Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2) (4 page)

“Go to bed, already,” I hissed under my breath.

I promised myself I’d leave if he didn’t turn off his light in the next fifteen minutes. Any longer, and I might freeze. My teeth chattered nonstop. My legs felt like twin popsicles and my feet resembled lumps of ice. I should’ve gone home and changed into more appropriate clothes, but I didn’t want Miles to discover I lied to him about having plans.

As if fate knew I couldn’t wait any longer, the light in Knox’s room turned off and the window blurred into the darkness. Fear and excitement pumped fast through my veins like a drug. I pushed away from the wall and pulled a slim bag of tools from my pocket. Growing up with an uncle who stole cars in his late teenage years came in handy, especially when I needed to pick locks.

CHAPTER FIVE

Knox

My eyes popped open. Moonlight shimmered through the cracks of my drapes. Wide awake, I reached for the gun hidden in the sideboard of my bed. As quietly as possible, I rolled off the mattress and waited. Most people would’ve attributed the sounds to an overactive imagination, but I didn’t think so. Every nerve in my body howled in warning. Somebody was inside my apartment.

The light echo of leather shoes clapped against my hardwood floors. The rustle of papers shuffling drifted through the air. If I strained hard enough, I heard the soft puffs of someone breathing.

Stepping out of my bedroom, I inched around the corner and paused, using the shadows as a cloak as I listened. The noises came from the guest bedroom I used as a personal office. With my back pressing into the wall and my gun in front of me, I crept down the hall. When I reached the entrance, I peeked into the room and froze.

Trinity Jones crouched in front of my filing cabinet with her back to me, a slim metal tool hanging out of her pocket. Her long dark hair was in a ponytail that brushed the middle of her upper back with every movement. Her dark colored skirt clung to her ass and thighs, leaving nothing to the imagination. I blew out a breath. I didn’t want to deal with this shit tonight. I went to bed late too late for my scheduled early morning meeting.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?”

In one smooth motion, she jumped to her feet and whirled around. Mascara smudged the skin beneath her eyes, but other than that, she looked fresh. Beautiful. “You tricked me. You didn’t give me what I asked for.”

I laughed. “I never intended to give it to you. I just let you believe I would for a few minutes.”

She rolled her eyes and stepped around my desk. “And that’s why I’m here. I need those thumb drives and any copies.”

“And you thought you’d find it sitting around in my home office?”

She shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

I lowered my gun and took a few cautious steps forward. I didn’t have any illusions that Trinity wasn’t armed or trained in martial arts. Miles might be an asshole, but he did a respectable job of grooming the people who worked for him.

“Well, they’re not here. In fact, they’re long gone. I passed them along last night.” It was a lie; Jack and I were still combing over every last document, video, picture, and photograph lifted from Lang’s computer. Once that was done, I’d handle the case myself. Sometimes politics trumped evidence, and the Department of Justice refused to prosecute the offenders. I didn’t like it, but that was exactly what would happen with Lang. All the evidence pointed to treason and blackmail, but the Administration didn’t care. They considered a conviction more of a liability than letting the guilty walk away with a slap on the hand.

She chewed on her lower lip. “You’re lying.”

“No. I’m not.” I smirked. “So be a good girl and run along before this encounter becomes even more unpleasant.”

She curled her hands into fists, her coffee colored eyes glittering. “Don’t threaten me.”

I pointed toward the door. “You’re in my home. I’m entitled to do whatever I want.”

She stared at me for a prolonged beat, her gaze tracing the lines of my naked torso, before focusing on my face. “Fine. I’ll leave.”

She took a few steps in the direction of the door to my office, and I noticed the bulge inside her jacket. I grabbed her wrist as her body came even with mine. Her bones were startlingly tiny. My finger and thumb easily overlapped the circumference.

“Did you find anything interesting?” I asked, my tone deceptively pleasant.

Her hair whipped around her chin as she turned to face me. She twisted her wrist, but I didn’t release her. “Not particularly.”

I pinned her with my stare. “Great. Then you won’t mind me taking this from you.” My hand shot inside her jacket and I pulled out a couple of files.

I flipped through the labels.

Benton Family.

Representative Lang.

Amy Black.

She stole the file on my mom.

