Fool Me Once (25 page)

* * *

Olivia
wrapped herself in a blanket and curled up in the window seat. A three-quarter
moon hung in the sky, turning the countryside into a dramatic black and silver
daguerreotype. The uneasiness returned, taking small annoying bites out of her
confidence. She hated feeling this way. There was no room in her life for
self-doubt. At least there hadn’t been, before she met Josh. She held up her
hand. The diamond appeared cold in the light from the moon and she slipped it
off, twisting it this way and that. Her thoughts went back to the day he had
given it to her. On that day she had seen a different Josh. Smooth, urbane and
fully in charge. Her brows drew together. Over the past two weeks, he had shown
her many different sides to his character. Was that what was bothering her…the
knowledge that he could adopt a new persona as readily as a Hollywood actor?
The idea was chilling. Pulling the blanket closer, she fought off the troubling
thoughts and rested her forehead against the cool pane of glass.

* * *

Josh
pulled down the sheet, and the heat of his gaze aroused her as never before.
With infinite tenderness, he slid his hands into her hair, claiming her mouth
with a kiss that seemed to draw the air from her lungs. Her body rose to meet
him, her hands playing over the sinewy muscles of his chest and arms. With a
pounding heart, her hand moved lower and he stilled as her fingers closed
around his enormous erection.

Gasping
for breath, she awoke from the dream. It had been so realistic she could still
feel his hands in her hair and her mouth ached for one more kiss.

The
moon had moved higher in the sky and she glanced at the clock. She’d been
sitting in this uncomfortable position for over an hour. Unfolding her cramped
legs, she tested them by taking a few steps toward the door. Josh’s voice
floated up the stairs. He sounded angry–or was that frustration? She inched her
way down the hall, still clutching the blanket around her shoulders. From the
landing, she could see the two men sitting before the fireplace. They had
allowed the fire to burn down, and in the glowing embers she saw Josh gesture
angrily.

“Dammit,
Dirk. I know it was necessary. All I’m saying is that using someone like that
rubs me the wrong way.”

Olivia
smiled to herself. He’d already apologized. She thought he’d understood that it
was all right. Especially since she knew the reasons for the deception.

Dirk’s
voice was weary. “How else were we to get to Blazek? Good God, man. You knew
from the beginning that without Olivia’s connection to the Blazek family, the
mission wouldn’t work. It was the only way to get to him.”

Olivia
backed up into the shadows. What had Dirk just said? Something wasn’t right
about this conversation. Her first instinct was to run back to her bedroom so
she didn’t have to hear any more, but she remained glued to the spot. She
strained to hear their words.

“I
know.” Josh’s voice was thoughtful. “Imagine Colin being able to dig up that
tidbit of information.” He massaged the back of his neck. “Finding out that Olivia
had gone to school with Blazek’s daughter was a stroke of genius. Colin was
right. Without her we’d never have been able to get inside the villa.”

“So
you did what you had to do.” Dirk sipped his drink slowly. Olivia could imagine
those clear blue eyes waiting for Josh’s response.

Josh
nodded. “Yes, I did.”

“And
was it worth it?”

Josh
downed his drink with a gulp. “You know it was.” He stood up and lifted a poker
from a set beside the fireplace, poking idly at the coals. His voice cracked.
“When I saw those two warehouses go up, the pain that’s been gnawing at my gut
these past few years disappeared like magic.” He turned to Dirk. “So yes, it
was definitely worth it.”

Chapter Twelve

Olivia
clamped her hand over her mouth, stifling a gasp. Snatches of conversation and
flashes of memory haunted her as she ran back to her room, but she could make
no sense of them. She collapsed on the edge of the bed, both hands on her
stomach as though she’d been punched, and rocked back and forth. The pain was
almost unbearable. Josh had used her, and not as she had originally thought. He
had known about Eliska’s father from the beginning and she had been nothing
more than a link in their plot to ruin him. Jagged pain exploded behind her
eyes, and she knew she was getting a serious headache.

