Circle of Deception

by Carla Swafford

  Edward choked. “Stud muffin?”

  Maybe she’d layered it on too thick, but it had done the trick. The tension had dissipated.

  Rex looked down at her and growled, “Your mother wants your help.”

  She glanced over at her brother and back to Rex. Well, hell. Were they going to pull it out and measure?

  “Okay. You two behave,” Abby said, pinching Rex’s arm in warning. “I’ll be back. She probably wants me to set the table. Everyone knows not to let me touch the food or I’ll burn it.” Neither man laughed. She’d tried. Abby slowly walked out of the room, looking back a couple times, shaking her head. Hopefully she’d return before they hurt each other.

  REX CROSSED HIS arms. Their few minutes on the front porch earlier had told him a lot about Abby’s brother. He loved his family and that included his wayward sister, and his job was more than a position and badge. It was close to a religious calling.

  Edward’s face hardened. “I don’t know you, and if I ever hear of you hurting my sister, I won’t care that you live in another county and state. I’ll track you down and hurt you ten times worse than any suffering you’d caused. Do we understand each other?”

  Suddenly Rex knew Abby’s brother was going to be trouble. Not that he worried about the threat—he’d never intentionally hurt Abby—but to Edward any unknown element marrying his little sister needed to be investigated. By looking into every aspect of the man’s life, he would be assured of her safety and happiness.

  Rex did his best to shrug off the worry. Any information the sheriff uncovered would be what The Circle wanted him to find. For now, Rex would tell him as much of the truth that he could. Maybe it would keep him satisfied for a while.

  “I would stab myself in the eye before I hurt her or let anyone harm her.” No half-truth there. “Anyone who got between me and Abby would severely regret it.” The warning hung in the air.

  Edward stared hard. Without flinching or looking away, Rex waited for the man’s next move.

  “It’s like that, huh?” Edward snorted and then walked out of the room.

  Damn. Did the man see too much? Both siblings were going to be the bane of his existence.

  Chapter Thirteen

  * * *

  “ABBY, DAMMIT!”

  “What did I tell you about that?” she warned as she scrambled into the bushes and stooped behind a thick azalea.

  After a tension-filled dinner, they had told Edward and Suzie that they wanted to stretch their legs along the short path to the lake. Even fighting mass amounts of mosquitoes was worth escaping the house and her mom’s sudden interest in their personal life. Plus the stroll would give her a chance to ask Rex what her brother had to say.

  They had reached the pier’s ramp when a pop echoed over the water and the railing next to her splintered. They ran for cover near the shore. She’d prayed they would make it before another shot zipped by her head. Rex had grabbed the back of her shirt and tossed her to the ground.

  “Get down!” Then he’d dove in behind her.

  So there they were, waiting to see what happened next. Everything was quiet. The sun setting above the trees on the other side of the lake glowed on the mirrorlike surface. Hard to imagine someone out there trying to kill them.

  “I told you we needed to stay armed.” Rex shoved his way in front of her.

  Refusing to give ground, she scooted to the side and peeked around pink blooms.

  “We had no reason to believe the Inferno would send someone new already.” She hoped the shooter didn’t plan to spray the bush with gunfire. The thin branches were no protection. He was right. Dammit. Leaving her Sig in the bedroom hadn’t felt right, but she worried about her family seeing it.

  “I have a gut feeling it isn’t the Inferno,” he said.

  “Do you think it’s Brody?”

  “Bad for business.”

  “I agree.” Abby knew that Brody would want Rurik alive in an effort to capitalize on his contacts. “If it’s not the Inferno or Brody, I think we need to talk to my brother again. He’s holding back on us. With him meeting us at the door with a gun and questioning you, really, he’s never been the protective brother. We’ll have to be careful of how we handle it. By nature and profession, he’s cynical to say the least, and we don’t want him asking us questions in return.”

  “Hell, yes, he’s holding something back.” Rex leaned over and brushed at her shoulder. “Spider.”

