Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (22 page)

Sighing, he knew he was at war with himself.
Part of him wanted to shove her off him. The other part wanted to
cuddle her closer. He settled for running his hands through her
long, blond hair and breathing in her sweet scent.

“What’s wrong, Nick?”

Her voice startled him. “I thought you were
asleep.”

“You’re far too anxious for me to
sleep.”

“I learned a few upsetting things today, but
it’s nothing to concern yourself about.”

She crossed her hands together on his chest
and propped her chin on them, looking at him and shaking her head
softly. “Anything that’s important to you is important to me.”

It was time to start playing this target, no
matter his personal feelings. “If you really want to know, I’ll
tell you.” He smoothed his fingers down her cheek in a loving
manner, unsure whether he was pretending or not. “An FBI agent
called me this afternoon and wanted to meet with me.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“I guess it has something to do with a
terrorist organization in this area.” Though he watched closely, no
signs of fear or recognition crossed her face, she simply stared at
him, waiting for him to go on. “They’re trying to find the members
and stop them.”

Carlie nodded. “Yes. Of course, they have
to. It’s good to know they’re working hard to protect us, but I
don’t understand what that has to do with you.”

“Because, I’m on their watch list.”

“Watch list for what? You’re not a
terrorist.”

“There are things about me you don’t know,
Carlie.” He shrugged. “I’ve said things in the past that could be
considered against our country, because I didn’t agree with the
last president’s foreign policies or the war we had.”

She broke eye contact, and Nick hoped she
was considering telling him about her group. The best way to find
out what she was up to would be to get an invitation to join
them.

“Nick, I’m not sure I understand what you’re
saying.” She finally looked at him again. “Are you involved with
something against our country? Terrorists?”

Rather than impressed, like he imagined
she’d sound, Carlie seemed disgusted. “No, nothing like that. But
haven’t you ever thought, maybe just for a second, that people have
a right to hate Americans for our arrogance?”

She pushed herself away and sat up, shaking
her head. “I can’t believe this. All night I’ve been worried about
you, and you’re thinking about how terrorists are right to kill
Americans?” She crawled out of bed and stood up, walking to the
door. “I’m not trying to be hot and cold with you, but I think I’ve
made a mistake.”

“Calm down. You asked what happened today,
so I told you. You haven’t made a mistake.”

She hugged her arms to her body, seeming on
the verge of tears. “This is why I said we should get to know each
other better before letting things get physical. I don’t know what
to think right now, but this isn’t okay.”

“I thought you’d understand.” And tell him
about
her
terrorist activities. This wasn’t going as
planned.

“Nick, my whole goal in life is to help
people. I thought you were like me, but this...” She shook her head
and opened the door. “I think you should go.”

Go? That wasn’t supposed to happen. She was
disgusted and angry. What kind of terrorist would act like that
when faced with a kindred spirit? Either Carlie was a very good
actress or she wasn’t a terrorist at all.

Now he was more confused than ever.

Maybe she lied about being Princess
Stephanie because she didn’t know what else to tell him. Maybe,
somehow, she was responsible for Prince Rayhan’s death—and possibly
Stephanie’s, if he’d read that right—so was on the run. That would
make sense. Maybe it still had nothing to do with the terrorist
organization, but with the Prince and Princess themselves.

He didn’t know what to believe.

“Carlie, please don’t make me leave. I
didn’t say I thought terrorism was a good thing. It’s just that
sometimes I wish we didn’t start wars and shove our policies on
other countries.” He was scrambling, but didn’t know if he could
get back on even footing with her.

She folded her arms tightly across her
pajama top. “War is only good for people who make money from it.
Generals send out innocent people to be slaughtered while they kill
other innocent people.” She shook her head. “It’s the leaders who
should be out fighting each other.”

He nodded, thankful to have hit on something
she agreed with. Now to convince her to let him stay. He hopped out
of bed, crossing the room and hugging her. “You’re right. That’s
all I meant to say. It’s the unfairness that angers me.”

