Dangerous Lies (Shades of Leverage)

by Claudia Shelton

  Josh glanced up from the computer he’d been pecking away on. “Do I need to blast a message to all OPAQUE?”

  “I told him to get headquarters on lockdown. He’ll alert the agents to watch their backs. And I sent him to pick up Cat. But it couldn’t hurt to send a shelter-in-place blast message to everyone.” Mitch glanced over his shoulder. “You make damn sure that blast message is in heavy encryption.”

  Josh nodded then went back to his computer.

  “Looks like we need a little more firepower.” Reese headed into the media room then came back carrying a couple of totes. Left, and came back with gun cases. “There’s another bag of weapons downstairs in the garage locker.”

  In the meantime, Stealth started to unpack the weapons. Didn’t take her long to realize he and Josh had brought an arsenal with them. Also didn’t take her long to realize Mitch had called not only for the men during the night, but more weapons. She raced upstairs, pulled on a pair of loose pants and top over her swimsuit. Shoved her phone in her pants pocket and grabbed her shoes before heading back downstairs. Mitch still stood at the window, just like when she’d left the room.

  “What are you looking at?” Stealth asked, ramming ammo into guns.

  Mitch pulled open the window panel in front of the tripod then peered through the scope again. “And there they are. When I was swimming earlier, I saw what I thought was a party boat circling farther out in the water. Even heard laughter.” He shook his head. “It’s not a party boat. Here, take a look. Recognize anybody on that deck?”

  Reese and Stealth both stepped up behind the glass, one using a gunsight, the other binoculars. They both let out sighs and son of a bitches as they nodded in recognition.

  “How’d they find us?” A chill shivered across her shoulders as she tied on her shoes.

  “Not sure. But we’ve been found,” Mitch said.

  “You planned for that when you called me in,” Stealth interjected.

  “Yeah. But not after this morning’s assurances from Drake and Russ.”

  Reese walked over, motioning her toward the hallway. “Why don’t you go into the media room?”

  “No!” Mitch said, turning to look in her direction. He quirked the side of his mouth. “Just stay off to the side. If there comes a time…”

  Today, she felt as if she could confront anything. If she needed to hide, she’d hide, no questions asked. Somewhere between last night and now, she’d realized how much she trusted him and needed him and loved him. She’d also let the definition of control and responsibility drift apart.

  “I understand. If things go south, I’ll do what I need to do. I promise.” She straightened her stance and smiled. “A promise is a promise. Right?”

  His expression blanked before he turned back to the scope. “Right.”

  That’s all she planned to say about their future. Out on the beach, she’d let him know how she felt. Begging him to stay would be beneath both of them. Even though she thought they could work through their differences, she would leave that decision up to him. But she’d feel more than betrayed if he broke his promise to her. She’d be damn pissed.

  Stealth tapped on the glass. “Sounds bulletproof.”

  “Yeah,” Mitch said.

  “Then you might want to move from in front of the open window panel,” Stealth said. “That man standing on the deck of the boat has got you red-dotted.”

  “If he’s got me, I’m already dead.” Slow as a hundred-year-old turtle, he stepped behind the bulletproof glass.

  She couldn’t believe the way Mitch had just taunted the red-dot man. Thinking back to the promise on the beach, neither one of them might live long enough for anyone to say goodbye. Her nerves were fraying. What-ifs were trying to inch their way into her thinking. But she wouldn’t let them in. Not after what she’d just seen. If Mitch had nerves of steel, she’d damn well try to be worthy of his defiance.

  Josh walked over holding a computer panel. “They’re not going to shoot him.”

  “So now you’re reading minds?” Mitch asked.

  “No, I’m reading the new CT Leverage list that just came through the system. There’ve been some changes.”

  “Read it out loud,” Mitch said.

  “Drake and Russ have disappeared from the list. All the other agents and I have stayed at ten thousand. But they’ve checked the dead or alive column after the names.” Josh glanced in her then Mitch’s direction. “And you two have hit star status on two lines.”

  Her insides shivered. “Two lines?”

