Scandal Never Sleeps (42 page)

They had come to a turning point. He loved his brother. They were a family, but the woman he loved came first.

As he ran down the corridor with her, it struck him firmly that the world had changed. He had to put her before all others. They were going to get married and have kids, and he still loved those friends
who had been his whole world, but they would forever take second place to her. His childhood, that grand, carefree time when he could be selfish and the world had been his oyster, was over. He served her now. He would be her husband, and that came with other terms—lover, friend, protector.

He ached at leaving Dax, but Gabe would come back for him after he made sure she was safe. Dax was smart and had training. He wouldn’t go down easy. Neither would Everly, he knew. But Gabe simply refused to risk her.

They ran toward her office, his feet pounding against the carpet.

He gripped her hand, threading his fingers through hers so he couldn’t lose her. God, he couldn’t lose her. Just a few more moments and he could lock her in and she would be safe.

A large man rounded the corner, and there was no way to miss the gun in his hand. Gabe stopped, almost falling back. He heard Everly’s gasp and felt her stumble against him.

Too little. Too late. He’d been too late. He tried to turn, to run the other way.

Scott was standing at the other end of the hallway.

Gabe shoved Everly behind him, putting her back to the wall, but they were caught.

“Your friend is dead, asshole. You’re on your own.” Scott walked with a pronounced limp.

Everly gasped, and Gabe’s heart sank. Dax couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t.

Scott kept his aim up but nodded to the new guy. “Where are Niles and my uncle?”

The big guy replied in Russian, but Gabe would bet anything that he was saying he wasn’t sure.

Where the hell were Connor and the police? He knew there was no way he could hear the sirens from here, but he kept waiting and praying for those elevator doors to open and the office to be filled with New York’s finest, screaming for everyone to get to the floor.

Dax couldn’t be dead. He was just shot and pretending. That must be it. They would take him to the hospital and tonight would eventually all become a rousing story they would tell later.

Damn it. None of this was supposed to happen. They were supposed to be friends all their lives. All their
long
lives. They weren’t supposed to lose each other in their prime.

Everly squeezed him tight, as though she could feel his pain and tried to take some of it. “It’s going to be all right.”

“You take Bond. I’ll take the girl,” Scott said. “If she tries anything, kill him.”

“I love you,” she whispered as they were pulled apart.

He watched as Scott placed the gun to her head. So precious. She was precious to him and that fucker was treating her like she was an expendable pawn.

“Now we’re going to get that hard drive. Then we’re all going to take a little trip,” Scott said.

“Who is Sergei?” Even as he felt the gun pressed to his temple, he remembered that Mad had mentioned he needed to find a man named Sergei. Was he the Russian boss? Was this Sergei the one pulling the strings?

Scott stopped, fear lighting his features. “How do you know that name? Who the fuck told you that name?”

“I don’t know, but I think it’s time we found out, don’t you?” a familiar voice asked.

Connor was here. Gabe sighed with relief.

The big Russian walked into the hallway, his body stiff. Connor forced Scott’s uncle into the room, pointing a gun at the back of his head and using his big body as a shield.

“All right, little boy, I’ve taken out your muscle and now I’m going to kill this fucker if you don’t let my friends go,” Connor growled.

“I don’t think so,” Scott said. “I don’t believe you killed them.”

“Believe it,” the Russian managed between pursed lips. “I saw the bodies. He killed them all with his bare hands. He is animal.”

Scott paled, but didn’t relinquish his grip. “You have no idea what you’re getting into.”

“This is Yuri Golchenko,” Connor said, moving them farther into the room. “He’s a lieutenant with a Moscow syndicate, headed by a man named Ivan Krylov. You’re looking for the diary of Natalia Kuilikov, who took care of the president of the United States from the time he was born until he was seven years old. You think there’s something in the diary you can use against him. I’m going to give you one chance to save yourselves. Drop your weapons and walk out, and I’ll give you a head start. You might have a day or two before I find you again.”

Scott shook his head. “I’m going to kill her if you don’t let my uncle go.”

“Do it,” Connor said. “Now that I know where the diary is, she’s meaningless. You kill her. I kill your uncle. Hell, kill Bond, too. I can still take the two of you out and leave here with the prize.”