  She twisted to look for more creatures on both shoulders and various areas of her body and landed on her butt. “Did you get them all?” Her skin crawled from the thought. Slapping at specks of dirt or whatever, a shower would be next as soon as she got back into the house.

  He chuckled and returned his attention to another stand of trees off to the side of the small cove. “Just one and it was only a granddaddy longlegs.”

  A shiver ran down her spine. Though they weren’t poisonous, she couldn’t stand them. All spiders gave her the creeps. They were almost as bad as snipers.

  Had the sniper left? Most would leave as soon as they hit their target, except the fellow had missed. Checking the area, she weighed their options: run for it and hope the sniper missed again or wait until dark and hope no one came looking for them and walk into gunfire.

  The high-pitched sound of a keypad being pressed reached her ears. She looked over at Rex. He had a cell phone to his ear.

  “Yeah. Did you hear it?” Even from a couple feet away, she could tell it was Jack talking on the other end, though she couldn’t make out what was being said. “Good.” Rex squinted at nothing in particular. “Are you sure?”

  Abby heard Jack shout a string of curses at his brother.

  Then Rex said, “Fuck you too,” and hung up as he stood.

  “I take it the sniper got away.” She straightened and slapped at her jeans for assurance against any more creepy-crawlies.

  “They’re trying to track him down. But for now we’re okay.”

  Before Rex could say anything more, his cell phone vibrated. “Yeah?”

  He headed up the path toward the house, listening intently. “I’m okay. It didn’t get near me. No. It would be hard to hide a rifle on me.” He darted a look at her and lowered his voice as his long legs ate up the ground. “Behave. Yeah. Thanks anyway. Sure. Me too.”

  Me too?

  The voice had been a panicking woman’s, high pitched and talking rapidly. Nic? Were the last two words in answer to “I love you”?

  She knew how guys worked. They could have sex without caring for the woman. It was only a bodily function to most of them. A need fulfilled by any woman who was handy. Their time together last night and early in the morning had been a fluke and possibly a part of the plan to get her cooperation in treating him like a real husband. And she would admit she enjoyed it and wanted to do it again. But was his heart tied up with Nic? Circle operatives were trained to do whatever it took to get the job done. Was she only a job? One that he also enjoyed? He’d hardened enough times to prove that.

  She rubbed the back of her neck, staring wide-eyed at the trees and bushes leaning over the path, the air thick and heavy in the early spring heat.

  Though she hated to admit it, she dreaded bedtime. All the zinging of her nerve endings whenever she touched Rex did little good considering his feelings appeared to be centered on Nic.

  And no way would they have sex while her brother, sister-in-law, and nephew remained under the same roof. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second. But then again, when it came to Rex, she had no self-control.

  “LET ME HANDLE it,” Rex said, pushing Abby toward the stairs. “Go. You can have the shower first.”

  Her brown eyes studied him. Was she remembering their last shower? His cock lengthened at the thought. He kept his gaze steady.

  Or did her indecision stem from concern about the method he intended to use in questioning her brother about the shooter? His first inclination was to beat the shit out of Edward for placing her in
danger.

  From the info Nic had given him, the sniper had nothing to do with Brody. The good sheriff had broken up a moonshine operation last week and the cousins of the fellow in jail had taken exception to it. Though the sniper had gotten away, one of the cousins had been caught trying to steal a Circle SUV. The operative had been assigned to keep an eye on the house and had parked in a wooded area across the water. Bad luck for the cousin. Good luck for the Circle operative. The cousin had confessed everything like a sinner in a confessional.

  Later, Rex might regret not telling Abby what he found out, but earlier he’d enjoyed watching the jealousy steaming from her ears. He could’ve easily turned down the volume on the phone but he would have missed seeing her face flush with anger.

  But her brother still had some explaining to do. Allowing his sister to walk into a precarious situation blind like that, there was no excuse.

  “Have a nice walk to the water?” A shadow moved from the dining room.

  Speak of the devil. The cocky asshole.

  Rex grabbed the front of Edward’s shirt and lifted him to his toes, slamming him against the wall. The man brought his arms up to break his hold, but Rex shifted and placed both hands at his throat without crushing it.

