Devotion (The Seductors Series Book 3) (8 page)

I had consumed half a bottle of wine by the time Oliver and Macy surfaced from his study. She looked agitated, and I was going to make her night even worse with what I had to do.

“All that hard work,” she grumbled, collecting her coat. “I can’t believe you sometimes, Oliver Kirkham!”

“You’ll start the deletion tomorrow, yes?” he asked, running his hands through his hair.

“I’ll need to wait until Dylan has gone for the day, but yes, I’ll start deleting files tomorrow. The core will be more difficult.”

“That can wait a few weeks. It’s secure, so no one will find it.” That’s what Oliver thought.

“Do you think he’s crazy for doing this?” Macy asked me.

“I trust his judg
ment. Oliver knows what he’s doing,” I said as I smiled shyly toward him.

“I think he’s an idiot for turning his back on this.” Oliver rolled his eyes and walked into the living room. He’d obviously had enough of Macy for the evening.
 

“Here, let me walk you to the door,” I suggested, walking with her. Macy widened her eyes at me, looking surprised. Once we were outside, I closed the front door. “Macy, this is going to sound crazy, but I need you to meet me back here at midnight.”

“What? Why?”

“I can’t say right now. It’s too dangerous,” I stressed, checking to make sure Oliver wasn’t listening.

“Jade, how much wine have you had tonight?” she questioned.
Not enough for all the shit I'm dealing with right now!

“Macy, Oliver’s life depends on this. Meet me back here at midnight, please,” I begged. “If you ever loved him like I do, you’ll do this for him.”

“Jeez, okay. I’ll meet you,” she breathed. “Does it have anything to do with the power core?”

“I’ll explain later. Oliver can’t hear us.” She gave me a quizzical look before nodding in agreement.

    All I had left to do was wear Oliver out so he didn’t wake to hear our conversation later, and I knew just how to do that.

He was sipping his wine when I walked back into the living room, and I gave him a sexy smirk as I wandered over to him. He gazed up at me, his eyes dark with need.

“I don’t know about you, but I could do with an early night,” I purred, taking his wine glass from him.

“That depends on if you want to sleep…” Oliver grabbed the front of my top, pulling me down so I was straddling his lap. “…or if you want me to fuck you senseless.” I groaned, feeling his erection against my center. We were both wearing too many damn clothes. “Is that a yes to the sex?”

“It’s always a yes for sex.” I kissed along his jaw, running my hands down his chest while undoing the buttons on his shirt.

“Oh, you want to start right here, do you?” I rocked against the erection straining in his pants to make my intentions clear. “I love this bolder side to you.” His hands were quick to remove my top, and before I knew it, he’d pulled my bra cups down and was attacking my nipples with his teeth and tongue. I tried to undo his pants while he continued his glorious torture, but it wasn’t easy. Oliver was on a mission to make me climax as quickly as possible, and his hands slid inside my panties, running between my slick folds.

“Oh, God,” I groaned, throwing my head back.

“Do you want my cock, Beautiful?”

“Yes,” I pleaded. “Take me, Oliver. Make me forget everything.” This would be the last time I’d feel this way. I’d never love like this again. He’d always be the one who claimed my heart.

He gave in with a snarl, pulling my panties away before slamming me onto his cock.

“Like this?” he panted.

“Ugh, yes. Just like that.” As he began to bounce me up and down his length, I gripped his shoulders, kissing every inch of his face and holding onto the memory of each line and contour. I never wanted to forget how perfect he was.

When I felt myself begin to build, I clung to him, riding out my climax with the warmth of his body heat.

“I love you,” I whispered, still clinging to him moments later.

“I love you, too, Sweetheart. How about we take this upstairs?” I nodded, forcing a smile as I followed him up the staircase.

I lay awake in the dark
, Oliver sleeping peacefully next to me. Macy would be here soon, so I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake him.

By the time I reached the front door, Macy was waiting for me.

“This better be good, Jade. You’ve dragged my ass back here way past my bedtime! Aren’t you even going to let me in?”

“I can’t chance it. Macy, you need to swap the real
power core right now.”

“Excuse me!”

“It’s going to be stolen tomorrow. You have to swap it with a prototype.”

“How the fuck would you know that?”

“I’m one of the people who’s been paid to steal it,” I admitted, looking shameful.

“What the fuck?” I gave her a few moments clear her head. “I knew you were no good. I told Oliver this!”

“I’m doing this for him. My client can’t get their hands on the power core, Macy. Think of the damage it would do.”

“How can I trust you? This might be a trick?”

“I don’t want to know where you put the real core. All I ask is that you move it. Oh, and it has to be swapped by tomorrow morning.”

