Deceived (13 page)

“I'm sorry,” Sarah said, grabbing the plate of remaining pancakes. “I didn't realize that Mel was going to think things between us were permanent. We'll come up with a good break-up story when it's time. Besides, I really do need to get back to my job and get Eli back to school, so—”

“That's all been taken care of,” Luke assured her.

Sarah went still. “What are you talking about?”

“My commander sent an email from you to your principal last night,” he told her.

Sarah gaped at him. “He did
what?
”

“Starting next week, Eli will have private tutors online to help him keep up. And you're taking a medical leave due to the trauma of the attack at the festival,” he explained. “Your job is protected for up to twelve weeks by FMLA. The paperwork has already been sent over.”

“Twelve weeks? Are you
kidding
me?” Sarah raged, her hands balled into fists. “What the
hell
gives you—
any
of you—the right to hack into my email and send a message on my behalf? Do you realize I don't get paid during that time? I'll have to use what little sick time I have and then use my savings to cover my bills.”

“That's been taken care of as well,” Luke said with a shrug as if it were the most natural thing in the freaking world.

“What has?” Sarah demanded.

He finally turned to face her. “Everything. A payment was most likely sent to your mortgage company this morning to pay off what you still owe on your house. Your utilities have been set up on automatic payments through one of the Alliance's accounts—I took care of that myself. And any remaining debt will be paid in full by the end of the week. Honestly, it wasn't much, so it's not a big deal.”

Sarah was utterly dumbfounded, not sure if she should break down in tears at the Alliance's generosity or be even more pissed off at their cavalier way of handling her situation. “Why?” she asked. “Why do all this? Why not just talk with me about it all first and then let me take care of it?”

“We needed to act before whoever came after Eli could do anything to sabotage you financially. What would've taken you hours, days, to take care of, our guys were able to handle within a few minutes. All your bank, savings, and investment accounts have been closed and moved into secure accounts we manage for safekeeping. We essentially locked you down for your protection. As soon as we catch the bastard behind this, your investments and bank accounts will be turned back over to you. Until then, you can use the ones Finn has set up. The funds are at your disposal. You don't need to worry about the balance. We have people to handle that.”

Sarah pressed her palm to her forehead, trying to keep at bay the monstrous headache she felt coming on. “Are you always this arrogant? Do you guys always just do as you please without any consideration for the people you're supposedly helping?”

Luke's mouth turned down briefly in what seemed to equate to a shrug. “When it comes to one of our own, we don't fuck around, Sarah.”

Sarah took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to keep her temper in check. “Luke, I appreciate all you're doing. I really do. And I understand why the Alliance is concerned. But I
don't
appreciate being kept in the dark. From now on, I want to know the truth. And I want to be consulted about anything relating to me or my son. If you can't live with that, Eli and I will walk right out that door. Is that clear?”

Luke nodded. “Fair enough. But, remember—you
wanted
to know the truth.”

“Who the hell is responsible for this?” Stone demanded.

“I don't know, Jacob,” Jack Grayson confided, his voice betraying his weariness. Stone could only imagine the kind of chaos going on within the Alliance. The high commander would've had to call an emergency meeting of the Grand Council—no easy feat with the members spread all over the world. The provincial and regional commanders would all be flying to Switzerland or teleconferencing in if their duties kept them from being there in person. Will Asher would be among the latter group, of course, since it was his men involved in the security breach.

Stone had to stifle a chuckle. He could just imagine the conversation between Will and the high commander over that one. Being the imperious bastard's grandson would only cover Will's ass to a point.

“How's Hal?” Stone asked, surprising himself with just how sincere his concern sounded. “When can I see him?”

“He's still in a coma,” Jack told him. “We've transported him back to Chicago, though, so our team could oversee his care personally.”

“I can be on a plane to Chicago in an hour and stay at one of my properties there for as long as necessary,” Stone said. “Just say the word, brother. Tell me how I can help.”

Stone heard Jack heave a sigh. “Thanks, Jacob. I know that would mean a lot to Hal. I'll talk to Will. I'm sure an exception can be made for you. You're family.”

“Have Maddie and Sarah seen him?” Stone asked. “How are they?”

“Maddie's here with him,” Jack told him. “She won't leave his side. I've only been able to persuade her to leave to take a shower and to talk to Sarah.”

“And Sarah?” Stone had to work to keep his voice from sounding too eager.

