Wicked Deception (The Rockford Security Series Book 5)

by Lee Anne Jones

  She charged again and caught Liv in a stranglehold. They struggled, and Liv managed to adjust her weight and flip the woman over her shoulder. The brunette landed with a hard thunk on the pavement.

  “Shit.” Cody stared at the dazed brunette on the ground then at Liv. Then took off.

  Coward. And he even had the gun.

  Not waiting around to see if her opponent got up again, Liv turned and ran.

  Behind her, a groan and a string of curses that would make a hardened sailor blush issued as the brunette scrabbled to her feet.

  Liv kept running back the way she’d come, at least she thought it was the same way. Hard to tell when every street looked the same. Soon she found herself rushing ahead without even looking where she was going. She didn’t know if the woman had another gun, and she doubted her opponent would fight first and shoot later a second time. Body thrumming with adrenaline, she darted back out onto what appeared to be a main road and plowed straight into a hard male chest.

  “Liv! Jesus, are you all right? What happened?”

  It took her stress-soaked brain a moment to realize it was Tom.

  She bent over, hands on her knees, as she struggled to catch her breath. “They knew I was watching them. I don’t know how, but they knew. This was all a setup.”

  “Who trapped you?”

  “Cody Brooks and the woman from the alley footage. The dark-haired one.” She panted several times then looked up at him, her gaze narrowed. “Someone had to have tipped them off about our surveillance today.”

  “Wasn’t me.” Tom backed up a few steps and shook his head. “I swear.”

  “I know.” And, surprisingly, she did. His logic made sense. If he was the leak, it would be idiotic for him to stick around this long. Not to mention, there would be no reason for him to play along with this surveillance. He would have just led her to the girl himself. No. Tom might have secrets, but being a snitch wasn’t one of them. Frowning, Liv straightened and stared down at her now-filthy and tattered appearance. “Looks like I need a bath and a change of clothes. My apartment’s not far from here.”

  “I know.”

  “Right.” She started walking in the direction of home, and he fell into step beside her. “You’ve been there before.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I can do this on my own.”

  “I don’t mind coming along for the ride.” He glanced over at her and smiled. “You can fill me in on what happened on the way there.”

  “Okay.” She did exactly that, helping herself capture the events while relaying them to him. By the time they arrived at her place, he was already forming theories.

  “Could be a gang of crooks, each with their own specialty.”

  “Like Ocean’s Eleven or something?” She chuckled as she unlocked her apartment door and let them inside. “Well, if George Clooney shows up, let me know.”

  “Will do.” He winked then checked out her space. “Nice.”

  “Thanks.” She set her bag and keys aside and took off her dirty blazer. “I’m going to hit the shower. Make yourself comfortable. There’s some soda or bottled water in the fridge if you’re thirsty.”

  “Okay, thanks.” He walked over to a wall of family photos. “Must be nice being so close to your loved ones all the time.”

  Her heart pulled at the slight wistfulness in his tone. Did he have people that he missed? They’d never really discussed his personal life.

  “It’s a double-edged sword.” She smiled. “Be back shortly.”

  He nodded, and she walked away.

  In the bathroom, she peeled off her sodden clothes and turned on the shower. The mirror showed a lovely array of purple and green bruises blossoming over her arms and neck where the brunette had punched or grabbed or pinched her. The woman fought dirty. Liv was used to regulated ring fights where rules were strictly observed and no guns were allowed.

  Oh, sweet Christ. The gun.

  Images of the struggle played on an endless loop in her head, and she gripped the edge of the counter tight to keep from sinking to her knees. One shot. One shot and she could’ve been dead. From the lethal gleam in her opponent’s eyes, Liv had no doubt the woman would’ve done it too.

  She bit back a sob, but the strangled sound escaped anyway. Tears flowed and her knees wobbled, and if she didn’t sit down soon, she’d pass out.

  “Liv? Is everything all right in there?”

