by Cat Schield
The noises she made as he drew his tongue along the most sensitive part of her fanned his lust to white-hot brilliance. He ignored the tight ache below his belt and focused on driving her pleasure higher. By now he knew both a fast and slow way to make her crazy, but she’d learned a thing or two about him, as well.
“I want to come with you inside me,” she panted, tugging on his hair as her climax drew close. “Please, Ryan.”
He had no reason to deny her request and swiftly stripped out of his clothes. She did the same, yanking the Aztec-patterned dress over her head and shimmying out of the tank she wore beneath it. He took a second to admire her lithe, toned body as she set her hand to the zipper of her favorite boots.
With a slow smile, Ryan shook his head. “Leave them on.”
This command gifted him with her first smile of the night. She held out her arms and he moved between her thighs. Her gaze locked on his as he slid inside her.
“I love you,” she murmured, so quietly that he thought he’d misheard.
His heart gave his ribs a painful kick. An instant later she squeezed her eyes shut and began rocking her hips in the way she knew he adored. Ryan began to move in response and the raw, frenzied lovemaking that followed left him reeling. They climaxed together, Ryan making sure Zoe came hard before surrendering to his own pleasure.
In the aftermath, he lay beside her on the carpet. Completely wrung out, Ryan rolled his head in her direction. She lay with her forearm flung over her eyes, lips parted as her chest rose and fell, lungs laboring. Her skin wore a sheen of sweat, inviting his touch, but she spoke before he could summon the strength to move.
“I need to tell you something,” she announced, her tone grim.
“I’m listening.”
“Something bad is going to happen to your sister.”
His lethargy vanished as a jolt of adrenaline flooded his muscles. Ryan sat up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her arm away from her face so he could see her expression.
“What sort of something?” He heard the suspicion chilling his voice and wasn’t surprised when she shivered.
She sat up and pulled free, rubbing her wrist before she tucked her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her self-protective pose added to his irritation. She had no reason to be afraid of him.
Sorrow filled her eyes. “Jefferson is having an affair with Patty.”
For a second he couldn’t process her words. Of all the things Ryan was prepared for her to say, hearing that his brother-in-law was cheating wasn’t even on the list.
“Susannah’s deputy campaign manager?” Ryan shook his head, unable to wrap his mind around Zoe’s story. “I don’t believe you.”
Jefferson would never cheat on Susannah. He adored her. He loved their life and would never do something like that to their children.
“It’s true,” she insisted. “And there’s proof.”
“What sort of proof?” he asked, his skepticism raging.
“There’s a video.”
Damn it all to hell.
“Of what exactly?” he challenged, hoping like hell that she didn’t have the goods. That it was all an ill-conceived lie to stir up trouble. Yet what could she possibly hope to achieve by spinning such a tale?
“It’s a video of the two of them going into a hotel room.”
In this age of technology, things like that could be doctored. And it sounded exactly like something Lyle Abernathy would be behind. Ryan ground his teeth together.
“Have you seen it?” He couldn’t just accept her word. Unless he saw it with his own eyes, he’d never accept that Jeff could betray Susannah.
She nodded.
“How? Where?”
Zoe got to her feet and grabbed her cell. She manipulated the phone for a few seconds and then handed it to him.
The video was shot at night and from a distance, but there was no question it was Jefferson Kirby and Patty Joyce and they were romantically involved. The segment was no longer than twenty seconds, but it was more than enough to damn Jeff’s actions. Ryan badly wanted to punch something long before the hotel room door shut behind the couple.
“Did you follow them?” He slashed a glance in Zoe’s direction and discovered she’d taken the moments of his distraction to put her clothes back on.
Part of his brain mourned that she’d covered up all her beautiful skin, but he recognized that the last thing he needed right now was to be distracted by her nakedness.
“No,” Zoe said, retreating to one of the chairs in his living room. “Someone sent the video to me.”
“Someone?” he snapped, frustrated by her vagueness. “You mean Abernathy?”
Overwhelmed by fury at Zoe’s betrayal, Ryan kicked himself for all the times he’d let lust override common sense when it came to her. From the first he’d suspected something was off about Zoe, but he’d let his hunger for her lead him to stop questioning her abrupt appearance in Susannah’s campaign.
“No.” Zoe shook her head. “Not Abernathy. He doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
Not yet.
The unspoken words hung in his thoughts like a deadly virus. There was no doubt that the video would end up in Abernathy’s hands eventually. No matter how many assurances Zoe made, the fact that it existed at all meant it would be leaked.
“Who else knows?”
Her gaze pleaded with him for mercy. “I don’t know.”
“Help me to understand what’s going on,” Ryan said. “Why did such a damning video come to you?”
The distant rumble of a truck along King Street a few blocks away was the only sound in the room for a long minute until Zoe heaved a weary sigh.
“Because of something I came here to do,” she murmured, forcing Ryan to strain to hear her.
“And what is that exactly?”
She wrapped her arms around her waist. If her slumped posture and forlorn expression was supposed to invoke his sympathy, it wasn’t working. His blood turned to ice in his veins as he waited for her to speak.