“Who are you working for?”

“I can’t tell you that, but Alicia is working for them, too.”

“Jesus Christ. What has Oliver gotten himself involved in?”

“A client has paid for us to do this. I think it might be Imogen.”

“Imogen Windom?” she spat.

“Yes,” I sighed. “Will you do this for me—for Oliver? I know you still care about him.”

“Of course I’ll do this for him,” she snapped. “All I’ve ever done is love him. I’d never betray him like you! He’s head over heels in love with you, Jade, and now you’re going to leave him again. I’ll be left to pick up the pieces!”

“Promise you’ll look after him for me, Macy. He’ll need you when I’m gone.” I fought back my tears.

“Oh, so now you’ve grown a heart? Do you have any idea what this will do to him when he finds out? It’ll crush him!”

“Please, this is hard enough for me.”

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you? That’s why you’re doing this,” she gasped.

“Yes, but he can’t
ever
know. If he tries to find me, we’re both dead. There’s no other option. It has to end here.”

“There
must
be another way. You can’t just walk out on him, Jade. I won’t allow it. I care for him too much to do that.”

“Macy, there
is
no other way. He’ll be killed if I don’t disappear again.”

“Why should I believe any of this? You could be trying to set me up!”

“You know I’m not!” She could hear the sincerity in my voice as I spoke, I was sure of it.

“So I’m just supposed to move the
power core? Is that all you need me to do?”

“Make sure it’s not in the factory, just to be safe. Then treat the day like any other. Oliver won’t come to any harm, I can promise you that. When he does come to you later, you
must
destroy the core. You’re both targets until you do. Leave
no
trace, do you understand? They’ll keep coming for you otherwise. You must have spies within this company leaking information somewhere.” Macy nodded. “That’s everything. I better get back to Oliver before he notices I’m gone. I won’t see you again, but thank you Macy, for helping me save him.”

“I’ve never particularly liked you, simply because Oliver is in love with you, but I’m thankful that you love him enough to do this for him.”

“I’d give my life to save him if I had to. That’s the depth of my feelings for him.” Her eyes widened.
Yeah, I love Oliver more than you, nerd girl!  

“I can’t compete with that.”

“Luckily, you don’t have to. I’ll be gone by tomorrow.”

“That
soon
?” I nodded. “I’ll take care of him, Jade. Don’t worry.” It felt wrong to me, but I took some comfort from her words. I didn’t want another woman holding Oliver, but what choice did I have? “You go back inside before you catch a chill. I’ll head to the factory now.”

“Thank you for doing this.”

“It’s all for Oliver. You must know that.”

“You’re still in love with him?” I already knew this of course.

“I never got over him. He isn’t the kind of man you can get over. I should be happy that you’re leaving. You are my only competition. All the other women came and went, but I know how much this will destroy him. He’s never loved anyone the way he does you. It consumes him.” That was how she saw me? As competition?

“Give him time. Maybe you two are meant to be together. You can help him get through this. He’ll need his friends when he learns the truth about me.” My words burned on the way out.

“You’re going to tell him who you really are?”

“He’ll find out tomorrow when my company takes the
power core.”

“It will cripple him.”

“I better get inside before he notices I’m gone.” I began to open the door before Macy called me one last time.

“Thank you, Jade. I know that it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but you’re doing the right thing. I’ll look after him, don’t worry.” I forced a smile before heading back inside.

For the first time in my life, I’d made the right choice. Now all I had to do was see it through to the end.

I walked numbly down the corridor with Oliver to meet Evan and Alicia in the reception area.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You still look a little pale,” Oliver asked, concerned.

“I’m fine. I just had a restless night, that’s all.” He took my hand in his just as my eyes met with Evan and Alicia.

“Thank you for agreeing to give me a tour, Mr. Kirkham,” Evan greeted him, holding his hand out.

“That’s not a problem, Mr. Carpenter. I trust that Alicia has explained what you’ll be seeing today?”
 

“Yes, she has.”

Oliver led the way, showing and explaining the different departments as he went. By the time we reached the test areas, I was feeling a little faint from nerves. We were almost at the location of the steal.

“These are our product development laboratories. This area is extremely secure,” Oliver commented, pressing his code into the access panel.

The moment we were all through the door, Evan grabbed me, pulling out a syringe and holding it to my neck.

“Where is the new
power core you’ve created?” Evan yelled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have a new
power core.” Oliver was trying to keep calm, but I knew it was an act. I could see the fear in his eyes.

“I know it’s here. Tell me or I’ll kill her.” The blood drained from Oliver’s face. I’d never seen him look so lost.