My entire childhood, I had a recurring daydream of my father banging on the front door of our shitty trailer in that even shittier town in Arizona and demanding to take me away from there. By the time I reached thirteen, I gave up hope, and I focused on getting the hell out of there and away from my mom.

Last year, I spent some time investigating my mother’s relationships around the time I was born. My mom told me more times than I could count that she didn’t remember anything about my father. She claimed she had a drunken one-night stand and ended up pregnant, but I didn’t believe her, and my research backed up my instincts. My mom may have spent a good chunk of my formative years working as a high-paid escort of sorts, but she had a very short list of steady clients. I had narrowed the list to two men who could be my father.

Between Archer’s quest for revenge against Senator Wharton and the explosion of business at my security and intelligence firm, I didn’t have the time to dig any deeper and part of me didn’t want to know anyway. Somehow over the past year, it no longer mattered who fathered me, but it didn’t mean I liked Trinity prying into my personal business.

As I stared at the label on the inch-thick file folder, I felt the familiar sensation of a hundred pound weight on my back, my mind drunk on unwanted memories. I had forgotten, or maybe just hadn’t wanted to recall, the feeling of dejection and hopelessness of growing up poor and without anyone who cared about me except my brother Archer.

“You’re spying on me. Is this late night visit another errand for your piece of shit boyfriend? Tell me. Why does he make you do all his dirty work?” Hate coated my words, but it wasn’t directed at her. Not really.

Her eyes narrowed and she yanked her hand away from me. I didn’t resist. I needed her to get out of my home before I snapped. I couldn’t stand the thought of people prying into my personal business. I didn’t share my history with anyone. Sure, I disclosed a rose-colored version of my history to the government to get security clearance, but nobody except Archer and his fiancée knew the real truth. The real truth was so much uglier than I wanted to reveal.

The corners of her lips turned down. “My boyfriend?”

“Yes. I’m talking about Miles.” I folded my arms across my chest. “By the way, you have poor taste in men.”

“Miles isn’t my boyfriend. He’s a business associate.” The melancholy in her voice hit me like a punch to the gut.

“Oh really? That’s not what I heard.”

She rocked back on her heels and laughed, but it wasn’t genuine. “Yeah, well, your sources are wrong.”

Our eyes met, and I took the opportunity to study her face. I could get lost in those eyes. They were dark and endless. My attention dipped to her mouth. Even pursed in anger, it looked good enough to nibble on.

Beneath her sharp tongue and thick armor, I sensed uncertainty and loneliness. For a fleeting second, I wanted to delve into the layers that made Trinity Jones tick. I shook my head. What the hell was I doing waxing poetic about some woman who broke into my home and searched my personal and work files?

“Why did you take these files?” I yelled, angrier with myself now than with her.

She flinched, but immediately shrugged nonchalantly, trying to cover her reaction. “They looked interesting.”

“You’re lying.”

“So what? What are you going to do about it?”

The muscle in my jaw twitched from clenching my teeth. “Stay away from me, Jones. The trick you pulled at Representative Lang’s home was business and I’ll let it go for now. But if I find out you or Miles are meddling in my private matters, I won’t hesitate to destroy both of you.”

Warning delivered, I walked to my front door, not bothering to turn around to see if she was following me. I flung open the door. She took a few steps, her shoes clicking against the floor, before pausing at the threshold.

She stared at me, assessing me, trying to read my thoughts. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”

“Yes, and that’s what separates the good agents from the bad agents.”

“And what’s that exactly?”

“The intelligent ones recognize when they’ve been beaten and they cut their losses and move on. The dumb ones just keep spinning their wheels, wasting more time and resources all to come to the same conclusion.”

She leaned forward, and she was so close to me. The tip of her pink tongue darted out of her mouth. Awareness swirled through the air, and invisible arrows prickled my suddenly feverish skin. Dammit, I had the urge to kiss her again. I doubted she’d appreciate the gesture, especially after I just finished insulting her intellect.

Instead, I twisted a silky strand of her hair around my finger, my gaze glued to the contrast between my skin and her inky mane.

Dark and light.

Night and Day.

Yin and yang.

Mixed messages swirled in the air, making it heavy. She froze, her eyes wide with shock and something elusive.

Desire?

Anger?

Interest?

Compassion?

