Devotion (The Seductors Series Book 3)
Page 8
“Of course I’ll do this for him,” she snapped. “All I’ve ever done is love him. I’d never betray him like you! He’s head over heels in love with you, Jade, and now you’re going to leave him again. I’ll be left to pick up the pieces!”
“Promise you’ll look after him for me, Macy. He’ll need you when I’m gone.” I fought back my tears.
“Oh, so now you’ve grown a heart? Do you have any idea what this will do to him when he finds out? It’ll crush him!”
“Please, this is hard enough for me.”
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you? That’s why you’re doing this,” she gasped.
“Yes, but he can’t ever know. If he tries to find me, we’re both dead. There’s no other option. It has to end here.”
“There must be another way. You can’t just walk out on him, Jade. I won’t allow it. I care for him too much to do that.”
“Macy, there is no other way. He’ll be killed if I don’t disappear again.”
“Why should I believe any of this? You could be trying to set me up!”
“You know I’m not!” She could hear the sincerity in my voice as I spoke, I was sure of it.
“So I’m just supposed to move the power core? Is that all you need me to do?”
“Make sure it’s not in the factory, just to be safe. Then treat the day like any other. Oliver won’t come to any harm, I can promise you that. When he does come to you later, you must destroy the core. You’re both targets until you do. Leave no trace, do you understand? They’ll keep coming for you otherwise. You must have spies within this company leaking information somewhere.” Macy nodded. “That’s everything. I better get back to Oliver before he notices I’m gone. I won’t see you again, but thank you Macy, for helping me save him.”
“I’ve never particularly liked you, simply because Oliver is in love with you, but I’m thankful that you love him enough to do this for him.”
“I’d give my life to save him if I had to. That’s the depth of my feelings for him.” Her eyes widened. Yeah, I love Oliver more than you, nerd girl!
“I can’t compete with that.”
“Luckily, you don’t have to. I’ll be gone by tomorrow.”
“That soon?” I nodded. “I’ll take care of him, Jade. Don’t worry.” It felt wrong to me, but I took some comfort from her words. I didn’t want another woman holding Oliver, but what choice did I have? “You go back inside before you catch a chill. I’ll head to the factory now.”
“Thank you for doing this.”
“It’s all for Oliver. You must know that.”
“You’re still in love with him?” I already knew this of course.
“I never got over him. He isn’t the kind of man you can get over. I should be happy that you’re leaving. You are my only competition. All the other women came and went, but I know how much this will destroy him. He’s never loved anyone the way he does you. It consumes him.” That was how she saw me? As competition?
“Give him time. Maybe you two are meant to be together. You can help him get through this. He’ll need his friends when he learns the truth about me.” My words burned on the way out.
“You’re going to tell him who you really are?”
“He’ll find out tomorrow when my company takes the power core.”
“It will cripple him.”
“I better get inside before he notices I’m gone.” I began to open the door before Macy called me one last time.
“Thank you, Jade. I know that it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but you’re doing the right thing. I’ll look after him, don’t worry.” I forced a smile before heading back inside.
For the first time in my life, I’d made the right choice. Now all I had to do was see it through to the end.
Chapter Seven
I walked numbly down the corridor with Oliver to meet Evan and Alicia in the reception area.
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You still look a little pale,” Oliver asked, concerned.
“I’m fine. I just had a restless night, that’s all.” He took my hand in his just as my eyes met with Evan and Alicia.
“Thank you for agreeing to give me a tour, Mr. Kirkham,” Evan greeted him, holding his hand out.
“That’s not a problem, Mr. Carpenter. I trust that Alicia has explained what you’ll be seeing today?”
“Yes, she has.”
Oliver led the way, showing and explaining the different departments as he went. By the time we reached the test areas, I was feeling a little faint from nerves. We were almost at the location of the steal.
“These are our product development laboratories. This area is extremely secure,” Oliver commented, pressing his code into the access panel.
The moment we were all through the door, Evan grabbed me, pulling out a syringe and holding it to my neck.
“Where is the new power core you’ve created?” Evan yelled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have a new power core.” Oliver was trying to keep calm, but I knew it was an act. I could see the fear in his eyes.
“I know it’s here. Tell me or I’ll kill her.” The blood drained from Oliver’s face. I’d never seen him look so lost.
“Okay, I’ll show you. Please don’t hurt her,” he pleaded, fumbling around for his keycard. He dropped it on the floor in a panic as he rushed toward the correct door.
“Let me help you. We wouldn’t want any harm to come to poor little innocent Jade, would we?” Alicia sneered, picking up the keycard and handing it back to Oliver as they stood in front of Macy’s secret laboratory. He wasn’t even trying to trick them by steering them toward the laboratory that Dylan and Macy shared. He was doing that for me.
“Alicia, don’t tell me you’re in on this?”
“Of course I am. Now open the fucking door!” Her voice was smug. Oliver opened the door in a heartbeat. Alicia followed him inside while Evan pushed me to join them. “We know about real power core Macy has been working on, we don’t want the prototype. Don’t try to fool us.”
“How do you know about…?”
