I barely knew my drinking partners, but it was nice to be out with people who knew nothing of my past. Or my present. I could pretend to be anyone I wanted to be, for the night at least.
“So, Brooke, what do you do for a living?”
I felt cool air sweep past me as the door to the Cellar opened again. Instinctively, I glanced over my shoulder. My back stiffened at the sight of the two men in dark suits: Declan O’Roark and his trainer, Aidan Gallagher. Aidan was much better looking in person than he was in the photo I’d seen on the internet.
I turned back around and took a sip of my wine, gripping the glass a little too tightly. “I’m in between careers, but I was thinking about getting a position at a training stable for the upcoming meet.” I had just thought of it earlier that day when I’d learned that Declan raced thoroughbreds. I’d put myself through college working for my grandfather’s stable and riding thoroughbreds. I could do it again. Especially if it was a way to get closer to Declan.
Marti and José traded an uneasy glance before José pursed his lips at me. “Girl, do you even know anything about horses?” José said. Before I could answer, he added, “Thoroughbred horses?”
I didn’t want to come off as arrogant, but… “I know a thing or two. Do you know of any stables hiring currently? I could even be a hot walker and work my way up.” I really didn’t care what the job was, as long as it was with the right training stable.
“We know some people,” Marti said and lifted a brow in José’s direction.
José placed a gentle hand on my arm. “But honey, if you’re going to work with horses, you’re going to get that manicure all messed up.”
I looked down at my painted nails and up at José. I wasn’t sure if he was serious or teasing, so I let the comment go. I’d pretend to get some names from them later, but I was only interested in one name in particular—and that name had just walked in.
“Well, speak of the devils.” Marti had apparently just noticed the two men who had entered the bar. She quickly looked away from them and back to the table, letting her stringy blond hair fall around her face. “Don’t look now, José, but—”
Too late. He looked. “Oh, girl. Only one of those pieces of eye candy is the devil. The other one is an angel straight from heaven.”
I slowly turned my head toward Declan and the man who ran his thoroughbred training operation. I jumped when Marti grabbed my arm. “Don’t look!”
Declan turned in our direction and made eye contact with me just as I jumped at Marti’s outburst. His eyes narrowed. I immediately broke eye contact and turned back to Marti. I decided to play dumb. “Who are they?” I asked.
“The one in the dark sweater is Aidan Gallagher. He’s the trainer José and I work for. The other one—the one José is practically drooling over—is Declan O’Roark.”
I studied Marti’s eyes a minute. “And what’s Declan’s role?”
“He’s the money… Crap, crap, crap.” Marti looked wide-eyed across the table at José. “He’s coming over here.”
José stirred his drink with the flamingo. His eyes were on fire as he took a sip and wiggled his brows at Marti. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why she was having such an insane reaction over either one of these men. I could attest to their good looks, but sheesh.
“Have we met?” Declan asked Marti in his smooth foreign accent. It wasn’t completely Irish, though I had read that he was originally from Ireland.
“Uh… yes, sir… sort of… we… me and José…” She pointed across the table back and forth between José and herself. “We work for Mr. Gallagher. I’m Marti.”
He reached down and gripped Marti’s hand, giving it a shake. “It’s nice to see you. You, too, José.” I could feel his eyes shift to me before I even looked up. “Hello again,” he said, reaching out a hand to me.
“Hi.” I shook his hand.
Marti eyed me. “You two know each other?”
I nodded. “I didn’t recognize him when he first entered, but yes, I saw him briefly at an event I attended last night.”
“What do we have here?” Aidan Gallagher asked in a thick, one-hundred-percent Irish accent. He clapped Declan on the back.
“Apparently these people work for you,” Declan said.
“Oh. They do?” he asked as if he’d never seen Marti or José in his life. He surveyed the table, barely paying any of us the slightest of glances. “If they say so. Come on, man, the waitress has our table and our drinks ready.”
I couldn’t stop the crooked slant to my lips as I watched Aidan turn and head toward a table across the room. He might’ve had a perfect head of bronze-colored hair and the most interesting hazel eyes, but he was also a first-class jerk. Marti stared again at her martini, stirring the remaining olive round and round in the glass. I glanced up at Declan, and before I could stop myself, I said, “Your friend’s an asshole.”
Marti spit her drink back into the martini glass. José began choking.
The corners of Declan’s lips curved up. He looked toward Aidan, smiled larger. “Yes, he is. If you’ll excuse me.” He bowed his head, then moved to join his friend.
“Oh my gee whiz! Are you crazy?” Marti asked.
“What?” I asked with a shrug. “That guy was a jerk.”
“That guy is the person I was hoping to get you a job with.”
I looked over at their table. Declan was staring straight at me, still with somewhat of a quizzical smile. I looked at Marti. “Maybe Declan won’t tell his friend I called him an asshole,” I suggested with a lift to my shoulders. I did have a bad habit of saying exactly what I thought.
Declan’s voice carried across the bar. “Mate, she called you an asshole because it’s true,” he said, laughing.
Marti raised both brows. I simply lifted my wine glass to my face and inhaled the scent of the expensive Malbec, pretending not to care what Aidan Gallagher or Declan O’Roark thought of me.
