Page 75 of Disavowed

Warmth from his body suffused hers. His hands stroked her back in lazy circles, but his muscles were tense beneath her fingertips. She knew his body well enough at this point to know he was on edge. Something was bothering him. For that matter, something still bothered her.

It was four a.m.

She eased away. “Where were you coming from just now?”

The groove over the bridge of his nose deepened as he put his arm around her shoulder and urged her to the sofa. When they sat, he turned to face her. The expression on his face could mean only one thing: bad news.

The relief she’d been experiencing left her with the speed of air jetting from a popped balloon. He clasped her hands. “We need to talk.”

There it is.

She shut her eyes, and her mind automatically began to numb, retreating into that dark chasm she went to when people she cared about left her. Suddenly, she was eleven again, a scared and frightened girl abandoned by what remained of her family. She tried pulling her hands from his, but he wouldn’t let her. “You shouldn’t have bothered to come back. Let me go.”

He squeezed her hands. “We need to talk, and it’s not what you think.” He released one of her hands to stroke her cheek. “I’ve been lying to you, but not about us. Never about us.”

When she lifted her gaze the stark intensity in his eyes scared her as much as him leaving did. “What then?”

“I didn’t get fired by the department.” He paused. “I’ve been working undercover on a case involving the Pyramid.”

“The assassins who kidnapped Alex?” She tensed. “And tried to kill Cassie?”

He nodded. “The same. I found a way inside the Pyramid, and I’ve been working with them. They’re targeting someone at the reopening today. Christopher Shane.”

“What?” Her jaw fell as she tried to process the full meaning of what he’d said. This was totally not what she’d expected him to say. “You mean they’re going to try to kill him? Why?”

“Revenge. The leader of the Pyramid is a former Delta Force commander, Colonel Bud Marsden. Christopher Shane killed Marsden’s only child, his son, in a hit and run accident. Shane was drunk, and he bought off the prosecutor to get the charges dismissed.”

Dom paused, giving her a moment to absorb the incredulity of what he’d just said.

Eyes wide, she shook her head in disbelief. “This is like something out of a movie.”

“It’s not.” His mouth set in a hard line. “It’s real life, and it’s deadly as hell. The only good thing is that the reopening will most likely be canceled once the police commissioner tells Shane he’s the target of an assassin at his own party.”

“Canceled? And what do you mean you found a way inside the Pyramid? How did you—” She gasped as events of the last two weeks suddenly came together in a way that made sense. “Jack works for the Pyramid. Doesn’t he?” Dom nodded. “And you and Jack are friends. Army buddies. Oh my God.”

Comprehension slammed into her, and she yanked her hands from his. The date Jack had taken her on. It was all bullshit. “Jack was only using me to get a job with Highland Floral. To gain access to the hotel because everything and everyone going in there has to be inspected.” She twisted her robe in her fists as another soul-destroying reality came crashing down. “You were only using me. To work with Jack and get inside the hotel. And last night was all part of your undercover act. Wasn’t it, Detective Carew?”

“No, dammit.” He reached for her hands, but she jerked back. “It wasn’t like that.”

Unable to be near him a second longer, she pushed from the sofa, anger pounding through her veins as she stared down at him. “You and Jack are the same. You both used me, and you both tried to get into my bed, but you—you’re worse than Jack. You’re the police. You knew the dangers and didn’t say a word to me. You put the job before everything else, including me.”

“No. I didn’t.” He shook his head. “This job was in play long before you and I ever met. Too many people have died from Pyramid bullets, and this was the first viable opportunity for someone—me—to take them down. I didn’t involve you in this. Jack did. And from the moment I realized how he’d wormed his way into your life and your job, this job became personal.”

“You could have told me what was going on, but you didn’t. Instead you chose to lie to me and keep me in the dark.” Breathing hard, she stalked to the curtains, facing the window, and gripped the fabric in her hands. I can’t believe this is happening. She’d let him into her bed again, but this time she’d done something far worse. Last night she’d totally let him into her heart, only to find out he’d been lying to her all this time about…everything.

“Daisy, it wasn’t like that.”

“Bullshit.” She spun and bumped into his chest. She hadn’t even heard him come up behind her.

“No, it’s not bullshit.” He gripped her upper arms. “It’s true that I used you to get a job with Highland Floral. But I had a job to do, and I had to put aside my personal feelings for you to do it. This was my one and only chance to get inside the Pyramid, but it also allowed me to stay close to you. To protect you. Not to use you.”

“I don’t need or want your protection.” Her voice trembled. “What I needed was the truth. I deserved the truth.”

The pained look he gave her seemed sincere, but she couldn’t allow herself to fall for it.

“Keeping you in the dark was the best way to keep you safe. If I’d told you who and what Jack was, you would have given yourself away. He would have picked up on something different in your demeanor, and he would have killed you.” He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. “No matter what you do or don’t believe, believe this. What happened last night between us had nothing to do with the job. Nothing.”

Lifting her head, she gazed up at him, her vision blurred by tears welling in her eyes. “You are good, I’ll give you that. I never would have known you were undercover the whole time, faking everything.”