There was a slight hesitation on the other end before Jack said, “She's with one of our brothers. He's keeping her apprised of her father's condition.”

Stone cursed silently, wondering how he should play his next move. “I know there's been some bad blood between her and Hal, but I can't believe she'd be so selfish. Hal's her father, for chrissake!”

“It's not like that.” Jack was quick to defend her. “Keeping her away was our call.” There was a slight pause, and then Jack cursed under his breath before adding, “Someone tried to abduct Sarah's son the same day Hal was shot.”

“Are you shitting me?” Stone cried. “What the hell, Jack?”

Another pause. Jack was clearly struggling with how much he should share with his former brother in arms. “The guy was some kind of fanatic, raving about ‘One True Master.' It appears Hal made Eli his successor and the man who tried to abduct him knew as much.”

Stone muttered a curse. “You know as well as I do that this may not be just about the treasures. Hal was keeper to a lot of other valuable information. Then the boy will never be safe. Not until we find out who's behind this. Where is Sarah now? She can come stay at one of my homes. I have the same security measures in place that I had when I was in the field. She and Eli would be safe here.”

“Thanks, I'll keep that in mind,” Jack promised. “Right now, she's with Luke Rogan. He's one of our best. They're at his haven, but if anything changes, I'll let you know.”

“I'm sure this Rogan is capable, but maybe I should go be with her since I'm someone she knows,” Stone suggested.

“Couldn't tell you where they are, even if I wanted to,” Jack said. “No one but Finn knows where Luke's haven is located.”

“Damn it, Jack,” Stone raged. “I need to feel like I'm being useful somehow. Did someone already make a tech drop? I'd be happy to take care of it.”

“Finn already handled it,” Jack assured him. “Just keep your ear to the ground, Jacob. Let us know if you hear anything on this nut job who tried to kidnap Eli or on who might be behind shooting Hal.”

As soon as Stone hung up, he called another number, waiting impatiently for the son of a bitch to pick up. Finally, the ringing stopped and there was a slight pause before someone said in a bored drawl, “Go.”

“Rogan's taking them to his haven. The only one who knows the location is a member of the Alliance named Elliot Finnegan,” Stone told him. “He's the Chicago commandery's tech specialist. I suspect you might want to send someone to have a persuasive conversation with him.”

“Won't be necessary . . . at the moment,” Evans assured him. “Knowing they're at Rogan's haven is enough. If he's as good as you say, it'll take a little digging to track him down, but it can be done. I'll be in touch in a few days.”

The call was disconnected before Stone could respond. He glanced at the screen. Yep, the arrogant asshole had hung up on him. No. He had
dismissed
him. Well, soon Evans would be kissing
his
ass.

“Mr. Stone?”

Stone turned to where Allison Holt was hovering in the doorway to his home office, not quite sure how to interact with him since their flight to Cuba. And the return flight.

He offered her his most charming smile and extended a hand. “Allison, really. You're going to have to stop calling me Mr. Stone. Well, privately anyway. I'll still need you to act as my assistant in the office until I can find your replacement.”

Allison's lovely eyes went wide. “Mr. Stone . . . Jacob . . . are you firing me? Sir, had I known that I would lose my job, I never would've . . .”

He laughed and pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Of course not, Ally. I'm not firing you. But I can't exactly date my assistant, now can I?”

She pulled back, her face aglow. “Do you mean you actually want to have a
relationship?
With
me?
This isn't just sex to you?”

He laughed teasingly at her modesty. Oh, yes. She would make him the perfect, demure little mouse of a wife. Willing to do his every bidding as long as he pretended to worship and adore her. “You know you've been in love with me for years, Ally,” he insisted, silently congratulating himself on how masterfully he could play the lovely woman in his arms. “And I honestly can't hide my feelings for you any longer. They've tormented me every day for far too long.”

As expected, she threw her arms around his neck with a squeal of excitement, making him grimace. It was a good thing he actually did
like
the woman and value her usefulness. Otherwise, that high-pitched squeal would've been enough for him to slice open her pretty little throat....

* * *

Will heaved a sigh, wishing he hadn't bothered to check his email. Or maybe that his grandfather had stuck to the traditional method of sending
written
missives to scold his grandson and remind him of his fuck-up instead of relying on technology to deliver his threats and insults. He'd already had three messages from the high commander since the initial briefing, each one demanding an update—in spite of Will's regular updates to the council—and a none-too-subtle reminder that Will's position as commander firmly depended on the expeditious resolution of their current crisis.