“Connor?” Gabe stared at his old friend in perfect horror. He couldn’t have meant that.

“Gabe, it’s a job, and you know damn well that my job is more important than anything. I told you before, I don’t feel much. But I will have that information and I will find Sergei.” Connor’s stony face stared back at him. “It’s like when we played lacrosse, buddy. I got the job done. You were only there to make sure I got to score. Life isn’t any different than that game against Whittington.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.
Gabe had mostly sat on the bench while Connor and Roman had been the stars of the team, but during their senior year, they’d played a game against Whittington Prep. All Gabe had to do was distract the defender long enough for Connor to score.

Connor needed a distraction. When he got out of this, Gabe swore he would never think his cushy job was boring again.

“You’re a son of a bitch. You were always a selfish player.” He nodded at Connor, then went for it. He dropped straight to the floor. His body hit with a hard thud, pain flaring through his system. He heard Everly’s shout, then the ping of a silencer going off.

And he felt the man who had been holding him fall to the floor. Connor wouldn’t have missed. He wouldn’t have simply injured the man. The dude was dead the moment after Connor’s bullet had left the chamber.

“Get his gun, Gabe,” Connor ordered.

“Don’t you fucking move off that floor or I will kill her.” For the first time, Scott sounded a little panicked. Not a good thing. He could freak out and pull that trigger. Then nothing would matter.

“He won’t kill her because he still thinks he can win and he’s right.” Connor’s voice was as smooth as any conman’s. “You’ve made a study of Maddox Crawford, Scott. That means you know his friends. You knew I was lying about killing Gabe, but you also know I don’t give a shit about some bimbo he’s been banging. I want to cut a deal.”

Gabe got to his knees, picking up the gun that had fallen. He had to pray Everly didn’t believe a word coming out of Connor’s mouth. Connor wouldn’t hurt her. Gabe trusted him with his life and he had to trust him with hers.

Just for insurance, he gripped the gun and trained it on Scott.

“Take the girl. I’ll take your dear uncle here, and when you have the information you need, we’ll make a trade. I’ll give you your uncle and the diary in exchange for the man who’s been feeding the girl information. We both walk away,” Connor explained.

“You give him nothing, nephew. You know what is at stake. You know what they will do,” Yuri Golchenko said in his thick accent. “I am no fool. This man is CIA. If he discovers—”

A loud bang cracked through the air and a dot of red appeared on the front of Golchenko’s white shirt. Blood bloomed as Scott’s shot hit him, and Connor couldn’t hold the Russian up. He let the man fall.

“Put the fucking gun down,” Connor yelled as Scott shoved Everly away.

Gabe caught her before she fell to the floor, and he covered her with his body.

“You want to know who Sergei is?” Scott asked with a fervent light in his eyes. “He’s closer than you think.”

“Put the gun down now.” Connor stepped toward him.

“No, and you can’t make me talk.” Scott took all the choices out of their hands as he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

Everly shrieked. Connor cursed, and Gabe finally got a really good look at his friend. His previously pristine clothes were covered in blood and he wore the most ferocious look on his face as he pulled out his cell phone. It looked like Connor had taken out more than the Russians. He’d taken out the cell jammer as well.

“This is Sparks. I need a cleaning crew at the Crawford building in Manhattan. Nine bags. Yeah, I’ve got five who will need cover stories. No. I’m alone.” He shoved the phone back into his pocket and raised his gaze. “I just lied to the CIA. I need you to get Everly and Dax and that damn SD card out of here.”

“Dax is alive?” Hope sprung inside him.

Connor nodded. “He’s got a bullet in his side, but he’s alive. Get him to the hospital and tell them it was an attempted carjacking. You were not here. Go. Quickly.”

“We need to call an ambulance.” Gabe got to his feet and helped Everly up, pulling her into the circle of his arms. She was here and she was alive. He held her for a moment.

“I can’t have anyone find you here,” Connor insisted.

“Gabe, we have to go.” Everly pulled away. “Baby, we have to get Dax to the hospital. Connor, I can erase the cameras for the whole building from my system. It won’t take me long. I used my keycard to get in.”

