Ruthless: Book 2 of the Shattered Chronicles

by Ciana Stone

  She stopped in the process of reaching for a glass. “I don’t know how to make that.”

  "Allow me."

  He moved behind the bar and took over while Morgan scooted around to the other side of the bar and perched on one of the tall barstools.

  She was getting more nervous by the minute. A little voice inside her head was shouting frantic warnings to her over and over. What’s wrong with you? You don't know this man! Why do you have him here in your home? Are you crazy?

  Caught up in self–recrimination, she didn’t notice the small vial of liquid Victor added to her drink.

  “Thank you.” She turned her attention to him as he handed her a glass and held his own up in a silent toast.

  Without thinking, she downed at least half of the drink. Her breath caught and she fought to control the cough that rose.

  "Too strong?" He inquired with a smile.

  "No." She finally managed to get her breath and speak. "It's fine, really. I guess I just drank it too fast."

  Victor walked around the bar and stood in front of her as she perched apprehensively on the barstool. He stroked her long hair and leaned toward her as if to kiss her.

  She hopped down from the stool quite abruptly, grabbed her drink and walked quickly away from him. "Why don't we go outside for a while? I could use some fresh air. Do you mind?"

  "That will be fine.”

  They passed through a large glassed–in porch, stuffed with plants of endless varieties growing in profusion in almost every available space.

  "You obviously have a talented gardener," he commented as she exited the outside door and held it open for him.

  “What? Oh, well – we don’t have a gardener – except for me and I’m not particularly talented. I just like to see things grow.”

  “You underestimate yourself.”

  Victor stepped out onto a spacious wooden deck that surrounded an enormous pool. Lights set into stone columns spaced at regular intervals around the edge of the deck cast dim circles of light onto the golden wood. The water sparkled under the illumination of the lights and the full moon above.

  Between the stone columns, vines grew in profusion, twined tightly around and through the open latticework that spanned the gaps. Large, almost saucer–sized blooms of pink, purple, and white covered the vines in fragrant abundance.

  Groupings of wooden deck furniture with thick padded cushions were placed around the pool. The overall appearance was one of both comfort and elegance.

  "This is quite nice.” Victor said as he walked over to the edge of the pool. Kneeling on one knee, he dipped his hand into the cool clear water. The surface rippled and danced with light as circles swirled out from the movement of his hand.

  He looked up at Morgan who stood nervously beside a long lounge chair. “Look at me.”

  She did and he rose as he spoke. “It’s very hot. A swim would be nice. Say that to me.”

  Still battling the little voice inside her head that was screaming for her to think about what she was doing with a man she barely knew, she was quite shocked at the sudden urge to take a swim.

  The little voice in her head shouted a warning that something wasn’t right. The last thing she should want was to be half–naked with Victor. In fact, if she listened to her heart, she would know that she didn’t want to be anything with him. What she wanted was her husband back.

  Abruptly, the craving faded. In its place was an acute sense of unease and the need to be alone. “I’m sorry.” She backed away as he took a step toward her. “This is ... I – I don’t want to seem rude, but I really don’t feel like going out.”

  “That’s fine, I’ll have something delivered. What would you like?”

  “No! I mean – well, what I mean is – I mean…” She took another step back from him as if distance would insulate her from the conflicting emotions that warred for dominance within her.

  “What I meant to say is that I–"

  “Yes?”

  Squaring her shoulders, she looked up at him. “I think it’d be best if you left.”

  Victor smiled and moved toward her. “But I only just arrived.”

  “I know.” She took another step back at his advance. “But–”

  “But what?” He took her arms to pull her close.

  The nearness of him muddled her mind. “Victor, I can’t.” She wiggled from his grasp. “I’m sorry, but this is wrong. I’m a married woman.”

  “Technically, yes.” He reached for her again, but she evaded him.

  His hands fell to his sides. For a moment, his eyes betrayed his anger then a veil slid into place. “However, that does not alter the facts. Your husband is not here, and the evidence proves that he will not be here again – ever. He left you, Morgan. For another woman. What, if I may ask, does that say about your beloved spouse?”

  “You don’t know that!” It was her right to be angry at Cord and to hurl silent accusations, but Victor didn’t have that right and she wouldn’t listen to anyone cast dispersions on Cord. This wasn’t the time to try and play spy. Her emotions were raw, and she didn’t have the energy or desire to deal with Victor.

  “I think you should go.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  Victor’s first impulse was to take her, to force himself upon her both physically and mentally. He almost acted on the impulse but stopped as a revelation dawned on him. If he forced her now, she wouldn’t truly be his and he was determined to have her, body and soul.

  He forced a smile to his face. “Forgive me, I meant no disrespect. And perhaps you’re right. It is too soon for you to think of anything other than your present situation. I shall go.”

  She nodded and gestured toward the door. In silence they re–entered the house and made their way to the front entrance. Victor stopped at the door and put his hands on the tops of her shoulders.

  “I hope this doesn’t mean that we cannot see one another again.”