  Tom.

  He pounded harder on the door. “Let me in. Please say something.”

  His endearment was her undoing. Choking on her tears, Liv managed to open the door then fell into his arms, not caring that she was naked, not caring that he looked shocked, not caring about anything but being near him again.

  “Aw, Princess.” He held her tight. She slipped her arms around his waist as he cupped the back of her head and tucked it beneath his chin. “I’m here. Don’t worry. I would never let anyone hurt you. Ever.”

  They rocked back and forth, him murmuring softly in her hair and her crying softly against his chest. Normally, Liv was the strong one, the one others looked to in a crisis, but today she needed someone else to be strong for her.

  At last, she took a deep breath and lifted her head to look up at Tom. His blue-gray gaze was filled with concern and something deeper, richer, lasting…

  She swallowed hard, realizing belatedly that she was giving him the Full Monty, and he hadn’t made a single move. Now the feel of his lean muscles pressed against her sparked a different kind of need, and she rubbed against him ever so slightly. “I still need to take a shower.”

  Heat flared in his gaze. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. Care to join me?”

  Tom leaned back and frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “Never been more sure of anything in my life.” To prove her point, she rose on tiptoes and kissed him long and slow and deep. “Okay?”

  He grinned. “Don’t have to ask me twice.”

  She helped Tom strip then led him by the hand into her walk-in shower. They scrubbed down then kissed like horny teens until both of them reached the point of no return. The slide of his slick skin against hers, the touch of his roughened fingers against her aching nipples, along her slick folds, inside her became too much to bear. She needed him. All of him. Now. Twining her arms around his neck, Liv pinned him against the wall and took his erection in hand. “I want you.”

  “Yeah?” He nipped at her neck near her collarbone. “How bad?”

  She lifted one leg and drew the tip of him along her wetness, enjoying the way he quivered. “That bad.”

  With a growl, he switched their positions and picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. “What about a condom?”

  “Check the basket.” She tilted her head toward a tiled bench against one wall. She was hardly the promiscuous type, but a girl needed to be prepared. He reached over and pulled out a tiny foil packet, ripping it open then slicking on the protection before kissing her deeply and entering her at the same time.

  “Ah, God.” Liv let her head fall back against the travertine wall, eyes closed, lost in sensation, lost in this man, this moment, this unbelievable feeling of connection.

  “You feel so amazing. I could lose myself in you and never want to leave.” He kissed a blazing trail down her neck while he gently flicked then rubbed her nipples with his thumbs.

  “Yes,” she moaned. “Yes, please.”

  “Is that what you want?” He thrust harder, going deeper.

  She dug her heels into his lower back, urging him onward. “Yes. Tom, yes.”

  He rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes as he brought them both to the edge of climax. “Are you close?”

  She nodded, and he reached between them to stroke her folds once more.

  Liv moaned low as she climaxed around him, “Oh, God. Yes!”

  Tom kissed her hard and, moments later, stiffened against her as he came hard inside her. The water cascaded around them, swirling down the dra
in, swirling away just like all her inhibitions and all her barriers where he was concerned.

  18

  Late Tuesday night, Dom entered the dark confines of the backroom at Glam again. Usually, he didn’t mind the cloistered, cluttered décor, but tonight, it just felt suffocating. Not to mention the fact that leaving Liv alone and snuggled in her bed, all warm and sated from their lovemaking, had damned near killed him.

  Truthfully, this was the last place he wanted to be right now, sitting across from Felix in a smoky bar. He slid into the booth then pulled the curtains shut and didn’t bother to hide his disdain.

  “You could at least pretend to be happy to see me.” Felix took a long drag off his cigarette, the tip glowing orange in the dim light.

  “You try getting called out of bed with a beautiful woman and see how happy you are,” he grumbled.

  Felix stared at him, his expression stoic. “Are we going to have a problem here? You know better than to get involved with potential suspects.”