  “Read it,” Mitch said.

  “First line. Target, Liz. Leverage, Mitch. Second line. Target, Mitch. Leverage, Liz.” Josh sighed. “You’re both at fifty thousand. Both…alive. I’m sure you know what that means.”

  Shaking his head, Mitch paced the perimeter of the room and back again. “I knew better than to… Knew it. Knew it. Knew it!” With each sentence he pounded the side of his fist against the wall.

  She didn’t like the sound of this, and from the expressions on all the men’s faces, she guessed they didn’t, either. “What does that mean?”

  “Means I messed up.” He stopped in front of her. “Means they’ve figured out we’re…” He cupped the side of her face then lowered his hand as it slowly fisted at his side. “They think they can use us against each other as leverage.”

  When they’d first met, he talked about the CT list and leverage. The concept and reality hadn’t sunk in like it did now. “That’s bad, right?”

  “That’s more than bad, Liz. I’m sorry I let this happen.”

  The other men stared at the floor, at the wall, anyplace but at them.

  She bit her lip to hold back all the emotions struggling to come out in tears then tucked her hand inside his. “Well, I’m not. I’m not one bit sorry.”

  Mitch briefly gripped her hand then let it go. He raked his fingers through his hair. “CT is so damn close. And I don’t just mean that boat sitting out there in the water. I mean on a whole different level.” He returned to the open window, peered through the scope, and flipped off the man who continued to red-dot him from the boat.

  Reese laughed as he lowered the binoculars. “I do believe he just called you a—”

  “Yeah, I think he did, too. But there’s not a damn thing he can do, because he needs me alive.” Mitch closed the window panel then looked around the room.

  Taking time to zero in on each person, even her, he pushed the button that closed the blinds over the wall of windows. His gaze seemed to bore right into each of their souls.

  No one blinked. No one moved. Slowly, she realized he was appraising each one of them for the coming battle. And, sure as she was standing there, she could feel a fight was brewing. Nobody said a word. The men already knew the drill, and she followed their lead.

  Finally, Mitch walked to the fridge and set four power juices on the counter. Plus one sparkling water. He opened his and lifted it in a toast. “Here’s to staying alive.”

  Everyone else did and said the same, clinking containers as if they were drinking from fine crystal.

  “Now, who’s the damn leak?” Slow and deliberate, he scrutinized each of them again. “CT couldn’t get this close, this fast, without help. There’s a rat in OPAQUE. Who?” He downed the rest of his drink. “I already know it’s nobody in this room. Outside this group, no one is above suspicion.”

  “We need to know what’s happening on that boat,” Stealth said.

  “I agree.”

  Reese headed to the door. “Give it another thirty minutes, and it should be dark enough to take a couple PWCs out.”

  “Too risky. The CT boat’s already on alert. They’d hear even the silencer-enhanced OPAQUE Q40.” Mitch headed up the stairs. “I’ll swim out. Let me get into the Neoprene.”

  “Give me ten minutes. I’ll grab my swim gear from my place and go out with you,” Reese said.

  “I go alone.” Mitch stopped on the balcony landing. “Later, if you need it, th
ere are extra Neoprene, goggles, and tanks in the storage lockers downstairs. And if—”

  No. Just no. He couldn’t go alone. Who’d have his back? Who’d be there to help him if he got tired? Or wounded? She must have gasped louder than she thought, because all the men looked at her.

  “You can’t go out there alone.” She shook her head rapidly. “I won’t let you. Just. No.”

  The stoic stare on his face said don’t get emotional on me. Don’t doubt my leadership. Don’t doubt my capabilities. Don’t. Doubt. Me!

  “Liz. We’re in protector mode again. At this point, you are nothing but the client. Our job. The one we were sent to keep alive,” he said, his tone back to the first time they’d met at the Mariner’s Bar and Grill. Determined. Unyielding. The leader. “You aren’t in on this decision. Got it?”

