Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (33 page)

Donovan raised an eyebrow.

“He has a thing for her,” Nick explained.
“And he was really pissed she wouldn’t sleep with him. I can only
imagine what he’ll do to her before ending it.” Nausea flooded his
gut thinking about it. No matter what Carlie had done wrong, she
deserved better than that. “I can’t let that happen to her. It
would be better for me to end it quickly.”

Unless there was a different solution. Maybe
he could drug her and take her out of the country. She’d be pissed
and hate him, but it would save her life. He had to find a solution
he could live with. Right now, he was screwed either way unless
Carlie changed her mind about helping Muhammad.

“Do you love her?” Donovan asked.

“Yes.” He said it without hesitation. He’d
stayed awake half the night thinking over that very question and
coming to a firm decision. “I love her very much.”

“That’s all I need to know.” Donovan grabbed
the documents from Nick and handed over the passports. “Let’s go
over these files and work on your story. Tonight, you’ll convince
Carlie to leave the country with you.”

“I don’t think she’ll leave—”

“She’s not a terrorist. I feel as strongly
about that as I do that you aren’t the type of man to kill someone
in cold blood.” Donovan shook his head. “She’s not going to say no.
Not if you tell her the truth.”

“Even if you’re right, what truth can I tell
her?” Nick shook his head. “I can’t tell her the truth, truth.”

“You can tell her the important stuff.
You’ll say you’re sorry about accusing her of being a terrorist and
that you love her. That’s all she cares about, and all you need to
focus on.”

His friend made a good point. Carlie had
been fine until he persisted with the terrorist stuff. Nick took
the first easy breath he’d taken since accepting Paul’s orders.
Maybe this could work. If she would go with him willingly, then
they could work on their differences away from S.A.T.O. and
Muhammad.

He opened the passports, looking at the
various stamps already filled in as he flipped through the pages.
No one on the Canadian border would question the documents’
validity.

“Want to see your wedding photos?” Donovan
asked.

“Our...what?” Nick glanced up. “How would we
have wedding photos?”

“Maddie’s idea. I told you my guy was good.”
Donovan handed over an 8 x 10 picture.

Nick and Carlie stood in wedding clothes,
the happy smiles Nick sent Donovan for the passports and IDs looked
out at him. Flanking them on either side stood Donovan and
Madeline.

“I don’t understand.” The only thing Nick
could think about was the wedding photo he had in his hotel room.
The one proving Carlie wasn’t Stephanie. However, if Nick didn’t
know for sure he and Carlie never posed for this photo, he’d think
it was real. Was there any chance the one Paul sent him was faked?
Could Carlie be Stephanie?

“Skilled people can do marvelous things with
photos. This is actually my wedding picture. Great, right?” Donovan
wore a wide smile, but it faltered slowly. “What’s wrong?”

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Nick
quickly accessed his e-mail account and opened the message
containing the photos. He uploaded the wedding picture. It was
harder to see on the small screen of his phone, but he tapped to
enlarge it and passed it to Donovan. “This is what convinced me
Carlie was lying.”

Donovan whistled. “Where’d this come
from?”

“The committee in charge of S.A.T.O. dug it
up. Paul forwarded this and the newspaper clippings talking about
the wedding.” Nick quickly explained Carlie’s story about being
married to Prince Rayhan and the man’s murder, leading to her being
on the run for six years at the urging of her mother-in-law. “I
assumed she lied once I saw these pictures. The photo from the
paper is grainy and hard to really tell, but Carlie is clearly the
bridesmaid here, not the bride.”

“Unless someone did the same thing to this
picture that my guy did for your wedding photo.”

“How can I tell?” Nick shook his head,
wondering why he hadn’t examined the pictures more closely. It made
him so angry when he thought Carlie lied; thought she kept lying.
He hadn’t really questioned the authenticity of the photo. “Why
would someone do this? I couldn’t find much on the internet about
Rayhan and Stephanie, but someone obviously found this stuff.”

“Nothing is really erased once it’s been put
on the internet. I’m really not good with technology.” Donovan
shrugged. “From what I understand, even if Rayhan’s family paid big
bucks to get pictures removed from common public consumption, a
good hacker could find it. If they didn’t want their enemies to
know Carlie was still alive or maybe even that Rayhan was dead,
they might have paid for that, don’t you think?”

