Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (44 page)

She struggled against controlling her
emotions. It was the first time she let herself admit what he did
to her was rape—he stole from her that night, and she’d always
tried to sugar coat it in her thoughts. After being with Nick, she
realized that wasn’t the way a relationship should be. Ryan was a
horrible person. While she thought he was dead, she struggled to
switch her memories into happy ones. It appeared her efforts were
wasted. He was still scum.

“Rape?” His lip twisted. “You wanted it.
Plus, look what you got in return. From a poor little girl chasing
her folks around to give to the needy, you became a princess. I
didn’t take anything from you. You were privileged to be with
me.”

Composing herself, Carlie kept her voice
calm and steady. She wouldn’t be cowed by this poor excuse for a
man. “Just because a woman is attracted to a man, that doesn’t mean
she’s asking for it or wants him to take it from her. You’re
disgusting.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Careful, Stephanie.
You’re at my mercy here, and after years of chasing you, I don’t
feel like playing nice.”

“You never really did play nice, did you?”
Carlie forced a laugh. “So, why have you been searching for me?
Your mom’s the one who gave me the money to run away. I’ve never
told anyone who I was.” Well, except Nick and Shelley, but
apparently that was after Ryan already found her. “What do you
want? Why hunt me down?” Because she knew it had to be him who sent
the assassins after her all these year, making her life one mass of
fear.

“You were supposed to send all your items
across to Maharla before we left.” He stood abruptly, slamming the
metal table into Carlie’s stomach and pinning her to the chair as
he towered over her. “You stupid bitch! Why did you keep the damn
bracelet?”

The force of the table knocked the wind out
of her, but Carlie refused to show weakness. “Gabi’s bracelet?” She
wheezed, but matched him glare for glare. “I kept it with me
because I was going to put it with her grave. You said it was
jewels for the princess. Gabi should have it.”

Without warning, the back of his hand
slammed across her face. The force of the blow tilted her chair.
Her knees jammed into the bottom of the table, which threw her
forward again, ramming her stomach into the metal. With her hands
behind her back, she wasn’t able to brace herself and her head
bashed into the table top. Bright white sparkled in her vision and
pain brought tears to her eyes.

“Hey!” Shelley protested. “There’s no need
for that.”

“Keep out of it,” Ryan snarled.

Once her vision cleared, Carlie used her
feet to push away from the table, unwilling to be trapped again.
Shelley didn’t comment, so apparently she had no problem with
Carlie moving. A coppery taste flooded her mouth and she spit out
blood.

“You’re worthless.” He flopped into his
seat. “Trapped me in marriage and then couldn’t even produce an
heir. When Uncle Zerach said I had to marry you, I figured I’d do
what any man with a boring, stupid bride does.” A sly smile crossed
his face, turning Carlie’s stomach. “Produce two sons and then have
affairs with more interesting women.”

If she had ever actually been in love with
Ryan, that might have hurt. Having the relationship with Nick let
her know what she had with Ryan was never love.

“Why did you come back for me?” she asked.
“You and Paul have gone to a lot of trouble convincing people I’m a
terrorist and deceiving me into thinking they were my friends.”

Maybe it was a low blow to throw that in
Shelley’s face, but she needed to understand the truth of the
situation. Maybe she believed she investigated a terrorist before,
but this meeting had to prove to Shelley how wrong she was.

“I need that bracelet. Once again, someone
tells you to pack all your things, and you left out my damn
bracelet.”

So that was why they hadn’t killed her yet.
Nick knew the bracelet was important; he’d certainly asked about it
often enough. He must have taken it out of her soap safe and hid it
somewhere else. She never even thought to check. While part of her
had to wonder if Nick knew all along Ryan was involved in this and
needed the bracelet, she was grateful now he hadn’t left it in that
box. She’d already be dead if he had.

“I thought I packed the bracelet,” she
finally answered. “I didn’t even know it was important to anyone
besides me. Why do you need it?”