  A cold shiver trickled from her face to her stomach to her toes. This was why he’d been sent. Why they’d all been sent. To protect her. The only way any of them stood a chance at survival was if she did everything expected of her. And they took all the risks. Possibly…even the bullets.

  She blinked and stepped back. “I’m sorry, guys. I was out of line.”

  Mitch leaned toward his team. “As I started to say, if I’m not back in an hour, notify law enforcement I’ve been captured.”

  Reese nodded in acknowledgment.

  “CIA and FBI?” Josh asked.

  “Yeah. And somebody check the water patrol while I’m suiting up.” Mitch hustled toward his room.

  All she could think to do was make a pot of coffee, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember if she’d ever seen him drink any. Still, she made the coffee. Before the coffee was finished, Mitch had already gone in the water.

  Josh and Stealth drank an entire pot, even though Josh complained about it not being strong enough. When they asked if she’d make more, she did. Anything to not count the minutes that were ticking by.

  All the men would tell her was that Mitch was one hell of a swimmer. A decorated SEAL. More than that, he loved the water. Yes, the water was probably cold farther out. Yes, it was a long way. And, when she asked if he’d have to go on the boat to check out what was happening, they had finally even said yes to that. At almost the hour mark, Reese and Stealth went outside to pull the PWCs and Q40 into position for a quick drag to the water.

  She struggled to keep herself under control. This was the part—the waiting—that determined whether Mitch and she had any chance in the future. This was the part—the danger, the fear, the strength to be what the man she loved needed—that her mother hadn’t been able to face. She would. But one thing she’d already learned—an hour could seem like an eternity if you were waiting for someone you loved. She straightened, ready to face whatever happened. Ready to do whatever was needed when he returned.

  The door burst open, and Mitch staggered in with Reese supporting him on one side. Stealth had their backs.

  Mitch knelt on the floor, braced on his elbows, winded. Gasping for air, he rolled to lie on the floor for a minute before sitting up and shucking out of the Neoprene jacket. Liz pushed a power juice in his hands. He gulped it down in three swallows.

  Liz handed him another one. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. We’ve got a problem, though. A big problem.” He motioned that he needed to eat. “I was right, it’s CT. They’ve got Drake and Russ. Best I could see, they’ve drugged them both.”

  Josh handed him protein bars and fruit. “How should we proceed?”

  “Reese, see if any of your CIA buds are in the area. Josh, check on FBI help.” Mitch got to his feet. “Looks to me like this is going to be more than just OPAQUE’s involvement. Coercion Ten may have stepped on a lot of toes this time.”

  The men fell into their dialogue of protector jargon. Ever since they’d run inside from the beach, she’d felt less and less like a person to Mitch and more and more like a client. This time she was okay with that. This was what they did for a living every day of the year. Her only job now was to do what Mitch said, when he said.

  Josh reported that the CIA and FBI were happy to be part of the fracas. They’d already had the boat under surveillance for some shady dealings back in Miami.

  “We’ll be on our own the first five or ten minutes,” Mitch said. “We have to lead the assault in order to give the CIA and FBI credible denial of not instigating the situation. They’ll rush in at first sight of the skirmish.”

  Stealth moved in closer. “I lined up a perimeter guy for the house.”

  “Reliable?”

  “Yep. I’d trust him with my life. Works dark-ops.”

  At least they’d have additional backup. And the OPAQUE agent who’d headed in from New Orleans would take the OPAQUE boat out a mile away. He’d wait and watch for any problems.

  “Josh and Stealth attack aft on the PWCs. I saw you guys already pulled my Q40 out from the storage unit below. We’ll leave it on the beach for emergency backup.” Mitch knew surprise was the way to go, but a little diversion would help, also. “Reese and I will use the raft and come in starboard. Your PWC noise should divert CT long enough for us to get on board.”

  Now, each of the men seemed alone, each in their own process of getting ready. Mitch was so zoned in on the upcoming assault she doubted he even remembered she was there.

  She walked over and touched his hand. He jerked in her direction then huffed out a breath, along with a slight grin. The blue of his eyes held the touch of a knife’s cutting-edge silver gray. He lifted her hand to his lips, his kiss fast and unthinking, but also sweet and gentle.

