Deception of the Heart (22 page)

‘I think you’re being unnecessar
ily modest.’ Bernard grinned, his voice lighter. ‘But of course, we don’t expect you to do that much. As long as you manage to act normal in front of Brunner, things will mostly run smoothly on their own accord. He can’t notice you are onto his plans, if only for your own safety. He won’t tolerate anything jeopardizing his mission, Melanie. If you really want, you can help us with the final steps… like notifying us of any unexpected changes. Plus, there is still the question of how he plans to get past security with the gun. Since this is event is bringing together many prominent scientists from all over the world, security will be rather beefed up. Which makes me wonder, what kind of a trick is he planning to pull out of his sleeve to finish his mission?’

‘I don’t think he wants to use his gun,’ she said slowly, her eyebrows pulled together in concentration as she remembered some of the pages in Pete’s black case. ‘I think the gun is more
for protection for him while here in Rome. I saw a note with the addresses of many local florists, if that means anything.’ She glanced at Bernard, surprised at his transformation. He was alert and bright.

‘
Of course, it makes perfect sense!’ He nodded at her, but his eyes went to Jon. ‘They don’t repeat the same method twice, we know that much. We got mislead by the gun purchases the Brigade made in the last few weeks, unfortunately. That could have been their plan, of course: throw us off their trail. They want to let us believe we are the one doing the hunting, while in fact they’re tracking us. This attack is meant to be a warning to our society, to quote the Brigade. If it could be spectacular and different, that would only help the purpose.’

‘Do you think he wants to poison me with flowers?’ Daniel looked positively green in his face, his eyes worried. ‘I am allergic to pollen, but I don’t think that’s enough to kill me…’

‘He will try to smuggle something in with the flowers,’ Jon stated, his voice tugging at her heartstrings. She couldn’t resist looking at him again. His face was a magnet and her flesh a scrap of metal, helpless and weak. Their eyes met, and she saw him falter. He looked away and cleared his throat before continuing, carefully avoiding her gaze. ‘A tool perhaps. Or something even more sinister, that could have a larger impact.’

‘
An explosive?’ Daniel swallowed, his fingers trembling as he smoothed his hair. ‘I thought you said it would be a simple case of an assassin easily subdued by the police. If he wants to blow us all up, how can we stop him?’

‘By tracking his moves, Daniel
.’ Bernard put a reassuring palm on Daniel’s shoulder, his voice calm. ‘If he really chooses to use delivery as his means to reach you, all we have to do is intercept it, of course. Nothing we aren’t prepared to do, trust me.’

‘It would be a totally new technique
. Jon nodded, stepping closer.

Melanie step
ped back, an instinctive move to get away from him that didn’t go unnoticed. His mouth tightened into a line. He looked as if he wanted to say something before he changed his mind and concentrated on Daniel.

‘
The Peace Brigade is different from any other terrorist group we’ve dealt with over the years,’ he explained, smiling at the older man. ‘They don’t do suicidal missions. The operations are usually well thought through and executed with no damage to their members. So if he really plans on using some other means than a gun, I am pretty sure he’ll have it secured and set to go off exactly when planned. Remember, he isn’t on a suicide mission. Inflicting maximum damage and disappearing, that’s the plan.’

‘Anyway, you
, Melanie, can really help by watching out for any last moment changes,’ Bernard addressed her again, repeating what he’d said just moments ago. ‘The event is the day after tomorrow, so we should make sure we stay on top of things from each and every angle. Our agents here make sure nothing unexpected happens in the house; you could be a link between us and Pete.’

‘
Pete wants you here with him tomorrow,’ Jon added, making brief eye contact that she broke almost instantly, unable to look into his face. Instead she looked at Bernard, wondering what other kind of revelations he had in store for her. ‘Probably making sure the last day goes according to his script. You have to be very careful, Melanie.’ She looked back at him, surprised by the sudden urgency in his voice. The icy façade cracked ever so slightly, a glimpse of the Jon she knew, or thought she knew, appearing for a second.