“That doesn’t make the terrorist right
either though, Nick. Do you really think they are? They kill
innocent people as well.”

He pressed his cheek into hers. “No. I don’t
think they’re right. Of course not.”

“Then why would the FBI want to talk to
you?”

She had him there. Carlie definitely kept
him on his toes, but she also opened the door for him to get more
information. “They weren’t actually investigating me.”

“Then who?”

Nick sighed theatrically, wanting Carlie to
realize how much it pained him to tell her. “They knew I’ve spent
time with Muhammad Khan, and I guess his uncle did something last
year.”

“Muhammad?” Carlie backed away from him,
putting her hand over her mouth and shaking her head. “No. How
could they think that? Muhammad is the reason I was so mad at you
saying terrorists were right. His uncle brought so much shame on
their family. Muhammad’s working hard to help others and erase the
negativity his uncle created. We have to warn him.”

She truly believed Muhammad was innocent.
Carlie had to be lying for some other reason. Nick wished he could
think of a way to ask her about the wedding pictures, find out why
she pretended to be Stephanie. Whatever her secrets were,
organizing a terrorist group wasn’t one of them. Unless, of course,
she was acting. He wished he could tell.

“We can’t tell Muhammad,” he replied. “The
FBI is watching everything. If we tip him off, they’ll think we’re
involved. I might even go to jail for what I said a few years back.
It makes me seem sympathetic to terrorists. I didn’t mean it the
way it was taken, but that doesn’t matter.”

“But what about him? He’s our friend.”

Nick took Carlie’s hands in his, rubbing his
thumbs across the tops of them. “Are you certain he’s innocent?
Maybe there are things you don’t know about him.”

“There’s plenty I don’t know about him, but
he told me about his uncle shortly after we met. He’s trying to
make things right. He’s a good person.” She shook her head,
pressing her lips tightly together. “No. He’s not a terrorist.”

“Then he has nothing to worry about.” Nick
did his best to keep his voice calm and reasonable. If Carlie said
anything to Muhammad, Paul would not be very forgiving of having
the entire case blown. “I’m sorry for upsetting you. Now do you
understand why I didn’t want to talk about it? I was trying to
protect you.”

She stepped into him, wrapping her arms
around him and snuggling her face against his neck. “I do
understand, but please quit keeping things from me to protect me. I
can’t live that way.”

“You want us to both be completely
honest?”

“Yes,” she agreed. “No lying about anything,
okay? At least, not to each other.”

That was ironic, considering they were both
lying about the people they really were. Since she didn’t know he
was lying, and didn’t know he knew she was, they would never have
an honest relationship.

“Let’s go back to bed.” He led her across
the space and tumbled down into the covers with her, pulling the
comforter around them and holding her tightly. “I need you, Carlie,
and I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“I don’t want to fight either.” She scooted
up to put her head level with his and kissed him softly. “In the
spirit of being honest, there’s something I want to tell you.”

His heart rate jumped a little, wondering if
he’d finally learn the truth, but he just nodded.

She kissed him again, obviously nervous.
“I’ve been trying to deny it, especially since we don’t know each
other very well, but there’s something I just can’t ignore any
longer.”

Not the opening he expected. “What’s
that?”

In the semidarkness of the room, the light
from a streetlamp coming in the window made her eyes shine with a
luminescent quality as she stared at him. She licked her lips and
looked away. “Boy, I didn’t expect this to be so hard to
admit.”

He smoothed her hair back from her forehead.
“It’s okay. You can tell me anything. I promise to understand.”

“Okay.” She puffed out some air, and her
hand trembled against his chest. “It’s been a long time since I
counted on someone else, but I count on you. Whether we fight or
have misunderstandings, I like thinking you might be around for a
long time. I really care a lot about you, Nick, maybe even...”

She shook her head and leaned into him. All
the oxygen seemed to suck out of the room when her lips touched
his. Nick’s head swam with dizziness and he tightened his arms,
clinging to her as his hold on reality.

