Missionary Position (Masters of the Prairie Winds Club Book 7) (15 page)

Fischer stepped closer to Lara, but when he noticed the look she gave him, he froze in his tracks. The light that had always been in her eyes when she’d looked at him was gone, it was if he was looking into the eyes of a stranger, someone who had far more reason to distrust him than not. Her expression was all about anger, but the emotion pulsing around her was far worse—she felt as though she’d been betrayed by the men who’d promised to protect and cherish her. He could almost hear her heart ripping apart and it was killing him to stand so far from her.

She turned back to Roberts, “I asked you why you’re here. Does this have anything to do with my parents?”

Fischer watched Eric Roberts shift from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable to have been caught standing in the apartment she shared with he and Peter. At least the ass hat had the decency to realize what a fucking hornet’s nest he’d stirred up. “Yes, it does. I’m the agent in charge of the investigation, Lara.” When she gasped, he quietly added, “I’m sorry.” And with those two words understanding washed over Lara’s face and as the truth often does—it finally broke her resolve and tears streamed down her pale cheeks.

“It was always about my parents, wasn’t it? Our meeting wasn’t coincidental. It was deliberate, and it was always about them, wasn’t it? God in heaven I was such a fool. I actually believed you liked me. Damn and double damn, no wonder you asked me a zillion questions about my childhood and all the places I’d traveled to on vacations.” She took a deep breath and then another, obviously trying to rein in her emotions before a look of defeat seemed to settle over her, and oddly enough, Fischer instinctively knew that emotion was going to be far harder to fight than her anger. “What is your real name?” When the agent didn’t answer quickly enough, she practically snarled the question again, “What is your real name? Damn it you owe me that much.”

“Eric Roberts is the name I use in the agency, for all intents and purposes it’s real.”

“Nice fucking cover, but you know what? I just don’t care anymore. You can investigate me, my parents, hell, you can investigate God himself—but you’ll do it without my help.” And then she simply turned on her heel and walked away. The sound of the bedroom door closing quietly and the soft click of the lock might as well be loud enough to register on the Richter scale for the impact it had. The entire room erupted into angry accusations as he and Peter tried to bring Micah and Kent up to speed.

While they’d been explaining the story to their friends, Fischer watched at Roberts hung his head after Lara had walked away. When he finally looked up, regret was the only thing Fischer could see in the other man’s eyes and for just a minute he wondered if perhaps Lara had meant more to him than he’d intended her to.
Well, Mr. Super-Agent, you’ve not only screwed yourself out of the most amazing woman I’ve ever known—but I’m not sure you haven’t managed to take my brother and I down with you.

Fischer started to follow Lara, but Peter stopped him, “Give her a little bit of time, brother. She’ll come around. We’ll just explain that we didn’t know Simon Ericson and Eric Roberts were the same person.” Peter might be older and he might have traveled the world during his years in the military, but there were times when Fischer wondered how he could be so damned naïve.

‘
I don’t agree, but I want to hear what this prick has to say for himself so I’ll wait a few minutes. But I don’t think we should leave her alone too long. She’s convinced every one of us has sold her out and I don’t want her believing that bullshit any longer than she has to.’

It took the better part of an hour to get the story sorted out and by the time they were finished, Fischer was torn between wanting to strangle Simon Ericson for what he’d done to Lara’s self-esteem and sympathy for Eric Roberts because it was obvious the man had developed feelings for the young woman who had started out as an assignment. Even sitting across the room from the agent, he was easy to read.
‘He knew he’d never have a chance with her after he’d deceived her for so long. If we weren’t talking about the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, I might actually feel sorry for the bastard.’

Peter had simply nodded in agreement before turning his attention to Kent who had answered his phone and immediately stiffened. “Where is she now?” All conversation had ceased and every eye in the room was on Kent West who was obviously annoyed. “Goddamn woman, what the hell is she thinking?” Fischer was only getting brief pieces from Kent, but he’d gotten enough to know Lara had somehow managed to make it out of the penthouse without being seen. He pulled out his phone and called the one man who would know how their pissed off woman had managed to give them all the slip.

After speaking with Cam, Fischer listened as Kent recounted his conversation with Taz. “Seems your lovely sub found a way out of the penthouse without being seen. Taz was coming back from the coffee shop down the street when he saw her slip out the service entrance. He wouldn’t have seen her in the dark alley, but all that lovely blond hair gave her away.” Fischer knew Kent was enjoying the fact Lara had thought to dress in dark clothing, but had overlooked the lovely beacon she wore atop her head. “Sorry, but I’ve seen Tobi make that same mistake more times than I can tell you. She is convinced Kyle and I have night vision, but she never thinks about the fact her hair picks up the dimmest light and magnifies it with every strand. God help us if either of them ever figures it out, and I’d suggest you not mention how he made her.”

Fischer knew his friend was trying to lighten the mood because he’d no doubt seen the look on Peter’s face. Damn, Fischer wasn’t sure he’d ever seen his brother as angry as he was right now. But, what Kent didn’t realize was that Peter was angry with himself and with Agent Roberts—the person Kent was trying to shelter from the storm was the only one Peter wasn’t angry with.

