Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (15 page)

Though Nick was glad Shelley had plenty in
her arsenal to help with Carlie’s protection, it worried him that
she only knew about Stephen. “Or anyone else. It doesn’t have to be
Stephen who hurts her.”

Carlie narrowed her eyes, and Nick knew he
overstepped the boundaries of what she would tolerate.

“I’m not entirely helpless,” she said. “I’ve
taken care of myself for a lot of years.”

He sighed. “I know, but you’re giving up
some control, remember?”

“And so are you,” she shot back.

“Which worked out so great this
morning.”

A grin lit her face, as he hoped it would.
“I’m glad you both care about me,” she said, “but please don’t
treat me like a wounded bird with no control over her destiny.”

Shelley looked at Nick and shrugged before
returning her attention to Carlie. “Of course we know you’re not,
sweetie. We just want to keep you safe.”

“Exactly,” he agreed, walking toward the
door. “Take care of each other while I’m gone. I’ll be back
soon.”

He half hoped Carlie would rush over and
kiss him goodbye, but she kept her place on the couch. Whether that
was because she didn’t want to seem eager or because she was angry
with him and Shelley for talking as though she weren’t in the room,
he couldn’t tell.

A part of him wanted to walk back to her and
kiss her, claim her for his own. Laughing silently at his own
foolishness, he opened the door and stepped outside without looking
at her again.

“Be safe,” she called, just as he closed the
door.

Unable to wipe the smile from his face, Nick
crossed the yard to his car. He would definitely be careful. Even
knowing there might be assassins in town besides the government
agents after Carlie, she promised him some fun tonight. Nothing
would get in the way of him returning to her and finishing what
they started.

Carlie glanced at Shelley, surprised that
she was so good with a gun. “I didn’t know you shoot competitively.
How’d you get into that?”

“We haven’t talked about much besides work
stuff and guys.” Her friend shrugged. “My dad taught me to shoot
almost before I could walk. It’s a big thing in my family.”

Carlie never held a gun before. It would
certainly be a more effective way to stop an assassin than a
defense she couldn’t execute properly. “Could you teach me?”

“I don’t know. It takes a long time to
learn. If you don’t know what you’re doing, someone could take the
gun away and use it on you.”

Sighing, Carlie knew she should give up on
that idea. She probably couldn’t open fire on someone anyway—not
even Stephen. “It’s important I find ways to protect myself.”

“I don’t entirely understand.” Shelley
crossed the room and sat next to her. “Stephen wouldn’t come near
you again, would he? I’m pretty sure having Nick around would stop
him from trying anything else.”

Carlie wondered if she should tell Shelley
about her past. Shelley was in more danger than she realized
staying at the house.

“You didn’t explain what happened with
Stephen,” Shelley said before Carlie decided what to tell her. “I
got distracted by your date. Why did he attack?”

“He...” Carlie looked down, picking at her
fingernail. If Shelley knew the truth, she might not stick
around.

Shelley put her hand against Carlie’s arm
and asked softly, “Did he try to rape you or something?”

She wondered why everyone jumped to that
conclusion—perhaps because Stephen was slime. “No. That’s not what
happened. Thank goodness.” She met Shelley’s blue eyes, knowing she
had to tell her. Carlie gave a condensed version of the story she
told Nick and waited anxiously for her friend’s reaction.

Shelley blew out a puff of air, wafting her
bangs away from her face with the force of the wind. “That
is...crazy.”

“I know.” She felt miserable. Not only was
she drawing her new friends into her problems and putting them in
danger, the story of her life was hard to believe. “If you don’t
want to stay, I’ll totally understand.”

“Why would I leave?” Shelley stood and
pushed the coffee table against the wall. “You have to know how to
break a choke hold. I can handle that part. When Nick gets home, he
can teach more advanced moves.”

Carlie stood, though emotion clenched down
her chest and she was afraid a few more tears might fall. “You
still want to help me?”

“We’re friends, aren’t we? Believe it or
not, I don’t have that many girlfriends.”

Carlie laughed, knowing most women didn’t
trust Shelley around their boyfriends. It wasn’t her fault she was
beautiful. An accident of nature. She also couldn’t help the way
men responded to her. “You scare other women. They can’t compete
with you on the dating field.”