That made sense, actually. Maybe Rayhan’s
family even had the pictures changed so no one would know who
Carlie was, even if they found the photos. And all this time he’d
been accusing Carlie of not being who she said.

Nick rubbed his temples again, nausea
turning his stomach. He’d even gone so far as to be angry with her
reaction to the children, thinking she’d just played him with the
story about Gabi. If she truly lost her daughter, lost any chance
to have children, he’d been so insensitive.

“I wonder if she’ll forgive me.”

Next to him, Donovan nodded. “She loves you.
Women have long known they have to forgive us for being idiots on
occasion.” He laughed. “Maddie regularly reminds me of that fact.
I’m sure Carlie knows it too.”

“I hope you’re right.” Fear gripped his
spine, causing him to shiver as Nick considered how dangerous
things had become. “No matter what I believe, Paul and President
Sharp think she’s guilty. S.A.T.O. intends for her to die tomorrow.
I have to get her away from here before they realize I won’t make
that happen.”

Once the men returned with beer, Nick was
subdued and kept staring at Carlie with a peculiar look she didn’t
understand. Donovan must have conspired with Madeline to talk to
Nick about their relationship problems.

The football game ended and while the men
argued over a bad call that decided the winner, Carlie packed up
the cupcakes that hadn’t been eaten. She walked into the dining
room where Madeline gave Josephine a bottle and set them on the
table in front of her. “Something for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Breakfast?” Madeline quirked an eyebrow and
set the bottle down, slinging the baby over her shoulder and
patting her back. “That’ll make my guys happy. I think we’ll head
back to the hotel. It was a great dinner, but everyone’s getting
tired. Besides, you and Nick need to talk.”

“Talk, huh?” Carlie shook her head, doubtful
they could find a way to work things out. “Lately we fight instead
of talk. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me.”

“It’ll be okay.” Surprising Carlie, Madeline
stood and pulled her into a one-armed hug. “You guys love each
other. Don’t be afraid of that. Give Nick a chance, and most
important, let yourself forgive him. Love always finds a way.”

Easy for the happily married woman to say.
“I hope you’re right.”

She stepped back and smiled. “Of course I
am.”

Carlie helped Madeline gather all the things
necessary to travel with a baby, and Madeline put Josephine in the
car seat.

The men entered the room, still grumbling
about the game, but a sweet smile lit up Donovan’s face when he saw
Madeline. “All packed and ready to go?”

“Yep.” She jerked her chin Nick’s direction
and slipped the diaper bag strap over her shoulder. “These two have
some stuff to work out, and I think Colton’s ready to play a few
video games on his handheld and relax.”

Nick crossed the remaining distance to stand
next to Carlie. He grasped her hand without looking at her. She
didn’t pull away, happy at this signal that they were, indeed,
going to try and work things out.

“Thanks for spending the day with us.” He
looked at Donovan. “And thank you for talking sense into me.” Nick
squeezed Carlie’s hand tighter. “I was on my way to making the
biggest mistake of my life.”

That sounds promising.

Donovan nodded. “We’ll be over to Carlie’s
Creations for some lunch and to say goodbye tomorrow before we
leave. Thanks for having us.”

They gave hugs all around. Colton thanked
Carlie again for letting him help make cupcakes. Nick reclaimed her
hand as soon as hugs were given, and they stood in the doorway,
waving back at Colton’s wildly swinging hand.

It was odd. Despite the tension with Nick,
this had been one of the better holidays Carlie spent for a while.
A sadness descended on her as she watched them pull away. She
hadn’t waved goodbye to friends or family in longer than six years.
Normally when it was time for her to leave she took off in the
middle of the night without telling anyone where she was going. As
much as she wanted a stable life where she stayed in one place and
kept her shop open, she wondered if that dream would actually
happen.

How long until she was forced to run again?
Especially if Nick wasn’t around to keep Ryan’s enemies away.

