What's Done in Darkness (33 page)

“So you weren't really in town for a wedding,” I said. And then I remembered how Brian had disappeared from the bar just before Katrina and Christian had joined me. “Of course not. And that's why you left me that night. Because Katrina came into the bar.”

“I had to give you a bullshit story because I couldn't tell you the truth.”

I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Did you approach me in that bar because you think I'm some kind of drug dealer?”

“Drug dealers don't wear signs around their necks,” he responded. “We follow every lead. We look at the friends of known dealers, their associates.”

“Now I'm the associate of a drug dealer?”

“Listen to me. I'm not saying any of that. I targeted you, yes. But—”

“You
targeted
me? Oh God.”

“Jade.” He placed a finger under my chin and forced my gaze up to meet his. “With you living with Katrina, I had to talk to you. That's my job. I quickly deduced that you were not into the drug game.”

I jerked my head away from his touch. “You expect me to feel happy about the fact that you lied to me? Targeted me as part of your investigation?”

“Jade. Look at me, Jade.” When I looked into Brian's eyes, he went on. “Our connection … that wasn't fake. Why do you think I came to see you at the café, gave you my number—”

“A burner cell, right?” I interjected.

“Yes,” he said after a beat. “A burner cell. Jade, I wasn't even supposed to be talking to you on a personal level. But … I like you. And I wasn't ready to walk away from you. So I bent the rules.”

“You weren't supposed to talk to me because I'm the associate of a drug dealer.”

He didn't respond, which was all the answer I needed.

“So, what?” I began. “You think that I went to Mexico with Katrina to buy drugs?”

“That's not what I think. When I encouraged you to go to Mexico, it was because I knew I would be there.” He exhaled sharply. “Probably not the smartest thing, but I wanted to see you. I had no clue all hell would break loose.”

I tried to digest everything he was telling me. “So you think that Katrina is buying and selling drugs.” Could this situation get any crazier?

“Katrina was associating with a known drug dealer in that bar in Mexico. Luis Romero. And it wasn't the first time.”

My eyes grew even wider. “What?”

“This investigation started long before you arrived in Florida. We discovered Katrina's connection to Luis Romero about four months ago.”

“By
we
do you mean you and Keith?”

“Yes. Look, I shouldn't be telling you any of this. For three years, Keith and I have been trying to get close to a drug lord in Mexico. Luis Romero was the next step in working our way up the ladder. But Katrina showed up in the bar that night, and with her husband's death and those damn pictures she took of us all over the media … Let's just say that the fact that Keith and I haven't been arrested after your allegations is gonna raise some eyebrows. Three years of hard work to get close to a drug lord, possibly gone downhill.”

“Because of me?” The words were like a slap. “Me and Katrina? That
is
what you're saying?” And that hurt me. Actually, everything he'd said thus far had hurt me. Because when he'd met me he had clearly been playing a role. He claimed that our connection was real, but how did I know he wasn't lying to me right now?

“I'm explaining the situation,” Brian said. “I'm not blaming you.”

Now I understood why he and Keith hadn't wanted any photos to be taken. Because of their undercover status. Why Brian had been so damn secretive. Still, the story was incredible. “Why should I even believe you?”

“You want to see my badge?” He glanced around the alley, then reached into his pocket and withdrew a badge.

I said what I've heard many people say in the movies when my eyes landed on it. “How do I know that's real? You could have bought that at a novelty store for all I know.”

“Take a look at the other side.”

On the other side, opposite the badge, was a card that had his photo as well as an official-looking seal from the U.S. government. I had to concede it looked legitimate.

“Now do you believe me?”

“Yes,” I said tersely. “But I don't understand why you're here.”