“Okay, I’ll show you. Please don’t hurt her,” he pleaded, fumbling around for his keycard. He dropped it on the floor in a panic as he rushed toward the correct door.

“Let me help you. We wouldn’t want any harm to come to poor little innocent Jade, would we?” Alicia sneered, picking up the keycard and handing it back to Oliver as they stood in front of Macy’s secret laboratory. He wasn’t even trying to trick them by steering them toward the laboratory that Dylan and Macy shared. He was doing that for me.

“Alicia, don’t tell me you’re in on this?”  

“Of course I am. Now open the fucking door!” Her voice was smug. Oliver opened the door in a heartbeat. Alicia followed him inside while Evan pushed me to join them. “We know
about real power core Macy has been working on, we don’t want the prototype. Don’t try to fool us.”

“How do you know about…?”

“You need to be careful with who you trust, Oliver. You’ve been played for months,” she chuckled. “Take a seat. I need to tie you up. If you struggle, my friend over there will inject Jade with a deadly substance. She’ll be dead within seconds. It was a clever idea, don’t you think? None of your security team detected it.”  

“I’ll do anything, just don’t hurt her.” Oliver looked over at me while Alicia tied him up. “It will be all over soon, Sweetheart, don’t worry,” he winced, trying to calm me.

“How touching,” Alicia snorted, looking over at me. “Is that the power core?” She questioned, gesturing toward the glass window.  Oliver nodded. “What’s the override access code?”

“Two, Nine, Six, Three, One,” he muttered, dropping his head in shame. He thought he was handing over the real core, and I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling right now. He’d chosen my life over the
power core. That was how much he loved me.  

Alicia was quick to collect the core, placing it in the steel carrying case I had suggested Miles make a few months ago.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Kirkham,” Alicia chuckled. “I’ll be getting a nice paycheck thanks to this.”

“You have no idea what you’re doing. You’ll start World War III. The world isn’t ready for that
power core. Think about what you’re going to cause. Whoever you’re working for, they
will
double cross you. I know who my enemies are, Alicia. You can’t trust any of them. Why else do you think I’ve kept them in the dark about this? You’ll destroy the world with that power core. Please!” He was trying to plead with her.

“Look at you, Mr. Honorable. You
made
the damn core. If it destroys the world, that will be on your shoulders. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”   

“There isn’t a machine in existence that could hold it, anyway. You’re wasting your time.”

“Now I know that isn’t true. You see, we have blueprints for a machine that can support this core.” Alicia looked over in my direction. “And do you know how we got them?”

“You’re bluffing. There is no way you can have those blueprints.” Oliver was pulling against his ropes as he spoke.

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

“Alicia, we don’t have time for all this. Inject him so we can go!” Evan called.

“Do you know who stole your blueprints, Oliver?” I swallowed, knowing what Alicia was going to say next. “I think the thief has a soft spot for you. Don’t you, Jade?” Oliver’s head snapped toward me, his eyes unreadable. Was it pain, fear, or anger burning within them? I wasn’t sure. “Are you going to speak, Jade? Or do I have to make you?”

“I…I have no idea…what you're talking about.” I tried to act my cover.

“Oh, she doesn’t want to play. Okay then, I’ll have to make her talk.” Alicia made her way over toward me with a smug smile on her face. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” she sneered, slapping me hard across my face. It stung like a bitch!

“Alicia! Don’t fucking touch her again! I swear when I get free I’ll hunt you down!” Oliver yelled, struggling in his chair.

“Oh, this is nothing, right, Jade? You’ve had worse. You remember our fight in Monaco, don’t you?” She slapped me again, harder this time. I could taste blood on tongue. She’d split my lip! “Give in. Show him who you really are—a worthless whore that seduces men to get what she wants,” she goaded, lifting her hand to try to strike me again. “Maybe I should torture your target instead. That might get a rise out of you,” she threatened. She wasn’t touching Oliver, I’d make sure of that!

“You fucking bitch!” I yelled, breaking free from Evan’s hold, pushing Alicia and making her stumble back. “Are you fucking crazy?!” I seethed. “This wasn’t how we planned it!” I couldn’t turn to look at Oliver yet. I needed time to explain when we were alone.

“I was trying to put my finger on it. Why wouldn’t you want Oliver to know who you really were? I mean, a fake kidnapping is crazy even by
our
standards. Then I realized you must have a soft spot for him. I’ve seen the way you look at him, Jade. Well, ha! This is payback, bitch! He knows who you really are now!” I slapped Alicia hard across the face. She was going to respond when Evan got in the way, grabbing her hand.

“Enough. We have the
power core. We need to get out of here.”

