Читать книгу Allegiances - Cynthia Eden - Страница 10

Chapter Three

“Will you marry me, Celia?”

She lay in bed, the covers pulled up to her chin, and the past wouldn’t stop haunting her.

“Don’t tease, Sully. When you say that to a woman, she might just take you up on the offer.” They’d been in Vegas. Bright lights. Slot machines. Parties that didn’t stop.

The champagne hadn’t stopped, either.

But she hadn’t been drunk. She couldn’t pretend that she had. Sully...

“I’m not teasing.” His handsome face had been dead serious. That wonderful square jaw of his had been hard with determination. His green gaze had seemed to see straight into her soul. “I want to be with you, C. Tonight and always. Marry me?”

Her hold tightened on the covers. There were no rings on her fingers—not any rings at all. But he’d given her one that night. When they’d pulled up at that little chapel. When she’d been almost delirious with happiness. When she hadn’t been able to stop smiling.

“I love you.” Her words, to him. She should have known, even then, that it wouldn’t work. Because Sullivan hadn’t told her that he loved her. He’d held that part back. He’d kissed her wildly. Made love to her endlessly that night. But...

But did he ever love me?

She wasn’t sure that he had.

And now she was in his home. In his spare bedroom. And she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

“This isn’t working.” The sound of her own voice was jarring, but maybe she needed to be jarred. Because for her to just agree to stay with him—how wrong was that? She knew exactly how bad the guy was for her. She’d gone to his office because—yes, she actually had planned to use him. He had connections in Mexico, and she’d intended to call in her favor when she slipped over the border. She hadn’t planned to wind up in Sullivan’s bed.

Celia dressed as quickly as she could. As soon as she was gone, her first order of business would be finding new clothes. Maybe changing her hair again. Red was actually her natural color, but by the time she cleared the border, she intended to be a brunette. Maybe a brunette with green eyes? It’d be easy to pick up some contacts and then she’d nearly be a new person.

Again.

She tiptoed into the hallway. Celia figured she’d been in the guest room for nearly an hour, maybe two, tossing and turning and replaying her past too many times. Sullivan would be asleep by now, and she’d sneak out of his house as quickly and easily as she’d slipped in. But maybe she’d leave the guy a note, telling him that he really needed to install a few new security measures. The setup was good, but not good enough and—

“Celia.”

She froze in front of his open bedroom door. He’d spotted her. It wasn’t pitch-black in the hallway. Light spilled in from the den, illuminating the narrow corridor. She turned her head and stepped toward his room, her movements still soundless. She started to speak.

“Celia, don’t go.”

Words froze in her throat.

He sounded so desperate. When had Sullivan ever been desperate? She inched closer, her chest seeming to burn, and then—

Moonlight spilled through his blinds, revealing his form in that big, sprawling bed. Sullivan’s muscular chest was bare, and the sheets were tangled around his hips. He was rolling a bit in the bed, and his eyes were closed.

Surprise held her motionless.

Sullivan had picked up a few habits since they’d last been together. It seemed that he now talked in his sleep. And he dreamed about...her.

A low warmth bloomed in her belly.

She found herself stepping toward him. The floor creaked beneath her feet. Celia froze, but it was too late.

So much for being quiet.

Sullivan instantly shot up in bed.

“Sully—”

In an instant he had his hands on her. She could have escaped his hold. Could have fought and had him tumbling back, but she didn’t. He caught her in his arms and pinned her between his body and the door frame.

“Celia?” His hands slid over her. “What is it? What’s happening?”

Oh, just the usual. I was sneaking away in the middle of the night. She wet her lips and tried to figure out a nice excuse that might work. And one that just might not make her seem like the coward she was.

He wasn’t holding her prisoner any longer, not now that recognition and consciousness had hit him fully. In fact, he’d backed up a bit so that his body wasn’t touching hers at all. But he was still there, a strong, immovable object in her path, and the heat from his body seemed to wrap around her. Her hand lifted and her fingers slid over his chest.

She hadn’t meant to touch him...had she?

He called for me in his sleep.

