by Rita Herron
Stella squared her shoulders and walked toward the door, her hips swaying seductively. He envisioned that slinky thong below the skirt and wanted her again, this time his sex thrusting inside her all the way. The scent of her lingered on his hands, her moans of pleasure echoing in his ears.
She opened the door and Sutton walked in, frowning. Above the doorway, Luke noticed small surveillance cameras tucked into the corners of the room. They were builtin, hidden, so that the untrained eye wouldn’t detect them.
But he was a professional.
He should have checked for them earlier. Should have realized that the entire compound was probably wired and rigged so that Sutton could protect his possessions. His secrets.
Sutton considered Stella one of those possessions.
And judging from his icy expression, he’d been watching while Luke had ripped Stella’s skirt up her thighs and nearly rammed himself inside her.
Chapter Seven
Stella was still rocking inside from her climax, still pondering how amazing it had felt to have Luke’s fingers deeply embedded inside her, when Drake Sutton walked in. But his presence, along with the stony expression on his face, made any lingering euphoria vanish quickly. Shame and embarrassment replaced it.
“I think you’ve taken enough of our time for today,” Drake announced. “So, unless you’re here to drop the charges against Stella, then you should go, Agent Devlin.”
Stella sucked in a sharp breath as Luke stood. His calm demeanor seemed at odds with his rigid stance. It was almost as if he were exerting extraordinary control on his baser impulses, preparing for a standoff between himself and her host.
“I can’t have the charges dropped.” Luke’s cold tone matched Drake’s. “Not without more evidence. Do you have information you’d like to share with me, Sutton? Like the identity of the man in Stella’s hotel room? Or the reason they were together?”
Sutton shrugged. “I refuse to answer any questions without my attorney present.”
“Your secrecy in itself makes you look suspicious.” Luke stepped closer to Drake. “If you’d cooperate and answer our questions, we could clear up this matter more quickly. I want to know where Stella was the past thirteen months. Why she really ran out on our wedding night. The real reason you never came forward to say that you knew her when the news flashed her picture after she disappeared.”
“I told you I travel internationally. I was out of the country most of last year, and I also know she wanted to be free of you.” Drake inhaled sharply. “Now if you’d do your job and find the real person responsible for that man’s death the other night, it would expedite matters for Stella.”
“I am doing my job,” Luke replied. “Helping Stella regain her memory is one of the key elements in solving this crime.”
“Is that what you were doing?” Drake asked.
Stella’s face heated. Did Drake know what had happened between her and Luke? If so, how?
A sick feeling washed over her as possibilities floated through her mind. Drake had claimed he ran a secret organization. The entire house was surrounded with security. What if he had cameras in the rooms?
Her gaze shot around the study searching. To the bookcase filled with original collections. The mantel clock. The corners, the vents.
But she didn’t see anything that resembled a camera.
“Stella,” Luke said, jarring her from her thoughts. “I will go now. But only if you leave with me.”
Drake gave her a warning look. She couldn’t. She had more questions about her past, and Drake was the one to answer them. “I can’t,” she said softly.
Luke hesitated a moment longer, and she almost relented. But the power Luke possessed was as potent as Sutton’s. Except Luke’s hold was more sexual. More dangerous.
Luke cleared his throat. “If you need anything, please call me. And if you remember any details about that night, let me know.” He squeezed her hand, his dark gaze meeting hers for a fraction of a second. In it, she saw concern, distrust, the remnants of sexual desire.
And disappointment that she’d chosen Sutton over him.
Confusion almost swayed her to change her mind and vault toward Luke. But the dream about her mother taunted her.
Still, if Drake were telling the truth and she’d wanted free of Luke, why had she responded so quickly to his lovemaking?
Luke stalked from the room leaving her alone with Drake Sutton and her growing suspicions that he was not the friend he claimed to be.
“Wipe that dazed look off of your face, Stella,” Drake barked. “Luke Devlin is a first-class agent. He’s using you, and you’re falling into his trap. Again.”
The air tightened in her throat. “What do you mean again?”
“You seduced him before, but he seduced you as well.” He made a disgusted sound. “It’s obvious he still has that power over you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You damn well nearly screwed him on the couch!”
His shout startled her. But his words confirmed her earlier suspicions. “You have cameras in here? You’ve been watching me ever since you brought me home.”
He chuckled. “Of course. They’re everywhere, Stella. For your protection as well as mine.” He paced across the room, running his hand through his hair. “For God’s sake, you’ve not only put yourself in jeopardy, but you’ve jeopardized our entire operation here. We have other agents to consider, the missions we have pending and underway. And now you’ve brought the FBI into my private compound. I’ll eventually have to relocate everything.” He turned back to face her, his eyes blazing with fury. “But I’m still trying to help you, Stella. To prevent you from going to jail because I care about you. At one time, you were one of my best. You can seduce men into anything. You’re skilled, logical, and you’ve never let emotions interfere.”
Not until Luke Devlin. The bitter undertones of his accusations stood between them like a brick wall.