  Morgan was unsure how to answer. Something about him made her want to ignore the pain she felt at Cord’s betrayal and loose herself in him. It would be so easy. But she couldn’t. Until she knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt that Cord didn’t love her and wouldn’t be coming home, she couldn’t betray the trust she had given the day she first pledged herself to him.

  “As friends,” Victor added

  A ghost of a smile flitted across her face and his fingers tightened on her shoulders. She looked up and he gave her what she read as a hopeful smile.

  “Friends?”

  She nodded. “Yes, friends.”

  His smile faded as she looked up. He saw the desire reflected in the depths of her eyes and knew that her decision wasn’t an easy one. That made the night a victory for him. She wanted him and soon, very soon, he would have her.

  Pine Springs, New Mexico

  Cord hung up the phone with a sense of unease. That was the third time he’d tried to call home, only to get a message that the number he dialed wasn’t in service. He couldn’t imagine why, except that maybe a storm had interfered with communications. Bored and anxious to get on with his exploration of the caves, he paced the room. That got old fast. With nothing else to do, he climbed into the shower for the second time that day.

  Once he was clean, he checked his watch. There was plenty of time to get a little rest. He didn't plan on going out to the caves until late at night, figuring that the guards would be laxer then.

  Lying back on the bed, he went over all that he had learned in his head. So far, he was sure how the culprits had managed to elude the satellite, but he still didn't know how they had actually gotten the waste out of the facility without being detected. He, Juan, and Tom McGuire were the only people he could think of that could get the access necessary to perform such an operation.

  He started to drift off to sleep when he suddenly thought about Morgan. He grabbed his cell phone and called home. After the phone rang quite a few times an automated message played. T there was a problem on the line. He hung up
and tried Morgan’s cell phone. It went straight to voice mail.

  “Boots call me.” He ended the call and stared at the ceiling.

  Worry started to build as he tried to think of someone to call who could get in touch with Morgan or at least find out what was going on. But Max, her brother was probably out on the road and since her grandmother had died several years ago, Max and Morgan's half-sister, Syrena, were the only family Morgan had left. And Cord knew that Syrena wouldn't know anything. She and Morgan existed in an uneasy truce, at best.

  He could call the ranch foreman, Sam, but not this late. If he didn’t get up with Morgan tonight, he’d call Sam in the morning.

  Finally, fatigue overcame him, and he fell into a troubled sleep. When he woke, it was dark. He dressed quickly and left.

  Once on the road, he began to have misgivings about what he was doing. Morgan's words came back to haunt him; "You and I are just ordinary people, not spies or secret agents. Now you want to go running around the country looking for nuclear waste? Come on, Cord, be reasonable."

  Cord pushed his apprehension back and pulled off the side of the road about a half–mile away from the road that led to the cave. There was a full moon shining high in the night sky, lending enough light for him to see where he was going.

  He made sure he had his phone and got out of the car. Having seen guards earlier today along the base of the cliffs, he thought maybe he would try to reach the cave by hiking up the mountain and approaching from above.

  Cotton Creek, Texas

  Morgan set the lock on the front door and returned to the pool. She took a seat on a lounge, pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs

  Tension made her body quiver. She hated to admit how difficult it had been to send Victor away. Not simply because of the attraction she felt for him, but because of how lonely she was, and how eager for some kind of answers to explain what had happened to her life.

  Guilt gnawed at her and made her ashamed. Here she was, furious at Cord for being with someone else, and here another man was tempting her. What did that say about her? Was she tempted simply because she was alone and feeling rejected or was it some inner need to punish Cord for his infidelity?

  She wished she had an answer–an honest one. There were many justifications she could use to excuse her actions, but rationalizations could be skewed to fit any need and that wasn’t what she wanted.

  And what is it you want? The inner voice in her mind asked.

  That answer was easy. She wanted things to be the way they were, before Cord found out about the missing waste, before she found out about his lover. She wanted her husband and her life back. She wanted the comfort of ignorance so that she didn’t have to deal with the pain knowledge brought.

  But that wasn’t going to happen. She couldn’t return to the safety of the past any more than she could change it. There was no magic potion that could undo what had happened. She had to face the truth and somehow learn to deal with it.

  Victor’s face appeared in her mind and another pang of guilt stabbed her. Why did her mind turn to him? What exactly was it about him that struck such a chord within her? Yes, he was handsome and sexy, but so were a lot of other men. Surely, it had to be more than mere physical attraction?

  Something pricked at her mind, like a forgotten memory or some tingle of things yet to come. She couldn’t put a label on it; she only knew that it existed and that it was connected with Victor Vinsetti.

  Forcing all thoughts of him aside, she stood and looked upward, scanning the starry skies. What part of the night sky did Cord see when he looked up tonight? And did he think of her?

  That question, like so many others, was unanswerable. With a parting glance at the sky, she turned and went inside to face the long night ahead.

  Pine Springs, New Mexico

  "I've got something here!" The man sitting at the monitor motioned for his superior.

  "Turn the outside perimeter alarm off," the man in charge commanded.

  "But sir!" the operator started to protest.

  He was cut off sharply. "It’ll be easier for him to come to us than for us to have to go to him.” The commander explained as he watched the small dot on the screen steadily move up the grid on the monitor.

