Devil in Disguise (17 page)

Rachel let out half a laugh at that. “You’d never have known that from how she used to act.”

“What? Like a teenager?”

“Your sassiness isn’t quite as endearing when it’s directed at me.”

“That sounds like something Rick would say.” Veronica smiled before straightening and grabbing the lemonade off the counter. “So,
what do you say? Are you going to hang out here with Conrad for the next twenty or thirty years, or are you game to see if we can
shine a light in a few dark corners?”

“You’re right.” Rachel stood up straighter. “I have a voice, and it’s about time I used it. We just have to find the story that will make them care. These bastards don’t get to hurt my baby sister, threaten the man I love, and steal our lives away without one hell of a fight.”

Veronica gave a quick nod of approval. “That’s the Rachel I know.”

“I’m assuming you have a plan.”

“I do, but I promise the pep talk wasn’t self-serving.”

Rachel merely smiled and shook her head. It didn’t matter either
way; Veronica’s words were true. It was time she fought back.
“What do you need me to do?”

“Let’s have dinner and talk to Conrad. Something tells me he
won’t be too keen on me sending you in undercover.”

“I’ve been undercover before,” Rachel countered.

Veronica eyed her skeptically. “I still don’t think he’ll like it.
Let’s talk to Conrad, and then Rick and I will head out after dinner. Meet us in Atlanta in two days. I’ll leave you the address of our place in Cabbagetown.”

“You don’t have to leave. You’re welcome to stay here,” Rachel protested, mentally acknowledging even as she did that sleeping on the floor would terrify her.

“While I’m sure we are, I think the two of you could use a little more honeymoon before you jump into this thing feet first.”

Rachel wasn’t fully prepared for the fight Conrad put up. Given that they’d met while facing down a corrupt politician who
kidnapped
women for giggles and that Rachel regularly put herself in
dangerous
situations to get the story, she didn’t expect him to be overprotective. She was furious and embarrassed. They tried to keep the fight to a dull roar in front of company, but the tension between them was
enough
that Rick and Veronica politely excused themselves shortly after
dinner.

Rachel saw them to the door, offering one last reassurance that they would both be in Atlanta at the appointed time.

“No, you won’t,” Conrad countered.

Rachel ignored him. “I’ll see you then.”

“I’m so glad to see it’s not just me.” A grin tugged at the corner of Rick’s mouth.

“See you soon.” Veronica gave Rachel a quick hug. “We’ll check in on Julia before heading that way.”

“Thanks.” Rachel stood resting her head on the door after their guests had gone, attempting to rein in her temper.

Conrad placed a hand tentatively on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, but you don’t understand,
ma bichette.
These men aren’t men. They’re pure evil – I don’t want you on their radar any more than
you already are.”

“Don’t you dare.” She whirled to face him, fire in her eyes.
“Don’t you call me your little doe and push me to the side while you, the big strong man, rush in to save the day. We met as partners; we’ve always been partners. Don’t you dare treat me like I’m too weak or stupid to help now.”

“I wouldn’t dream of calling you weak or stupid – I have no desire to see my manhood in a mason jar on your mantle.”

“I’m not the least bit amused,” she informed him. “You’re not as charming as you think you are.”

“How am I supposed to respond to that?”

“You’re supposed to tell me that you’re being a foolish ass, and of course we’ll go to Atlanta together.”

“Really? Because that’s not what I’m feeling at all.”

Rachel set her jaw and brushed past him to set about cleaning up the kitchen.

“
Ma bichett,
Rachel, don’t just walk away. I’m not trying to be an ass here.”

“So it comes naturally?”

Conrad took a deep breath, as if pulling back in his initial
response. “Cute.”

“It wasn’t meant to be. I can’t believe you’re trying to tell me I can’t go.”

“I know I can’t tell you not to go. I’m merely suggesting it, strongly.”

“Yeah, well, I’m strongly suggesting you drop this.” She arched her eyebrows.

