Shadow of Doubt (An SBG Novel Book 2) (19 page)

Michelle flinched.

The Senator stiffened and opened his mouth, but Romeo couldn’t let the two men go at it. His gut told him something more beyond Friday night was going on. “Anything else?”

Her hand covered her mouth again and the trembling increased. “I don’t remember.”

“Bullshit,” the Senator spat. “Why the theatrics then, if that’s all he said? From the sound of it, you’re not a naive virgin, unaware of what going to a man’s hotel room means.”

Cappy’s iron gaze shifted to the politician and every impressive muscle inflated, his fists now in tight knots.

As if sensing the impending beat down, Wraith asked, “If you didn’t hit him with the bottle, why did you run out of the room all upset?”

At her small catch, Cappy tore his gaze away from the Senator and slung an arm over Michelle’s shoulder. Her skin lightened another shade, making pasty seem tan in comparison, and said softly, “He held up a pair of handcuffs.”

A long growl emanated from Cappy’s throat.

“So?” Isis asked, crossing her arms.

Michelle hesitated, swallowing hard twice before whispering, “When I stumbled backward, he laughed and threw back the comforter, revealing the other pair already secured to the far side of the bed.”

A string of curses flew out of Cappy’s mouth as he swiped his hands over the top of his head and paced away, every muscle rippling. The absolute fury and homicidal rage pouring off the CO as he circled made Romeo’s mouth dry.

Oh man. Something major had gone down six years ago, probably in Colombia—and he was almost positive they weren’t talking stateside but the country.

Suddenly, a few more pieces fell into place. Cappy revealed his real name to the team because Michelle knew him from before SBG. He also admitted his last mission as a Green Beret was classified. His intense affinity for Michelle hadn’t happened overnight, and now this reaction to handcuffs . . . Cappy hadn’t just pedestrianly “met” her like he led everyone to believe. Romeo would bet his next paycheck the CO had rescued her from sadistic bastards when he was still in the Army.

With every fiber of his being, Romeo knew the few scars he had seen wouldn’t be the only ones she carried. He’d stake his life she was covered with them.

The woman had been cuffed and tortured and Cappy had witnessed the aftermath.

Fucking hell.

Michelle hugged herself, her shoulders slumping and her gaze unfocused on the monitor.

Magician inched closer to Romeo and Cappy rejoined the group, his jaw and eyes completely granite.

“I don’t get it,” Ted said in the silent, tense room. “If Colin had handcuffs, why is it a surprise he was found locked to the headboard?”

Michelle quivered and Cappy lasered his gaze onto Ted.

“Because,” Grady answered in his deep Carolina drawl. God bless him. Cappy was either ready to tear the genius in half with his bare hands or draw his SIG and be done with it in one shot. “They weren’t meant for him.”

A large sob racked Michelle’s body and Cappy closed his eyes, uttering a curse before curling her into his chest.

“Oh.” Ted slammed his mouth closed and his ears turned pink. He glanced at the paused computer screen then back at the group. “Then how did he end up in them?”

A sheen of moisture covered the CO’s eyes when he opened them.

Such raw emotion pouring from the normally aloof guy humbled Romeo and made his heart bleed for them. By the partial glaze, Cappy’s mental video of whatever hell he freed her from had probably pressed Play.

Romeo pulled Magician under his wing and rubbed her bicep. She stiffened at first then incrementally relaxed and shifted her weight against him. He inhaled the soft scent of cinnamon, her signature scent, but it did nothing to calm his imagination. He kept picturing Michelle handcuffed to a ratty bed, covered in blood, and surrounded by men holding various weapons, including their cocks, who were laughing and planning to do worse.
What a cluster.
He blinked the images away.

A cold chill swept over his skin, making him glance across the semi-circle to find Isis’s gaze narrowed on him. He raised an eyebrow. The last time they had an actual honest conversation—granted, copious amounts of alcohol had been involved—she’d admitted she had a thing for Talon. Something about Romeo equaling fine wine and chocolate while Talon represented whiskey and violence. Talk about a match made in hell.

Michelle’s shoulders shuddered and Magician slipped from his grasp.

A sudden emptiness tweaked his gut, but he ignored it. Within moments, Mag returned holding a roll of toilet paper. Cappy blinked a few times and Magician tore off a wad for him.

