Circle of Deception (3 page)

“His favorite—”

“Favorite?” Amazed by the idiocy coming out of the woman’s mouth, she could only stand there with her mouth hanging open. What did she think she was to Jack, his favorite slave? And to call her little was like calling a wolf a lamb. Since the age of thirteen, and being five-six at that point, she’d never been called little.

“Quit being so sensitive.” Nic’s dark, round eyes widened. “I’m only offering you some advice so you don’t embarrass yourself and Rex. And, for that matter, me and Jack. It would be best for everyone if you left Rex alone.”

Abby took one step toward Nic before she even realized it. The woman’s face washed of all color, and she turned her head away, raising a hand as if in protection from a blow.

What the hell? Abby’s fists still hung by her hips.

“Abby, dammit!” Rex moved between her and Nic. “What do you think you’re doing? If you hit her, Jack will string you up. You know how he feels about fighting among operatives.” He shook his finger as if he were a parent berating a wayward teenager. “You’re bigger than her. I never thought you were a bully. I knew you’d changed, but not that much.”

“What’s going on?” Jack walked in, his forehead creased and eyes narrowed. “Dammit, Abby! What have you done
now
?”

Her chest ached as if they had stabbed her in the heart. That was it. The final straw.

“You got that backward,” she said through gritted teeth.

“You’re saying Nic started something?” The questioning look on Jack’s face said he didn’t believe her.

The air in the room disappeared. Her heart pumped hard, trying to take care of oxygen-starved lungs. She inhaled deeply, trying to recover from the one-two blows delivered by the men she cared for and had always thought of as being fair and good, no matter their pasts.

She finally regained her voice. “I was talking about Abby Dammit. Remember?” Everyone stared at her with different degrees of confusion. She could almost hear a trombone go
wa-wa-wa-waaa
. “Well, you all can go fuck yourselves.” Then she headed toward the door and her apartment.

“I didn’t know she was so touchy.” Nic’s sugary-sweet voice followed her down the hallway. “Maybe she’s having her period.”

Abby hesitated in her march down the hallway. Did that little twit actually say that? She shook her head. Christ! The ignoramus set women’s rights back thirty years with that statement.

Taking solid, long strides, she continued walking, turning at the entrance to the appropriate hallways without thought.

That woman wrote the book on passive aggression. No. She was only a follower of the big kahuna, though most likely she had never met Abby’s mother. The one person who lived and breathed passive aggression. No other person in the world had it down to such an art. Yeah, Mrs. Leigh Ann Rodriguez was a typical Southern belle through and through and the original author of
How Can I Be Nice and Make You Feel Horrible?
. But Nic didn’t have a blood relationship to protect her, and she had no idea how close she came to turning up black and blue.

Of course, with Rex and Jack fooled by her act, that left Abby on her own in dealing with her. Not that she could really do anything. No matter how catty the woman acted, she was protected by the fact that if Abby responded with open hostility, she would appear to be a spurned lover. Or like what Nic had said: “So sensitive.”

After years of her mom’s jabs, Abby was savvy enough to catch the underlying meanings, and her
sensitivity
had saved her life more than once against all of the bad men and women out there. Of course, men referred to their sensitivity as a
gut feeling
and were admired for it.

“How did it go?” Liam Kelly stood next to the elevator, leaning his shoulders against the wall, long legs crossed at the ankles. A fine-looking Irishman with ebony hair and a brush of gray at the temples that looked sexy only on men, and he was off-limits. Everyone knew that Charlie, the new mechanic, was in love with him—that was, everyone but Liam.

Why they didn’t get together was beyond her and wasn’t a problem she had time to worry about. Did everyone know how she felt about Rex? She hoped to hell not. And if they did, everyone should forget about them getting together. Not going to happen.

Liam shoved off the wall and pressed the
UP
button. Unlike the old OS building, where all the operatives lived underground, the new site was set up for all the floors to be used. Part of the more open and, should she believe, legal Circle organization.

