Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies (8 page)

And then she caught sight of her sister again. Smiling. “Catch me if you can, Genie!” Becca had taunted. It was a familiar childhood game they’d once played.

Genie wished they could go back to those days when they’d been happy and life was easy. Before their mother’s accident. Before their world had been torn apart. But as she turned the corner, Becca was gone again, ethereal as the dust motes dancing in the dim beams of light from the grimy windows.

Or had Genie imagined her in the first place?

She couldn’t be sure. She reached out for her sister, calling with her mind. A wave of fear washed through her.

“Run Genie! Run!”

Becca! But where was she? Why was she hiding? Each step took Genie deeper into the darkness.

A faint crackling sound stopped her. She listened intently, trying to decipher the noise. A snap. A pop. Then the acrid scent of burning reached her. Genie hesitated.
Becca
? Every fiber within her screamed to turn and run! But she had to find her sister.

She ran through one room after another until another sound stopped her—a
beep beep beep
. She took hesitant steps toward an open doorway, peered around the corner and saw a room filled with machinery. Through the bluish green glow of their lights she saw a figure lying on the ground, her mass of blond hair pulled back starkly from her face.

“Becca!” she’d screamed.

Genie rushed in, but before she could reach her sister, a massive explosion rocked the building to its foundation. Black smoke poured into the room. Flames licked at the walls. Genie tried to run through it, but it was no use. She doubled over, coughing and choking as the smoke burned her lungs until she could no longer breathe. She collapsed to the floor where the air wasn’t so thick and started to crawl, moving toward the front of the building. One hand pushing forward, then another until she collapsed, unable to move any farther, struggling desperately for air…

Genie bolted upright, finding herself in the cramped cockpit with a start, gasping deep lungfuls of precious air.

“You okay?” Kyle mouthed at her.

She looked at him, blinking, trying to remember where she was and how she’d gotten there. There was no smoke. No fire. She wasn’t even in the warehouse. She must have fallen asleep.

And seen Becca
? She wished she could be sure whether or not she’d really seen Becca in the warehouse that day. But other than in her dreams, she had no recollection of seeing her.

…

Kyle didn’t like how pale Genie looked. She’d obviously been having a nightmare. He wished she’d let him help her and tell him what was going on. What was she so afraid of? He jerked his head away from her, looking toward the horizon, anywhere but at her. He was walking a thin line, and if he weren’t careful, Cameron would have his head for this.

Genie was supposed to be on that plane with her sister. Extract the girls; get them on that plane back to D.C. Those were his orders. And yet, here he was in the sky, ready to land in Seattle. He’d assured Cameron he would get to the bottom of the situation, but Kyle still hadn’t gotten anywhere. He had no idea what Genie really knew about what was happening with her father, or what had happened in the warehouse that day eight months ago that had caused her to go into deep hiding and break off contact with everyone in her life.

Including the man who loved her.

Had
loved her, Kyle corrected himself firmly.

He was risking her safety and this mission by letting her travel to the island off the Puget Sound where her father’s estate lay. And yet, here they all were. Doing exactly what the little she-devil insisted on doing—going after her dad. He wished he could throw her over his shoulder, haul her in for questioning, and make her tell him the truth. But he knew her well enough to be certain that would get him absolutely nowhere. He also knew he couldn’t just stand there and let her walk into the danger zone alone.

Hell, Kyle still didn’t even know for certain it was Sean Emerich behind the attacks on her and Cat this morning. If it was, what the hell kind of game was the bastard playing? No sane commander sent in that many operatives with that much firepower without losing a single bullet. It made no sense. And that worried him. It meant there had to be more going on here than anyone in CTA imagined. Not good.

Emerich was an international crime boss whose illegal enterprises facilitated everything from the movement of illegal arms and counterfeit goods to human trafficking. Sean Emerich was smart, and he was thorough. And all day he’d seemed to be one step ahead of Genie and Cameron both. Chances were that Emerich’s goons would be waiting for them when they landed in Seattle.

But why was a man like Emerich interested in the Marsters family? That was the question Kyle couldn’t answer to save his life.

Or possibly Genie’s…

“A car is waiting for you out front of the airport to take you to the ferry,” Johnny’s voice on the headset cut through Kyle’s uneasy thoughts.

Kyle looked at Genie once more with her head resting against the side window. She appeared to be back asleep. “Thanks, Johnny. I’m not sure how long this excursion will take us.”

“No worries. I’ll stay here with the bird in case you need me to come get you.”

“Let’s hope it won’t come to that. I’m planning to get on and off that island without anyone knowing we were ever there. I just hope Genie cooperates.”

“She will as long as it helps the mission,” Johnny said. “I’m sure she’s still the same old Genie.”

Kyle glanced over at her, making sure she was truly asleep.

“I’m not sure we ever knew who the old Genie was,” he muttered.

“Sure we did. She was the looker who could kick some mean butt and always had our backs.”

“And kept more than a few secrets.”

Johnny snorted. “In this business, who doesn’t? Besides, what do you expect considering who her old man is?”

“True.” Kyle didn’t envy her growing up with Marsters as a dad. He couldn’t even imagine what that must have been like. But that didn’t excuse the secrets and lies. He and Genie had been lovers.
In love with each other
. There shouldn’t be secrets and lies between two people who’d stripped naked emotionally, and bared their very souls to each other. “But understanding it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Nor did it mean he had to put up with it.

Hell no, he had no intention of falling into that trap again. The quicker they found old man Marsters and got everyone back to D.C., the better for everyone concerned.

They landed at Sea-Tac airport, and Kyle quickly led Genie through the terminal and out to the front where a line of limos and taxis was waiting for passengers. The driver of a black Town Car at the back of the line was holding up a sign for Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson—the cover they’d always used on joint ops in the past. Kyle’s jaw muscle ticked. Leave it to Johnny to think they were reliving old times.

