Re/Bound (Doms of the FBI Book 1) (33 page)

He didn’t stop her this time when she stalked away, and she didn’t look back as she got into her car and drove. She avoided her rearview mirror until she had safely turned the corner.

Malcolm watched Darcy’s sedan disappear. His chest ached, and he couldn’t breathe. He’d spent much of the day going through Yataines’s workroom, searching for something to explain those missing files. If he knew what was in there, he could make sure anything that might contain evidence or clues made it to headquarters instead of the junkyard. He’d even hacked into Darcy’s system files once again to determine if they were on her computer.

This case was coming down to the wire, and he had nothing but a hunch to go on.

A cool hand on his arm brought him back to the present. Malcolm glanced down to see his mother regarding him with sympathy. “I thought you would like her.”

Though his mother would never let this go, he didn’t bother to deny anything. “It’s a case, Mom. I can’t talk about it.”

She snorted, scoffing at him as she always did. “You mean to tell me that nice young woman is involved with drug dealers and murderers?”

They didn’t suspect Snyder of dealing drugs, but they did suspect him of a number of fraud, money laundering, and antitrust charges. He had his fingers in a lot of dirty dealings.

He rubbed the center of his chest, but his action did nothing to chase away the hollow ache. “I don’t mean to tell you anything. I have to catch her before she blows my cover.”

“She won’t blow your cover. A woman who reacts that passionately is a woman in love. But go after her. You should be there when she cools down.” His mother patted his arm and nudged him toward his car. “I’ll tell Layla you had to go to work, but you owe her a day in her community center.”

Malcolm called Keith on the way to Darcy’s house. On the plus side, the question of revealing himself to her had been decided. Now that she knew his identity, they needed to change the plan and do some damage control. While he’d wanted to tell her the truth for some time, he hadn’t wanted to do it this way. He dreaded facing the raw anger and pain he’d caused. She had a long drive to think about all the ways in which he’d lied. If ever there was a time for backup, this was it.

__________

The expected knock on the door came less than ten minutes after she got home. She debated not answering, but then she reasoned he’d probably just break it down. A few days ago, the idea of Theo—Malcolm—displaying that kind of aggression had turned her on. Now her heart was too sick to want to see it.

Opening the heavy wood door revealed a tall man in a suit. His light brown hair was combed forward and tamed with product, yet he still managed to exude an air of authority. Dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but Darcy recognized him anyway.

“You’re the man from the butterfly house.” Malcolm had introduced her to his partner before he slept with her. Was that like obtaining preapproval before spending agency resources?

“I’m Special Agent Keith Rossetti. Can we come in, Ms. Markovich?”

Glancing around him, she saw that Malcolm hadn’t come up on the porch. No doubt he was ready to go around back in case she made a break for it. “I suppose it’s that or you’ll drag me down to the station for questioning again. Plus Special Agent Dickhead has a key, so that’s pretty much an open invitation, isn’t it?”

The dark glasses came off in a sharp, authoritative gesture worthy of any Will Smith movie. His eyes were green, his expression somber. “We don’t want to go that far. We just want to talk, that’s all.”

She wanted to tell them both to go to hell, and she wanted to hear an explanation that would make the hollow ache in her chest go away. She narrowed her eyes, pivoted on one heel, and walked away. She left the door open. That was all the invitation she planned to offer.

She headed to the kitchen where she’d left a sink full of breakfast dishes and ran the water to make it hot. The agents entered the kitchen when water filled the tub halfway. She added dish soap and watched the white bubbles form.

“Ms. Markovich, it’s imperative we have your word that Agent Legato’s true identity will remain a secret.”

She liked to wash the plates first. Doing the dishes had a soothing order about it, and packing them into the drying rack so they all fit had a rewarding symmetry. She dismissed all the nasty retorts that came to mind. “I don’t plan on bragging about this kind of humiliation to anyone. As far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t exist. We’ll all pretend we didn’t waste the last six weeks in one another’s company.”

