The house phone chirped. Derek snatched it up, turned his back and spoke quietly. Lily bristled. Why was he treating her like a prisoner in her own home?
He hung up. “They’re on their way up.”
Two minutes later, a knock sounded at the door. Derek stalked from his silent post in the kitchen to open the door for a dark-haired woman.
“Hey, D.”
Derek pulled the tall, gorgeous woman into a tight embrace, whispered something into her ear, then kissed her on the cheek before letting her go. Lily grit her teeth. That was Derek’s contact? What the hell? She’d told Rowland her client was a man, not a freaking supermodel.
The woman tucked a strand of silky black hair behind her ear and glanced over Derek’s shoulder. She searched Lily’s face with lovely blue eyes that gave Derek’s a run for his money. The woman’s face lit up and a soft smile pulled at her lips.
No use being rude. Lily got up from the sofa and moved closer to the stunning woman. Dakota jumped down from the sofa and stuck close to her side.
Derek put his hand on the small of the woman’s back. “Lily, this is Evelyn. She’s a former homicide detective with Seattle PD, and now consults with the BAU. Best profiler I’ve ever met. Want to delve into the mind of a sociopath?” He smiled at Evelyn. “She’s who you call.”
Lily flinched. Yeah, she was definitely jealous. Great.
“Evelyn, Lily Andrews and Dakota.”
Lily held out her hand. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
“It’s so nice to meet you.” Evelyn reached her long arms around Lily and drew her into a hug.
Lily tensed. Why did this woman have to be Derek’s contact? Better yet, why was she hugging her? Lily tried to figure out the relationship between the two of them. Co-workers? Friends? Lovers?
“Ev, you got the file I sent over this morning?”
Evelyn released Lily and nodded. “It was definitely one of the most interesting reads I’ve had in a while.”
Derek snorted. “I’d hardly call Rowland James interesting.”
Lily retreated to the sofa and Dakota followed, curling up at the end of the sofa, stoically eyeing them.
Evelyn sank into the armchair across from Lily, an easy smile pulling across her delicate features. “What isn’t interesting about Rowland James? He’s sophisticated, smart, a psychotic sociopath and ruthless. That combination is deadly, at best.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know,” Derek said in a dry tone.
“Don’t be a smart-ass.”
Lily swallowed a laugh. Whatever their relationship was, she couldn’t help but like this woman, if for nothing else than going toe-to-toe with Derek. It served him right, having someone put him in his place.
Evelyn tilted her head. “It might seem obvious to you, but those characteristics are the very things we can use against him.”
“Sorry, Ev.” Derek shook his head. “I’m not on my game.”
“Yes.” Evelyn glanced over at Lily and raised one eyebrow. “I see that.”
Derek flushed. “It’s complicated.”
“Always is. That’s why we’re here, though. But we definitely have our work cut out for us.”
We? Us? Lily glanced at Evelyn’s hand. A thin diamond band glistened on her wedding finger. The muscles in Lily’s neck tensed still further. Why did she care if this supermodel, superspy—or whatever the hell Evelyn was—had a thing with Derek?
Damn it. Because her heart was his. If she hadn’t known it before, she definitely did now.
“You okay?” Derek asked softly, his gaze concerned.
Lily blinked hard. No use prolonging the agony. She willed a cool facade onto her face. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
His lips pressed into a thin line and turned his attention back to Evelyn. “Where’s Marcus?”
“On his way up. He stopped to speak with the doorman.” Evelyn smirked at Lily. “Who isn’t just any old doorman, is he?”
Derek laughed, got up and moved into the kitchen.
“No, he’s former black ops.”
“Impressive. Especially given his age.”
Lily smiled. “It is—”
Loud knocking interrupted them. Dakota leaped to his feet and growled. Derek opened the door and a tall, handsome man walked in.
“Marcus.”
“Brother, it’s good to see you.” The two men bear-hugged.
Turning, Derek smiled at Lily—the first smile he’d given her since barricading her in her own home—and slapped his hand against the tall man’s back. “Lily. This is my brother, Marcus. He heads up a special task force for the FBI. Between the two of them, you’re in great hands.”
Brother? Lily glanced between Marcus and Evelyn and caught the way the woman looked at Marcus. Wait? They’re married? Lily gingerly sank back onto the sofa.
Oh, this was just getting better and better by the second.
* * *
THEY SAT AROUND Lily’s table and reviewed the file Derek had gathered on Rowland. After scrubbing through the documents and studying the extensive, and impressive, profile Evelyn put together, they settled on a game plan—and it was a hell of a strategy.
Hours after their arrival, Lily’s head still spun. Aside from Ben and George, she’d never seen such unwavering devotion. Never once did Marcus or Evelyn question Derek or Lily.
They were all in.
Lily studied Evelyn. The woman bent over the file exhibited unshakable confidence and poise that everyone drew strength from. A faint scar snaked itself from underneath Evelyn’s ear to her chin. Lily frowned.
What’s your story?
Clearly, now was not the time to ask. Come to think of it, Lily hadn’t been able to ask anything of these two. They’d blown into her home, her life and this case without a moment’s hesitation and taken over.