  Looping his arm over her shoulder, he tugged her close. “I need all the guys with me. So, when we leave, you’ll be here by yourself. There will be a man on patrol of the perimeter of the house. Okay?”

  “Sure.” Looking up into his face, she let her palm rest against his chest. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I know you will. Don’t let anyone in. Not anyone. Understand?”

  She nodded.

  “The door will lock when I close it behind me. Each of us knows the code and will use it to get back in when this is all over. Got it?”

  She nodded again. “Don’t forget your jacket.”

  He pulled it on and flexed his shoulders. Jabbed his arms out to the side. Moved into two uppercut motions. Shook his head. “Nope. Not this time.”

  Keeping herself from imagining him wounded or dead was a hard thing to control when he stood in front of her preparing for the battle to come. Preparing to fight. Hard and fast where even the tiniest restraint of movement could mean everything.

  “And remember, we’re not leaving you alone.” Yanking the jacket off, he tugged his compression shirt back in place. “There’s the guy Stealth lined up watching the outside of the house. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  Casting aside his words, she was more worried about these four outnumbered men heading out to take on CT than her own safety.

  He walked away to help the men double-check their equipment. “Okay, looks like we’re ready to roll.”

  The men were in assault mentality, and she had to make it easy for them to leave. “I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee when you get back.”

  Stealth nodded as he walked out the door.

  Josh walked past. “Make sure it’s strong.”

  “Triple strong,” she said.

  Reese stopped, tousled her hair. “Well, Short Stuff, I…uh…” He winked. “I’ll see you later.”

  “I thought you were the one who never saw anything.” She punched him lightly in the biceps as he laughed and walked outside.

  Now the hard part.

  Mitch stepped in front of her and smiled, then bit his lower lip. “You know, we had a really nice day, didn’t we?”

  “More than nice.” She kissed his chin as she brushed her fingers against his cheek. “I never knew bouncing in the waves could be so much fun.”

  He wrapped his hand around the back of her head, his lips powerful a
nd hungry against her own. She arched upward to meet his power. If life were perfect, she could have stayed that way forever, but right now, that was only a dream. Slowly, he pulled away as she reached for more.

  Gliding her tongue across her lips, she slowly opened her eyes. “I meant what I said. I love you.”

  Gently, he placed his forehead against hers. After a long moment he moved, his cheek brushing hers as his breath brushed her ear.

  “You deserve better than my world of danger. The only way to give you that is to leave, but…” he whispered, pulling her tight against him. “I will love you forever, Liz. Goodbye.”

  He walked out the door and pulled it closed behind him.

  Her heart fought for the next beat. Her lungs for the next breath. Her mind shouted stop. Please stop. Please…please stop. But nothing stopped. Not the moment, and not the tears sliding down her cheeks. He’d kept his promise. By all that was holy, he’d kept his promise to say goodbye.

  Grasping for anything that kept him with her, she gripped the Neoprene jacket against her cheek. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there holding on to the last vestige of his scent before forcing herself to fold the jacket and place it on the counter. Emotions crashing in on her, she grabbed hold of the stair rail and took one step up, then another, and another. Somewhere in the distance, she heard the high-speed roar of the PWCs charging toward the CT boat.

  Why had she ever thought Mitch was trying to control her? The only control had been her fear of how much she loved him. Now that would be there till the end of time.

  Making her way to his bedroom, she stretched out on the bed, covering herself with the soft red throw, the one they’d never found time to use. Her tears began to dry on her cheeks, yet all she could do was keep lying there. Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed. Gunfire and sirens sounded from the Gulf. Then quiet. So much quiet. She held tight to his pillow as another five, ten, fifteen minutes passed.

  Beep…beep…beep…beep…beep… Loud and shrill, the security alarm went off. Then, silence. They were back.

  The loud whine of the second security system vibrated through the air as the lights flashed on and off, on and off, on and off. She jumped to her feet and started into the hallway.