He was in the process of responding with the latest status update on the asset relocation efforts when a firm knock sounded on his door.

“Enter.”

Will's brows lifted slightly at seeing Jack sauntering in, his smooth gait at odds with the concerned expression he wore. “Jack. I thought you were at the hospital.”

Jack took a seat across from his desk. “I wanted to speak with you regarding Maddie's request.”

Will leaned back in his chair, leveling his gaze at his friend. “I don't think there's anything to discuss, Jack. I already agreed to take Maddie on as an initiate. The rest is up to her.”

Jack pressed his lips together for a moment before continuing, “I don't believe you've fully considered—”

“I don't believe it's your call,” Will interrupted. Softening the edge to his tone, he leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. “Jack, I know you care for her.”

“It's far more complicated than that,” Jack snapped.

Will spread his hands. “Well, then let me make things simple. This is Maddie's decision. If you don't think you can handle the emotional aspect of working together, I'll make sure you're not assigned to any ops together.”

Jack shook his head. “It's not about how I feel about Maddie, Will. I love her. I always will. Being near her every day would hardly be a problem. But because I love her, I don't want her to have to give up everything for the Alliance. I know your history as well as you know mine, my friend. We've both sacrificed too much. I would spare Maddie that heartache.”

“Sacrifice has been a tenant of the Templars since the Order was conceived,” Will reminded him. “You and I are hardly unique. We had a choice and we made it. Regret doesn't do anyone any good.”

Jack blinked at him. “Careful, Will. There for a moment, I thought you were the high commander.”

“Have a seat,” Luke said, gesturing to his desk chair. If Sarah wanted the truth, he'd give it to her. He bent over her shoulder to open up a series of files, finally reaching the one he sought.

He'd spent the previous night going through the files his commander had sent for him to review—files on Hal Blake, his ex-wife, his daughters, his grandson . . . No surprise that the Alliance had extensive information on all of them. But the one that Luke had found most fascinating had actually belonged to Hal's son-in-law, Gregory Scoffield.

“What is this?” Sarah asked, glancing up at him in her confusion. “Why do you have a file on Greg?”

Luke straightened and went to the other side of the desk, taking the seat across from Sarah, the better to read her expressions as she read the file on her deceased husband and gauge just how well she'd known the man she'd married.

“
Gregory David Scoffield
,” she read aloud, skimming through the pages of information, “
born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on May fifth to Helen and David Scoffield. Only child. Parents killed in plane crash in 1990. Attended Columbia University . . . BA in history . . . PhD in history from Oxford University . . .
”

Sarah lifted her eyes to Luke's. “I know all this. The question is, why do
you
know it?”

“Keep reading,” Luke prompted. “There's more.”

She shook her head and heaved an irritated sigh. “
Received official censure for affair with Sarah Evelyn Blake, having acted against orders ...
” At this, she slowly leaned away from the laptop and lifted her eyes once more to Luke, but this time the confusion and hurt in her gaze sent a stab of regret right through the center of Luke's chest. “‘Against orders'? What the hell does that mean?
Whose
orders?”

“How did you meet Greg Scoffield?” Luke asked instead of answering her directly. She needed to make the connection herself.

“He was taking some post-doctoral classes when I was a junior,” she said, with a sad smile. “We met at a campus lecture—just happened to be sitting beside each other and struck up a conversation. He asked me out for coffee afterward.”

“He took quite an interest in your welfare?” Luke continued. “Asked a lot about you and your family? Just happened to bump into you often on campus after that?”

She blinked at him in dismay. “It was a small campus. Even students in other majors interacted with each other quite a bit. We fell in love before we even realized what was happening.”

Luke nodded. “I don't doubt that. Especially when his job was to keep an eye on you, to protect you. But this particular assignment came with strict orders for Scoffield not to get personally involved.”

“That's ridiculous,” Sarah huffed.

“As ridiculous as some wack-job showing up to kidnap your son?” Luke nodded toward the laptop, prompting Sarah to continue reading.