Chapter 5
Just after nine o’clock, a band began setting up in one corner of the bar, and at nine thirty, they began playing, making it hard for us to carry on a coherent conversation.
Ben showed up shortly after that. He was apparently Marti’s boyfriend, based on the kiss he gave her. He pulled her over into a corner, where they huddled close together and appeared to be in a heated conversation. José moved over to the bar and started chatting with a hipster sporting a man bun.
And so I found myself sitting with an empty wine glass and no one to talk to.
Deciding I had done all I could do for the night, I rose. After telling Marti and José goodbye, I handed Jenna a hundred-dollar bill and told her to put it toward Marti’s, José’s, and my tab. As she took the money, I noticed a small tattoo on the inside of her wrist: a tulip. I started to compliment her on it, but a customer was beckoning her at the other end of the bar, so I turned and headed for the door.
“It was nice to meet you, Brooke,” she called as I walked away.
Once outside, I hugged myself, wishing I had brought a jacket. The temperatures in Kentucky in the spring fluctuated greatly throughout the day, and going from the warm bar to the much cooler night air was a bit of a shock.
According to my phone it was just after ten, and the more family-friendly restaurants were either now closed or were in the process of closing. Except for the Black Tulip and one other bistro across the street, Midland seemed to be nodding off for the night.
I started walking away from the noise, toward the street that would take me back to my cozy cottage tucked behind Julep Hill Inn. A streetlight flickered overhead, buzzing with electricity. A siren screamed in the distance. A light breeze blew hair off my neck and sent a shiver down my spine.
The sound of a can being kicked made me jerk in the direction of the noise, but I saw no one. I twisted and took in my surroundings, looking for movement. I’d been a good FBI agent once upon a time, and trusted my instincts. And tonight, my instincts were telling me I was being watched.
I placed my hand on my Sig at the small of my back as I searched the streets and sidewalks in all directions.
A white SUV pulled to the curb beside me, and Declan O’Roark poked his head out the passenger side window. “Need a ride?” Aidan watched expectantly in the driver’s seat beside him.
I dropped my hand from the grip I had on my weapon and let out a shaky breath. “If it’s no trouble.”
“We wouldn’t have stopped if it was,” Aidan said.
Declan climbed out of the vehicle and opened the back door for me. I studied his face briefly before I climbed in.
“It’s a safe town,” Declan said when he was back in his seat. “But why tempt fate?”
“I’m staying at Julep Hill Inn,” I said.
Aidan nodded, and I got the distinct feeling they already knew where I was staying.
“How long will you be staying in Kentucky?” Declan asked.
“Not sure yet. Thinking about sticking around until after the Derby at least.”
“You’re a horse fan then?”
Here was my opportunity to ask for a job. “I guess you could say that.” Why was I hesitating?
“And you seem tight with the governor. Will you be spending time with him?”
I angled my head and stared at Declan’s profile. It was a strange question, and I wasn’t at all certain why he might have asked it. “Like I said, I’m not sure of my plans.” My pulse picked up as I thought about my next question. Just by asking the question, I would be going semi-undercover—living a white lie, while looking for clues as to who was responsible for the threat against Truman and people in his state. “I’d like to pick up some extra cash while I’m here. Do either of you know of a training stable that might be hiring for the spring meet?”
I was well versed in thoroughbred horse training, thanks to my grandfather, who was raised around the track, and later became a very successful thoroughbred trainer himself. Some kids got rocking horses before they could walk. I got a real horse before I could walk.
The two men traded a look I couldn’t quite read. Aidan gave his head a shake right about the same time that Declan said, “Stop by Kensington Race Track Monday morning. Barn 35.”
Aidan kept his head forward, his jaw set.
“Five thirty okay?” I asked. “Or should I come earlier?”
Declan smiled at Aidan like he’d won some contest. I was guessing they thought I didn’t realize that morning training began early.
“Five thirty will be fine,” Aidan said while staring straight ahead. “I’ll see if I’ve got a spot for you.” He pulled up in front of the B&B and put the vehicle in park.
I had my hand on the door handle when Declan jumped out and opened my door for me. “Thanks for the ride,” I said to Aidan. “And for the shot at a job.” He nodded without looking at me. And before I let myself think too hard about it, I added, “And sorry I called you an asshole.”
Declan held out a hand to help me out. I swallowed hard before I took it. His skin was warm against my freezing palm.
“We’ll see you Monday,” he said, still holding on to my hand. A slight smirk touched the corners of his lips, and his eyes appeared to analyze everything about me.
“Thanks again.” I pulled my hand back, turned, and walked away. And against every instinct, I did not look back as I climbed the steps to the front porch of the B&B. There was a walkway that would have led me around the house to the carriage house in the back, but for some reason, I didn’t want the two men—or anyone else who might be watching—to know I was staying in the standalone cottage.
When I was on the other side of the front door, I peeked through the curtain, but the SUV had already pulled away.
“Nice night?”
I yelped in surprise at the sound of Carrie Anne’s voice, then turned to face her. She was sitting at an antique writing desk in the lobby with a paperback open on the desk.