Ryan ran his hand across his head and closed
his eyes for a second, appearing to search for patience. “Not only
did you ruin my plans and force me into marriage with you, my uncle
doesn’t believe you died in that car explosion after he overheard a
conversation between my mom and I. He’s afraid you’ll pop up at
some point, and that’s a problem. I can’t be king until I have that
bracelet in hand and prove to him you’re dead. As it stands, I’m
not allowed to remarry because he’s so hell bent on tradition. He’s
threatening to exhume your body now, and the damn coffin has a man
in it.”

He jumped up and paced the small room in
front of the table, not looking at Carlie. She wondered who Ryan
killed in his place during the car explosion. Maybe she should have
paid attention to news reports and questioned things more. She
believed everything Ryan’s mom said. News always depressed her so
she didn’t watch it. Even if they reported her death, Carlie would
have never heard about it. Ryan and his mom must have counted on
that, knowing she’d never discover the truth.

Ryan ran his hands through his hair. “If the
bracelet had been with the belongings sent to Maharla, you’d be
able to live. Mother and I planned so carefully, everything was
perfect for you to run and never bother us again, and I could
assume my rightful position and remarry. I tried to do right by you
and keep you alive, out of respect for Gabriela.” He shrugged. “I
was softer back then and didn’t want to murder you. I was young and
naïve. I know better now. True rulers show no mercy. Once I get my
hands on that bracelet, you have to die.”

Shelley gasped, so softly Carlie figured
Ryan didn’t hear it.

“You tell me this and then expect me to help
you get it?” Carlie asked. “You’ve always been a jerk, but I didn’t
take you for stupid.”

“You’ll help me.” He stopped pacing and
leaned against the wall, staring at her. “I know you will.”

Dread threaded through her gut. “Why?”

He folded his arms, a smile that didn’t
quite reach his eyes skimming his lips. “Do you know how many
people in Maharla still love you? They come in droves, even after
six years, visiting your false grave and leaving flowers for you
and our baby. They called you
their
princess, happy to have
a regular person ascending to the throne who wasn’t born into the
royal family or one of the upper class.” He scoffed, clearly
disgusted. “I’m constantly hearing how sad I must be to have lost
such a great partner. They’re so impressed by the charitable acts
you participated in. My countrymen mourned more for you than they
would have for me.”

Carlie was shocked that they cared that
much. She hadn’t spent a lot of time in the country throughout her
and Ryan’s marriage, but every time they visited, she went out into
the markets and met people. Though she didn’t want to be a
princess, she had wanted to do right by the people of Maharla.

Staring back at him, Carlie wondered what he
had up his sleeve to force her into helping him get the bracelet.
Obviously he wasn’t above lying to get what he wanted. She couldn’t
believe all this time the people of Maharla thought she died in the
crash.

It made sense why his mom scared her about
assassins and gave her money to run. With the king so worried about
tradition and unhappy with Ryan’s actions, they would have wanted
no chance she’d ever let the king know they lied. Which he would
have discovered if Carlie traveled to the country to visit her
daughter’s grave.

“Was your brother even murdered?” she asked.
“Or did you just tell me that so I would fear assassins and stay
hidden?”

“Ehud’s fine, more than fine. If I get
disinherited because of you, he gets to be king.” He grimaced.
“You’re so stupid. Didn’t you wonder why the cops wouldn’t help us
with the threatening letters? I never even went to them. I wrote
the letters myself. You were so easy to manipulate. Pathetic,
really.”

“I’m so sorry,” Shelley murmured softly
behind her.

Looks like someone finally realized she’s
been manipulated, too.

Carlie had some sympathy for Shelley,
despite the fact the woman lied to her and only pretended to be her
friend. Shelley had done what she believed was right, and she just
learned that she was actually the bad guy. That had to feel
awful.

Seeming unaware Shelley even spoke, Ryan
crossed the small space to sit in the chair again. “You’ll help me,
Steph, I have no doubt about that.” He pressed his hands against
the table, a grin on his face that spoke to his feeling of victory.
“If you don’t tell that boyfriend of yours to cooperate and bring
me my property, all those idiots in my country mourning for you are
going to start dying. Slowly, painfully, one every fifteen minutes
until you decide to cooperate.”

“Oh my God,” Shelley breathed. “You’re a
monster.”