Her lips moved slightly as she murmured to herself, devouring every word of the file. Then her reading came to an abrupt halt and she shook her head slowly in denial. She cleared her throat, but her voice still quavered with emotion when she continued reading aloud, “
Upon learning that Sarah Blake is with child, Scoffield has tendered his resignation with the Alliance. A formal complaint of dereliction of duty has been filed by
confrere
brother Senator Harold Allen Blake.
”

Luke sat in silence, waiting for Sarah to absorb the facts laid out before her. After several moments, she swiped at the tears on her cheeks and took a deep, shaky breath. “He was one of you. Greg was a Templar working for the Alliance. And he'd been assigned to me by my father. Is that why Dad was so mad when Greg and I got married? Because one of you had actually fallen in love with me and acted against
orders?
Is
that
it? Or was my entire marriage a lie as well? Did Greg even really love me? Or was his marrying me just some stupid Templar obligation because he'd knocked me up?”

“I'm sure he loved you,” Luke told her even though he was talking out of his ass. It was a guess. A gut feeling. How the hell would he know what Greg Scoffield's motivations were? But what man
wouldn't
love her? If Greg Scoffield hadn't loved his wife, he'd been a fucking moron.

The look of gratitude in Sarah's eyes at his words just confirmed what his gut told him. But then her expression returned to one of disbelief and sorrow as she shook her head again. “I don't know how you can be sure. I certainly can't be.”

Luke leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his knees. “You have to understand, Sarah, leaving the Alliance isn't something someone does on a whim. This is more than a job for us. I don't even really know how to explain it except to say that this is a life you don't just walk away from. Not without a damned good reason. For your dad—it was his family and his duty to play a key role among our political allies. For Greg Scoffield—it was his love for you. It would take one hell of a woman to persuade one of us to leave. I guess that's what I'm saying.”

They sat in silence for several moments before Sarah finally spoke again. “Could I please have some time alone?” she requested. “I just . . .”

He was on his feet in an instant. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Luke?” she said, just as he reached the door.

He halted and turned back. “Yeah?”

“Thank you,” she said, her eyes still on the laptop screen. “For what you said.”

Luke hesitated in the doorway, not sure what to say or do. He hadn't been exaggerating when he'd told Commander Asher that he sucked at getting close to people. But something about the sorrow that weighed on Sarah, the way her shoulders sagged, brought him back into the room.

And he was really kinda shocked when he gently took her hand and pulled her to her feet and into his arms. But he liked the way her arms slipped around his waist, returning his embrace. And he welcomed the slight pressure of her cheek against his chest. And when she turned her eyes up to his, he only vaguely realized that his head was dipping toward hers. But every single inch of him was aware when his lips brushed against hers—some inches more keenly aware than others.

Her lips were soft, warm, yielding. Exactly how he'd spent the previous sleepless night imagining that they'd be. And he wanted to sink into that kiss, explore the mystery of her lips until he discovered the secret bliss that he figured only a few had ever known.

But his conscience made him end the kiss after only a brief taste. He was an asshole for even going as far as he had. Sarah was vulnerable. And it was a dick move to take advantage of that. Pissed with himself for not being the gentleman his mother had raised him to be, Luke released Sarah and, without a word, strode from the room.

* * *

Sarah watched Luke practically run down the hall to get away from her, confusion at his abrupt retreat making her head spin. Or maybe it was the aftereffect of coming down so quickly from the jolt of white-hot heat that had lanced through her when Luke had kissed her.

It had been just a brief brush of his lips against hers, almost a chaste kiss, really. But it had been enough to make Sarah's entire body buzz with awareness. She wondered where it might've led if he hadn't suddenly turned and run.

And what was with that disappearing act, by the way? How in the heck could he be so tender and compassionate only to cut and run? The man was a walking, talking riddle. And one she'd very much like to solve.

But there was another riddle begging for her attention at the moment.

Sarah returned to the laptop and began paging through the documents again, this time reading closer, discovering the secret life her husband had led, wondering which “truths” she'd always believed about the man she loved were actually
true.

When she'd finished with his file, she turned to hers and her sister's. Maddie's had been an interesting read, that was for damned sure. It seemed Jack Grayson had been called to the carpet as well, for crossing the line with Maddie when he was assigned to be her detail. But that line of inquiry abruptly ended. Looking at the dates, it must've been when Jack had suddenly been reassigned and Maddie had gone to Quantico for training. Apparently, there'd been another operative assigned to her there—but this time without her knowledge.

