Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (32 page)

Donovan walked around the table, helping his
wife into her chair before sitting down. “I don’t know about you
guys, but I’m starving.”

Before Nick could pull her chair out, Carlie
sat next to Colton and opened her menu. “So am I,” she said. “What
do you like to eat, Colton?”

The boy’s eyes grew wide and he leaned into
Carlie slightly. “The best is strawberry waffles. With extra whip
cream.”

Although Carlie smiled, there was a sadness
in her eyes different from the hurt and anger she’d shown in the
car. “Then I think we should get that. If it’s okay with your mom,
I mean.”

Nick took his own seat while Madeline gave
permission for the waffles. It occurred to him that Colton was
eight, almost the age Gabi would have been if she’d lived.

No, wait. That couldn’t be why Carlie was
upset. Despite everything, he had to remind himself the history she
gave was a lie. If there ever had been a Gabriela, the baby had
belonged to Princess Stephanie, not the bridesmaid.

Closing her menu, Madeline pulled hand
sanitizer from her purse and Colton placed his menu on top of hers.
He held his hands out for a few drops and rubbed his hands
vigorously together.

“I’ll have waffles, too,” Madeline decided,
sanitizing her own hands and turning to Donovan. “Sweetheart, you
really should get bacon. We both know how deprived you are.”

Donovan laughed and winked at Nick. “I
married a very hot woman and she’s a fantastic mom, but definitely
not a cook.”

“Well, my girlfriend—” Nick paused, not sure
he should call Carlie his girlfriend. “Carlie’s a fantastic cook.
You’re in for a treat by having her make dinner tomorrow. She even
bakes gourmet cupcakes.”

“Chocolate?” Colton asked, licking his
lips.

“You bet.” Carlie patted his hand. “You
could even help me bake them after dinner tomorrow.”

Well, at least she didn’t get upset by him
calling her his girlfriend. “What time did you want everyone to
come over tomorrow?” he asked.

Carlie shrugged. “I’ll do most of the baking
tonight and put the turkey in before I leave for the soup kitchen
in the morning, so there won’t be much to do.”

He tried to stop the automatic grimace that
crossed his face.

“I’m not canceling on Muhammad just because
you have issues.” Carlie busied herself unrolling the paper ring
from her silverware, but then glanced across the table at Donovan
and Madeline. “I’ll probably be done there around noon. I can leave
and check on the turkey as needed, but my friend runs a soup
kitchen for the needy, and I promised to help bake food in the
morning. How does one o’clock sound?”

“Sounds great.” Madeline smoothed her dark
hair behind her ear. “What can I do to help you out?”

The women launched into a discussion about
what all needed to be done, and Nick glanced at Donovan. His friend
raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering what brought on the tension
about the soup kitchen.

Nick knew he should just give up and stop
becoming angry when Carlie mentioned Muhammad. She obviously wasn’t
going to change her mind, and he was ruining the time they had left
together. Hopefully Donovan would have some advice. Maybe the best
thing would be to confront her. If he stated flat out that he knew
what was going on, maybe then they could talk about it.

Unless she didn’t really care about him at
all. Then, tipping her off could cause more harm to innocent
people. For some reason, Carlie made him want to protect her and
forget about the innocent people, but if she then did something
with Muhammad, it would be as though Nick did it himself. Millions
of Americans starving to death was a real possibility, one he could
be directly responsible for if he let his emotions rule his
actions.

How could he live with that knowledge?

After they finished eating Thanksgiving
dinner the following afternoon, Carlie spent time with Colton
making dessert. She set the timer on the stove and looked across to
where he sat on the counter, licking chocolate batter from the
bowl. “Is that going to upset your mom?” Madeline seemed laid back,
but Carlie probably should have asked permission.

“Nah.” Colton wiped his chin, getting
chocolate on the cuff of his blue shirtsleeve. “Mommy lets me lick
the bowl all the time.”

“That’s a relief.” Carlie ran hot water over
a dishrag and cleaned his shirt before pulling him off the counter
and setting him on the floor. “While I clean up in here, why don’t
you go watch football with your dad and Uncle Nick?”

“Okay.” Colton raced from the room,
displaying energy Carlie wished she still had.

