Fool Me Once (11 page)

Settling
herself on the chaise lounge, she looked expectantly at the two men. “All right
gentlemen, I’m ready. Proceed.”

“You
have every right to be angry,” Josh began.

She
cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Forget it, Cowboy. Don’t insult me with
your sweet talk.” She looked at him suspiciously. “You
are
a cowboy
aren’t you, or have you lied about that, too?”

He
looked confused. “No. I mean yes, I’m a rancher.”

“Well
that’s something at least. Now go ahead.”

He
glared at her. “I’m trying, but as usual you keep butting in.”

“And
I’ll keep doing it if necessary.” She took a small sip of brandy.

He
picked up a chair and placed it beside the chaise lounge. “All right. Dirk and
I work for an organization called IATO. International Anti Terrorist
Organization. Without giving too much away, I can tell you that they are
headquartered in London, and draw on personnel, equipment and intelligence from
several countries. Dirk is a former SAS agent, and as you already know, I was
with American Special Forces.” He picked up her glass and took a drink with an
intimacy that wasn’t lost on Dirk. “Your friends were right. I’m letting it be
known that I’m in the market for RPGs and Semtex. The right connection could lead
us directly to one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. Our intelligence
sources inform us that he sells to the re-emerging Taliban, to Al Qaeda–who by
the way are also working hard to rebuild, and to anyone else who can afford his
product. We intend to put him out of business by exposing his operation.” He
glanced at Dirk. “It was sloppy of me not to check the toilet stalls, but we’re
counting on you to help us with some damage control on that front.”

“Let
me get this straight.” She swung her legs over the side of the lounge. “You
both work for some shadowy anti-terrorist organization that nobody’s ever heard
of?”

“Well
it wouldn’t be very effective if everyone knew it existed, would it?” Josh
challenged.

She
considered this and nodded reluctantly. “I suppose not.” The enormity of what
Josh had revealed was just starting to sink in. “So, you’re not an arms
dealer?” Her heart was suddenly lighter. She wanted to throw herself in his
arms. Almost as much as she wanted to smack him for deceiving her.

“No,
I’m not an arms dealer.” He spread his hands. “I’m sorry you had to find out
the way you did.”

Her
temper flared. “You’re just sorry I found out. Period.” A sudden thought struck
her. “And just where do I fit into this picture? Was it ever about playing poker?”

“We
learned that our target frequently meets his contacts while playing poker,
making it imperative that I get in the high stakes games. So yes, that was
partly it.” He glanced over her shoulder at Dirk, who shook his head in a
warning. “But having you as my fiancée gave me respectability. A certain
cachet, if you will.”

“Thanks
a lot.” His words were starting to sink in. “So you used me.” Her voice was low
and tight. “So shame on you.”

“I
beg your pardon?” Josh frowned.

She
dug down deep inside, summoning every ounce of dignity she could find. She
would not let him see how he’d shattered her foolish dreams.

“It’s
an old saying. ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” She
stood up. “I can promise you one thing. You won’t get a chance to fool me
again. I’m going back to London in the morning.”

“I
wish you wouldn’t.” He massaged back of his neck wearily. “I know this is
rotten timing, but I have to go back to the casino. There’s a good chance I’ll
make contact tonight.” He straightened his tie and slipped into his jacket,
then turned to her. “Will you at least listen to what Dirk has to say? I should
be back no later than five in the morning. Promise me you’ll stick around until
then?”

Chapter Six

Olivia
allowed herself to look at Josh for the first time since he and Dirk had come
in. In spite of the dark smudges of exhaustion under his eyes, he was still as
handsome as sin. She couldn’t refuse him now. “You’ve got some nerve, asking me
to promise you anything.” She turned her back, so that he wouldn’t see the
renewed hope in her eyes. “But okay. I won’t leave until after you come back.”

“Olivia,
I…” He came up behind her and her stomach fluttered. If he touched her now, she
would shatter in a million pieces. “I’ll see you later.”

