Deception (Carrington Hill Investigations Book 1) (17 page)

“Really?”

She nodded. “But we have to talk.”

He kissed her again
as though he was starved. His hands went to her back, pressing her tighter to his body, holding her as though he was afraid of ever letting her go.

Celia
cleared her throat. “Trip, let the poor girl breathe.”

Trip reluctantly released her but kept his hand on the small of her back
as if it belonged there. Celia leaned in and hugged her. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“I’m sorry you got pulled into my mess.
Constanza’s men never would have taken you if I hadn’t married Trip.”

An emotion Lexi couldn’t name
flashed in Celia’s eyes and was gone just as quickly.

Lexi smiled and placed her palm on Trip’s chest as she gazed up into his eyes. “I’m ready to keep my promise.”

His grin grew bigger.

“What promise?” Celia
asked.

Lexi glanced over to Celia
. “A week of nothing but Trip and me. I promised that when my investigation was over, we’d go on a vacation together.” She turned back into Trip’s embrace. “I hope the Cayman Islands works for you. I’ve already bought the tickets.”

Celia
gasped.

Lexi held back her laugh. Yep, the woman now knew that Lexi was on to her.

Trip rubbed small circles on her back. “You wrapped up the case?”

She nodded. “I think so. I’ll know for sure by morning.” 

His palm stiffened against her back.
“Who is it?”

Lexi smiled. “I’m not at liberty to s
ay just yet. I’m waiting on the final piece of the puzzle to fall in place. I should have a name for you by morning.”

And that was why she hadn’t felt comfortable telling him. She needed his true reaction to pull this off.

She spent the rest of the night with him by her side. There was no way Celia was going to make a move if she was never left alone. Lexi was sure that Celia might have tried to follow her into the ladies room. She was trying to make herself as available as possible, but it was a no go. She was ready to curse her frustration until Trip excused Lexi and himself to go to his office to discuss the trip. He wanted her alone, and she wanted to tell him the truth. She needed to tell him before he found out another way.

Celia
was standing nearby and watched as they left the room in their search for privacy. Trip closed the door behind them and pressed her against the wood. His leaned down and kissed her neck, working his way up to her mouth as his hands slid up just beneath her breasts. God, she wanted this man, and if she wasn’t somewhat undercover, she would have let him take her right here in the office.

“I love you.” His words were a whisper against her lips. Her heart raced in her chest. “I love you
,” he repeated over and over again as he kept kissing her.

She placed her palm on his chest. “We have to talk.”

He kissed the swells of her breast peeking above her dress and answered without looking up. “It can wait.”

She pushed on his chest. “No, I’m afraid it can’t.”

He leaned back, never removing his hands from her hips. “Okay, talk.”

She slipped out of his hold and twirled the ring on her finger. She kept her back to him.

“What’s wrong, Lexi?”

She turned and held his gaze. “
I can’t think when you kiss me.”

He stepped toward her
, and she held up her hand to stay him. If he touched her again, all coherent thoughts would fly out the window, and she needed to keep her head on her shoulders.

“
Garrett and I kissed.”

That stopped him and brought him back to the real world
, the one she lived in, where things didn’t always go as she planned.

“When we were married?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Did he kiss you or did you come on to him like you did with me in the limo?”

Lexi crossed her arms over her chest, the move lifting her boobs. So not what she’d wanted to do right that minute. Her blood boiled, and she was getting angrier by the minute. “Is that what you think?”

He threw his hands up in the air. “Hell
, Lexi…I don’t know what to think.” He pointed to the door. “In one breath you came in here and told me that you loved me…and in your next breath….you’re telling me that you’ve cheated.”

She let her arms drop to her side
s and balled her fists. “It was just a kiss.”

“This t
ime.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Did you kiss him back?”

She lowered her gaze to the floor, unable to look him in the eye.

“Did you fuck him, like you fucked me?”

She shook her head.

