Unauthorized Deception Read online

  Unauthorized Deception

  by Lisa Ladew

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons or organizations, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Copyright © 2014 Lisa Ladew All Rights Reserved

  Cover design by http://www.stunningbookcovers.com/

  Contents

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Could You Help Me Out?

  Stay Connected

  About the Author

  Dedication/Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Ivy Oakes heard a knock on the door. She opened her eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself to get out of bed. The door seemed a million miles away. A trillion. Just opening her eyes had been too hard.

  But was the door locked? She always tried to lock it now, especially after what had happened almost a month ago. Those two men from the Savoy investigation breaking into her house, possibly to murder her. Almost certainly to rape her and scare her. And Jen had saved her. But Jen couldn’t save her now. Her boyfriend, Ryker, had broken her heart and Ivy didn’t have the strength or desire to get out of bed and open the door. Ryker. The one man she had believed would never hurt her. The only man she’d ever felt safe enough to give her heart to. But he had hurt her. And now her heart was gone with him.

  Had she unlocked the door? Vaguely she remembered Jen saying she was going to come over. She remembered putting the phone down and unlocking the door so Jen could let herself in. Had that actually happened? Or had it been a dream? Ivy looked at the clock. 6:00 p.m. She hadn’t been sleeping. If the door was unlocked, then Jen could get in if she tried the knob. If it wasn’t, then she couldn’t. It didn’t matter. Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

  Ivy heard the door open and Jen call out for her. She let her eyes slip closed. When she opened them, Jen had made it to her bedroom door. But she wasn’t looking at Ivy. Her eyes were on the closet door. The new closet door, since the old one had to be replaced after Jen shot the man who had knocked Ivy out in her own bedroom. If Ivy tried, she could remember what the door had looked like covered with the man’s blood. Concern for Jen finally did what nothing else had been able to do for the last 12 hours. It pushed thoughts of Ryker from her mind, even if only briefly.

  Jen’s face was rigid with horror, her mind far away. Ivy pushed herself to sit up. “Jen, turn around. Let’s go in the living room.” Jen didn’t move. Ivy grabbed a piece of paper off the nightstand and dropped her legs out of the bed like an old lady. She plodded to Jen and turned her around. “Come on.”

  Jen went willingly enough, and seemed to relax as soon as she wasn’t looking at the closet door anymore. As Ivy noticed this, Ryker’s face swam back into her mind. Her body felt one hundred pounds heavier in an instant.

  As soon as they entered the living room, Ivy plopped on the couch. Jen turned to her and hugged her and Ivy felt tears threaten again. Her swollen eyes had already cried rivers, but it seemed they never ran completely dry. Ivy let herself be hugged for a moment, then thrust the paper in Jen’s hands.

  Jen looked it over, sneaking glances at Ivy every few words. Ivy had it memorized, even though she’d only read it twice. It was short. And hurtful. How could she forget it?

  Dear Ivy,

  I was wrong. I don’t love you. I never did. I don’t want to be a cop anymore either. Don’t look for me. I won’t take you back. -R

  “What the hell is this?” Jen asked, waving the paper around. “This doesn’t make any sense! He does love you. I could see it on his face just yesterday while you two were eating lunch! What could happen in less than 24 hours to make him change his mind?”

  Ivy moaned and covered her face. She’d asked herself this question a hundred times already.

  “When did he give you this?” Jen asked, her eyes searching the room.

  “When I woke up this morning he was gone and it was on my nightstand.”

  “He slept here last night?”

  Ivy nodded. He’d slept over every night since they’d gotten out of the safe house. Even with Fiore Savoy and most of his family in jail, Ivy felt safer with Ryker here. Ryker had said he wanted to be here. Ivy had wanted him to stay independently of whether he made her feel safer or not. She loved him. A moan escaped her lips at the thought.

