Spy Games (Tarnished Heroes #1)(70)

“You’re sleeping together.” He gestured at the pile of Rand’s dirty clothes.

Shit. Sarah glanced away.

“What the fuck? Seriously?” Matt paced away from her and she followed him into the living room. “He turned his back on me. All of us.”

“I know. He blames himself for everything.”

“Well, he should.” Matt turned, fist clenched. He held out his prosthetic, as if that were evidence.

“That wasn’t his fault. You’ve said so yourself.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I was wrong.”

“You’re pissed at me, not him.”

“I’m so goddamn angry with both of you right now. Do you know how worried we’ve been?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You couldn’t pick up a fucking phone?”

She squeezed her eyes shut.

“I can’t believe you. After everything we’ve been through? Rand?”

He had no clue. Not a single one.

“You can do better than him, Sarah.” Matt gripped her by the shoulders.

“Me missing my flight had nothing to do with Rand.” She peered up at her brother. “I messed up. Me. Not him. Me.”

“Then how’d you two meet up?”

“Because…” How did she explain that one?

The front door opened and Sarah nearly sighed with relief. Matt’s spine went ramrod straight.

Rand stared at Matt’s back. “Dinner’s just about ready.”

“Oh, good. I’m starving.” Sarah didn’t think she could eat, but trying to would be better than this.

“I’m not finished talking to my sister.” Matt’s tone was ice.

“Look, if you want to be angry at someone, be angry at me. Not her.” Rand took a few steps closer, but kept the sofa between them.

“No one should be angry at anyone,” Sarah blurted. “I missed my flight. Yes, I should have called. End of story.”

Rand nodded, hopefully catching the threads of her story. “Matt, I’m sorry. We’ve been trying to figure out things ourselves. It’s not like we wanted to keep secrets.” Rand’s voice softened.

Oh, God. Were they really playing the romance card with her brother? This would kill her.

As if it wasn’t enough that she still harbored feelings for him from her youth, now she’d gone and fallen for the man he’d become, as well. They were different people, but at their core they were the same. And she would always love him.

Matt turned to glare at Rand.

“Sarah reached out to me a few months ago.” Rand pushed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “We’ve been talking. When she passes through Seoul, we meet up. That’s it. This… We didn’t set out to lie to anyone, man. I swear.”

“Sarah? Mind if I talk to Rand alone a minute?” Matt’s tone went from icy to downright frigid.

She glanced at Rand, who nodded once more. “Okay.” She grabbed her shoes and headed for the door.

Rand reached out, brushing her hand with his fingers as she passed. The contact sent little electrical tremors through her body. Her throat tightened. She glanced at Matt, his gaze narrowed. He hadn’t missed the contact.

Was it an act? Had Rand done that for Matt’s benefit? The chances were good it was. Because Rand knew what he was doing, and she was so far in over her head it was silly.

Sarah darted across to the house, her head still spinning.

Julie was in the kitchen with Emily, glasses of wine poured, and one ready for her. Or at least, Sarah assumed the big glass of sparkling pink alcohol was hers. She slid onto a stool and gulped some down to help take the edge off her nerves.

“Where are the guys?” Emily glanced over Sarah’s shoulder.

“Talking.”

“Spill!” Emily mock-punched Sarah in the shoulder.

“Where are the kids?” She glanced around, as if Julie had somewhere to hide two rambunctious children.

“With your mom and dad.”

“Oh.”

“Your turn. What the heck, Sarah? Rand? When? How? Why haven’t you told me about this?”

Sarah glanced from Julie to Emily.

There wasn’t enough wine in the house to get through this conversation. Still, she had to try. Sarah upended the glass, gulping down the contents. Somehow she had to make her best friend believe she was having a secret, whirlwind romance. Shouldn’t be that hard. They kind of were. Except everything else was a lie.

…

Mitch pushed the hospital room door opened, braced for the worst. Another agent lost.

Irene sat propped up in the bed, the blanket tucked up under her arms. Her eyes opened briefly then shut again.

“Oh my God, Irene. Are you okay?” Mitch shoved a hand through his hair.

“I’ll live.” Irene’s voice was funny, a little slurred.

“What happened? Is—are they okay?” He’d gotten her email about making contact with Sarah and hoped that things were turning around for them. Then—this.

“Yes. Fine. Everything’s fine. A guy snuck up on me, is all.”

A guy?

“I saw the orders and the email about the protective detail. Maybe we’ll get lucky, huh?” Mitch paced the room.