“The Russians stole your card,” Connor replied. “And I stole Gabe’s.”

Everly dashed to her office.

“What the hell is going on, man?” Gabe stared at Connor, not certain he recognized his old friend. “Dax needs medical attention and he needs it now. You have to call an ambulance and the cops.”

Before Connor had a chance to say anything, Dax stumbled into the hallway, a small towel over his left side. “I swear, if he ever says he’s an analyst again, I’m going to beat the shit out of him. After I get some surgery. A little help, buddy? Damn, that’s a lot of bodies. I was freaking safer in the Middle East.”

Gabe got there just as Dax started to fall. He caught his friend. “I can’t thank you enough.”

Dax grinned as he leaned heavily on Gabe. “Sure you can. You give me some of that Scotch and get me to a hospital. No cops. We can’t, Gabe.”

They damn straight could, but it looked like even Everly was against him.

“I’ve got the SD card,” Everly said. She was also holding a laptop. “Oh, poor Dax.”

“Hey, have you got a sister, sweetheart?” Dax asked, his voice slightly slurred.

Only Dax could be bleeding out and trying to find a date.

They made it to the elevators and when he looked back, Connor was surrounded by bodies, covered in blood, and utterly alone. A sliver of unease passed through him.

As the doors closed, Everly touched his shoulder and smiled. Gabe smiled back. He’d worry about Connor later. He had to focus on her now.

He looked down at the small SD card in her hand. “It’s not over.”

When she noticed Dax leaning against the wall, she offered her help as well. Together, they managed to keep him upright. “Nope. But we’ll be okay because we’re in this together, Gabriel Bond. You and me.”

Something settled deep inside him, something he hadn’t even known had been out of place. “Yes, baby. You and me.”

E
verly walked into the room, excitement bubbling up. She’d done it. Her father would have been proud. It was time to let her new family know how smart she was. Considering her new family included a CIA agent and the leader of the free world, she had to make a place for herself somehow.

She walked to the door of the guest suite and stopped. A seriously large man in a dark suit and sunglasses stood, standing guard. A couple more lurked outside the front door, along with two more in the kitchen.

She liked Zack, but she was kind of ready to have the place to herself.

And her fiancé.

“Hi, Thomas. Can I sneak past you?”

The big dude stared at her. “No.”

He was also very literal. “I need to see my fiancé. May I be allowed into a room in my own house?”

Thomas finally cracked a smile. “Of course.”

She started to open the door. “Do you have a name besides Thomas?”

“No.”

She would figure it out in the end. Just like she’d figured out the why of Maddox’s mysterious death . . . although that seemed to have led to another mystery.

Gabriel smiled as she walked into the guest suite. “Hey, baby.” He’d been sitting beside the bed, but he sprang up and crossed the space between them quickly. Whenever she walked into a room, her handsome man made sure she couldn’t doubt his affection. He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers. “Has your hard work paid off?”

Dax sat up with only the smallest of groans. “Did you actually manage it?”

“Of course she did.” The president of the United States sat across from Dax, a chessboard between them. Despite the fact that Dax still had an IV in his arm, he was sipping on that damn Scotch they all seemed to love so much.

“Maybe we should call Connor,” Roman suggested, staring out the window at the street below.

Connor had been to see Dax at the hospital, but he’d slipped in and out without saying much to the rest of them.

“He didn’t even bother to call the police when I asked him to.” Gabriel was still a little mad.

“No, he managed to get his ass up forty flights of stairs and take out all the bad guys singlehandedly without making a sound.” Dax hadn’t stopped defending his best friend.

“You could have died,” Gabriel shot back. “And so could we. Did he think about what could have happened if he failed?”

“Connor doesn’t fail,” Zack said quietly. “And if you’re going to be angry with someone, Gabe, be mad at me.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I didn’t say I wasn’t.”

She was willing to cut Connor and Zack some slack. Connor had a job to do and he’d been forced to choose between doing it and saving
his friends. There was more at stake here than any of them really understood. “He chose us, you know.”

Suddenly, all four pairs of intelligent eyes focused on her.

“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked.

