Alpha One (Shadow Agents #1)(35)
Author: Cynthia Eden

I told him that you didn’t love me back.

Her hands rose to his shoulders. Her mouth moved against his, gentling him.

After a few moments, Logan forced his head to lift. He stared down at her. “You didn’t…you didn’t do anything wrong.” His voice came out as a growl.

She gave him a faint smile. “Yes, I did. But I won’t make any more mistakes again. I promise.” Then she turned, pulling away. With slow steps, Juliana headed back to the bedroom.

But she had it wrong. The fault wasn’t hers. He was the one who’d screwed up. The one who’d never told her the truth.

“Logan…come back to bed with me.”

His head jerked up. He’d been staring at the floor. At nothing.

Now he saw that she’d looked back over her shoulder at him. Her hand was up, reaching for him.

He should tell her the truth. She wasn’t a kid any longer. Neither was he. He would tell her. Because of Susan, he’d have no choice.

If he didn’t tell Juliana about that dark night, Susan would.

Guerrero will. The guy would be digging into his past, learning every secret that he could. And he’d try to use those secrets against her.

Maybe Juliana thought that Logan didn’t care, but Guerrero…

“Logan?”

Guerrero would figure out the truth.

He rushed to her. Took her hand. Kissed her.

I loved you back.

Juliana might have gotten over him. She might just be looking for pleasure in a world gone to hell, but she mattered to him.

Always had.

He lifted her into his arms.

She always would.

* * *

SUSAN WALKER WATCHED as the poor little rich girl stepped toward the microphone. Looking dutifully mournful but determined. Cry me a river.

“The allegations that you’ve all heard about my father are true.” Juliana’s voice was clear and pitched perfectly to carry to all the microphones that surrounded her. “Senator Aaron James was using his position to perpetrate criminal acts. He was working with an arms dealer, a man that the government has identified as Diego Guerrero, and selling weapons off to the highest bidder.”

There was an eruption of questions as the reporters attacked like sharks.

Juliana held up her hand. “My father took his life because he couldn’t face what he’d done, but he left evidence behind.” She glanced toward the men in black suits beside her. Men who screamed FBI or CIA. “That evidence has been recovered and is being turned over to the authorities.”

Susan fought to keep her expression cool as Juliana continued talking. The reporters were eating up her every word. The woman looked like a perfect victim, sad-little-me, having to be so brave and struggle on after daddy’s treachery.

The mob around Juliana would probably make her into a celebrity. Hell, there was no probably about it.

And there stood Logan. Just a few feet away from Juliana. The reporters hadn’t noticed him. They’d followed Juliana’s gaze to the other agents, not ever seeing the real threat right under their noses. Blind fools.

“The authorities have told me that Diego Guerrero is in the country, possibly operating under one of his aliases…” Now Juliana was staring straight into the cameras. “John Gonzales is a name he’s used before.”

One of the suits rushed forward. He held up a picture.

“This is a sketch of Diego as his Gonzales persona,” Juliana continued. “We’ll make sure you all get a…”

Susan spun away, took two furious steps forward and slammed into the man she now knew was called Gunner.

Gunner just stared down at her with a raised brow. “Going somewhere?”

She forced a smile. “I just… It’s too much, you know?” She waved her hand back to the crowd. “I don’t know why you insisted on escorting me here today. I told you

already—you and the other agents—I had no idea what—”

“Ben McLintock said he had no idea, too.” Gunner’s dark stare seemed to measure her, looking for secrets.

You won’t find them.

“But we still found his body this morning. Dumped on the senator’s grave.”

Susan staggered back. She hadn’t expected…

“I guess Guerrero thought he was holding back.” Gunner lifted one shoulder in a faint shrug. “By the looks of things, I’m thinking McLintock talked to Guerrero, told him everything he knew. Guerrero made him talk.”

Her heart beat faster. Her palms started to sweat. Damn Mississippi heat. Even in the spring, she was melting.

“So maybe you should be rethinking that offer of protection,” Gunner murmured with an assessing glance.

Rethinking it? Why? So they could get close and find out exactly what she’d done and lock her away? No dice. She’d gone that prison route before.

She’d lost two years of her life to a juvie jail. She wouldn’t ever be going behind bars again.

It had taken Susan too long to build her life again. Or rather, to steal the life that she had. Before she got in trouble, she’d been Becky Sue Morris. After juvie…

Hello, new me.

“I don’t know anything,” Susan said. Juliana was still talking, feeding her lines to the reporters. Why? “Guerrero wouldn’t learn anything from me.”

“No, but he’d still kill you. Slice you open just like he did your friend McLintock.”

Ben hadn’t been her friend. He’d just been an annoying lackey who stood in her way. He’d been working for Aaron before she’d arrived on the scene, and while she might have gotten access to Aaron’s bed, Ben had been the one to know his secrets. Yes, she bet that Ben had known all about the deals with Guerrero. The twit had probably been in on everything.

How much money had they made? And she hadn’t seen so much as a dime.

Now Juliana was walking away from the microphones. The big show was over. No, Juliana’s show was over.

Susan’s show was just beginning.

Her gaze moved back to Juliana. Logan was being her shadow. Her guard dog. What else was new? Juliana must not have found the file she’d left for her.

Logan glanced up then and his gaze cut right to her.

He found it.

Susan kept her breathing easy and smooth. That gaze of his seemed to burn her flesh.

“Is there a problem?” Gunner asked quietly.

She put her hand on his arm, stumbled a bit. “It’s…so much. Ben. Aaron. I need a few minutes.” She glanced up, offering him a tired smile. “Give me a little time, okay?” Her voice was weak. Lost. She thought it sounded pretty perfect.