She peered up at me over a pair of reading glasses with a grin that said she knew all. “You had better be careful hanging with those two,” she said, confirming she’d been nosily watching out the front door.
“They… just gave me a ride home.”
“Uh-huh…” She closed her book. “I supposed my daughter didn’t have enough sense to come home early with you.”
“No, ma’am.”
“Stop that ma’am stuff.” She waved a hand and stood. “She’s twenty-four years old, and fully capable of making decisions, but it doesn’t stop a mama from worrying. Well, I’m turning in. I assume you remember that you moved to the carriage house this morning, right?”
“I do. It’s just…” I glanced over my shoulder at the front door, like the enigmatic Declan might still be standing there watching me.
“Oh, I know, honey. A girl can’t be too careful. What I said earlier… about being careful around Declan and Aidan?”
“Yeah?” Was she about to tell me that they were dangerous? That they were a mystery to the residents of Midland?
“I just meant that you better be careful what you wish for. Aidan comes and goes with the wind, but Declan? He’s a catch that many a lady across all kinds of cities, states, heck, even countries, would like to hook. He’s liable to make you fall in love.”
I almost laughed at that. No one was that perfect. Especially not someone who had managed to land himself on the FBI’s radar.
Besides, I wasn’t in Kentucky to fall in love. I didn’t care how perfect he was.
Chapter 6
Someone banged on my front door first thing the next morning. After wincing at my disheveled appearance in the mirror, I padded to the door hoping I could quickly get rid of whoever it was and go back to bed.
I had stayed up past three a.m. and might have ingested more red wine than I should have while studying Declan and his multi-billion-dollar company.
The window on the cottage door was covered by a short café curtain. I moved it slightly, then with a jerk, I pulled open the door and leapt into Ty’s arms. “You’re here!”
“I’m here.” He kissed the side of my head. “James says you owe him big time.”
“I know I do.” I stepped back and saw the bags at his feet. I grabbed the one that looked like my riding gear. “Come in.”
He walked in and surveyed the combination living room and kitchen. “Quaint.”
“It’s shabby chic.” I shrugged. I liked the little house and how different it was from my Virginia home.
He ran his fingers along the white, slip-covered sofa. “That it is.” Ty and James liked a more contemporary feel in their homes. They had moved into a brownstone in Georgetown last year and renovated every inch of it with sleek, modern surfaces.
“It’s not that bad. You’ll find that sofa very comfortable.” I winked at him, and he realized I meant he was welcome to sleep on it while he was here.
“I brought what you requested.” He nodded toward the bag I held.
I opened it and recognized all my old riding equipment. “Thank you.”
“So. You going to fill me in on the… what did you call it? Project?”
“Yes. Have a seat. Let me throw on some clothes and order us some breakfast. I, for one, need coffee.”
“Lunch for me, please. And a Diet Dr. Pepper.”
I looked at him. “What time is it?”
“Almost noon.”
“Well in that case, I’ll order us some sandwiches. You can start by looking through that legal pad.” I gestured to the coffee table where I’d left my notes from last night’s research. “I shall return.”
Over sandwiches and soda, I filled Ty in on what little I knew about the murder of Kentucky’s lieutenant governor and the apparent mass poison attack at the Bluegrass Derby kickoff party. I also told him all about the cryptic email message that had sent me racing to Kentucky.
“Do we know what chemical
was used? Was it one of the ones you and Teddy tracked in the past?”
“Don’t know yet. I didn’t find any lab results as of late last night. It could take another day or so. I’ll keep checking.”
“Where, exactly, were you looking for these results?” He closed his eyes and braced for my answer.
I bit my lip. “I might have hacked into the Kentucky State Police files. Pretty sure the bourbon involved in the incident was sent directly to the KSP lab.”
He shook his head in feigned disbelief. “It’s good to see you’re being smart about this.”
I shrugged. “You taught me well.”
After marrying Teddy, I’d decided to switch roles from a special agent to a tactical analyst, and it was Ty who had helped me hone my computer skills and open source intelligence, or OSINT, researching skills. The director wasn’t happy about my job change, but he eventually admitted that I was just as excellent as an analyst as I was a field agent. Though he never stopped trying to get me back in the field.
“And Mike thought you would just come back to the Bureau and help them out with this one case?” Ty asked. “After the way he treated you?”
“I don’t know what he thought. But he’s called a dozen times since yesterday morning. And you know—and I know—he knows exactly where I am. I’m not stupid enough to think I could be hiding from them.”
“Have you spoken to the director?”
I shook my head. Ty’s lips thinned into a straight line, letting silence stretch between us.
“I won’t work for the Bureau again. Too much has happened.”
“Yet, here you are…” he nodded at the legal pad, “analyzing data you’ve found on the internet about this person of interest. What was his name?” He picked up the pad. “Declan?”
“The governor is my brother-in-law. I promised Teddy I would look after him. That’s all I’m doing.”
“You promised Teddy,” Ty deadpanned. “Teddy wouldn’t want you to get involved with whoever is sending you messages again. He especially wouldn’t want you involved with the case that got him killed, assuming that’s what this is.”
Exposed in Darkness Page 5
