Bound by the Past (11 page)

“And what about you?” She turned her lovely blue eyes on him. “You said you used to work in advertising—but that was a lie, wasn’t it?”

Jon held his breath trying to decide which answer was right. Would she become angry at his deception and storm out?

Fortunately, she seemed to take his silence as his answer—and laughed.

“It makes sense,” she said. “I could never see you working in advertising. Seemed too dull for you.”

Reilly cleared his throat. Jon saw the same calculating look on the man’s face he’d come to detest in his later years at the agency. Reilly had cooked up a scheme, and from the way the old man’s eyes seemed to linger on Carly, he knew it wouldn’t be good.

“Reilly.” He tried to get his boss’s attention, desperate to take Carly out of his line of fire.

“Ms. James,” Reilly said, ignoring him once again and taking her hands into his own.

Night also noticed their mentor’s demeanor and his grin quickly faded to a grimace. Night turned his head and looked sharply at Jon. Worry and possession were etched in the lines around his eyes.

Looking into Night’s face, Jon felt as if he was standing before a mirror. Night felt the same way he did, wanted the exact same thing he did. Night wanted Carly—wanted to share her with him.

Jon was frozen inside and out. Night was waiting for a response. He was vaguely aware Carly and Reilly were speaking, but their voices were no more than mere static in the background. Reilly was going to try to enlist her help. They weren’t fools. His mentor was not above signing anyone up for a mission if he thought it would crack the case. Hell, he enlisted them when they were mere boys, turning them against their own parents. He wouldn’t hesitate to throw sweet, innocent Carly into the mix now if he thought it would put Cassandra Walker behind bars.

Jon swallowed heavily. Night was waiting for an answer to the unspoken question that lay in his gaze. Night would help him protect her regardless of the reply. He would lay down his life for Jon’s woman and never ask for a single thing in return. What Night wanted, however, was more than that. Much, much more.

Jon nodded once, then watched the entire composition of Night’s posture change. The crouched tiger relaxed and Jon was taken aback to see a much younger-looking Night reemerge. Obviously the changes in his friend had been so gradual over the years, Jon hadn’t noticed the subtle differences in the way Night kept his emotions locked inside, in the tight, controlled way he carried himself or even in the hardness that seemed to invade his facial features.

The idea that they would take Carly into their bed—love her, care for her, share her—didn’t just affect Night. For the first time in a lifetime, Jon felt the darkness that pervaded every corner of his being suddenly flooded with light.

Night turned away from him. Jon watched as he walked to sit beside Carly on the couch. Although he kept an appropriate distance, Jon saw her look of surprise when she realized it was Night beside her, rather than him.

“I’m sure I could go back.” She was answering a question Reilly had posed. “In fact, Mrs. Thomas offered me a job.”

“A job?”

“Mrs. Thomas?”

Jon’s and Night’s questions overlapped each other and she glanced at them, surprised by the venom in both of their voices.

Fuck. Jon mentally kicked himself. They would have to get a grip on their emotions or she would be reading them as easily as she read those romance novels she loved so much.

“The lady who runs the facility, Mrs. Thomas. That’s what it was that bothered me about your name, Night. Her name is Thomas too. Of course, that’s a pretty common last name. Anyway, she offered me a job as office manager.” She answered their questions matter-of-factly, but he could see her assessing them.

So Mommie Dearest had stolen Rex’s name for this go-round. Seemed almost fitting that she would take his name, considering the fact she’d stolen all his money and his freedom as well.

“You’re not taking the job.” Night’s comment echoed his thoughts perfectly. He’d cut off his left arm before he let her anywhere near his mother again.

“What?” Carly and Reilly both replied in unison. Jon snarled when he realized his former boss meant for her to do just that. If Reilly had his way, Carly would be the female operative on the inside.

“Night’s right, Carly. We don’t know enough about this so-called retreat. It’s not safe for you to take a job there. How do we know you won’t go missing like this woman’s sister did?”

“Trisha Jackson and her mother are there as well. If this place isn’t on the up and up, how can you ask me not to try to help her?”

