Edge of Betrayal (22 page)

“You talked to Payton? He said he was going to let me tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

She shifted her position so that there was a solid length of kitchen countertop between them. “I volunteered to help.”

The words all made sense, but he still could find no meaning in them. “Help who?”

“You guys.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Stynger wants me.”

“Which is why you can’t go running off alone whenever you feel like it.”

She ignored his scolding. “Sage wants what Stynger wants.”

“So? That just means that there are two bad guys out there who are after you. All the more reason to
stay the hell home
.”

Her voice was calm, but small. “This isn’t my home.”

He wanted it to be. That thought hit him upside the head, rocking him down to his boots. It took him a
second before he gathered himself enough to form a coherent sentence. “It’s your home for as long as you need it.”

She glanced down at his crappy vinyl flooring. He could afford better, but it had just never mattered to him. Taking care of his mom had always been his top priority.

Her
floor was nice. That had to count for something.

The urge to take Sophie to see his mom flared to life. Maybe if she saw how he took care of his family, she wouldn’t be so quick to take off whenever she felt like it. Maybe if she knew that his priorities were straight, she could trust him.

He really wanted her to trust him and see him as a good provider. Why, he wasn’t sure, but the desire was there, so big it distracted him from moving on with any other thought but how he could get Sophie out to his mom’s place.

Sophie and his mom would love each other. He was sure of it. Just thinking about it made some of his anger start to dissolve.

“Thank you,” said Sophie. “That’s really sweet. But I need to do this.”

“Do what?”

“You and Payton talked about needing bait to drive Sage to his lab.”

He stared at her, unable to fathom what she could possibly mean.

She lifted her gaze to his, and her green eyes were bright with determination. “I’m that bait.”

It took him a second for the words to sink in. He simply couldn’t put them in any kind of context that made sense. She wasn’t talking about fishing. She was talking about Sage. And his labs. There was no possible world in which her life would intersect any of that.

Unless she actually thought she was going to put her life in danger.

He rounded the counter and took her by the arms.
Understanding was setting in now, and while he could not even imagine a scenario where he would let her risk herself, she apparently thought it was an option.

“You think you’re going to put yourself in harm’s way so that Sage will abduct you and take you to his labs?”

“I don’t think I am,” she said. “I am.”

“No fucking way.” He normally would have never used that kind of language in front of a lady, but she had to understand how serious this was.

“You don’t make decisions for me, Riley.”

“But Payton does?”

“This wasn’t his decision. It was mine. I went to him of my own free will and offered to help.”

“Tell me he turned you down.”

“He realized that it was the best way. The only way.”

“No. There’ve got to be other options.”

“Name one.”

“Easy. We wait until someone more suitable comes along to be our bait.”

“Who? And how long will that take?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me. I need this to be over, and the only way that can happen is if Sage is dead and his work dies with him.”

“Stynger was the one who sent goons after you.”

“Yes. And she’ll be next.”

“So—what? You’re just going to dangle yourself out there until someone takes a big ol’ bite out of you?”

“It wasn’t
my
plan to use bait. And I didn’t hear you arguing about whether or not it would work when you were on the phone with Payton.”

“Your hearing is way too good for my peace of mind.”

She pulled in a long breath. He did his best not to notice how it thrust her breasts out at him, like a soft, curvy invitation to touch. “This isn’t about you, Riley. I need to feel safe.”

He needed that, too, but even more, he needed to be the one who made her feel that way. “Then stay with me. Move in. I’ll make sure no one hurts you.”

“You know that won’t work. Eventually, the bad guys will find me here, and then you won’t be safe, either. We have to take them out.”

“You’re not trained for this kind of job.”

“I survived having a miscarriage in the Colombian jungle while dodging bullets and running from madmen. I’m not exactly fragile.”

“But I was there to keep you safe. If Sage takes you, I can’t come along.”

“But you won’t be far behind. Will you?” Her shoulders curved inward, making her look vulnerable and fragile.

He couldn’t stand this. He had to make her see reason. “I’d never leave you when you needed me. But please. Don’t terrify me like this.”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll be fine. And if I’m not, it’s okay. No hard feelings.”

He nearly sputtered in outrage. “
No hard feelings?
What the hell does that mean?”

“You don’t have to understand it. All you have to do is accept it.”

