A Little Harmless Lie 4 (24 page)

Petey bounded over the table at her, but Micah stopped him by grabbing his collar.

“You little bitch. Of course we did it. It was easy enough and you know what’s the best thing? I enjoyed every fucking minute of it. Nothing like hearing Sam beg for his life while we questioned him. Dad might allow you this, but the truth is that someday, I’ll do the same damn thing to you.”

Micah’s already frayed temper ripped away as the inner monster he kept at bay came screaming to take control. He took hold of the bastard by the neck and forced him down on the table as he pummeled him with the other hand. He enjoyed the sick sound of flesh meeting flesh, the way it felt to use his hands on the man. He hit the bastard for threatening Dee, but there was more to it. For everything he took away from her, for all the injustices done to her over the years, he couldn’t seem to control himself.

A second later, LVPD swarmed the area, but Micah barely noticed.

“Micah.”

It was then that the red haze dissolved and he realized that Dee was tugging on his arm. Again. He looked up and noticed the police and FBI agents with their guns drawn.

“Let him go.” Her voice was gentle, and he could barely hear it about the noise of the casino. But he could see her lips move, see the tears in her eyes.

It took every bit of his power to pull back, to gain control of the monster that still clawed at his belly to escape. He dropped the little bastard on the table with a thud and moved away. One of the FBI agents smiled as Petey groaned.

“Micah.”

He finally really looked at Dee and realized she was as white as a sheet. He must have scared her.

“I- I’m sorry, Dee.”

Tears poured over and down her cheeks. “I was just so worried about you. You never know what Petey is going to do.”

“You think I couldn’t take him in a fight?”

She laughed. “Of course you could, but then Petey fights dirty.”

“Ms. Rizzoli— ”

“Sumner. Her last name is Sumner.”

The FBI agent in charge nodded. “I need to talk with you.”

She nodded and pulled away from him. Panic clutched his stomach.

“Go clean up. I’ll talk to them and then meet you back in the room.”

She leaned up and kissed him. “My hero.”

She walked away.

Conner watched Micah Ross and sighed. There were things that needed to be said, things that needed to be done, and he didn’t want to do it. Granted, Devon was her biological brother, but he had never been much of one.

“You did a good job down there.”

Micah pulled on a fresh shirt and tossed his hair over his shoulder. “I know.”

He snorted. “I know we could have done it without you, but it was definitely easier with you there. I trusted you with Dee.”

Micah faced him then. “Your sister said you didn’t have feelings for Dee.”

Conner shook his head as he dropped into a chair by the massive floor- to- ceiling windows. “No. She reminded me a bit of Maura. It was hard to keep my perspective, but Marjorie... Dee was so lost. I just kept thinking of Maura, what we went through right after our folks died. I couldn’t imagine either of us getting through that on our own. Here was this girl without any connections of her own. What she thought of her life was now a lie. It would have been terrifying at any age, but she was young and had no one. Then that report happened.”

“We were talking about that. Who wrote the report?”

“Michelson. That bitch was after advancement, and she got it with that. I would have suspected her of being the mole, but she was too much into her career. Her whole family is in the FBI.”

“Too bad she died while on assignment.”

Conner frowned. “She didn’t die. She was wounded, but she survived.”

Micah stilled in his action and looked at him. “She’s alive?”

Conner nodded. “Yeah. In fact, I just saw her a few minutes ago.”

“Fuck,” Micah said as he headed toward his door. “Where is the FBI? Who’s protecting her?”

He rose and followed Micah. “What the hell is going on?”

Micah picked up a massive knife and slipped it into a holder on his hip.

“Whoa, Micah.”

“Tell me.”

“Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Dee said Michelson was dead. That your partner said she was useless to them.”

For a moment, his head didn’t work, then everything seemed to lock into place. “That fucking bitch.” He started for the door.

“Let’s get her. They’re a floor beneath us.”

Chapter Eighteen

It took about thirty minutes to finish up the recitation of what had happened. She was offered protection once she returned to Hawaii, and while she would accept that, she wasn’t going to change her name. She refused.

