A Little Harmless Lie

by Melissa Schroeder

  “I knew Dad was ruthless, I had no idea.”

  She snorted. “Neither of us did. I think Petey was the only one who knew. Probably because he is as sick as our father.”

  There was a beat of silence. “Was he there?”

  Dee stood and walked away from the table, away from the feelings she still hadn’t dealt with. She stared out over the strip as the last rays of sun disappeared over the brightly lit casinos.

  “Yeah.”

  “Dee?”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him, at the pleading in his eyes.

  “What happened?”

  She closed her eyes, that day rushing back to the front of her mind. “I was pissed at Dad. He had taken away my car keys because I’d been late on curfew again.” She opened her eyes and smiled. “That’s when I was dating Ken Totaro.”

  “You dated him? God, Dee, you had horrible taste in men.”

  She laughed. “He had a fast car. And he did whatever I wanted.”

  “Probably because he wanted in your pants.”

  She nodded. “So I snuck into Dad’s Brooklyn office. I knew he wouldn’t keep the keys at the house. I would find them there. I was searching his desk when I heard them coming up the back stairs.”

  She could see it as if it were yesterday. Hear the grunts, the cursing as they dragged that poor man up the stairs.

  “I heard Dad’s voice, and I knew he would punish me for being in his office. So I hid in the closet. I thought they would be gone in a few seconds.” Tears welled up in her eyes as the man’s screams filled her head. “It took over an hour, still not sure exactly how long.”

  She felt strong arms surround her, knew it was her brother. Not the man she needed, the one who knew just how to soothe her soul. But that would come later. “You know who it was, right? It was that sweet man who did the bookkeeping, Sam. He and his wife had just had a baby. They were just starting out in life.”

  “Marjorie,” her old name slipped from his lips and she knew it pained him to hear, to know what she’d gone through. If he had been there, not away in England at school, would she have gone to him? She wasn’t too sure. Not because she didn’t trust him. But she wouldn’t have wanted him dragged into it.

  “They were accusing him of stealing from Daddy. And you know how he was about things like that.” She leaned her head on his offered shoulder. “God, he was horrible. I saw the first fingernail they pulled and then…I closed my eyes. But no matter how much I covered my ears, I could hear him screaming. He begged for his life, begged without any kind of shame. Then…toward the end…he begged for them to kill him.”

  She felt his lips touch her temple. “I am so sorry. I can’t…” His words trailed off as he swallowed. “After it happened, after all the news, I came home.”

  She nodded, knowing. She pulled away, grabbed a tissue and looked at him. Remorse and pain filled his expression. “I tried to find out just what was going on. I couldn’t. Dad and Petey stonewalled me. I couldn’t get to anyone. And then when you disappeared, the first time when you were in custody, that agent Dillon showed up. He told me that I should be watching my back. I sent him away, but the next day, the brakes went out on my car.”

  “You weren’t hurt?”

  “I wasn’t in it. Rosalie was.”

  “Oh, no.” His first love, his high school sweetheart, the woman he had planned on marrying. She squeezed him tighter. “I’m sorry.”

  He nodded. “After I got the report about the brake lines being cut, I faked my death and disappeared. I tried to keep tabs on you, but I couldn’t seem to find you. Even after they said you were dead, I had a feeling you were still alive.”

  She nodded, feeling much older than twenty-seven. She didn’t want this. She wanted to go back in time, to three days ago, snuggled up to Micah in his bed, feeling his body next to hers, his heart beating beneath her hand.

  “Why don’t you get some more rest? We can’t do anything right now.”

  She nodded and leaned back to look at him. “How did we not turn into something sick like those two? Why are we so different?”

  He shook his head. “I think because once he had his first born, he didn’t give a rat’s ass about us. All he cared about was Petey.”

  “Well, thank God for that.”

  He laughed. “Yeah.”

  With a smile, he rubbed his hand through her hair. “Still can’t get used to this.”

  “I changed a lot.”

  He nodded. “But you’re still a pain in the ass. Go take care of your bodyguard in there.”

  “You really don’t like him?”

  He sighed. “A guy doesn’t want to think about his sister and the guy she’s with. In the case of you and Ross, it’s worse because of what he does for a living.”

  “It’s not like he performs anymore.”

  Devon closed his eyes then opened them. “Listen, I don’t care about that, much. But knowing who he is, that he has a large business based on his sexual needs, I know what he likes in the bedroom. And you’re the one in there with him.”

  She chuckled as she walked toward her room. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Tell Ross I’m going to take first watch.”

  She paused and looked at her brother. He was the same in so many ways. He was good, honest, smarter than he should be, and dependable. But there were edges there. Ones she understood, ones she felt in her own life now. Their lives hadn’t afforded them many good things in life. But despite that, what he had suffered, the way he had to live now, he was still a good man.

  “I love you.”

  He glanced back at her, his gaze softening. His nose was swollen and his lip was puffy, but he attempted to smile. “I love you too. Shorty.”