She
nodded mutely, afraid her voice would give her away. Moments later, the front
door closed and Dirk cleared his throat.

“Do
you think we could scare up a cup of coffee? I have a feeling we’re going to
need it.”

“In
the kitchen.” She led the way. “The housekeeper leaves a pot ready to go for
the morning.” She turned on the light and flicked the switch on the coffeepot.
“Cream and sugar?”

“Black
thanks.”

“Tough
guy, huh?” She busied herself setting cups on the table and sat down with a
sigh.

“Right
now I don’t feel very tough. I’m supposed to convince you of the importance of
our mission and talk you into staying with Josh until we make contact with this
arms dealer.” He pulled out a chair next to hers. “Frankly, I’m a bit out of my
league. Charm is Josh’s department, not mine.” He gave her a quick, guilty
look. “Sorry, that didn’t come out right.”

She
waved a hand in the air. “Never mind, it’s true. You know, there have been
times when I’ve misjudged people, made some poor decisions, but never one like
this. I can’t tell you how painful it is to know I was used.” Her fingers
traced the grain of the old wooden table. “There’s that, but to be honest, what
angers me even more is that I didn’t see it coming.” The coffeepot sputtered
and she stood up, pouring steaming liquid into the two mugs. “I’m a journalist,
for crying out loud. I should be perceptive enough to see past that slick
patter he gave me when we first met. Josh Morgan has to be the most infuriating
man I’ve ever met.”

“Then
I guess you shouldn’t have fallen in love with him,” he said quietly.

She
was completely taken off guard and his words hung in the air for several
moments before she responded.

“Don’t
be silly.” Her voice sounded unconvincing, even to her own ears. With a silent
shake of her head, she fought the tears that welled up in her eyes. Her fingers
tightened around the coffee mug, and the diamond sparkled as if to mock her.
Funny how quickly she’d become accustomed to it. Splaying her left hand on the
table, she rocked it back and forth, admiring the way the stone reflected the
light back into her eyes.

“Anyway,
I know better than to fall in love with Josh Morgan. He set out The Rules
before we left, just so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings.”

“The
Rules?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh
yeah. He made it clear that he wouldn’t fall in love with me.” She frowned,
remembering the way Josh had spoken. “It was almost as though he were afraid.
He said something about not being able to do his job.” She was exposing
herself, but what could she lose? Her emotions had already been stripped bare
in front of Dirk. “Do you have any idea what that was all about?”

“And
after all that you fell in love with him anyway?”

“I’m
trying not to,” she murmured. It was a relief, finally admitting it. She
stirred sugar into her coffee. “But it isn’t easy.” The understanding in his
eyes was almost her undoing, and she glanced away.

Dirk
was silent for several moments, and Olivia wondered if she’d overstepped her
bounds, if she’d put him in an awkward position. He seemed to be studying the
kitchen, but she realized that he wasn’t seeing the row of potted herbs at the
windowsill, or the brightly decorated tiles.

“We
seem to be sharing a lot of confidences today.” He could have been talking to
himself. “I like you, Olivia. I even hoped that we might get to know each other
better when this is over, but I can see that isn’t going to happen.” He sipped
at his coffee. “So I’m going to tell you something about Josh Morgan.” His eyes
looked into the past.

“Josh
was one of the top operatives with the American Special Forces Anti-terrorism
unit. His specialty was explosives.”

Olivia
leaned forward, absorbing every word.

“It
wasn’t unusual for us to run joint ops between ourselves and the Americans, or
ourselves and the French. That’s how Josh and I came to know each other so
well.”