“
I trusted you, Lexi. How stupid was that? You might not have screwed him…” A sadistic smiled formed on his face. “But you slept with me, all for the job, right? What does that make you?” He threw the door open and stomped from the room.

She called after him. “Trip…
wait.”

He ignored her and pushed through the people
, making his way to Garrett. It dawned on her then that she was still wearing the damn wire. Johnson, Garrett, Sara, and Marco had heard her confession.

As soon as Trip reached
Garrett, he balled his fist and punched him in the jaw. Garrett landed on his ass and was holding his jaw with a wide knowing smile spread across his lips. “Don’t worry…” He rubbed his jaw and pushed to his feet. “I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”

Trip pulled back his fist to swing again
, and Lexi grabbed it, swinging him around. She punched him just as hard as he’d hit Garrett. “That’s for being an ass.”

The punch sent Trip stumbling backward.
She yanked the ring off her finger and shoved it in his hand.

“That’s my girl
,” Garrett said.

Lexi turned around and punched him too. “That’s for making it worse.
Damn it… I told you what he means to me.”

Lexi stormed
from the room. Sara met her by the door and put her arm around here. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Lexi clutched her throbbing hand to her chest as tears trickled down her cheek.
Thank God Sara had driven because she wasn’t sure there was anyone else she wanted a ride from so she could sulk and hide in her humiliation.

“Men suck.”

She nodded. “I guess that solves my problem.”

Sara reached over and rubbed her arm. “Oh
, honey…the right one will come around. I’m sure of it.”

Lexi shook her head. “I’m so stupid.”

Sara shrugged. “Look at the bright side.”

Lexi glanced at Sara. “What’s that?”

“Now you don’t have to leave town to catch Celia. She’ll strike tonight if she thinks you’re alone just to shut you up, like she did with Catherine. Then I’m betting she flees the country.”

Lexi leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. “She won’t come to my house. There’s too much security.”

Her eyes popped open, and adrenaline pumped through her veins. “Call Ethan. Make sure either he or the director mentions that I’ll probably go to the beach house to cool down. We’ll get her there.”

Sara smiled. “Sounds like the perfect plan to me.” 

****

Trip held the icepack to his face. Lexi sure knew how to throw a punch. He should have been pissed, but he was a little proud.
Her coworkers and friends started to leave quickly after he’d made a spectacle of himself. He couldn’t stop himself from hitting Garrett. He was pissed and had every right to be. Lexi had kissed the asshole, he reminded himself.

Lillian, Ethan
, and Celia walked into the kitchen. Ethan shook his head. “You’re a schmuck.”

Lillian popped him on the back of the head. “Leave your brother alone. He’s had a bad night.”

Ethan crossed his arms over his chest. “You think that was easy for her?”

Trip shrugged. “She kissed him back.
Couldn’t have been too hard.”

Lillian popped Trip upside the head. “Did she sleep with him?”

“She said she didn’t.”

Ethan dropped into a chair on the other side of the table and ran his fingers through his hair. “Dude…she loves you…you love her.” He held up his hands. “What’s the problem?”

Trip stood abruptly, shoving the chair behind him. “She kissed him back. Didn’t you hear me?”

His mother
crossed her arms over her chest. “Was it while you were married?”

He shook his head.

“Was it after she told you she loved you?”

He shook his head again.

“Then I’m afraid Ethan’s right. You’re a schmuck.” Lillian turned to leave the room.

“Mother!
You’re supposed to be on my side.”

She stopped and stalked closer to Trip. “Son
, since she got here, she’s done nothing wrong. She stood up to me where you were concerned, and let’s face it…that’s not an easy thing to do. She saved Celia’s life, and she fell in love with you.” She dropped her arms. “So what if someone that she cares about…who has always been there for her… tried to kiss her? You know what that tells me?” She raised an eyebrow. “Tells me he’s a smarter man than you. Tells me he had the courage to take a chance. Hell, she’s worth it, and even I know that.”

Trip plopped back down in his c
hair and propped the frozen bag of peas against his jaw. “I’m a schmuck.”