Time to pull out the big guns. “I forbid you from doing this.”

She smiled and patted his cheek. “You’re sweet. But you’re not my husband, and even if you were, you still wouldn’t get to forbid me from doing anything.”

“I could tie you to my bed and convince you to stay.”

Her eyes darkened at that. “Nice try, but you already told me you’re abstinent.”

“What if I change my mind?”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I want you, but not like that.” Her hand covered his heart. “I’m doing this, Riley. You can come along and help, or stay back and worry. Your choice.”

“Oh, I’m going to help, but I’m still going to worry like hell.”

“Like I said, you’re sweet.” She covered his mouth, giving him a slow, leisurely kiss. By the time she lifted her head, he was panting against the need to pin her to the wall and fuck her.

Abstinence sucked.

It seemed to take her just as long as him to gather her wits. She clung to him, her body shaking. Or maybe it was his. He had no idea anymore. All he knew was that this woman went to his head and did crazy things to it.

“Let’s forget all of this,” he said. “Leave the danger behind. Fly to Aruba or something.”

“What about all the people here you love? Your coworkers, your mom?”

He hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I’ll figure it out.”

“And what will we do with ourselves? Lounge around all day, not having sex?”

“No, we’d get married. And have lots of sex.”

“We have to get married to have sex?”

He gave a stiff nod. “Yeah. We do.”

“Why?”

“I was always the responsible one. Followed the rules. Tried to do the right thing. Always respected women. Then I met Lucille. She didn’t want anything serious, just a one-night stand. I’d never done that before, and I thought,
Why the hell not?
Everyone does it.” He took a deep breath. Then another. “I accidentally got her pregnant. We were careful. Used condoms. But one broke. I had to take off for an overseas assignment before I knew about the baby. She’d thought I’d abandoned her, because I didn’t call back for weeks. She didn’t see herself being a single mom.”

“She got an abortion,” Sophie guessed.

“Yeah. I didn’t even have a chance to talk to her about it, and even if I had, it wouldn’t have mattered. She wouldn’t have changed her mind. She did what she thought was right. I don’t hold it against her—I know
she was scared and freaked-out—but I won’t let it happen again. As a man, the only control I have is to keep my dick in my pants, so that’s what I’ll do. Until I marry.”

“So you think you can control a woman if she’s your wife?”

He snorted. “Hell no. I could never marry a woman who was that spineless. But any woman I’d want to marry would be ready for kids, just in case one came along by accident.”

Her expression softened. “You think I’m that kind of woman? You don’t even know me.”

“Bullshit. I saw the love you had for the baby you lost. I’ve seen you in the worst possible situations. That’s the kind of thing that strips away all the masks and glitter, leaving behind only what’s real. I’ve seen you like that—the real you—and let me tell you, Sophie Devane, I loved what I saw.”

Did he just use the L-word? The look on her face said he had.

Funny thing was, he actually meant it.

Suspicion crept in around the edges, hardening the sweet curve of her mouth. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do. Marry me. Run away with me. We’ll leave right now and hit Vegas on our way out of the country.”

She started shaking again, and this time he was certain it wasn’t just him. “You’re a responsible man. If you drop everything and run away, you’re going to end up resenting me.”

She hadn’t said no. That was the only part of her response that really registered in his mind. He’d asked her to marry him and she hadn’t said no.

Then again, she hadn’t said yes, either.

“Let’s go,” he urged. “My bag is already packed. We’ll buy you whatever you need along the way.”

Her lip trembled. The longer she didn’t say no, the more he wanted her to say yes.

After what felt like forever, she finally said, “You need time to think about what this means. If you really feel that way, then you’ll still feel that way after Sage goes down.”

Something in the general vicinity of his heart crumpled. “So that’s a no, then.”

She swallowed several times. “I won’t leave with you now. I won’t . . . marry you now. But once we finish this job, you should ask me again. If you still think you should.”

He wasn’t sure he’d have the guts. Her rejection had hurt too much for him to volunteer to get stomped on again.

“You’re right,” he said, pretending that his heart was still intact. “This was all too soon. I was just trying to save you from making a terrible mistake.”

She swallowed again and nodded slowly. “So was I.”