Micah had been leaning against the mantle over the fireplace watching everything play out around him, but he’d kept the majority of his focus on Eric Roberts. He might not be an empath like the Weston brothers, but it didn’t require any special skills to see the man had a serious hard-on for Lara Emmons. He listened as Kent talked to Taz—he didn’t need to bother—Micah knew exactly where she was headed, because he’d done his homework. Lara Emmons only had one friend that wasn’t associated with the club and he’d read enough of her profile to know she was a submissive to the bone. Every natural sub had a soul that found comfort and pleasure in helping others, so when she was hurting it only made sense that she’d cope by helping someone else.

“Tell Taz if he loses her, to go to the ‘Just Like Home Nursing Home’ east off The Beltway in Deer Park. She’ll be visiting Pearl Betts in room two zero six.” Kent simply shook his head and smiled as he relayed the information to Taz. Fischer and Peter were staring at him with a mixture of gratitude and fury, but he’d bet the anger was because they hadn’t spent enough time getting to know their woman to know about her elderly friend. But it was Eric Roberts’ reaction that was troubling.

Roberts hadn’t been surprised and Micah knew the other man well enough to know he’d have left no stone unturned when he’d investigated Lara. But his gut was telling him there was more to it—the man had fallen for the woman he was supposed to view as a suspect and even though Micah didn’t believe she was involved in whatever her parents were in to, Roberts didn’t have the luxury of giving her the benefit of the doubt. If he was compromised then his decisions all came into question and he’d likely run the risk of being replaced. It was the last issue that bothered Micah the most, simply because it was better to deal with the devil you knew than one you didn’t have any experience handling.

Lara knew almost as soon as she stepped out of the building she’d been seen. The years she’d spent in survival mode had finely tuned her sense of self-preservation, so when the fine hairs along the back of her neck stood up, she knew to pay attention.
Damn, she’d been so careful and then to be busted by a giant with coffee.
Hell, she could smell the cups of coffee he was carrying and if she wasn’t convinced he’d follow her anyway she’d take the small tray and tell him to get lost.

The drive to the nursing home hadn’t given her any opportunities to lose the man following her, although she hadn’t tried too hard because she’d decided all things considered, having a bodyguard probably wasn’t all bad. He’d sat across the street and watched when she’d stopped at a nearby convenience store to pick up a few of Miss Pearl’s favorite treats and then he’d parked a few cars away in the nursing home’s large lot. She’d felt him watching as she’d made her way inside, but as soon as she walked in to her elderly friend’s room Lara pushed aside everything else and focused on the sweet woman sitting quietly watching her tiny television.

“Hi, Miss Pearl, how are you doing?” Lara plastered on a smile that she hoped would fool the woman who had lived in the same apartment building where Lara had lived before she’d moved into the Barnes’ luxurious penthouse. Miss Pearl’s daughter had moved her to the nursing home not long after and then promptly forgotten about her. Miss Pearl’s daughter was a selfish twit who pushed her mother to the back burner until she needed money, and then she didn’t care if her mom skipped meals for a month or two because she’d generously handed over her social security check. Lara had made fast friends with the sweet older woman who lived across the hall and even though she didn’t get to see her daily anymore, she still came by as often as she could. Pulling over the small stool the staff kept for her visits, Lara sat down and handed Miss Pearl the small bag of her favorite candies.

“Lara? It’s so late, what are you doing out and about in the city at this hour, my dear?” Lately each visit with Miss Pearl had seemed more important because the older woman was becoming alarmingly frail. The facility provided the best care they could with the money they had, but there wasn’t anything of interest for the residents to do with their time. Lara often wondered how many of them simply withered away and died of boredom. She spent the next hour telling the older woman about her scare with the shrimp—leaving out many of the details of the dinner. Miss Pearl knew Lara worked at Dark Desires, but they’d never discussed any of the details of her personal participation. Her older friend might be incredibly open-minded, but Lara didn’t think she was quite ready to hear all the intimate details of her ménage lifestyle.

“Were you having dinner with those two hotties of yours? Good Lord, but I’d like to get a look at them—it’s just not the same seeing men on this little television.” Lara laughed out loud, maybe she needed to bring Miss Pearl to one of the club’s Meet and Greet events, there were actually a couple of widowed men her age who attended each month’s get-together. “But I don’t think your visit to the emergency room is what’s sent you to see an old woman in the middle of the night, is it?” When the older woman’s wrinkled hand grasp her own much smoother one—and it was that casual gesture of love and support that was Lara’s undoing.

Grabbing a small bottle of lotion, Lara gently massaged Miss Pearl’s dry hands and let her tears fall as she told her friend about seeing Simon again and the betrayal she’d felt when she’d discovered he’d never really been interested in her and that everyone around her seemed to already know the man. As the story poured out and Lara answered Miss Pearl’s occasional question, she had to admit the men had all seemed surprised she’d known Simon, but they certainly didn’t act as though he was a stranger and she’d needed to put space between herself and the whole mess so she could think clearly. God she was grateful CeCe had told her about the Panic Room and the hidden exit in the master suite. Lara was surprised they’d left her in the room alone long enough for her to utilize the safety feature Cameron Barnes had installed in his home.