Her fingers trailed over his chest, and she felt the raised marks on his skin. “You didn’t have these scars before.” She knew she was touching scars. In her business, you could always recognize them. Carefully now, she slid her hand down and felt more scars along his ribs. Another near his stomach. Another—

His hand locked around her wrist. “Be careful just how far you go.” In the darkened room, his eyes glittered at her.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Did you get those scars when you were captured?” The last mission he’d worked with the CIA. The mission that had changed everything.

Traitors had been revealed. Loyalties had been tested. And when the blood and dust finally cleared, he’d left her.

And she’d picked up the pieces and carried on.

“My captors wanted information.” His voice was a hard growl, but his fingers were lightly stroking the inside of her wrist. Could he feel her skyrocketing pulse? “They were real interested in learning everything they could about the Special Activities Division.”

“I didn’t betray you.” Hadn’t she told him that before? When she’d finally gotten him on the phone after that brutal mission. He’d refused to see her when she tried to visit him at the hospital. Mac had gruffly turned her away, but she’d finally gotten Sullivan on the phone and—

It’s over, Celia.

Her eyes closed. Her cheeks burned. “Why couldn’t you have trusted me?”

“Because I’d spent seven days in a hellhole. They’d sliced me open. They’d nearly killed me—again and again—and all the while, they kept telling me things that only you should know. They told me you’d been playing me, from the very beginning. That you’d sent me out there, knowing they’d capture me. That you weren’t on that transport with me because you were keeping your cover in place. That everything that happened to me...it was because of you.”

Pain hit her so much harder than she’d anticipated. So hard it stole her breath and left her gasping. “I didn’t... I wouldn’t! I’d never—not to you!” How could he have thought, even for a moment, that she’d done that to him? That she’d married him one day then betrayed him the next?

“I was in hell, C. Hell. Barely alive when Mac pulled me out.”

“I know,” she rasped. “I was there. Who do you think drove the getaway jeep?” But he should know that. Mac had said—

“What?” Stunned surprise was in his voice.

“I was there. Don’t act like Mac didn’t tell you. I know he did.” She’d been there, and she’d seen the blood on him, but she hadn’t been given the chance to fully take stock of all his injuries. She’d been too busy driving hell fast to get them to safety. Then the transport chopper had whisked him away and she’d stood below, watching the dust and sand billow around him. There hadn’t been enough room for her and Mac on that chopper. So she’d backed away and let Mac stay with his brother.

And when she’d finally gotten back to him...

It’s over, Celia. She tried to slam the door on that memory before it hurt her even more.

“Mac told me...he said that you used intel to find me...that you helped...but hell, no, he never said you were there.” Sullivan sounded stunned.

“I was there.” And she’d heard his words so clearly as she’d driven that jeep. It was...Celia. Never trust...her. “I didn’t give up on you. I wouldn’t have.” Even if he’d given up on her. She fought to keep her emotions under control. She had to get away from him. Staying had been a definite mistake. But she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “You were a marine, first and foremost. You should have known that you can’t trust your captors. They always try to make you turn on the people you should be trusting.” It was a basic rule of survival. Never trust them.

“They knew so many things about you,” Sullivan said. “About us. Things I’d only told you.”

They were lying. “I need to leave.” This wasn’t working. In fact, she felt as if she were about to splinter apart. “Get out of my way and let me go.”

He didn’t move. “You were running from me, weren’t you? Trying to slip away in the dark? You were going to vanish without saying good-bye.”

Her chin notched up. Could he see that little movement? “No, I wasn’t just going to vanish,” she said flatly. “I was strongly thinking about leaving you a note first.”

And then he was touching her. Sullivan put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back against that door frame once more. His heat scorched her. “A note?” His voice was strangled. “A note?”

“Let me go.” Or he’d find out just how strong she was.

“I can’t. I tried that before, but you came back, and now we’re both in trouble.” Then his head lowered toward hers. She expected a kiss. Hard. Angry. Passionate. She wasn’t going to respond to him. She wasn’t.

But his mouth didn’t crash down onto hers.

Instead, his lips...feathered over her neck. Over the pulse that raced so frantically, for him. He kissed her skin lightly, tenderly, moving in a sensual trail along the column of her neck.

