AN: Um, apparently I've decided on monthly updates...I am going to work on that. I want to post a lot more here in the next couple weeks. I'll be going on vacation and I'd like to have this much farther along in that time. For those of you who are sticking with me and continuing to read and review, thank you so much. I can't tell you how much your support means to me. All of you who have reviewed, you're awesome. They all brought smiles to my face!

Disclaimer: Not mine, not making money, just playing!

Masquerade

Chapter 20

Rodrigo looked at the girl closely. She trembled in his presence. It made him smile, knowing his power was so strong. "You're sure?"

"Yes, sir." She whispered. "Lady Perez has met Iris at her home."

"What do they speak of?"

"I don't know."

He walked forward and slapped her, enjoying her cry of pain. "That isn't good enough. Do you truly expect to save your brother when you bring me so little information?"

"Please—I've confirmed what you wanted to know!" She exclaimed, tears filling her eyes. "I've done what you asked!"

"Yes, you have." His smile was cruel as he gazed down at her. "And in doing so you've betrayed Lady Perez's confidence, haven't you? Is Roberto worth it?"

"He's my brother!" Her tears dried and defiance covered her face. "Wouldn't you want to protect your sister if you had one?"

Rodrigo shrugged. "I sold my sister."

"You sold your own sister? How? She's your family!" She gasped.

"It suited my purpose." He replied. "We are not discussing my past actions. We are discussing your current betrayal. Who do you hurt worse with this information? Lady Perez or your brother?"

"My loyalties lie with Roberto." Her chin lifted, daring him to accuse of her lying. "I will do whatever it takes to keep him out of your control."

Smiling, he brought his hand up and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. His trail went past her cheek, down her neck, where his finger tips found her pulse beating rapidly. Lifting his eyes to hers, he saw the absolute terror in them, and he felt himself harden gloriously at the sight. Wrapping his hand around her neck, he shoved her backward.

She landed with a small cry on the bed. Before she could make any kind of movement, Rodrigo was on top of her, securing her hands with one of his. Using his free hand, he tied her wrists together. She was shaking, despite having been in his bed many times before. Each time, she was afraid he would do something different. He always did. The only thing he did the same was to call her Iris and treat her the way he would that woman.

If she could find a way to hand Iris to him on a silver platter she would do it in a heartbeat. If was Iris's fault that she was in the position she was in now. If she had been submissive the way he wanted then no other woman would have to suffer.

"Rodrigo—" She cried out as the hot sting filled her cheek from his slap.

"Be quiet." He ordered. Crawling off the bed, he walked to his nightstand, shedding clothes as he went. Opening a drawer, he pulled out a large object. Moving so that he was standing at the foot of the bed, his victim looked up at him, horror crossing her face.

He stood before her, naked as the day he was born, holding a large knife, its silver glinting in the moonlight. He smirked at her. She looked like she was going to faint any second. That wouldn't do. He liked having responses from his bedmates. There was just something unfulfilling about taking a woman who was unconscious.

In a quick movement, the knife shredded the clothes she wore. Fear was replaced by indignation, "What am I supposed to wear home now?"

"It's not my concern." He replied. "Move over." When she moved so he could gather the ruined garments, she shot him a glare. Something told her to keep her mouth shut to avoid finding out if the knife would be used for anything other than removing her clothing.

He thought about it, she could see his cock getting bigger by the second as he wielded the knife in his hand. She briefly wondered what he could do to her without actually hurting her, but cast the idea aside. She wasn't here to enjoy his perversity. She was only here to protect Roberto. As far as she was concerned, he had a prominent political career ahead of him and as long as Rodrigo didn't ruing anything for him, things would go smoothly for her older brother. So she would lay here and do as was ordered.

Slowly she took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down so she could act as she was supposed to.

Rodrigo cocked his head, watching her. Debating. He could have fun using this knife on her. There were plenty of ways to utilize the magnificent piece of metal without killing her. With a mental sigh of disappointment, he set it to the side. It wouldn't do for the girl to go back to Adela Perez's home with any sign of injury. It might make the woman suspicious, and that was something he couldn't have.

Instead of going the route he would have liked, he stretched out on the bed beside her. Propping himself up on an arm, he ran a hand along her body, caressing a breast, squeezing a nipple.

As his fingers slid into her, he said, "I hope your brother appreciates what you go through for him. You will be mine for the many years of his lucrative political career."