“You need to be careful with who you trust, Oliver. You’ve been played for months,” she chuckled. “Take a seat. I need to tie you up. If you struggle, my friend over there will inject Jade with a deadly substance. She’ll be dead within seconds. It was a clever idea, don’t you think? None of your security team detected it.”
“I’ll do anything, just don’t hurt her.” Oliver looked over at me while Alicia tied him up. “It will be all over soon, Sweetheart, don’t worry,” he winced, trying to calm me.
“How touching,” Alicia snorted, looking over at me. “Is that the power core?” She questioned, gesturing toward the glass window. Oliver nodded. “What’s the override access code?”
“Two, Nine, Six, Three, One,” he muttered, dropping his head in shame. He thought he was handing over the real core, and I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling right now. He’d chosen my life over the power core. That was how much he loved me.
Alicia was quick to collect the core, placing it in the steel carrying case I had suggested Miles make a few months ago.
“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Kirkham,” Alicia chuckled. “I’ll be getting a nice paycheck thanks to this.”
“You have no idea what you’re doing. You’ll start World War III. The world isn’t ready for that power core. Think about what you’re going to cause. Whoever you’re working for, they will double cross you. I know who my enemies are, Alicia. You can’t trust any of them. Why else do you think I’ve kept them in the dark about this? You’ll destroy the world with that power core. Please!” He was trying to plead with her.
“Look at you, Mr. Honorable. You made the damn core. If it destroys the world, that will be on your shoulders. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”
“There isn’t a machine in existence that could hold it, anyway. You’re wasting your time.”
“No
w I know that isn’t true. You see, we have blueprints for a machine that can support this core.” Alicia looked over in my direction. “And do you know how we got them?”
“You’re bluffing. There is no way you can have those blueprints.” Oliver was pulling against his ropes as he spoke.
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“Alicia, we don’t have time for all this. Inject him so we can go!” Evan called.
“Do you know who stole your blueprints, Oliver?” I swallowed, knowing what Alicia was going to say next. “I think the thief has a soft spot for you. Don’t you, Jade?” Oliver’s head snapped toward me, his eyes unreadable. Was it pain, fear, or anger burning within them? I wasn’t sure. “Are you going to speak, Jade? Or do I have to make you?”
“I…I have no idea…what you're talking about.” I tried to act my cover.
“Oh, she doesn’t want to play. Okay then, I’ll have to make her talk.” Alicia made her way over toward me with a smug smile on her face. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” she sneered, slapping me hard across my face. It stung like a bitch!
“Alicia! Don’t fucking touch her again! I swear when I get free I’ll hunt you down!” Oliver yelled, struggling in his chair.
“Oh, this is nothing, right, Jade? You’ve had worse. You remember our fight in Monaco, don’t you?” She slapped me again, harder this time. I could taste blood on tongue. She’d split my lip! “Give in. Show him who you really are—a worthless whore that seduces men to get what she wants,” she goaded, lifting her hand to try to strike me again. “Maybe I should torture your target instead. That might get a rise out of you,” she threatened. She wasn’t touching Oliver, I’d make sure of that!
“You fucking bitch!” I yelled, breaking free from Evan’s hold, pushing Alicia and making her stumble back. “Are you fucking crazy?!” I seethed. “This wasn’t how we planned it!” I couldn’t turn to look at Oliver yet. I needed time to explain when we were alone.
“I was trying to put my finger on it. Why wouldn’t you want Oliver to know who you really were? I mean, a fake kidnapping is crazy even by our standards. Then I realized you must have a soft spot for him. I’ve seen the way you look at him, Jade. Well, ha! This is payback, bitch! He knows who you really are now!” I slapped Alicia hard across the face. She was going to respond when Evan got in the way, grabbing her hand.
“Enough. We have the power core. We need to get out of here.”
“Let me finish this. I need a few minutes alone with Oliver,” I whispered. Evan nodded, handing me the syringe to put Oliver to sleep while we made our escape.
“Come on, Alicia,” Evan called. “Jade, you have five minutes. I’m sorry about all this. I’ll be sure to inform Sonia of what Alicia has done. She broke protocol.” I nodded, watching them leave before finally turning to look at Oliver. His head was bowed. He couldn’t even look at me.
“Oliver, it’s not what you think,” I whimpered, kneeling down, trying to look into his eyes.
“It’s not what I think? You’re a fucking spy! I’ve spent years keeping this core from the world, then you come into my life and steal everything from me!”
“Yes, but…”
“You tricked me. All this time! Who the fuck are you?” Pure hatred raged in his eyes when he finally looked up at me.
“They haven’t taken the real core. I got Macy to swap it last night. Please look at me.”
“Why should I believe you? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve ripped my entire world apart.” His cold stare knocked me down. He hated me.
“It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not. I’ll be gone in a matter of minutes, then you’ll see for yourself. The core is safe,” I sighed. “You made me see that I had a choice. This power core was bigger than any of us. Please believe me. I couldn’t do that to the world, or to you.”
“Was it all a lie?” he whispered. “Did you pretend to love me?”