Her brother was shaking his head. “Dee, you need to go into hiding.”

“I can do that. But I’m not running again. Ever. I want my identity cleared up. I want to be Dee Sumner for the rest of my life.”

Agent Talon stared at her and then nodded. “Considering the FUBAR of your last protection, it is the least we can do. I’m going to call my boss, get this all cleared. You’ll be all right?”

“Devon’s here, I’m fine.”

As he left them alone, Devon pulled her up out of her chair and hugged her. “I almost lost you again.”

She scoffed at that and leaned back. “Not with Micah there.”

“You really have that much faith in him?”

She nodded. “I love him. What’s more, I trust him.”

He sighed. “I guess I can’t forbid you to see him.”

She laughed. “Honey, there isn’t a person who can keep me from him now.”

“I think you might be wrong about that,” a female voice said from the doorway.

Dee looked at the woman she thought dead and cold seeped into her veins. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even think. Apparently, her brother had no problem. He pushed her down behind a chair and started toward Michelson.

“No Devon— ”

It was too late. Michelson shot him before he could do anything. He crumpled into a heap on the floor.

“Jesus, you’ve been one pain in the ass,” Michelson spat out. “Come out or I hit him with another shot. This one will be in his head.”

The calm tone told her that Michelson would do it. She wasn’t some hothead like her brother. No, this woman was like Dee’s father.

She rose from behind the couch.

“I can’t believe after all these years... ” She motioned with her gun and Dee followed her directions.

“I thought you were dead.”

Michelson chuckled at that. The sound of it sent another icy shaft of fear slithering down her spine.

“And that saved me. Hell, I had to have Petey shoot me in the leg to make it look good.”

“So when John said you were of no use... ”

She nodded. “John had figured it out.” She shrugged. “I’d already decided he would have to die. There would be no way to get to him. He was a straight arrow.”

“Of course he was. He couldn’t be bought like some dime- store whore.”

Michelson walked up to her and hit her across the face with the butt of the gun. Pain exploded, stars forming before her eyes as she fell to the floor.

“Shut the fuck up,
princess
. I might be bought, but I wasn’t cheap. I went for big dollars, and I’ve got enough saved up to disappear now. Of course, I have to tie up some strings... you being one. You thankfully took care of your stupid father and brother.”

She stepped up and Dee rolled to her side to look up at her. The years hadn’t been kind to the agent. Lines had deepened around her mouth and her eyes were cold, almost desolate.

This woman would kill her.

Dee knew she had little chance, so she kicked her foot out, connecting with Michelson’s shin. She screamed out in pain and bent down. Dee rose to her feet. The years of training kicked in and Dee fisted her hands and gave the agent a swift right hook to the jaw. The force of the blow caused her to drop the gun. Dee punched her again, but Michelson had grasped the situation. She gained her wits and returned with a punch of her own. The power behind it threw Dee back and she tripped over her own feet. She hit the floor hard, the back of her head connecting with the tile. Stars formed in front of her eyes and she shook her head, trying to make them fade. By the time her vision cleared, the only thing she could see was the barrel of the gun. In the next instant it was gone.

“Argh,” Michelson yelled out as Dillon grabbed her. Before she comprehended what was happening, Micah was there, pulling her off the floor and into his arms. His whole body shook as he enveloped her in a hug and then squeezed her so tight she almost lost the ability to breath.

“Micah, Devon’s been shot.”

He let go of her and looked around. It was as if he hadn’t noticed her brother lying on the floor in a heap bleeding.

She ran to the phone, her head still woozy from the hit to the jaw. She dialed 911 as Micah checked out her brother. He grabbed an FBI shirt sitting on one of the chairs and pressed it against Devon’s arm.

“He’s all right. He did hit his head on the way down, which is why he is unconscious.”

She pulled in a long, shaky breath. Her head was still spinning and for a moment, she worried she would pass out.

Agents and police now started to pour into the room, and at some point the EMTs showed up. Her brother woke up as they put him on the gurney. She breathed a sigh of relief as her vision wavered.