“About
five years ago, all three countries were running a joint operation. The French
team included a woman.” His eyes softened. “Vivienne. She was fearless, and she
was beautiful. We all fell in love with her, but of course she only had eyes
for Josh.” He shot her a wry glance. “He was always lucky that way. Anyway,
we’d been working out of Marseilles for about a month, on the trail of a huge
arms shipment. We suspected that it was heading for Iran or Iraq, through
Turkey. Our plans were to raid a warehouse on the docks around four in the
morning. Josh and Viv and another Frenchman were on watch when they observed
what they thought was an attempt to move the shipment. He radioed for backup
and then left them to keep watch while he checked out the back of the
warehouse. He was in charge of the operation, and told them to stay put but
when the front doors opened she went charging in.”

“Josh
took a bullet trying to save her.” He shrugged. “He’s convinced himself that if
he’d been there he could have held her back. Maybe he’s right, but I don’t
think so and neither did the review board. Anyway, his tour of duty was
finished a few months later and as far as I know he didn’t even consider
re-enlisting. He couldn’t get back to his ranch fast enough.”

Olivia
recalled the look on Josh’s face when he’d outlined The Rules. The fleeting
pain that had dulled his eyes. His comments about death when she remarked on
the scar. It was all beginning to make sense.

“And
so,” she murmured, almost to herself.

“And
so.” Dirk watched her closely. “The Rules.”

Olivia
slumped back in her chair, massaging her temples with the tips of her fingers.
“Did he love her, this Vivienne?” She held her breath, waiting for the answer.

“Love?”
Dirk frowned. “I shouldn’t think so. They worked well together and in tense
situations like that emotions run hot, things happen.” He looked embarrassed.
“She went after him, but they were about as far apart ideologically as any two
people could be.” He gave his head a quick shake. “So no, I don’t believe he
loved her, but he did blame himself for her death.”

Olivia
absorbed this information. “That explains The Rules, but this new twist about
the arms dealer has thrown me for a loop. A few hours ago Josh and I were having
dinner in a quiet little bistro and now…I feel like I’ve been on a wild
rollercoaster ride.” Her head snapped up. “I just thought of something. I’d
better contact Francine and Marc as soon as possible. Marc was the one who told
me about Josh. Francine is a journalist, just like me. We’ll have to tell her
some version of the truth, and ask her to keep it to herself.” She looked up to
see him smiling at her. “What?”

“It
sounds like you’re back on board.”

She
reached for the phone, eyes sparkling. “Who said I ever got off?”

*
* *

“They’ve
agreed,” Olivia reported to Josh the next morning. “And she assures me that
neither she nor Marc have mentioned it to anyone.”

“And
you trust her?” He raised weary eyes.

“Yes,”
she said simply. “I do. But there’s one condition.”

“Why
am I not surprised?” He sent her an oblique glance, but there was humor in it.
“There are always conditions when you’re dealing with a journalist.”

“Do
you want to hear this or not?” She stifled her own smile.

He
nodded.

“I
want the option of writing a story on this mission when it’s over.” She turned
to Dirk. “Isn’t that what you called this? A mission?”

Josh
rubbed his palm on a bristled cheek. “You’ve been watching too many Pentagon
briefings.”

“Well?
Is it a deal?”

The
two men exchanged glances. “It’s a possibility,” Dirk said slowly. “But we’ll
have to run it past Colin.”

“You
said you wanted to expose this low-life. What better way than a feature story
in WorldView?”

“We’ll
do our best.” Josh knuckled his eyes. “That’s all we can promise for now. In
the meantime, I need some sleep.” He rose to his feet. “By the way, we leave
this afternoon for the Costa del Sol.” His eyes glinted with a fierce
determination. “We’re closing in,” he said, exchanging a quick glance with
Dirk. “We’ll be leaving here at three.”

* * *

“Why
isn’t Dirk flying with us?” Olivia glanced at the empty seats on the private
jet. “This seems extravagant for the two of us.” She sipped a glass of chilled
wine, thinking how easily she could get used to traveling like this.

“He
has his own transportation.” Josh glanced toward the steward and Olivia
mentally kicked herself. He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips.