Circle of Deception (11 page)

She faced him, her chest heaving, and pointed a finger. “You! You and Jack. You’re both fucking jackasses. That makes sense! Jack’s certainly the biggest. The wedding was his idea alone, wasn’t it? Don’t answer that, because if I find out it was all your idea, I’ll kill you and don’t think I can’t.” A few short steps brought her close enough to stab him in the chest with her fingertip as she spit out each word. “Quit laughing. Quit! What’s so funny?”

“I’ve never heard you scream so many curses in such a short length of time. I do believe it’s one of your many hidden talents.” They needed to talk about her serious screwup downstairs, but she looked so good flustered and confused. He liked knowing he had a part in doing that to her.

“Humph!” She turned her back and headed for the couch again. “I still don’t see what is so funny. You really need to take this operation more seriously.” She flopped onto the cushion at one end, crossing her arms again. Her bottom lip stuck out a little.

He sure wanted to suck on that plump piece of flesh. Hot damn, she looked so good.

“Quit looking at me like that.” Her gaze dropped from his face to his groin. He knew what she’d noticed. The reaction couldn’t be helped. Whenever he was around her, he was semihard, but when she acted like a spoiled brat who needed a spanking, he became a tree trunk.

“Stop acting like a brat or I’ll have to take you over my knee.” His hands at his sides fisted to keep him from reaching for her.

“You and—” She stopped midsentence when he took one step toward her. “You want me to dare you. That would give you a good excuse for beating my butt.” With a gracefulness brought from hours of martial training, she moved off the couch and walked around him. “I’m going to bed. I’m tired and I need my beauty sleep before visiting with my mom tomorrow.”

Another long step and he stood in front of her, almost nose-to-nose. “We’ll talk in the morning about how you almost threw this mission off track.”

“That’s what you say.” She lifted her chin.

“What I say counts.” He wouldn’t back down. Not when they were so close to getting inside an operation that could mean an end to several months’ worth of investigation and, more importantly, could save lives.

“You’re not my boss. Jack is.”

Before Rex even realized he’d done it, he’d grabbed her upper arms and pulled her off her feet to look into her wide eyes. “I might not be your direct boss, but I’m second-in-command of The Circle and that technically makes me Jack’s boss and yours. I agreed to be only lead operative here to keep confusion down. You’ve been at this long enough to know we do whatever it takes to be successful. Failure is not an option. Ryker was lenient when he first took over, allowing others time to adjust to the new command. Since then he’s decided that in our line of work, fear works best. Firing is only one solution to a disobedient operative. If you screw up big enough, he’ll have you killed and won’t think twice about it.”

“Jack won’t let him.”

The smug look on her face infuriated him. Bad enough she played with her life like that, but she dared to throw his brother in his face?

He shoved her away. She stumbled but caught herself on one of the chairs.

“Fuck Jack! So I was right. You and Jack were lovers. Do you really think he’ll willingly risk his life to save yours? I know him better than you ever will. Jack looks after Jack. He fucks a woman only if she’s unavailable. Were you two fucking when we were engaged? I would imagine that as soon as the news came in that I was dead, he dropped you like a hot cartridge.”

“You don’t know shit! That you even think that of me and Jack, that we would be together while you and I were engaged, my God! It shows how stupid you really are.”

Rex’s whole body tensed up. As a kid, his father used to beat him when he brought home bad grades. With him growing so fast and large, people always expected him to be smarter than expected for his age and would tease by calling him T-Rex, for the large dinosaur with a small brain. Everyone knew Jack was the smart one in the family.

He wasn’t a helpless kid anymore. He might not be smart, but he refused to be treated like an idiot. A dead coldness came over him.

“Go to bed, Abby. You’re tired.” He started walking toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s really none of your business.” He quietly closed the door behind him. He needed a good stiff drink.

O
H, CRAP
. A
BBY
hung up her clothes. Numb and tired, she washed her face and brushed out her hair. Looking in the mirror, she didn’t like what she saw. When had she become a total bitch? If she’d been anyone else, she would’ve walked out too.