Celia
patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll go over there and try to smooth things over.”

Ethan shook his head. “She’s not there. I heard she went to
Sara’s beach house. She just wanted to be alone, and who could blame her? Both of the men she thought loved her turned on her.”

Ethan stood and walked to the door,
and, then paused, he turned back around. “Did you know this was her last job? Seems due to the publicity and people finding out who she was, she was going be assigned a desk job. She already turned in her notice.”

Ethan walked out with Celia
following behind him.

Lillian clucked her tongue. “Seems she gave up everything to help you and look what you gave her in return
. Just some food for thought.”

His mother left him sitting in the kitchen. They were all right. He’d screwed this up.
Lexi and he could have worked through the kiss. It wasn’t like he’d had any claim on her when it happened. Hell, she’d chosen him, and he’d thrown it in her face.

He pushed from the table and stormed through the foyer to the stairs.

His mother was leaning against the library door. “Where’re you going?”

“To change and go get my wife back
.”

She grinned. “It’s about damn time
.”

He took the stairs two at a time and hurried to change, grabbed his keys
, and fifteen minutes later after getting the address from Ethan, Trip was on the road to the beach house.

Lexi paced around the living room. Marco’s men and
several FBI agents were nearby. She shouldn’t have been nervous, but she was….again. Waiting to see what Celia intended to do. With so much money at stake, she didn’t doubt that Celia would be coming for her to try and shut her up too. Ethan had sent a text saying that she’d already taken the bait and wanted the address. It was just a matter of time before she made her move, and when she did, Lexi would be ready.

The doorbell rang. She dipped her head and spoke into the wire attached to the inside of her shirt. “Game on.”

She pulled the door open and froze. Standing in front of her wasn’t Celia or any of the men who were on the stakeout. Trip had changed into jeans, just like she had. A navy blue T-shirt stretched across his chest. His hair was a bit mused, as if he’d shoved his hands through it several times. The only thing different about him was the bruise forming on his upper cheek. She wanted to reach for it, to kiss it better, but she refused.

“What do you want?” She kept her hand on the doorknob
, not even bothering to let him in.

“I want to talk.”
A frown marred his lips.

She shook her head. “There’s nothing left to say. I know exactly how you feel.” She pointed to the red spot on his face. “And you know how I feel.”

She tried to shut the door, but he shoved his big foot in the way. She let out a sigh and pulled it back open. “Trip, go home.”

He tried to look pas
t her, and she pulled the door closer to her body to block his view. “He’s in there, isn’t he?”

She narrowed her eyes. “What if he is?”
she asked, knowing good and well that she was alone. Maybe if he thought Garrett was in the house he’d just leave.

“Damn it
, Lexi. I’m not going anywhere until we talk.” He held up his palms. “I promise I won’t hit him. I just want to talk to you. Please, baby.”

She shook her head. “Call me tomorrow
, and I’ll think about it. I can’t do this right now.”

The
comm in her ear clicked on. “She’s one mile out. Ditch him or pull him in.”

Lexi grabbed Trip by his shirt and yanked him inside
, slamming the door closed. “Trip, I wasn’t kidding. This isn’t a good time, but it’s too late now.”

He folded his arms over his chest.
“Too late for what?”

She pulled him down the hall and into the bedroom she normally stayed in. “You walked into the middle of a sting
, and your thief is on the way.” She patted his chest. “You need to stay here while I deal with this.”

He grabbed her hand. “Lexi, don’t do this.”

She slipped her fingers from his. “It’s my job. I promised to get to the bottom of it, and it’s almost over.” She walked to the door and paused. “Now just stay put. No matter what you hear. You are not allowed to step out of this room.”

She pulled the door shut
and walked back into the living room and waited. Minutes seemed more like hours before the doorbell rang again.

Her
comm clicked, and a voice said, “It’s too late. His car is parked out front.”

She lifted the lapel of her shirt. “I’ll wing it. Be prepared.”

