?"

  Denton's eyebrows snapped down over a confused look, then he relaxed and shook his head. "Don't get cute with me."

  "I'm not. What kind of photos?"

  He studied her with a flat gaze before his mouth curved in a wry smile. "Okay, let's pretend you don't know. A memory card with photos and a video of two men talking, making a deal to join forces for a criminal... operation."

  CeCe leaned back. Please don't let her family be connected to any of this. The DeMitris were no longer a major underworld operation since her brothers had started shifting into legal ventures years back, but dear old dad still had contacts and operated illegal gambling venues in Ontario.

  She asked in a calmer voice, "Why do you think I have anything to do with this Dorvan character other than his breaking into my house?"

  "Because of your consorting with a prior felon, for one reason."

  "What? Who?" Her throat closed up. But she guessed where he was going with this.

  "Your boyfriend, Jeremy Sunn." The federal agent lifted away from where he'd been leaning and took a step toward the table between them.

  CeCe said silent thanks that Jeremy had shared his past with her. His honesty outweighed having a record as a teen and it was in that moment when he told her the truth that she realized how much she cared for him.

  Her first thought upon waking up in his arms this morning was to rush home before Vinny came back.

  But her second thought squelched that urge.

  She was in love with Jeremy and she didn't love halfway. He'd stepped between her and danger last night. She'd protect him just as fiercely, even if it meant going up against her family she'd started explaining about this morning. As soon as she had a chance to talk to Vinny, CeCe intended to tell Jeremy everything. He deserved honesty too.

  Giving the FBI agent what she hoped was a stony stare, CeCe said, "I know about Jeremy. He told me he boosted cars as a teenager and that he did his time. Don't turn him into some bad guy just because of that."

  "Boosting cars?" Denton's eyebrows shot up. He belly laughed for a minute then stopped chuckling and stared at her. His eyebrows lowered in a sober glance. "You're serious?"

  "Of course I am." Her stomach flipped over at the incredulous look in his eyes.

  "Jeremy Sunn has a rap sheet as long as my leg." Denton was clearly not joking now.

  "Jeremy has a record, like an adult criminal record?"

  "Hell, yes. Not a secret since it's public record."

  What? She couldn't catch her breath. Had Jeremy lied to her the same way her stepfather had lied to her mother when he omitted a few simple facts, such as that he ran illegal operations? Sure, her stepfather turned out to be a wonderful man who had adored her mother, but he still married her mother without telling her what he did for a living.

  CeCe's mother had loved her stepfather but warned CeCe to not make the same mistake. She apologized for exposing a child to this life even if the DeMitri men had always taken good care of them. Her mother had made her promise to start fresh in a new place. Away from illegal operations.

  I fell in love with a criminal? Pain squeezed her heart. CeCe wanted to pitch a screaming fit, but now was not the time.

  She had to talk to Vinny and find out if he knew anything about all of this. For now, her brother's tutorials on law enforcement kicked in. "Are you charging me with anything?"

  "Not yet."

  "What about..." She had to consider the implication of asking about Jeremy.

  Denton's gaze sharpened, but he said nothing, playing the silent bit, which was supposed to make her blather everything she knew. He had a long wait coming.

  She shouldn't care what happened to Jeremy, but he wouldn't have been in this spot if she hadn't invited him over to dinner and he hadn't protected her. He'd stepped into danger without a second thought last night, which had made her wonder for just a moment if he'd had law enforcement experience.

  Actually, he had. From the wrong side of the badge.

  And, blast it all, she had to find out what they were going to do with Jeremy because she loved him and couldn't just turn off her feelings. He was the man she'd wanted to spend the rest of her life with up until a few minutes ago.

  She'd deal with this new revelation once they got out of here. Jeremy had questions to answer.

  "What about Jeremy?" she finally asked.

  After a slow rise and fall of a deep breath, Denton answered her. "We're booking Sunn on felony possession of a firearm."

  She stood up. "You can't do that. He didn't do anything wrong." Other than get involved with her and crush her dreams.

  "Oh, yes, I can. This conviction could send him back to prison. And if we don't get that memory card with the photos, not even your stepfather and his sons in Canada will be safe from the underworld genocide planned by two powerful mob families, Miss Cecelia Caprice DeMitri."

  JEREMY SLOUCHED IN the interrogation room's metal chair, giving the feds on the other side of the two-way mirror his usual don't-give-a-shit expression.

  The feds had come after CeCe for the firearm permit when they knew Jeremy had been the one with the weapon. That had been an excuse to bring her down here until he admitted having the gun. Why bring her down once they got what they wanted?

  Something didn't make sense, but Jeremy couldn't put his finger on it.

  Denton had surprised him when he told Jeremy the guy who broke into CeCe's home was Dorvan, a bone breaker. That's when Jeremy realized he did know Dorvan, an enforcer who had teamed up with Starface several years ago. I'll keep that little discovery to myself.

  Starface and Jeremy had been in the same penitentiary four years back when Jeremy had gone undercover to find the person inside who was behind a string of witness deaths on the outside. He should have recognized Dorvan last night, but he'd seen the brute only once during the six weeks he'd spent locked up.