  She smiled, his regular name for her when they were kids warming her heart. She slipped into the bedroom and found Micah passed out on the bed. It had seemed huge when she’d arrived, but now that he was stretched across it, it seemed so tiny. His hair was still wet and she knew without a doubt he was naked beneath the covers. Her body yearned for his. She had discovered she didn’t like sleeping without Micah by her side.

  Tears welled up again in her eyes. Dammit, she hated that. She couldn’t help it. He’d come for her. He had searched for her, found her and walked into what he thought was danger to save her. Her heart warmed at the thought.

  She had known she cared for him, more than any man in her life. When she thought of her reasoning, that it was because he was her first, that she’d grown attached, she smiled. She knew now she was hip-deep in love with the man. He didn’t like attachments and he definitely had never said anything about loving her. Tough, she thought as she pulled her T-shirt over her head. She shimmied out of her shorts and went to join him in bed. The guy was just going to have to get used to having her around. When this was all cleared up, she would just refuse to give him up.

  She snuggled against him, her body sighing with relief at his body heat surrounding her. She settled her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

  It was only a few moments before she felt his hand slip down her body, his fingers dancing over her flesh.

  “I thought you were asleep.”

  “Kind of hard to do that with you thrashing about like a hoard of elephants.” His voice was gravelly, tired. She knew it wouldn’t take much for him to fall asleep so she tried to stay as still as possible. “Besides, not sure I could sleep knowing you would be beside me tonight.”

  “I’m sorry I worried you.”

  He kissed her forehead. “We’ll talk about it later. And we will, but I don’t think either of us is up to handling your punishment tonight.”

  Even as tired as she was, her body tingled at the promise in his voice. He tugged her on top of him. She sighed when she felt his erection nestled against her sex. He slipped his hands up to cup her face. Brushing his thumbs over her cheeks, he pulled her down and kissed her. Here was the passion, the need she was used to. His tongue thrust into her mouth.
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  He pulled away, and rested his forehead against hers.

  “Don’t ever run again.” Every word seemed to be pulled from some dark place inside of him. His voice vibrated with anger…and fear.

  She could feel the last few days well up, spill over as tears. “I’m sorry. I heard Conner’s voice and I panicked. I didn’t really think.”

  “I’m not asking you to think. Just to trust me.”

  “I do.”

  He shook his head. “In bed you do, I know that. But if you don’t trust me outside, then it cheapens what we do here.”

  Her vision blurred.

  “Oh, baby, don’t cry. Please. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

  “No. No, you didn’t. I am so sorry. It is just, I couldn’t help reacting. Before I could even think straight, Devon was there.”

  She felt him swallow. “I don’t think I will ever get over walking into your house and finding it that way.”

  She heard the pain there, the anger, but there was something else, something that touched her heart. Fear. He had been afraid for her. It was odd to be warmed by his fear. But to have a person care enough that they would worry about your safety, damn, it had been a long time. Besides her brother, she’d never had that from the opposite sex.

  “I’m sorry.” She kissed his chin and then brushed her mouth over his. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated against his lips.

  He rolled them in bed, his body hard with desire, with need for her, to join with her. She understood, knew exactly what he was feeling.

  “Let me love you,” he said.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Micah kissed his way down her body, her smooth skin sweet beneath his lips. Now that he knew she was safe, he needed this. It was worse after hearing her tell her brother what had happened. He had a feeling that she hadn’t told another person outside of the FBI. The heart break in her voice had been easy to hear, and he had felt it as if he’d been knifed in the chest.

  He had wanted to gather her up there, but he had known that brother and sister had needed their time together. His plan was to wait until morning. But she had been here, undressing, her body against his…he couldn’t resist.

  He slipped between her legs and breathed in her scent. It was the most wonderful fragrance in the world. Unique. Seductive. Dee.

  He spread her legs and cursed the fact the light was off. He wanted to see her, see that gorgeous pussy glistening with her need for him. She was beyond aroused. He could tell even before setting the flat of his tongue against her pussy lips. Lord almighty. He didn’t think there would ever be a time that he would be able not to have her.

  He laved her cunt, groaning as her essence drifted over his taste buds.

  “Micah.” She breathed his name, her need threading through her whispered plea.

  She slipped her hands through his hair, molding her fingers to the back of his head. Always ready to please her, to do anything to make her happy, he pressed his tongue over her clit, nudging the hardened nub with the tip. He did it again and again, knowing that it wasn’t enough to make her come. As he continued his assault, he slid his thumb to her pussy, gathered her juices and then pressed it against her anus.

  She moaned his name. Long. Loud. It was enough to make a man come just from the sound. He continued, and eased his finger into her anus, knowing how much she loved it, how hot she got when he did it.

  He didn’t think he could wait, knew he couldn’t. He stopped long enough to don a condom and then joined her back on the bed. Needing the connection, to be inside of her, he rose to his knees, pulled her hips up and entered her with one hard thrust. She gasped then moaned as he started to move. He knew his control was slipping, and for once he didn’t care. He needed to feel her come, feel her go over the edge. He thrust into her, over and over, pushing both of them closer.

  He felt his release coming upon him at the moment she fell over the edge. Her muscles contracted around his cock, tugging him deeper, pulling his own orgasm from him. He shouted her name as his orgasm burst through him and then let himself fall into oblivion.

