The Sacrificial Lamb (47 page)

Quicker now, things began coming back to her. Now she knew why he hadn’t raped her. She had thought it was because he wasn’t that type of man, but he hadn’t done it because then he’d be breaking the
law
. That was also why he stopped the others from trying to hurt her. The reason he took her from the warehouse had nothing to do with
her—
he must have been following orders. Doing his job. He knew Alex would be safe with him because he was an FBI agent. God, how he must have laughed when she accused him of taking her away to dispose of her. All wrong. Everything she thought had been all wrong. She hadn’t triggered his conscience at all. He wasn’t a mobster with a heart—he was an undercover agent following protocol.

What else had he lied about? Were any of the stories he had told her the truth? And why hadn’t he let her know he was working undercover? There had been so many chances over the last two weeks where he could have admitted the truth but had chosen not to.

The blood rushed to Alex’s face as she went over everything that had happened between them while they were alone. How could he be so close and intimate with her yet keep such a huge secret? She had given him all of her, and now she found out it had been one sided. The hurt and betrayal cut deep. What else had been a lie? What else?

There was a soft knock on the door and Alex heard her father’s voice. “Lexi? Honey, are you okay in there?”

When he had told her Domenic was working for the FBI, she hadn’t said a word. She’d merely gotten up from the table and come into the bedroom. Of course he would wonder what the problem was. Alex was relieved it was him and not Shane who had come after her. Her heart clenched at the thought of Shane. She had betrayed him with a stranger, and it hit home just how much she
didn’t
know about Domenic D’Angelo.
What else had been a lie?
Everything, most likely.

Not getting a reply, her father turned the knob and opened the door carefully, poking his head in. “Alex?”

She continued to sit there, physically numb, mind reeling. He entered the room slowly and came to sit on the bed beside her after closing the door behind him.

“How did you know?” Alex asked, surprised at the level of detachment in her voice.

“About Special Agent D’Angelo?”

She winced at the name, still unable to reconcile that stranger with the man she had spent the last two weeks with.

“Yeah.”

“Russell Sutherland told us. He said he had an urgent message for me that you were safe and had been removed from the warehouse by an undercover agent working for the FBI. Through the U.S. marshals, we were able to find out it was true.”

“Russell knew?” she said to herself, verifying that Domenic had most likely been dishonest about it all.

“Do you know him?”

“No, Domenic talked about him a few times.” Alex didn’t bother elaborating since she had no idea if the information she knew about Russell was the truth or a lie.

“So, he didn’t tell you?”

“No. But I don’t know
why
.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, honey,” her father said sympathetically. “I have to admit, all of this has been pretty confusing. When Russell first contacted us, I thought that Agent D’Angelo was bringing you here, but then I was told that wasn’t happening. Maybe it had to do with keeping up the charade that he was in the mob? I don’t know.”

Her father looked at the floor, frowning, his hand running over the nape of his neck. It was what he did when he was baffled about something. Alex was just as perplexed as he was. Unfortunately she now had more questions than answers. Why
had
Domenic taken her away with him instead of just giving her over to Russell right away? Was her father right? Was it to give him more time as his undercover persona? Alex felt as if her head would explode. She was confused and hurt and nothing seemed to make sense.

“Do you know where Domenic is now?” she asked.

“No, I don’t. Why?”

“I was just wondering.”

“Alex?” Her father hesitated and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?”

She sighed heavily. While she appreciated all the testosterone-fueled concern, this wasn’t something she wanted to talk about. Even if she had been attacked and abused while being held prisoner, there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it.

“I’m fine, Dad,” she finally answered.

Her father’s shoulders slumped, and he exhaled slowly. “Did anything…happen while you were alone with Agent D’Angelo?”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked, stiffening automatically. Her mind reeled. What should she say? She was pretty sure that having sex with the person you were supposed to be guarding wasn’t high on the FBI’s list of priorities. Not that she wanted to share intimate details with her father, regardless.

“I don’t know. You looked so odd when I told you about Agent D’Angelo working for the FBI. Then you came straight in here…”

“I was just…surprised.”

Her father turned to face her. He was still frowning and looked at her pointedly as if waiting for her to admit something. Glancing down, her hair shielded her face from view. She hated when he looked at her that way, as if he knew she had done something wrong and would get her to spill the beans if he stared long enough. Usually this tactic worked, so she kept her face carefully hidden.

“So if you didn’t know he was an undercover agent, why did you go with him?”

“Because anything was better than that warehouse,” she said vehemently. After a moment, she added, “And I trusted him.”

“You trusted him?” her father said, and Alex glanced up to see him looking at her agog. “Alex, why would you trust someone you thought was a criminal? Didn’t I teach you better than that?”