“I’m not saying we won’t help her. I’m just not willing to let you offer yourself up as the sacrificial lamb. We don’t know what’s going on inside that place.”

She sighed and leaned back against the couch. Night inched a bit closer, his thigh lying next to hers. Although to Carly the move would seem casual, it was done with premeditation on his friend’s part. Night was slowly trying to get her accustomed to his touch and Jon wondered how on earth they would proceed. The times they had shared in the past had been so different. Those women had begged for their combined affections. This time, they would have to break her into the idea gently, carefully, and there was the very real risk she would refuse them both. Hell, Jon wouldn’t be surprised if she was horrified by the suggestion.

So much for my normal fucking life.

“Well, I can see by the looks on all of your faces that you don’t think anything good is happening in there, and I have to admit I agree,” she said.

“Why?” Reilly leaned forward at her words, clearly thinking she would be able to clue them in at last.

“It’s hard to explain.” She seemed to consider her words. “The place was heavily guarded. I noticed that right off. But it’s just…”

“What?” Reilly prodded her for an answer. Jon could see impatience brimming in the man’s eyes.

“There were guards at the gatehouse and they seemed harmless enough, but there were also guards in the woods around the perimeter and on the roof, and they were carrying big weapons.”

“What kind of weapons?”

“Guns, but not pistols or revolvers or anything. Huge guns. More like machine guns than shotguns. I don’t know much about weapons, but I know I’ve never seen the likes of those guns before. They were frightening, and I remember thinking they seemed a bit over the top. I mean, Mrs. Thomas said the women who come to the center are trying to escape domestic violence or abusive husbands, but even so, I can’t see needing so much firepower. And actually…”

She paused then shrugged.

Reilly obviously sensed she wasn’t going to finish her sentence. “Ms. James, any information you give us could help. No matter how small or insignificant it may seem.”

“Well, there were guards inside, too. I don’t think I was meant to see them. They tended to drift into the shadows as I passed, but I could tell they were there. This may seem silly, but it felt like the guards weren’t there to keep people out so much as to keep them in.”

Jon’s heart turned to stone at her words as he realized how lucky she was to have walked back off the compound of her own free will. Cassandra could have locked her up and they wouldn’t have been any the wiser about where she had gone.

Anger crashed through him with the thought. “Goddammit, Carly. What the hell were you thinking going up there by yourself? What if they decided to keep you there? Lock you up? I wouldn’t have known where you were. I wouldn’t have known how to find you.”

Jon expected her to be furious at his outburst and was surprised when she stood up and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t know it was a dangerous place. I should have told you where I was going, but it was a stupid, impulsive decision made at the last minute. When I finally thought about calling you, my cell phone wouldn’t work.”

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and watched Night and Reilly locked in silent communication.

Night mouthed the word “no” to Reilly, but Reilly merely raised his eyebrows, a sure sign he expected to have his way on this, just as he had on so many other things in the past.

“Given our investigation, I’ve come to the conclusion that Mrs. Thomas is luring women to the center with the promise of safety and a new life.” Reilly’s voice was serious. Jon felt Carly stiffen in his arms.

She pulled away from him and turned to face Reilly. “What is she luring them in for, if not that?”

“Prostitution.”

“
What?
”

“She offers the women a clean place to stay, food, clothing, safety, and asks for nothing in return—at first. Once she has a woman so deeply in debt to her, she bills the woman for her services. Obviously the cost is outrageous and a price the woman has no hope of paying.”

“How do you know this?” Jon felt a cold chill pass through him at Reilly’s words. It was as he suspected. The man knew more about Cassandra’s business than he’d previously mentioned. A quick glance at Night proved his friend was oblivious to this new piece of intelligence as well.

Reilly ignored his question and continued with his story. “If the woman is young and pretty, Mrs. Thomas mentions a service the woman can provide to pay off the debt. Dress up and attend a party, be witty and charming to the men in attendance.”

“What happens after the party?” Carly asked the question, seemingly entranced by Reilly’s words. He could see the old man drawing her in with his invisible lasso and Jon felt helpless to cut the bonds.