Kyle gestured toward the car and they climbed into the back. If anyone else was there waiting for them, or watching them, he didn’t see them.

Forty-five minutes later, they were waiting for the ferry. Genie hadn’t said a word the whole way there. She was worried, he could tell. He just didn’t know what to say to help her, or if he should even bother trying.

“So you want to talk about it?” he asked when he could no longer bear her silence.

“About what?”

“Your dream
.”

She stared at him for a long minute. “You didn’t have to come with me,” she said, finally stepping away from him. “I can handle this on my own.”

Classic Genie avoidance. “I’m sure you can.” He was disappointed, but not surprised. Why change now?

“And I’m sure I should,” she muttered.

His temper flared. “Listen, Genie. I’m supposed to have you on a plane right now to D.C. Just so you know, until I can make that happen, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Always the good soldier, eh?”

It wasn’t the first time she’d accused him of that. He took it as a compliment, but he knew she intended it to be an insult.

“Some of us take our responsibilities seriously,” he said, sharply. A lot sharper than he’d intended. He looked her square in the eyes. “Some of us don’t run away.”

She didn’t say anything, just turned and watched the ferry approaching. After a few moments, she turned back. “If it’s any consolation, I didn’t run out on you for no reason. I had to leave and stay gone. I had no choice; otherwise I would have been there. For you in the hospital. For Becca’s funeral.”

He stared at her, his gaze hardening in disbelief. “Really? Because the Genie I knew wouldn’t have let anyone keep her away from something she wanted to do.”

“I guess you could say I was following orders myself.”

He jetted out a clipped breath. “Since when are you the good soldier?”

The ferry’s arrival cut off anything she might have said. She turned and silently strode away from him toward the gangplank.

He wished he could believe that she’d had no choice. He really did. But more than that, he wished he could give her what they both wanted—to turn around, go back to the bird and leave her the hell alone. But as much as he wished he could, he just couldn’t seem to let himself walk away. Instead, he stalked after her up the gangplank and onto the ferry. Unable to help himself, he grabbed her and turned her toward him, pushing her back against the railing. “I think I deserved more than you disappearing without a trace.”

She closed her eyes, refusing to look at him.

Frustration surged through his veins. “We were. . . you were
important
to me.”

Still she didn’t say anything. Wouldn’t engage. Wouldn’t even look at him. After all this time and she was still shutting him out, still running.

Coward.

“Dammit, Genie! I’m not going to let you hide from me, not anymore.” He pressed his body against hers. Her legs were trapped between his, her soft breasts pillowed against his hard chest.

Her eyes shot open. “What are you doing?” She gasped, eyes wide, her silken lips parted with shock.

It was too much to resist. Not in this volatile a mood.

“What I should have done earlier,” he growled. He pressed his lips against hers, hard and unrelenting, kissing her until her stiff, tentative tongue softened, warmed, and slipped into his mouth. She tasted hot and sweet and utterly intoxicating. His blood rushed through his body, pulsing in his ears as she wrapped her arms around his neck, finally falling into the kiss, losing herself, her fingers twining in his hair and sending little shockwaves through his body.

God, yes, he missed her. He missed this. He missed her touch and her taste and the overwhelming way he could drown in the feel of her. He missed working with her during the day and sleeping with her at night. He’d shared everything with her. She had been his whole world.

And yet, he didn’t have a clue who she was. He
still
didn’t know.

He pulled back, stepping away from her, unsteadily wiping her off his lips with the back of his knuckles.

“What was that?” she asked, trying to catch her breath. Annoyed? Upset? Aroused?

“Johnny said you were the same old Genie, I guess I just wanted to see for myself.”

“And?” she asked, bringing a trembling hand to her lips.

He leaned toward her. “Honest to God, Genie. I don’t have a damn clue.”

Chapter Five

Genie stood stunned at the bow of the ferry, reeling from the unexpected kiss Kyle had planted on her lips. It hadn’t been just any kiss. It had been a knock-you-out-of-your-pants kiss. One that had worked quite effectively on her in the past. And had been almost as effective right then, too.

His boldness brought all kinds of thoughts to mind. Thoughts and memories and the uncomfortable realization that she hadn’t been touched by anyone in any capacity since the day he’d carried her out of that warehouse.

She rubbed her arms, trying to soothe the goose bumps breaking out all over. She shouldn’t let Kyle get to her like that. Not again. And certainly not now. There was too much at stake, and she shouldn’t involve him in it. If she let him in, let him close, even just a little, then he’d start asking questions. Questions he had every right to ask. But questions she couldn’t answer. And then where would she be? She couldn’t continue to lie to him. To keep him in the dark. It made her feel like crap to do that.

But there were some secrets she just couldn’t share. Not with anyone.

She stood beside him with her face to the wind, trying to gather her wits. And not for the first time, wishing with every fiber of her being that she wasn’t gifted—or cursed as Cat had put it—with her empathic ability. That she could somehow put it all behind her and have a normal life, as Cat had managed…at least until now. But Genie had a feeling Cat’s paradise of lies was about to come to an abrupt and difficult end. Thanks to Sean Emerich and his vicious schemes.

The island where she and her sisters had grown up drew closer as the chilly sea air kissed her cheeks, reminding her of happier, easier times. It had been a long time since she’d taken this ride, since she’d felt the cold Pacific breeze on her skin. Why had it been so long? Why hadn’t she come back for a visit, to catch up?
To try and make peace?
She’d been so happy here once. They’d all been—Cat, Becca, and herself—running wild and free. They’d explored every inch of the island, and it had been wonderful.