She
looked about wildly. She had to escape from this nightmare–except the pain in
her heart told her it was no nightmare. Her first thought was to get as far
away from Josh as possible, and that meant getting out of the house. Without
any thought as to where she was going, she threw on her clothes and jammed her
few remaining items into her bag. For the first time in her life she knew what
it meant to be heartsick. A crushing weight had settled on her chest, competing
with the pounding in her head. She took a slow, calming breath and willed
herself to find the strength to get through this night. If she took this in
small steps, she would survive. Instinct took over and her eyes raked over the
room. She didn’t want to leave anything of herself behind. On the window seat,
the diamond ring glinted in the moonlight. It must have fallen from her hands
while she slept. She saw it now for what it was…part of the charade in which
she had been an unwilling pawn.

She
picked up the ring and tossed it onto the dresser; he couldn’t help but see it
there. With one hand on the doorknob, she paused, and then dug through her bag.
There was a sheet of letterhead from the Dorchester in here somewhere! She
scribbled a note and placed it under the ring with a toss of her head. Then she
slipped out into the hall.

No
more than ten minutes had passed since she’d gone back to the bedroom, although
it seemed like a lifetime. The men were still sitting in front of the
fireplace.

She
wasn’t sure where she was going, but she knew she had to get out of the house
tonight. Could she make it down the stairs and out the back door without being
observed? She didn’t think so.

“I
need a smoke.” Dirk stood up, fumbling for his packet of cigarettes.

“And
I need a breath of fresh air.” Josh sounded dejected, but Olivia was not
inclined to feel sympathy for him. This was her chance to escape undetected. As
soon as the men walked out to the front verandah, she calmly walked down the
stairs and out the back door. Josh and Dirk obviously weren’t finished yet. It
could be hours before they realized she was gone.

The
yard was surprisingly bright in the moonlight, every blade of grass and pebble
clearly defined in the moonlight. In the distance, an owl hooted and her eyes
moved in the direction of the sound. Beside the drive-in shed, the Jeep gleamed
dully, and the next part of her plan began to take shape. Thank goodness she’d
studied that map. She stealthily opened the door and tossed in her bags, then
slid into the driver’s seat. She rolled down the window and sat quietly,
listening for sounds from the house. After a few minutes, the screen door
hinges squealed and male voices floated across the yard. Then the door slapped
closed and all was silent again.

She
turned the key in the ignition and, heart pounding, looked around to see if
she’d been detected. No lights came on. Easing the Jeep away from the drive-in
shed she gave silent thanks for the brilliance of the moon. She didn’t turn on
the headlights until she’d navigated the road leading from the ranch house to
the secondary highway. According to the map, there was a large town only two
hundred miles away. She laughed out loud at the thought of two hundred miles
being a short distance. Had she fallen under the spell of this beautiful land
so easily?

* * *

Exhausted
from rehashing the mission, Josh stood in the shower, letting hot water pound
against his tired muscles. He had been right to dread this debriefing, even
though he knew it was necessary. IATO was a sophisticated organization, and of
necessity they had to learn from each sortie, searching for ways to make the
next one more effective. Lifting up his head, he allowed the water to beat
against his face. The next session with Dirk would be easier. Making
recommendations was a positive step, and he looked forward to speaking his
mind.

Using
the cut and dried terminology of an intelligence report to describe Olivia’s
capture and the night she spent in the warehouse had been surprisingly
difficult. He prided himself on keeping his emotions in check, but reliving
those twelve hours had been emotionally draining. He turned off the taps and
dried off briskly.