  Why had Dorvan broken into CeCe's house?

  Denton tried to feed Jeremy some crap about CeCe knowing about photos on a memory card. What photos? Some pile of bullshit Dorvan was shoveling at the FBI?

  Jeremy had a bad feeling Dorvan was trying to pull him into this mess, but he couldn't figure out why. The feds were playing a game, acting as though CeCe had some secret identity and was hiding information the FBI needed. That was crap. She'd been living in Canada before she moved here. How could she possibly be involved in this mess? Dorvan had to be pissed Jeremy had busted him and was trying to use Jeremy's prison record against him, claim some criminal association.

  The FBI probably believed Dorvan and now they were trying to convince Jeremy that CeCe was involved to put pressure on him. But for what reason?

  He refused to play their game. He stuck with what he knew, that CeCe worked for Double Take and practiced yoga at his gym.

  Even if she was involved, which was impossible, Jeremy would never pass judgment without giving her a chance to explain first.

  Too many people had done that to him over the years.

  One of those who hadn't was the director of BAD, Joe Q. Public. The minute Jeremy landed in jail for this, Joe would have him moved to another facility and Retter would spring Jeremy during the transfer. As long as Joe and Retter believed he had only been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Plus, the rap sheet BAD had created over the past nine years was as much at fault as anything for sending him away.

  Jeremy would give the feds enough to draw their attention away from CeCe to buy her time to get in touch with her brother.

  He'd fall on the blade for her as an apology for what she hadn't known about him. Everyone he'd been arrested with had thrown him to the wolves at one time or another so h
e was used to being the scapegoat. He wouldn't blame her for turning her back on him and agreeing to anything that would get her out of here since he knew full well Special Agent Denton had told CeCe about his prison record by now.

  That this trumped-up charge might land him back in prison.

  But she'd give him a chance to explain, right?

  He had more problems to deal with first. He thought he'd planned ahead for a worst-case scenario by keeping several text messages in his cell phone draft file. When he'd walked to the bedroom to get a shirt while the agents had waited in his living room, he'd sent a text to Blade to come down and bond him out as soon as he got booked to avoid contacting BAD.

  That was before Denton made it clear Jeremy would have a better chance of winning the lottery than being turned loose. Once Jeremy could get a new message to Blade, he'd tell him to forget the bond, to pick up CeCe's fiberglass base out of Jeremy's garage, repair it, and return the base to her.

  The more he thought on it, CeCe probably wouldn't want to see his face again. The picture of her disgust would gut him worse than mere anger. He couldn't dwell on that right now with no idea what they were going to throw at him.

  Denton entered, flipping the door wide with a bang. "You're free to go." He wasn't happy about it.

  Jeremy sat up. "What?"

  "Your hearing bad?"

  "Who sprung me?"

  Denton scowled. "Your girlfriend's attorney. Guess it pays to be connected."

  "Connected?" Jeremy didn't want to blow a chance to walk out free without having to involve BAD, but this just did not happen to him. "What are you talking about?"

  The look Denton gave him was ripe with impatience. "Vincent DeMitri of the Ontario DeMitris. Cecelia's stepbrother, your squeeze's family? Any of that ring a bell?"

  Slamming Jeremy in his solar plexus with a baseball bat would have been an easier blow to take. He'd heard of the DeMitris.

  CeCe was part of a criminal organization?

  "One more thing, Sunn," Denton said. "If I find out she does have the photo memory card we're looking for, you'll both be facing an indictment."

  What memory card? Jeremy would ask, but Denton had dropped that little bomb for a reason, so he gave the FBI agent no response.

  CeCe hadn't thrown him to the feds. She'd used her contacts to free him, but she was related to a racketeering family that had been entrenched in Ontario for decades. Jeremy knew a few things about the DeMitri bunch that had surfaced on a couple of investigations over five years ago.

  He needed some time to figure out what the hell was going on before he contacted BAD. Joe and his codirector, Tee, took care of their agents and would send help if he called, but Jeremy didn't want to pull them into his personal problems and he wanted answers before he faced anyone from BAD.

  BAD would eventually hear about this and that the FBI had found a member of the DeMitri family at Jeremy's house half dressed early in the morning.

  CeCe wasn't going anywhere until he got answers.

  ALL CECE COULD do was put one foot in front of the other and keep pace with Vinny's long stride toward the exit. Anger boiled off him like an invisible steam. She understood. More than being angry about the mess she was in, Vinny felt as though he'd failed her. He'd been all business the minute he walked into the interrogation room. She'd had to admit he was damn good at what he did.

  She'd just never expected to need his services.

  Vinny stepped ahead of her and opened the glass doors. She followed him into a gloomy overcast day that matched her mood.

  Ten paces down the walkway she heard, "CeCe, wait up."

  Vinny stiffened next to her, but she'd made a decision last night to stop letting everyone tell her how to live. Her family was going to have to accept her decisions, just as Jeremy would have to.

  And she had to take responsibility for anything she did.

  CeCe put a hand on Vinny's arm. "I need to talk to him." She turned around to find Jeremy closing in on her. She'd expected anger, but the disappointment ringing his gaze struck her harder than anger ever could have.