  "Who's working the perimeter?" he asked.

  "Cole, sir.”

  "Get him on the radio." The commander pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket as he continued to watch the dot indicating Cord's position on the monitor.

  "Yeah, Cole here." A voice answered the radio summons.

  "There's an intruder just west of your position. We want him alive," the commander instructed.

  "Roger. Headed there now."

  *****

  What the hell am I doing out here? Cord asked himself as the reality of the situation suddenly started working on his nerves. If I had any sense at all, I'd just go back to town and call the FBI.

  But the thought of the Washington boys coupled with his inherent dislike for government agencies in general pushed him on up the side of the mountain.

  "Fuck! Who knows? The FBI and CIA may be in on this for all I know!” He groused, and then froze as he heard heavy footsteps from the hill above him. It sounded like more than one person.

  He held his breath, only becoming aware that he was doing so when his lungs screamed for air. His eyes caught movement on the hill above. Crouching, he stared intently upward. He was able to discern what looked like the silhouette of a man on horseback. The snorting of the animal confirmed it.

  The crackle of a radio cut through the air. Cord couldn't make out what was being said; only the low tones of the voices carried down to him. As he watched, he could see the man turn the horse and head in his direction.

  Cord’s heart leapt into his throat. Crawling on his hands and knees like a big, but very fast, crab, he scurried over to a clump of thick bramble and lay down. A mountain rattler who had claimed the spot earlier slithered off without him noticing.

  As the man on horseback got closer, the horse began to whinny and dance nervously. The man fought to control the snorting, bucking beast. "Whoa boy! What's the matter? Settle down!"

  The rider pulled himself up tight to the horse's neck as it reared up on its hind legs, fighting to stay in the saddle until he got the animal under control.

  Cord was sure the horse had smelled him and was about to give away his hiding place when a shot rang out. His entire body jumped, and his heart raced. Had he been shot and was in shock or had the bullet missed him? Every nerve in his body twitched and tingled, making the determination of his condition difficult for several seconds.

  The rider dismounted and reached down to scoop up the body of the rattler that had spooked his horse. He cast the headless serpent into the bushes, right where Cord was hiding.

  The snake’s body was still coiling and jerking. Cord almost shit in his pants as the snake plunked down in front of his face. He choked back the urge to yell, as he heard the man mount his horse and ride off.

  Too scared to move, Cord stared at the snake. Its body was winding around itself, tying itself almost in knots. Morgan was right. I'm just a programmer, not a spy.

  He smiled at how foolish he must look. Some tough guy you are. He jumped to his feet, dusted himself off, and headed in the direction the rider had gone.

  Langley, Virginia

  Roger Stork called up all available information on both Cord and Morgan Alexander. After reading everything on the monitor, he keyed in the commands for a hard copy and sat back in his seat. He still had a hard time believing that he’d been so fooled by Alexander. He’d been reading people a long time and maybe it was conceited to think that he was good at it, but that's exactly what he thought.

  There had to be more to it than the information he possessed. If Alexander had ties to terrorists cells it wasn’t showing up. But there had to be something for the agency to be focusing on Alexander.

  And what’s going on with Cassie? Since R
oger’s friend Andy Smith had called and told him about the videotape of Alexander and Cassie, Roger had been worried. She was assigned to keep Alexander under surveillance, not jump into bed with him.

  And what about that story involving Mrs. Alexander getting into a fight with Cassie? Roger wasn’t sure he bought the whole thing, but Andy swore that his information was correct. Acid rumbled in Roger’s gut. Cassie could’ve gotten herself in over her head. Just like Alexander. And at the moment, no one seemed to care that just maybe they were chasing innocent people who had been set up. It was a witch–hunt and if he didn’t find them first, it was almost a sure bet that someone would end up dead

  Picking up the stack of paper from the printer, he began to read again, more slowly this time, taking notes in his neat square handwriting. There had to be something that everyone had missed, and Stork intended to find it.

  US Highway 285, near the Texas-New Mexico border

  Cassie stared out of the window at the darkness. She’d just gotten off the cell phone with Victor and whatever had happened, it had him in a fury. She was sure now that there was no way she could save Cord for herself. Victor wanted him destroyed and that was the end of it.

  Even if she could think of a way to get to Cord, she couldn’t pull it off. Victor had made sure of that by sending Juro with her. It was a sure bet that Juro would never go against Victor’s orders, no matter what he was offered.

  With Cord out of the picture, she’d just have to concentrate on Victor. He might be infatuated with Morgan Alexander, but Cassie was sure it wouldn’t last. He’d tire of Morgan as quickly as he tired of all the women who had come and gone through his life.

  Except her. She’d outlasted all of them. They had shared his bed and benefited from his favors for a time, but in the end, he got tired of them. Maybe she should turn her attention toward the task of how to claim Victor for herself. The idea did have a certain appeal. As Mrs. Victor Vinsetti, she would wield enormous power. Not to mention be fabulously wealthy.

  Yes, that was exactly what she’d do. She’d take care of Cord, just as Victor wanted, and then she would set an irresistible trap for Victor. Before he knew it, he would be hers.