Dangerous To Love

by Toni Anderson, Barbara Freethy, Dee Davis, Leslie A. Kelly, Cynthia Eden, J. Kenner, Meli Raine, Gwen Hernandez, Pamela Clare, Rachel Grant

  “I can’t believe this,” Whitney said. “You sound insane right now, Kyle.”

  “I’m not the one who’s crazy—it’s him.” Kyle tipped his head in Hamilton’s direction.

  “No, it’s you,” Jonathan said. “You’re rewriting history. Mom wanted Nova Star to succeed as much as Dad did, and she didn’t want extraordinary measures used to keep her alive.”

  “That’s because she didn’t want to take money away from Dad’s dream when she was dying,” Kyle shouted.

  “What happened to Jia?” Wyatt interjected. “Who killed her and why?”

  “She was killed because I started getting cold feet,” Kyle admitted. “I was getting my head back together, and I wanted to back out. I realized what I really wanted to do was get out of the space race entirely, but I was in too deep. They killed Jia as a warning to me. And then they blackmailed me with recordings of all my conversations with her. If I didn’t do what they said, they would kill me, too. I was trapped.”

  “You sent me to talk to that woman,” Jonathan said, giving his brother a bewildered look. “You set me up, Kyle.”

  “I couldn’t go myself. I was surprised she asked for me to come to San Francisco. She didn’t realize she was being set up, that the information she’d been told to bring to me would actually be found in her car. Her employers wanted you to know there was a mole in your company, that it might be your son,” Kyle added, looking at his father. “Just not the son you thought it was.”

  “I never believed it was Jonathan, but I also never could have imagined it would be you,” Hamilton said, sitting down on the couch, suddenly looking every one of his sixty-eight years.

  Avery felt sorry for Hamilton, but right now her attention was on Kyle. “Why did the Chinese, I assume it was the Chinese, want Hamilton to know there was a spy in the company?”

  “They thought it would put pressure on me, and, yes, it’s a Chinese company secretly funded by the state.

  “How did Noelle get involved?” she asked.

  “She was working in my department for a while. Larry was using Carter as a go-between. I guess Noelle got suspicious as to why Carter was in my wing of the building so often. I don’t know. I asked him about it, and he said she must have figured out that he was selling secrets to secure a promotion from Larry. She had money problems of her own, so she took the drive that he was supposed to turn over on Saturday night and set up her own meet. But I guess she had second thoughts and didn’t hand over the drive. My associates don’t tolerate disloyalty, so she was killed.” Kyle’s gaze bored into hers. “I knew you had it, Avery. Where was it?”

  “It isn’t important where it was. You ordered me to be killed. This wasn’t just about selling secrets; this was about murder. People died because of you, Kyle.”

  “I had no choice. I got caught up in a situation that went really bad. They put out the contract on you; I was just supposed to help them locate you, but Wyatt kept saving you. We were desperate. The launch is tomorrow. That’s why I said it had to be done tonight, or it would all be over.”

  She couldn’t believe how calmly he was talking about working with a hit man, about plotting out her death. “You put the GPS tracker in my bag at the birthday party, didn’t you?”

  “That was easy. You left it in the living room.”

  “I thought of you as a brother, Kyle,” she murmured.

  “Yeah, you wanted to be in the family so bad, and Dad wanted you in our family, too, because you shared his dreams,” Kyle said bitterly. “You were part of the problem. You encouraged him to go for everything he wanted. You became the voice in his head.”

  “What’s supposed to happen at the launch tomorrow?” Wyatt interrupted.

  Kyle hesitated, then shrugged, as if realizing it was truly over. “The satellite will destroy itself after it separates from the rocket. The Chinese company is already building a satellite defense system that will work, based on my engineering. Nova Star won’t be able to regroup fast enough to beat them. It’s the end of the race, Dad,” he added, looking back Hamilton. “You’re not going to beat anyone to Mars. You’re going to be human, and you’re going to die on Earth just like Mom did.”

