Secrets She Kept

by Debra Webb

She raised her hand and leveled a finger at him. “Stay right where you are.”

  Jeffrey cocked his head and a lock of his brown hair slipped free from the gel and made a comma on his wrinkled brow.

  Had she made sense? She tried to form another word with her thick tongue, but she couldn’t get it to cooperate.

  She resorted to sign language, raising her middle finger. Would he get the picture now? “Whatever.” He plopped back into his chair. “Just be careful.”

  She swung to the side, banging her hip on the corner of the table, jostling all the empties. Putting her head down, she made a beeline for the door.

  Once outside, she gulped in breaths of the cold air but couldn’t seem to revive herself. Walking should help. She put one foot in front of the other and weaved down the sidewalk. Oncoming pedestrians gave her a wide berth, and a few made jokes.

  Oh, God. Was she a joke? A drunk joke? She placed a hand flat against the side of a building and closed her eyes.

  She hadn’t been this drunk since college days, and she didn’t intend to make the same stupid mistakes she’d made back then.

  She shoved a hand into the pocket of her leather moto jacket and fumbled for her phone. Jeffrey had been right about one thing—she should call a taxi.

  After she pulled the phone from her jacket, it slipped from her hand and bounced twice on the sidewalk before landing in the gutter.

  She dropped to a crouch and stuck her hand over the curb to feel for the phone. The effort proved too much for her and she fell over onto her side.

  Good thing her son couldn’t see her now, passed out like a wino in the gutter.

  She flexed her fingers toward her phone but lead weights had been attached to their tips—and her eyelids. DC Metro would pick her up and she’d lose her job for sure.

  “Sue? Sue? You’re coming with me now.”

  An arm curled around her shoulders and pulled her upright. Jeffrey. He’d followed her out to finish what he’d started.

  She arched her back, but her gelatinous spine sabotaged the act and she collapsed against Jeffrey’s chest.

  He had her.

  “It’s all right. I’m taking you to my hotel.”

  Her lips parted and she uttered a protest, but just like everything in her life lately, the situation had already spiraled out of her control.

  Her mind screamed resistance, but her body had already succumbed.

  * * *

  Sue stretched her limbs and rubbed her eyes, the silky, soft sheets falling from her shoulders. Then the memories from the night before tumbled through her mind in a kaleidoscope of images.

  She bolted upright against the king-size bed’s headboard, yanking the sheets to her chin to cover her naked body.

  Had Jeffrey raped and abandoned her at the hotel? Was his name even Jeffrey?

  The bathroom door crashed open and a large man stopped cold on the threshold. “God, you look beautiful even after the night you had.”

  Sue’s mouth dropped open as she took in the man at the bathroom door, towel hanging precariously low on a pair of slim hips.

  The man she’d betrayed and who still haunted her dreams...and it sure as hell wasn’t Jeffrey.

  Chapter 2

  The look on Sue’s face shifted from shock to disbelief, to horror, to pain and to a whole bunch of other stuff he couldn’t figure out. And that had been his problem with Sue Chandler all along—he’d never been able to figure her out.

  Those luscious lips finally formed a word, just one. “You.”

  He spread his arms wide. “In the flesh. Did you expect me to leave you in the gutter, like you left me?”

  “As I recall, it was a luxury hotel.” She patted the pillow next to her. “Somewhat like this one—and all I did was check out.”

  “Details, details.”

  She pointed at him. “Your towel is slipping. Not interested in seeing that package—again.”

  The years hadn’t softened Sue Chandler one bit. He held up one finger. “Give me a second.”

  As Sue turned her tight face away, he crossed the room to his suitcase, tugged a pair of briefs from an inside pocket, dropped his towel and pulled on his underwear.

  “There.” He turned toward the bed. “Decent.”

  Her gaze flicked over his body, making him hot and hard, as only Sue Chandler could do with one look from her dark eyes.

  The twist of her lips told him she’d noticed the effect she had on him.