She closed her eyes and silently cursed Iris for the predicament she was in.

/\/\/\/\/\

Moonlight filled the room as she crept in through the window. Rodrigo had definitely changed his security. From everything she understood it was supposed to be better than it had been previously. The fact that she could still get through it was laughable. She had been able to neutralize only one guard. To keep herself from being discovered, said guard was hidden beneath some rose bushes. If he was smart when he woke, he wouldn't suddenly jump up. Thorns were messy to deal with, Iris reflected as she surveyed the two sleeping figures.

A sick smile covered her face as she moved to the bed. She pulled out a couple syringes. She was right when she had presumed Rodrigo would have company. The company, however, was definitely not a good one. It meant she had one more person to protect.

A small voice in the back of her mind yelled for her to stop as she jammed the syringe into Rodrigo's neck and pushed the sedative through. If no other assassin could get through the way she had, she could simply kill him here and now and make all their lives easier. The mission would be over and she could go home. She and Carlos could go home and be happy. Everything was out in the open.

But she couldn't just kill him, she rationalized as she moved to the other side of the bed and jammed the syringe into the girl's neck. Rodrigo had tortured her. To kill him would be much too easy. He had to suffer as much as she had. Stuffing him into a box the way he had her wouldn't do the trick. No, she had to make sure he understood that she had the power. She owned him, and once he was completely broken—well, then she would kill him.

Even though you know coming here goes against everything you agreed to with Carlos? Stephanie's voice broke through her reverie.

Iris shook her head to clear it of Stephanie. The problem with Stephanie was that she wouldn't enjoy this. She couldn't. So Iris had to come out to play. She was the one who knew how to deal with someone like Rodrigo. Stephanie was content to bury her head in the sand and act a coward. Iris was not. Iris would not back down from someone who had tortured her. If she had been acting with a clear head when Rodrigo had locked her in that box years ago, she would have visited the pain on him tenfold. But she hadn't had the opportunity.

She would take it now.

With that thought in mind, she pulled rope out of the bag she had brought with her. A flash of silver got her eye as she debated how to deal with her victims. When she saw the knife a grin came to her face.

/\/\/\/\/\

Ranger was pissed off. He prowled through the villa looking for something—anyone to find a way to deal with his anger.

She had promised, he thought angrily. Stephanie had promised not to wander off on her own without any kind of back up. She had admitted it was foolish of her to do so. Yet, here she was, once again, wandering off without backup.

He thought of what Liliana had told his men back in Montana. Tank had told him Liliana described Stephanie and Iris as "Two very different people inhabiting the same body with no happy middle ground."

Looking back at what he had seen so far, he had to surmise that Stephanie was completely unaware of the fact that when they were in Trenton, she had merged Iris into herself perfectly. Her ability to run off without backup, and to get into situations that left her in a disadvantage screamed Iris to him—yet, she still managed to control herself. She admitted she had had a hard time when it came to Stiva and Abruzzi. Things had been extremely close to what Rodrigo had done to her by those two men, but she had kept herself in control.

What was it about this mission that seemed to make Stephanie separate herself and allow Iris to come into control? Iris didn't seem to give a dam about her personal safety. Just that of her men.

"Having problems?" Liliana asked as she leaned against a wall watching Ranger pace.

"Where is she?" He demanded.

"Probably out fucking with Rodrigo's mind." She answered. When Ranger growled, she shrugged, "I warned you. I told you she was going to be a danger to herself."

"She's going to get herself killed."

"When Stephanie told you Iris is the antithesis to herself, she wasn't joking. There's a pull in Rodrigo's cruelty that makes Iris go to him." Liliana sighed. "Right now, I'm guessing the irrational side of her just wants to fuck with him."

"She told us that was her plan when we were still in Montana." Ranger said through gritted teeth.

"No shit, Sherlock." Liliana snapped. At the glare he gave her she walked forward, "Ranger, you're the only one who's going to be able to help Stephanie find a happy medium. You're watching her go down a road that pulling her off of will be hell if she's not yanked off soon."

Ranger continued to glare at her as he walked to the kitchen and pulled out a beer from the fridge. Standing at the back door, he watched the moon light scenery as he slowly drank the soothing liquid.

Finally, he said, "All the stories you told us in the past made me believe she was more in control of everything than I was."

"Steph is amazing at control." Liliana answered as she joined him at the back window. "After all, none of your men figured out who she was in the years she knew them."