He remembered.

Even after all the time that had passed, he still remembered how much she’d enjoyed it when he kissed her there. How the passion had spiraled inside her from such a tender touch.

A moan built in her throat and slipped free before she could hold it back.

“I love that sound,” he whispered against her. “I missed it.”

Her eyes had squeezed shut. She wondered how the world had gotten so out of control. Once, she’d nearly had everything she wanted. Now...everything had been ripped away. Tears stung her lashes, but she’d never let those tears fall.

She couldn’t.

“Celia, I want you.”

Wanting had never been their problem.

I want him so much right now that I’m shaking.

But taking him wasn’t an option. Was it?

His hands slid down her arms, moving closer to her elbows, and she felt the edge of his fingertips skim over the curve of her breasts. She sucked in a sharp breath. “Sully...”

“Do you know how many times you’ve been in my dreams?”

Her eyes opened. She blinked the moisture away. “You were dreaming about me tonight. I heard you.” His call had stopped her.

“And that’s why you didn’t run away? Why you came to me?”

No, she hadn’t been going to him. She’d just wanted to make sure he was all right. “I thought you were calling out to me.”

“I’ve called out to you a hundred times, but this is the first time you’ve heard me.”

His words didn’t make sense to her. “Sully...”

“I love it when you say my name like that.”

“I can’t.” Can’t be with you. Can’t do this. “Goodbye.” Then, yes, she jerked from his arms and pretty much ran from that room. She—

His phone was ringing. A loud, hard music beat that followed her.

She paused, escape so close but...no calls this late are ever a good sign. She looked back in time to see a light flash on—Sullivan had turned on his lamp.

Sullivan grabbed his phone from the nightstand, yanking it off the charger. “Sullivan.” The light from the lamp spilled around him.

Naked. The man is totally naked.

She’d just had that long talk with a naked man. No wonder he’d grabbed her wrist when she’d been searching for his scars. She’d almost touched something a whole lot bigger than a scar.

“What? In front of our building? Hell, no, that can’t be... Listen, more is going on here. It’s...” His gaze cut toward her. “Celia is with me,” he said. “She was chased tonight. She thinks some bozo followed her from our office. Yeah, yeah...” His hold tightened on the phone. “My gut says there is a connection, too. I’ll be right down there. I want to see the guy.”

She inched closer to him. As soon as he lowered the phone, Celia demanded, “What happened?”

“That was Mac. A man was killed right in front of McGuire Securities, shot in the heart. Mac is down there now because a cop buddy tipped him off.”

Her breath came a little faster. “You don’t buy that the guy’s death is a coincidence, do you?”

“After what went down with you tonight? Hell, no, I don’t. I want you to see the body. I want to see him.”

She shook her head. “I told you already, I didn’t get a look at the guy after me tonight.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean you don’t know him. It wouldn’t be the first time someone in the agency decided to turn traitor.”

“I heard his voice.” And she hadn’t recognized it.

“And I’ve heard you adopt nearly a dozen accents at will. Voices can be disguised. I want to see this guy. Once we get an up-close look at him, we’ll know more.”

She cleared her throat. “And I’d, um, really appreciate it if you’d cover up.”

He glanced down at himself and swore. Then he grabbed a sheet and wrapped it around his hips. “Happy now?”

“Not really.” She edged a bit closer to him. “But I’m going with you. Have they already transferred the body?”

“Mac says they’re working on that now. But don’t worry, I’ve got a friend who will give us access at the medical examiner’s office.”

She knew exactly how well connected the McGuire family was in Austin. “If it is the guy who was after me,” Celia said, her mind spinning, “then how’d he wind up dead?”

Sullivan just stared back at her, and she could almost hear his suspicions.

“It wasn’t me,” she snapped. “I didn’t kill him.”

“Celia—”

“But why would you believe me, right?” She turned away. “Forget it. I’ll call Mac. He can take me to the body. You just stay here.”

“You don’t need my brother’s help. You have me.”

She glanced back at him. No, I don’t.

“And I never said I thought you’d killed anyone. But you haven’t told me why the man was gunning for you.”