How can I be in love with her? It’ll never
work out. But I am. Damn, I love her and I can’t just make that go
away.

Nick tried to put all the passion he felt
into the kiss, hoping she understood.

Carlie pulled away after a timeless
eternity, watching him as though gauging his reaction.

He knew he couldn’t lie. And he didn’t want
to. “I feel the same way about you.”

Carlie scrubbed vigorously at the lasagna
pan, anxious for the party to end. Out in the dining room, the
birthday girl, Julie, and a group of giggling teenage girls
murdered all the modern music loaded onto the karaoke machine. They
belted off-key into the microphones, but everyone seemed to be
having a good time.

Having served a variety of foods including
chicken and beef sliders, lasagna, spaghetti, and also her
signature soup in bread bowls, the guests all found something to
satisfy them. Mrs. Flair had been much happier the last time Carlie
spoke with her, and even the father showing up with his new
girlfriend hadn’t ruined things.

The presents were opened, the cupcakes gone,
and many of the guests had left. A few just didn’t want to give up.
They’d played all sorts of games over the past few hours, but the
girls apparently wanted to sing more.

Shelley came back with another batch of
dirty dishes, setting them on the counter. “Looks like it was a
success.”

“Yep.” Carlie gave her friend a tired smile.
“That’s a lot of expense for the parents for a birthday party, but
I’m happy to take their money.”

“Me too,” she agreed. “I’ve had my eye on a
new dress, and now I can afford it.”

Carlie sighed, not remembering the last time
she bought a new dress. “I’m going to be able to pay the power
company this month.”

“Well...priorities, you know.” Shelley
shrugged. “I’ll take a new dress over heat any day.”

At least Shelley was predictable. Her search
for Mr. Right never stopped, and looking her best was necessary for
that mission. Carlie hadn’t told her yet about the conversation
with Nick last night. She wasn’t sure what Shelley’s reaction would
be. Her friend might think she was stupid to have nearly confessed
her love after only a week of dating, but Nick had said he felt the
same way. Did he mean he loved her, or just that he counted on
her?

The rest of the night had gone well, but
Nick still seemed upset today. Not wanting to stress him out
further, when Muhammad stopped by the shop Carlie told him she
couldn’t bake for the soup kitchen tomorrow. She felt bad about
that, but it obviously made Nick uneasy, worrying about the FBI
agent. Although she knew Muhammad would never help a terrorist
organization, she didn’t want Nick thrown into the middle of
something that could land him in jail.

“Earth to Carlie.” Shelley waved her hand in
front of Carlie’s face. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m sorry. Did you say something?”

“I said that your super hunk told me he’s
ready to take the stage down. When are you going to kick the
partiers out?”

Carlie rinsed her hands in clear water and
wiped them on a towel. “I’ll talk to Mrs. Flair and see how much
longer they’re going to be.”

“Good idea.” Shelley scooped some food off a
plate into the garbage can. “I’ll keep working back here.”

Carlie stepped out of the kitchen into the
small hallway, nearly colliding with Nick. She gripped his
shoulders to keep from falling. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He leaned down and gave her a quick
kiss. “I was coming to see if you still wanted me to take your
deposit over to the bank so it’s not sitting in the store all day
tomorrow.”

She’d forgotten Nick offered to do that.
Usually the armored car picked up the deposits in the mornings. The
amount of money the shop made today was more than usual and there
was no pickup on Sundays. That worried her.

“I’m on my way to talk to Mrs. Flair,” she
said. “The key to the drop box at the bank and the bag of money are
all in the safe.”

“Could you come get it out for me?”

“It’s past time to get those guys out of
here. Why don’t I tell you the code so you can get it? I’ll talk to
Mrs. Flair.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “You trust me with
the code?”

Laughing, Carlie shook her head at him. “I’m
sending the money with you anyway. If you plan to steal it, you’d
be able to then. Besides, I’ve trusted you with a lot more than
money. You’re living in my house.”

“Good point.”

Carlie leaned close to his ear and
whispered, “Thirteen, forty-five, eleven.”