She glanced over at Dillon, who now had Michelson in cuffs, and from the looks of the agents, they knew she had sold out one of their own.

“Dee, are you all right?”

She looked at Micah and was alarmed as the light started to dim around him.

“I think I need to sit down.” And with that, her world faded to black.

“She just had a blackout, Micah. Sit down,” Dillon muttered. She could tell he was annoyed, but did he have to be so damn loud about it?

“Yeah, with your brilliant plan she was really safe.”

“Listen, it wasn’t my plan, it was her brother’s, and none of us knew that Michelson was dirty.”

At the mention of her brother, she said, “How is Devon?”

She couldn’t open her eyes. Didn’t want to.

Micah slipped his hand into hers, startling her a little. As usual, she hadn’t heard him. “He’s okay. Lost some blood, but going to be okay. Doctor said the bullet passed right through.”

She sighed, relief coursing through her. She felt her whole body relax.

“Can you open your eyes?”

“I think it might hurt.”

“Being a wimp, Sumner? Should have figured that you would be.”

She frowned, drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes. The first sting of light wasn’t so bad. Micah apparently had made sure the lights had been turned down. The white walls told her she was at a hospital.

“Why are we here?”

“The doctors thought it best,” Conner said gently.

“And since you’ve been out cold for about an hour, I would say it’s the smart thing. Not stupid, like trying to confront Michelson,” Micah said.

Conner’s voice was gentle as if he was worried he might upset her. Forever the big brother. It was in direct contrast to Micah’s tone which was sharp. It should upset her. The man she loved should be trying to calm her worries. But instead it soothed her. If he was comfortable enough to be mad, everything must be okay. Plus, Micah was stroking his thumb over the back of her hand. The gentle caress reminded her that his bark was worse than his bite.

She glanced at the former agent. “Thanks.”

“What are you thanking him for? He almost got you killed twice.”

She smiled. “It wasn’t his fault.”

Micah snorted.

“Could you give us a minute?” she asked.

Conner tossed Micah an amused look. “Sure. The FBI wants to talk to you.”

“I’m sure they do.”

He slipped out the door. Silence filled the room as Micah glared at her.

“What?” she asked.

“You almost got yourself killed.”

“I did not almost get myself killed. I didn’t know that bitch was still around.”

He let go of her hand, twisted away from her and started to pace the small room. “Well, yeah, if the FBI wasn’t such a fucked- up organization they would have known.”

“I agree. Of course, she was pretty good. If I remember correctly, her father was FBI too, so she was raised in it.”

He snarled at her over his shoulder. “Don’t make excuses for them, dammit. They fucked up and you almost got killed.”

He yelled the last few words and she winced as they bounced off the walls.

“Actually, they have a track record of that. It’s the reason I ran.”

He stopped and turned to her, his frown blacker than the worst storm cloud. She couldn’t fight the jubilant feeling shifting through her. She knew men, and she now knew Micah better than most. He was pissed, but he was pissed because she had almost been killed. Because he cared for her.

“This isn’t something to make a joke of.”

She pursed her lips. “After so many years, I would think that it would be imperative to find some humor in it.”

He snarled again and she couldn’t help the rush of giggles. For the first time in years, she was free. She didn’t have to hide, didn’t have to pretend to be someone else. She could live her life for herself.

Before he could yell at her again, the door cracked open.

“Are you up for being debriefed?”

She snorted at Conner’s question.

“Sure, come debrief me.”

An older gentleman came in, his hair military- short, brown and threaded with gray. The kind blue eyes sparked a memory. “Agent Davis.”

He smiled, one of those fatherly smiles he had given her the first night she’d been taken in. “I wasn’t sure if you would remember me, Ms. Rizzoli.”

“It’s Ms. Sumner,” Micah growled. A look passed between Conner and Davis.

Conner stepped forward. “Hey, Micah, why don’t you come with me?”

He crossed his arms and said nothing. She wanted him here, more than anything, but she realized she needed to do this on her own. This one last thing she needed to do on her own, stand on her own two feet.

“Micah, babe, could you give us a few minutes.”

He said nothing.

“You need to trust me to handle it.”