“We got the shipment but we need to cut off the source before they release more.” She eyed Liam from half-closed lids as they stepped into the elevator and he punched in the floor number beneath the penthouse. Every floor but the top one was broken into four apartments. Barracks for the single operatives were in the building next door. The OS’s penthouse belonged to the commander of The Circle, Arthur Ryker, for whenever he visited.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Since being suspended and demoted last year, Liam normally stayed out of mission business. She guessed that was better than being eliminated. From what she’d heard, he’d come close.

“I may have you a lead on the inventor.”

“Then tell Jack.”

“I thought it best that the info came from you.”

Stepping off the elevator into an oval-shaped foyer with four doors, Abby stopped outside the far right one.

She turned. Liam remained in the elevator, his hands braced on each side, holding the door open. She’d forgotten that he wasn’t authorized to enter the executive area of the OS. It had to be hard on him. For a short time, he’d been the head of security for The Circle, taking over after she’d returned to the OS.

“Why do I have a feeling I don’t want to know where you got the info?” She walked back to the foyer. His stare was intense, never wavering to check her out like most men. Maybe she should be insulted by the lack of attraction, as he was known to be a player, but she’d always felt comfortable around the smooth-talking Irishman.

“I got it from Ice. He knows a lot of people who Jack wouldn’t approve of. Word got to him about the new ammo, but before he had a chance to track it down, Rex was investigating. So we thought that was the end of it. Then it all went bugger.”

“Got it from Ice Takahashi, huh?”

A few months ago when Collin Ryker turned over the OS to his brother, rejoining it to The Circle, one of their more deadly operatives, Ice, went AWOL. And only last week had he shown up again. From what she’d heard, Arthur Ryker hadn’t disciplined him and had ordered Jack to back off. So she suspected the leader of The Circle knew all the facts about his disappearance. No one had ever heard of an operative leaving without permission and doing whatever he wanted without disciplinary action. Maybe that was why everything concerning Ice caused Jack to hit the roof. How could Ryker expect Jack to control the OS Sector if he couldn’t reprimand his people?

“Yeah.”

“Then why doesn’t he tell Jack?”

“Sure. Two operatives he’d love to see take a nosedive off the Bank of America Plaza tell him that the arms dealer he’s looking for is in his backyard?” Liam shook his head.

“Ouch.” The Plaza was known as the tallest building in the Southeast, so that would be one heck of a long dive. “Is he here in Georgia?”

“No. In Alabama. Ice learned Brody Walker sold the goods to Inferno for a large chunk of change.”

“If you call a million and a half dollars a chunk,” she said. Brody Walker? Damn. That was a name from her past she never expected to hear again. But why was she surprised? Considering how self-involved he’d been in high school, she imagined he decided to deal in weapons instead of drugs because it sounded classier and still kept him in the lifestyle his family provided him while he was growing up. He wasn’t much of a straight arrow back in the day. From what she remembered, when he got caught selling stolen goods in high school, he’d used his all-American title to his advantage. Why would a rich boy from a good neighborhood do such a thing? Someone set him up. Yeah, right.

“You heard of Brody?”

“Yeah.” She blinked several times to clear her mind. Had her expression given something away? She watched as he shifted to another foot. “Do you think Ice is right?”

“He’s certain. Though Jack might doubt it.”

She promised Liam to tell Jack immediately, and in the little time it took her to walk into her apartment and punch in the number on her cell phone, she reported to Jack what she’d been told.

“I’d hoped it wasn’t him. His security is set up so that he’ll see us coming from a mile away. We’ll have a hard time reaching him before he escapes.” By the tone of Jack’s voice, she knew his blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

“He’s that big?”

“Yeah. You probably know him. He came from your hometown.”

“I do. Though I haven’t heard from or seen him since he graduated from high school.”

“That will be helpful in our plans. He’ll make no connection between you and The Circle.”

“I had no idea he’d become involved in such a dangerous line of work.” When he didn’t say anything more, she asked, “So can you tell me your plans now?”

“Tomorrow. Be in my office at seven hundred hours and be sure to read the file I just e-mailed you.”

Whatever he had planned, she could tell she wouldn’t like it. He was too happy.

Chapter Three

A
FTER A SHOWER
and before calling it a night, she picked up her cell phone and punched in a number she knew by heart.