M
ira’s hands were shaking when she entered Payton’s office. She didn’t know if it was because of the mind-blowing orgasms Adam had given her or because she dreaded what Payton might have to say.

“We found what we needed,” said Payton the second Adam closed the door behind them.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Sophie has volunteered to force Sage to his lab.”

“She has no training,” said Adam. “We can’t send a lamb to the slaughter like that.”

“He’s right,” said Mira. “I want my dad taken down more than anyone, but not at the risk of Sophie’s life. What if we don’t track him down in time? What if he vanishes right along with her?”

“The decision is made. I’ve already put plans in motion. Gage is on his way to pick her up now.”

“Gage?” asked Adam. “I thought he was on assignment.”

“He was. Now he’s on this assignment.”

Adam shifted in an uncharacteristic show of anxiety. He almost seemed more upset about Gage’s involvement than he did Sophie’s.

Mira studied him as she asked Payton, “What’s the plan?”

“Gage will pick Sophie up at Riley’s to take her to start her new life. They’re stopping at a safe house not far out of town, where she will wait for her transport to arrive.”

“You let all the details leak,” guessed Adam.

“It’s already done. Sage’s men should be on their way.”

“What about Stynger’s men?”

“Gage will be nearby. He’ll deal with them if they show up first.”

“I need to go help him,” said Adam. “I’m his partner.”

For some reason, that comment stung a little. She’d begun to think of herself as Adam’s partner, and she didn’t like it that someone else was taking her place. Though there were certain things Adam would do with Mira that he wouldn’t do with Gage.

“You’re not his partner on this assignment. He can handle himself. I’ve made sure he’s wearing plenty of body armor and is stocked with enough weapons to hold off a small army.”

Mira tensed, picturing poor Sophie caught in the middle of a firefight. “What about Sophie?”

“She’ll be locked away in an underground safe room. Sage’s men will have to work to find her. Just so it looks authentic.”

“What can we do to help?” asked Adam.

“Sage won’t be with the team who goes after Sophie. He may or may not be headed to his lab, but I need eyes on him.”

Adam nodded. “You want me to close in?”

“Us,” said Mira.

Payton looked from her to Adam and back again. “We’re going to need her. Whatever security he may have at his lab, Mira will be able to counter it. We may not get another chance, so we can’t screw this up.” He
fixed her with a hard stare. “You’re going only to disable the security measures. If you take one step past what you absolutely must do to accomplish that, it will be the last time you ever go in the field. Understood?”

“What I understand is that Bella is the one who makes that decision. And she’s not too happy with you right now.”

“Mira,” he said in a warning tone.

She held up her hand. “No, I get it. Nerdy girl does the nerdy job and leaves the rest to the big, bad fighters. I’m fine with that, but only because I hate adrenaline rushes. It has nothing to do with you ordering me around.”

Payton looked to Adam. “Keep her out of trouble.”

Mira turned to Adam and stared at him, silently warning him to tread lightly.

He shifted his stance so that he was facing Mira, completely ignoring Payton. “I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you safe. Not because you’re weak and not because of any order. I’m doing it because you and I aren’t done. Not even close. Once this is over, I want you whole and safe so that we can continue where we left off.”

Just like that, she was thinking about the sex they’d just had. Hot, against-the-rules, on-the-desk sex. “We’re not done?” she asked, her voice a mere squeak of sound.

“Far from it. So when I tell you to duck or run or hide, know that I’m telling you that so we can keep breaking the rules.”

Payton cleared his throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, nor do I care. But I think you should go now.” He slid a piece of paper across the desk. “This is the access ID for Sage’s tracker. Don’t activate it unless you must. As long as the tracker is hidden, we have a chance at finding him.”

Mira glanced at the paper and memorized the code. “Where was he last spotted?”

“I’ll send you the coordinates while you gear up. Just don’t be long. Sophie’s life is on the clock now.”

*   *   *

Riley had asked Sophie to marry him. She still couldn’t get her head around it.

Who did that? What man in his right mind asked a woman he hardly knew to run off to Aruba with him?

And what woman in her right mind said no to an offer that good?

Sophie still couldn’t believe she’d had the strength to say no. Only the certain knowledge that he’d wake up one morning soon, resenting her for ruining his life, had kept her from saying yes.

She’d so desperately wanted to say yes.