Choking back vomit, Carlie knew Ryan was
right. She couldn’t let people suffer like that. Not if she had a
way to stop it. Knowing Prince Ehud was still alive made this all
sadder. The younger prince was a sweet man who would make a fair
and wonderful king. Carlie used to think Ryan was the same way.

Though she owed nothing to Maharla, the
people counted on her to be their princess. She had to save them.
Glancing at Shelley over her shoulder, she met the woman’s shocked
blue eyes. She wondered if she could count on her help, because
Carlie wasn’t going to die here without a fight.

She planned to take Ryan down with her.

Nick reached the store with barely minutes
to spare. He’d lost the feds along the way, but knew they tracked
him, so he rushed into the building without searching for their
SUV. If he didn’t act as though he were being followed, perhaps
whoever watched him wouldn’t realize it was a possibility.

He raced inside and pushed to the front of
the line, ignoring complaints from angry patrons. “You have
something for me,” he said to the guy behind the counter. “I need
it. Now.”

The man lifted his lip in a sneer, obviously
unimpressed by Nick’s urgency. “He said you’d have cash for
me.”

Nick knew if that were the case, Paul would
have mentioned it, but he took his wallet out and threw several
twenties onto the counter.

“And I’m supposed to keep your other
phone.”

Paul said he wanted him to get rid of it,
but Nick wondered if the boss really wanted him to give it to this
thug. Paul had no way of knowing what was programmed into that
phone or what kind of information Nick stored on it. Luckily, the
FBI insisted Nick erase the safe number. There was nothing else
important on it, except for some restaurant contacts.

He pulled it from his pocket and tossed it
down. He checked the watch, grateful the tracking device actually
functioned as well, or he’d have problems explaining that. Paul was
due to call any second.

The man gathered the money and the cell and
ducked below the counter, coming up with a brown box. Ringing
sounded from inside it. Nick snatched it from the man, backing from
the counter and struggling to rip into the cardboard package.

Three rings in, he finally freed the phone
and punched the send button on the older model. “I’m here.”

“Walk outside and stand in front of your
vehicle. My guy will be along in a few minutes.”

“Not until I talk to Carlie.” Nick hoped
whatever payoff Paul got from this job was enough to force him to
keep Nick happy. If Paul refused a conversation with Carlie, Nick
had no choice but to follow instructions and find him. The FBI
agents made that clear.

“Carlie’s tied up,” Paul said, confirming
Nick’s fears. “My client wanted some time with her.”

“Disturb them,” he ordered. “I’m not moving
from this spot until I hear her voice.”

Paul sighed. “You were a lot more fun when I
called the shots.”

Nick didn’t know if Paul truly felt like
Nick had control, or if the man tried to placate him, but it didn’t
matter. “Put her on the phone, now.”

There was the sound of knocking and then a
door creaked open. “Excuse me,” Paul said. “The princess has to
take a phone call.”

“We’re busy,” a man’s gruff voice
responded.

“Not if you want the bracelet.”

There was a moment of silence. “Nick? I’m
okay.” Carlie sounded upset, and he wondered how okay she was.

“What color was the dress I bought you?” It
was still possible they recorded her voice. He had to verify it was
really her.

“Blue. Well, teal really. That was the best
night of my life.”

“Mine, too.”

“Even though I’m just a target?”

“Carlie! That’s not—”

“Enough,” Paul said. “She’s fine. Get your
ass outside and wait for my man. He’ll take you to the next meeting
place.”

Nick exited the store and stopped in front
of the rental car. “Where am I heading?” Any information he could
give Jenessa and the men could only help prepare them.

Paul huffed. “You don’t need to know that.
You were my best agent, but you stabbed me in the back. I tried so
hard to keep you in the dark so you could keep working for me, and
this is where it ends up. Don’t try and double cross me again,
Nick. I’m done playing nice guy with you.”

“How will this work, exactly?” Nick asked.
“I’m not giving you the bracelet unless you give me Carlie. You do
realize that?”

“When you get to the meeting place, call
this number. It’s the only one in the phone. I’ll bring Carlie to
you, and we’ll make the exchange. If you follow my orders, you can
take her and walk away. Try something tricky, you’re both
dead.”