“Hey, Mom. How you doing?” Abby curled up on her sofa as she stared out the window.

“Darling, I was beginning to think you’d forgotten my phone number.”

She’d told her mom many times that her job carried her out of the country and into areas without phone service. But the woman continued to make it sound as if she intentionally waited so long to call. Maybe she was right. Abby dreaded calling since she always felt guilty about something, no matter if it was her fault or not.

“I’m calling now. How’s your arm?” The last time they’d talked, her mom had cut it on her favorite rosebush. She’d complained about how deep it was and how she’d gotten blood on her favorite pants.

“It’s okay, I guess. The scab will take forever to disappear.” The whiny tone grated on Abby’s nerves, but she closed her eyes and concentrated on saying the right things.

“Be sure to keep putting the antibacterial cream on it that the doctor gave you.”

“I’m not a child,” she huffed, and then said, “When are you coming home?”

“It wasn’t that long ago when I visited.” Her mom had moved south of Birmingham, Alabama, to the small town of Sand City, the county seat of Sand County, to be closer to her son after he’d been elected county sheriff. Abby’s half brother was six years older and looked nothing like her. Edward and his wife had a little boy who was as cute as a fat puppy. He’d probably grown several inches since she’d last visited.

Traveling three hours each way on her rare off days wasn’t something she looked forward to. Anyway, the mileage wasn’t the problem so much as the depressed funk that came over her when she visited.

“That was before Christmas when we met in Birmingham for lunch. It’s March. I think it’s time for you to come see your brother too. You really need to work on organizing your life. Tell your boss you need more time off. Go to a lawyer and tell him you’re being overworked.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Excuses. Your brother works long hours but he still finds time to visit every other Sunday for dinner and he calls me several times a week.”

Geez! Her mom hadn’t taken long. Usually she waited at least five minutes into the conversation before telling her how her brother was better. From the moment she was born, they’d been compared to each other. He was near perfection in their mom’s eyes.

Abby’s shoulders drooped. Considering her mom was right didn’t help the matter. Despite being arrogant and a male chauvinist, he was a kind son, a good husband, and a great dad.

And she’d be wasting her breath pointing out that Eddie lived only three miles away and in the same state and city as her mom.

When she almost died at the hands of The Circle, she’d contacted her mom and half brother. The reunion had been stiff. That was when she realized why she’d been so rebellious growing up. Being a round peg in a square hole caused a lot of damage to both parties. Since then she called her once a week but quickly learned the older woman hadn’t quite forgiven her for acting and looking different.

Unlike Abby, her mom was petite and willowy. With deep green eyes, clear rosy skin, and soft brown hair lightened to near blond perfection—concealing her age from all her close friends—Leigh Ann Sanders-Wentworth-Rodriguez was old-school Southern and quite proud of it.

Abby looked a lot like her father, Dr. Roberto Rodriguez, with her dark hair and olive skin. When she was sixteen, she remembered feeling for the first time out of place beside her light-skinned mother and blond brother as they lowered her father’s casket into the ground.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Abby rubbed her temple, hoping the on-coming headache wouldn’t get worse. “Mom, do you remember Brody Walker?”

“Mitzy Walker’s son? Yes. He’s doing really well. They say he made a killing in California before the housing boom went bust. He retired at thirty and owns a beautiful farm off I-Sixty-Five. Why do you ask?”

“Nothing. I heard his name come up and remembered he lived near there.”

“Listen. I have to go. Eddie and them are coming over to take me out for dinner.”

“That’s nice. Tell Edward hi and hug Suzie and Tommy for me.”

“Very well. I guess that means I won’t be seeing you for my birthday.”

Damn! She’d forgotten her birthday was in a couple days. That would explain why her brother was forking over some money when her mom usually fed his family each Sunday.

“I’m sorry. I have to work. But that’s part of why I was calling . . . to wish you a happy birthday.”

She huffed again. “Thank you.”

Abby rolled her eyes. The woman was a drama queen. She loved being the center of attention, especially men’s. Abby had learned how to deal with it when she was younger—just step into the background and blend.