by Lexi Blake
She started to deny the fact that she would ever do his bidding. It was right there on the tip of her tongue to tell him to fuck himself because she wouldn’t betray her friends. But that was a really good way to get a bitch killed, and he already had a shit ton of intel. “How much are you getting paid?”
His eyes lit slightly. “There’s a bonus with this particular job. I’m an Agency man as long as they pay me and don’t figure out my outside projects, like the one with Hector here. Hector feeds me intelligence on certain elements down here.”
“Fucking narcoterrorists,” Hector spat. “They’re trying to take over my territory. They’ll tear everything apart if they can.”
Levi nodded his way. “Hector’s a realist. In exchange for information that makes me look like the golden boy of the CIA, I help facilitate his business and take a little percentage for me and my partner. It was her idea, actually. She’s got a brilliant brain on her.”
She would love to meet his partner. When she met the partner, Kay would take her apart. “I would want a percentage.”
“I thought you said she was smart,” Hector said.
“She’ll catch on,” Levi replied. “Sweetheart, you’re not getting a cut. I’m not foolish, though I will keep you around as long as you’re a good girl. There are still things we need from you. What’s the protocol for getting into The Garden?”
“You don’t need to know. I told you I’ll do it for the right cash.” She would happily walk into The Garden and come back out guns blazing.
He leaned in, his hand coming out to touch her hair. “There’s no amount of cash that would get my sweet Kayla to betray her friends. I told you it’s odd, but that sweetness and sunshine is precisely why I’m a bit obsessed with you and your friends. I have a little fantasy about you and Ariel Adisa that would make you blush. Maybe once you’re on the inside, you can make that happen for me. Perhaps you’ll bring Ariel with you and Tucker and I can have all three of you.”
He was confusing her. She wasn’t going to lure Tucker or any of the Lost Boys out of their hidey-hole. It wasn’t going to happen, so why was he talking like it was a sure thing?
“So, I need to know the protocol for getting into The Garden,” Levi insisted.
What had Ezra said? Five years. Everything had changed five years before. What had happened five years before? John Bishop died. Now Levi Green was afraid of Bishop. If John Bishop wasn’t a part of this collusion, then how did he fit in?
Levi stared at her. “Tell me something. Do you wonder how you managed to come out of your time with MSS and still have that smile? She doesn’t smile like you. Oh, she can fake it, but I know the difference.”
Tears pierced her eyes. John Bishop. It all came back to him. Her handler. Her mentor. Sometimes he’d been the only person she talked to in a year who knew who she was. Could he really have done that to her? Could he have lied and manipulated her for years?
“I think she’s going to need persuading.” Hector sighed and nodded. Two big men came from behind him.
“Tell me what I need to know,” Levi whispered. “I don’t want to do this to you, sweetheart. I would rather our relationship be one of a different nature. Give us what we need and I’ll promise to be gentle.”
When he raped her. Nice.
Through the ache of betrayal, she realized nothing she did would spare her the pain that was to come. Her feet were tied, but she could still use them. She brought her knees up, catching Levi in the gut. Not where she’d been aiming. “I’ll cut your balls off, Levi. You watch me. Before this is done, I’ll avenge Ezra and you’ll know which sister you should really be afraid of.”
Levi turned. “Do it. Don’t kill her.”
One of the big men pulled her off the hook and that was when she realized what was behind her—a lovely marble tub, and someone had been kind enough to fill it with water.
Fun times were coming.
She took a deep breath as she hit the water and two men held her under. Calm. She had to remain calm and pray Josh figured out that the woman in his bed wasn’t the woman he loved.
Because now she remembered what she’d seen right before she’d gone lights out.
Her own face.
As the torture began she prayed Josh would survive the night.
Chapter Nineteen
Josh couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was wrong. Maybe it was post-mission letdown, but Kayla seemed weird. Not her usual weird. She seemed happy, perfectly happy. She’d laughed and danced with a bunch of people as though she had nothing to worry about at all.
She’d played him again. Would he ever learn?
He pulled the tie off and tossed it aside.
Kayla was staring at herself in the dresser mirror, smoothing down her hair. “I love this dress.”
“God knows you earned it.” He couldn’t quite keep the bitterness from his voice.
“I did, didn’t I? I definitely earned it.” She turned, leaning against the dresser so there was no way he missed the hint of her breasts on the edges of the deep V in the bodice. “Tell me something. Do you like it?”
“You know I like it.” He had incredibly fond memories of that dress. “Considering what you were doing the last time you wore it.”
A smile crossed her face. “Of course. You like getting me out of it.”
He pulled his tuxedo coat off and moved to the closet to hang it up. He hit the desk with his toe and groaned. He’d lost all grace this evening, but then it kind of fit the way his life was going. The laptop Kayla had been using earlier flickered back from sleep mode.
When he turned back around, she was gone, but he heard her moving about in the bathroom.
Did she honestly expect him to fuck her tonight? Probably. Hell, he’d proven he was the biggest fucking fool in the world when it came to her. She’d lied to him and he’d fallen on top of her three or four hours later. His dick didn’t care that she was a manipulator of the highest order.