After leaving the waffle house last night,
Carlie firmly said goodbye to Nick on her porch and then spent the
rest of the evening making rolls and pie. Cooking for five hours
this morning to help Muhammad and then playing hostess to the
Andrews family had worn her out.

Not enough to stop her brain from working,
unfortunately. Gabi would have been one year older than Colton.
Colton told her all about third grade and what he learned and his
friends, and Carlie tried to act excited for him. However, she
couldn’t stop thinking about her own little girl and how she should
have experienced all those things with her.

Life sucked sometimes. As much as Carlie
tried to have a positive attitude and be helpful to others, karma
had kicked her in the teeth as far as having children was
concerned.

Then again, she was thirty and single. With
the way Nick had been acting, even if she could have children, she
couldn’t seem to find the right guy to carry out that dream.

A floorboard squeaked behind her and Carlie
whirled around. Madeline stood inside the opening of the kitchen.
“Oh! You startled me.”

“Sorry.” Madeline tucked dark hair behind
her ear and hitched a hip against the counter. “Thanks for taking
care of Colton while I put Josephine down for a nap. Told you she
was cranky. I’m seriously about to tear my hair out with that
one.”

Carlie forced a smile, though she didn’t
feel all that bad for Madeline. At least she had her daughter.
“She’s very cute. Both the kids are.”

“Donovan wants more, of course. As soon as
the papers are finalized on Colton’s adoption, which has taken
forever, we’ll look for another foster child. He wants a lot of
kids.”

Carlie turned back to the sink, squeezed a
few drops of dish soap into the mixing bowl, and then ran hot water
into it. “Your family is wonderful. I wish...” She sighed and shook
her head.

“Look, I don’t mean to be nosy.” Madeline
laughed. “Screw it, yes I do. What’s the deal with you guys?
Donovan made it sound like wedding bells were going off here, but
there’s major tension.”

She felt guilty about that. Company should
feel welcome, and the Andrews definitely had to endure some awkward
moments. “I thought things were serious between us, too, but I
think Nick’s having second thoughts.”

“Typical.” Madeline snorted. “Men can be
such idiots until we finally teach them better. I thought Donovan
loved someone else for the longest time before he proposed to me.
The problem was, we didn’t really speak the same language at first.
Maybe that’s the problem with you and Nick.”

“Oh, no.” Carlie washed the mixing bowl,
just to have an excuse not to look at Madeline. “Nick’s very clear
about expressing himself. Perhaps that’s our problem. You can’t
move forward with a man who doesn’t trust you.”

“That’s weird. Donovan said...” Madeline’s
shoes clicked across the floor as she came to stand near Carlie’s
elbow. “What did Nick say to make you think he doesn’t trust
you?”

In some ways, it would be good to unburden
herself. Carlie hadn’t dared say anything to Shelley, who would
either declare her an idiot and tell her to move on, or decide it
was her job to beat some sense into Nick. Either way, that wasn’t
what Carlie wanted. She needed some sound advice. Maybe a woman who
was in a successful marriage could offer some insight.

She rinsed the bowl and set it on top of a
clean hand towel to dry. “Here’s the deal. Somehow Nick has it in
his mind that I’m involved with a terrorist group.”

“Oh.”

Carlie glanced up, meeting Madeline’s eyes.
“You don’t seem shocked.”

“The wife of a cop is rarely shocked.”

Carlie decided to forge on. “He also thinks
one of my good friends is a terrorist leader. No matter what I tell
him, he doesn’t believe me. I have quite the past history with
men—”

“Don’t we all?”

Carlie nodded. “True, but if Nick cares
about me, why would he think that?” That’s what hurt and kept
hurting. He didn’t believe in her. He thought she was a liar and a
terrorist. The more time that passed, the more Carlie thought maybe
she should tell Nick to go away and not come back.

“Well, there are a few reasons for that, I’d
guess.” Madeline tapped her fingers across her lips and narrowed
her eyes. “From what Donovan said, Nick had a pretty hard childhood
with a demanding father, and he’s not used to unconditional
love.”

“Lots of people have parent issues.”

“Yes, but I don’t think Nick’s ever dealt
with his. My best guess, he’s fabricating problems to end things
now, to stop himself from getting hurt when you leave him
later.”

“That’s stupid.”