I don’t know why. I just know that he’s been coming after me. My home wasn’t safe, so I had to run, fast. And I ran to you.

A move that had been a serious mistake.

“I’m trying to figure all this out,” Sullivan said. “Maybe the dead man was just the flunky doing the dirty work and someone else is out there pulling the strings.”

Her lips pressed together. She had the same suspicion that he did. Maybe the guy’s boss had gotten fed up with his failure.

“Perhaps his employer didn’t like to hear that you’d slipped away.” Sullivan was dressing now, yanking on jeans and a T-shirt. “Maybe that made him so angry that he decided to take out that frustration on someone.”

And he’d killed a man? Unfortunately, she knew just how often events like this occurred. That knowledge was one of the reasons she was ready to escape the dark world she’d lived in for so long.

A woman could only handle so much death and despair before they started to choke the life from her.

* * *

HE’D CALLED THE authorities and anonymously left a tip about the body’s location. If he hadn’t, it would have been dawn before Porter’s body was discovered. He hadn’t wanted to waste that much time.

Celia James was off the grid. He needed to get her back in the game ASAP. And a dead body pretty much dropped at her ex-lover’s business? That should snag her attention.

Especially since I think Sullivan is helping Celia once more.

But it wasn’t Sullivan McGuire who raced to the scene when the blue lights first appeared on Austin Street. It was Sullivan’s older brother, Mac. A foe just as dangerous.

From the shadows, he watched as Mac talked with the cops, acting as if he was old friends with them. Probably because he was. The McGuires had gotten in deep with the cops while trying to unmask their parents’ killers.

And you still haven’t found them, have you?

He smiled at that thought. What would you do, Mac, if you knew I was right there when your parents were shot? I’m across the street from you right now. So close, and you haven’t got a clue...

And Sullivan...blind Sullivan...he’d been in the same room with the guy before. He’d worked missions with Sullivan, and the guy had been completely in the dark.

Porter’s body was being loaded up now. He’d been zipped up and was being placed in a van for transport to the coroner’s office. Mac headed back to his car, seemingly leaving the scene.

This can’t be it.

The guy wasn’t just going to walk away. But...wait, Mac had called someone before. He’d seen him place the call. Had Mac phoned Sullivan?

And when the medical examiner’s van pulled away from the scene, he saw Mac leave in his vehicle and tail that van.

Ah...going after the body. That made sense. Mac would try to ID the fellow. And as the watcher shifted position, he realized, I bet Sullivan will go after the body, too.

His plan was working. He just needed to trail behind, carefully, and see what happened next. Celia would show herself soon enough, and then she’d be the one loaded into the back of the medical examiner’s van.

* * *

THE MEDICAL EXAMINER’S office was cold. Icy. From the corner of his eye, Sullivan saw Celia shiver. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, but he doubted she’d appreciate that gesture, so...he shrugged out of his coat and put it around her shoulders.

She glanced over at him, her eyebrows shooting up.

“You were cold,” he said simply.

Her fingers caught the coat. “Thank you.”

He offered her a smile. “I brought you to a morgue, C. It’s not like I took you out on some fancy date. I should—”

“We’ve never gone on a fancy date.”

Her words gave him pause. Then he realized...hell, she was right. They’d worked missions. They’d ridden out hard and desperate adrenaline highs together. They’d shared passionate nights that were permanently singed in his memory.

But I never took the woman out on a real date?

He would never dig himself out of the hole he’d dug. “I’m sorry,” Sullivan said gruffly. “If I could go back in time, there are about a million things I’d do differently with you.”

Her gaze cut away from him.

“Celia...about our marriage...” It was definitely past time he cleared up a few issues there. “You need to know why I proposed.”

She laughed. The bitter laugh. The not Celia laugh. “You were drunk. We’d both worked too many cases. We were both—”

“You said you loved me.”

“No.” Her voice was hard. Cold.

And something inside him died. She didn’t love me? She—

“We are not doing this here. We are not talking about our past, about my feelings for you, in a morgue! It’s dark, you snuck me in here like we were robbers, and the place smells. This isn’t where we have that conversation, got it?”

He cleared his throat. “I, um, got it.” But his lips were quirking. How had he forgotten her wonderful bite? Damn, but he could fall for her again so easily.