  Micah closed the bedroom door behind him as softly as possible. He didn’t want to wake Dee. The moment he’d pulled her against him, she had passed out. He could have stayed there, snuggled deep beneath the covers, if he would’ve been able to keep his hands off Dee. He knew she would never deny him. But she needed sleep. He required it too, but at the moment, too much stuff was still running around in his head. And he wanted to be sure that he talked to Devon without Dee around.

  Micah hadn’t paid attention to the suite before, but now it hit him just how huge it was. Damn, it was probably bigger than the apartment he kept in Honolulu. The living area was sunken, with a bar to the right and a bank of windows that allowed for a wonderful view of the Vegas strip. He found her brother sitting there. Devon was looking out the windows. Micah took a second to study him. There was a lot of resemblance in his face. Although their coloring was different, they had the same stubborn chin.

  “Are you going to stand there in the dark or join me for a drink?”

  He smiled. “Most people can’t hear me.”

  “I’m not most people.” Again, he didn’t turn around.

  Micah took the chair opposite of him. “Who trained you?’

  He glanced out of the corner of his eye, a look that he had seen from Dee. “What do you mean?”

  “Please, don’t bullshit me. You’re trained. FBI. Military. Someone. Like I said, most people don’t hear me, unless they’re trained.”

  He looked back out the window and took a long pull off his water bottle. “I was at a special training school for the CIA. I wasn’t at school in England when all this went down. They had me in training twelve hours a day. That’s why I didn’t hear about any of it.”

  “With your family background, it’s amazing that you got in.”

  He nodded. “They didn’t really care. I was considered a sort of wunderkind, and the CIA knew my father wanted nothing to do with me. Plus, they caught me hacking into their computer systems so they figured they should bring me to their side. I’m the best hacker they ever trained, or so they said.”

  “So you were training, your sister almost gets killed, then what?”

  “I came back for a visit…pretend school break.” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “The family told me she was away. Just away. I knew better. And so did my superiors. They knew exactly what was going on.”

  “And they didn’t tell you.”

  He shook his head. “After I discovered what they had kept from me, I left school. I went in search of my sister. But by then she had been reported dead.”

  “But you didn’t believe it.”

  “No.”

  “So you used the skills they had taught you to find her.”

  “And create my identity.”

  “Devon Striker. Creator of Strike Force One.”

  He nodded, his lips curling. “Bastards let me hang out at school, shut off from the world for months, not telling me what had happened to Dee. I used what they taught me to create the game.”

  Micah whistled. “They can’t be happy about that.”

  “They can’t link me to Devon Striker. Never have. Never will. One of my jobs was helping our operatives disappear and then set up new identities. They were the ones who made sure that I could do it. When I faked my death, I’m sure there were some who thought I might not be dead, but they knew better than to look.”

  “What? State secrets?”

  When he looked at Micah, Devon looked much older than his twenty-seven years. “You have no idea.”

  Micah decided to change the subject. “So do you think this is safe? I have my reservations about it since I found you so fast.”

  Devon shrugged again. “Doesn’t matter. She’s about to disappear again.”

  Anger and fear curled in Micah’s stomach. “Think again.”

  “It’s the only option.” Her brother’s flat tone let Micah know he
was serious. Knowing his background, the bastard would be able to make her disappear.

  “Your father will be going to prison. One of the guys who participated in the killing is testifying.”

  Devon shook his head. “No. He’s dead.”

  Shock washed over Micah and then soured his stomach. Fucking FBI. “They still have a mole.”

  “Yep. Our FBI isn’t doing their job. Whoever they have has been there for a while. Seems to know all the players, must have their hand in everything. I can’t figure it out. Everyone comes up squeaky clean, and that is even with my computer skills.”

  “Either way, she’s not disappearing now. And we need to move. As early as possible. This can’t be safe.”

  “She’s safe.”

  Micah shook his head. “You can’t guarantee me that.”

  “You think I would put my own sister at risk?”

  “Why not? You left her with that family of yours. You had a chance to escape and you took it.”

  He leaned his head back and sighed. It was odd, but the lonely sound reminded him of Dee’s sighs. “We didn’t know.”

  “Tell that story to someone else. Your IQ is too high not to have picked up on something. You were recruited as a teenager by the CIA, but you had no idea that your father was in the mafia? You knew and you left her.”

  Even in the dark, Micah could see the flash of anger in his eyes. “I didn’t know.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Devon sighed. “I meant I never knew he did those things. I knew he was laundering money. That was obvious. But I didn’t know he did things like he did to Sam.”

  “You knew him?”

  “Yeah. He had worked as an accountant for my father for years. We grew up with him.” He swallowed. “I knew Dad had a temper, but that had nothing to do with this. It was cold blooded, evil. I am sure my brother played the biggest part of it.”

  “And you left her alone with them.”

  “Fuck, I didn’t know my father would go after her, okay? I knew he was ruthless, knew he would do things to get ahead. But I didn’t think he would torture a man for hours, or that he would put a hit out on my sister.”