  “You should’ve warned me that Rod Davison’s cousins were after you. One of them almost shot Abby.” Nose-to-nose, he bit off each word.

  Edward stopped struggling. “Is she okay?”

  “Yes. She has enough sense to keep calm, and that’s the only reason she’s still alive. If she’d been like most and gone running up the path, she’d be lying in the dirt with a bullet wound in the back.”

  “There’s no way the Davison cousins mistook her for me.”

  “They were going to take out your whole family.” Nearly pressing his nose to Edward’s, Rex said, “And your sister would’ve been the first one.”

  “How do you know this? Who in the hell are you?”

  “Someone you don’t want to cross.”

  “FBI? DEA?”

  “Who I am is none of your fucking business.”

  “The hell it is!”

  Edward threw a hard right into Rex’s ribs. The lights from the kitchen dimmed for a second as he tried to regain his breath. His hold on Abby’s brother loosened. He stepped back, chest rising and falling fast.

  “Everything that happens in Sand County is my fucking business.”

  Being careful to take small gulps of air, Rex rubbed his abdomen. “Not this time. Stay out of my business and I’ll stay out of yours.” He towered over the shorter man. There were a few advantages to being so freaking tall. Intimidation was one of them. “Don’t ever put Abby’s life in jeopardy like that again.”

  “Are they in jail? Who’s holding them?”

  Either the man was too stupid to realize the danger he was in or too brave for his own good. Possibly, a little of both.

  “Yeah. Call your jail. They should have the fellow by now. There’s a good chance his cohort might show up too.” Rex glared and then turned away. The man had a wicked punch but he better count himself fortunate that Rex hadn’t hit back. It was only the thought of explaining to Abby why he called an ambulance for her brother that stopped him from drawing blood.

  Rex stomped up the stairs to the bedroom. Furious with her damned self-centered brother, he’d completely forgotten about another danger.

  He shouldered the door open, his attention on rubbing his stomach. The sweet smell of clean woman hit him first. Lifting his gaze, he drank in the soft, damp-haired beauty sitting on the corner of the bed, towel-drying her hair. Nothing smelled as good as a woman.

  Without turning around, he kicked the door closed. Her head jerked up.

  “Well? What did you learn?” she asked.

  He knew in his lust-filled head she was asking about her brother, but he had to bite the side of his mouth to keep from saying, That I love tasting you, especially when your legs are spread, and you’re coming against my tongue.

  “R-Rurik?” She stumbled over his name. Though they were alone, they couldn’t take a chance of someone overhearing them.

  Three long strides, and he crossed the room, tearing off his shirt and reaching for her before she could escape. Every thought in his head centered on his need to touch, taste, fuck her.

  Palms out, she tried to stop him. “Tommy’s down the hall. My brother and his wife are downstairs,” she said, every word light and airy as if she had a problem breathing.

  Swatting at her hands, he reached into the terry-cloth robe to cup and massage her breasts. Silky and warm, her skin felt wonderful.

  Oh, hell, he wanted her so much. He groaned as his cock pressed against the zipper of his pants. Even with cotton separating him from the metal, the teeth surely would leave an imprint. He didn’t care. He wanted to touch more of her.

  “Damn you, Rex,” she whispered near his ear. Then her tongue licked the pulse at his throat as she unzipped and shoved off his pants and boxer briefs. “Damn you.”

  “From the moment I was born.” He held her as she tried to lean back and look in his face. He didn’t want to explain. She was right. Making love to Abby was a noisy affair when done right, and he never could be quiet about it and preferred to do it correctly and thoroughly. It would kill him, but he would hold off. “Shh. We need some rest.” She whimpered. “I know. That asshole better confirm his invite soon. When he sends the directions, we’re out of here. We won’t need to be quiet there.”

  “We don’t? How’s that?”

