TWENTY-EIGHT

 

 

Shea was still trying to forget her encounter with Diego a week later when she was called up to Zogden’s office. He worked from home, though what he called work, she called questionable.

For the most part, she was kept out of his business. But, being responsible for several household duties meant she had access to most areas of the house. Shea had overheard enough conversations to know that Zogden’s extracurricular activities were her concern.

She’d been called to the office before, usually to clean up or prepare something. So, when she walked in to find Zogden alone at his desk, she was surprised. If she wasn’t aware of his proclivities, she’d probably find him attractive. He wasn’t unpleasant to look at and had a great physique that he was proud about showing off at the pool out back.

Except knowing about what he and his friends called ‘fun’, Shea couldn’t look at him without feeling a little sick. Still, she tried to hide her physical reaction to her boss and smiled as she crossed the room.

“Did you need me, sir?” she asked, playing up her pout.

A sly smile crossed his lips. He swung his chair in a short arc, side to side, as he checked her out. She got all the way to the desk and remained standing by the corner while he finished his perusal. “I’m having a party tonight,” he said. “Some friends of mine are coming over.”

Yes, she’d heard. The staff were on duty preparing food and stocking up on alcohol. “Yes, sir.”

“I’d like you to join us,” he said, and she did as good a job as she could to look surprised without showing her excitement. “You might be of interest to them, and I understand you have a liking for rich men who aren’t always on the right side of the law.”

So, that’s why she’d been hired. Shea had assumed it was to do with her looks and had thought there was a chance she might have to deal with entitled hands trying to roam where they weren’t welcome. But, Zogden wasn’t exactly being discreet about what may be expected of her.

“My ex-boyfriend,” she said. “I suppose he was in that category.” Taking a moment to moisten her lips, she let her loose fingers link at the small of her back. “Sir, you would like me to work the room for my own interest… or for yours?”

The direct question was a bit of a risk, he could leap up in offense or lash out and hurt her. After a few tense moments passed, he smiled and a burst of laughter left his chest. “Oh, Shea, I like you,” he said, resting a hand on his torso. “How about both? Let this be mutually beneficial. You see something you like, and he makes you an offer, I’ll let him have you… Anything you learn that might be of interest…”

“Understood,” she said.

He nodded once. “Good,” he said. “There’s a box next to the door. Wear what’s in there, nothing else.”

Accepting that, she glanced back to the black cube on the table by the door. At least it appeared to be more substantial than a lingerie package, but she had no idea what it could contain. This was the first party he’d had since she started working for him.

Being discreet about inhaling some much needed oxygen, she turned and did as he said, taking the box and leaving the office. On top was a card with a time. Midnight. She had to be back here at midnight, dressed in Zogden-designated garb. Tonight she’d have a chance to see him in action, to find out what really went on at his events. Progress. Her quest was getting results. It just better not result in her losing her life.

 

 

The party was much like any other. Except for the abundance of half-naked women. Shea wasn’t in a much better position than they were. Wearing platform stilettos, which had taken up most of the box, her bustier was so low cut that her nipples were trying to play peek-a-boo. The corset ties that fastened the boned garment were so tight that she struggled to take a full breath. But, it was the thong and holdups that really left her on show and that was the part of her that drew attention as soon as she walked in.

A couple dozen men were in the rear entertaining room, which backed onto the patio and the pool. The pool lights were on outside. Inside, the lighting was subdued. Shea guessed that was something to do with the plans for the evening and the actions these men would want to conceal.

In case a swift exit was required, she’d packed light. She hadn’t bothered with a purse. The cab fare she needed for getting home was in the nightstand next to the bed she’d been sleeping in. In the event that she was discovered as having an ulterior motive, she didn’t want Zogden to know where her base was, so she’d left her motel room key at the front desk and hadn’t risked bringing it with her.

The plan was to hail a cab, get him to take her back to her base, where she’d retrieve the motel room key from reception and then the money needed to pay the cab driver from the nightstand. So, Shea had nothing on her that could be stolen or give away anything about who she was or why she was really working for Zogden.

Standing in the arch at the top of a half dozen shallow stairs, Shea scanned the space. None of the men were appealing, but the women were doing their jobs well.

Zogden had brought together a group of appealing, alluring women. Most of whom she hadn’t seen before. It was possible they were being paid to be present, because she didn’t recognize any of them as household staff, not from around this house anyway.