  “I’ve had to do it before.” He wrinkled his nose and looked away. If sitting here was bad, getting lectured about his personal life was intolerable.

  “‘Had to’ being the operative words.” Felix shook his head. “To establish your cover or get out of a sticky situation. In this case, however, you have neither excuse.”

  Discussing his relationship with Liv wasn’t on his agenda. It was still too fresh, too new. Besides, it was none of Felix’s damned business. As long as he wasn’t jeopardizing the case or anyone’s life, it was between him and Liv and them alone. Still, he needed a viable excuse, some kind of bone to throw his dogged handler off the scent. “She thinks I’m the leak. I had to win her over.”

  “Who’s she?”

  “Olivia Rockford.”

  Felix winced, and Dom wanted to punch a hole through the wall. Instead he dug his fingers into the velvet cushion beneath his rear and swallowed his anger.

  “Do I have to pull you off this mission?” Felix finally said.

  Part of him wanted to say yes. That way he could disappear, go back home and wait for the next job, the next assignment. Not have to face what was happening between him and Liv and the feelings she caused inside him that scared the living shit out of him. But if he left, someone else from the Bureau would just get cycled into Rockford Security in his place. The thought of another agent, another man working that closely with Liv was unthinkable. He looked away from his handler’s too-perceptive gaze and played it off as best he could. “I’m fine. Did you bring me here just to complain about my extracurricular activities?”

  “No.” Felix slid a manila folder across the table. “I brought you here to give you intel on those thieves. We want you to take them in if you can.”

  “Instead of Rockford? They must be pretty bad.” Dom raised a brow.

  “They are.”

  He flipped through the contents of the file. Everything looked pretty standard until he came to a photo that made his stomach drop. Daniel O’Connor. Same dude he’d dealt with on his last case. Thwarting the guy’s planned robbery had cost him his cover, and he’d had to bail, fast.

  “O’Connor, as you know, is a nasty piece of work. If you can nab him and Rockford both, the brass will be happier, but for now, make the thieves your top priority. This is much bigger than the alleged database hacking we want the Rockfords for. The information here should give you a decent start.”

  “Thanks.” Dom closed the file and tucked it under his arm. “I’ll make good use of it.”

  “Make sure you do.” Felix gave a curt nod then ducked out of the booth first.

  Dom followed a few minutes later, feeling both shocked and relieved. For days he’d been wrestling between wanting to tell Liv the truth and his FBI obligations to keep his cover secret. But now that his main goal was something other than bringing down Rockford Security, and he’d need Rockford resources to bring in O’Connor, he’d be justified in telling her in order to get the bigger job done. Now if he could just figure out a way to do that that wouldn’t make him seem like a lying bastard for keeping his real identity hidden for so long, he’d be all set.

  Wednesday afternoon, Dom sat back in his chair and rubbed his face. It had been a busy day so far, and he still had three hours to go. The whole office had been on virtual lockdown since the insurance investigation debacle, and now word of a possible leak circulating didn’t help. Blake had tightened internal security around the fourth and fifth floors, where only family members and IT staff were allowed.

  Of course, none of that helped make Dom’s job any easier. After spending a sleepless night committing to memory the contents of the file Felix had given him, he’d hoped to anonymously slip the file onto Blake’s desk this morning, sort of prime the pump, as it were. It should have been a simple in-and-out op. Too bad Dom hadn’t factored an ornery iguana into the mix. Getting into Blake’s office had been easy, and so had putting the folder on the desk. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a flash of green had leapt through his vision, and boom. Henry settled in and fell asleep right on top of the stupid intel. Trying to remove the pesky lizard had been bad enough without nearly getting caught on his way out, because of course Jace had to happen by right at that exact moment. Dom had had to concoct an excuse on the fly, mumbling something about getting lost or some completely stupid shit then jogging down the stairs like his ass was aflame.

  Not exactly his finest moment.