And then there was Eli's file. They seemed to know a great deal about her son, considering her father hadn't been in contact with them. Obviously, that hadn't deterred him from keeping tabs on them, in addition to what Maddie was sharing. But there was nothing at all about her father passing any information on to Eli. Not in the general file on her son. Eli's being named a successor had been a secret even from Hal Blake's fellow members of the Alliance—
brothers
, as they called each other.

The only official mention of Eli's being named a successor was in an email message from a man named Phillip Asher, high commander, to Will Asher, regional commander, North America, confirming that Hal Blake had, indeed, approached the Grand Council—which was apparently the body of senior officials in the Alliance—to apprise them of his chosen successor. But in the message, which contained a none-too-gentle reprimand to Will Asher for not managing his people better, the high commander mentioned that if he wanted additional information, Will would have to contact his seneschal for the meeting minutes. And that the elder Asher expected that Will would “handle the situation immediately” and without “further breaches” that would jeopardize his command as there were “certainly others willing to fill it.”

“Wow, they're about as warm and fuzzy a family as mine,” Sarah mused.

So there were no other hints as to who outside of the Alliance might've known about Eli. So far, everything Sarah had heard indicated that they suspected a breach from outside the organization. Were they looking in the wrong direction? Was it possible one of these guys in the Grand Council was jockeying for a more important seat and was using the breach to make Will Asher look bad? Was this whole thing just a bullshit
power play
?

Sarah pressed her palm to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. God, it felt like her
headache
was getting a headache.

She glanced down at the clock at the bottom right corner of the laptop and her eyes went wide. It was almost noon. She'd been going through the files for hours. Frowning, she pushed back, needing to get away from the computer for a while.

She then became aware of the sounds of synthetic gunfire and explosions coming from somewhere in the house and followed them down the hall to the loft to find Eli parked in front of the huge TV, playing a video game.

“Hey, Mom,” he called happily when he noticed her standing there. “Luke said I could play whichever game I wanted while he made lunch.”

Sarah lifted an eyebrow at him. “I imagine Luke didn't realize there are certain games I don't allow you to play?”

Eli gave her a guilty grin, looking far too old with the gaming headset on. “Well, he didn't really have any of the ones I usually play, so I picked
Halo
. Is that okay?”

“
This
time,” Sarah told him. “But we're going to have to look into some other form of entertainment for you while we're here.”

A barrage of gunfire brought Eli's attention back to the screen. “Ah, man! It's so on. . . .”

“Who are you talking to?” Sarah asked, frowning at the battle waging.

“Finn,” Eli told her, his forehead wrinkled in concentration.

“So you forgive him his tacky shirt?” Sarah said.

Eli shrugged. “He's okay—as long as he's not trying to date my mom. Besides he thought I was Luke at first.” He giggled. “He cusses a lot when he gets his butt handed to him.”

Sarah closed her eyes on a sigh.
Lovely.
This trip was turning out to be way more educational for Eli than she'd anticipated....

“Tell him I said to watch his language or he'll find out what it's
really
like to get his butt handed to him,” she drawled.

Eli sent a grin her way. “Can I actually say that?”

“Sure can,” Sarah told him, not bothering to correct his grammar this time. “You can
quote
me.”

She heard Eli repeat what she'd said as she headed toward the stairs and couldn't help smiling to herself when she heard him add, “Dude. She
totally
means it.”

She was grateful beyond words for Eli, her little ray of sunshine. No matter what darkness came into her life, just hearing his laughter lifted her spirits. She was hurt, pissed, about the secrets Greg had withheld from her. But she could never regret their relationship or the beautiful son he'd given her. And no matter the initial reason he'd come into her life, what they'd shared had been real. He'd loved her. She might have doubted it when Luke had first shown her the files. But in her heart, she knew the truth. All of it. And that assured her of Greg's love—and finally gave her the peace she'd needed.

But her grin began to fade as she made her way down the stairs and heard Luke's voice, the sound of his deep bass making her stomach flutter. She was tempted to turn around and go back upstairs, putting off having to face him after their kiss. But she couldn't exactly avoid him in his own house. And she didn't want to. She wanted to feel those strong arms around her, wanted to feel safe and protected and
desired
. God, she wanted far more than that....

Sarah swallowed hard and tried to keep her heart from pounding as she approached the kitchen. But a snatch of conversation brought her up short outside the doorway.