C.J. Miller - Traitorous Attraction

Another surprise...and Connor hated surprises. His brother had been a friend of hers? She’d paused before that word. A friend? Or his brother’s former lover? Given Aiden’s track record, it was believable that he had been sleeping with this woman. She was his type. Tall, fit and blonde, with a smooth, sexy voice.

A stream of jealousy shot through him and Connor batted it away. What was the point of being envious of a situation he couldn’t change and that had been true all their lives? Aiden had been the handsome, fun brother. Nothing had gotten him down. Connor had wanted Aiden to be happy, had worked to make it the case, and Connor liked to believe that Aiden had been.

Aiden hadn’t mentioned this woman by name during any of their late-night conversations. Not unexpected, since Aiden had grown increasingly secretive and distant in the months before he’d died. Their last conversation had been in anger, a reality Connor deeply regretted. It made it harder to cope with losing Aiden.

“How did you find me?” Connor asked. He kept his home address off the radar. It wouldn’t be found using a typical internet search.

The blonde’s arms dropped a few inches. “Aiden gave me your address for emergencies.”

If Aiden had told her where to find his brother, they had to have been good friends. Why hadn’t Aiden mentioned he’d shared Connor’s information with someone? Why hadn’t Aiden mentioned this woman? His distrust was heightened.

“What’s your emergency?” Connor asked. This woman was at his home, claiming to have information and an emergency. How dramatic. Maybe it would feel good for her to get something off her chest, but in all likelihood, whatever she told him, Connor would already know or would find insignificant, as most everything was compared to his brother being dead.

Connor also wasn’t sure he believed her story. If they didn’t plan to outright kill him, it would be like Sphere to send an attractive woman and launch upsetting information at him to get him off guard. Sphere hadn’t given up on bringing him back in, and psychological games were their specialty. Connor wouldn’t fall for tricks. Aiden had been gone for seven months and Connor had made his peace with his brother’s death. He wasn’t getting taken in by a beautiful woman. Whatever this Kate Squire needed to say, he wouldn’t let it affect him.

“Could you please take your hand off your gun? You’re making me nervous,” Kate said.

He hadn’t realized he was clasping the handle. He removed his hand from his gun and put it at his side. If she gave him any reason to think she was reaching for a weapon, he could get to his gun before she could get to hers. “Answer my question. What is your emergency?” Connor didn’t take his eyes off her hands. A difficult task given that she had a lot of features worth a second and third long look.

She lowered her hands and he allowed it. “I heard you were tough but, wow, I didn’t expect this.”

What had she expected? If Aiden had told her about him, he would have told her Connor was a hermit who lived alone, who didn’t like visitors and who preferred the company of his books to people.

“I have something to tell you that might be upsetting for you. Do you want to sit down? Or do you want to get a drink first?” she asked.

No and no. “I don’t need to sit. I don’t need to drink. There’s nothing you can tell me about Aiden that will upset me.” Both he and his brother had worked for Sphere. They had completed missions and tasks that were difficult and dangerous. They had walked the line just shy of immoral at times, they had lived fast and loose, and they had loved the adrenaline high of working rogue missions all over the world in the name of liberty and justice. Whatever this woman had to say about his brother, whatever story she would tell, it didn’t change that Aiden was a good man with a good heart. Nothing would sully Connor’s memory or change his deep respect for his younger brother.

The woman folded her arms over her chest. “I’m the one who needs a drink.” She laughed, a nervous jitter. The sound was light and tingled in his ears. Kate took a deep breath. “I don’t want to get your hopes up and I don’t want to make trouble for you, but I believe Aiden is alive.”

Unrealistic hope flared at the word alive but realism tamped it down. “My brother is dead.” It was a fact. If his brother was alive, Connor would have heard from him. If Aiden’s lover had convinced herself Aiden was alive, perhaps it was a coping technique or the denial phase of her grief. Connor worked firmly in reality and the reality was that Aiden was dead.

The woman looked at the ground, and when she lifted her head, tears shone in her eyes. “I think he is very much alive and he might need your help. I think he was captured in Tumara and is being held by the Armed Revolutionaries in one of their prisons.”

Connor’s denial skidded to a stop. How had this woman known his brother was working in Tumara for el presidente and against the revolutionaries? El presidente was fighting to stay in power despite a burgeoning lower class who was demanding higher wages and better living conditions. Bruno Feliz was their outspoken leader. Armando Lopes, or el presidente, as the dictator was known, had assistance from Sphere to keep the revolutionaries down. Keeping Lopes in power would prevent upheaval, but Sphere only cared about the money.

Aiden’s involvement in the region was classified. He hadn’t spoken about his mission or the work he’d completed for Sphere. Connor knew what he had done from keeping his finger on the pulse of Aiden’s work, a task he’d found more difficult the deeper Aiden had gone with Sphere. “Where are you getting your information?”

Kate stepped closer to him. As she neared, the light scent of vanilla wafted over him. “I could get in trouble for this. For telling you anything about Aiden and his work. But I feel like I have to tell someone. I work for the same company you and Aiden did. I analyzed some intelligence we received from our overseas allies and I have reason to believe your brother is alive. My cover—that is, my work with the State Department—puts me in touch with important people.” She shoved a hand through her hair as if frustrated with her explanation. “I know this sounds crazy, but I need you to believe me.”

Connor’s thoughts shifted into overdrive. She worked for Sphere, the organization responsible for his brother’s death. Sphere’s agenda was buried beneath a flurry of excuses and stories and rationalizations. It was one of the reasons Connor didn’t work for them anymore. “You work for Sphere?”

Kate looked around as if someone could overhear them. At least she had the paranoid-operative part down pat. Not that he had room to judge.

“Yes. I work there,” she whispered.

“Let me tell you something, Kate.” If that was her name. “I know how Sphere operates. They told me he was dead. Now you are telling me he is alive. If someone gave you that false hope, I’m sorry.” They could be manipulating Kate into seeking him out. This could be another attempt to coerce Connor to work a mission for them. “If my brother was alive, he would have contacted me. You’re being played.”

Kate shook her head. “This isn’t a game. Aiden needs you. I have a picture in my smartphone that might change your mind. Can I get it out and show it to you?”

Connor nodded his assent, and Kate reached into her back pocket and withdrew a slim phone. She typed on it and then turned it to face him. Connor closed the distance between them, poised to react to any sudden movements. Sphere would take out a target by any means necessary: deception, surprise, full-on attack. If Kate pulled out a weapon, he’d disarm or kill her.