  As Kyle stopped talking, they heard a pounding on the front door, a ringing of the bell, followed by shouts of, “FBI.”

  Rena threw open the door and a dozen agents swarmed into the house.

  Wyatt put away his gun, grabbed Kyle’s arm and turned him over to one of the agents.

  Avery didn’t recognize any of the men, but Bree and the woman who had arrested Wyatt earlier were front and center. She was surprised to see the other agent there. She’d thought Bree and Flynn would bring their own team, and she really hoped Wyatt wasn’t going to be arrested again, too. She felt like she was on the very edge of a breakdown, overwhelmed by emotion, and she couldn’t lose Wyatt for a second time that day.

  She instinctively took a step toward him.

  Wyatt gave her a reassuring look. “It’s fine,” he said.

  Hamilton was back on his feet now. “Agent Davis,” he said to the blonde woman. “It turns out you were right. One of my sons was working with a foreign government to sabotage my company. But it wasn’t Jonathan.”

  “I’ve been read in on everything,” Joanna said, in a crisp, cold tone. “We also have agents arresting Larry Bickmore as we speak. We would like you to call off the launch tomorrow. That’s not really a request, by the way. This is a matter of national security.”

  “I understand,” Hamilton said, a weary note in his voice. “I’ll make the call.”

  “We’re going to need to interview each and every one of you as well as numerous individuals at Nova Star,” Joanna continued. “Special Agents Adams and MacKenzie will take your initial statements now. This is just the beginning of a long investigation. But it will not be conducted by me. Agents from New York and DC will be in town tomorrow.” Her gaze moved to Wyatt. “You have friends in high places, Wyatt. But someday you and I will finish our unfinished business.”

  That sounded ominous, Avery thought, wondering why the agent seemed so personally angered by Wyatt. Maybe she was just embarrassed that she’d been used as a pawn in the game.

  Joanna walked out of the room, followed by all the agents, except two people in plain clothes: Bree and an attractive man who had to be Flynn, the leader of Wyatt’s task force.

  “I need to get to my boyfriend,” Whitney said to Bree. “He’s been shot. And I don’t know anything about any of this.”

  “We’ll start with a few basic questions and then you can be on your way,” Bree said, leading Whitney to another corner of the room, while Flynn isolated Jonathan.

  That left Hamilton standing with her and Wyatt.

  “Who are you?” Hamilton asked Wyatt.

  “I’m FBI. I was inserted into your company by a secret task force after you refused to cooperate with the FBI. My mission was to find the traitor in your company.”

  “Even if it was one of my children.”

  “Yes,” Wyatt replied, meeting Hamilton’s gaze. “You didn’t want the bureau in your business, but the stakes are too high when it comes to a foreign government and national security.”

  “You were very good. Very convincing. Are you even an ex-Marine?”

  “No, but I knew you had a soft spot for fellow soldiers.”

  A growing awareness spread through Hamilton’s gaze. “The carjacking—the robbery—”

  “A set-up,” Wyatt admitted. “Your former security director also won a lottery prize courtesy of the bureau.”

  “Which allowed him to move up his retirement. You thought of everything.” Hamilton’s gaze moved to her. “You knew all this, Avery?”

  “Not until this morning,” she said, hardly able to believe it had only been that morning. So much had happened in the intervening hours.

  “So, he lied to you, too? But it looks like you’ve forgiven him.”

  “How could I not? He saved my life three times.
And Wyatt is a good man. He was working to find the mole in your company. He was working to prevent a national security disaster. You might hate him for lying to you, but you can’t deny that without Wyatt, you might be launching a defective satellite tomorrow, destroying your company and everything you have worked for.”

  Hamilton gave her a thoughtful look. “That’s quite an impassioned response.”

  “I’m just telling the truth. I know you feel betrayed—”

  “You have no idea how I feel,” he said bitterly. “But most of those emotions are directed at my son.”