‘For now
, you should go back to the hotel before he starts wondering where you have been for so long,’ Bernard interrupted, his brown eyes cautious as he looked at the two of them. ‘I would suggest you take a cab again, since I need to discuss plenty of things with Jonathan. I am sure you understand.’ He waited for her to acknowledge his idea, which she did, relieved to be spared riding with the man who’d turned out to be nothing she believed.

‘
Or Ben can take you,’ Bernard continued, ignoring Jon’s thunderous expression. ‘After all, he is known as Daniel’s chauffeur, so if Pete sees you together, it won’t surprise him.’

She nodded again, eager to leave
the room. She kept her emotions in check pretty well, all things considered, but she felt the fragile balance slipping, each passing second bringing her closer to a total meltdown. She couldn’t do it, not yet. Not with those men watching her every move, while another, much more dangerous one waited for her back at the hotel. She would have to last just a bit longer, just long enough to be alone in her room and away from the prying eyes. Then she could allow herself to cry and die inside. The raw pain of betrayal was still too fresh and too complete to fully comprehend. It was just too incredibly horrid and unexpected to really sink in. She miserably walked out to the waiting car, her moves those of a wooden marionette.

She saw the chauffeur waiting, his slim
, stern face breaking into a half smile as she approached.
Another lie
, she told to herself as she slipped into the car, barely listening to his meaningless small talk. Because he wasn’t a chauffeur at all, not really. He was another man from the team, quiet, perceptive, and efficient. Just like Jonathan Davis, the man who broke her heart.

………………….

‘Let her go,’ Bernard commanded, his face impassive. ‘The last thing she wants right now is to talk to you, Jon.’

He knew that
; of course he did. He saw it in her eyes, or rather in the way she avoided his gaze, her whole body rigid with resentment. Which was understandable, of course. He’d betrayed her in every possible way. He watched the two men and tried to get his feelings under control. He owed it to Daniel, if nothing else.

He
’d known what to expect. After all, wasn’t it obvious from the start that his relationship with Melanie had no future? He’d prepared for this from the second he saw her photo and learned her name. She was just a project, nothing more. All of his experience in the field should have prepared him for those unavoidable casualties that came with his job.

What he wasn’t prepared for was the pain that tore him apart
when he saw understanding dim the glow of her eyes, witnessed the excruciating seconds when she finally realized who he really was. It physically hurt him to see her suffer. His arms itched to reach out and gather her close to him, her heartbeat and the scent of her skin the only antidotes for his misery.

He
made an effort to listen to the other men. Two other agents walked into the room, which soon turned into an operations center, papers and photos littering the table. The gentle hum of waking up computers and low chatter would eventually pull him in, he hoped, still too numb to pay much attention.

Still, he knew deep down that it wasn’t over. For the first time in his life
, he could not accept what seemed the most logical and practical solution. Disappearing from Melanie’s world could save them all a lot of trouble in the mildest of scenarios. If he had any brains left, he would do exactly that: close the chapter and move on to the next one.

Only he wasn’t smart, it appeared. Because he refused to even consider the idea of never seeing her again. After
everything was finished, he would go after her. He’d turn things around, not resting until he saw the warm fire of trust and something else he didn’t quite dare to name glow in her eyes once more.

He looked up, feeling someone’s glance upon him. It was
Bernard, of course. His brown eyes, half hidden under hooded eyelids, stared at him for a moment before he turned back to the other men.

He didn’t give a damn if
Bernard disapproved. Jon was fully aware the old man knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn’t care what the whole world thought, for that matter. The only thing that mattered was what Melanie thought, and he could only hope he would turn her thoughts around.

Melanie didn’t fully remember everything that happened after she left the Spitieris’. Whenever she tried to think back to those moments, a stream of pictures edged into her brain like single frames from an old-fashioned movie in which she played a reluctant and heartbroken heroine.