Incapable of stopping myself, I slanted forward, halving the space between us. I could hear the chaotic drum of her heart. She smelled citrusy—almost like a lemon meringue pie—and I had the ridiculous urge to lick the long column of her throat. Her breath caught and her lips parted, a faint blush moving up her cheeks. Time suspended, shimmering around us with unleashed potential. A hundred thoughts trickled through my mind, sending a dark, unsettling heat rippling through my body. If I were a gambling man, I would’ve bet she wanted me to kiss her and a whole lot more. I felt like I was losing my mind because there was no way anything could happen between us.

Her warm chocolate eyes hardened, turning black, and all too soon, she snapped out of whatever trance we were under. She slapped my hand away. “I’m not afraid of you, Knox Black.” The smoky warmth of her voice made my heart bang against my ribcage.

She turned on her heel, slamming the door behind her. And then, she was gone, leaving a whirl of citrus perfume and still unanswered questions in her wake. Dumbfounded, I stared at the closed door wondering what in the hell just happened and why I let Trinity Jones walk out of here without interrogating her.

CHAPTER SIX

Trinity

Loud music filled the bar where I used to work as a bartender. I recognized some of the faces of long time customers, and I waved to a few of my former coworkers as my heels clicked over the worn wide planked floor. People were packed wall-to-wall in the narrow space, slamming back beers and other concoctions. Excited, boisterous and carefree voices rang out, celebrating the beginning of a new weekend.

I plopped down on the barstool across from my best friend, Leslie. She owned the bar where I found my first job after I moved to D.C. I showed up for a job interview, and she hired me on the spot.

Originally, I had planned to work nights and attend community college during the day. It never happened. I never had enough money to spare. Between rent and other meager living expenses, I couldn’t save more than a hundred or so dollars a month. Every time I got close to having enough money for a class or two, some event would derail everything, and I’d have to start all over again.

“I didn’t think you’d show,” Leslie said as she slid a drink across the translucent, backlit onyx counter.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m running later than I expected.” I lifted the cup to my lips and frowned when the warm, smoky liquid splashed onto my tongue. When we were dating, Miles’s habit of ordering bourbon neat rubbed off on me. At the time, I thought it was sophisticated, but now I acknowledged the truth. I hated the taste of whiskey. I was a vodka girl. I gulped it down anyway, craving the relaxation found at the bottom of a few drinks.

She sucked her lips into her mouth. “What happened?”

I glanced to the side, taking in the drunken people walking in jagged lines. “I had a shitty night and even shittier day. I need a drink or five.” I fought to keep the smirk off my face. My explanation had to be the understatement of the century.

She shifted forward, bracing her pointy elbows on the smooth countertop. Leslie was my complete opposite. She resembled a dainty little elf with light blonde, almost white hair and fine facial features.

“What happened?”

I groaned, slumping in my seat. “I had some stuff to take care of for Miles.” I never shared what kind of work I did. I couldn’t. Unfortunately, the confrontation with Knox Black last night paled in comparison to what happened today. When I told Miles that Knox had already handed the thumb drives over to his client, he fucking lost his mind. He screamed. He broke things. He threw his files off his desk.

Her sky blue eyes narrowed. “Why are you still working for him?”

“The money—”

She held up her hand. “Don’t lie to me. You don’t need the money. Not like when you showed up for an interview at the bar three years ago. You were desperate, but you’re not anymore.”

“I’m not doing it for me. I’m doing it for Faith. She needs me. I promised her I’d help her any way I could.” I may have left my sister in the care of my inattentive uncle when I moved, but I never forgot about her. I sent her money every month starting the day I received my first paycheck. Now, I paid her college tuition. I wanted her to have opportunities I never had. I owed her that. I wouldn’t be like my mom and abandon my family. Family first. Since the day my mom left, I lived by that mantra. Even if they didn’t want it, all of my family members had my unconditional loyalty.

She raised her eyebrows. “Faith can get a loan like thousands of other college kids. It won’t kill her, and you’ll find something else soon enough. You’ve already wasted too many years of your life on him. You need to get the hell away from him while you’re still able. He’s not going to give up on you.”