And Derek had let them.
If he trusted these two, then she’d trust them. No questions asked.
Still, worry clawed at Lily’s brain. Rowland was brutal and savvy. Their plan was for Lily to introduce Marcus to Rowland tomorrow night, but they had to play out this meeting with him with surgical precision.
One misspoken word, one misstep, and the whole operation would go south.
Fast.
“Tell me again what Rowland did this morning?” Evelyn asked, a thoughtful look flickering across her composed face.
“He pulled the typical alpha-male strut, threatened me, my entire family and everyone I’ve ever loved, threw in a little—okay, a lot of—physical pain.”
Derek’s face darkened, and Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She got that he was still angry, but he needed to realize that she was every bit the well-trained operative that he was, and that she’d taken a calculated risk—albeit one that didn’t work out the way she’d hoped.
“Rowland told me he owned me, that he expected me back tonight—”
“Which isn’t a fucking option.” Derek got up and went to the kitchen.
“Yes. I heard you the first time,” Lily countered as she watched him storm around the kitchen for a second before turning her attention back to Evelyn. “Then he kicked me out.”
“Yes.” Evelyn twirled a piece of hair around her finger and nodded. “Yes. This phone call should most definitely work.”
Without a word, Derek passed Lily a glass of water. She accepted the water gratefully, took a long swig. The icy liquid cooled her parched mouth.
“Time to get this over with.” Derek handed Lily her burner phone, his fingers brushing hers. His feathery touch sent her heart into a wild gallop.
Rowland picked up on the second ring. “Addison?”
Lily pressed a button and cradled the phone in her palm, praying that Rowland wouldn�
�t pick up on the fact that she had him on speaker. “I’m not coming, Rowland.”
She flicked her eyes up. Derek sat on the piano bench, his elbows perched on his knees and his chin resting on his fisted hands.
“I’m surprised you—”
“Believe it or not, Rowland, there are men in this world more brutal than even you.” Lily glanced at Marcus. “My client is one of them.”
Derek got up and paced the long wall of windows.
“That’s quite the gamble,” Rowland said, his voice hard as ice.
Evelyn pressed her lips together and nodded, almost as if silently encouraging Lily onward. She pulled from the woman’s quiet, unwavering strength and pressed on with the lines they’d rehearsed over and over until Lily nailed them.
She took a deep breath. “I’ll take my chances, Rowland. I’ve set up the meeting just as you requested for tomorrow night at five o’clock with my client. He will meet you at the Boiler Room off Jones Street. I reserved the corner room to ensure the utmost discretion.”
“I’m interested to meet this...client of yours.”
“As is he. Good night, Rowland.” Lily hung up.
“That was perfect,” Evelyn said in a soft, kind voice.
Lily bit her lip until she tasted copper and forced a smile to her lips. Nothing about this mess she’d made was perfect. And now these incredible people were putting their asses on the line to help her get out of the shit storm she’d created.
What a disaster—she hadn’t made this massive of a mistake since her rookie year.
Evelyn cleared her throat and shot Marcus a quick look. He stood.
“We’re going to head out. It’s been a long night, and tomorrow is a huge day. More so now than ever.”
“You’re more than welcome to stay here. I can sleep on the sofa.” Lily patted the seat next to her. She didn’t want to come out and say it, but she didn’t want to be alone tonight. Rowland had done a number on her head.
Marcus draped his arm over Evelyn’s shoulder. “We’re going to stay at Derek’s. You need to sleep in your own bed tonight.”
“That’s not necessary.” She glanced between Marcus and Evelyn. Please don’t make me beg you to stay.
“It is, though.” Evelyn gathered her bag. “We’ll be back in the morning.”
Marcus went to the door and held it for Evelyn. She kissed Derek on the cheek.
Lily straightened up. Derek wasn’t staying, was he?
Evelyn whispered into Derek’s ear. He scowled and shook his head. Walking over to Lily, she bent down and folded her arms around her. Evelyn smelled like lavender.
“We’ve got this. You’re not alone.” Evelyn let go and stood up straight. “It’s going to be okay. Promise.”
Was it?
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Sunday, September 28, 11:45 p.m.
THE SILENCE WAS DEAFENING. Derek had moved to the kitchen when Marcus and Evelyn left. He’d busied himself with the dishes. Hadn’t said a word to Lily. This was ridiculous. What were they? Five?
Lily finally gave up. “Are we going to talk about this morning?”
“Not sure there’s anything to talk about,” he said, with his back still turned.
“Derek, I saw your face.”
He stopped washing the glass he held, set it down and turned to her, frowning. “What exactly do you think you saw?”
“Anger. Frustration. Disappointment.” Disgust.
She walked into the kitchen. He wasn’t going to stand around and make her feel unwanted. This was her house, damn it, and if he couldn’t at least be civil to her, she’d make him—
He laughed, cutting off her inner torrent of emotions. “Not even close.”
She bristled. “You have no right to be disgu—”
He tossed the kitchen towel into the sink. “Wrong again.”
