The man, though he had impeded her company’s progress, hadn’t deserved to die—and certainly not as he had.
She emailed her personal assistant, telling him to send flowers.
Near the bottom of her monstrous inbox, she nearly missed it, but there was an email from Daniel. It didn’t have a subject line.
Thank goodness, you’re all right, she thought. At least I can put some of my fears to rest.
She clicked it open.
A video started to play.
It was all over the place and she could hear voices yelling in English, but the sound was garbled as though someone had a hand over the phone’s mic.
Her brother’s face flashed on the screen. His dark eyes were filled with terror. He was wearing his business suit. The phone fell, scanning over carpet, carpet that matched that found in their offices in Washington, DC. The screen went black.
Daniel yelled. “What in the hell are you doing? Why are you arresting me?”
“Put your hands behind your back!” a man ordered.
“Where’s your warrant?” Daniel called.
The camera jerked, and a man’s black wing tip shoes came into the screen. The view shifted again like someone had kicked his phone out of his hand. As the phone skidded over the floor, the video blurry, a face came into view. Standing over the phone, his face stoic and emotionless, was Jarrod.
Chapter Thirteen
She was numb. Though she should be angry, hurt or confused, she felt nothing. Or maybe it was just that she felt everything all at once. Maybe it was shock.
Yes, shock.
Or maybe she was dreaming. There’s no way that could have been Jarrod standing over her brother during his arrest. Jarrod wouldn’t—no, couldn’t—have kept a secret like this from her for so long.
Maybe he had a twin brother. He’d said something about his brothers. But as she thought it, she knew she was lying to herself.
Though the mere thought sickened her, she replayed the video. This time, as she watched, tears streamed down her face, dripping onto her chest as if they could somehow mend her shattered heart. If only it was that easy.
She paused the video and zoomed in on Jarrod’s face. There was no mistaking him. There were the blue eyes that only last night had been fixed to her face, his hands that had traced the curves of her body, and the lips that had promised her solace from the storm of her life.
Jarrod had lied to her.
He had betrayed her.
And the entire time he had told her that he was there to protect her, to keep her safe.
She had wanted to give herself to him, this man...this liar.
The door to the kitchen opened, and he and his sister walked out. She wanted to scream, to purge all of her anger. Instead, she stared at him and said nothing.
What could she say? There were no words that would fix what he had done or repair her broken trust.
He took one look at her and stopped. Zoey was saying something and seemed unaware that anything was wrong with her brother and the way he was looking at Mindy.
“What happened?” he asked, the words barely above a whisper.
She wanted to take her phone and shove it in his face and make him watch the despicable video. But it would do nothing except give him more time to come up with some excuse.
She would not allow it.
“Where’s Daniel?” she asked, sounding far calmer than she felt.
“I don’t—” he started.
“Don’t you dare lie to me.” Her words were laced with rage.
He looked over at Zoey as if she could supply him with the answers.
“Answer me, Jarrod.”
He glanced back at her, and there was a look of despair in his eyes. She didn’t care how he felt. He should be sorry. Hell, he should’ve been far more than sorry. He should’ve lain at her feet, begging for mercy, and instead he had the audacity to try to continue lying to her. She could never forgive him for what he had done to her, for what he was doing to her now.
What a fool she had been.
Then again, perhaps she was foolish only for trusting him. People were forced to trust one another sometimes. Her only mistake was trusting the wrong one.
“I’m so sorry, Mindy.” Jarrod moved toward her, but as he advanced, she stood up and backed away.
“Stay where you are. I want you nowhere near me,” she said, bitterness dripping through her words.
“I didn’t have a choice...” Jarrod said.
Zoey looked between them and left the room without a word. Her exodus made Mindy wonder if she knew about Jarrod’s betrayal. The sting from his actions worsened.
“Who told you?” Jarrod leaned against the couch as though it was the only thing keeping him from falling.
The simple action only angered her further. How dare he be so upset. This was his fault. This was all his doing, yet he seemed almost as shattered and hurt by the revelation as she was.
“Daniel sent me a video while he was being arrested. It was taken during his arrest. You were in the background.” She paused. “Don’t bother lying to me any longer. I now know exactly who you are—you’re my enemy.”
Jarrod sat heavily on the arm of the couch. “Mindy, please don’t think that. I promise I never wanted you to get hurt. I only wanted to help you. I wanted to clear your name.” He paused. “I never wanted Daniel to die.”
Holy crap.
What was he talking about? She sat on the fireplace hearth, folding her knees to her chest.
Daniel is dead.
She dropped her head to her knees as she realized that she had forgotten how to breathe.
Daniel was her lifeline. He was her everything. He was the only family she had left.
Except Anya.
And what about Anya?
Who would care for her now, now that he was dead? The word rattled through her like a cascade of marbles falling through a steel grate.
Breathe in.
The oxygen tore at her air-stricken lungs, making them burn, but the pain was nothing compared to the agony of this new revelation.