  Then, to round out the already stellar morning, Blake had sent an email to him and Liv ordering them into the vast Rockford archives to dig through mounds of paperwork in search of God only knew what. The one bright spot had been time alone with Liv. Except she’d decided to give him the cold shoulder all day too. Not a single word about their passionate night together. Every time he looked at her, he wanted to blurt out his real mission. His real name. His real intentions. But he couldn’t do that yet. Not until Blake had seen the file. Not to mention that her all-business persona wasn’t exactly encouraging him to bare his soul.

  Pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger to stem a growing headache, he sighed then sat forward again and squinted at yet another file chock-full of useless information. The air in these archives smelled of musty tomes and aging regrets. Now that he knew that bastard O’Connor was involved in the robbery, he wanted to be out in the field, hunting him down, not stuck in here, dying of dust inhalation.

  He glanced over and caught Liv watching him over a stack of files, her gaze puzzled, as if she was trying to figure him out.

  Good luck, Princess. I’ve been trying to figure myself out for weeks now.

  Through the open doorway behind him, the elevator dinged, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Jace and Blake exit. Their conversation echoed through the otherwise silent space.

  “I know I’m on a special assignment, but I got you a birthday present,” Jace said. “It’s in the trunk of my car.”

  “Is it something I’m going to want to display in my office?” Blake asked.

  “Probably not. Can I have the keys to your house?”

  Blake rubbed his forehead then reached into his pocket. “Let me grab Henry and I’ll come with you.”

  They disappeared from view, and Dom turned back to find Liv watching the exchange as well. Frowning, he sat forward and whispered, “What was that all about?”

  Liv scowled and closed the folder in front of her. “I don’t know, but they are definitely up to some covert activity.”

  “Really? How do you know?”

  “Because it’s not Blake’s birthday.” Her narrowed gaze turned back to him. “Something tells me they have something going on. That’s why they stuck us down here. You wanna find out what they are up to?”

  “Hell yes.” Eager to burn off some excess energy, Dom followed her out of the room.

  Twenty minutes later, they pulled up about a block away from Blake’s house in Summerlin. Liv parked her SUV behind a hedge to avoid detection, then they walked the
short distance to the modern two-story. Jace’s car was in the driveway, and the place was locked up.

  Everything looked too neat, too clean, too normal.

  A definite sign that something definitely wasn’t right.

  “Over here.” Liv gestured him over to a side door in the garage. She picked the lock, and they slipped into the cool darkness beyond. “Don’t tell Blake.”

  “About the breaking and entering, you mean? Isn’t that a Rockford family specialty?”

  She simply smiled and slid her small lockpick kit back into the pocket of her blazer.

  Dom halted. “Did you hear that?”

  “What?”

  Loud scuffles were followed by a curse then a thud.

  “Sounds like it’s coming from the basement.” With a finger to her lips in the universal sign for quiet, Liv started down a steep flight of stairs, and he followed, wishing like hell he had his gun. If shit went south, then at least he’d have some protection.

  They stopped halfway down and crouched to peer through the railings. Before them stood a bare room with only a lone chair in the middle. Tied to said chair was one of O’Connor’s band of not-so-merry thieves.

  Thug by the name of Mickey Rodriguez.

  Jace and Blake stood off to the side, scowling. Jace stepped forward and smacked the restrained, unconscious criminal hard across the face. “Wake up, asshole.”

  The guy moaned, his gaze darting like that of a trapped animal.

  Well, fuck.

  Dom watched the proceedings, torn. Felix had said to bring in both Rockford and O’Connor’s gang, if possible. He was supposed to be looking at the Rockfords for illegal computer activity, but given what was happening before him now, these guys were violating the law with their illegal interrogation. Then again, the piece of shit was most likely one of the bastards who’d shot him and Liv at the robbery scene. Especially given Rodriguez’s penchant for tranquilizer darts instead of bullets—another little gem he’d gleaned from Felix’s file.