She took a deep breath and pulled the door open. “Celia…what are you doing here?”

Celia
lifted a hand to her chest. “I feel so horrible about what happened. I felt compelled to come and check on you after everything you’ve done for me.”

Lexi pulled the door open wider. “Please come in.”

Celia walked past her into the living room. “Was that Trip’s car parked out front?” She spun around. “Is he here?”

Lexi
shut the door and walked backward farther into the room, purposely keeping her back to Celia, hiding the gun stashed in the waistband of her jeans. “He went for a run. I told him I wouldn’t talk to him until he cooled off.” Lexi waved her hand in the air. “We got into another huge fight, but when he gets back, I’m going to tell him we’re over and send him back home.”

Celia
gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry to hear that. You were good for him.”

Lexi pointed to the kitchen. “Can I get you something to drink?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m afraid I don’t have time.” She walked over to the back doors and glanced out into the darkness. “I wasn’t expecting to be rushed.” She turned around with a gun in her hands and pointed it at Lexi.

Lexi held up her arms
, feigning shock. “What are you doing, Celia? Why the gun?” She said it louder than she needed to so the guys around the property could hear, and unfortunately, that meant Trip heard her too.

He came walking out of the room and froze. “C
elia? What are you doing?”

She tilted the gun to get him to move next to Lexi. “I thought you said he went for a run.” C
elia bit her bottom lip. “Don’t worry, Lexi….It’s better this way.”

Trip tried to move in front of Lexi to
shield her, but Lexi grabbed his hand and pulled him back. “Why’d you do it? If you needed money, I’m sure Trip would have given it to you.”

“You think you’re so clever. Just like that stupid blonde that Ethan was dating. Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out
?”

Lexi clasped her hands behind her back. “You won’t get away with this.”

She waved the gun around with her finger on the trigger. “It’s better this way.” She grinned. “I’ll kill you and Trip and Emmitt will inherit everything.” She shrugged. “I should have done this from the beginning.”

Lexi was getting nervous. She’d been in similar spots before, but not with anyone she loved. The thought of Trip getting hurt sent her stomach rolling. She slipped the gun out of her jeans and held it behind her back.

“It was you? This whole time? I don’t understand,” Trip said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You have billions, Trip.
You can afford it. It should have been Emmitt that got the company after your dad retired, not you.”

He threw his hands up in the air. “You did all of this because you thought Emmitt
got shafted?”

The corner of
her lip tilted up. “It started that way. Now I want it all.” Celia’s gaze went from Trip’s to hers. “You just couldn’t drop it, could you, Lexi?”

“Nope.”

Lexi knew the moment she had her shot. Celia had lowered her gun and hadn’t even realized it. Lexi whipped the gun in front of her and moved to stand in front of Trip. “Drop it, Celia. You’re surrounded, and there’s nowhere to go.”

She shook her head and grabbed
her gun with both hands.

“I said drop it.”

“I won’t go to jail, and if I’m going to die, I’m taking you with me.”

Lexi pushed Trip out of the way and fired at the same ti
me that Celia did. Unlike Celia, Lexi didn’t miss her shot. One shot through the leg had Celia dropping to the floor and writhing in pain.

Celia
’s shot wasn’t even close, and now she lay bleeding on the floor. Sara was going to kill her. Lexi took a step toward her, but Trip grabbed her arm.

“She still has the gun
.”

The double door
in the back burst open, and four of Marco’s men entered with their guns trained on Celia.

The front door bu
rst open, and two FBI agents hurried in. A couple more came from the rooms down the hall where she’d left the windows unlocked. Lexi let her gun sag in her hand. “It’s finally over.”

Trip pulled Lexi
into his embrace and kissed her, a deep, demanding kiss. When he stopped, her legs felt like jelly. “I can’t do this, Trip.” She shook her head. “Not here, not now.”

He nodded as the
director walked over to them. “Lexi, I need to take you back to the office to get your official statement.”

She nodded
, walked to the front door, and then turned around. “Goodbye, Trip.”