She’d lied then to distract him; she would say anything now.
“Sean and Lucy are my friends,” he said as calmly as he could, “and they’re getting married. They’ve been through hell over these last few months, and there is no way I’m going to let you screw with them.”
She actually looked hurt. “I wouldn’t do that to my brother.”
“You would do it to anyone if there was a payday at the end.”
“Bastard.” She tried to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist.
He stared at her. Those dark-blue eyes didn’t waver. She could stare at God Himself and lie without a qualm. Her bottom lip quivered. He reminded himself that everything about Eden Rogan was an act. She could be anything—anyone—she wanted. She was the master manipulator, an Academy Award–winning actress.
He hated himself for wanting her. He hated himself for having loved her, for still having feelings that came all too clear now, long after he had put her in the past. It had never been a good love. It was twisted, because that’s what Eden did, she twisted everything right and good.
He dropped her wrist, tried to turn away, but Eden stepped forward, grabbed his face, and kissed him. He froze. He didn’t want to give in to her seduction, but the kiss reminded him of a time, years ago, when he’d thought he could save her from her twin brother, from herself. In the back of his mind he remembered that she was here for a reason, that she often used sex as a distraction. And he’d let her. Even when he suspected she was up to something, he’d let her take him to bed because he wanted her. She had convinced him that she loved him. He had believed her because he loved her.
Or was it lust? He’d asked himself that question over and over for years.
He came to the conclusion that he’d loved who he wanted Eden to be, not who she was, and he couldn’t expect her to change.
Yet those old, complex feelings churned up memories of what had been, and the hope he’d had that he could save her from herself.
“Noah,” she whispered against his lips.
He kissed her back, hard, pushing her against the wall. Her arms went around his neck and she pressed against him. There was nothing between them except his clothes and the thin silk robe she wore. A moan escaped her throat, fueling his lust. He wanted her, but it was a memory of the past, not real. With Eden, nothing was real.
It took every ounce of self-control to push himself off her. He took several steps back.
Eden’s face was flushed, her breasts rose and fell rapidly, as if she was as turned on as he was. Her robe had fallen open and she stood there revealing her nudity without any false modesty.
“Noah, no matter what happened between us, this was always good. This was always real.”
“Nothing about you is real.”
Her jaw clenched. “Don’t.”
“Leave.”
“This isn’t your house.”
“I will find out why you’re here.”
“I’m here for my brother’s wedding. That’s it.”
“Bullshit. I’d bet Kane might know why you’re in Texas.”
Her stunned confusion wasn’t an act. She didn’t even have a comment.
“How about if we call him?” Noah suggested, enjoying her panic. She recovered quickly and laughed.
“You think you know my family? If you did, you’d arrest Kane the minute you saw him. Don’t bluff me, darling.”
“Maybe it’s you, Eden, who don’t know your family.” He stepped forward. “A lot has changed over the last six years, sweetheart. I want you out of Lucy’s house before she gets home from work.”
Eden glared at him. He’d hit a nerve. Good.
But he had to get away from her before he did something he’d regret—like taking Eden to bed. She was still the most beautiful, most frustrating, sexiest woman he had ever known. If she’d used her brains for anything other than her brother’s schemes, she would have been the woman of his dreams. Beautiful and smart. But she was a criminal, and Noah couldn’t let himself get sucked back into her web.
“I’ve always loved you, Noah,” Eden whispered.
He stared at her. He wanted to believe her, but that old adage fool me once came back. He’d loved her once. But looking at Eden standing in front of him now, six years after she had lied to him, he realized for the first time that he really, truly did not love her. And he never could.
“You don’t know the meaning of the word.”
Noah walked out.
He slid behind the wheel of his car and drove off but pulled over at a nearby park. He needed to cool off. Memories of the past collided with trying to figure out what Eden was up to.
He hadn’t planned on being in San Antonio more than two months. But his two months had turned into four months, and if ASAC Durant had her way it would be permanent. But Noah couldn’t stay. There were many reasons, including the fact that what he’d said to Lucy and Ryan earlier was true. He’d already made enemies during his stint as temporary head of the Violent Crimes Squad. But the main reason, if he was to be honest with himself, was because of Lucy.
It had been nearly two years ago that he’d met Lucy—a murder suspect when her rapist was found dead only miles from her house after he was paroled. Noah had been attracted to Lucy—the first time he had truly been interested in a woman since Eden. He’d dated on and off, but Eden had ruined him in so many ways, including creating this suspicion he had of all women: that they were all hiding something from him. Lucy had changed that. She had a complex history but she was honest, a trait he’d found lacking in too many of the women he dated.
Yet Lucy fell in love with Sean. For too long, Noah stood back and waited for the relationship to fall apart. It wasn’t a secret—at least to Sean—that Noah didn’t think Sean was good for Lucy. Noah thought he was a better man. But Noah recognized that his feelings toward Sean stemmed directly from his rage toward Sean’s brother Liam, who was the driving force behind most of Eden’s illegal activity.
Last month, Noah almost ruined his friendship with Lucy, but she either hadn’t noticed or completely forgot that he’d kissed her. Or, more likely, she had convinced herself that it was a friendship kiss, a comforting kiss, after what they’d gone through. Was she blind or was Noah?
