A Dom Is Forever (35 page)

“I never said I would call. I barely knew the girl.”

“Ah, but you fucked her, didn’t you? I believe it was in the back room of a Hooters.”

“Ian, this is unnecessary,” Alex said.

Ian ignored his best friend. “How about the twins you screwed and then found out they were secretly taping you and putting up their sex tapes on the Internet under the heading ‘Hot Badass With Huge Cock’? Were they innocent, too?”

That was just about enough of Ian. Liam felt his fists clench. “I swear to god if you say one more fucking word, I’ll come over the table, Ian. I won’t give a shit that we were friends once.”

Ian growled right back. “I’m trying to help you, asshole. You don’t know a real thing about this woman.”

“Like you tried to help Sean?” Eve asked, her voice a calm note in the storm of anger that swirled around the room.

Ian stopped, his face hardening into stubborn lines. “It’s not the same.”

“It’s exactly the same.” Eve tapped a manila folder on the desk in front of her. “Right down to the profile I did.” She flipped it open and started to read. “’After careful consideration, I would be surprised to discover the subject is involved in anything that would go against her obvious values. It is my judgment that Avery Charles be treated as an innocent asset and all due consideration to keeping her safe should be taken.’ I think I said the same about Grace, and you ignored me. Ian, you are allowing your own history to affect your judgment, and it’s going to cost you another friend if you don’t back off.”

“You have a file on me?” Avery asked.

Ian sat back, quiet for once and willing to let Eve take charge. “I do. I’m a psychologist. I’ve worked for the FBI before. Now I work with these idiots who rarely listen to me. I studied your prior reports. You had a psych evaluation before you were accepted into the medical study that gave you back the use of your legs, and you saw a therapist for years before that to deal with the trauma of the accident.”

“That was supposed to be private.” Avery reached for the file. “Whatever happened to doctor’s confidentiality?”

Eve slid the file to her, a sure sign that she trusted Avery. “I’m so sorry, but MI6 got me the records, and they most likely had the aid and consent of the Agency. This is a very important mission. These are high-grade weapons, and he’s moving more and more of them. If he manages to move into the Middle East, those weapons are going to be turned on American and British troops. They can be used to destabilize whole parts of the world we would rather have calm.”

“So my privacy is being invaded to fight terrorists, is that it?” Avery flipped through the file. Her face flushed.

“Privacy is something no one really has, Miss Charles.” Ian sounded calmer, his eyes steady on Avery. “Privacy is something that’s only granted until it intrudes on someone else’s right to live.”

“You were a crucial piece to this investigation,” Alex continued, his voice softer. “We had to ascertain whether or not you were involved in getting the weapons into the grain shipments. You’re close to Molina.”

“Is there any way this is someone else? Like someone else in the company?” She asked the question in a shaky voice.

Knight slid a black and white photo across the table. “This is your boss with a man named Eli Nelson. Nelson is a rogue CIA agent who by all accounts is rapidly turning into a mover and shaker in the criminal underground. They’ve been meeting regularly since you and the boss got to London.”

“His lunch appointment with a friend.” She sniffled a little, and he wanted so badly to drag her into his arms and hold her tight.

“Avery, anything you can tell us will help. Have you noticed anything at all odd about the
UOF
? Any weird business practices? Something unusual Molina’s been doing lately?” Alex asked. He seemed intent on playing good cop.

“I don’t think Avery knows anything,” Liam replied quickly. He wasn’t going to have her brought into this. Simon Weston had asked about some files, but he could be fishing. As long as Avery didn’t mention them, he could make a case for taking her out of here, perhaps even back to the States. She would need protection while everything was sorted out. Once he got her back to his place, he could work on reestablishing the relationship, on a proper footing this time.

Crap.
He needed a new place. His place was awful. His place consisted of a mattress on the floor, a recliner, and an enormous
telly
. It would not impress her.

But it might give her something to do. Maybe she would view him as a project. If he could get her involved in fixing up his place, maybe she would start to view it as her place, too.

Or she would burn it down with him in it. He was willing to take the chance as long as he got her out of England and away from Molina and Nelson.