“You don’t understand!” she exclaimed, rising from the bed and pacing away. She rubbed her face and looked at her father again. “He protected me! He talked to me! He brought me clothes when I was cold! He stopped those other…those other—” Her voice began to crack and waver as she thought back to the warehouse. “He stopped them from
hurting
me!” Her vision became blurry, and she wiped at her eyes viciously. “He comforted me when I cried,” she continued. “Now I know he was just doing that because he was supposed to, but I didn’t then. I trusted him. When he asked me to go with him, I said yes, because I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Her father got up and came toward Alex, pulling her into an embrace. He patted her back awkwardly and made soft shushing noises.

“I was really scared, Dad,” she whispered against his chest.

“I know, baby.”

“I thought I was going to die.”

“You’re safe now.”

“He was my only friend.”

He held her and let her talk herself out. When Alex calmed down, he led her back to the bed and made her sit down, keeping an arm around her shoulder. She felt small and vulnerable. All the terror of the first couple of weeks in captivity came back to her. The hopelessness, the despair, the cold certainty that she wouldn’t live to see twenty-six. And out of that, the one thing that had given her hope had been Domenic.

“Lie down, Alex,” her father said gruffly. He got up, pulled the covers aside, and eased her back onto the pillows. Pulling her feet up, he tucked the blanket around her securely and then bent down to kiss her forehead.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, Lexi,” he said, brushing the hair back from her face.

Standing up, he watched over her for a few minutes until her eyes drifted closed. She heard him walk to the door and leave the room. Hugging the pillow to her chest, she tried to stop the barrage of questions whirling in her mind. Domenic had told her he would come find her, but now she wondered if he would keep that promise. He had lied about everything else, why not that too?

Alex felt like a chasm was opening up in her chest, and she was finding it difficult to breathe. She thought back to their last nights together, specifically when they’d danced to the songs on the radio. She had been positive then that Domenic was falling in love with her as well. She knew she had to see him again and ask him for the truth.

Domenic owed her that much, if nothing else.

Fiona O’Malley’s presence irked Domenic. He wasn’t sure what role she was playing in all of this, and she seemed like nothing more than a glorified babysitter. She had been sent to keep an eye on him and make sure he stayed put until Max arrived. It was pointless, as they seemed to be forgetting Domenic had nowhere to go.

For the next few hours, he contented himself with ignoring Fiona while thinking about Alex and wondering how she was. The flippant comment about Alex being with her boyfriend gnawed at his guts and made him feel ill. That son of a bitch had over four years on him. Would their time together seem insignificant to her once she was back in his presence? Domenic firmly pushed that thought away. She had told him that she was in love with him—Domenic. He would just have to hold on to that while he bided his time before seeing her again.

The door crashed open as Max came barging into the apartment, and Domenic reached for a gun that was no longer there. There was a strange sense of loss, as if an integral part of him was now missing.

“And so returns the prodigal son,” Max sneered. He looked at Fiona. “Do you mind?” It seemed like she was going to argue for a moment, but then she stood as graciously as possible under the circumstances and left them alone.

Domenic remained seated. After the company he had kept over the years, Max seemed hardly a threat. His boss stared him down, and he returned it, their gazes locked.

“What the
fuck
were you thinking, pulling that shit, Domenic?” he said in a menacing voice. “I told you to leave her alone!”

“They were going to rape and kill her. I couldn’t stand by and let that happen, despite your orders.”

“I get that, but is one person worth risking all you worked for?” Max said, his voice rising.

“Yes!” he yelled angrily, as he stood up. “We’re supposed to be the
good
guys! She was an innocent! Not some fucking waste of skin! You expected me to just turn a blind eye and not help her?”

“We would have taken care of it!”

“When? When Max? Because I was there, and they were going to hurt her, and no one was fucking coming to save her.”

“So you did?”

“So
I
did. Yes.”

“Fucking hero? Right?”

“Right.”

They stood apart from one another, mirror images with clenched fists and jaws, eyes flashing dangerously, neither willing to back down or give an inch.

“Why?” Max asked. “Why did you do it?”

“I told you why.”

“Nuh-uh, kid,” he said, shaking his head back and forth. “I’ve never seen anyone so bloody single-minded as you about taking the Liseni down. For
you
to deviate from your plan? There’s a reason.”

Max stared at him, and Domenic turned away, hands still fisted.
Fuck.
First O’Malley and now his boss. Was he that fucking transparent?

“What does it matter?” Domenic snapped. “Look, you said you needed a couple more weeks before my cover was blown to get everything organized. I gave it to you. You should be happy! Now you have an airtight case against all the major players
and
Alexis Montgomery was safely reunited with her family. Win-win.”

“You think that’s going to be enough to get you out of this shit pile you dug yourself into?”

“I was hoping,” he said.

“Nice try. You’re facing at minimum a month’s suspension. You’re lucky I’m not asking for your shield.”

“Take it,” Domenic said seriously. “If the FBI is willing to sacrifice an innocent girl, I’m not interested.”

Max stared at him, shaking his head for a moment. “What happened to you, kid? You used to be the most ruthless agent I had in the field.”

“That’s when I thought I knew what I was fighting for. Look, I handed you Carlo Commisso’s head on a platter. I did my job. What more do you want from me?”