Madeline nodded. “Of course it is. But who
makes rational decisions when they’re afraid of getting hurt? Or
when their heart’s involved?”

Carlie hated to admit that Madeline was
right. That swung her back to the side of thinking she’d been
unreasonable with her reaction to Nick’s betrayal. The fact that
Madeline came up with a reason Carlie already thought of herself
made it seem more likely to be the right one.

“Hey, Maddie?” Donovan walked into the
kitchen, displaying a wide smile for his wife. “Nick and I want to
run down to that gas station that’s open and grab a few beers.”

“What about football?” she asked.

“That’s what the beer’s for. It’s
halftime.”

Madeline nodded. “Fine. My purse is in the
bedroom with Jo. Come with me to get money.”

Though Donovan’s eyebrows flew up briefly
before he smiled and took his wife’s hand, he recovered
quickly.

Carlie could only guess Donovan had his own
money, but Madeline wanted to tell him what she said. It seemed
weird to have perfect strangers meddling in her life. Then again,
if Madeline and Donovan could get Nick to see how wrong he was in
trying to push her away, maybe they could still work things
out.

***

Nick sat next to Donovan in his friend’s
minivan. The beer they hadn’t really wanted sat in a plastic bag on
the floor between his feet. Nick was more interested in the manila
envelope Donovan pulled from between the console and the driver’s
seat.

He passed it over. “Sorry I couldn’t get
together with you last night after dinner. Maddie needed my help
with the baby. She was up most of the night.

Nick nodded. It had been disappointing, but
Nick understood. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Everything you need is in this envelope.
Actually, I helped my guy with your back story.”

“You did, huh?” Nick pried open the silver
prongs holding the envelope shut and shook out the contents. “And
who have Carlie and I become?”

Donovan shrugged, though a smile tugged at
the corners of his mouth. “I didn’t know you were having
relationship problems when I came up with this.”

A shiver of anticipation flooded through
Nick. “What did you do?”

“Nick and Carlie Andrews. My brother and
sister-in-law.”

“Your sister...” The oxygen in the vehicle
seemed rather thin as Nick struggled to take a breath. “I haven’t
even convinced Carlie to go away with me, let alone be my
ready-made wife.”

“From what Maddie told me, you’re screwing
that up all over the place.” Donovan tapped his thumb against the
steering wheel for a few seconds. “Want to tell me what this is
about you accusing Carlie of being a terrorist? That’s not the way
to win her over or keep your cover, brother.”

“I know.” He ran his hand over his forehead,
the familiar aching starting behind his temples. “My boss came up
with some pretty damning evidence. Carlie’s guilty. I thought if
she talked to me about it we could work something out, but she
keeps lying.”

“That’s bullshit, Edward, and you know it.”
Donovan’s jaw clenched. “I’ve dealt with my fair share of psychos,
whack jobs, criminals, and liars. Your girlfriend is none of those
things. Maddie’s a good judge of character, too, and she thinks
you’re wrong. She tried to make an excuse for you to Carlie. She
told her you were afraid of commitment, but you’re going to have to
fix this.”

Nick laid his head against the headrest,
closing his eyes. The torment he’d been dealing with since talking
to Paul knifed through him. “I’m supposed to kill her
tomorrow.”

“What!”

Nick opened his eyes to meet Donovan’s
shocked ones. “They’re planning to disrupt the shipping industry
this weekend. That will mean people all over America could starve
if they succeed. S.A.T.O. ordered Carlie terminated.”

“You aren’t going to do it though.” Donovan
paused for a beat, wrinkling his nose. “Right?”

“I...” Was he? “I’m not sure.”

“Shit.” Donovan shook his head. “You
wouldn’t kill Jason Steele, who might have actually been guilty of
something, but you’re considering killing the woman you love?”

“You don’t understand.”

“Damn right I don’t.”

Nick wondered why he had wanted to talk to
Donovan so badly. His friend didn’t even want to hear his
explanation or reasoning. It made Nick feel like some sort of
monster. Hell...maybe he was a monster.

“Look, if Carlie doesn’t leave with me and
stays to carry out whatever she has planned, I have to go back to
Washington D.C. and S.A.T.O. will turn Stephen Chance loose on her.
Trust me, he won’t make her death easy.”