Page 10 of Deceptive Lies

July 10th

12:13 P.M.

The only way Cooper could describe how he felt as he lounged on the bed in his hotel room a couple of hours later was unsettled.

Nothing about this morning’s meeting felt right.

From the fear in Professor Mahmoud’s face when he had his hand around the man’s throat, to the information the man gave him, to the figure in black huddled in the corner.

None of it.

That the professor knew more than he was letting on was as clear to him as the sun shining brightly in the clear blue sky.

Of course, he’d expected to instill fear when he wrapped his fingers around the professor’s neck, that had been the entire point, he’d wanted the older man to know that he wasn't someone to be messed with. But there was more to it than that. Nothing specific that he could put his finger on, just a gut instinct.

There was something the professor didn't want to share, and Cooper would bet that whatever it was, it was the key to unraveling thisentire mess and proving that his mother was no traitor and that whatever happened to cause his father’s team to be ambushed had nothing to do with her and her second husband.

At the back of his mind, there was always that tiny niggling bit of doubt.

A voice whisperingwhat-if.

What if he and his siblings were wrong? What if they were grasping at straws because they couldn’t accept that the mother they adored would ever betray them all by conspiring to have their father killed? What if she really was a traitor and had gotten exactly what she deserved? What if she’d committed suicide because she was guilty and didn't want to live with the consequences of her actions?

Those questions had been a constant for almost twenty years. But every time they spread their insidious doubts through his mind, he focused on the facts. His parents loved each other. Sure, he might have only been thirteen at the time, but he knew what he’d seen, and he knew that their marriage was rock solid despite his dad’s unpredictable schedule. He also knew that his mom and stepdad had not shared a bed. They’d married for a reason other than love, and he believed it was because they knew they were being set up and were trying to stop it from happening.

Innocent.

Despite the whispers of doubts, he knew his mom was not guilty, and that determination to prove it only grew with each passing year.

When his phone began to ring, he saw his twin’s name on the screen and quickly accepted the call. After returning to his hotel room after his meeting with Tarek Mahmoud, he texted to tell them the meeting was over, and he’d been sitting there expecting their call.

As soon as Connor appeared on the screen, Cooper felt himself settle. He and his twin had always been close. Cade was only two years older than them, and Cole was two years younger, but he and Connor shared a bond. One that had only grown after their parents’ deaths. Thankfully, their grandparents had stepped up, moving into their house so they could remain in their home and not endure another trauma. They’d even fostered Jake and Jax who had no other family to take them in. So even though he was close with all three of his brothers, bothstepbrothers, and his baby sister, nothing could come close to that twin bond.

“How’d it go?” Connor asked, shifting the phone slightly, and Cooper could see Cade, Cole, Jake, Jax, and Cassandra all come into view. They were all looking at him with expectant faces, and he hated that he had nothing concrete to give them. They’d all wanted to join him in Egypt, but they couldn’t all come over because together, they were an intimidating group, and there was no way they’d get anything out of the professor if they showed up together.

“I don’t know,” he said slowly.

“What does that mean?” Cade demanded. From the look of the man, you’d never guess that he could be an absolute marshmallow when it came to his four-year-old daughter. While he was big, almost six foot seven, with a muscled form and a dark expression that intimidated almost everyone he met, Cade never hesitated to get down on the floor and have makeup parties, teddy bear tea parties, or dress up as a fairy princess with the little girl he adored.

Cooper took a moment to consider his answer.

There was nothing concrete he could put his finger on. There was no one thing he could say about why he was feeling so unsettled, yet he wasn't going to discount his feelings. All they needed to do was a little more digging around, and once he had a better read on Professor Tarek Mahmoud, he’d take another crack at the man.

“Something wrong, Coop?” Cole asked. Of the four Charleston brothers, the youngest, Cole, was the most laidback. He was charming, calm, and relaxed, usually smiling, which didn't mean he wasn't just as deadly, but he was the one you wouldn't immediately pick as a former special forces operator.

“No, nothing wrong,” he confirmed. “I just … Professor Mahmoud explained why he recognized the photo of Mom, but …”

“But you think he’s lying?” Jake asked. Like Cade, he was an intimidating man, not quite as tall but every bit as broad. He had a temper that seemed to be always balancing on a knife’s edge, and the smallest of things could send him tumbling over it. But he was a good man, one Cooper respected and cared about, and considered a brother just as much as the ones he was related to.

“Yeah, he was lying, no doubt about it,” he confirmed.

“What did he tell you?” Jax asked. The younger Holloway brother was definitely similar to Cole, much more charming and outwardly likable than Jake, yet every bit as deadly.

“Said he recognized Mom from his wedding,” Cooper informed them.

“From his wedding?” Cassandra asked. Despite losing both her parents when she was young enough that she barely remembered them, despite the accusations thrown at their mother, and despite the fact that she had six overprotective big brothers, she was like a breath of fresh air. She was sunshine and roses in a world that was, more often than not, far too dark and depressing.

“Doesn’t sound likely,” Cade said. Of all of them, he was the only one who’d ever been in love and gotten married. Unfortunately, his wife had passed away almost two years ago, leaving him a single father to little Esther, who was utterly spoiled by all of them, much to her daddy’s annoyance. Given their unpredictable job hours with Prey, Cade had a nanny, Gabriella, who lived with them and was always there if he had to be called away.

---