He
wasn’t sure how much sleep he would get tonight. Much as he would like a replay
of last night, there were other items that had to be dealt with. He was going
to tell Olivia about Zach. He hadn’t been able to talk to anyone about his
brother since that television interview, but he knew now that if Olivia was to
play a part in his future, she had to know the whole story. It may have been a
small counterstrike in the war against terror, but when he’d fired that RPG at
Blazek’s stockpile of arms, the healing had begun. Perhaps at some time in the
future he’d tell her about needing her connection to Eliska. Maybe it was the
coward’s way out to put that off, but he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her
right now. What he could share was the most important information of all…his
reason for wanting to catch Blazek. By the time they finished talking about
Zach, he probably wouldn’t be much good for her tonight. But there was always
tomorrow morning. Pleased with his decision, he eased his tired body between
the cool sheets.

* * *

Dappled
sunshine danced across the walls of Josh’s bedroom and he stretched out his
arm. The bed beside him was empty. He sat up groggily. Had Olivia come to him
last night while he was sleeping? Surely he hadn’t been that unconscious! He
pulled on his shorts and jeans and padded down the hall in his bare feet,
selfishly hoping that she was still asleep. He wanted to watch her as she
awoke, to see desire surface in those beautiful eyes.

The
bed hadn’t been slept in. He took a few steps inside the room. What was going
on here? The closet doors were open, revealing empty hangars and nothing else.
The bathroom was bare. As he turned to leave, he spotted the diamond ring on
the dresser. Only last night, he’d felt a glow of satisfaction when he noticed
it on her hand.

He
stared at it as though it were a rattler, coiled to strike. He had a
premonition that a rattler’s bite might be preferable.

Her
penmanship was unsteady, lacking her usual flair, but the message was clear. ‘
Shame
On Me
’. The words seared themselves into his brain like a hot branding
iron, and he gripped the edge of the dresser as the bottom fell out of his
stomach. What was that saying again? ‘Fool Me Once, Shame on You. Fool Me
Twice, Shame on Me.” He read the words again and a band of dread closed around
his heart. She had discovered the true deception.

* * *

The
trip back to London was long and arduous, and yet Olivia scarcely remembered
it. She’d boarded a plane in the first city she came to and flew to Chicago,
then on to New York, arriving within hours of a British Airways flight to
London. She’d called the ranch from Chicago, telling Maisie where they could find
the Jeep. With a soft ‘good-bye’, she’d hung up before the housekeeper could
call Josh to the phone.

The
weather was dreary when she arrived at Heathrow and she boarded the express
train to Paddington Station. Finally, on the last leg of the trip, she sank
back in the cab, praying that she could hold herself together until she was
safely inside her flat.

“Are
you all right, Miss?” The cabbie took the proffered note and passed her change
through the window.

“I’m
fine, thanks.” Olivia smiled weakly. She didn’t think she’d ever be fine again,
but she’d made it this far, and that was all that counted.

Somehow
she made it into her flat and put on the kettle for a cup of tea. Tired to the
bone, she kicked off her boots, propped up her feet on the coffee table and
turned on the television, clicking idly through the channels. Why wasn’t her
brain working properly? She turned off the television then crossed the room to
the window and looked across at the small fenced park, wondering if she’d lost
the ability to feel.

Once
the initial shock of Josh’s betrayal wore off, she’d expected to experience
anger, or at least the desire to strike back; to hurt him as he’d hurt her. But
there was only an empty space where her heart used to be. She picked up her cup
and saucer, the cup rattling unsteadily. The sound pulled her back from the
edge. Somehow she’d managed to make it through today. Tomorrow she would start
looking for answers.

* * *

“Good
morning, Miss MacMillan. I was expecting to hear from you.” Colin Chisholm sounded
nothing like Olivia expected. With his polished accent, he might have been
employed in her father’s investment bank. Was everyone at IATO a chameleon? She
made a mental note not to be diverted when she finally got to meet him.

“I’d
like to come and see you if that’s convenient. I understand Dirk mentioned to
you that I’d like to write an article on his latest mission.” Her tone was
crisp and businesslike. She wasn’t ready to tell him that she’d changed her
mind. The story would remain unwritten. They’d had all the help they would get
from her. But she still wanted to meet the man who had pulled the strings.