Chapter Eighty-One

Rory’s mind grappled with the sheer audacity of Nina’s actions, the risks she had taken. She’d known all along that Creed was tracking them, watching them.

A frightening chill fell over him at a sudden realization. He swung around to confront her. “You were trying to lure him out, weren’t you?”

She limped past him into the bedroom in nothing but her towel and bandage. With a deep breath, she moved over to a stack of clean clothes. “Yes,” she answered, slipping on skimpy panties and a skin-tight top with a hint of lace between her breasts.

His mind worked a mile-a-minute going over the past weeks and everything that had happened. Goddamn it. “He could have gotten to us at any time.” Statement of fact.

She slowly turned toward him. Her face was a mask of control, but her eyes were sad. For a moment, it looked as if she wanted to explain. But as she slipped into dark jeans, she just said, “Yes. We knew Creed was close. Watching. He always was the jealous type.”

Rory winced. Which neatly explained why he’d always been Creed’s target, not Nina. He should have known.

“You used me to get to him, didn’t you?” he bit out. “You tried to seduce me just to make him jealous.” It chafed more than he liked to admit. Saying it out loud was almost too hard. And to think he was—

“No!” Her denial was instant. “At first, maybe. But that’s not—” She took a deep breath. “No. But getting Creed had to be our top priority, no matter the cost.”

He ruthlessly shut down the hurt, determined to get to the bottom of just how far her deceit had gone.

He wouldn’t feel sorry for her. Not now. She had deceived him. Played him a fool for the benefit of her ex-lover. But what was her endgame?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Her simple apology did nothing to curb all the angry questions that tumbled through his mind. From the look of her, she wasn’t going explain further, not unless he forced her to.

“Why?” he demanded.

“Why what?”

“Why the subterfuge?” he snapped. “Why not be straight with me about everything from the start?”

“We didn’t know you then. Didn’t know if we could trust you.”

“Then why stay at all, if you were that suspicious of me? You could easily have escaped.” So easily.

He’d been such a fool.

“We were weak, physically and mentally. You provided a measure of safety, until we got stronger.”

The brutal truth of her explanation nearly gutted him. “And when you started to trust me, why not come clean then?” That’s what got to him the most. The deceit. He hadn’t expected it from her. Hadn’t truly suspected anything nefarious, not once he’d gotten to know her.

Or had thought he did.

Clearly, he hadn’t known her at all.

Tucking her hair behind her ears, she hesitated, then said, “We wanted to take him down. It was the best way to do it. But you would never have agreed, if we’d told you.”

“Damn straight. Do you have any idea what you risked? What could have happened?” Just thinking about how close Creed had gotten to her, and that she’d deliberately caused it to happen, chilled his blood. And infuriated the hell out of him.

Because she’d also gambled with his life, knowing how jealous Creed was.

“They were risks we were willing to take.”

“And damn the consequences, right?”

God! The sheer nerve of messing with people’s lives that way. Her manipulation had been masterful. It was astounding how easily she had played him, made him care, kept the truth. In the end it had all been based on lies and deceit.

“Creed has to be stopped, Rory. You know that.”

And there it was.

Stopping Creed. That was all she truly cared about. Why she had risked everything.

Including him.

“Dammit, Nina!”

“We didn’t have a choice,” she said evenly.

“You could have played straight with me. God. I’m amazed you didn’t just ditch me and meet to face each other like a couple of old western gunslingers.”

Her chin lifted defiantly, and she blinked, the silence between them stretching uncomfortably.

He swore colorfully. “Seriously? That was your plan?” He clamped his jaw in fury. “What changed your mind? Did sanity prevail, after all?” he mocked.

At least she had the grace to flinch. “He wouldn’t have come. At least not before killing you.”

Awesome.

“Thanks!” He wanted to punch something. Anything. The wall. Better yet, Creed.

Son of a bitch! Even though Nina hated Creed, his continued hold on her was undeniable. Unbreakable.

Rory’s fists tightened, and he marched to the dresser before he did something stupid.

“I’ll admit we used you,” she said. “But falling in love was never part of the plan.”

He gave a derisive snort. God, she just wouldn’t let go. She had to keep up the deception.

“You expect me to believe that? After all your lies?”

“No.”

He refused to be moved by the regret in her voice, refused to look at her as he gathered his clothes. Without a word, he got dressed and collected the tracking devices from the bathroom. All the while, he could feel her watching him.

What he needed was some distance between them. Gain some perspective. If possible.

Grabbing his keys, he stalked to the door.

Her voice stopped him. “Where are you going?”

“Out. I need to think.”

“For how long?”

He looked back and their eyes met for a brief moment. “I don’t know.” And with that, he strode out the door.

And away from her.