  He shook his head and stretched out beside her, clasping her tight, letting his groin press to her hip for a moment in a mild form of self-torture. “Later. I’ll tell you later. For now, let’s get some sleep.” With a sigh, he rolled onto his back and hauled her halfway on top of him. Glad she couldn’t see his bruised rib cage from the altercation with her brother, he concentrated on relaxing.

  “For a man who can’t shut up while having sex, you’re sure closemouthed when it really counts.”

  Her head bounced on his chest as he chuckled. Only Abby made laughter in bed sexy. He shifted his hard cock. It was going to be a long night.

  Chapter Fourteen

  * * *

  “WHY DIDN’T YOU tell me that you saw Brody at the charity cocktail party?” Abby’s mom stared accusingly while wrapping an arm around Brody’s elbow.

  Where did the nice morning go to, and why couldn’t the afternoon be as nice? Abby had helped Suzie prepare breakfast, scrambling up some fluffy omelets and cinnamon toast—that was, she’d handed Suzie the ingredients. Anyway, mornings like that brought an ache to be normal with a husband and children.

  Some people enjoyed spoiling a good thing.

  She looked at the tall, good-looking guy smiling with the largest self-satisfied grin she’d ever seen on a person’s face.

  “Don’t give her a hard time, Leigh Ann. She’s in love and you remember how that is. No one else exists.” His bleached white teeth sparkled.

  “Hello, Walker.” Rex’s deadly tone ratcheted up the tension in the room.

  “Volkov.”

  While Brody was all flash and smooth charm, Rex was mystery and lethal sex appeal. Of the two, she’d place all her money on Rex. But during her time with The Circle, she’d learned to never underestimate an opponent. Looks could be misleading.

  “Suzie, look who’s come to visit.” The older woman still held on tight to Brody as if he were a beau come to court her.

  How wrapped up was she in his sale of illegal firearms and ammo?

  “Hey, Brody. Eddie’s at work but would you like a glass of tea?”

  “No. I’m fine. I’m actually here to see Rurik. As I mentioned the other night, I’m having a small weekend party at my farm and wanted to invite Abby and Rurik. You know, extend our Southern hospitality to our newlyweds.”

  “That sounds wonderful and so generous.” Abby’s mom beamed at her. “If only I didn’t already have plans, I would join in.”

  Abb
y’s heart traveled to her throat thinking of her mom in the middle of the mission. Well, more than she was already involved.

  “Sure. Another time.” Brody kissed her mom on the cheek. “Excuse me while I talk with Rurik.”

  “Very well. I love your dinner parties. Your weekend parties must be marvelous,” the older woman simpered.

  Rex followed Brody into Edward’s study. As soon as the door closed, her mom turned. “What business would your husband have with Brody? You better not be planning to cheat him out of his money. He acts all laid back but he’s a sharp businessman and eats people like you for dinner.”

  Stunned, Abby blinked a few times, giving herself time to recover. She knew her mom had a low opinion of her, but each time she lobbed a sneak attack, she caught her off guard.

  “Okaaay. I’m going to pretend you said that to protect me from Brody and not the other way around.”

  Her mom wrinkled her forehead. “Whatever are you talking about? You come here with a husband who wears thousand-dollar suits and no visible means of income. And you say he trades commodities but he doesn’t act like a broker. I don’t trust those Russians. Capitalism is new to them and all that freedom has made them pushy.”

  “More pushy than Americans? Besides, how should a broker act?” Ah, hell, why did she allow her mom to push her buttons? She closed her eyes as she shook her head, holding up both hands. “No. Never mind.” Looking her in the eye, she did her best to soothe her worries. “We don’t plan to hurt Brody, and I’m sure Rurik can handle himself.”

  Rather proud of how she remembered to call Rex Rurik, she almost missed the way her mom’s neck stretched and chin popped up before she asked, “We don’t plan?”

  Abby hung her head and sighed. The best way to handle the mess was to redirect her mom’s attention. “Mom, let’s not argue in front of Tommy.” She nodded to where her nephew watched a cartoon. Turning to her sister-in-law, Abby widened her eyes, pleading for help. “Did I hear you say that Tommy was taking karate?”