But the sense of being watched, her privacy violated, made bile rise to her throat. How had she lived like this before? Being constantly monitored, using men for sex, killing…
Or hadn’t she minded? Had she really been the seductive woman Drake claimed, the one who’d used people, even murdered, with emotional detachment?
Even if she had, she didn’t want to return to that world. But how could she escape? Drake Sutton seemed to think he owned her. And she sensed an underlying danger to her core. That he didn’t give up easily. Or allow his agents to leave him.
What would he do if she tried to escape?
Would Luke help her if she came clean?
Reality intervened. She was out on bail, pending a murder trial. All the evidence so far pointed to her. And he was one of the investigating agents. He’d have to put her back in jail.
No, she couldn’t go back to prison.
The memory of Luke’s touch drifted back, and her body tingled anew with desire. He’d felt it, too. Hadn’t he?
Or was Drake right—was Luke using her? Or had the passion between them been real?
LUKE’S CELL PHONE rang as soon as he settled in his car. He flipped it open. “Special Agent Devlin.”
“Devlin, this is Marvin Andrews from the Sun.”
“What do you want?” Luke snapped.
“I have a disk I’m sending to your house. Just look at it, then call me.”
Without another word, the phone clicked into silence.
Luke cursed, frustrated with the reporter, with the case, with his own damn self.
He cut into the streets, blinking at the blinding car lights and drove into downtown Savannah toward the police station to confer with the local Savannah cops. Maybe they’d learned something about the man Stella had allegedly murdered. He sure as hell hadn’t made any headway.
The town was alive with action, tourists roaming the sidewalks, happy-hour partiers overflowing the bars where blues and jazz music floated through the streets, the hub of River Street welcoming to the yo
ung and old alike. He envisioned the happy couples strolling along the waterfront the way he’d imagined when Stella and he had first married over a year ago, but their life had been clouded by her disappearance. His marriage was, he now suspected, a complete sham. It had been from the beginning.
Although neither he nor Stella had acted as if that were true a few minutes earlier.
He reminded himself he had been seducing Stella into remembering him, their past, that he needed to win her trust so she would confide in him, and he could find out exactly who she was. If she had intentionally hooked up with him to finagle information from him.
But she had seduced him in the process. Those throaty little moans. The way her lips had parted, nearly begging him inside. The way her hips had twitched, and her legs had opened for him, squeezing and gripping his fingers, her body clenching against his skin with her orgasm.
He imagined Sutton watching and a mixture of emotions speared him. Contempt that he hadn’t noticed the camera earlier. Suspicions that Sutton had put Stella up to coming onto him. Distrust of the man’s so-called international businesses. They had to be a front for something else. But what? Drug running? Money laundering?
And why hadn’t he interrupted earlier? Had he hoped Stella would seduce information out of Luke?
Sutton’s face flashed back, as well as the realization that Sutton disliked seeing Luke and Stella together. The man didn’t exercise as much control over Stella as Luke had first thought, or feared. Stella had given something to him that she’d never shared with Sutton.
“You’re a damn fool,” he muttered. Stella might have been faking her reaction all along, using him.
Only she hadn’t faked that orgasm.
Would he have played things differently if he’d known about the cameras?
Probably. He’d definitely have angled Stella’s body away from Sutton so he wouldn’t have glimpsed her bare thighs.
But he wasn’t sure he would have stopped himself from taking all she had offered.
Hell, he wasn’t sure he could have stopped—one kiss had set him on fire and robbed him of his senses.
But he was glad Sutton had witnessed Luke’s power over Stella as well.
Did he have the power to completely take her away from the man?
Hell, who was he kidding? Stella hadn’t been a virgin when they’d met. No telling how many men she’d seduced, slept with…
He reached the police station, veered into the parking lot, and climbed out, wiping sweat from his brow as the sultry temperatures engulfed him.
The hum of cops’ voices surrounded him as he entered the station. He showed his ID to the desk sergeant, then quickly noted the activity. Two cops chowed down on Chinese food at their desks, a female officer was questioning a young woman in tears, and another teenager with sagging jeans and an arm full of tattoos sat sullen and handcuffed to a metal chair, bellowing about police brutality.
“All in a day’s work,” a chubby black officer muttered with a grin.
Luke nodded. Actually it seemed fairly calm. Must not be a full moon tonight.
Or maybe the real street action hadn’t begun yet.
“Devlin.”
He glanced up and saw Detective Black waving him to his office. Luke strode toward him, shook his hand, then stepped inside. Detective Fox sat scrutinizing a computer screen.
“Do we have anything on the dead man?” Luke asked.
Fox cut Black a look that spiked Luke’s curiosity. “What?”
“You’d better sit down.” Black gestured toward a wooden chair in the corner.
Luke shook his head. “I’ll stand. Just tell me what you’ve got.”
Fox and Black exchanged another awkward look. As if in silent agreement, Fox positioned the computer monitor so Luke could see it.
“We think we have a name on the vic,” Fox said. “Raul Jarad.”
“The name doesn’t ring a bell. He has priors?”
“No. But we’ve had surveillance on Nighthawk Island for some time,” Detective Black said, “and he’s been spotted there on several occasions.”