The doors to the morgue swung open. A gurney was pushed inside by a whistling man who seemed totally oblivious of their presence.

Sullivan had a quick déjà vu moment. He’d flipped on his own lights and found Celia just waiting for him.

But then the man pushing the gurney glanced over at them and offered a broad smile, and Sullivan realized this wasn’t some county employee.

“What in the hell?” Sullivan demanded. “Mac?”

His brother shrugged. “Figured you’d be waiting inside. I told the ME to take a little break.” He pushed the gurney forward and paused to pull on a pair of gloves. “We are so screwing with the chain of evidence here, so don’t touch him, okay? Just look at the body, nothing more.”

The chain of evidence? Yeah, they were messing with it, all right. Because they weren’t supposed to be there, but...when Mac lowered the zipper and Celia gave a sharp, indrawn breath, Sullivan knew that his instincts had been dead-on.

“You recognize him,” Sullivan said.

“Hi, Celia,” Mac murmured. “Good to see you again...”

She inched closer to the body, but she made no move to touch the dead man. “His hair should be blond, not black. But yes, yes, I know him.” She looked up at Sullivan. “I trained him, right after you left. He was my next assignment.”

Because Celia was a handler. She brought in the new agents. Trained them. Guided them.

“Porter Vance,” she said softly. “He can’t be the man who tried to kill me. He had no reason to come after me!”

“He appears to have been staking out McGuire Securities...” Mac said.

“Just like the guy who followed me earlier,” Celia murmured.

“And he had a gun,” Mac added. “It was found on scene, so I think it’s safe to say the fellow wasn’t just hanging around for some friendly little chat.” Mac’s voice was curt. His green eyes were solemn as he stared back at her, and his face was tense.

Celia glanced over at Sullivan. “You think he was there to kill me. That he was waiting for me to show again?” Her gaze slid back to Mac. “That’s what you both think?”

“I don’t think he was there selling Girl Scout cookies,” Mac drawled.

Sullivan forced his back teeth to unclench. “He was lying in wait, Celia.” It was the only thing that made sense to him. “You gave him the slip before, so he went back to McGuire Securities. Maybe he thought I’d lead him to you.”

“But someone took Porter out instead,” Mac said. “So either someone was protecting you, Celia, or someone shut this guy up so he couldn’t reveal anything about who wanted you dead.” He paused just a moment. “I realize it’s been a while since Sully and I have been in the business, so I don’t know...just how many enemies have you made lately?”

She’d paled as she stared at the dead man. Sullivan studied the guy. Porter Vance appeared to be in his thirties, maybe late twenties. He had short hair, a muscular build and a bullet hole in his chest.

“I didn’t think Porter was my enemy,” Celia said softly. “He had no reason to want me dead. He was...he was one of the good guys.” Her right hand lifted and she rubbed her temple. “At least, I thought he was.”

Mac glanced over at Sullivan. “One shot, straight through the heart. I talked with the forensics team on scene. Based on the angle of entry and the bullet used, they think it was a sniper shot, probably from the building directly across the street. Porter probably never saw the attack coming.” He inclined his head. “A smashed burner phone was found beneath the body. No ID was on the fellow, but like I said before, he was armed. The cops took his gun into evidence.” Then he glanced at his watch. “Our five minutes are nearly up. We need to clear out of here, now.” He zipped the bag back up.

“Porter,” Celia said his name again. “This just doesn’t make sense to me. He left the CIA a year ago. There’s no reason for him to come after me!”

But he was there.

And he’d tried to kill her that night.

“Porter was always good with voices and accents,” Celia muttered as she kept rubbing her temple. “Even better than me. I should have remembered that. He was one of the chameleons. He could become anyone on command.” Her lashes lowered. “Just like me.”

“Okay...again...” Mac cleared his throat and glanced over his shoulder. “Our five minutes are about up. I promised we’d be out of here. Our presence can’t exactly be widely known, unless you want to explain to all the authorities just who Celia is.”

No, he didn’t intend to explain her to anyone. They’d sneaked in the back door and his contact had let him in. Only one person had seen Celia so far. Others would be arriving soon, so it was definitely time to go.