“There are some files I think you should look at,” she said quietly.

“Avery, keep your mouth closed. You are getting out of this,” Liam ordered.

A stubborn look settled on her face. “No. If I’m in it, then I’m in it. If I did anything to help this gunrunning thing, then I have to try to make it right. I have a friend who works at the Fund. I think maybe he’s seeing the same thing I am. There have been several multimillion dollar donors who have been turned down for reasons I don’t understand.”

“Why would a charity turn down money?” Alex asked.

“For any number of reasons.” Eve slipped the file on Avery back into her briefcase as she spoke. “Oftentimes if a charity turns down a donation, it has something to do with the moral view of the donor. A women’s group might turn down a donation that was made by a group of exotic dancers who made the money by providing lap dances or a bikini car wash.”

“That’s stupid. The money is the same, and a lap dance brings joy to the world,” Liam pointed out.

Avery’s hand slapped at his arm. She sighed. “That was an accident.”

As long as she still cared about how she looked when he said something dumb, there was still a chance. “What I meant to say was, isn’t money just money, Eve? From whom I would never accept a lap dance.”

That was better, right?

“I think they would say it’s a question of public impression. They don’t want to run off donors who might be offended. Even if the donation is quite large, it can be smart to keep the smaller, more traditional donors happy because they tend to donate on a yearly basis,” Eve explained.

“Does this have anything to do with Simon’s theory?” Knight turned to Avery. “Simon Weston is my man on the inside. His last report talked about donors and some files he was trying to get from you. Did you get the files for him?”

Avery paled visibly. “Simon is in on this?”

“Yes, he’s the one who will keep you safe on the inside,” Knight explained. “I want you to consider him your partner.”

Oh, that was not fucking going to happen. “She is not going back to that place.”

“She has to.” Knight frowned. “If she disappears now, it could put a chill on the whole operation. You’re the one who can leave, O’Donnell. Tomorrow your mission is going to be finished, and Simon can handle it from there. You can simply go back to the States like the nice tourist they all think you are.”

“I am not leaving.”

Knight sat back. He appeared to enjoy having the upper hand. “You will if I kick you out. Don’t forget for a second that I can have you tossed into places you don’t want to go. I’ll do it without a single qualm if you threaten my mission. I’ll shove you so far into prison that no one will remember you even existed.”

“Oh, they’ll remember when I break him out, Damon. As pissed as I am right now, don’t think for a second I’ll leave a man behind. You do not want to play that card.” Ian stood up. “We can’t decide anything tonight. Miss Charles, if I’ve been hard on you, I apologize. My dick isn’t involved in this so I can only go by what my brain tells me and that’s to keep you at arm’s length. Since I can’t do that anymore, I have to trust that Eve’s judgment is correct and you’re not a
supersecret
terrorist out to bring down the US military. You should understand that we’re not the only ones who have been watching you for weeks. When I took your phone in order to bug it, I found out it was already bugged. Watch what you say and do. If it was up to me, I would pull you in a heartbeat, but it’s not. As for you, Li, we’ll talk about it when we get back to Dallas. After we bring in Nelson, it’s up to you whether you stay or not.”

“We’re not staying,” Liam replied. “Neither one of us. She’ll come back with the team because we owe her protection.”

Avery shook her head. “I’m not leaving. I’ll help out MI6.”

Liam gave her his best Dom stare. “You will not. You are not involved anymore. You’re out of this.”

“She’s not out if she doesn’t want to be,” Knight insisted.

Avery turned to Liam, her eyes bright with tears. “I’m not leaving, Lee. Liam. God, I hate this. I won’t leave because he’s sending guns in to kill the very people I’ve been trying to save, that Stephanie is trying to save. What the hell happens when some boy soldier gets it into his head that he can take over the clinic where she works, where she does good? I gave up everything so she could do something good. I will take down anyone who gets in my way. You think I’m so weak, don’t you? Well, you watch me now. You watch me. I won’t allow you to hold me back.”