  A strong breeze lifted the hem of her jacket, which she smoothed back in place. She'd run home and changed to a conservative pants suit before leaving with the FBI agents. Squaring her shoulders, she walked away from Vinny to meet Jeremy halfway.

  "We need to talk," Jeremy started.

  "No, I need to go pack up my house and move." She stood her ground, struggling not to give credit to the pain in his eyes. She'd changed her mind about asking Jeremy anything after walking out of the interrogation room. There was nothing he could say that would magically fix all this. Instead, she pointed out, "I asked you about your past."

  Jeremy shook his head and released a snort of disbelief. "You're condemning me for having a record when you're a member of the DeMitri family?"

  At that barked reply, Vinny pounded up next to CeCe who glared at him. "As her attorney, I'm advising her not to talk to you."

  "As her attorney or her brother?" Jeremy snapped right back, anger boosting his sarcastic tone.

  Before she could speak, Vinny added in a low and controlled voice, "As her brother, I'm advising you to walk away and never speak to her again if you like the way your face looks."

  "Bring it on."

  Vinny's chest expanded with a breath of fury. "Back down, asshole."

  "I'll back down if and when CeCe tells me to. Not for you or a hundred brothers just like you."

  CeCe realized in that moment that Jeremy would not let anything or anyone stop him from getting to her when he was determined. That was the man she wanted. How could she love him so much when the same heart felt like it was tearing down the middle?

  "Vinny, give me a minute, would you?" she asked. Wind batted loose hair around her face. She swiped a handful behind her ear and waited for her brother to move back, then she swung around to Jeremy. Before she could vent, Jeremy got in the first shot.

  "You said you were all about honesty, but you didn't say a word about being part of the DeMitri organization."

  CeCe jerked back at the accusation in his voice. "I'm not part of the organization. My mother married into the DeMitri family and I'm not going to apologize for that because they've always loved me like a sister and daughter. They understood when I moved here that it wasn't because I didn't love them. I just didn't love what they did. As for honesty, you didn't tell me you had an adult record and I asked you point blank."

  "I told you--"

  "--about a boosting conviction as a teenager." She fisted her hands at her hips. "Do you or do you not have a string of convictions that you've spent time in prison for?"

  Jeremy locked his jaw shut to keep from trying to explain. He couldn't tell her how he'd amassed a criminal track record just for BAD or that since signing on with the agency he hadn't gotten a traffic ticket unless BAD had orchestrated the offense for a mission.

  "Yes, and I can explain, but not right now," Jeremy admitted softly.

  CeCe's throat muscles moved when she swallowed. Her bottom lip trembled until she clenched her jaw. "I moved here to get away from a life built on lies. And for your information the DeMitri men are good citizens, changing things in the organization--"

  "That's enough, CeCe," Vinny interjected.

  She nodded and glanced back up at Jeremy. "How can you expect me to understand any of this if you can't tell me the truth now? I didn't want to be around cr--" She stopped short before the next word came rolling out.

  "Criminals," Jeremy finished for her. "I did my time and continue to pay my dues every day. You believe the men in your family are decent upstanding citizens but not me?"

  "I'm not saying that..."

  "But you're leaving... me."

  "I don't want to live around... someone who can't tell me the truth." She lowered her eyes to her hands, unable to take any more of his tortured gaze.

  "I never lied to you." Technically. He'd withheld some things, but he'd intended to explain more to her once he
figured out how to do it and not expose BAD.

  "Keeping something important from me is lying by omission."

  "I can make the same accusation."

  She nodded. "For what it's worth, I planned to explain everything... if..."

  "If we stayed together." Jeremy checked to see that Vinny was still ten feet back then lowered his voice so that only CeCe heard his words. "You're right. I did keep something from you just like you kept things from me. But the difference is that I understand why you did and am willing to give you a chance to explain."

  When she sucked her bottom lip in and didn't answer he took a fist to the heart. "I did withhold some things, but I need you to know one very important detail. I care about you, CeCe, and would never involve you in anything criminal or let anyone hurt you. I can explain everything on my record but, like I said, not right now."

  Silence spun between them with a swirling wind that tossed her hair back and forth around her delicate shoulders.

  He held his breath, begging for a break. Just once.

  Tears clung to her eyelashes but not a one fell. "It's probably best that we don't speak again."

  Her dismissal smashed that flickering hope he'd been clinging to. Hurt clawed up his chest and churned into anger, but he wouldn't unleash that on CeCe. He could never hurt her.

  And she was still at risk until he figured out what was going on with Dorvan and Starface. Jeremy shoved his emotions into that dark hole they should have stayed in and dropped his professional mask into place.

  "What do you know about the photo card the FBI is looking for?" he asked.

  "Nothing."

  He glanced over her shoulder at Vinny. CeCe followed his gaze then snapped her head back to face Jeremy.

  She lifted her clenched fists and her chin, ready for battle. "My family is not involved in this. Vinny told me so."

  What Jeremy wouldn't give for a woman who would stand up as confidently in support of him. He placed his hands gently over hers and said, "I believe you."