  “Maybe not decent enough.” He yanked open a dresser drawer and pulled out some jeans. He stepped into them, feeling less cocky under Sue’s unrelenting stare, but he had the upper hand for once.

  “Now, are you going to tell me what you were doing last night stumbling along the streets of DC close to midnight?”

  “I live here.” Her jaw hardened. “What are you doing here and how did you happen to find me?”

  “You’re not exactly hard to find. You work for the CIA and live in DC, and I knew you weren’t on assignment, not after...”

  “You know about my kidnapping?” She drew her knees to her chest beneath the sheets, clasping her arms around her legs.

  “Several special forces knew about it and were actively planning your rescue.” He tilted his head to the side. “But you didn’t need rescuing.”

  “Don’t go throwing any parades. The kidnappers were not that bright.” She blinked. “Is that why you’re here? Have you been following me?”

  “Whoa, wait.” He tossed his towel onto the foot of the bed. “I followed you from your place to the bar last night. That’s it. I just arrived yesterday.”

  She sank back against the stacked pillows. “Why’d you follow me? Are you here on official duty, or something? I’ve already been debriefed by the Agency.”

  “Official duty? Really? What would a Delta Force soldier have to do with the kidnapping of a CIA agent?”

  “Don’t try that ‘Who, me?’ stuff with me, Mancini. You didn’t seek me out to profess your undying love. You had three years to do that—and not a peep.”

  He reached into the closet and jerked a shirt from a hanger, leaving it swinging wildly. “You’re not gonna pin that on me. I got the message loud and clear that you were moving on. Did you expect me to chase after you?”

  Sue opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. Then her eyes widened and she gathered the covers around her body. “I’m naked. How did I get naked?”

  “I took your clothes off—sorry.” He gestured to a pile of clothing in the corner of the room. “Yours were dirty. I didn’t think it was sanitary to put you to bed in filthy clothes.”

  “How thoughtful.” She snorted. “I fell on the sidewalk. I’m sure you could’ve brushed the dirt from my slacks and left my underwear alone.”

  He cleared his throat. “You vomited all over yourself when I got you to the room.”

  “Oh my God.” She covered her mouth with both hands. “I don’t know what happened last night. I—I apologize.”

  “Nothing I haven’t handled hundreds of times before with my buddies. I’m sure we can send your clothes to the hotel’s laundry or dry cleaning. I already cleaned off your boots and jacket.”

  “I don’t know what to say. I’m embarrassed. I’m not sure what came over me. I did have a lot of wine last night, but I’ve never felt that way before.”

  “I’m thinking the fact that you upchucked saved you.”

  “Saved me from what?”

  “Whatever was in your system.”

  “You mean besides the alcohol?” She twisted a lock of dark brown hair around her finger, not looking surprised at all. “What do you know? Why are you here in DC?”

  He swallowed against his dry throat. He had to concentrate, but remembering Sue naked in bed had his thoughts scrambled.

  Should he pretend he was here for he
r instead of trying to explain the real reason? He met those dark, shimmering eyes that seemed to see into his very soul. He couldn’t lie to Sue—not that she’d believe him, anyway.

  “I got a message from Major Denver.”

  “Major Rex Denver? AWOL Delta Force commander?”

  “You know as well as I do that he isn’t and never has been working with any terrorist organization against the US government. One of your own translators proved the emails she’d received implicating him were phony.”

  “I’ve heard all the stories, but if he’s innocent, why won’t he come in? Why is he sending messages to you instead?”

  “He doesn’t feel it’s safe yet. He’s already been the victim of a setup, and he doesn’t trust anyone.”

  “Yeah, I understand that.” Sue bit her bottom lip. “What was the message? What are you supposed to do?”

  “Contact you?”

  “What? Why?”

  “He believes the people who kidnapped you belong to the same group he’s trying to bring down, the same group that he believes is planning some kind of spectacular attack.”