“In relation to what?” Luke asked.
“We’re not sure yet. Your guy, Quinn Salt, is supposed to check him out for us.”
Luke nodded. “So, he might know something about the medical experiments being conducted under the cuff?”
“Maybe.” Fox shrugged. “But there’s more.”
“His name was also flagged in the bureau’s database,” Black reported.
“You received clearance to check there?” Luke asked.
“From Grossman, your superior, himself.”
Luke frowned. “He didn’t contact me.”
Another awkward pause and Luke had his answer. Grossman didn’t trust Luke, so he was withholding information.
“Look, detectives, spill it all. I’m being up front with you here. I just want the truth.”
Black seemed to weigh his words, then nodded. “We think he’s involved in espionage, that he was trying to steal medical research from Nighthawk Island. Chemical research for bio-terrorism is a big concern.
“We also think that he was trying to secure a contact within the bureau.”
The implications echoed in the air between them as if they’d been voiced aloud.
“Through me?” Luke asked.
“That would be my guess,” Fox said.
“And he intended to do that through my wife?”
“It seems feasible,” Fox said.
“You didn’t catch on?” Black asked.
Luke wanted to claim that he hadn’t been an idiot, a fool who’d fallen for a woman, that he hadn’t been seduced by her eyes and deceived by her beauty.
But if he lied now, he’d never win these men’s trust. His reputation was on the line—it was more important than his pride.
“Not at first,” Luke admitted sourly. “But a reporter contacted me a couple of days ago. He had pictures that indicated Stella might have been involved in espionage.”
“When were you going to tell us this?” Black asked.
“I wanted to wait until I had more. This guy’s some sleazeball for the Sun. I had no idea if his information was correct or if he was fishing for a story. And he didn’t have any details about her assignments.”
“You can’t exactly ask Stella, can you?” Fox commented.
“That’s right.” No, instead he’d kissed her again, tried to tear off her clothes. God, he was losing it. And all over a lying woman.
“What else do you have on Jarad?”
“That’s all for now. We’re still looking,” Fox said.
“Do you have a copy of those photos?” Black asked.
“No. But the reporter called me a few minutes ago, said he’s sending me a disk with some information on it. If the lead pans out, I’ll call you.”
“Let’s just hope he’s not playing with us and wasting our time,” Fox said.
Luke nodded. If he was, he’d make the scumball pay.
And if he had information that revealed someone had hurt Stella, he’d get revenge.
But if the information proved Stella was a traitor, it wouldn’t matter how much Luke still wanted her. He’d have to go after her and see that she paid as well.
“COME WITH ME, Stella.”
Stella twisted her hands together, anxiety plucking at her as she followed Drake.
After their conversation, he’d gone to the bar in the corner, poured a highball glass of scotch and offered it to her. When she’d declined, he’d downed it, then a second one without speaking.
“Where are we going?”
“You need to see something.” He removed a book from the shelf of collectible, leather-bound volumes, and pressed a button, triggering the bookshelf to spin around, offering them entrance to what appeared to be a hallway.
Stella swallowed, her agitation rising. She suddenly didn’t feel at all comfortable with Sutton. An image of another basement room rose from the grave to haunt her. A roo
m where bad things happened. Pain. Sorrow. Torture. “What’s down there?”
“Another set of offices.” As if he realized her trepidation, he added, “Don’t worry. I have an elaborate technological system downstairs that monitors all our operations. And two of our other agents are waiting to talk to you.”
She narrowed her eyes, then followed him, the darkness swallowing her as they headed toward a distant light. A door separated the hall from the area, and Sutton removed a key card, swiped it through the security chamber, and the heavy wooden door slid open.
There, they faced an elevator which carried them to a large ground-floor room that was well lit, and filled with high-tech cameras, computers, tracking devices, and other sophisticated equipment.
Two women were stationed in front of the elaborate wall of computers, monitoring transmissions and entering data. He introduced them as Katrina Dixon, better known as Kat, and Jaycee Short.
The two women gave Stella an assessing, almost disapproving, look at the same time. Kat was tall, sleek, with dark, exotic eyes and angled features. Jaycee wore her auburn hair in a pixie cut, and her amber eyes matched her athletic warm-up suit.
But their icy expressions caused Stella to draw back.
“You don’t remember them, do you?” Drake asked.
“No.” In fact, she could have sworn she’d never met them.
“Do you have her under control?” the woman named Kat asked.
“We’re working on reprogramming,” Drake countered.
Stella stiffened at his choice of words.
Jaycee frowned, folding her arms across her chest. “We can’t afford all this attention. I can’t believe she led the feds here.”
“I realize we’re facing a conundrum,” Drake said in an impatient tone. “But we’ll meet the challenge.”
“Are you sure she hasn’t already leaked information about us to Devlin?” Jaycee asked.
Stella detested being talked about as if she weren’t present. “How could I when I don’t remember anything?”
“I mean before,” Jaycee clarified. “When you were sharing pillow talk.”
Drake threw up a warning hand. “We went over this thirteen months ago. At that time, we had no reason to think Stella betrayed us.”