Circle of Deception (22 page)

“Listen. Brody was never alone, and with so many people crawling through that house, we rarely had a moment alone either. From the second we arrived until we left, he never talked business. The guy is strange and so hung up on wanting everyone to see his junk.” She coughed. Her face flushed.

Damn. She and Rex had sex for days and couldn’t get enough of it, but there was a world of difference between doing it and talking about it, especially to Jack.

“Oh, I know all about it.” His eyes chilled as he looked at his younger brother.

Rex stepped toward Jack. “You know what?” The menace in his voice warned Jack to tread lightly.

“Exactly what you think.” Fists balled, he leaned into Rex. Though a few inches shorter, Jack was equal in bulk.

“You asshole. Liam had no way of knowing. Who did you have spying on us? And why did you believe we couldn’t be trusted?” Rex shoved at Jack’s shoulder.

Before Abby could stop what was coming, Jack shoved back and said, “I knew you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants. You talk about me disrespecting Abby, but how do you think she feels being fucked in front of an audience?” Jack pushed again.

“Whoa! I’m right here, fellas! You two need to chill.” She moved to separate them, but before she got close enough, Rex swung, slamming a fist into his brother’s face.

Then the fight was on. No way could she break it up. So she stepped out of the van and hoped the equipment wouldn’t get smashed. When two men are determined to fight it out, the best route was to duck and run. A person could get hurt sticking their nose between two warring brothers.

Abby stood outside with two other operatives, watching the van rock back and forth as crashes and the sickening sound of flesh hitting flesh resounded inside. The fighting would stop for a second, but that was only for them to take a deep breath and verbally abuse each other, and then the fighting began all over.

Tired of the total pointlessness of the argument and certainly tired of the brawl, she’d started to slide open the door when a black SUV drove up. Nic.

Ah, hell. That was all they needed. No matter what Rex believed, the woman would freak once she heard about Abby and Rex having sex. Not to mention how many times.

Abby eyed the dark-headed woman. Nic slammed the door and glared at her.

Okay. Someone had a big mouth at the OS Sector.

“You had to throw yourself at him, didn’t you?” Nic’s head bobbed in her fury.

Before Abby could defend herself, Nic picked up a rock and flung it at her.

“What the hell?” Were they in second grade?

“In the olden days, they stoned sluts.” Again, she snatched up a handful of rocks, wound up her arm, and pitched them hard.

The operatives stepped back and laughed. No help there. They clearly wanted to stay out of it.

“Slut? You’re crazy! Stop!” Several more rocks pelted her. Abby didn’t want to hurt her, but Nic wasn’t acting like she’d stop, especially when she bent down to reload.

She charged the smaller woman and a rock grazed her cheek. The stinging warned her she’d been cut and a warm tickling flowed down to her jaw. For a split second she thought about breaking the woman’s arms, but instead she grabbed Nic in a bear hug. Restraining her arms, keeping her from throwing two more handfuls, Abby could see as they struggled that blood was sprinkling over Nic’s face. So she guessed there was quite a bit on hers.

Nic released an earsplitting scream of frustration.

In self-defense mode, Abby shoved her away and covered an aching ear, certain that she’d busted the drum. Nic fell to the ground and screamed again. Heaven save her from the crazy woman.

“For goodness’ sake, Nic, what is wrong with you?” She leaned over to help her up.

“Get away from her!” Jack rammed his shoulder into hers to move her away.

“What—”

“How did she get all bloody?” Rex walked past Abby and helped Jack lift Nic from the ground. One brother wiped at her face with the corner of his shirt while the other one slapped off the dirt from her clothes.

Abby looked down at her blood-spattered shirt and jeans that were peppered with dirt from the thrown rocks. Her cheek throbbed and matched the ache in her ear and shoulder. What was the matter with these two men? The hell with them. What was wrong with her? And why was Nic so important to them? Sure, the woman was pretty with her black hair and brown eyes and tiny at five-two, but geez! She was crazy!

With tears filling her big brown eyes, Nic said, “I had to defend myself. I don’t understand women like her. She’s unnatural.”

Rex looked up at Abby, his forehead all wrinkled. “What got into you? You’re bigger and stronger. You could’ve really hurt her.” One gray eye was hidden by a purple swelling, and the scar on his cheek had a long scratch alongside it.