  Sue clenched the sheets in her fists. “Why does he think that?”

  Hunter’s pulse jumped. Again, no surprised looks from Sue. “Something his informant told him. Why? What happened during that kidnapping? Did they ever give you any reason why they snatched you?”

  “Wait.” She massaged her temple with two fingers. “I can’t take all this in right now, especially not huddled under the covers with no clothes on. I need a shower. I need breakfast. I need clothes.”

  “The shower’s all yours. I can send your clothes out to the laundry right now, if you’re okay with eating room service wearing my sweats and T-shirt.” He took a step to the side and slid open the closet door. He reached in, his hand closing around the fluffy terrycloth of a hotel robe. “You can wear this into the bathroom.”

  “Thanks.”

  She uttered the word between clenched teeth, almost grudgingly, but he’d take it at this point. Her reception of him had been chillier than he’d expected, especially since she was the one who had ended their brief affair by leaving him in his hotel room with no note, no phone call, no explanation.

  He placed the robe across her lap, dropping it quickly and jerking back. Being close to Sue again had proven to be more difficult than he’d expected when he first got Denver’s message. Undressing her last night and putting her to bed had been an exquisite torture. His hands lingering on her smooth flesh had screamed violation, so he’d made quick work of it.

  “I’m going to bag your stuff and call housekeeping. I’ll put a rush on it, so your clothes will be ready by the time we finish breakfast.” He pinched the strap of her lacy bra between two fingers and held it up. “Anything need special attention or dry cleaning?”

  “Everything is machine washable.” She flicked her fingers in the air. “Turn around, please.”

  Not like he hadn’t already seen every inch of her beautiful body.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He turned his back on her and stuffed her clothing into the hotel’s plastic bag for laundry, as she rustled behind him.

  She slammed the bathroom door before he even rose from the floor with her bag of clothing dangling from his fingertips.

  Blowing out a breath, he wedged a shoulder against the closet. He knew it wouldn’t be easy reconnecting with Sue after what had happened in Paris, but she couldn’t completely blame him for not contacting her, could she?

  They’d met at a party of expats. He knew she was CIA, and she knew he was Delta Force on leave. They’d approached their relationship as a fling and had been enjoying each other’s company until she’d turned cold. He’d assumed at the time it was because she knew they’d have to end their Paris idyll once he got deployed, even though he’d been ready to ask her to wait for him.

  Maybe it hadn’t been the wisest decision for him to get involved with someone so soon after separating from his wife, and maybe she got that vibe from him, although he hadn’t gotten around to telling her about his wife. He hadn’t wanted to open that can of worms until he’d gotten a signal from Sue that they had some kind of future. Once she’d shut that down, he’d shut down, too. He didn’t need any more women in his life who couldn’t accept his military career.

  He pushed off the closet and grabbed the phone by the bed. He requested a laundry pickup and then room service, ordering eggs, bacon, the works. From what he’d seen of Sue’s body last night, she still must work out and burn calories at a ferocious rate. With Sue’s dedication to running, kickboxing and Krav Maga, he’d had no trouble imagining her escaping from a gaggle of hapless terrorists—even though others did.

  He’d heard rumblings that Sue faked her kidnapping and miraculous escape but hadn’t heard about any motive. Why would she fake a kidnapping in Istanbul? Glory? Sue wasn’t like that. Didn’t need that. The woman he’d met in Paris kept her head down and got to work. No nonsense. No drama.

  And that’s how she’d ended their affair.

  The bathroom door swung open, and Sue poked her head into the room. “Can they do my clothes?”

  “They haven’t picked up yet, but they assured me they could have them ready by noon. Is that okay?” He glanced at the clock by the tousled bed. “You don’t have to get to work?”

  “I have a few days off. That’s why I was out last night with my friend.”

  “When your friend left the bar with that guy, I thought maybe...” He shrugged.

