Hands of Clay Ch. 23

Betrayal from a lover was nothing new. Brice shouldn't have been surprised that Clay had been lying to him from the moment they met, but somehow the duplicity was worse this time. Like the dope he was, Brice had fallen head over heels in love with Clay, and Brice was nothing more than a little side action while Clay did a mission at HQ.

Clay spun around and addressed Keith.

"The plan Zac cooked up was almost too simple, and that is why we missed it. At first, we thought it was infiltration by The Originals, and we followed every possible lead. We narrowed it down to Nancy, and then we looked into her activities. We figured out this situation eventually because of the way Zac spoke about Nancy in the barracks. He didn't hide his love well." Clay glanced at Brice, but then his eyes were back on his audience. "It's Zac. We know it. He is who Rea should question."

"How did he do it?" Rea asked. "Gears tested everything."

"Zac mixed the poison into a tube of toothpaste." Abdul cocked his head toward the bathroom. "We found the chemicals and your old tube."

"You have been dosing yourself every time you brush your teeth." Janis agreed. "He stopped in and switched them out. From what we understand, he made it sound like you asked for the new tube."

"I didn't poison Keith." Zac struggled against Brice's hold.

"Lie," Rea said calmly.

A hysterical laugh spilled from Zac's lips.

"Nancy." Zac sounded breathless as once again he yanked on his arms to get out of Brice's hold. "I love you. Don't listen to them. We can still be together."

"Zac." Nancy's lips began to tremble, and she covered her mouth with her hands. Tears shimmer in her eyes.

"You love me, right?" Zac's voice raised to a higher pitch. "I love you."

"Zac I..." Nancy barely held in her tears. "Keith, I didn't know."

"No." Zac fought against him. "No, he doesn't love you or want you. I do. I want you. I will kill him. We can be together then."

This time when Zac lunged, Brice lost one of the recruit's hands. He stuck out wildly, and Clay caught him. Both Abdul and Clay tackled Zac. The three of them had the young recruit pinned to the floor in seconds. Zac howled and cried. He begged for Nancy.

"Thank you, Abdul and Clay and Janis." Keith rubbed his forehead. "Please remove him. I will take care of this after I speak with Nancy."

"I'll help." Karma's eyes narrowed.

Brice gripped Zac's arms and yanked him off the floor. Abdul and Janis took over. Clay gave one look over his shoulder, and then he followed his friends out the door. Brice's heart sank at that one look. It was over. This time it truly was. He couldn't be with a lying agent who only thought the mission was important. Especially more important than Brice.

Karma hurried after Zac, and as the door closed, Rea strolled to the exit.

"I'm going to handle her," he muttered. "Keith, do you want him dead or alive? Coz' you know Karma is going to kill him."

"Alive," Keith said, and Rea nodded as he slipped out the door.

Brice paused from following Rea. He wanted to go after Clay, but he didn't trust himself to talk to the man right now. His heart was back in that damn rock-crushing machine. He'd been played and lied to and embarrassed. There had been a hundred times that Clay could have said he was an agent. Brice felt like a dope. Here he was--a trained agent. He should have seen the signs. Clay was too good, too skilled, too perfect. He killed at the tracks like he'd been doing it for years. Why didn't Brice see it?

Brice turned to the exit, but Keith's voice stopped him.

"Brice, stay for a moment."

Nancy wept softly, and Brice hurried to the woman. He would have to deal with Clay later. He offered his arm to Nancy, and she stepped into his hold.

"I didn't know." Nancy wept.

"Maybe if you stopped fucking all the men in your platoon, you would see what was going on," Keith snarled. "And Brice. You should have put a stop to your trainer's fucking the recruits."

"I know." Brice swallowed his mentor's disappointment. This was the first time Brice had ever seen Keith lose his cool. This was the first time his leadership had ever admonished him.

"I bet you want an apology." Nancy yanked away from Brice's chest and turned on Keith like a snake spitting venom.

"It would be a start," Keith snapped.

"That's it." Nancy slapped her hands on her hips. "Don't you get it? I love you."

"Are we on this again?" Keith sank into his chair. "Enough, Nancy. You can go."

"If I walk out the door right now, I'm leaving for good."

Keith shrugged, and even Brice knew that wasn't a great move.

"That's it. I've had it. I have given you my heart a hundred times, and you rejected it. Never again. I'm done, Keith. I mean it this time. Do you hear me?"

Brice inched toward the door. Being caught between these two felt like he was stepping behind a curtain where he was uninvited.

"So you say." Keith gave a second shrug. "But I am tired of these childish games where you sleep around to try to get me to notice you."

"That's what you think I'm doing?" Nancy's cheeks flamed red, and she glanced at Brice. He took another step toward the door.

"I know that is what you are doing." Keith leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm leaving." Nancy tipped up on her toes and kissed Brice on the cheek. "Take care of yourself." Nancy didn't look at Keith again but simply walked out of the office. The door closed with a soft click. Brice kind of wished that she had slammed the wood. A dramatic exit would've been more fitting.

"It's better to be alone." Keith turned to Brice. "Take what happened here and remember that this kind of a mess is never worth it. Look at all that pain and problems." Keith shook his head. "Good riddance."

"But are you happy?" Brice stared at the door. Nancy had been like family, yet Keith acted like she didn't matter. "I don't think she's coming back."

"I am happy, Young Brice." Keith waved to the exit. "All that pain and heartache is not worth it. I promise you."