The man standing in her kitchen, glaring at her, was infuriating and stirred up the strangest emotions in her. He could reduce her to an emotional mess faster than any human being on the planet. Yet also spark a flame in her that no one else had—not even Jackson.
Lily shoved her hands onto her hips. “If you’d just let me finish my—”
“I was jealous, okay?”
Her heart skipped. Jealous? Her arms fell to her sides.
Derek scrubbed his hands over his face. “The mental picture of another man putting his hands on you makes me insane, specifically a man like Rowland, especially since I know what he’s done.”
Lily reached for the counter to steady herself. She was sure her head was about to explode. She’d been walking around the whole day thinking that Derek was disgusted with her, wanted nothing to do with her anymore. She’d never dreamed that he was jealous of Rowland for taking her to bed.
Clearly, her instincts were completely unreliable when it came to this man.
Every cell in her body wanted to go to him, but she couldn’t move. Fear froze her in place. Not after Jackson. She’d trusted him, let him into her life and barely survived.
Derek moved toward her. “Look, I know I don’t have a right to—”
She took a step back. Her throat closed as cold panic reached up and gripped her. Shut down whatever is going on here, Lily. Nothing good can come out of this.
“You’re right.” Tears sprung to her eyes. “You don’t. This conversation is over.”
She all but raced to her room and shut the door behind her. She leaned against the frame. The blood hammered in her ears and her head swam.
The man she loved, who’d thrown her a lifeline, who’d brought her into his inner circle of trust and put his family on the line for her, was jealous.
Derek wanted her. And she’d just shut the door on him.
Perfect.
She crawled into bed, pulled the covers over her head and cried.
* * *
DEREK SPRAWLED ON the sofa. Wide-awake. There was no possible way he could sleep, not with Lily in the next room. That woman both exasperated and excited him all at once. He’d never met anyone like her. He couldn’t get her off his mind, despite the fact that she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested.
Nice, Moretti.
His phone vibrated and he grabbed it, checking the ID. It was too late for this to be good news. “Marcus, what’s up?”
“You alone?”
“Yeah.” Derek sat up, fully alert. “What’s going on?”
“We’ve been over every inch of Jackson’s file, just like you asked.”
“And?”
“We can’t put a finger on it yet, but something feels off about this whole thing.” Marcus hesitated. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, brother, but neither Evelyn nor I are convinced Jackson went rogue.”
Derek’s heart sank. Yeah, he’d already made that short leap into crazy town when the fiancé bomb had been dropped in his lap. He’d dismissed it then, thinking it was ludicrous, but if both Evelyn and Marcus jumped to the same conclusion...
Derek cradled his head in his hands.
“Have you considered Jackson might be on an off-the-books but sanctioned mission?”
Leave it up to his brother to bring it home. Hard. Fast.
“I have.” Derek got up, moved farther from Lily’s bedroom.
“You have? You going to tell her?”
Derek looked back at her closed door. “Not sure. What the hell am I supposed to say? ‘Hey, Lil, you know the man who tried to kill you and went underground? You know, your partner, your fucking ex-fiancé? Well, that’s all a lie. He’s one of us. Well...maybe.’”
“She needs to know if there’s even a slight possibility.”
“Have Evelyn speak with her tomorrow.” Derek walked into the kitchen, reached for a glass and shoved it against t
he refrigerator’s water dispenser. “She’s much better with that psychological stuff.”
Derek knew he was being a jackass, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t give Lily the hope that the man she’d been engaged to might be a hero, not a traitor. Not when it could be false...and although it was selfish, he didn’t want to give her that hope when he wanted her so badly for himself.
Marcus sighed into the phone. “She needs to hear it from you.”
“Why?”
“She trusts you. You’re the lead on this, man. She needs to hear it from you.”
Derek set down the glass too hard and water sloshed over the rim. “Sorry, man, I won’t do it until I know for sure.”
“Derek.”
“I won’t say anything to her until I’ve verified it myself. You didn’t see her crumpled over his casket, Marcus. I did. I’ve watched her try to piece her life back together ever since. He doesn’t deserve her, even if he is on a sanctioned mission. That bastard shattered her. That’s a game-ender.”
“Bastard or not, she needs to know. And, it needs to be by the books, man. You can’t be swayed by anything else.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Did you honestly think we’d miss the way you looked at her tonight?”
Of course they hadn’t. Nothing got past the two of them.
It was why Derek had called them in the first place when the shit hit the fan this morning. Fatigue washed over him. Had it really only been this morning? It felt like a million years ago.
Derek glanced at the closed door and sighed. Somehow, he’d have to find a way to tell her what they all suspected about Jackson’s true motives.
Whether he liked it or not.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Monday, September 29, 2:00 p.m.
MARCUS AND LILY had role-played until noon, until all hesitation vanished, until they’d mastered it. Exhaustion gripped Lily in a tight vise. She’d slept for all of an hour the night before. She couldn’t get her mind off the sexy, stubborn man sleeping in the next room, couldn’t get her mind to settle.
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