Nope. I can’t think that way. I’ve been
on my own a long time. If we can’t work out our problems, I
wouldn’t want Nick around just for protection.
She glanced at
him, then closed and locked the front door.
But I do want him
around. I hope Madeline’s right.

Nick grabbed her hand and led her to the
couch, sitting and pulling her beside him. Carlie’s heart beat fast
with anticipation, not certain what Donovan told him or what he
decided. If he still thought she could possibly be a terrorist, it
would never work.

“There are a few things I need to clear up,”
he said, his dark eyes capturing hers. “First, I know I’m an
idiot.”

She opened her mouth, uncertain whether she
was going to agree or argue, but Nick’s index finger rested against
her lips before anything came out.

“Shhhh.” He shook his head. “Don’t argue. We
both know it’s true. How could I think that you’d ever...?” He
sighed. “I hope you can forgive me. I’m so sorry.”

“And you don’t think I’m a terrorist
anymore?”

“No. I shouldn’t have believed it to begin
with.” He stroked his calloused thumb lightly across her cheek.
“There’s one more thing I want to tell you.”

She chewed on her lower lip, nerves
fluttering with anxiety as Nick shifted his body a fraction closer
to hers and continued caressing her face. It was overwhelming. All
she wanted was to kiss him again, but she knew that wouldn’t solve
their problems. They really needed to talk this out, not just hop
into bed together again.

“What is it?” The breathless quality of her
voice irritated her, but she couldn’t stop the way she responded to
him.

Shifting closer still, Nick slid his hand
around the back of her neck, curling his fingers in her hair. “I
love you with every part of who I am. I never want to fight with
you again.” His lips whispered across her mouth, light and
feathery, just enough to make her want more. “And I will do
anything to be with you.”

He kissed her again, but this time it wasn’t
sweet. His lips pressed firmly into hers and his tongue licked at
her mouth, demanding entry. At the same time his other arm wrapped
around her back, crushing her tight against him.

Unable to stop herself, and not really
wanting to, Carlie circled her arms around his neck, parting her
lips and sucking his tongue into her mouth. He groaned and his hand
stroked down her neck to her torso. His talented fingers found her
nipple through the fabric of her shirt, tweaking it into a stiff
peak.

With great reluctance, Carlie placed her
hands against his shoulders and pushed him away. “Wait, Nick, we
have to talk. We can’t do this yet.”

He dropped his hand away from her chest and
pressed his forehead into hers, closing his eyes. His breathing was
as rapid as hers, but desire for each other had never been their
problem. “The ‘yet’ sounds promising,” he finally said, scooting
slightly away and folding his hands in his lap. “We do have a lot
of things to discuss.”

Nodding, Carlie cleared her throat and
willed her heart rate to slow. “Starting with why you thought I
could be a terrorist and why you didn’t trust me.”

He tilted his head slightly, a calculating
look passing behind his eyes. “I don’t think you’ll like my
answers.”

“If you don’t tell me, as much as I love
you, I’ll have to end things.” She reached across and gripped his
hand. “Please. I want to be in a relationship with a man who trusts
me and who I can trust. Ryan lied almost the entire time I was with
him. I can handle anything, as long as I know we’re in this
together.”

“The truth?” He sighed. “The truth is, the
FBI suspects you and showed me pictures that seemed to support
that. They said if I didn’t help them catch you, they’d send me to
jail for what I did in the past.”

It became hard to breathe for a different
reason than passion. “You were going to turn me over to them if I
confessed?”

“No! Of course not.” Despite her demand that
they talk and not touch, Nick pulled her to him. He hugged her to
his chest and kissed her forehead. “I thought if you told me what
was going on, I could talk you out of it. Then we could leave the
country together. We’d get away from the FBI and the assassins
after you, all in one move.”

Reassured, Carlie relaxed against him. “So
this was your way of making sure we could stay together?”

“Exactly, but that agent’s after me now. I
have to leave Sayle. I know it’s asking a lot, but I want you to
come with me. Let’s start a new life together, somewhere none of
our enemies can find us.”

“You want me to move away?” It would mean
giving up everything and running again, which she promised herself
she wouldn’t do. “But I’m innocent. There’s no reason to leave. We
can stay here and be together. I don’t want to leave Sayle or give
up my business.”