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I KNEW ALL ABOUT RYAN Abrams. He was the one who’d broken Clark’s heart. Of course, he hadn’t done it by design. He was on assignment when he was killed, and the report of his death nearly destroyed the woman I loved.
She’d spent years trying to avenge his death. I knew from experience how much he meant to her. When we’d first met, she was determined to drive a syringe deep into my heart to get revenge for her perceived notion that I was somehow involved.
It had taken me a long time to melt her heart and convince her that I was a friend. And after that, the ghost of Ryan had floated between us until finally she was able to put him to rest. My first thought after I realized that he was back from the grave was jealousy.
Would Clark want me out of the picture now? How was she going to handle the reappearance of her former fiancé? The man had meant everything to her. Could I really expect her to choose me over him, especially since the emotional wounds ran so deep?
The second thought that ran through my mind was distrust. Clark and I were obviously together. Everyone knew that, up the chain of command to the very top. We stood in line together, ready to eat after a marathon sexual exchange and I couldn’t believe that wasn’t written all over our faces.
But Ryan walked right past me, put his hands on my girlfriend’s shoulders, and spoke only to her. It might have been a gut reaction, but I felt like my manhood was threatened. Her loyalties might be up in the air, but at least I was willing to consider him as a contender. He seemed to think I wasn’t worth a passing notice.
“Ryan?” Clark whispered.
“It’s me, baby,” Ryan said.
I could have punched him right there. But I was still a little off balance from his sudden appearance. He might be working with New Dawn, or he might have a legitimate excuse for his disappearance. I didn’t know, but something about his bravado struck me as wrong.
I tried to put myself in his shoes. If I had been separated from Clark for years and suddenly found her alive in a cafeteria, of all places, I would be ecstatic. I would scoop her into my arms and spin her around, kissing her passionately until she told me to stop. I wouldn’t let a little thing like ceremony get in the way of professing my undying love.
And after assuring myself that I’d found her, I would proceed to explain exactly what had happened that had kept me away for all that time. I would put her mind at ease, and do my best to make up for my absence. But this guy did none of those things. He had a stupid smile that sent up red flags deep in my heart. Regardless of my feelings for Clark and my instinctive jealousy, I knew he was lying.
“What happened?” Clark demanded. “I thought you were dead.”
“No,” Ryan attempted to assure her. “I was taken captive and only just recently managed to fight my way out.”
“Taken captive by who?” she stammered.
“The Russian mafia,” Ryan answered quickly.
“Who?” Clark demanded.
The Russian mob was a dangerous entity, and therefore closely watched by both the CIA and MI6. It was highly unlikely that they could have held an American operative for years without someone becoming wise to it. I had heard nothing about a captive, American or otherwise, and that made me suspicious. I could tell from Clark’s reaction that she was trying to process the information, but that it didn’t make sense to her.
“Where?” she asked. “When? How?”
“I’ll explain everything,” Ryan promised, looking over at Z.
I had forgotten that there were other people in the room. The moment Ryan checked with Clark’s friend, I followed his gaze. Z was just as stunned as Clark and equally uncertain about the story Ryan was floating. The three of us were unconvinced, although Ryan seemed perfectly at ease with his version of events.
He leaned forward to kiss Clark on the cheek. I clenched my jaw, a burst of pure hatred racing through me. Clark just stood there without reacting, and that told me something else. I would have liked to think that if our roles were reversed, and I was the one back from the dead, that Clark would be happy to see me. I couldn’t tell whether she was happy or not. She seemed stunned.
My mind raced. In the briefing yesterday, there had been no mention of Ryan. I would have thought that the leadership would have clued me in if they knew of something that monumental. I know Lukas would have told me if he knew. That meant that Lukas was in the dark. The head of Dark Sparrow, and the leader of the entire fortress wasn’t aware of the walking phantom in our midst. That didn’t bode well.
Was Ryan even officially alive? It was my understanding that as far as the CIA was concerned, he was dead. That meant there would be hoops to jump through and official protocols to follow after his arrival. He couldn’t just waltz into the cafeteria and announce himself to his former fiancée without repercussions.
I wanted to touch base with Lukas to get his take on the matter. If Ryan had infiltrated the base without prior authorization, that was something Lukas would want to know. But I didn’t want to leave Clark alone with the man.
There was another thing I hadn’t considered. Z had been aware of what was going on before we came in. That meant she’d seen or spoken to him. What were the circumstances involved in that transaction? Had Z alerted anyone, or was she also so dumbfounded that she hadn’t had an opportunity to share the intel?
“We’ll catch up later,” Ryan said, releasing my girlfriend from his talons. “I have to go sign some paperwork.”
That answered one question. He was at least giving lip service to following the rules. Whether he would lie to our superiors about where he had been and what he was doing, I couldn’t say. Although considering that he’d just told a whopper to the woman he was once going to marry, I would guess the odds were high that he would continue his suspicious behavior.
I watched him go, feeling like a rooster in a hen house watching the fox stalk away. I wasn’t in any position to protect the women from him, and yet his absence gave us some breathing room.
I touched Clark’s elbow, drawing her attention away from Ryan’s retreating form. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“No,” she muttered, shaking her head.
“I want to talk to Lukas,” I said.
“Go,” she whispered.
“Are you okay if I leave you?” I repeated myself, needing to be absolutely sure that I wasn’t abandoning her in her time of need.
“Go,” she insisted, giving me a shove.
I turned and left, not wanting to aggravate her more. Clark was no shrinking violet. She was fully capable of taking care of herself, even when it came to long-dead lovers. I knew she wouldn’t appreciate me babying her and that any indication that I thought she needed help would drive a wedge between us.
I had been riding high off our lovemaking the night before, but all that was gone now. I was desperate for answers, both for Clark and for myself. I didn’t even know if I trusted Ryan’s statement that he was going to attend to some paperwork. What if he had been hiding in the vents and had just popped out to ruin Clark’s day? What if he was there to assassinate someone, and every moment I wasted brought him closer to completing his mission?
It was a wild accusation, but one I couldn’t ignore. I took one last look at the two women before ducking through the door. They looked okay on their own, and I was going to have to trust that they could handle anything else the world might throw at them.