She checked on Jack. His jaw was black and blue, and one lip had swollen to twice its size.

Abby looked around for the two operatives, hoping for some backup. She caught sight of the last one disappearing into the van. Cowards.

“You’re taller and stronger than Jack and that didn’t stop you.” Using the back of her hand, she swiped at the seeping wound on her face. “I didn’t throw rocks at myself and roll around in the dirt. She lost her mind and started acting like a lunatic.” No way would she mention why Nic had gone psycho.

“I know he can defend himself.” Rex stood over her, his hands on his hips.

She refused to move an inch. Nose-to-nose, she glared up at him. “She works for The Circle. Everyone who works for the organization has to take self-defense classes. Besides, I’ve seen her on the firing range. She’s a damn good marksman. And she’s got a good right arm.”

“Hey!”

They turned their heads toward Jack and said at the same time, “What?”

“I’ll take Nic back to the OS Sector and have her checked out. Abby, you and Rex need to go back to your brother’s house and see if you can get Brody to contact you again. Liam and I will check out the caves.”

“I’m going with you.” Rex shook his head.

“Me too.” She wanted to see if they were right at least about something.

“Fine. But you still need to keep your cover at your brother’s. Meet me at the van on the corner of Maple at nine tonight, and we’ll go in from there.”

Abby headed toward the Caddy with Rex behind her. She didn’t want to think about how Jack and Rex hurt her feelings by siding with Nic without asking for details. Business as usual. One thing she’d learned from working with men, they could beat the crap out of each other one day and act like long-lost friends the next. In the brothers’ case, she didn’t expect them to mend fences with a couple fights, but maybe they would get some issues out in the open. She’d learned a long time ago that it was up to her to protect herself. She wanted to be treated as an equal.
Be careful what you wish for.

“Rex! You’re not leaving me, are you? Jack can go with her and you can take me back to OS Sector,” Nic said.

Was she a glutton for punishment? Otherwise, Abby wouldn’t have turned around to see Nic with her sad-dog look and Rex turning back to her. Probably to comfort her and talk about how the big, bad Abby mistreated the itsy-bitsy Nicky.

She rubbed her arm across her eyes. Man, oh, man, she was tired of it all.

“Nic, you have a job to do, and we don’t have time to take you back to OS. So I suggest you straighten up and start acting like an adult and a trained operative. This mission isn’t finished.” Rex then turned around and walked toward the car. “Close your mouth before you collect flies.”

Her mouth closed with a click of her teeth. Blinking, unable to move, she jumped when he snapped, “Are you coming or not?”

“Yes, sir!”

She followed behind him, not sure what to say as she slipped into the passenger seat. The shocked expression on Nic’s face would’ve normally had her laughing, but Abby was as confused as Nic about Rex. She kept taking short peeks at him all the way back to her brother’s house. When did he decide to take her side?

Chapter Twenty-One

“W
HAT DO YOU
mean he never came home?”

Abby arrived at her brother’s house with two marked and one unmarked Sand County cars parked out next to the road. Her mom’s car and another car she didn’t recognize were parked near the garage.

Her mother met her at the front door with the news. “His deputy reported that he called in and said he planned to talk with you over at Brody’s. That was the last anyone heard from him. We’re all worried sick. When the deputies went to Brody’s place, they were told everyone was gone and only the employees were there. The groundskeeper let them search the house and came up empty-handed. Where did you go?”

Abby didn’t take offense to her mom’s preoccupation with her son’s uncharacteristic disappearance. Truth be told, she rather not explain the cuts and bruises on her face. “Rurik had some business to take care of.”

“Don’t go blaming your husband for this. You’re always passing the blame to someone else. You never take responsibility.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, ruining her perfect makeup. Her hair stuck up in the back as if she’d gotten out of bed and never combed it. It was so unusual to see her mom anything less than flawlessly coiffed and primped.

“Okaaay. Mom, I’m not sure what you’re saying, but we’ll help in any way we can.” Abby’s eyes widened when her mom flung herself into her arms.

“If anything ever happens to him, I’ll just die,” her mom sobbed.

Abby closed her eyes and nodded. She never expected it to be any different. Her mom was more concerned with her brother.