Fighting the urge to scream out that they should run for their lives, Shea watched each woman sipping expensive cocktails, laughing and fawning with the men who’d singled them out.

Zogden wasn’t around. He’d be somewhere close, either doing business or violating an unwilling woman; those seemed to be the things he enjoyed doing most.

She didn’t feel anyone approach, but warmth cascaded across her crown when growled words broke the air behind her.

“On your knees, Poppet.”

The sinister snarl made her gasp. Before she could move away or turn, he grabbed both of her upper arms and held her in place, his grip so tight that his fingers bit into her skin.

“Let me go,” she hissed over her shoulder.

Yanking her hard, he winded her by slamming her back into his chest. “You’re in over your head. You belong to your Laird and I didn’t tell you to endanger yourself in this pit.”

“You don’t own me anymore,” she said, lowering her chin to try hiding some of her disgust.

“You pledged yourself to me, Poppet. Woman to man. I own you for eternity.”

Shea had pledged herself to him as a woman because her love and respect for him ran so deep. He’d spurned her dedication and refused to commit. The only declaration he’d ever made to her was that he didn’t love her.

“You rejected me.”

“I don’t explain myself to you, Poppet,” he said. “You’re in this mess. You’re my responsibility. Will always be my responsibility. I don’t appreciate that you’ve accelerated our timetable. You will be punished—”

“You have no right to—”

“You are mine. You are mine to do with whatever I want. Tonight, you will provide cover for me and will not allow any man to touch you…” Her hair moved, but he still had her in his grip, so he had to be using his mouth. “No man except me.”

“If you touch me, I’ll scream.”

Twisting her arm around her back, he sandwiched it between them to free his hand. Sliding his hand across her body, he scooped it into her bustier to fondle her.

Closing her eyes, she couldn’t decide if she was more aroused or disgusted. Neither triumphed before his mouth delved deeper into her hair.

“That won’t help you here,” he said. “And, I never told you not to scream. I encouraged it.”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, maintaining her fierce tone though her resolve was all over the place.

Shea had been sure and determined. The last thing she’d ever expected was to have her Laird show up to screw with her head. But, he wasn’t her Laird. If she let herself think like that, conditioning would force her to comply with his commands, even though she had to think like an independent woman. Raid was here tonight, but he’d be gone tomorrow. She couldn’t go through the grief of losing him again.

“You forced my hand. Since the aborted attempt to pick up our target before, I’ve been in communication with him, trying to cultivate a trust that would allow me inside. Like I said, Poppet, I don’t take bribes. This prick was never out of my sight… But, with my lady almost in his grasp, I had no choice except to step up.”

“I am not your lady,” she growled.

His hand withdrew and he forced a sharp breath to fill her lungs when he whirled her around to face him.

“You’re incapable of being in the world alone. I sent you away, granted your freedom, gave you what I’ve never given another soul, and you put yourself in danger. I won’t have it. My ancestors would turn in their graves to know how you weakened me. Wandering alone, plotting, endangering a single hair on your head, I will not accept it from the mother of my heir.”

It took her a second to process. His scowl was set like concrete. There wasn’t an ounce of doubt in his determined gaze.

Shea tried to struggle free of him, except that made him increase the strength of his hold. “I am not pregnant.”

Yanking her hard, he bowed to hiss in her face. “You will be.”

A shimmer like the one she’d felt on the day they’d met in the yard went through her. It wasn’t easy to sideline her attraction to him. Shea had given her body to him and her life. She’d presumed it was a foregone conclusion that they would be together because it hadn’t occurred to her that she’d ever be free.

Having that engrained in her psyche, she’d envisioned a life with him on the compound and for the first time in her life, she’d been happy.

That happiness had been snatched away. Beyond that, she’d had to endure hearing the words that had torn her heart. He didn’t love her. That’s what he’d said. And, if Raid didn’t love her, he had no right to dictate anything about her actions or her future.

“The only child I’ll give birth to is my husband’s,” she spat. “And, I’ll only marry a man who loves me… So, you’re fresh out of luck, Laird.”

Their fierce stare out might have gone on all night had they not been interrupted by a man sauntering up next to them.

“Everyone getting along?” Zogden asked.

Shea was loathed to tear her attention away from Raid, but she forced herself to and pasted a smile on her face.

“Of course, sir. I was just getting acquainted with your guests.”

“Excellent,” he said, slipping his hands into his pockets while his attention gobbled up his view of her cleavage. “I need just a minute alone with Shea… would you excuse us?”