Wraith untangled herself from Grady and rallied to Michelle’s other side. She rubbed the suffering woman’s back, and that’s when Romeo got it. His two teammates had just said, without any words, they’d suspend judgment and offer their support.

Cappy’s confusion morphed into a grateful smile as he exchanged meaningful looks with both women.

The Senator shifted his feet, peering at every person in the room, silently demanding an answer. When no one said a word, he snapped, “Well? Ted’s right, how did Colin end up in the handcuffs? What’s the significance? Why the big deal over a little bit of kink?”

Warm tears soaked into his skin, making Cappy feel completely emasculated. To see this little warrior reduced to this slayed him. Damn, he longed to transfer her pain into himself, where it belonged. He should’ve been faster, known sooner, so she’d never have to relive one minute of that hell.

Michelle sniffed, cleared her throat, then pushed against his chest. He reluctantly let go and Magician thrust the roll of toilet paper toward her while Wraith patted her back. Michelle accepted the tissues with an embarrassed smile.

After wiping her face, she fiddled with the three-ply. “That
little bit of kink
is one of my worst nightmares,” she answered, her voice now gravelly. “I can’t tell you how Colin ended up in the cuffs. One second he’s sneering about how I must like to be ordered around, then the next he’s shoving me onto the bed.”

Every synapse in Cappy’s brain exploded.
Goddamn
he wished it was possible to raise the dead so he could kill the little prick himself.

Cappy unlocked his jaw and bit out, “She most likely experienced a PTSD episode. I’d guess a cross between the one you all saw by the pool and the one that gave Talon that trophy.”

As if choreographed, every head turned to the man still leaning against the wall twirling his favorite knife. Bruises blossomed spectacularly along his nose and around both eye sockets.

Menace sparkled from his frosty emerald eyes as he stared back. “That did not help your case,
Jeremy
.” Talon’s low, cold voice broke the silence.

The air froze in Cappy’s lungs. The small kernel of doubt that had been shadowing his rage since Michelle began explaining gained a stronger hold on him.
Don’t say it.

“It’s no secret I’d settle the score with any bastard who beat or hurt a woman, but in this case, I believe Michelle’s already gotten even.”

Son of a fuck, he said it.

“You think I did it?” Michelle breathed, a mixture of horror and pissed.

Talon’s gaze settled on her. “Whatever that freezing thing was by the pool in no way encompasses your range when gripped with PTSD. I’ve been on the receiving end of one of your other types of episodes. You completely lost all awareness and fought like a wildcat.” He straightened from the wall. “So, hell yes, I think you’d be capable of picking up a bottle and swinging it over Colin’s head in a desperate attempt to get free.”

Her jaw clicked shut. Fury and fear crept into her irises.

Cappy wanted to lay waste to Talon’s words but he couldn’t. He wanted so bad to scoff and point at that small piece of evidence everyone overlooked to disprove the theory but so far none existed. Goddammit. His heart railed that she didn’t do it. His mind mostly agreed but a tiny portion kept saying,
You saw her full-blown episode too. She could’ve done it.

“Colin shoved me on the bed,” Michelle repeated in a tight voice. “The bottle was still by the window.”

“My son’s
not
a rapist,” the Senator argued, though his vehemence had lessened some.

A spark lit into Michelle’s eyes. “Maybe, maybe not, but he just laughed when I yelled ‘No’ and ‘Stop’.”

“You could’ve gotten free and ran for the bottle,” Isis retorted.

“I didn’t,” Michelle replied in a low voice.

Talon strolled away from the wall, finally joining the circle . . . on the far side of Wraith and Grady. Isis perked up and inched a little closer to the operative. “The significance of the cuffs is obviously tied in with how you two met. You want to convince us and help us understand the bigger picture?” He drilled his gaze into Cappy. “We need to hear the real story.”

Every protection instinct within Cappy flared. “Let me reiterate the word
classified
.” His stomach shrank at the thought of Michelle recounting that tale and him having to admit his failure on so many levels out loud. “This happened prior to SBG. I can’t even confirm or deny if I was in Colombia or not.”

Talon snorted. “You don’t have to, the proof’s standing right there.” Talon motioned to Michelle. “Besides, you’ve already mentioned Colombia quite a few times and she’s cried out how she’s not a spy.”

“Talon,” Cappy lashed out.

“No,” he whipped back, his eyes hardening. “Whether she ultimately did it or not we’ll figure out, but something else is going on here and I think it may have to do with how you met her.”