It was in that moment that Noah realized he couldn’t stay in San Antonio. While he accepted that Lucy loved Sean and they were in fact getting married, he knew he had feelings deep down that he could never act on.
The truth was, Noah had a piss-poor history with women. They were either incapable of being honest, like Eden, or they were taken, like Lucy. He wanted to go back to DC and figure out what to do with his career. Because right now being Rick Stockton’s Golden Boy might seem like a great job on the outside, but it meant no settling down, no stability, few friendships. And no long-term relationships.
Noah shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and considered calling FBI Assistant Director Rick Stockton to ask him what he knew about Eden Rogan. Rick was tight with Kane Rogan, but Noah had no proof that Eden was up to anything.
She definitely feared Kane. Most people did, but there was something more between Kane and Eden and Liam. Last year, when Noah and Sean worked undercover together, Sean had alluded to a falling-out between Kane and the twins, but Sean didn’t know the details and Noah hadn’t pushed.
Noah had only recently met Kane and had no contact information. He didn’t want it getting back to Lucy, not before he had answers. Maybe Lucy already knew Eden was a criminal, but if she didn’t know, Noah certainly didn’t want to be the one to dump it on her. Not until he had more information.
Finally having decided on a direction, he pulled away from the park and called Siobhan Walsh. Siobhan was a photojournalist temporarily living in the area while helping the nine surviving women of the black-market baby operation find permanent housing and jobs and working through the process of helping the noncitizens obtain citizenship. They’d been granted temporary visas—they’d been brought to the country
illegally and against their will as part of the sex trade, but all wanted to stay until their stolen babies were located. Those who were US citizens had no friends or family in the area. Noah suspected most of them didn’t have homes to return to. It was a heartbreaking situation and Noah had to admire Siobhan for taking on such a responsibility. She was publishing a series of articles about the tragedy that was both optimistic and full of sorrow. And helpful—the first article had given them a lead on one of the infants two weeks ago. Noah hoped the most recent would do the same.
“Hello,” Siobhan answered.
“Siobhan, it’s Noah Armstrong.”
“Good news, I hope?”
“Lucy is following up on a lead this morning. I don’t have a report yet.”
She paused. “I know, I’m here with her. The PIO cleared it.”
Noah knew that. He’d just forgotten she was doing the ride-along today. Of all days.
She added, “Did you need something?”
What could he say? He couldn’t talk to her with Lucy there. “I had a minute, and wanted to tell you I read your article in the Times over the weekend. It was truly a stunning piece.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that. And thank you so much for putting me in contact with someone in the FBI who could actually go on record.”
“Not always easy in a bureaucracy,” he said, and almost smiled. “Let me know if you need anything else. Are you staying in San Antonio for a few days?”
“Just tonight. I’ll drive back to Laredo tomorrow afternoon. Sean’s out of town, so Lucy and I thought we’d have a girls’ night.”
Somehow, that made Noah feel better—Lucy wouldn’t be alone with Eden. Siobhan had known the Rogans for a long time and might already know that Eden was bad news.
Noah said good-bye. Who did he contact now?
Of course. Nate.
As soon as Noah arrived back at FBI headquarters, he tracked down Agent Nate Dunning. No one else was in the squad room, so he said, “I need to reach Kane.”
“You don’t have his number?”
“No, and I don’t want to ask Lucy right now. It’s a confidential matter and I need his specific knowledge.” Noah hoped that sounded both vague and professional.
“No problem, but you know he can be hard to reach.” Nate wrote a number from memory on his notepad and handed it to him. “Do you need me for something?”
Noah knew exactly what he meant. “Be reachable.”
Nate nodded. “I’m working that underage prostitution case with SAPD, making calls and following up on missing persons reports. I can step away at any time.”
“Thanks.”
Noah went to his office and closed his door. He used his personal cell phone to call Kane.
Voice mail picked up immediately. “Rogan. Leave a number.”
“Kane, it’s Noah Armstrong. I need to talk to you about your sister ASAP.” He left his number and hung up.
He sat at his desk and considered his options. He had a lot of clout in the FBI, but he still worked for Rick Stockton and Rick was very close to Kane Rogan. Would Noah even get good information out of either of them? He didn’t know—and because he didn’t know, that worried him. He needed someone whom he could trust explicitly, who would understand the situation without him having to go into detail. There was one person who fit the bill, though he hesitated calling her because it would put her in a difficult position.
But he called anyway.
“Hey, if it isn’t the traitor,” Kate Donovan said in lieu of hello.
“Traitor?”
“You were only supposed to be in San Antonio for two months. It’s been four.”
“If all goes well, I’ll be back in DC early November.” Kate was an instructor at Quantico specializing in cybercrime and had consulted on several of Noah’s cases. She was sharp, loyal, and bent the rules when necessary. Noah wasn’t a big rule breaker—ten years in the Air Force as an officer had made him appreciate rules—but sometimes Kate’s way was better.