How could she call him stupid? Though Rex never talked about it, Jack had told her a few things about their childhood. Mainly that their father was crazy, and he beat the two of them often, especially Rex. The old man had thought Rex was lazy and stupid.

She really needed to apologize. What had come over her? She’d gone without sleep before while on assignment and never acted like that. Between being nervous about seeing her mom and lying to her as part of their cover, and seeing someone who had played a major role in her teenage fantasies, it was no wonder she had overreacted tonight.

Yeah. That was it. She’d wait up and tell him how sorry she was about her behavior and explain a little.

Feeling a little better, she pulled on her Tweety Bird pajama pants and
Dark-Hunter
T-shirt. She turned on the bedside lamp and stretched out on top of the covers to read the latest Sherrilyn Kenyon book.

H
ER EYES OPENED.
Where was she? Oh, yeah, the hotel in Birmingham on assignment. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Her hand caught the book before it fell off her chest. Without wasting time, she tossed the book to the side and tiptoed across the room to the stairs. A noise had woken her up. The living room was dark except for a light that shone from beneath the double doors leading into the second bedroom. Rex’s bedroom.

She padded softly down the steps. The sound of a news announcer chattering about the stock market echoed through the door. Then someone began to talk as if whispering to another. Seconds later, she heard a thumping sound—of flesh slapping wet flesh.

Rex better not have brought Nic to the suite. Was he nuts? He could blow their cover. All the work put into the mission so far would be wasted.

She ignored how her heart ached with the thought of Rex naked on top of—

No. Why think about it until she knew for sure? She wasn’t a coward. Turning the knob, she opened the door and halted midstride.

Rex was alone. The sheets and comforter at his feet with legs sprawled out and his hand wrapped around his cock. Pumping. With his eyes closed and forehead creased, he concentrated so hard that he missed her entrance.

He continued to pump as she blinked to clear her vision and watched. No way could she move. Where she stood, the foot of the bed faced her, giving a clear view, leaving nothing to the imagination. One broad hand slid up and down, while the other massaged his balls, tight and high between his legs. He stopped.

Her gaze shot to his face. His eyes remained squeezed shut. She looked back down. His thumb rubbed across the plump tip; moisture glistened on the head. When he began to pump again, she let her gaze drift up his taut abdomen as it jerked with each downward stroke. His small beaded nipples begged to be licked and bitten. He groaned.

Again she looked to see if he was aware of her. A line of dark lashes stayed lowered, not revealing the light gray eyes beneath. Her gaze caressed his powerful chest until he thrust his hips to pound harder and faster. His biceps released and bulged with the power he asserted on his long, magnificent cock. His thighs trembled each time his heels dug into the mattress.

All that force and masculinity working toward one goal was so beautiful, so incredibly animalistic, she yearned to be part of it, wanted him thrusting into her with the same force and single-minded concentration. But she didn’t want him to stop from attaining his own satisfaction. She wanted to see him come. See his face as he climaxed. She could spend her entire life watching him like that.

That was a lie. A part of her craved to touch the throbbing ache between her legs and stroke with the same rhythm and vigor.

Afraid to move, almost afraid to breathe, she watched and waited. His cock darkened and his hand sped up as he tightened his hold. His breathing became deeper as she inhaled and exhaled with him. Mouth open, head slung back, he took in an endless gulp of air as his whole body arched. He thrust two more times and then climaxed as he released one guttural word:

“Abby.”

She lifted her gaze to his. Molten-gray eyes watched her from beneath dark lashes.

Excitedly disturbed but mortified, she numbly exited the room. Not until she was halfway up the stairs did she stop. She crumbled onto a step and leaned against the cool railing. Her skin felt hot and tight on her face and arms. Panting as if the air in the room had thinned, she swallowed and worked on regaining her senses.

She wanted Rex with all her being. Jack, Olivia, and even Rex had told her there was no reason for her not to take advantage of the setup and enjoy the benefits. Why fight it any longer? Not until that moment had she realized she’d been denying herself the one thing she wanted so badly. She thought she’d come to terms with every gritty part of her job. So what was her problem? What held her back?

She was scared. Spitless.