She’d thought about this a lot in the week since that terrible night. Gabriel had been so angry that Connor had kept the cops out of it. He’d played his part and told the police that Dax had been shot in an attempted carjacking and they’d been so close to the hospital, it had been faster to deliver him there. But he’d silently fumed for days. She had to mend those fences because she intended for everyone to be at her wedding.

“If he’d called the cops, they would have taken the SD card. They would have asked a whole bunch of questions none of us are ready to answer. You do realize what his best play would have been?”

Gabriel shook his head.

Roman frowned. “He would never have done that.”

She’d talked this scenario through with Roman the night before as they’d moved Dax into his current room. “If he’d been playing this like a pure agent, he would have. Gabriel, he needs to know why the Russians are so interested in Natalia and he needs to know who Deep Throat is. It’s obvious the president is at risk. He gave up answers to both when he chose to save us. His best play would have been to let them take me. He could have easily followed us. Hell, I still had my cell phone on me. He could have tracked us and then planted a couple of bugs and the Russians would never have known someone was spying on them. He would have had his answers, but he chose to save you, me, and Dax.”

“And do you understand that the press would have been all over us?” Roman asked. “As it is, there’s still a scandal.”

Connor had come up with a cover story for the deaths of Tavia and Scott. He used the skimming and Tavia’s cocaine problem to pin her death, along with the security guards and the janitor, on a drug deal gone wrong. Scott, in Connor’s story, had been unlucky enough to be
with her when the dealer came for his cash. Apparently the CIA’s cleaning crew also knew how to dummy up a crime scene. Yuri and his henchmen had simply vanished.

“And he promised me that the Agency would do what they can to find the missing girls, and he’s already brought one home,” Everly added. She’d been talking to Connor via e-mail, but she hadn’t gotten him to come to dinner. She’d invited him to drinks this afternoon, and this time, she’d had something to hold over his head, though he still hadn’t shown up.

“We’ll find the others, too. I promise. We’ll work until we find them all. Connor is already looking through the foundation records to locate them.” Zack looked at Gabriel. “Come on. He basically committed career suicide. If anyone finds out he lied about what happened . . .”

“And in his line of work, career suicide can become real suicide,” Roman admitted. “Well, really well faked suicide to take the place of assassination.”

Gabriel seemed to go a little pale. “Fine. Let’s not talk about more people dying. When Connor shows up, I’ll be civil.”

“I’ll hold you to that, brother.” Connor slipped into the room. He stood there as though utterly unsure of his welcome. It was the only time she’d ever seen him looking vulnerable, but in that moment, she had to wonder what it had been like for him to be the scholarship kid, the only one without money among the incredibly wealthy.

He’d come. She couldn’t help but smile. She’d known he couldn’t resist finding out what was really on that SD card. She walked right up to him and gave him a hug.

Connor stood there for a moment. “I am unsure how to handle this.”

Gabriel finally laughed. “Give in. She wants you in the family, and Everly gets what she wants.”

Dax smiled brightly. “My man. It is good to see you.”

Slowly, Connor hugged her back.

After a moment, she stepped away, and some of the tension had left
the room. She hated the fact that she was about to amp it up again. “I decoded the diary.”

She’d discovered that the diary had been written in code and in Russian code at that. When she’d pieced together all the information, she’d found a single item—a handwritten book that had been scanned in. She’d worked for a full week to decode the thing, then given it to a confidential Russian translator.

“I’m sending you all a copy of the translation. The diary begins almost a year into her tenure with the Hayes family. She talks about being happy and how much she loves Zack.” The next part was the one she didn’t want to get into. She wished she could leave it there.

“And?” Zack had one eyebrow raised as though he knew what was coming.

“She mentions at one point how scared she was when the head of her school had come to her and told her she was being placed. She talks about a mistake she’d made, some sort of shame she brought on the school. Apparently the headmistress told her that by working for the ambassador, she could make everything right again. It’s a little cryptic but she writes about work being the only way she could protect something we can’t quite decipher. The translator thinks she’s talking about protecting her own life. I think someone threatened her.”

“Shit,” Roman said, his head shaking. “Her school? Tell me it wasn’t a foundation school.”

“I can’t.” That was where the real scandal began. It all went back to that day when a poor Russian girl had been told it was time for her to work.