“To ask you and Katrina to stop talking to the press about me and Keith. I didn't kill anybody. I certainly didn't slit a person's throat. And neither did Keith. But in light of the accusation, our cover could be blown because we've been thrown into the media spotlight. As it is, Keith and I are gonna have to lie low for a while, make it look like we were locked up. Or on the run from the authorities. But if you and Katrina continue to point the finger in our direction, suggesting that the police aren't doing anything to find us, then it's gonna be obvious that we were never picked up for questioning. And the people we're dealing with in Mexico are going to become mighty suspicious.”

I swallowed, a small part of me feeling a little upset by what he'd told me. How stupid was I? To be disappointed over the fact that he wasn't saying he was here because he needed to see me. Rather, he was here to make sure I kept my mouth shut.

“Couldn't you have just called or texted to tell me this directly? Why grab me in an alley?”

“Yeah, that would go over well. Like you'd have believed a word I said.” He gave me a pointed look, daring me to deny his words.

I couldn't.

“Fine,” I said. “You came all this way to tell me to keep my mouth shut. I get it.” I was disappointed, irrationally so. “Can I go now?”

“You know that's not the only reason.”

He eased closer to me. I stared at him, and he at me. The sound of my raspy breathing filled the air.

“No, I don't.”

“I had to see you, Jade.”

“But I'm the associate of a drug dealer,” I quipped.

“I don't care about Katrina.”

“Sure you don't. You only used me as part of your investigation,” I scoffed, then made a move to step past him.

He blocked me with his arm, forcing me to stay against the wall. “I understand you're mad, and that you probably don't trust me.”

“You think—”

His lips came down on mine. At first, I was too stunned to move. Too stunned to react. But as his lips urged mine open with delicate skill I sighed in surrender and gripped his shoulders. I wanted to believe him. Wanted to believe that the connection I'd felt with him that first night was real.

Heat engulfed me. Suddenly the only thing that mattered was here and now.

Him.

His hands framed my face as his body pressed against mine, trapping me against the wall. I opened my lips wider, and his hot tongue swept over mine. I gripped his back, digging my fingernails into his shirt and loving the feel of his strong muscles.

Brian lowered one hand and cupped my breast. I gasped.

“Jade?”

At the sound of Katrina's voice, Brian tore his lips from mine, leaving me disoriented. As though I had awoken suddenly and didn't know what was going on.

“Jade, are you out here?”

“Shit,” I whispered.

Brian placed a card in my hand. “Call me at this number,” he whispered hotly into my ear. “I got rid of the burner phone.”

And then he took off down the alley.

Shakily I stepped out from behind the Dumpster. “Hey. I'm right here.”

Katrina stared at me oddly. “What are you doing?”

“I was bringing out the garbage and I just … I felt faint. I had to rest against the wall.”

“Of course you feel faint. The smell out here will kill anybody. Come back inside.”

I shoved the card into the pocket on my apron and followed Katrina back into the café.

*   *   *

Later, in my room, I held Brian's card in my hand. It was his official business card, with his DEA credentials and contact information. But on the back, he'd scrawled a phone number along with a room number.

I twirled the card around with my fingers, flipping it from the side with his credentials to the side where he'd scrawled that number.

In the wake of learning the truth about him, I felt both hurt and confused. He'd approached me under false pretenses. How could I trust anything he said to me now?

And yet that kiss … nothing about it felt fake.

Finally, around two in the morning, unable to sleep but certain that Katrina was, I called the number.

“Sunnyside Hotel, how may I help you?”

“Room three-twenty-one,” I said.

The phone began to ring again, and two rings later it was answered. “Hello?” came Brian's groggy voice.

“It's Jade,” I said softly.

“Oh. Hi.”

“Sorry I woke you.”

“No, it's okay. I figured you weren't going to call.”

I hadn't been able to stop thinking about him. It was inevitable that I would call him. “I need to know what's going on.”

“I'm not going to talk on the phone,” Brian said. “Why don't you come to my hotel? It's a couple of blocks from the café.”

My pulse throbbed. Go to his hotel … I wasn't naïve. I knew we would end up doing more than talking. Did I want that?