He glanced down at her screen. She was probably plotting her next mission now that she’d fucked him over so thoroughly. All that talk about going after his enemies had been nothing but dialogue written to keep him off balance.
Tyler Williams was the subject line of the email she had open on the screen. It seemed to have come from someone called CandyMan#1.
Hey, girl! Here’s the skinny on your DEA agent. Hit me up next time you’re in Dallas and bring back some of those sponge candy things from Trader Joe’s. Can’t get ’em here. Hutch.
She’d been looking into his advisor?
He clicked on the report and it came up, filling the screen with information on Tyler Williams.
Except the man in the picture wasn’t Tyler Williams. The man staring from his government issued ID was blond, a bit younger, and grimmer-looking than the real Tyler Williams.
Who might not be the real Tyler Williams.
What the fuck was going on?
Something was off and had been all night. Even Hector had seemed smug and self-satisfied, as though he’d known something the rest of them didn’t.
He flipped the laptop screen shut. Why would she be looking into his advisor? Maybe there was a different Tyler Williams. The Kayla who loved him would look into Williams because she would do that about anyone who got close to him. The one who’d laughed and partied all night, ignoring him for the most part until it was time to go to bed, why would that Kayla care at all? The op was done.
Wasn’t it?
“Hey, I thought you might like this better. Wanna play?” She stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a smile, her hair falling like a waterfall around her shoulders.
She was one gorgeous woman, and sure enough his dick throbbed to life. He stood up, unsure how to deal with her. “Has Riley texted you?”
“Riley?” She shook her head suddenly. “Of course. He said everything’s perfectly fine at the club, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
That was when he noticed it. He stepped
in closer. The words that came out of her mouth confused him, but the sight of her scar made his heart pound.
“Josh? Are you all right?”
They were alone. The job was over. All she had to say was yes or no. Even if someone was listening in, it wouldn’t have mattered because they wouldn’t have known who Riley was. Why mention the club unless the woman in front of him thought that’s where he was? He could have overlooked that but his eyes weren’t lying.
Such a small thing to miss. He put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes on that scar above her right breast. He loved her scars, loved lavishing them with affection the way she did his. She would kiss them and rub her cheek there as though thanking the scar for saving the man. He’d been a good pupil, learning from her easy affection. He’d kissed that candy cane shaped scar a hundred times.
“Josh?” This time he could hear the edge of anxiety in her voice.
If she was who he thought she was, he needed to keep her calm. “You know I can’t resist this body, baby. I love it when you get naked for me.”
His Kayla would have waited for him to ask her to take her clothes off if play was what she wanted.
He traced the scar with his finger. Of course his Kayla’s scar curved to the left, not the right. Whoever had carved this scar into this woman’s skin must have been looking at a photograph. How well had she rehearsed this role? Would she be able to properly improvise when needed? “My Little Miss Muffett.”
The woman who was calling herself Kay laughed, a sound that was off to his ears. “That’s me. I know which tuffet I’m sitting on tonight.”
Not the right answer. His stomach threatened to roll. His Kay insisted the staff-like scar was a scythe because she was never less than a badass. His Kay would never be this aggressive when she was naked and asking to play. His Kay would soften and go sweetly submissive.
Where the hell was his Kay?
Who was standing here in front of him?
She turned her face up, looking him in the eyes as though she’d caught on that something was wrong with him. “You’re acting weird.”
What would she do? He was acting out a scene and no one had bothered to give him the script, so he had no idea what happened if she thought he was about to catch on. If she figured out he knew she wasn’t the woman he loved, what would she do? Where was Kayla? Because she wouldn’t have done this to him. He knew that deep in his soul. This ghost was here and something had gone terribly wrong with the mission his Kay had promised would be a breeze.
His Kay wouldn’t have concealed her sister and sent her twin in to deal with him. It struck him forcibly that he believed her. Kayla had lied about the mission but nothing else. Everything else had been true. When she’d said she loved him, she’d meant it. It had been there in her eyes, the grief she’d felt when she thought she was losing him. That had been real.
If her love was real, it was the best thing that ever happened to him and he would never, ever doubt it again. He would cling to that woman like the life raft she was, like the gift she was. She was his prize for surviving.
He had to put on an Academy Award winning performance. Luckily, he was pretty good at pretending. He looked down at the ghost in his arms, curling his lips up. “I’m acting weird? I should spank you for that, baby. You know better than to push me when we’re playing. I get to look at you as long as I want.”
Her smile was back. Funny, he hadn’t noticed earlier that it didn’t meet her eyes. Those remained cold and calculating. This was not a woman who talked to dolphins. “I’m sorry, Josh. Of course, you do. You’re the Master, after all.”
He put his hands on her hips, forcing himself to touch her. She was a gorgeous snake and he had to be careful she didn’t show her fangs. How did he get out of this? He wasn’t fucking sleeping with her. No way. If she was who he thought she was, she could kill him in a heartbeat. He needed out of this room and without making her suspicious.