I braced myself, ready to deceive him once again. “It’s what I do. I make men fall in love with me. I become whatever they desire.” Oliver laughed hysterically to himself. “You’re a good man, Oliver. I’m sorry I did this to you. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“Is Jade even your real name?”
“Yes, it’s my name.”
“But…I’m in love with you, Jade.” The obvious conflict in his eyes broke my heart. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“Promise me you’ll destroy the power core.”
“Did you hear what I just said? I love you.”
“They’ll keep coming for it if you don’t.” I wasn’t going to stand here and talk about feelings. I knew I’d break if I did.
“Who will?”
“I don’t know. I have a feeling it’s Imogen, but I don’t know for sure who my client is.”
“You don’t love me, do you? What...are you just a heartless bitch like Alicia? How can you live this way? Don’t you have a conscience at all? You tricked me from day one. It was all a lie just to get to the core. You used my love for you to get what you wanted…” His voice was hoarse.
“You can think what you’d like.” I was trying to stay calm, when inside I was breaking. “Look, my time is almost up and I need you to promise me something.” His dark, broken eyes were urging me to continue. “You can’t look for me this time, Oliver. You’ll end up killing us both. They’ll know something is up if you start trying to find me, so you need to let me go. You have no idea how close you came the last time you were searching for me.”
“What if I can’t? I don’t want to give you up. Jade, we can work something out. Please don’t leave me again.”
“There is no choice.”
“Jade…” His voice started to break. “You can’t just leave like this.” Grabbing the syringe, I moved to straddle his lap. I basked in the moment, knowing this was the last time I’d be this close to him. His scent washed over me and I closed my eyes, taking it all in.
“You wouldn’t be able to handle a hellcat like me anyway, Oliver. We would never have worked out, too many lies have been told. It’s better this way. You can find someone worthy of you.” I sighed, leaning in and injecting him. “You’ll only be out for half an hour. Once you’re unconscious, I’ll untie you so you can find Macy and destroy the core as soon as you get up.”
“Jade,” his voice was still pleading for me to stay, but he was already slipping under. I pressed my mouth to his as he fought to stay awake so he could kiss me back.
“Thank you for making me feel like a good person for the first time in my life,” I whispered against his lips before he finally fell under. Quickly, I untied him and tilted his head back into a more comfortable position. With one last glance toward him, I walked away, fighting my tears. I wasn’t going to let Alicia see me cry. I refused to give her the satisfaction. Little did she know, I’d won this mission. By the time we got back to headquarters, the real core would be destroyed and Oliver would be safe.
That was all that mattered. In time, I’d learn to live with my broken heart, knowing I’d saved the only person who had ever touched it.
“I can’t apologize enough for Alicia’s actions, Jade,” Sonia sighed. “You did so well with this mission. Our founder is so upset that your target found out your true identity.” She was so full of shit!
“It was out of your control, Sonia. It’s not like you planned it,” I smiled sweetly, watching her eyes widen.
“Of course not!”
“I didn’t think The Seductors would be that underhanded. I mean, considering what we do for the organization, it would be unfair to treat their top-earning employees that way. It wouldn’t bode well for staff moral, either.”
“The founder is willing to make it up to you financially. We’re sorry it came to this. Disciplinary actions have been taken against Alicia, too. She allowed the personal grudge she has toward you affect her mission.”
“I did warn you from the beginning about Alicia and me working together.�
�
“We can’t apologize enough. It can’t be easy knowing you will never be able to see Mr. Kirkham again.”
“I’ve dealt with heartbreak before. I’ll be fine.” I wasn’t going to show any weakness to anyone. Bottling everything up was how I coped. If I let anyone inside, I knew I’d break.
“I still think you should take a week or so off to get your head together. You’ve been through a lot, Jade.”
“I don’t need it. I want to get straight back to work,” I snapped. Work was the only distraction I had.
A smile crept across her face. “It sounds as if we have the old Jade back.”
“She never left, Sonia,” I lied, smirking at her. I would do the job I signed up for, but the moment my contract was up, I was gone. I didn’t owe this company anything anymore.
“You don’t know how happy that makes me.” Sonia moved to look at her computer. “Give me a few days and I’ll work out a few smaller jobs for you. There are some top missions, but nothing is solid yet.”
“That’s fine.”
“I’m glad to have you back,” she beamed as I stood up. I nodded, hiding any emotion from my face. Inside, I was burning with a rage that I couldn’t unleash. It would only cause problems for Molly if Sonia found out that I had known about their true plan the entire time. “I’ll let you know when I have a mission for you.”
“Thank you,” I muttered before leaving her office.
It was quiet at headquarters. Molly, Georgie, and Drew were all on missions at the moment. I could have taken a drive down to the harbor, but I wasn’t in the mood for crowds.
After helping myself to some chicken salad that was left over in the main kitchen, I decided to relax in my room. I wasn’t disturbed until a few hours later.
When I saw Mario lean against my doorframe as soon as I opened the door, I groaned.
“I heard you were back. I just got back from a top mission myself.”
“I didn’t really need to know that, Mario,” I sighed, going to close my door in his face. He shoved his foot in the way so I couldn’t, though.
“Did you miss me?” How was this guy a Seductor? He was an idiot.