  She’d never told him yet; he’d been telling her he loved her for a week now. She could still remember the moment he’d first said it. They’d gotten off work, rented a movie, bought some pizza, and snuggled on the couch. The movie had been mediocre, but the last part had saved the entire thing. Ivy cried and Ryker wiped her tears gently with his thumb, then somehow they were rolling over each other on the couch, lips locked. Well, Ivy was rolling over him and Ryker was carefully propping himself up to not squish her like he always did. And then Ryker’s hands pulled at her jeans. Ivy froze, and Ryker backed off immediately, a breathless “sorry,” coming from his lips.

  “No, I should be sorry,” Ivy said. “You’ve waited so patiently. And I’m still not ready.” Ivy had hid her face, wishing she were ready. Wanting him so badly that her entire body throbbed with her heartbeat, but her brain still said no.

  Ryker rubbed a finger down her cheek and said, “I’ll wait another hundred years for you.”

  Ivy smiled at him. “Why? Why are you so good to me? So perfect?”

  “Because I love you.”

  Ivy’s heart lurched at the memory and fresh tears squirted out of her eyes. Why hadn’t she said it back? Why did her stupid brain always keep the words locked just behind her lips?

  A quiet whisper bubbled up from her deepest fears. That’s why he left. Ivy didn’t want to believe it. But maybe it was true. She didn’t know.

  Jen was saying something. Ivy pulled her attention back to Jen with difficulty.

  “Did you call him?”

  Ivy nodded. “No answer. And I went to his apartment. He —” Ivy broke off and started crying again.

  Jen sat down and put an arm around her. “He what?”

  “He moved out. His superintendent said he locked his keys inside the apartment and left a note and $400 in the payment slot.”

  “What was the $400 for?”

  “A haul-away fee. He left all of his stuff in the apartment.”

  Jen’s eyes widened. “Why would he do that?”

  “I don’t know!” Ivy wailed, collapsing into tears again. “I think he might have another girlfriend.”

  “Another girlfriend? Why?”

  “Because last night, in the middle of the night, I don’t know what time, his phone buzzed. It was on the nightstand. He picked it up and looked at it, then I thought he went back to sleep. But he was gone this morning. What if a woman called him?”

  “But why would a woman make him quit the police department too?” Jen asked.

  “Did he quit?” Ivy whispered
.

  Jen nodded. “He faxed a letter.”

  “Did you see it?”

  “Yeah, after you texted me, I went to tell Hunter. He already knew though. He called down to HR while I was in his office and they said he faxed over his resignation at 8:30 this morning.”

  “From where?”

  “From a Staples on Division St.”

  “Did it say why?”

  “No.”

  Ivy let her eyes fall shut. A woman. It certainly could be a woman.

  “Your lips look dry, Ivy, let me get you some water.”

  Ivy didn’t respond. She hadn’t eaten or drank anything all day. And she certainly didn’t feel like eating or drinking now.

  Jen came back from the kitchen with a glass of water and a slice of cold pizza from the fridge. Ivy’s throat gripped painfully shut at the sight of them. She took them and put them directly on the coffee table.

  “Ivy, I can stay here tonight with you.”

  “Thanks, Jen. But I know you have places to be.” Images of Jen kissing Hunter flashed through Ivy’s mind, causing a fresh pulse of pain in her heart.

  “No, it’s cool. I want to stay. We can watch movies. I’ll help you keep trying to call Ryker if you want.”

  Ivy turned her face to the wall. She didn’t know if she wanted Jen here or not. Jen was sweet. But she still had her boyfriend. Even if he was a secret boyfriend. He’s secret because he’s the brand new Assistant Chief of Police. And Jen’s barely a recruit. How is that fair?

  “I can stay all weekend,” Jen went on, oblivious to Ivy’s indecision. “Besides, we’re both going to the same place on Monday.”

  The police recruit class. Ivy’s stomach clenched at the thought that she’d be able to get over this in just two days.

  “Oh Jen, I don’t think I can.”