I looked down, the tips of my ears burning. She was referencing my hook-up with Miles a couple of weeks ago. I shouldn’t have breathed a word about it, but I was an emotional mess after it happened. I felt like I had betrayed her and myself, and in a moment of weakness I confessed everything. In retrospect, it wasn’t the best idea. She never let a single opportunity slip to note her disapproval of my continued relationship with him, even though it had been strictly professional for the past few weeks. She’d lose it if she knew I promised him I’d think about giving him another chance.

“I know. I’m going to start looking for something else soon. I’ve put out some feelers. It won’t be long now.” The truth was, I hadn’t done a damn thing. The fear of Miles finding out I was looking for a new job paralyzed me.

In a matter of days, I probably wouldn’t have an alternative. Normally, Miles approached our missions with a cool efficiency that I admired, but today he was crazed. I walked out of his office, mid-tantrum, and sent every one of his calls to voicemail since then. Something about the information on Representative Lang’s personal computer had him on edge. In fact, Miles had been acting weird for months. Every time I pushed for answers, he deflected all of my questions.

“Good.” She patted me on the arm. “I’d hate for you to waste any more time on that asshole.”

Smiling faintly, I tapped the side of my glass. “So I found some new information about my mom.”

Her eyes widened. “What? How?”

I shifted in my seat. “I came across her name on a file while I was doing some research for Miles. I didn’t get the chance to read it, but who knows?” I shrugged. “This might be the break I’ve been looking for.”

“What are you going to do?”

I chuckled. “Try to get my hands on that file again and make a copy.”

“Is it at Miles’s office?”

I chewed on the inside of my lower lip. “Not exactly.”

She studied me curiously, her lips stretched into a pinched line. “Do I even want to ask?”

“No. Please don’t.”

She shook her head, and her short hair danced around her face like a puff of cotton. “You haven’t told me much about what you do for Miles, but I put together enough bits and pieces of information to know it’s not exactly risk-free.” She sighed. “Be careful, okay? Don’t put yourself in any more danger to dig up dirt on your mom. Some things are better left in the past. Maybe your mom falls into that category. If she wanted to be part of your life, she would’ve made it happen, or at least contacted you.”

I couldn’t respond because, at this point, I refused to stop looking. I needed to know what happened to my mother. After spending the first years of my life drifting from place to place, my mom settled down in a small town. It didn’t last long. She ended up pregnant with Faith, and we moved in with my uncle.

Not too long after Faith was born, my mom didn’t come home from work one night. I spent an entire week glued to our front window crying and waiting for her to return until one day my uncle couldn’t take it anymore. He told me she’d never come back. He was right. I never heard a word from her again, and my uncle refused to talk about her. Every lead I had on her was a dead end…until now. Knox Black held the key. I was certain of it.

Impatiently, I bounced my leg up and down. “We’ll see. I haven’t decided what, if anything, I’m going to do with the information,” I finally answered.

Staring over at me, she wiped the counter with a damp towel, silently absorbing my words. “Okay. Just think before you jump.”

“Hey, Les,” a guy I vaguely recognized shouted from the end of the bar. “Can I get a refill?” He raised his empty glass, waving it back and forth.

“I’m on it,” she said before turning her attention back to me. “Are you stickin’ around for a while? I’m off in an hour if you want to grab something to eat.”

Twirling a paper coaster in circles, I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I’m dead on my feet.”

She lifted the bottle of caramel-colored whiskey and leaned over the bar. I slapped my hand over the top of my glass. “I’ll have vodka on the rocks this time.”

Relief washed over her face, and she smirked. “About fucking time, Trinity. I was wondering when you’d start being yourself again instead embracing the persona Miles created.” She squeezed my hand. “Don’t let anyone make you feel less than you are. You’ve lived through some crappy stuff, but you made it through without becoming a hard person. You should wear your life experiences as a badge of honor instead of a black mark.”

I crossed then uncrossed my legs, letting her words sink in. “I know. I got lost for a while, but I’m my own person. I won’t get wrapped up in anyone else ever again.” I couldn’t. I had to stay focused so I could help Faith. Even if I worked things out with Miles, it’d be different this time. I wouldn’t lose my identity. I wouldn’t blindly follow him or believe him. I’d keep my eyes open.

Genuine relief washed over her face, and she knocked her knuckles against the counter two times. “Let’s hope so.”