Shelley sighed. “And yet, here I am, still
waiting for Mister Right. I don’t even know if he’s out there.”

Beauty didn’t guarantee happiness, and
Carlie felt guilty for being jealous of Shelley’s looks in the
past. “You’ve kissed your share of frogs, haven’t you?”

“And toads and snakes,” she agreed. “Let’s
get to work, though. We can talk about my love life later.” She
made motions for Carlie to approach her. “Put your hands around my
throat and let me show you what to do. The trick is to go after
your assailant’s thumb and use your other hand to punch him in the
face.”

Carlie put her hands around Shelley’s neck,
choking her lightly. Shelley moved in slow motion, cupping her left
fingers into a stiff claw and plucking at Carlie’s right thumb to
loosen her grip. At the same time, she twisted her body and punched
Carlie’s face with her right hand.

“You see?” she asked. “The twisting motion
will break the hold further, and a punch to his nose with the heel
of your hand might make him lose his grip entirely. Then, you’ve
already turned away and can run.”

“Stephen slammed my head against the wall.
It stunned me. I sort of panicked.” Carlie sighed. “Show me again,
and then let me try. I focused too much on attacks during training
and glossed over defenses, thinking a good offense was the best
defense.”

Shelley nodded. “Lots of people do that, but
I think your defensive moves are more important, actually. Even if
your attacker is a lot bigger, you can break fingers, wrists, all
manner of things.” She grabbed Carlie’s hands and placed them back
around her neck. “No one’s gonna mess with you again or they’ll be
sorry.”

***

Nick pulled the Porsche onto Carlie’s
street, watching the red car tailing him. It had pulled out behind
him when he left Carlie’s Creations. The angle of the sun
reflecting off the windshield made it difficult to see who the
driver was, but he had an idea.

Stephen drove a red car.

He turned into Carlie’s driveway,
unsurprised when the red car pulled along the curb and stopped.
Grabbing his pistol from the glove box, Nick tucked it into the
back of his pants and got out of his vehicle.

Walking slowly across the grass to the
sidewalk, he forced in deep, calming breaths. It wouldn’t do any
good to appear angry. No matter how he really felt, he found it
more effective to be in complete control. That intimidated people
more.

The driver’s door opened on the street side
and Nick stopped walking, waiting for the driver to come to him.
The back of Stephen’s blond head appeared over the top of the car
before he turned around. Dark sunglasses sat on his face and he
sported crisscrossed tape over the bridge of his nose.

Nick laughed. “My girl packs one hell of a
wallop, doesn’t she?”

“She’s not your girl.” Stephen shut the door
and rounded the front of the vehicle, stopping just outside Nick’s
kicking range. “We both know that. She’s your target.”

The problem with Stephen knowing the truth
was he could blow things. If Carlie found out why Nick was
interested in her, she’d never believe his feelings were real. He
had a hard time believing it himself.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not
sure what you’re talking about, but you shouldn’t be here.”

“You can’t hurt me,” Stephen whined. “Paul
promised you wouldn’t.”

There was no point pretending he didn’t know
who Paul was.

“Did he also tell you if you bother Carlie,
I have permission to do whatever I want?” Nick cocked his head to
the side and shrugged. “What I want is to kick your ass for
touching her.”

“Take it easy.” Stephen took a step back and
held his hands up. “I came to apologize. We’re going to see each
other at karate class, so I want to make it up to her.”

Is he for real?

Nick shook his head sharply. “You’re not
going back to our dojo and you’re certainly not talking to Carlie.
What you’re going to do is be happy you got out of this situation
at all.” He lowered his voice to a growl, “I had to exert all my
control to not kill you.”

Blanching visibly, Stephen took another step
back. “I wasn’t supposed to be hurt at all. That bitch broke my
nose. I’m trying to do the right thing and apologize. If she’d just
had sex with me like I know she wanted to—”

“Get the hell out of here, before I change
my mind about letting you live.” Nick narrowed his eyes, giving a
glare that had cowed stronger men than Stephen. He had to stay in
control, but the thought of that creep’s hands on Carlie twisted
his gut with rage.