It also helped that Kate was not only Noah’s friend but also Lucy’s sister-in-law. She would do anything to protect Lucy, even keep a secret or break some rules if Noah could convince her that it was important.
“I need a favor, and it has to stay completely confidential and off the record.”
Kate became serious. “What’s wrong?”
“I need a deep background check with no flags raised, focusing on the last six years.”
“Who?”
“Eden Rogan.”
Dead silence.
“I know it’s asking a lot.”
“I can’t do what you want.”
Noah swore under his breath. “I understand. Sean’s almost family but I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
“No, literally—the no flags raised part. RCK keeps extremely close tabs on any background checks on their people. They will know. I might be able to cover my tracks, but they will definitely know someone is snooping.… I can dig around in the FBI. On the QT, at least find out if there’s anything criminal on her. Now tell me why.”
Noah didn’t want to tell anyone about his history with Eden, but he was asking Kate for a major favor and he trusted her. “Do you remember when we first met that I had some reservations about including Sean in my investigation?”
Kate laughed. “Some reservations? You hated his guts. For quite some time.”
“I never told Sean until he and I were working undercover together in New York. Years ago, when I was in the Air Force, I had a run-in with his brother Liam. Sean assumed that Liam was the reason I didn’t like him—and that was part of it. What I didn’t tell Sean then was that I had had a relationship with Eden.” Why was this so hard to talk about? “I learned the hard way that Liam and Eden are thieves. And before you defend them—because I know RCK is hired to retrieve stolen property around the world—that’s not what they were doing when I was involved. I’ve put together information over the years that RCK essentially disowned Liam and Eden, but Eden is here in San Antonio and if I know anything I know she’s planning something illegal.”
“Do Sean and Lucy know?”
“Lucy said Sean is out of town on a case and Eden showed up at her house today unannounced. I called Kane, but truthfully, I don’t know him, he doesn’t know me, and I can’t trust that he’ll give me the information I need.”
“What information? Why are you doing this?”
“Because if Eden is here nothing good is going to come from it. Eden is a master manipulator. I don’t know what she wants or why she’s here and why now. That information is critical—and then I can talk to Lucy.”
“I’ll find everything I can and try not to raise flags, but that I can’t promise.”
“I’ll take the heat.”
“Hey—Noah—you’re not in this alone. Okay?”
“Okay.” He hung up.
Yeah, he was. He was in this alone, and if he didn’t figure out what Eden was up to Sean and Lucy would pay for it.
Of that he was certain.
CHAPTER SIX
Of the seventy-two infants who’d been born to the women held captive for two years, the FBI and local police across the country had located nearly half. The accountant who’d turned state’s evidence against the criminal enterprise had good records, but even he hadn’t known where all the babies ended up. The money moved through multiple shell corporations both in and outside of the United States. The basic medical records the corrupt nurse maintained helped with age, gender, and birthmarks, but the little DNA evidence they had was incomplete.
During Lucy and Noah’s investigation last month, they’d found a trail of dead and missing women and illegal adoptions. By the time they finally closed the case, they’d rescued only nine women. Many who’d delivered babies had been sent back into the sex trade; finding them would be next to impossible. Seven had been killed in the days leading up to the raid as the criminals realized the FBI was closing in on their operation. There was n
othing Lucy or Noah could have done to stop the murders—other than let the organization get away with imprisoning young women for the sole purpose of breeding children who were then sold to the highest bidders. One infant and his mother had been rescued during the initial takedown of the Flores cartel and reunited with family in the States. The FBI and psychiatrists were working with the young woman to glean any information that might help in tracking the remaining infants, but she either didn’t know anything or was too scared to talk.
The easy recoveries were of those who had been adopted by American parents. During the interviews that Lucy had been part of, they claimed not to know that the adoptions were illegal. They assumed the outrageous fees were standard. She didn’t buy it. She wanted to, but there was no way that many people were so naïve. And even if they didn’t know, their attorneys should have. Not unexpectedly, one attorney had handled most of the adoptions—and he was nowhere to be found.
The individual jurisdictions and courts were working with Child Protective Services to determine what was in the best interest of the children. Lucy wanted the parents prosecuted if the FBI could prove they knew full well how the infants had been conceived, born, and sold. Some of them would be. But some seemed to be ignorant of the plight of the women. And because most of the mothers were dead or had been “disappeared” back into the sex trade, the option was leaving the child with a family who had participated in the black market or putting the child into the system to be raised by foster care on the off chance they would be adopted. Neither option was satisfactory.
There were two babies Lucy was most desperate to find. The first was Marisol de la Rosa’s firstborn, a boy who would now be two years old. They were hampered because the records were incomplete. He was one of the first to be illegally adopted. But they had one solid lead—an anonymous tip to the FBI gave them information that Marisol’s son had been bought by a wealthy man in New York City who had four daughters. The New York FBI office was working that angle.
The other baby she wanted to trace had been cut out of his dying mother’s womb during Lucy’s investigation. He would have needed medical attention. The ME determined that the mother, who had died of pre-eclampsia during an emergency C-section performed outside of a hospital, had been approximately seven months pregnant at the time. The infant would have been between three and four pounds and in need of neonatal care.
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