"Yet what I see now…" He let his voice trail off. He wasn't sure he could explain what exactly he was seeing now from the woman he loved.

"What you see now is a woman who walked back into her own hell to face her devil." She sighed. "I have no idea what the docs did for her when she was in lockdown at Benning. I do know she hasn't had to face this in five years."

"She's responding out of anger and fear." He realized and instantly wanted to kick himself for not having seen it sooner. How could he not have seen it? Stephanie used to respond out of fear and anger for a long time before she had begun "training" with his men. Old habits die hard, he thought. She reverted back to what she had developed for herself for a few years. It wasn't something she had trained with, but it was a safety she'd created.

It was something that was going to get her killed if she didn't stop using it as a security blanket. Ranger was damned if he was going to let Stephanie self-destruct all the way.

Both of them looked towards the door as they heard it open and shut. Liliana looked at Ranger and raised an eyebrow. "You ready to go tangle with Iris?"

Not replying, he set his beer bottle down on the counter and walked out of the kitchen. He found Stephanie in the foyer, looking entirely too pleased with herself. "Babe."

When her eyes met his, he knew he was dealing with Iris. "Well, hello, Carlos. Did you wait up for me?"

"You made a promise, Stephanie." He kept his distance from her, standing in the entry way to the hall, while she angled her head to the side and watched him.

"It was a stupid promise for her to make." She smiled coyly. "After all, Rodrigo deserves to suffer for what he's done."

"He can suffer when he's dead."

"He will suffer now!" Her voice rose as she walked slowly toward him.

"What do you gain from it, Stephanie?"

"Satisfaction of knowing he's going to be worse than I was when I get through with him."

"Do you really want to go there?"

"Who are you to dictate to me where I want to go?"

"I'm the man who loves you, Stephanie. I won't watch you destroy yourself."

She gave a sardonic laugh. "Destroy myself? Please, Carlos, I'm enjoying myself way too much to destroy myself."

"You're going down a dangerous road, Babe." He said softly. "Don't finish going down it. Turn back now."

"It's a good road to be on," Stephanie replied. She reached a hand out and touched him on the chest, "You should join me."

In a move she wasn't expecting, Ranger had her pinned against the wall. She gasped out. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Before he could give a response, she twisted out of the hold, knocking him backward. Keeping himself from falling, he moved toward her again, blocking a hit she threw at him. Oh yeah, there was a lot of anger there still. Iris was her mask.

Liliana stood in the shadows watching the two leaders spar in the foyer of the villa. Idly she wondered if it would be a good idea to wake Tank, or Bobby or someone who could get between the two of them if needed. Deciding against it she continued to view the battle going on, then realized what exactly Ranger was doing. It would work, she thought, but would it be enough?

Finally having enough, Ranger pinned Stephanie against the wall again, this time pinning her in a position that offered her no way out. She glared at him, her breath coming in sharp pants. He said, "Take a hike, Iris. Give me Stephanie."

She struggled against him, trying to break free, but he simply held tighter until he felt her sag into his arms defeated. "Oh god, Carlos." Her voice was small as she burst into tears.

/\/\/\/\/\

Rodrigo woke with a pounding headache. He did not remember doing anything that would cause his head to hurt. He tried to move his arm, and found himself immobilized. His eyes flew open to see a knife dangling precariously close to his throat. He was tied to his bed and any movement he tried making only made the knife come closer.

"Iris!" He growled. He turned his head and found his bedmate still sleeping. "Wake up!"

His voice was loud and caused her to jump in surprise. She looked at him and herself and gasped. "What happened?"

Like him, he was tied up. Unlike him, she was also covered in head to toe marker, the word TRAITOR written all over her body.

"It appears, my dear, you've been discovered." Rodrigo informed her.

"But, how?" She looked at her body and sniffled.

"If you cry I will hit you." He said, annoyance lacing his voice.

"How?" She demanded indignantly. "You're tied up."

"Keep it up," Rodrigo narrowed his eyes at her. "Let's see how brave you feel when we get out of this and I'm punishing you for your behavior."

Wisely she kept her mouth shut, unaware of the fact that Rodrigo had every intention of fucking her when they got out of this. Seeing what Iris had written all over her body made him want to take her in front of a mirror so she could see the words as he took her from behind.

First, they had to get out of this intricate trap Iris had set them up in.

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