“To mess up your sister’s campaign as a way of getting revenge on you.”
Ten
Ryan’s expression went cold at her words, but Zoe experienced none of the gut-wrenching panic that used to besiege her whenever she’d done something to upset Tristan. No matter how angry he became at her, Zoe trusted Ryan would fight fair.
“Revenge?” Gravel filled his deep voice. “On me? Why? What did I ever do to you?”
“Nothing. It’s not me who wants revenge,” she explained. “It’s Everly Briggs. Because of what happened to her sister Kelly.”
“Why would you get involved? Who is Everly to you?”
Ryan pushed to his feet and retrieved his clothes. After slipping back into his boxer briefs and jeans, he thrust his arms into his white button-down shirt and came to stand over her, hands planted on his narrow hips, irritation pulling his brows together.
Although her chest ached, tears hadn’t yet made an appearance. For that she should be grateful. Her story would be much harder to tell if she was blubbering incoherently.
“Earlier this fall I went to a networking event and met two women. Everly Briggs and London McCaffrey. I was near the end of my divorce and feeling bitter and helpless. Out of money, beaten up by Tristan’s lawyers, I wasn’t in my right mind. We were all in a similar state. London was angry at being dumped by Linc Thurston and Everly was devastated that Kelly was in jail. We were all feeling wronged and helpless and vindictive.” She stared at her hands, trying to avoid the outrage blazing in Ryan’s gray eyes.
“So you decided to get back at us?” Ryan demanded.
Zoe nodded. “We started talking about how great it would be to make you all pay, but knew anything we did would only come back to bite us.”
Ryan’s expression reflected ho
rrified amazement. “So what did you do?”
“We decided to each go after one of you. We were strangers at a cocktail party. The idea being that whatever bad thing we made happen, it couldn’t be traced back to the one who bore a grudge against you. Everly broke up Linc and his housekeeper for London. London secured some documents from Tristan that proved he has money hidden offshore for me.”
“And you were supposed to come after me for Everly,” Ryan said. “Only you didn’t. You went after Susannah.”
Zoe wanted to remind him that she hadn’t actually done anything to harm his sister, but recognized it was pointless to defend herself.
“Everly suggested that since you’d hurt her sister,” Zoe said. “I should hurt yours.”
Ryan stared at her in silence for so long Zoe wondered if he ever intended to speak. His eyes were chips of gray ice, reflecting his mood, and when he next spoke, his tone chilled her to the bone.
“What are you planning to do with the video?”
Zoe gave her head an emphatic shake. “Nothing. Don’t you get it? I didn’t shoot this. I couldn’t do anything to hurt Susannah or you. I lov—” She bit her lip as Ryan threw up a hand, preventing her from finishing. “No,” she cried. “I’m going to say it. I love you and I’m sorry about everything. My involvement in this has been eating me up.”
“You love me?” he demanded, voice rising in outrage. “I’m supposed to believe that when this whole time you’ve been lying to me?”
“Only about why I volunteered for Susannah’s campaign. You have to believe me.” Zoe put her hand on his arm and flinched when he jerked away. “I’ve been honest about everything else.”
“Honest.” He growled the word. “Why tell me any of this? You could’ve just kept quiet and I’d never have known you were involved.”
“Everly told Tristan the truth,” Zoe admitted, knowing this was the thing that would sink any chance of saving their relationship. If she’d told him the truth before circumstances forced her hand, she might’ve been able to make him understand. Instead she’d pledged her loyalty to the wrong cause. “He’s threatened to tell you.”
Ryan rubbed his hands over his face. “That’s what he meant at the fund-raiser.”
“I did try to back out,” Zoe said, doubting he’d believe her. “After getting to know you and Susannah, I couldn’t go through with what we’d planned. But Everly was determined to make you pay and she wouldn’t listen to reason.”
“Do you know what your scheme is going to do to my sister?” Pain filled his voice. “Forget her campaign for state senate, this video will ruin her marriage. Did you stop for one second to think about the potential damage to her family when you started your little game?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, recognizing mere words could not atone for her mistakes.
Ryan cursed. “I have to warn Susannah.” He took several steps in the direction of the hallway before pausing. Without turning around, he delivered his final words. “You need to be gone before I get back.”
* * *
Ryan grabbed his keys on the way out the back door and headed for the garage. A volatile mix of emotions raged in him, from fury at his brother-in-law’s betrayal to despair over the devastation this would cause his sister. Anything related to Zoe he banished to the furthest reaches of his mind.
I love you.
Damn her.
His chest tightened as her declaration reverberated in his mind. Pain and longing battled for dominance. How was it possible that only an hour earlier he’d been reflecting on the mind-blowing sex he’d been having with her and worried that she might want to end things? Ryan bottled up all emotion related to Zoe. She was a distraction he couldn’t afford.
He needed to focus his energy on Susannah and to support her as she learned what her husband had been up to.
Before heading to his sister’s campaign headquarters, Ryan sent a copy of the video to Paul. He’d forwarded it to himself from Zoe’s phone once he’d finished watching it. Now, as he threw his car into reverse and started backing out of the garage, his phone rang.