“Damn. Zack, you were raised by a girl who had been trafficked,” Dax said, his voice hoarse.

“The question is, did your parents know?” Gabriel asked.

“I wouldn’t put it past them. So this was all about embarrassing me?” Zack questioned tightly. “Is this about the next election cycle?”

“I intend to find out,” Connor replied with grim resignation. “I think Natalia is alive.”

That stopped the room.

“Is she in Russia?” Roman asked.

Connor shook his head. “She came to the States fifteen years ago on a Visa and disappeared. I think she’s still here and I think Lara Armstrong knows where to find her. I’m going to figure this out, Zack. I’m not going to let her be used to bring you down.”

Connor sat with Zack, Dax, and Roman. They started to plan.

Which was Everly’s cue to leave.

She’d made it to the door when Gabriel caught up with her.

“Hey, you don’t leave without a kiss,” he said, brushing his mouth against hers. “You don’t have to leave at all. You have a stake in this, baby.”

But some things were meant for the boys. She’d done her part and was happy to put her mind to other things.

She twisted the big engagement ring on her finger. “Nope. Your sister should be here any minute and we’re going over arrangements for the engagement party. Hint, I hope you like Asian because Sara’s got some crazy cravings going on.”

He stared down at her. “I love you.”

She didn’t hesitate anymore. He was her guy. “I love you, too.”

Everly stepped out because sometimes the Perfect Gentlemen needed a little time together.

•   •   •

D
eep in the night, Connor Sparks sat in front of his computer, his head buzzing.

He’d almost lost them all. That night haunted his dreams. When he did manage to sleep, he kept seeing Dax dead on the floor, Gabe and Everly riddled with bullet holes.

He hated this. He needed to pull away from them all.

It had been right there, the impulse to let the Russians take Everly so he could follow them and play the game he’d been born to play.

If his superiors ever figured out what he’d done, he would likely
find himself in a cell somewhere. He would definitely find himself burned, disavowed, and all the other things that happened to an agent who chose his friends over his country.

They made him feel. Dax, Gabe, Roman, and Zack. They were the only ones left who could.

He kept a grainy old picture of the six of them on his desk. He settled in, poured himself a shot of bourbon, and studied it for a moment. Six kids, five of whom hadn’t figured out how shitty the world could be yet. For a long time, it had been Connor’s job to keep it that way.

Just like it had been his job to make sure Gabe Bond got to keep the woman he loved.

“Fuck you, Mad.” There it was, that wellspring of hated grief that seemed so close to the surface these days. He drank the amber liquid down. “You weren’t supposed to die. I was supposed to go first.”

He’d always thought he’d die in some stinking hellhole, and the five of them would be left wondering what had happened.

Surviving was worse than dying. But then he’d figured that out a long time ago.

His computer beeped and he turned with a sigh.

Skype. His heart rate ticked up in an oddly pleasant way because only one person instant messaged him at that particular address. Niall Smith had one friend in the world, though if she looked him up online, she would find a diverse selection of leftie friends on his completely fake Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. Of course she would also see a picture of some intern at the Agency they’d used to set up Niall Smith’s life so Lara Armstrong wouldn’t question him when he wrote to her.

Niall? Niall, are you there?

Her picture popped up beside the words. There she was. Cute, sweet little thing with dark hair and blue pixie eyes. A little rich girl who thought she could change the world through tabloid reporting. Oh, he knew how she justified it. She’d told him she used the scandalous
headlines to bring in readers and then hit them with real stories, but he knew the truth. She was a spoiled rich princess with daddy issues. So why did he get hard every time he saw her picture?

Yeah, he needed to get laid.

I’m here. What’s up, sweetness?

He wasn’t sure why he’d started calling her that, but it was all part of his cover, right? Lara Armstrong had something to do with Deep Throat, and he was going to find out what. She might know where to find Natalia Kuilikov. If she did, he would find out. He would protect his friends and his country. If he got a little blood on his hands, that was all right, too.

Niall, I’m scared. I’ve gotten involved in something and I think someone is trying to kill me.

A slow smile crossed Connor’s lips. Now he had her.
Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you, sweetness. Tell me everything.

He sat back and let the game begin.