A sob went through her, her whole body shaking, and he couldn’t help it. He pulled her close, his hand soothing down her back. He hadn’t thought about it that way. Avery had a stake in this game, a big one. She’d put so much of her grief and pain from the accident and turned it into something good, and she would be devastated if it all went wrong and she had any sort of hand in it.

“It’s all right, love. I’m going to take care of it. I’m going to fix this. Do you understand? I’ll do whatever it takes to shut this down. I promise.”

She pushed away from him after only one sweet moment where she’d softened against him and let him hold her. “You owe me, Liam.”

He didn’t want this to be about him owing her, but it tied them together and he couldn’t deny her this. Her story about how she’d come out of her grief had moved him to tell her the truth. She’d been brave, and now she wanted to protect the world she’d built and he couldn’t deny her. She wouldn’t be Avery if she didn’t try. “I promise.” He turned to Knight. “Let me stay, and I’ll be a good soldier. Tell him, Ian. Please.”

That “please” made his stomach roll. He didn’t beg. He didn’t plead. He would rather die, but that was how much she’d come to mean to him. It struck him rather forcibly that he’d just gained a huge weakness. Avery could take him apart if she wanted to, and she just might want to.

“He’ll do a good job for you,” Ian said, no expression on his face. “He’ll protect her and get you what you need. And I want him back when you’re done, Damon. Don’t get him killed.”

It was practically a declaration of love from Ian Taggart.

Ian walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Alex patted Liam’s back as he stood up. “I’ll keep covering you, man. No matter what happens tomorrow, I’ll stay here and back you up. I think you did the right thing. I’m sure Adam and Jake will stay behind, too.”

“Great. I need a bunch of yanks hanging around.” Knight put a hand out. “Sorry. I’ll take all the help I can get, and it really would be optimum if everyone in Avery’s life stayed in place. Molina is listening in, and he’ll take note of anyone who leaves. The last thing we need is Molina deciding she’s on the wrong side. Look, Miss Charles, try to get those files. If Simon is right, they’re in some form of code. We’ll get you a clean phone with a camera. Don’t walk out with the files. Take pictures of them and send them to us. I suspect they’re likely in code. We can crack it. If you can do that, we can stop everything.”

Or Liam could take all the risks. He would rather he did it. Or Weston. They were trained. Avery wasn’t, but he wasn’t about to argue with the new boss when Knight had been so close to taking Liam out of the game altogether.

Avery nodded. “I’ll get it done. He’ll be out of the office tomorrow. If you get me a camera, I’ll find the files.”

“Excellent.” Knight stood up, straightening his shirt. “I know you won’t believe this, Miss Charles, but I quite admire you, and I wouldn’t see you hurt. My country will be very appreciative of your aid in this matter. If you need anything at all, I’ll make it happen.”

“Do I have to stay with him?” she asked.

Fuck.
He couldn’t let her walk out. Not now. “It would look bad. Everything has to stay the same.”

Knight shrugged. “He’s right. And you do need a bodyguard. I know you’re perfectly angry right now, but I’m going to give you a little advice that you’re likely to ignore since I’ve got a cock and you probably hate all men right now. He didn’t have to tell you. It would have been far easier for him to have simply disappeared at the end of this operation and left you without an explanation. It’s what I would have done. So you ask yourself why that dumb bloke just risked everything for you. If he’d been on my team, I would have had him shot and disposed of. He’ll likely lose his job, and for people in our business, we only have our jobs. So you ask yourself why he would risk everything he has to make sure you knew his real name. Mind that man, Miss Charles. He would die to protect you. He’s a bit of an idiot that way.”

Liam felt his eyes slide away. What the hell was he supposed to do about that? He was torn between punching the bugger and hugging him. He’d never been as confused as he was right fucking now. The only thing he knew was he had to protect her, and he had to let her take a stand. And those two things were completely counter to each other.

“I understand.” Avery took a long breath and stood as well. “I would like to go home now. If I have to go home with Liam, I will do that.”

Not the sweetest words he’d ever heard, but he’d take them. He got up and nodded to Alex and Eve before opening the door for Avery. He was going home with her. He had to hope he had a little time to fix the wound he’d opened.

As for tomorrow, that was a fresh hell, and he’d face it when he had to.