The front door banged and Nick glanced over
his shoulder. Shelley stood on the porch, gun drawn.

“What’s that piece of shit doing here?” Her
voice was sweet and conversational, and she turned to Stephen.
“Come to get a bullet in your ass, dickhead? I’d be happy to
help.”

Despite his anger, Nick chuckled. “And here
I was thinking I’d protect Carlie. Looks like Shelley might end the
problem for me.”

Stephen’s lip curled. “Does Shelley know how
you’re using Carlie?” He lifted his head and hollered, “You’re
trusting the wrong guy. I’m not nearly the threat Nick is.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Shelley spread her
legs slightly and gripped the gun tighter. “You should leave.”

“So now Carlie sends you to fight her
battles?” Stephen sneered at Shelley. “What’ll happen when you
aren’t here?”

It only took three steps to reach him.
Nick’s fist smashed into the side of his face with a wet thud.
Stephen’s sunglasses flew through the air and he dropped to the
ground.

“Put your filthy hands on her again, and I
will end you.” Nick clenched his jaw and stared down at him, but
Stephen didn’t move. Nick turned and walked to the house, clearing
the steps to stand next to Shelley.

A wicked smile lit her face and she winked.
“What took you so long?”

Nick shrugged. He couldn’t tell Shelley he
wasn’t supposed to hurt the bastard. That’d open up too many
questions. “He claimed he was here to apologize to Carlie, but I
think he just wanted a chance to get her again.”

Her eyes narrowed. “He’s not going near
her.”

Nick nodded, watching Stephen pick himself
up off the ground and fumble for his sunglasses. It was satisfying
to see how black his eyes were. Given time for the bruises to set
in, he looked rougher than Carlie. She must have kicked him pretty
damn hard.

Shelley apparently noticed too because she
smiled widely. “She messed him up better than I expected. I’m
surprised he dared come over here.”

Nick laughed. “Maybe he’s afraid if he
doesn’t apologize she’ll come after him again.”

Stephen scurried to the driver’s side of his
car and climbed inside.

“We might have ruined her fun.” Shelley
sighed. “Do you think she’ll be mad at us for chasing him off? She
probably wants to handle him herself.”

“Doesn’t she know he’s here?”

“No. We practiced defenses for a while and
she went in to rest. I don’t think she’d leave us out here to fight
her battles if she knew. She’s determined to stand up for
herself.”

“I got that impression.”

Stephen’s car pulled away from the curb and
he sped down the road.

Shelley lowered the gun to her side. “Think
he’ll come back?”

“I wish I knew.”

He never expected Stephen to show up in the
first place. Paul wouldn’t be happy, that was for sure. It
surprised Nick the jerk was still alive. He was a piss poor agent.
First, he disobeyed orders and took Carlie to his house, and then
showed up here and made veiled references to Nick’s mission in
front of Shelley. It was unprofessional at best, outright sabotage
at worst.

While Nick didn’t think Carlie was a
terrorist, he still had a mission to carry out until the President
or other leaders of S.A.T.O. said differently. Regardless of what
Stephen thought of the mission, he should know better than to put
the entire operation at risk.

Maybe S.A.T.O. decided to kill off too many
of the agents who actually understood their job. It was no wonder
Paul was stuck with idiots like Stephen Chance.

Shelley turned and opened the front door.
“Guess there isn’t much we can do about him right now. May as well
go inside.”

Nodding, Nick followed her. “The best thing
we can do is teach Carlie tricks so she can get away from him.”

“And any other assassins who might be after
her.”

Nick raised an eyebrow, unable to mask his
surprise. “She told you?”

“Yep, and wait ‘til you see the defense I
taught her.” Shelley grinned. “She’s already really good at
it.”

Nick wondered what Paul would think about
him training Carlie to defend herself. If S.A.T.O. decided she was
still a threat, they wouldn’t want her knowing those skills. Then
again, if they couldn’t prove why she was a threat, Nick would be
forced to break even more rules to keep her safe.

Not that the rules mattered anymore. He’d
already broken the biggest one. He cared about the target.