  Jen looked at her sternly. If Ivy hadn’t been so heartbroken she would have laughed. Jen kept talking. “Of course you can. You have to.” She took one of Ivy’s hands in her own. “Look Ivy, I don’t know what’s going on with Ryker, but the fact is he took off. We’ll look for him and try to figure it out, but you still have to go on with your life. You still have to push forward with your dream to become a cop.”

  Ivy winced. Her dream? That was overstating it a bit. Sure she wanted to be a police officer. Sure she’d spent the last few months training and testing to be one and then she’d spent the last month working undercover. But would she spend her entire life unfulfilled if it didn’t happen? No. Would she spend her entire life unfulfilled if Ryker was the love of her life and he never came back to her? Maybe.

  But what about your plan? a soft whisper spoke up from the back of her mind. Her plan. To find her father. She pushed the thoughts away. That just wasn't important right now.

  “Maybe they’ll give me a few days,” Ivy whispered, pulling a pillow close to hide her face.

  Jen stood up quickly. “Ivy, they won’t give you a few days. You have to start on Monday with everyone else.”

  “But without Ryker? I don’t think I can.”

  “You can Ivy. You will.”

  “But Jen, what if… What if something’s wrong? Ryker wanted to go to the recruit class. For him being a cop was his dream. He cut his hair and everything.” Ivy smiled, remembering how his short hair cut had made him look like a different person. She liked it though. He looked like his own hotter, younger brother. She had gone with him when he cut it. He’d gotten out of the barber’s chair, ran his hand through it, then grinned at her. She’d ran to him and jumped on him, kissing him. She could still remember the feel of his lips on hers. Of his skin under her hands. He was so big and strong, but he’d always treated her like she was a fine china doll. Super carefully. Never with any sort of force at all.

  “He cut his hair? When?” Jen’s eyebrows drew together.

  “We went yesterday, after work.”

  “Yes, that does seem strange.” Jen paced around the coffee table, a thoughtful look on her face. “Do you know his mom’s number? Maybe we can call her. Ask her if something was wrong with him.”

  “I already tried. She hasn’t answered all day.”

  “What about his sister?”

  “I don’t have her number.”

  “Maybe Hunter can get it for us.”

  Ivy nodded, then sank back into the couch and buried her face with the pillow again as Jen pulled out her phone.

  An eternity later, Jen pulled the pillow off her face. “His sister isn’t answering either. I left a message.”

  Ivy stared past her with dead eyes. So what.

  Jen turned on the TV, then tried to snuggle on the couch with Ivy. Ivy turned her face away, blocking Jen out. She couldn’t explain it. She just didn’t want to be comforted right now. She needed to think. Something must be wrong with Ryker. This wasn’t another woman. This wasn’t some sort of emotional crisis. Ryker was the most level-headed guy she knew. He’d been like that even in high school. He didn’t throw tantrums or change his mind on a whim. There was something going on here. Something bad. But what? How could she find out?

  “Jen, would Hunter put out an APB on Ryker?”

  Jen sucked in a breath. “I don’t know. I doubt it. There’s no crime or anything.”

  “But what if we convinced him that something was going on with Ryker? That maybe he was in trouble?”

  “I don’t know. You could ask him.”

  “Could you ask him for me? He’ll listen to you.”

  “I don’t know.” Jen said again, drawing out the last word. Ivy could tell she didn’t want to ask him. A flash of anger vibrated in her chest.

  “If you don’t want to help, Jen, what are you doing here?” she asked, her voice low and tight. Even though they hadn’t known each other that long, they’d been through a lot together during their undercover investigation of the Savoy family. Ivy thought Jen would help her.

  “I’m trying to comfort you. To help you get over him.”

  “I don’t want to get over him!” Strength flooded back into Ivy’s voice and she sat up forcefully. “I want to find him! There’s something wrong and I want to know what it is!” A memory came back to her. Monday. Ryker had left work early. He’d said he had an appointment. He didn’t seem to want to say anymore than that. When he’d come to her house that evening, his eyes had been distant. His touch had been indifferent. He had seemed far away, with a lot on his mind. Tense. Worried. But he didn’t want to talk about it. She could tell that much.