  “You thought I’d be leaving with someone, too?” She tucked a lock of wet hair beneath the towel wrapped around her head. “Queen of the one-night stands?”

  “What we had wasn’t...”

  He choked to a stop as she sliced a hand through the air. “Don’t want to discuss it.”

  “Housekeeping.” The sharp rap at the door had him pivoting to answer it. He handed the bag to the woman. “I was told the clothes could be returned by noon.”

  “That’s what I have on the order, sir.”

  By the time he turned back to the room, Sue had grabbed what she needed from his bag and retreated to the bathroom.

  He ran a hand across his mouth. He didn’t understand her anger at him. He hadn’t been the one who abruptly left Paris without a word, without even a note on the pillow.

  She’d hurt him more than he’d cared to admit, but he’d chalked it up to being dumped and accepted it as a sign that he shouldn’t have gotten involved with someone so soon after Julia left.

  Maybe Sue had expected him to run after her, pursue her, but he hadn’t had the energy at that time for games and he’d let her go without a fight—clearly his loss.

  She emerged from the bathroom again, yanking up the waistband of a pair of gray sweats that swam on her.

  “I can turn up the thermostat in the room if you just wanna wear the big T-shirt.”

  “That’s all right. I don’t plan to run any marathons, or even leave the room.”

  The next knock on the door brought breakfast, and Hunter added a tip and signed the check. He lifted the cover on the first plate. “Eggs, bacon, hash browns. Is that okay?”

  “Toast?”

  “Under this one.” He plucked a cover from a rack of toast. “Coffee?”

  “Please.”

  She’d exchanged her ire for a cold civility. He couldn’t decide which stung more. Over the years, he’d built up some ridiculous significance to their fling—Sue just set him straight.

  He poured her a cup of coffee and nudged the cream and sugar toward her where she’d taken up a place across the table from him.

  She dumped some cream into her coffee, picked up the cup and leveled a gaze at him over the rim. “Where did you sleep last night?”

  His own coffee sloshed over the side of his cup. “The sofa.”

  “That small thing?”

/>   “My legs hung over the edge, but I’ve had worse.”

  All the questions that must be bubbling in her brain and that one came to the surface first?

  “Look, this is what happened.” He slurped a sip of coffee for fortification. “I’d followed you to the bar from your place. I watched the entrance, waiting for you to come out, and I was going to approach you then.”

  “Why not sooner?”

  “I told you, I’d just arrived in the afternoon, and I didn’t have your address right away. Figured you’d be at work, anyway. By the time I got around to finding your place, you were on the move. I didn’t want to interrupt your evening. I thought about leaving you a note, but...”

  “You figured I might not contact you.”

  “So, I followed you to the bar and waited.”

  “How’d you know I was with Dani? A woman? You mentioned seeing my friend leave with a man.”

  He cleared his throat. “I went into the bar.”

  “You were watching me inside the bar?” She stabbed at her eggs with a fork. “Creepy.”

  His lips twitched. “Sorry. I didn’t stay long. Then I waited outside and saw your friend leave.”

  “Just in time to see me staggering out.”

  “Scared the hell out of me.”

  “Why?”

  “It didn’t look...normal, and I knew you weren’t a big drinker, or at least you weren’t in Paris.” There he was, acting like some big expert on Sue Chandler.

  “It didn’t feel normal.” She dropped a half-eaten piece of toast onto her plate. “If that guy I was with, Jeffrey, drugged me, what did his friend do to Dani? And why would they want to do anything to either of us?”

  “Before we try to answer that second question, why don’t you give Dani a call?” He crumpled his napkin next to his plate and grabbed her phone off the charger. “I found your phone charger in your purse and took the liberty of hooking you up.”

  “Thanks. Seems like you thought of everything.”

  “Except that change of clothes.” He dropped the phone into her palm.

  While Sue called her friend, Hunter shook out his napkin and listened. Everything sounded okay on this end. Maybe he’d been wrong about Sue being in danger.