Jarrod had a role not only in her brother’s arrest but also in his death. It was too much to bear.
How could Jarrod even dare to look her in the eyes this entire time?
Once again, she found herself filled with questions, and she had no idea where to begin in order to get the answers she needed.
Moreover, she wasn’t sure that she could handle more bad news. One more heartbreak and she would likely meet her own death, as well.
There was a tickle upon her cheek, and she realized that she was crying. She bit her cheek, hoping to stanch her tears. Jarrod had no right to see her at her weakest. He didn’t deserve to share in any of her emotions. He deserved to go straight to hell.
She wiped the tears from her face. The most important question she could think of slipped from her lips. “Why?”
“I didn’t want him to die because—”
“No,” she said, trying to read the truth or a lie in his face. “Why did you kill him?”
“My God, no...” Jarrod stammered. “I didn’t... I didn’t kill your brother.”
He couldn’t expect her to believe him. Not after what she’d just seen. “Don’t lie to me, Jarrod. At least treat me with some amount of respect after everything you’ve done.”
He shrank in the seat. “Mindy, I think you have this all wrong. I didn’t kill your brother. I don’t wish you any ill will. And I know you probably don’t think you can trust me right now, but I swear to you that I’m on your side.”
She didn’t know exactly what he meant when he said he was on her side, and right now she didn’t even want to ask. No doubt, he would simply feed her some other rehearsed line.
“I know nothing about you. You and your supposed family,
you all may be putting me on.” She checked the tears that once again threatened to fall. “I want... No, I have to get out of here.” She stood up and walked to the window, turning her back on him to hide another wave of tears.
She couldn’t be weak, not now, not when she was so vulnerable.
“Mindy, no.” Jarrod moved closer, stopping beside her. “You don’t have to leave. At least let me explain myself about what is going on. Then, if you like, you can go. I will even drive you to the airport and get you a private jet home. I swear.” There was a softness to his voice that made her want to fall into his arms even though he was her enemy. She just needed someone she could trust implicitly. Someone who would hold her right now and tell her that everything was going to be okay.
But she couldn’t fall into the trap that was Jarrod Martin.
“If you didn’t kill my brother, then who did?”
“Your brother’s death was an unfortunate accident.” Jarrod sighed. “We were questioning him and my colleague misread the situation. He thought your brother was holding a weapon and he was forced to act.”
“Forced to act?” she repeated, chuckling at the macabre absurdity of his words. “First, who are you really? Is everything you’ve told me before now been a lie? Is your name even Jarrod?”
“My name really is Jarrod. And all the feelings that I’ve had for you are real. I meant everything I said to you.”
“You just omitted some key details.” She turned to face him, new rage filling her. “You can’t possibly believe you’re worthy of my trust.”
She could see her words strike a nerve.
“I... I know,” he said, sounding as broken as she felt. “I hate myself for what I have been forced to keep from you. When I took this job, I thought I could keep my feelings for you at bay. But you’re unlike anyone I’ve ever had to work with before.”
She couldn’t listen to his words. If she did, they had the power to break her heart. “Work with? Doing what?”
He hesitated for a moment, as though trying to decide whether to tell her the truth. She glared at him and his reticence seemed to wither away.
“My family and I are also business owners, but our business is slightly different from yours. We own and manage a company called STEALTH. We’re independent military contractors, and—”
“You are mercenaries?” What did mercenaries have to do with her brother?
What had Daniel been doing?
“We’re not mercenaries, we’re contractors—an entirely different thing.”
“Do you kill people in the name of the United States government?” she asked, trying to make sense of what he was telling her.
“On occasion, but that is rarely our mission.”
“Okay, you are only mercenaries on occasion. Please tell me how that isn’t being a mercenary?”
“That isn’t all that we do. Like with your brother.”
“And yet he ended up dead, strange.” Her anger flared.
“In your brother’s case, I was there working as a hired contractor, which included interrogating him for the CIA. My background makes me what some would call an interrogation specialist.”
“The CIA?” She paused, at a loss. “Why would the CIA want to interrogate Daniel?”
“They had reason to believe he was selling state secrets to foreign governments.”
“You thought my brother was a spy?” She choked on the word.
He didn’t say anything.
A sickening realization welled within her. “Do you think I’m a spy, as well? Is that why you brought me here?” She swallowed back the lump that formed in her throat. “Did you set the whole thing up with Hans? Did you manipulate me into thinking that you were my friend?”
“I am your friend. I am your ally. And no, I didn’t have anything to do with Hans’s death.” He paused. “I have my people within the agencies looking into the attack. The biggest break we have had so far was what Zoey just told me about linking the nerve gas to North Korea.”
She was so confused. He still hadn’t told her whether she was under investigation by the CIA. And somehow they had ties to North Korea? What had happened to her almost-boring life?