She didn’t see Pete
. Her steps were cautious as she walked to the connecting door only to find the other side completely silent. There were only two options: he was still away, or he was inside doing something very quiet and probably not meant for her eyes. In the end, she couldn’t take the suspense any longer and knocked on the door. After two attempts, she gave up, glad to have some time to gather her wits before they saw each other. Things had changed. She took off her clothes, unable to look toward her bed. Could that be the place she’d considered heaven only hours ago? If she looked long enough, she believed one of those pillows still bore an imprint of Jon’s head. She’d sleep on the sofa, she decided. The sheer thought of slipping under those covers was unbearable. The scent of his skin, clean, fresh, and so uniquely masculine surely lingered on the white crisp sheets.

She needed to clean every square inch of her skin free of
him and the memories of his touch. She pulled impatiently on the buttons of her dress. The sound of ripping fabric finally snapped her out of her frozen state that started the moment she laid eyes on Jon in Daniel’s office. Her teeth chattered as sobs raked her slim frame, impossible to control. She stepped out of the mangled dress and kicked it away, half blind with tears as she turned on the shower. She didn’t even notice it was set on cold, the icy needles of water merciless against her frozen skin. She stood there, unable to do anything but press both palms to her mouth, desperate to keep in the sound of her absolute misery. After a few minutes, she noticed her skin turning blue and pulled the handle to hot, gasping at the shocking heat. Still, the pain was nothing compared to what raged inside her. She soaped herself from head to toe, her hands rough as she tried to scrub away any lingering memory of Jon and their lovemaking. She did it again. By the third time, her skin was red and burning. She ignored the dull pain in her palm, the gauze soaked with water and offering little protection. Was it really today that she got hurt? It seemed like light years ago, the events in the ancient church belonging to a different, much happier time.

She dressed slowly, pulling on the first set of clothes she found in the wardrobe. Her fingers were still shaking so hard that she couldn’t pull up the zipper of the dress
without catching her skin in the process. The new pain finally woke her up from her stupor, and she looked down at the angry reddish mark that quickly turned purple.

The knock on her door made her look up, a sense of panic she had never experienced before accelerating her heartbeat instant
ly. She wasn’t ready to face Pete, not yet. With her wet hair hanging in rattails down her shoulders and her feet bare, she felt utterly weak and vulnerable. But maybe that was just the thing she needed. Maybe looking like that sent the message she was naïve and weak enough to pose no threat to his plans?

‘Coming
!’ she yelled, zipping up the dress properly and pushing her wet hair out of her face. A quick glance into the mirror was all she had time for. Her pale face stared back with huge, brown eyes. ‘Just a sec, Pete!’

He looked impeccable. With his fine silk sweater in pale cream and pearl grey pants, he could have grac
ed one of those impossibly elegant fashion billboards that appeared on the sides of the roads wherever they went here in Italy. His blue eyes were wary, but the expression changed to amusement as he took in her less than glamorous looks.

‘Is this bad timing?’ he asked, his voice smooth and warm. ‘I was just getting worried about you,
Mel. I didn’t see you come back from your day with Jonathan.’

‘
Sorry about that.’ Was she really such a good actress? Apparently so, if she was to judge by his satisfied looks. He must have been pleased she was late and therefore unable to notice his own tardiness. ‘We kind of lost track of time. Jon took me to some amazing archeological site, and afterward we went to eat. Did you need me to work on something?’

A horrible thought came to her head, her blood freezing in her veins. What if he
saw how much work she actually did after Jon’s departure? She put in a good two hours of editing at least, if not more. How could she explain that to him after her “whole day” excursion? One look at her work would expose her lies, making him very suspicious. After all, who in their right mind would prefer to lie about doing nothing while they actually worked? No one without a viable reason, of course. She didn’t dare to think what kind of a reason he would find important enough to make her do that…