“You’re damn right something else is going on,” Cappy retorted. “I said as much in Grady’s kitchen yesterday morning.”

“You did mention you didn’t think you had the whole story,” Grady responded, pulling Wraith back to his side. “What specifically set your radar off?”

“This whole thing.” Cappy swiped his hands over his head, trying to rein in his emotions. Spouting his refusal to believe she murdered Colin like a loon wouldn’t convince this bunch nor help her case. “Something about that video bothered me, but it wasn’t until after listening to Michelle’s side that it clicked.”

“How did the cameraman . . . or woman . . . know to film at that precise time and at that perfect angle?” Romeo asked as if reading his mind. Not really that surprising given Romeo’s background. Having police academy training before moving on to the bomb squad prior to SBG gave him an edge in looking for anomalies.

“Precisely. How would he or she know Colin convinced Michelle to come back with him to his room?”

Romeo nodded. “Yeah, that’s been bothering me too.”

Ted straightened in the dining room chair and clicked on a document that had been minimized.
WHO KILLED COLIN?
filled the top header, and underneath he had written the evidence and questions they had mentioned so far.

The kid watched way too many TV shows, but Cappy had to admit it helped to see it all in one place.

After Ted finished logging their latest question, Cappy peered over the list. His speculations didn’t help much.

Shit. He stroked the area above his heart. Her tears had dried on his skin, but he still felt their remnants. “I have no proof, but my gut says our amateur filmmaker is either the killer or a partner to the killer.”

Hope flared through Michelle’s eyes.

That small part of his brain wanted to tell her not to put too much stock into his words until he could prove beyond a shadow of doubt she didn’t do it. His heart thumped as if to flip his brain off.

“Tall leap, but we can all figure out why,” Talon cracked, and Cappy narrowed his eyes onto his subordinate. Talon continued before Cappy could chastise him. “But I’ll play along with the Michelle-didn’t-do-it theory just for shits and giggles. What do you make of Colin’s statement about him waiting for her in the club?”

“And how he had been told she had a reputation for rough, kinky sex,” Wraith jumped in, her cheeks pink.

“Colin even had an item that seemed to push her over the edge into hysteria,” Grady drawled.

“As if he had been coached to use it,” Magician said pensively, absently fingering her scar.

“Like someone knew about her past?” Talon asked pointedly while twirling his knife. “I’ll say it again. We need to know how you two met.”

At the word
past
Cappy stiffened, a realization hitting him like a brick. “Son of a bitch.” He focused on the Senator. “Come at this from a different angle. What if the target isn’t Colin or even Michelle?”

The Senator flinched.

Cappy smelled proverbial blood and pounced. “Do you know who has access and enough time to research their history? Who could conceive a plan with a strong motive for wanting Colin dead and Michelle framed?”

Bob Harris’s face tightened.

“Who’s vindictive,” Cappy continued, “conniving, and has some sort of stake in the outcome . . . like some appalling game of chess?”

“Victor,” the Senator answered, the bluster now gone from his voice.

All movement stopped.

Cappy’s red flags were almost flying off their poles. The politician knew something he hadn’t deigned to tell them yet.

“Victor?” Michelle asked, surveying the group.

“Yeah,” Cappy answered, racking his brain on which evasive measures he’d have to execute through this land mine. “He’s the former CEO of SweetBriar Group.”

“The guy who’s in jail?” Michelle’s eyebrows flew up. “Why would he want
me
framed for Colin’s murder?”

“That’s an excellent question I think the Senator and I need to pose to him directly,” Cappy answered swiftly, not wanting to give her any time to ask anything else and needing to wrap this inquisition up. Nothing more could be accomplished by talking. Time to prove his heart was right.

“Cappy—”

“Howard, Stiles, White.” Cappy pointed to each, cutting off Michelle. “Head back to command central and see if you can get the security footage from the club. Forward everything you can get your hands on to Ted so he can sift through it all to see what might have been missed.”

Magician and Romeo nodded. Isis narrowed her eyes.

“Jeremy—”

“Ted,” Cappy continued over Michelle, his mind sifting through the logistics of leaving, “see what flights are available—”

“There’s no need for that,” the Senator piped in. “We can use the plane I have at my disposal.”

“Must be nice,” Grady muttered.

“Sure,” the Senator grumbled. “If you consider having to ask permission from my wife to use it.”