“What the hell is up with this video you sent me?” Paul demanded, his ferocity feeding Ryan’s own ire. “Has Susannah seen it?”
“Not yet. I’m on my way to tell her about it right now.”
Paul swore. “Where did it come from?”
“Zoe showed it to me.” Ryan clenched the steering wheel until his fingers cramped, but it wasn’t enough to overpower the ache in his chest. “It was taken by Everly Briggs.”
“Kelly’s sister?” Paul sounded as confused as Ryan had been moments earlier. “Why? What’s going on?”
“It’s a long story.”
Ryan went on to repeat what Zoe had told him, keeping the focus on the facts even when his friend’s tone grew sympathetic.
“Oh, hell,” Paul said. “Susannah doesn’t deserve any of this.”
“I know. I just wish there was something we could do to mitigate the fallout, but even if we could somehow keep the video from coming out, I don’t think that will stop Everly Briggs from further mischief in the future.”
“Legally she hasn’t done anything wrong,” Paul agreed. “How did you leave things with Zoe?”
Ryan was surprised his friend had to ask. “Obviously we’re done. I told her to move out.”
“Sure, that makes sense.” But his tone indicated otherwise.
“She’s been lying to me this whole time,” Ryan reminded his friend. “Since the day we met.”
“Well, to be fair, you suspected her motives for joining the campaign. Turns out you were right. Just the players were different.”
“So that somehow makes it okay?” Ryan fumed.
“Not okay, but what exactly is it she did that was so bad besides not tell you what she’d gotten involved in?” Paul asked. “Granted, she started out conspiring against you, but she didn’t take any action. And she brought the video to you before it got leaked.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking her side.”
“Look,” Paul said soothingly, “I get that you’re hurt because she wasn’t completely honest with you, but it sounds like she got in over her head. It’s pretty obvious that Everly Briggs took advantage of her. And, from the sound of things, London McCaffrey as well. I’ve seen you two together and it’s pretty obvious how you feel about each other. Don’t let one mistake ruin what you two could have.”
I love you.
“You don’t get it...” Further protests lodged in his throat. She loved him? How was that possible when she’d lied to and betrayed him?
The video of Jefferson and Patty Joyce played in his mind. His pain was nothing compared to what Susannah was about to feel.
“Ryan?”
He realized Paul had continued talking. “What?”
“I asked if it was okay if I called Zoe about the documents she got from London McCaffrey.”
“Sure. Fine.”
If Paul was interested, did that mean something illegal had taken place? Would Ryan be responsible for sending two more women to jail? The thought of Zoe behind bars turned his blood to ice.
“Paul, wait a second,” Ryan said. “I don’t want anything to happen to these women because of me.”
“Not even after they conspired to get revenge on you?”
Ryan ignored his friend’s amused tone. “Just go at this as my friend, okay? Not as a former cop and cybersecurity specialist.”
“Whatever you say. Call me after you talk to Susannah.”
“Will do.”
Ten minutes after hanging up with Paul, Ryan parked outside the campaign headquarters and headed in. Over half the desks were full of volunteers and campaign staff, most of whom were on the phone. Ryan made a beeline for Susannah’s office, unsurprised to find her talking with Gil.
“I need t
o talk with my sister in private,” Ryan said after exchanging a brief greeting with her campaign manager.
“Sure.”
Ryan shut the door after the man departed and then lowered all the blinds to ensure complete privacy. Susannah watched him in silence, her eyebrows raised.
“Well, this is dramatic,” she said as he sat across from her. “What’s going on?”
“I found out something about Zoe today that proves I was right about her motives for coming to work for the campaign.”
Susannah’s amused expression faded. “Ryan, I’m sorry. I know how much you care about her.”
That his sister’s first reaction to his news was concern for him was a poignant reminder of why he loved her so much. His heart ached at the blow he was about to deliver.
“It’s bad, SuSu.” He pulled out his phone and queued up the video. “She’s been working with Everly Briggs to mess up your campaign. Today, she showed me this.”
He started the video and handed Susannah his phone. Susannah’s expression went from confusion to shock and finally horror as she watched her husband head into a hotel room with her deputy campaign manager.
“Zoe took this?” Susannah’s neutral tone was at odds with her shaken appearance.
“No. Everly did. I think we can expect this will be leaked to the press or possibly sent to Abernathy at some point in the near future.”
“Can you send this to Gil?” Susannah’s hands were shaking as she handed the phone back to Ryan. “He’ll want to start strategizing damage control as soon as possible.” Before she finished speaking, she got to her feet and pulled her purse out of a drawer. “Tell him if he needs to get hold of me later, I’ll be at home discussing the situation with Jefferson.”
“Is there anything else you need for me to do?” Ryan asked. “Do you want me to come with you and maybe take the kids out for ice cream so you can have the conversation in private?”
“Thanks for the offer, but Candi will be there,” Susannah said, referring to her housekeeper. “I’ll get her to take them.”
Ryan wasn’t fooled by his sister’s appearance of calm. She was passionate about fair play and justice, and he knew firsthand the painful penalty she dealt when crossed.