“What does all of this have to do with me and my family?” She stopped for a moment. “Was Daniel selling secrets to North Korea?” The implications nearly brought her to her knees.
Daniel wouldn’t do this kind of thing. He’d only been the head of the company for a year now. He couldn’t have gotten himself in this much trouble so quickly—or could he? What had Daniel been doing behind her back?
The thought of her brother and Jarrod betraying her... She really had no one.
If only she could reach out to Daniel and ask him what he had done. And why.
How could he have gone against the family when he had a child who depended on him?
She reminded herself to breathe. This was it. She was going to have a full-blown panic attack.
There was a deep pain in her chest, and she could swear that her arms were numb.
Her vision tunneled and blurred.
Then her world went black.
Chapter Fourteen
“So, you finally had to tell her?” Zoey said with a pitying look on her face as she rushed into the room, no doubt flushed out of hiding by the sound of Mindy hitting the ground.
He knelt beside Mindy and pushed her hair back from her face. There was a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead and her pulse was rapid, but he was sure she was going to be okay. Or at least that she would wake up.
“And I’m guessing, based on the state of your girlfriend, that it didn’t go quite as well as you were hoping?” Zoey continued.
Mindy started to blink, but she didn’t seem to be focusing on anything in particular as she struggled to regain her bearings.
“Be quiet, Zoey,” he said, lifting Mindy into his arms with an oomph. “I don’t need your judgment right now.”
Mindy rolled into him, her head against his neck. “You’re going to be all right. I’ve got you,” he cooed.
Mindy answered with a weak nod.
“I heard you telling her about STEALTH. Do you really think that was your place?” Zoey continued on her rampage.
He stared daggers at his sister. “You told me to tell her whatever I thought was necessary. It was goddamned necessary that she knew that I’m on her side...that I didn’t want her or her brother to get hurt.”
“And yet here we are.” Zoey motioned toward Mindy. “Don’t you think you should leave the poor woman alone? Let someone else handle this investigation?”
Damn Zoey for putting him on the spot. And damn her for being right. Damn it all.
“Do you want to take this over? Were you in the room with Daniel?” He seethed. “I know you think you have all the answers. I know you think you’re smarter than me, but until you know everything, and until you feel what I’m feeling, just be quiet and get out of my way.” He pushed past her as he made his way down the hall and to the stairwell. He carried Mindy up the stairs, nearly running away from his sister.
As he made it to the upstairs hall, Anya came walking out of her room. She was rubbing her eyes. Before she had the chance to see him and the state her aunt was in, he ducked into the nearest bedroom—his own.
He closed the door quietly behind them with his foot. Hopefully, Mindy wouldn’t be furious to find herself in his room. She was already having a hard enough time trying to work through everything. It was really no wonder that she had fainted.
There was the sound of Anya humming in the hallway. She sounded sleepy and she grew louder as she came near his door. She stopped and walked into the bathroom that was nearest them. From the sound of her singing, he could tell she hadn’t bothered to close the bathroom door as she went to her business.
Mindy was growing heavy in his arms. His biceps burned
as he held her, unsure of whether to take her to her own bed or simply put her down in his bed and hope for the best. So far, hoping for the best had been biting him in the ass.
His shoulders ached.
He gently laid her on his bed. It would be easier to explain to her than to Anya. He could almost imagine Anya and her questions now. No doubt there would be questions about their friendship.
He pulled a blanket over Mindy and tucked it gently under her arms before making his way out and into the hallway. Anya was just walking out of the bathroom.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” he said, trying to sound like his world and his hopes for the future weren’t crashing down around him. “Did you sleep well?”
“Uh-huh,” Anya said, looking up at him with her big sleepy eyes.
There was the sound of footsteps ascending the staircase, and Zoey made her way onto the landing. Taking one look at them, she smiled. “Hiya, big girl, are you hungry?” She stuck out her hand. “How about I take you downstairs and rustle us up something to eat while Jarrod gets ready for the day.”
“I want Anta,” Anya said, looking around.
“She’s taking a nap, sweetheart,” Zoey said, moving closer and taking the little girl’s hand. “Let’s let her sleep a bit more before we wake her up. After your big, long flight last night, I bet she’s tired. Do you want to tell me about your plane ride? Did you have fun?” She pulled the little girl up into her arms as she started to make their way toward the stairs. She looked back at Jarrod and mouthed the words I’m sorry.
The only thing his sister had to be sorry about was that she hadn’t stopped them from getting into this predicament. Yet, even if she had spoken out against him taking this job, he was sure he wouldn’t have listened. When it came to his feelings and how he acted upon them, he would never be more than a fool.
He walked into the bathroom, grabbed a washcloth and wet it. Mindy was still on the bed and her eyes were closed. Part of him wondered if she had woken while he had been in the hall and was now faking being unconscious just so she didn’t have to face him.
He wouldn’t have blamed her.
In His Sights (Stealth Series Book 2) Page 11