Grady held up his hands. “Ah, yeah, sorry.”

“Capp—”

“Thank you, Senator,” Cappy barreled on, “that’ll help a lot. Can you set up the visitation for today?”

The politician nodded. “Yeah, I can probably make that happen.”

Cappy pointed at the lovebirds. “Grady and Sandra, can you help Ted get set up in this cottage? Keep an eye on him and help Talon.”

“Help Talon with what?” the operative asked about himself, pausing his knife.

“
Malone
—”

“Keep Michelle safe while I’m gone.”

“
Jer
 . . . you’re leaving?” Her spine stiffened and the angry spots on her cheeks deepened.

He grasped one of her fists and went for practicality. “Out of everyone here, you’re the most familiar with Talon.”

“SCK? Seriously?”

“What the hell’s a SCK?” Isis asked.

“Me,” Talon answered with a glint of amusement. “Stone Cold Killer, to be precise.” He turned to Michelle. “Who better to babysit you, Sixty-Nine, than a borderline psycho?”

“Babys—”

“Talon,” Cappy snapped, then softened his gaze on Michelle. “He’s the most experienced if you have one of your full-blown episodes. He can help—”

“No. He can’t.” She all but vibrated, her emotional radar set at “Seething.”

Great. “Michelle, be reasonable—”

She yanked her hand out of his.

Someone sucked in a breath just as a thundercloud eclipsed Michelle’s face. “Reasonable?
Reasonable?
That’s just as bad as saying ‘calm down.’ Don’t you get it?” She poked him hard with a shaking finger. “It’s
you
, Jeremy. In my episodes before, sometimes I’d be under for hours and come back so wrecked, it’d take me days to recuperate.”

He paused rubbing his chest.

She poked him again. “
You
bring me back so much quicker.
You
give me the anchor I need to fight my way out. And when I’ve returned to reality, I’m not as destroyed. It’s
you
.”

His heart skipped a beat. He what? That couldn’t be true.

“Ah, yeah,” Romeo said awkwardly. “We’re going to give you two a minute.” Shifting and shuffling followed but Cappy’s focus remained locked on Michelle.

He had to get her to see reason. “If I wasn’t here in the first place, you wouldn’t be experiencing them at all.”

“Bull hockey! The episodes started before I even saw you. You even theorized that a moment ago.” She swiped at her hair. “I don’t understand why you refuse to believe me. You’re not a trigger. Why are you looking for any excuse to push me away—”

Her hand flew to her mouth.

His stomach squeezed at the way the blood drained from her face.

“Oh.” She visibly swallowed.

Fuck.
What now?

“I get it. I’m sorry.”

The cold detachment in her voice filled every cell with dread and caused a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn’t want to know what made her flip a one-eighty, but couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Get what?”

“It’s okay.” She clasped her trembling hands together.

“
What’s
okay?”

“You don’t have to make up any more reasons. It’s a lot to ask anyone to consign themselves to a life of having to worry about triggers and episodes and fallouts. I’m sorry. I’ve been so selfishly focused on me, I didn’t think about what that would mean for you.”

“Selfishly—” He tried again. “Fallout—” Damn, his scrambled mind couldn’t figure out which idiotic statement to address first. “Now you listen to me.” Probably not the best to command her either. Shit. He swiped a hand over his head and growled.

Her eyes widened and she stepped back.

That small action made him mental. “You
never
have to fear me. You hear me? Never.”

She hesitantly nodded, chewing her bottom lip. Obviously not believing him.

Christ.
Way to convince her, asshole.
“I’m sorry that came out tense, but the thought of you being afraid I’d raise a hand or do something to physically hurt you . . . well, you can see it turns me into a blathering idiot.”

A ghost of a smile lit her eyes, giving him hope he’d actually said the right thing for once. He crowded into her space, stalking her movements until her shoulder blades hit the drywall. Placing a hand at the side of her head, careful to leave the other at his hip so she didn’t feel trapped, he leaned forward, knowing for damn sure he had her full attention. “You may be a lot of things, but selfish is
not
one of them. I’m not rejecting you, but you’re right. I am pushing you away.”

Pain flared across her eyes and she made a small sound.

“Shit. That came out wrong.”
Think, moron
. “Normal basic needs, those things every woman has the right to expect, I can’t provide. You deserve a life far beyond what I can give. The choices I made and the life I lead don’t allow me the luxury of having a home or a family.”