Whether Raid cared about her being alone with this rapist or not, he didn’t show it. Stepping back, he nodded once. “I’ll expect you won’t divert her attention for long.”

“Not long,” Zogden said, taking her arm to draw her into the hallway.

Raid moved down the stairs towards where drinks were being served. Letting herself be led away, Shea kept her attention on the Laird for as long as possible. Shea didn’t know what she feared, what he might do or that another woman may take interest in him while she was out of the room. She shouldn’t care, but letting him out of her eye-line didn’t feel right. Did she want to back him up or did she fear she might be the one in need of support?

Not that she could rely on the jerk who’d cast her out. The asshole was probably manipulating her, using her connection as a way to merge into the crowd of perverts who Zogden called friends.

The conflict within her was pathetic. One half of her was quite happy to never see the Laird again. That part wanted to forget that she’d ever known he existed. The other half was terrified that if she lost sight of him, he wouldn’t be here when she returned, as if he’d been a trick of her imagination or Raid playing a cruel tease on her.

How could she still crave a man who she despised in equal measure?

Zogden pulled her to a halt, just outside the view of the guests. “Have you learned anything about him?”

“About…”

“The man you were talking to,” Zogden said, for the first time seeming less than composed. “They call him The Laird; his investment portfolio is insane. No one knows much about him.” Pulling her closer, there was an eagerness dancing in his gaze. “Get as close to him as you can, find out everything.” She felt herself nodding while at the same time, not quite believing she was in this position. “Do anything you have to, Shea… Everything he asks.”

Locking his gaze on hers, she read exactly what he meant. She’d have known it anyway because she knew his character, but being faced with his evil was a whole new ballgame.

Ignoring the prickling of the hairs on her arms and neck, she nodded again. “Yes, sir.”

“Take him upstairs as soon as you can. The faster the better.” There were only bedrooms upstairs. Now she had a better understanding of why there were so many. “If you find out anything important, give me the nod and meet me in my office. Do you understand?”

That she was to seduce Raid, steal as much information from him as possible, and then feed it back to Zogden without compunction. Yes, she understood what he expected. As to what she was going to do, that was less clear. Still undecided, Shea nodded anyway.

It seemed he was satisfied because he spun to march her back the way they’d come, propelling her forward to the stairs that she hadn’t yet descended. At the bottom was a table filled with the cocktails that the women were drinking.

The men had their own bar set up next to the open double doors where they could make customized selections. The women were served like cattle, with the standard cocktails pre-poured to be picked up and consumed as required, giving them little choice about what passed their lips. Not that there was a chance of them having any kind of choice at all.

Still, a little Dutch courage might go a long way. Raising the glass to her lips, she perused the room, trying to see where Raid might have scuttled off too. Knowing he was somewhere, but that she couldn’t see him, was unsettling.

Just as the cool glass touched her lips, a voice met her ears. “Turn toward me, and take that glass away from your mouth,” he murmured.

Given that she didn’t expect him to speak so near to her, she did exactly what he said—on reflex, not because it was an order. “What are you—”

“We’re going to sit outside.”

He tried to take her elbow to lead her out, but she lifted it from his fingers and stayed put. “No,” Shea said and edged close enough that concern etched itself into his features. “You have to leave.”

“What did he say to you?”

Them whispering, wearing these serious expressions, wouldn’t look good. Shea made herself smile and ran a pointed middle finger up his lapel. “Don’t look so serious,” she said, catching her lip in her teeth, trying to appear like she wanted to tempt him. “You’re supposed to be flirting with me.”

“All the flirting that’s required at one of Zogden’s parties is in that glass,” he said. “Every woman’s drink is drugged.” It wasn’t so easy to smile when she was holding a crime in a glass. “I’m surprised you’ve managed to work this closely with him for so long without being violated. We’ll get you fully checked out as soon as possible.”

Shea was still stunned, focusing on the shine on the surface of her drink. When she processed his words, she looked up. “Checked out?” Shaking her head, she put her glass down on the table again. “No, forget that. You have to go.”

“You have to pick up your glass. Don’t drink from it, but don’t make him suspicious either.”

People moved down the stairs behind her, though she didn’t know who they were. Taking his glass from his hand, she put it down next to hers. “It’s not suspicious if you’re direct,” she said and took his hand. “If anyone asks, you asked for sex.”