Rex lightly touched her shoulder. “Abby, I’ll talk with the investigator.”

A brief smile crossed her face and she nodded. “Thank you, Rurik. I don’t know what I would do without your help.” Her mom released her and hugged Rex. “I’ll go check on Suzie. She’s upstairs keeping Tommy occupied. It helps her to not think about the horrendous turn of events.”

Frustrated at her mom’s overdramatization, Abby covered her mouth to stop herself from blurting out,
Why think the worst when he could walk through the door any minute with a logical explanation?
That would only start an argument, and they needed less stress, not more.

The next few hours dragged by. Her mom decided to stay overnight and Suzie convinced her not to sleep on the couch. Abby tried to be empathetic about her mother’s concern with her missing son, but didn’t she see how her overreaction affected Suzie? There had to be a logical answer to her brother’s disappearance.

Abby helped Suzie clean up the kitchen while Rex and Tommy played a rousing game of monster trucks in the den. Her mom had decided to rest in the bedroom next to Tommy’s.

“I’m so sorry that Mom is being such a pill to deal with.” She scraped off a plate and handed it to her sister-in-law to place in the dishwasher.

“She’s always worried about Eddie. You probably remember she never wanted him to go into law enforcement.” Suzie placed a glass in the top rack.

“He’s smart. Whatever is going on, he’ll be okay.” Abby had to think positive. If anything happened to him because of her bringing this mission to his backyard, she’d never forgive herself.

“You’re right.” Suzie stopped fidgeting with the plate in her hand and looked up at her. “Can you promise me you’ll do everything you can to bring him back to me?”

Abby blinked. “Why do you think I can do anything?”

“You hold yourself the same way Eddie does. There’s something about a person who knows violence and how to defend themselves. They square their shoulders and walk with a confidence most people don’t understand. I saw it in you the first time you visited us last year. You haven’t been working in an office for a construction company. Eddie leaves out paperwork and I see stuff. I disagree with what he’s found investigating you and Rurik. You two aren’t into anything illegal. You don’t give me those vibes.”

That surprised Abby, but then again, she felt a little guilty for underestimating the intelligence of her sister-in-law.

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, but Rurik and I are no more than what we seem.” Her whole body tensed. She hated lying to family, and she liked Suzie a lot.

“He loves you so much. It’s really sweet to see how he can’t take his eyes off you.”

Abby shook her head. “Do you want me to rinse this off? The pasta is stuck to the sides.” She lifted a pan from the stove.

They needed to change the subject; otherwise, Abby would start thinking Suzie saw something that she hadn’t. Her sister-in-law misunderstood Rex’s cynical distrust of her every move as love. He watched her because he thought she would betray him in some way. The man didn’t trust anyone. Well, maybe he trusted her a little more than before. She still couldn’t believe he’d taken her side over Nic’s.

By the time Abby reached the bedroom upstairs and changed into dark clothes, she wanted the operation over with. Involving her family had been so wrong. Never again would she allow Rex or Jack to talk her into mixing family and business. She didn’t care if her mom was selling nuclear weapons from her home through the mail; she would stay out of it. Another operative could handle it. Or the government could take care of its own dirty business.

“Hey!”

She aimed her Sig at Rex.

“What the hell! Don’t scare me like that. I could’ve hurt you.” After she returned the gun to her drop rig, she stood and shook out her arms and legs. How long had she sat here waiting for the big doofus?

They’d been so busy trying to save the whole operation and their hides, the time to talk about what happened at the hotel and Brody’s house had slipped by. Her face burned with the thought of how uninhibited they’d been while having wild monkey sex. There had been nothing romantic about it. If he didn’t want to talk about it yet, neither did she.

“The way you were staring off, I could’ve taken you out before you blinked,” Rex scolded without any true heat.

He grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it off. With his pants riding low, she could see where his hips and groin met. Talk about sexy.

Looking down at the carpet while he changed into darker, hardier clothes for their nighttime raid, Abby concentrated on what they planned to do. Sneak onto the far side of Brody’s property, meet up with Jack and a small number of other Circle operatives at the van, and then find a weak point in the security to enter the caves. She only hoped no exchange of fire would be necessary.