  “I’m sorry about Kyle,” she couldn’t help saying. “I didn’t want it to be anyone in the family. I didn’t want to believe that someone at the dinner table last night was plotting to kill me.”

  “And I’m sorry that you had to go through all this,” Hamilton said. “You lost your friend. And you almost lost your life. I had no idea Kyle felt the way he did about his mother’s illness and her death. Margery and I were a team. I begged her to let me get her the most experimental treatment in the world. I would have spent my entire fortune to save her life, but there was nothing that could be done, and she didn’t want any of that. She wanted to spend her last days with her family.”

  “I believe you,” she said, seeing the pain in his eyes.

  “Kyle was very close to his mother. I should have realized he was more deeply affected than the others, but he always keeps everything inside of himself. As for the security breach, I honestly didn’t think anyone was conspiring with the Chinese to sell our technology, especially not Kyle. He was the brains behind the business, and I always gave him credit for that. I thought we had a shared dream, but I was wrong. I don’t even know my own son.” He paused, his eyes turning even more embittered. “And Larry—my best friend. He was conspiring against me, too. What’s that old saying—it’s always the person closest to you who carries the knife? I should have remembered that sooner.”

  “Larry has a lot of debts, from what I understand,” she said.

  “And a drunk for a wife,” Hamilton added. “I’ve been bailing him out for years. I was happy to do it. I thought that’s what friends did for each other.” He let out a heavy breath. “I need to call the launch team, scrub the mission.”

  “You’re not going to give up, are you?” she asked. “You can reschedule once everything is back on course.”

  “I don’t know, Avery,” he said with sad eyes. “Maybe this dream has run its course.”

  “Or maybe it just needs to be rethought.”

  He gave her a small smile. “I know you love space as much as I do. We might be the only ones.”

  “We’re not the only ones. There are thousands of people at Nova Star alone who believe in your vision. You can come back from this.”

  “Thank you, Avery.” He glanced at Wyatt. “And what will you do now, Mr. Tanner? Move on to the next case?”

  “Eventually.”

  “You were a good undercover agent,” Hamilton said with a note of admiration in his eyes. “You knew exactly what I needed, and you gave it to me.”

  “I doubt you’ll believe this, but I actually enjoyed getting to know you, and I didn’t want any of your children to be guilty.”

  “Well, you didn’t make Kyle do what he did. That’s on him. He’s going to pay a heavy price, won’t he?”

  Wyatt nodded. “A very heavy price.”

  “I still want to protect him. How ridiculous is that?”

  “It’s not ridiculous. You’re his father,” Wyatt replied.

  Hamilton looked back at her. “Is Brett going to be all right, Avery?”

  “He will be. He put himself between me and a bullet. I don’t think I ever expected he would do that.”

  “Funny. I would have never expected anything less. If I could take a bullet for Kyle, I would it in a heartbeat. You love your kids even when you shouldn’t—even when they hate you.

  As Hamilton walked away, she blew out a breath, then turned to Wyatt. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but she hesitated, thinking not here—not with so many people around.

  But Wyatt had no such concern. He pulled her up against his chest and gave her a kiss. “It’s all over, Avery. You’re safe now.”

  She closed her eyes, believing every word. Not just because Kyle was on his way to jail and the contract killer was dead, but because she was back in Wyatt’s arms, and that’s where she wanted to stay.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Wyatt drove Avery and Whitney to the hospital, leaving Bree and Flynn to finish up with Jonathan and Hamilton. He didn’t know what was in store for his future career, but based on Joanna’s cryptic comment, someone high up had come to his defense. He wondered who that could possibly be. He didn’t know that many people in the upper echelons of the bureau. He also still wanted to know who had taken the time to frame him.

  Maybe Kyle had done that, too, just to separate him from Avery.

  But that was a problem for another day.

  Both Avery and Whitney were quiet on the drive. He would have expected Whitney to be filled with questions, but since she’d gotten into the back of the car ten minutes ago, she hadn’t said a word.