“Okay,” I said, surprising myself. Though was I really surprised?

“How long will it take you to get here?”

“I'll leave in a few minutes.”

We ended the call, and I slipped into my favorite pair of jeans and a formfitting pink T-shirt. The outfit was simple, but I loved the way it highlighted my figure. Then I applied lip gloss and fixed my hair until I thought I looked cute enough. There was no point pretending that I didn't want the night with Brian that we hadn't gotten in Mexico.

Satisfied with my appearance, I sneaked out of the apartment as quietly as I could.

Outside, I began to jog. I was aware of how crazy it was for me to be heading to the hotel room of a guy I didn't really know in the middle of the night. But I didn't stop.

As I neared the hotel, I could see someone standing by the window in the lobby. I halted. It was Brian.

And damn if he didn't look gorgeous. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a T-shirt—nothing fancy—but he made the clothes look like they were worth a million bucks. I began to walk slowly, allowing myself to check out his athletic body, those chiseled arms.

And that face … My pulse tripped. He was sexy as hell.

As I neared the hotel's doors, I saw his lips spread in a smile. And I remembered the first moment I'd seen him here in Key West. It was that smile that had drawn me in.

He began to open the door as I reached it. “Hey,” he said softly.

“Hi.”

Brian led the way to the elevators, and I folded my arms over my chest as I ambled behind him. I was suddenly conflicted, wondering if I should be here. If I could trust my judgment.

We went up in the elevator and got off on the third floor, and I followed him to the right. Moments later he was opening the door to his room and gesturing for me to go in.

I hesitated. Was I being smart right now or incredibly stupid?

“All right,” Brian said, and stepped into the room ahead of me. “If you want to stand in the hallway and talk to me, we can do that. But I'd prefer if you come in here.”

A beat passed. Then, my arms still crossed over my body, I entered the room. I knew I was sending the message that I wasn't completely comfortable, which was the truth.

But also true was the fact that I wasn't afraid of him. Even before knowing he was a cop, I had instinctively trusted him. It was his motives I was wary of.

I stepped into the room and closed the door, then leaned my back against it. “Is your name really Brian?” I asked. “It says that on your business card, but maybe that's part of your cover.”

“Brian is my real name,” he said. “And it's what I use in my work. It's just easier to use my real first name. But the criminals in Mexico don't know my true identity.”

“Do you really think Katrina is some kind of drug dealer?”

“Will you please come over here?” Brian eased onto the bed. “Take a seat.” He gestured to the armchair in the corner of the room.

I took a deep breath, then did as instructed. Once I was in the chair, I repeated, “You really think Katrina is some kind of drug dealer?”

“I can't really comment on an ongoing investigation. But … there's evidence, yes.”

“Oh my God,” I uttered. Then I went on. “Do you think this Luis Romero guy killed Christian?”

“It's a theory. He's killed before, for the cartels. Would he kill a tourist?” Brian shrugged. “Perhaps if he had the right incentive.”

I buried my face in my palms briefly, then faced Brian again. “I'm so confused.”

“About what?” he asked simply.

“I haven't wanted to believe anything bad about Katrina, but suddenly I find myself asking all kinds of questions. There are things now that I find suspicious. And what you're saying about her? I can't help wondering if she
did
kill Christian. Or paid this Luis guy to do it.”

“I think you need to be wary of her,” Brian said.

“Maybe I should go home.”

A beat passed. I thought I saw disappointment flicker in Brian's eyes. “You want to leave already?”

“I'm not talking about right now. I mean leave Katrina's. Go back and live with my sister.”

“Where's home?”

“Erie, Pennsylvania.”

He nodded his understanding. “Maybe you should. The one thing I know from doing undercover work is that a lot of people aren't always what they seem. They're good at living lives where they appear to be decent people, but they've got an ugly side. A dangerous side.”

I shuddered. Was Katrina dangerous? Was she a psychopath, as Shawde believed?