He winced. “Baby, you’re going to kill me, but I need to run out to Shane’s. We used our last condom. Remember? I forgot to ask him about it earlier.”
Her eyes widened. She couldn’t possibly know they didn’t use them. The conversation about going without had taken place while they were walking on the beach, and it wasn’t like they’d mentioned it since. Or he was about to get gutted by a ghost.
“Damn it. Maybe we should go to bed and sleep instead.”
He forced himself to drag her close. “No fucking way. I fully intend to rock your world. Stay here. He’s right across the garden. That man is always prepared. I’ll be right back. Find your position. You better be waiting for me or we’ll start with discipline.”
If she knew anything about playing the Kayla role, she would have practiced at least some D/s. She sank down to her knees and placed her palms on her thighs. Not turned up like her sister would have. She was hampered by the fact that they hadn’t had a video feed.
She’d only been able to listen in. But the CIA had been the ones to bug his house.
Shit. Who did he turn to?
He placed a hand on her head. “I’ll be right back.”
He forced himself to walk out of the bedroom door, but the minute it closed, he sprinted for the back of the mansion. He was taking a risk. Was Shane in on it? Had this been some elaborate plan to switch out the twins again? Where was Kay? Where the fuck was Kay? If Shane was in on it, at least maybe he would get to go where Kay had gone.
The mansion was deadly quiet. He could hear his breath, his feet pounding on the floor.
He needed a gun. Shane would have one. If Shane didn’t immediately shoot and kill him.
Cell phone. He’d left that fucker behind, too. What had he been thinking? He was running on pure adrenaline.
He slowed as he reached the end of the hallway. A shadow walked across the closed curtains, making Josh pull up. Fuck. He hadn’t thought about the fact that Hector would have guards all over the place.
Would Hector care that the Agency was using him to play deep games? Was Hector in on it? It wouldn’t be the first time the CIA had used drug dealers for their own ends.
And then he felt something cold press to the back of his neck and knew he’d made a fatal mistake.
“Don’t move and maybe I won’t blow your head off,” a deep voice said.
He wasn’t going to back down now. He’d gotten caught. All right, at least he could get one question answered. “I want to know where my girlfriend is because that bitch you sent back to me isn’t her. Where is my Kayla?”
A long, relieved sigh hit his ears and that pressure at the base of his skull disappeared. “Joshua? Fuck, man, I thought you were one of Morales’s goons. Thank god. So Jiang Kun is already in play?”
He turned and faced the man who had called himself Tyler Williams. He was dressed in all black, but it couldn’t hide the smear of blood that crossed his jawline. “You’re not Tyler Williams.”
“My name is John Bishop. Tyler Williams is a friend of a friend. I used his identity because I had to get myself into this game somehow. I’d like to point out that if you had taken my advice, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I would be quietly taking this obnoxious threesome out. But instead of listening to my excellent advice, now I have to deal with saving a bunch of people. Help me get my new friend out of here and I’ll get Kay back for you. Help him while I take out the guards.” He didn’t wait for Josh to answer. The man simply started for the door.
That was when Josh realized he still wasn’t alone. A man leaned against a chair in the grand living room where just the day before, Josh had sat with Kayla as they sipped cocktails.
“She’s alive,” the man said. “I was the expendable one. They’ll need her to give up Knight’s protocols if they want to get Jiang Kun into The Garden in one piece.”
“Why would she need to get…that’s where Kay works.” She’d talked about The Garden. That was where her London team was based. And this man looked familiar, though when he’d seen him before he’d seem
ed far healthier.
“Yeah, I think we can safely say I was right about this one. Doesn’t make getting shot at point-blank range any better,” the man said. “Fucking tactical vest spared me the worst. I pretended to be dead, but Morales sent two of his guards to bury me and they quickly figured out I wasn’t as deceased as I appeared. During that fight, one of those fuckers managed to get a wild shot between the plates when I tried to get away. They’re both dead, but I can’t fucking breathe in this thing.”
“You’re Kayla’s handler. You’re Ezra. She said you were going to back her up.” Josh finally saw enough of his face to ID him as the man who met Kay on the beach from time to time. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Fuck if I know,” Ezra replied. “I think our new friend is going to have to explain. He’s not as bad as I thought he was. You know how to shoot?”
“Yes, but I’ve only ever shot at a gun range,” he admitted.
“Better than nothing. Reach down and take the spare out of my boot. Bishop’s coming back.”
Sure enough, the door opened as Josh reached down and came up with a small semiautomatic. The weight felt good in his hand. “Bishop?”
The only Bishop he’d heard of was dead.
The man he’d known as Tyler Williams strode back into the hall. “John Bishop is a ghost I hoped I could leave behind. John Bishop is someone I’m not proud of right now, and he’s the one who has to clean this mess up so I can go back to being Henry Flanders.”
“I’m confused about the names and the whole death thing,” Josh admitted. “It doesn’t matter. Could you just tell me if you’re going to help me find my Kayla?”