“We have a starting point now,” Sullivan told Celia as he caught her elbow and steered her toward the door. “We start with him and we work back. We can figure this out.” They were in the hallway now, and Mac was following close behind them.

“There’s no we in this thing,” Celia said. She squared her shoulders. “Your part is done. I obviously made a mistake contacting you. Don’t you see that? There was a dead body dropped—almost literally—on your doorstep.” She shook her head. “I should have just emailed you the information about your parents and not tried to work a deal.”

“Uh, our parents?” Mac demanded. “Just what information do you have on them, Celia?”

Her gaze cut to him. “I know why your mother entered the Witness Protection Program. I know who she was before she changed names and moved across the country. I know the real reason she was running.”

Mac took an aggressive step forward. “And that reason would be?”

Celia looked back at Sullivan.

I haven’t opened the envelope yet. He’d waited because he wanted to share that information when his family was all together. And because he’d been too tangled up in her. “I was calling a family meeting in the morning,” he explained quietly. “Things got a little...out of control, so I didn’t get to call you.”

“Right, out of control.” Mac nodded. “I can see that. Dead bodies can lead to a loss of control.”

Celia was hurrying down the hallway.

“So can sexy ghosts from your past,” Mac added.

After shooting a glare at his brother, Sullivan took off after her. He’d only taken a few steps when Mac grabbed his arm. “Maybe you need to let her go.”

“Are you kidding me?” Sullivan gaped at him. “You’re the one who told me I made a mistake! You’re—”

“I’m the one who saw how much you hurt her before. And I’m the one who doesn’t want to see her in pain again. If you aren’t serious about her, you need to just back off. She’s got enough to deal with now as it is.”

An enemy—one killing in the shadows. “She won’t even tell me why she’s being targeted. It’s like she doesn’t trust me.”

Mac laughed. “Well, I guess that means you know how she felt before, right? Sucks, doesn’t it? When someone turns on you?”

He heard the clatter of her heels. She was at the end of the hallway. A few more moments, and Celia would be outside.

But we came in my car. It’s not like she’ll hot-wire it and leave me.

Hell. She would.

He shoved his brother aside and rushed after her.

She opened the door. Darkness waited.

“Celia!” Sullivan yelled. “Don’t—”

There was a whistle of sound, then a thunk. Wood flew into the air—splintering away from the door—even as Celia dove back inside the building. She hit the floor before he could reach her. Sullivan was pretty sure that his heart stopped when she slammed into the ground.

The bullet didn’t hit her. The bullet didn’t hit her.

He grabbed her arms and yanked her away from the still-open door. He held her close, his grip probably too tight, but he didn’t care, and he backed down the hallway as fast as he could.

“What in the hell was that?” Mac snarled.

“That...” Celia huffed out a hard breath. Her body was tense against Sullivan’s. “That was someone who wants me dead. And that bullet would have hit me if Sully hadn’t called my name.”

And in that last instant, she’d turned back. She’d moved back toward him. The bullet had missed her head and hit the door.

Too close. Too close.

“This is a county facility!” Mac’s grating voice seemed to echo around them. “To attack here...this guy is freaking insane.”

Insane...or just very, very determined to take out his target.

And now Sullivan realized just why Porter had been killed and left at McGuire Securities. “The shooter knew we’d come to look at the body. He wanted to draw you out so he could—”

“Try to kill me?” Celia finished. She glanced up at Sullivan, her dark lashes making her blue eyes appear even brighter. “Yes, I figured that out, too. Right after the bullet nearly lodged in my head.”

It was hard to breathe. She can’t die. “You’re not running from me,” Sullivan rasped.

Mac was on his phone. Probably getting all his cop buddies ready to search the scene out there. The shooter had missed, though, and Sullivan was betting he wasn’t just going to sit around while the authorities closed in. No, he’d flee, for the moment.

And then come back for another attack.

“You’re not running,” Sullivan said again. “You’re going to tell me exactly what’s going on. Why you’re on some nut job’s hit list... And then we are going to stop him.” He’d let her down once before. He’d be damned if he did it again.