Without waiting for his response, or his approval, Shea turned around and led him up the stairs and into the hallway. Passing the spot where Zogden had issued his orders, she took Raid up the stairs and into one of the guest bedrooms.

The lights were on and the bed was made. Shea wasted no time in leading him over to the bed and pushing him onto the end of it. Climbing onto his lap, she leaned in, sliding her hands up over his shoulders, and brushing her lips on his.

Raid coiled his arms around her waist. Being held by him, tight to him, felt so natural. Shea could be seduced by the memories of being with him in a heartbeat, but she had to try her best to remember this was professional, not personal.

Bowing down, he supported her weight and kissed the mounds of her breasts that spilled over her bustier. Squeezing her eyes closed, she dug her nails into his shoulders, and repeated ‘professional not personal’ over and over in her mind.

“This is a better welcome,” he muttered into her cleavage.

Dampening her impulse to smile, she told herself to be insulted by the implication that she was this easy rather than appreciate his light-hearted comment.

“He wants me to report back,” she whispered, running her hands into his hair. “He’s suspicious of you. You have to leave.”

Straightening, he splayed his hands on her shoulder blades and flipped her over onto her back to lie above her. “Of course he’s suspicious,” he said, pressing a deeper kiss to her mouth. “I don’t give a damn. I have a team on standby ready to take him out.”

Putting her hands on his chest, she tried to push him back, but he resisted and kissed her again. When his tongue touched hers, she put more pressure on her palms and turned her head. “Don’t kiss me like that.”

“Kissing is your favorite form of foreplay,” he said, trailing his lips to her chin and down to her throat.

“With my boyfriend,” she said, closing her eyes again, trying to hold onto her resolve. “Not with you.”

“I’ve missed you, Poppet,” he said, his mouth disappearing into her cleavage while his hands insinuated themselves between her back and the bed to loosen her bustier. “God, I’ve missed you.”

It wasn’t like him to be open with his thoughts or his feelings, but there was a real strain in his voice. Letting her eyes flutter open, she blinked at the ceiling above while Raid stripped her from her top and covered her torso in kisses.

Getting him away from the eyes in the room, and having a chance to talk alone, were the reasons for pulling him away from the party. She thought this would be an opportunity for them to coordinate. Except it wasn’t playing out that way.

Shea had screamed at Diego when he’d suggested helping her. Yet, here she was under the man who’d stripped her bare and torn her apart, giving him full access to everything she had to offer.

“Wait,” she said, pushing on his shoulders. “Wait. Wait.”

Wriggling out from under him, she grabbed what there was of the fabric he’d taken off her body and held it against her chest.

“What?” he asked, rolling to his side and propping himself on an elbow. “What’s the hold up?”

Like it was nothing. Opening her mouth in a disbelieving yelp, she could laugh if the situation wasn’t so desperate. “You should know what it is. I can’t have sex with you. You know I can’t have sex with you.”

Running a hand up her thigh, he settled it over her thong. “You know that’s what Zogden wants.”

“I don’t give a damn what he wants. I did give a damn what you wanted until I found out that meant crushing me. What the hell? I can’t believe you would think this is okay. I know you don’t know a lot about conventional relationships, but come on. After everything that happened between us, you can’t—”

Putting a hand on her mouth, he silenced her. Looming over her, he looked her in the eye. “Can you get Zogden alone?” he asked and she nodded, his hand still clamped over her mouth. “Good. That’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to tell me where and the best point of access, then I’ll coordinate with my men and we’ll extract. You want the animal off the street, right?”

She nodded and tried to talk behind his hand. “Yes, I—”

“Nothing is irreparable if we stick together.”

She nodded again, but when he let his hand slide away, she spoke. “That’s what I thought until you banished me.” He didn’t reply, and sat up on the end of the bed. Shea lay where he’d left her, calming herself and trying to level her thoughts. “I have terms,” she said, in the moment he looked like he was about to stand up.

He didn’t. After a few seconds, he turned to scowl at her over his shoulder. “Terms? I don’t negotiate with subordinates.”

“I’ll give you the best way in, the security codes, and the guard’s rotation. We can be in and out without anyone noticing for at least an hour, which will let all of us get away clean. No one will know what happened or why he vanished.”

“They’ll notice you vanished too, they’ll suspect you.”

But, she just smiled and shook her head. “No one will care about me, they’ll assume I was collateral damage in whatever happened to Zogden. No one has my real name anyway, they can’t track me down.”