Chapter Ten

T
HANK GOODNESS FOR
Nic and Jack, and she never imagined being thankful about that. But when she walked into the living room the next morning, filled with dread about facing Rex and trying to figure out what to say, there they sat on the sofa looking at a map on a laptop with Rex staring over their shoulders.

Nic gave her a smirk. Abby wanted to hug the little twit, even when she said, “Well, look at who the cat dragged in. You want an aspirin? You really need to lay off the alcohol, especially when you’re on duty.”

Too tired from tossing and turning all morning, she shot Nic the bird and shuffled over to the counter with the coffeepot. When the woman gasped, she felt kind of bad about her gesture, considering Nic was so clueless. Everyone at The Circle loved the small woman; it wasn’t Nic’s fault that everything she said grated on her nerves.

She poured a cup and carefully took a few sips of the evil brew. Rex always loved the stuff extra strong.

Eyeing the group, she liked how Rex, standing in his usual pose, arms crossed and feet well planted, filled out black jeans and a gray shirt like they were tailored for him. They probably were, if she had to bet. Even when they’d first started dating and he’d favored leather everything, the gothic-looking clothes had been tailored especially for his tall frame. And his hair had hung between his shoulders, though he’d often pulled it back tight and braided it. Was Nic the reason for the more mainstream clothing and haircut? Abby had been partial to the long hair. It had given him a sexy rock-god look.

“Now that Abby’s decided to join us, let’s go over the statistics.” Jack clicked on the keyboard. “The farm Brody mentioned last night is about four hundred acres, a sizeable spread in Alabama. He has six workers who keep it productive, with the main crop being peanuts.” He shook his head. “An arms dealer growing peanuts. Takes all kinds.”

“I see electric fencing but no brick walls. Does he use guards and dogs?” Rex squinted at the screen.

“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “We’d been told he had more until I sent Liam to investigate. From what we found, that’s all he has. Maybe he’s so arrogant he believes no one would be dumb enough to break in.” Abby rolled her eyes. Was there any doubt? Ignoring her, he continued. “We haven’t come across a building with an unknown purpose. But we still believe his manufacturing facility is somewhere on the property. The trucks, coming and going with supplies and shipments of peanuts, could easily include items to produce or ship ammo.”

“What about the designer? Has there been word yet of what he looks like?” Abby said as she stopped next to Rex and looked at the farm layout. Rex shifted from one leg to another and his hip bumped into her. She glanced up, and he gave her an innocent look. Her arm tingled and face warmed from the small contact.

Flashes of memory shot across her mind’s eye, showing glimpses of his hand stroking and fondling hard, thick flesh. Heat like what had engulfed her last night brightened her face further.

What was her problem? She wasn’t a naïve preteen. Concentrate. Nothing was more important than the mission at hand.

Another brief vision of a hand squeezing and pumping caused her to inhale too sharp and she coughed. Rex, Jack, and Nic looked at her for a second. She shook her head and waved at them to continue.

Christ! Rex and her libido were driving her crazy.

She barely caught what Rex said as she regained control of her brain.

“Let’s not forget it could easily be a woman. We screwed the pooch when it came to chasing down the designer for the Blossom Flower drug.” Rex referred to their last mission where Jack and Ryker almost lost their lives searching for the person producing a drug that caused women to crave sex so they could be sold to sex traffickers.

“Only one woman has been in the house more than any of his current flavors.” When Jack glanced over at her, she knew she wouldn’t like the answer. “Your mom, Abby.”

She groaned. What could she be doing at an arms dealer’s house? Farm or not, the man was young enough to be her son. No matter how gorgeous her mom was, she was fifty-eight years old.

“There has to be an explanation,” Abby said hopefully.

Nic released a giggle and quickly covered her mouth. Ignoring Nic’s enjoyment in how uncomfortable the whole conversation was becoming for her, Abby tilted her head and widened her eyes, letting Jack know he better answer fast.

“Actually there is. She’s the head of the Save Sand City Museum campaign, and Brody appears to be the largest contributor. What better way to stay on the good side of a small town community and keep an eye on the local police department?”