  Avery shifted in her seat, glancing at him, and then over her shoulder at Whitney. “Are you all right?”

  “I don’t think so,” Whitney said, a lost note in her voice. “I can’t believe what Kyle did, how many people he hurt, how many lies he told. He even set Jonathan up. He would have sold his own brother if he had to. He probably would have sold me out, too, if I’d had anything to do with Nova Star.” She paused. “I really need to see Brett. I need to talk to him. He’ll know what to say, how to make me feel better.” She took another breath. “That sounded selfish, didn’t it? That’s me, always thinking of myself. I want Brett to be okay. I need him to be all right. He’s everything to me.”

  “We’ll be there soon,” Avery said, not commenting on whether or not she believed Whitney was selfish.

  “I know you don’t like me,” Whitney said. “Or at least you don’t like me with your father. Oh, hell, maybe you just don’t like me. But you have to know that I am crazy about Brett. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I love him like mad. And, surprisingly, he seems to love me, too.”

  “He does love you,” Avery said. “He told me that earlier tonight. He said the only thing he was afraid of was that you’d suddenly realize he wasn’t that young.”

  “I don’t care about his age. He gets me. You know how rare it is to feel free to be yourself with someone?”

  “I do know,” Avery said, her gaze moving to him. “It’s very rare.”

  He gave her a smile, really wanting to get her alone, so he could tell her how he felt about her. Her defense of him at Hamilton’s house had given him hope that they might be able to get past the lies he’d told her. He really hoped so. But he couldn’t go there now. They still needed to tie up some loose ends, and one of those ends was her dad. Avery wouldn’t be able to really relax until she saw that her father was all right.

  A few minutes later, he dropped Avery and Whitney at the front door, then parked the car in the lot and headed inside. He found both women in Brett’s room on the fourth floor. Whitney sat on the bed next to Brett, who was propped up against the pillows, pale but smiling, while Avery was in an adjacent chair, watching the two of them. She seemed to appreciate their loving reunion.

  After undergoing minor surgery, Brett’s arm had been bandaged and was now encased in a sling. He was apparently going to spend the night just to make sure there were no complications.

  “Thanks for bringing these very special women to me,” Brett told him, as he moved into the room. “And thank you for showing up at the house when you did. Avery and I owe you both our lives.”

  “I’m happy I arrived in time.”

  “I can’t believe it was Kyle behind all of this madness,” Brett added. “Avery was just filling me in. Hamilton must be beside himself.”

/>   “He’s going to need some time to work it out,” he said.

  “My brother is truly crazy,” Whitney put in. “I never had any idea he blamed my father for my mother’s death. My dad really did try to save her life. But my mom didn’t want experimental treatments. She just wanted to live while she could. I thought Kyle knew that.”

  “It sounds like he was blinded by grief,” Brett told Whitney.

  “We were all grief-stricken; he wasn’t the only one. I was incredibly sad.”

  “But you’re stronger than Kyle,” Brett told Whitney. “And you’ll have to use that strength to help Jonathan and your dad get through all this.”

  Wyatt saw Whitney respond to Brett’s words like a flower opening up to the sun. She soaked it all in and somehow became a better person.

  Avery got to her feet. “I’m going to leave you two alone. Dad, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Where are you going now?” Brett asked.

  She hesitated. “I guess I’m going home.”

  “You’re really safe?”

  “I am, Dad. It’s all over.”

  “Maybe you could still keep an eye on her,” Brett told Wyatt.

  “I am absolutely going to do that,” he said, opening the door for Avery.

  As they stepped into the hall, she said, “I still have my bag at my dad’s house, but I don’t want to go back there right now. I don’t know what happened to that man’s body, and I really don’t want to see him again.”

  “You don’t want to go back there anyway. The police and FBI are probably at your dad’s house. It’s a crime scene.”

  “Well, I don’t need to break into any more crime scenes,” she said lightly, reminding him of when they’d first met.