“I can’t.”

Fury bubbled through her veins. She dearly wanted to throttle
her beautiful husband, but she reminded herself she wasn’t a violent person. Tears burned behind her eyes, but she’d be damned if she let
them through. With a deep breath, she calmed herself enough to talk. “I
know we need to finish this conversation tonight, but right now
nothing good is going to come from me saying one more word to
you. If you
value your life or this relationship, you’ll give me a few minutes alone.”

Rachel didn’t try to decipher the look that was on his face as he stormed out of the cabin. She focused on the dishes instead, silently wishing there were more of them. She needed time to think, and she thought best when she was active. Once the dishes were done, there would be nothing left to do in the tiny cabin now that the sun was slipping behind the horizon.

She wasn’t sure what she was more irritated with – Conrad’s reaction to Veronica’s plan or her own jumbled emotions. Who was he to tell her she couldn’t go? Still, as her pile of dishes dwindled,
she admitted he hadn’t told her she couldn’t go, or at least he’d
backed off that particular stance. But his words stung. They made her wonder if he’d lost his faith in her ability to pull something like this off.

She couldn’t fully explain why she so badly needed to be a part
of Veronica’s plan or why she’d even come to Louisiana with Conrad in the first place. Maybe she was atoning for past sins. Maybe it was as simple as vengeance for her sister. Something
stirred in her soul, a longing she couldn’t name.

Conrad silently let himself back in. Rachel was instantly and acutely aware of his presence. She planned to ignore him, but he stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her as he presented her
with a bouquet
of irises. She took the purple peace offering with one hand and rested her other hand on his, comforted by the feel of his skin and
the warmth
of his solid presence. His very nearness wreaked havoc on her
already jumbled emotions, making it difficult to remember the very sensible arguments she’d been working on in his absence.

Conrad planted a kiss on the top of her head before resting his
chin in the same spot. “I’m not trying to be an ass,
mon amour
. I know you are a smart woman, and I know you risk your life over lesser things than this. But you don’t know what they’ll do to you if they get their hands on you.”

“Do you?” Rachel wondered just how much he’d seen in his time in Atlantic City.

“I have a pretty good idea, and it turns my stomach.”

“How is it any worse than what they’ve already done?”

His voice was pleading. “Please don’t make me relive this. Just trust me; they won’t think twice about brutalizing you every way possible.”

“So, you want us to both hide here together?” Rachel asked the question even though she could have recited the answer along with him.

“You know I can’t just walk away from this. I have to finish what they started.”

“And what will they do to you?” She turned in his arms to peer
up into his serious dark gaze. “Give you a smack on the wrist and send you on your merry way?”

“My end would be swift compared to yours.” His voice was
grave. “And it terrifies me, the thought of them touching you.”

“Swift or not, the thought of your end terrifies me, too.” All fight long gone from her, she set aside the flowers so she could reach up to stroke his cheek. “I’d rather go down in flames with you than live a nice, quiet life without you, knowing you’d died trying to set this right all by yourself.”

As the words left Rachel’s mouth, she suddenly identified the inexplicable ache surfacing in her soul. She knew what she wanted, no matter how illogical, no matter what the cost. She also knew now wasn’t the time to share her clarity with Conrad, so she tucked the knowledge away in her heart for a later conversation.

Pain was etched in his ragged voice as he pulled her back into the current conversation. “I’m the one who took the job. It’s my fault any of us are involved with them in the first place.”

“Did you know who they were when you took the job?”

“My gut told me not to take it, and I didn’t listen.”

“Okay, whoa. First of all, we’ve all regretted not listening to our
gut once or twice. That shouldn’t be a death sentence. And since when did we decide that these guys found Julia because of you? According to Rick and Veronica, the Internet is rife with traffickers
trolling for girls her age. We have no way of knowing the two are connected.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head.