Riley sat in the backseat, glowering. Gage drove the car, his eyes covered with shades so that she couldn’t see where he was looking or what he was thinking.

“This is idiotic,” said Riley.

“You promised,” said Gage. “No complaints.”

“You can’t tell me you think this is a good idea—taking Sophie out in the middle of nowhere and dropping her off so that she can be abducted.”

“Not my call,” said Gage.

“It’s brilliant,” said Sophie. “Out in the country there’s little risk of anyone getting hurt or calling the cops. As long as I don’t fight back, they won’t hurt me.” Much. “They want me alive, remember?”

“How will we even know which men are Stynger’s and which are Sage’s?”

The reflective lenses of Gage’s glasses lifted toward the rearview mirror. “I’ll know.”

“There’s still time to rethink this,” said Riley. “We can turn around and take you back to my place. That sounds a whole hell of a lot better, doesn’t it?”

She shifted in her seat to face him as best she could.
“I want this over as much as you do, but it’s a done deal. You said you wouldn’t make a fuss.”

“No, you said I wouldn’t make a fuss. I said I was coming with you. I never stipulated that I wouldn’t try to stop you.”

“Deal or get out,” said Gage.

Riley leaned back and crossed his arms over his powerful chest. “I’m dealing,” he told Gage. “Not well, but I’m dealing.”

They drove awhile. Riley watched her the whole time, and she couldn’t figure out why. He seemed to be studying her, or possibly looking for something he couldn’t quite find.

“What?” she finally asked him.

“Why aren’t you afraid?”

“It’s not time to be afraid yet. Once it is, I promise I’ll be all over it. But right now, in this moment, I’m safe and comfortable. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.”

Gage’s glasses flicked back to the mirror. “She’s a keeper.”

“Hands off,” said Riley. “I saw her first.”

Gage grinned and kept driving.

“You know what to do when we get there?” asked Riley.

“Yes. I go in and hide in the basement until the bad guys huff and puff and blow my door in.”

“Use your weapon to thin their numbers, but try not to kill them all.”

The idea of taking a life repelled her, but she’d do whatever it took to take Sage down. Besides, she could aim for arms and legs as well as anyone.

“Gage and I will be nearby, but not so close that you’ll be able to see us.”

But they would be there. About that, she had no doubt.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d trusted a man as much as she did Riley. Maybe she never had. She sure as hell hadn’t trusted her father. And the string of boyfriends she’d had over the years . . . she trusted them
to steal her cash while she slept, but that was about it. She’d trusted Lorenzo Soma enough to let him coax her into bed, and all that had earned her was a miscarriage that had nearly broken her heart.

“I’ll try not to look for you,” she said.

“You’re tagged with multiple tracking devices. We’ll be able to find you no matter where you go, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Gage turned onto a dirt road.

Now she was starting to get nervous.

Riley cupped her shoulder and leaned forward. His voice was quiet, and even though Gage could hear him, the words seemed to be for her ears alone. “I won’t leave you. You won’t see me, but I will be there, Sophie.”

Just like he’d been there for her before, in Colombia. She wouldn’t have lived through that night without him. He’d stayed behind with her when they’d been trapped inside the villa. He’d stayed with her when she couldn’t keep walking. Even when the bullets were flying at them and they were being hunted through the jungle—her leaving a trail of blood behind that was way too easy to follow—he hadn’t left her.

She covered his hand, soaking in the hot power of his skin against hers. “I believe you.”

Gage slowed as he pulled into a long, gravel driveway. A little house sat at the end of the drive, aged and unassuming.

“This is it,” said Riley. “From here on out, it’s just like we planned. They may be close, so watch what you say.”

“I’ll go in with her.” Riley pulled his hand away and donned a cool mask of indifference. Gone was the warmth in his eyes. She knew it was for show, but it still made her insides curl up to see it.

Gage shook his head slightly but said nothing.

“I should be the one to get her settled.”

“You’re too close.”

Sophie desperately wanted Riley to stay with her for
just a little longer, but it was more important that they did this right. “We stick with the plan.”

The car stopped. She reached for her door handle.

“No,” said Riley. “Wait for Gage to come around and get you out.”

“And then it’s just like we planned,” she repeated.

“That’s right.”

She nodded. “I go inside and wait to be taken.”