And she would pretend the father of her child hadn’t been using her as he looked for ways to put her away for a crime she hadn’t committed.

Forks and cups clean, and they showed no signs of leaving. There just weren’t enough dishes to keep her busy for much longer. “Ms. Markovich, this investigation has reached a rather critical point. We’re very close to a break in the case.”

She attacked a pan. Theo had made pancakes. “And what break is that, Agent Rossetti? I don’t know anything more than what I’ve told the police already. You’re wasting your time here, but that’s not surprising. Fucking cops excel at wasting time.”

A hand reached over her shoulder and halted the flow of hot water. Darcy stiffened as Malcolm’s arm brushed against hers. His heady scent rocked her senses. “I saw your interview tapes, and I saw footage of what the police did to your house when they searched it. I understand why you hate cops, but you need to put this in perspective. They wanted to psych you out. They were just doing their jobs.”

The desire to elbow him sharply in the ribs conflicted with the need to lean into his body and feel his strong arms holding her tight. She grasped her anger and held it like a lover. It was the only thing she could trust right now. “And you were just doing your job. Do you honestly think I had anything to do with Scott’s disappearance? Is that what you’ve found out in all the time you’ve spent with me? That I could hurt the man I loved?” She breathed through the sharp pain in her heart. Heartbreak felt a lot like a heart attack. “You’ve no doubt had a chance to search every square inch of this place. Did you find anything?”

His arms came down on either side of her, and his hands rested on the ledge in front of the sink. Fortunately he didn’t touch her. She didn’t know how long she could hold out if he touched her. “No, I didn’t. I also searched the items the police confiscated as part of their investigation. It’s all in federal custody now.”

She shivered and consoled herself with the false knowledge that the reaction was generated by fear. “I feel violated on a whole new level. Am I in federal custody now?”

“We’re not after you, Darcy. We’re after Snyder. We know you carry a lot of weight with him. You were supposed to provide an introduction, that’s all.” The low cadence of his voice washed over her frayed nerves. It would be so easy to lean back, to let him close his arms around her and manipulate her into doing or saying whatever would make his case.

She clutched her fury closer and shook her head. “If you weren’t after me, you would have told me who you were from the beginning and simply asked me for an introduction. Why are you after Victor? He’s a control freak, but he’s not a bad guy. He was there for me when your buddies dragged me in and treated me like shit.”

“Would you have helped me if I came up to you and introduced myself as Special Agent Malcolm Legato with the FBI? You know as well as I do that you would have told me to fuck off.” Harsh emotion vibrated from his body.

Shivering, she folded her arms over her stomach. She should have told him to fuck off anyway. What business did she have being happy while Scott… No, she couldn’t go there again. Guilt and grief would eat her alive, but this time it would be compounded by all the stupid things she’d done since then.

“Darcy, I cleared you as a suspect that first night.” A throat cleared nearby, reminding them they weren’t alone. “Keith cleared you after he met you. I ended up not needing you to get an introduction to Snyder, but I did need you to land the job that let me investigate his networks for evidence of a whole host of crimes.”

For a second, the sunlight glinted off something in her neighbor’s yard and blinded her through the window. She blamed it for the water in her eyes. She exhaled, her better sense winning this battle. It did explain why he’d taken forever to put up the charity part of the website.

She desperately wanted this to be over so she could curl up in bed and never get up again. “Fine. You’re investigating Victor. I won’t blow the whistle on you. I’ll come in Monday, wrap up my part in this farce, and then I’m dumping Theo. You can stay in Victor’s good graces, and I never have to see you again.”

“That’s not going to work.” Agent Rossetti came to stand near her right side. Malcolm removed his arm, backing off to flank her left side. “Snyder wants you as a condition to letting Theo deeper into his organization. We need you to go to that dinner party Thursday night and accept the PR job he’s going to offer you. It needs to look like Theo, as your Master, is guiding your decision.”