“No. Stop it. There’s enough wrong about this whole thing
without anyone strapping on unnecessary guilt. We both know you took that job to be closer to me, so technically, if we want to play the blame game, the fault could be traced back to me. Besides, it was my sister these parasites took. If nothing else, let me do this for her. Veronica’s plan is a good one. We have a chance to end this thing, to get our life
back. Let’s take it – together.”

“If we do this, if we go to Atlanta, I want you to promise me that you’ll be in and out, and you’ll stay out of sight as much as
possible.”

“I promise.”

“And you won’t try to take these guys on by yourself. You’ll stick to the plan.”

“I’m not an idiot.” She halfheartedly shoved at his massive chest.

“No, but you’re feisty, and I know you have an innate need to protect the innocent and expose corruption. These guys are going to piss you off more than they already have. It’s a matter of time until you snap. Once you do, all rational thought will leave your brain.”

“How did I first meet your sister?” She reminded him of his own ability to lose reason.

“That was different.”

“Uh-huh. You kidnapped me. You kidnapped me and hauled my butt – in an ugly old El Camino no less – to a Motel 6 in the middle of nowhere so I could meet your sister. You’re lucky I didn’t press charges, and you know it.”

“I knew you wanted me too badly to press charges.” His mood lightened briefly. “And I’d tried to convince you to leave the story alone. You’re like a dog with a bone when you smell a good story.”

“You’re so humble and flattering. I love that about you.”

He lifted her onto the countertop, leaning down to kiss each cheek before brushing his lips against hers. “You’re right. It was a stupid gamble, and I could have ended up in jail. But it’s not the same.”

“The premise is, and you know it,” she countered, not willing to succumb to his diversionary tactics.

He straightened and looked her dead in the eye, all hint of
romance
or teasing aside. “If you veer off plan, if you put yourself in their
sights, they will torture you in ways you can’t begin to imagine.”

“You didn’t see them torturing people, did you?” Rachel
couldn’t help asking.

“I heard stories, always after the fact. Mostly rumblings at first. I didn’t realize how bad it was until this year.”

“That explains your change in mood when we met over Christmas. And then when I called in July, I knew for sure something was wrong.”

“I didn’t want you any more involved in it than you already were.”

“Do me a favor?” Rachel bit her lower lip and looked up at him with luminous eyes.

“Maybe. That look scares me.”

“Stop trying to protect me.”

He shook his head. “You know I can’t do that.”

“There has to be a happy middle ground, babe. We had that once; we used to have each other’s back. Can we go back to that?”

“I’ll try,” he promised.

“Try really hard.” This time she was the one to divert his
attention
as she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him into her embrace. Her fingers sunk greedily into his hair as her mouth claimed his.

When he at last came up for air, he rested his cheek against hers and chuckled. “If you’re trying to get your way, it might work, but you’re fighting dirty,
mon amour
.”

“Maybe I am a little, but I mostly just wanted to do that.”

“Good, because I’ve wanted to do this for a while now.” He took her head in his hands and kissed her. His touch was languid and seductive. She melted into him.

Rachel couldn’t say how long they were wrapped around each other in the kitchen, how many kisses they shared, or how many
words of love passed between them before he carried her to their bed. She only knew, as she lay in his arms in the moonlight, that she couldn’t keep the longings of her heart from him.

“Conrad?” She began tentatively as she absentmindedly stroked his arm.

“What is it,
ma bichette
?”

“What would you think about, I mean when – if – everything
goes back to normal…”

“When,” he interrupted her to correct.

“Okay, when everything goes back to normal…”

“And a new normal.”

“Right, a new normal. Anyway, when things settle down and our lives aren’t in danger and all that, what do you think about having kids?”

He paused for a moment before answering cautiously. “I know you don’t want kids, and that’s okay.”

“But that’s just it, love. It kind of hit me this week. I want a baby. Well, not any baby. I’m not necessarily fond of them in general. But I want your baby.”