“Let me finish this. I need a few minutes alone with Oliver,” I whispered. Evan nodded, handing me the syringe to put Oliver to sleep while we made our escape.

“Come on, Alicia,” Evan called. “Jade, you have five minutes. I’m sorry about all this. I’ll be sure to inform Sonia of what Alicia has done. She broke protocol.” I nodded, watching them leave before finally turning to look at Oliver. His head was bowed. He couldn’t even look at me.

“Oliver, it’s not what you think,” I whimpered, kneeling down, trying to look into his eyes.

“It’s not what I think? You’re a fucking
spy!
I’ve spent years keeping this core from the world, then you come into my life and steal
everything
from me!”

“Yes, but…”

“You tricked me. All this time! Who the fuck are you?” Pure hatred raged in his eyes when he finally looked up at me.

“They haven’t taken the real core. I got Macy to swap it last night. Please look at me.”

“Why should I believe you? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve ripped my entire world apart.” His cold stare knocked me down. He hated me.

“It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not. I’ll be gone in a matter of minutes, then you’ll see for yourself. The core is safe,” I sighed. “You made me see that I had a choice. This
power core was bigger than any of us. Please believe me. I couldn’t do that to the world, or to you.”

“Was it all a lie?” he whispered. “Did you pretend to love me?”

I braced myself, ready to deceive him once again. “It’s what I do. I make men fall in love with me. I become whatever they desire.” Oliver laughed hysterically to himself. “You’re a good man, Oliver. I’m sorry I did this to you. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Is Jade even your real name?”

“Yes, it’s my name.”

“But…I’m in love with you, Jade.” The obvious conflict in his eyes broke my heart. “What am I supposed to do now?”

“Promise me you’ll destroy the power core.”

“Did you hear what I just said? I
love
you.”

“They’ll keep coming for it if you don’t.” I wasn’t going to stand here and talk about feelings. I knew I’d break if I did.

“Who will?”

“I don’t know. I have a feeling it’s Imogen, but I don’t know for sure
who
my client is.”

“You don’t love me, do you? What...are you just a heartless bitch like Alicia? How can you live this way? Don’t you have a conscience at all? You tricked me from day one. It was
all
a lie just to get to the core. You used my love for you to get what you wanted…” His voice was hoarse.

“You can think what you’d like.” I was trying to stay calm, when inside I was breaking. “Look, my time is almost up and I need you to promise me something.” His dark, broken eyes were urging me to continue. “You can’t look for me this time, Oliver. You’ll end up killing us both. They’ll know something is up if you start trying to find me, so you need to let me go. You have no idea how close you came the last time you were searching for me.”

“What if I can’t? I don’t want to give you up. Jade, we can work something out. Please don’t leave me again.”

“There is no choice.”

“Jade…” His voice started to break. “You can’t just leave like this.” Grabbing the syringe, I moved to straddle his lap. I basked in the moment, knowing this was the last time I’d be this close to him. His scent washed over me and I closed my eyes, taking it all in.

“You wouldn’t be able to handle a hellcat like me anyway, Oliver. We would never have worked out, too many lies have been told. It’s better this way. You can find someone worthy of you.” I sighed, leaning in and injecting him. “You’ll only be out for half an hour. Once you’re unconscious, I’ll untie you so you can find Macy and destroy the core as soon as you get up.”

“Jade,” his voice was still pleading for me to stay, but he was already slipping under. I pressed my mouth to his as he fought to stay awake so he could kiss me back.

“Thank you for making me feel like a good person for the first time in my life,” I whispered against his lips before he finally fell under. Quickly, I untied him and tilted his head back into a more comfortable position. With one last glance toward him, I walked away, fighting my tears. I wasn’t going to let Alicia see me cry. I refused to give her the satisfaction. Little did she know, I’d won this mission. By the time we got back to headquarters, the real core would be destroyed and Oliver would be safe.

That was all that mattered. In time, I’d learn to live with my broken heart, knowing I’d saved the only person who had ever touched it.

“I can’t apologize enough for Alicia’s actions, Jade,” Sonia sighed. “You did so well with this mission. Our founder is so upset that your target found out your true identity.” She was so full of shit!

“It was out of your control, Sonia. It’s not like you planned it,” I smiled sweetly, watching her eyes widen.

“Of course not!”

“I didn’t think The Seductors would be
that
underhanded. I mean, considering what we do for the organization, it would be unfair to treat their
top-earning
employees that way. It wouldn’t bode well for staff moral, either.”

“The founder is willing to make it up to you financially. We’re sorry it came to this. Disciplinary actions have been taken against Alicia, too. She allowed the personal grudge she has toward you affect her mission.”

“I did warn you from the beginning about Alicia and me working together.”