“You need me,” he said. “You can’t dictate to me. What were you planning to do with the asshole if you didn’t have me here to bail you out?”

“Exactly what I learned to do in your records room. Compile a dossier, the cops wouldn’t be able to ignore him forever, and as long as I was around to keep passing information, they’d have got him eventually.”

Narrowing his eyes, he tilted his head. “But, here you are, declaring terms. What’s wrong with your plan A?”

Running her tongue along her top lip, she raised a shoulder. “Your way’s better.” Sitting up, she felt more optimistic now than she had since she woke up alone in civilization. “This benefits us both. We get the animal off the street and locked up where he belongs. I’ll give you everything you need to do it and I’ll only ask one thing in return.”

Still suspicious, he peered into her. “What one thing?”

“Let me come home,” she said, hating the warmth of moisture that was making her eyes tingle.

She hated him for casting her out, resented Diego for betraying her. But, Shea couldn’t see any future without the compound in it. She didn’t feel real or whole in civilization, she wanted to be in her cozy concrete prison surrounded by the beauty of perfect nature.

Something in his countenance softened and for maybe the first time, he didn’t stop himself when he reached for her face. Cupping her cheek, he ran his thumb across her skin. “I’ll set you up out here, babe,” he murmured. “I’ll visit on—”

“No,” she said, batting his hand away. “I don’t want to be your parents.” Surging to her feet, she looked down to him. “This isn’t about us. What I said to Diego was true. I can’t be with a coward and either that’s what you are or you really don’t love me. Either way, our relationship will never work out.” Sitting at his side again, she grabbed up his hand. “I’ll stay in my cell. I’ll see out my sentence. I don’t care. Just don’t ask me to forget my home… I am me there. I know who I am when I’m there. Out here I’m lost and bitter. At home, I have purpose and understanding. I can work for you. Anything you need. I know I’ll never be trusted—”

“You were always trusted,” he said, taking his hand away. “But, I can’t agree to this.”

It twisted at her, and she went through the same sensations of devastation the night he’d told her he didn’t love her. Doing a better job of hiding her pain, she breathed for a few seconds and then nodded. “Then I can’t help you.”

Standing up, she was about to walk away when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. “You would let him walk for this. You’d let him hurt other women just because I can’t give you what you want.”

“You can give it to me,” she said. “You just won’t. There’s a difference… And, I have to be ruthless, you taught me that sometimes it’s the only way. My position here is the only chip I have to play. I cashed it, I lost, sometimes that’s just the way.”

“The only chip you have to play,” he muttered.

Some part of her subconscious had wanted this. Going after Zogden was important, getting him off the street was vital to the safety of all potential victims. But, she’d got mad at Diego when she really wanted to get mad at Raid. Having him here in front of her she saw that it wasn’t all rage, she was desperate too.

Shea wanted to be important to him and to be vital in his mission. Coming after Zogden was, in part, a way to show her Laird that she was more than he’d given her credit for. Now he was telling her it didn’t matter. Hope was dwindling. All she wanted was to go back to feeling like she had when Raid had grabbed her and kissed her in the mess, like maybe there was something real to strive toward. But, he was stomping on her dreams all over again. Each time he did, it got just a little harder to get up and keep going.

“Let me go,” she said, trying to twist her wrist out of his fist. “I have another man to go and seduce now.”

“Tomorrow,” he said. “You have to be ready to leave at eight thirty.”

Surprised, it took her a minute to realize what he was saying. “I… I thought you’d be going home after the extraction.”

“Kipling will handle transport,” he said. “We have something to do before we return.”

All she seemed to do was try to judge this man’s sincerity. He wasn’t beyond lying for the mission, of that she was sure. But, would he strike a bargain with her and renege?

“You give me your word? You’ll let me come home?”

“Yes,” he said. “A secondary team will take you back to your motel immediately following the extraction. Pack and switch motels. Do not return here. Never. I’ll pick you up at eight thirty in the morning.”

This was happening fast, there wasn’t much time to process. “How will you know where to find me?”

Fixing his eyes on hers, she read only confidence. “I always know where you are, Poppet. Every damn minute of every damn day. It’s my punishment for my sins.”

She didn’t quite know what that meant but chose not to take it as an insult. “Can you communicate with Kipling?” He nodded and she pushed back to sit near the middle of the bed. “Good. We don’t have much time.”