She started and stepped back, the heat of embarrassment suffusing her neck and cheeks. “You told Victor you were my Master?”

Malcolm shook his head. “I didn’t have to. He knew about your relationship with Scott. He not only assumed we had the same kind of relationship, he saw us last week on the security cameras. We had an unscheduled meeting after you left. After you warned me about him. I promised him I could deliver your cooperation.”

Bile, bitter and hot, shot up her esophagus. He had used her, betrayed her, and used her again. She ran to the bathroom and lost her lunch. Gentle hands wrangled her hair out of the way. When the heaving stopped, he helped her up. This half bathroom had nowhere to sit, so he leaned her against the counter and flushed her lunch away.

Darcy closed her eyes and let her head bang as it fell against the wall. Water ran, and a cool cloth wiped away the cold sweat from her face and neck.

He rinsed the cloth, folded it, and put it on the back of her neck. “Hold that there. It’s shock. It’ll pass in a little while.

Whether it was shock or not, his tender care tore down the last of her defenses, not that she felt very strong or brave. Sinking to the floor, she buried her face in her knees and sobbed. “You used me. You used me, and I fell for you. How could I be so stupid?”

His arm came around her from one side, and he tried to raise her head with his other hand. “Sweetheart, look at me.”

The anger came back full force. He had no right to call her by a term of endearment. Her head shot up, and she nailed him with all the malice in her body. “Don’t call me that. Don’t you ever call me that again.”

He flinched, and sadness flickered in his eyes. “Darcy, nothing that happened between us was part of this case. I wasn’t Theo when I was with you. I was me. Every moment I spent with you, everything I said to you, that came from me. I never wanted to hurt you. You have to believe that.”

The pain in his eyes was too much to bear. If she wasn’t careful, she’d fall for his lies again. She let her head fall back, not caring when she cracked it against the cabinet. “You lied to me. I find anything you have to say difficult to believe.”

He exhaled hard, a tired sound. “Fine. If you won’t do it for me, do it for Scott. We have reason to believe Scott found out what Victor was doing, and that’s why Victor had him killed. I need to get into Victor’s house. I need him to trust me enough to let me deeper into his organization.”

The bile tried for a repeat performance, but she had nothing left. She swallowed it down, but the pain stayed behind. Carefully she lifted her head to meet Malcolm’s eyes. “You’re telling me Victor had Scott killed because Scott had evidence of illegal activities?” She shook her head. “But Victor was good to me. He helped… Why does Victor want me to work for him so badly? It can’t be to keep me close so he can keep an eye on me. He’s been after me since before Scott went missing.”

Malcolm shrugged. “He wants your face to represent his company. Have you never seen yourself speak, Darcy? Do you honestly have no idea how you captivate a room with your voice, your grace, and your friendly personality? You might battle nerves to get there, but you’re one of the most gifted speakers I’ve ever seen. He could use someone like you to smooth over lots of problems. He uses people like Mickey Halter to deal with the problems diplomacy doesn’t solve.”

She turned the idea over and over in her mind. Even after she kicked Malcolm out of the bathroom so she could freshen up, little things Scott had said and done flashed through her mind. He had urged her away from Victor, and his convictions had become very resolute about six weeks before he disappeared.

Whenever he got really bothered about something, he worked on the dishwasher he never could seem to fix. Her intuition kicked into gear. Exiting the bathroom, she found Malcolm and Keith sitting at her kitchen table.

Malcolm looked up expectantly. His gaze roamed her body and came to rest on her face.

“The dishwasher. It doesn’t make sense that Scott couldn’t fix it. He could fix anything. I don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, but he would never hide electronic evidence anywhere that could be networked.” If they found the evidence there, she wouldn’t have to continue this farce. Attending Vic’s dinner party would be completely unnecessary.

Malcolm headed for Scott’s tools while Darcy found a drop cloth. She didn’t want her wood floor scuffed up. Scott had always put down a canvas cloth before he wrestled the appliance from its hidey-hole.