“Enough, Reilly.” He started toward the man but Carly’s hand on his arm stopped him.

“What happens after the party?” she repeated.

“Nothing. The woman returns thinking her debt’s repaid. The next morning, Mrs. Thomas mentions in passing that a particular gentleman was interested in her and would like to see her again. Mrs. Thomas says something like it would be a personal favor to her, in light of all she’s done. The woman agrees and this time the party is much more private and…intimate.”

“What if the woman isn’t willing to be intimate?” Her voice was no more than a whisper. Jon could read the fear behind it. No doubt she was thinking about Trisha Jackson.

“The gentleman claims to be quite wealthy. He knows about the woman’s debt and offers to pay it in full if she would simply consent to one night.”

“He doesn’t pay off the debt,” she added.

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Dammit, Reilly! How do you know all this?” Night rose quickly to pace across the room. Jon noticed his friend’s anger seemed as intense as his own.

“A woman caught in Mrs. Thomas’ last web escaped. She told this story to the young policeman who found her. Unfortunately, she disappeared before anyone else could question her further. A cursory investigation of Cassandra’s first facility was posed, but of course nothing inappropriate was found. Shortly after the investigation, Mrs. Thomas moved her organization here, changing the name of the center as well as her own. My concern, after hearing about all the guards posted around the compound, is that she’s upping the ante, so to speak—given some ties she has to certain people in this area.”

It took all the strength in his body not to attack Reilly on the spot. The man had known all along what his mother was up to. She’d run this scam somewhere else.

“How?” Carly stood rooted to the same spot in the middle of the room. Jon noticed how pale her face was.

“No.” He cut off Reilly’s reply. “Not another fucking word, Reilly.”

“Jon.” Her hand was again on his arm. He forced himself to look at her face. “How can you ignore what’s going on? Who knows what that horrible woman is doing to Trisha?”

“So far, Carly,” Reilly added, “you’re the only one who’s been issued an invitation onto the compound. You’re the only one who can figure out what Mrs. Thomas is up to.”

She seemed to be considering that fact seriously. Jon looked to Night for help. Hell would freeze over before he’d let her back up on that mountain.

Night sat back down and began digging through the boxes of Chinese food. “Let’s face it, Reilly. You don’t have a fucking clue what’s going on inside that compound. Stop trying to scare Carly with your damn suppositions. Now if the rest of you don’t mind, I’m starving.”

Jon picked up where Night left off, working hard to continue to discredit Reilly in her eyes. He forced a laugh past his lips as he joined Night on the couch. “I gotta hand it to you, Reilly. You haven’t lost your touch.” He looked at Carly and forced a nonchalant smile onto his face. “Reilly is a master of spinning tales. He could kill hours during a stakeout making up those stories of intrigue. We’ve always told him to write them down. He’d make a killing in the fiction market.”

Reilly seemed nonplussed, if not downright amused by their words. Standing and bowing slightly to the room in general, he turned to leave. “Gentleman, Ms. James, this seems to be an appropriate place to stop for now. Always leave your audience with a cliffhanger, they say.”

Reilly stopped at the front door and turned back to give Night and Jon a meaningful look. “I trust the three of you will have an enjoyable evening…together.”

Jon’s heart skipped a beat at Reilly’s implied meaning. He couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow the night had gone exactly the way his old boss had planned.

“Come eat, Carly.” Night offered the invitation and watched her struggle to dismiss Reilly’s words.

“You really think he was making all that up?” Her face was so damn pale, Night could barely restrain himself from chasing Reilly down and pummeling the asshole for scaring her so.

“Reilly tends to exaggerate.” Jon dipped some pork-fried rice onto a plate and handed it to her. “Eat, Carly. There’s nothing else we can do about that place tonight and besides, there’s your punishment to discuss.”

Night glanced sharply at Jon. His friend had consented to the possibility of sharing her, but Night didn’t expect him to forge ahead so soon. Surely they needed to ease her into the idea? Give her time to get to know him better.

Clearly, she was shocked by Jon’s words as well. “Punishment?”