  Eventually it had faded, and by the next morning he’d seemed almost his old self again. What had the appointment been? Where had he gone? Why had it troubled him so much? Certainty flashed in Ivy’s brain. Ryker needed help.

  “But Ivy, what if there’s nothing wrong with him. What if he’s just … left you?”

  Ivy stood up and glared at Jen. Fury washed over her like an ocean wave. Images flooded her, each one increasing her fury. Her mom. When Ivy was four. Crying on the couch all day because he’d left them. Ivy eating peanut butter and dry noodles from the cabinet. Her mom. When Ivy was eight. Screaming into the phone for hours at him. But when Ivy, quiet as a mouse, picked up the other line, her mother was screaming at a dial tone. Her mom. When Ivy was eleven. Not coming home. Then Ivy having to go live with her grandma. And no one would tell her where her mom was for so long. Finally Grandma took her to visit mom. In a hospital. A mental hospital. Mom recognized her. And said she looked like her dad, then turned her face away and would say no more. Her dad had abandoned them when she was just a baby. Her mother had never gotten over that. Ivy didn’t even know her dad. Had never even seen a picture. But what did any of that have to do with right now? Nothing. Because …

  “HE DIDN’T LEAVE ME, JEN!” she screamed, leaning forward, putting everything she had into the words. Jen recoiled on the couch, pulling backward and putting her hands up.

  “OK Ivy, sorry, I’m sorry.”

  Ivy’s mental walls collapsed and she ran. She grabbed her purse as she
went out the door, then fled into the twilight.

  Chapter 2

  Ryker Wells shadowed his cousin, Brandon Savoy, through the Super Value Mart, anger beating a hot pulse in his brain. In front of him, strutting with his typical look-at-me walk, Brandon snapped his fingers and threw his right arm out to his side. Subtle, Ryker thought. Ryker looked that way and saw the entrance to the employee’s lounge.

  Ryker allowed himself a quick fantasy about rushing forward, grabbing that arm, and flipping Brandon to the floor then standing on his neck till he passed out. Or till he was dead. Either would work. But he knew he couldn’t. Too much was at stake.

  A petite woman with black hair walked toward them. She looked a little bit like Ivy. Ryker’s molten rage cooled a bit at the thought. Ivy. Where was she right now? What was she doing? Did she hate him? Was she crying? An image of Ivy crying tears of pain filled his mind. His fists clamped together and his short fingernails dug into his palms. Brandon would pay for this. And not with jail. Oh no. That was too good for him. The woman with the black hair stopped at a bin and picked up a DVD from inside it. As Ryker passed, she gave him an absent smile. Her face melded with Ryker’s memory of Ivy’s beautiful pixie face with her cat-like eyes. Maybe when all this was over, Ivy would take him back. If he could just explain himself well enough. Just get the words out to let her know how it had been. How he knew he didn’t have a choice but to lie to her and abandon her.

  Yeah right, Ryker thought. You know when this is all over you’ll either be dead, in jail, or insane. There’s no going back from this one. And Ivy will be a cop. Cops don’t date criminals, no matter how much their crime was warranted or coerced.

  Brandon clucked his tongue and lifted his chin. Ryker raised his eyes and took in the cameras on the ceiling. Ryker’s blood scorched hotter. Brandon thought he was being smart because he knew there were cameras, but Ryker was willing to bet he didn’t know what the cameras meant.

  Finally, Brandon finished his moronic walk around the store and lead Ryker to the parking lot. Ryker slid into the passenger seat of Brandon’s Honda Civic and turned toward Brandon. Brandon’s face was shining with confidence in his plan. “See! It will be easy, right? My friend says there’s no security guard on Thursdays, no one watching the cameras. We go in right at shift change, hit the manager who is taking the money from the cash registers to the safe, and bam! We’ve got an easy fifty or sixty thousand dollars in cash. That’s more than enough to get us started on my plan.”