The Spy Ring (Cake Love Book 4)

by Elizabeth Lynx

  “I know you heard me, Jagger.”

  “Oh, you know.” I shrugged and blew air past my lips which made a ridiculous farting sound.

  I was hoping if I dodged Tenn’s question enough then he would drop it.

  “No, I don’t, Jagger. I’m your partner. What you are doing doesn’t just affect Tiffany . . . it affects me, the agency, and even the government. This is the shit that gets agents thrown in jail. The best-case scenario in all this would be losing your job.”

  I guess he’s not going to drop it.

  “This time I’m going to end things. I swear!” I held up my hand as if I had the other on a bible in a courtroom.

  He shook his head and wouldn’t look at me.

  I scratched at my neck again. “What? I am. Besides I got rid of the listening devices after her date. It felt weird doing that. It’s just going—”

  “It’s not that, Jagger. It’s the Jewel, Emma Hawthorne. She’s saying that you framed her. That everything you did this past year, was a setup. She says she isn’t the one who planned this out. It was someone else, and you’re helping to protect that person,” Tenn said as he finally turned to me, his eyes burrowing into mine.

  I sat up straighter.

  “What the fuck? Who does she think I’m protecting?”

  That woman was a piece of work. She had all the money in the world and a good son. Instead of being a doting mother, she manipulated her son since he was a little boy so she could get back at the men who had hurt her.

  To do that, she tried to force her loving son to marry into a political dynasty. Emma wanted her son to run for public office and one day become President of the United States. All so she could use his status and his name to take revenge on the men she despised.

  Not only was she evil, but she was also petty.

  “Emma Hawthorne is saying her daughter, Grace, influenced her. That she was so grateful to have found her long-lost daughter, that when Grace started to talk about getting back at the men who took her away, she promised Grace she would do anything to make her daughter happy. She claims she was just a mother being protective of her daughter.”

  “That’s still a crime. I’m sure her lawyers have told her that. Mrs. Hawthorne may think she can manipulate her lawyers, but she can’t screw the federal government,” I said.

  Tenn nodded but shrugged as if everything he was saying made sense. “She understands she played a part. But that part has less jail time. She said when she felt it was going too far she came to you because she was worried about her daughter. That you told her to play along to catch Grace. She agreed and only said those things at the warehouse to trick everyone into catching her daughter.”

  I shook my head. “But that doesn’t make sense. Grace, wasn’t even at the warehouse. She was with me. Why would Emma Hawthorne say all those things to incriminate herself at the warehouse if her daughter, Grace, wasn’t even there?”

  “Apparently, the judge is reviewing everything with her lawyers. In the meantime, the boss wants you off the case. I’m to take it over now.”

  This was all messed up. Emma was blaming her own daughter for the crimes she committed. Her daughter, Grace, didn’t even know she had a mother until earlier this year when Emma tracked her down.

  The case was complicated. Grace thought she was getting to know her real mother, not being framed for her mother’s crime. I reached out to Grace earlier this year when I knew she had contact with Mrs. Hawthorne. Grace quickly learned her mother wasn’t the sweet woman she hoped she would be.

  Grace even helped me take her down.

  “But Emma Hawthorne is lying. Even Katlin has to know that.” I leaned forward as if getting closer would help change everything.

  “It doesn’t matter, Jagger. You’re going to have to step off the case. When they go forward with her allegations, it will all come out in court. Maybe something else will arise in regard to Emma before the court date and all this will be forgotten.”

  “I guess,” I said as my thoughts drifted to everything about Emma Hawthorne’s case.

  I analyzed anything that might be questionable in my head as I sat in that café. There were a few things I had to do in order not to blow my cover but nothing that would lend truth to her words.

  “I got to get back. You coming?” Tenn got up and threw his thumb toward the door.

  “No, I’m going to be here for a while. I’ll see you later.”

  He nodded and turned to leave the café.

  Something wasn’t right. Why all of a sudden, almost two months after Emma Hawthorne got caught, does she come up with the allegation that she’s being framed?

  Tenn was right, I had to walk away from Tiffany and her son, no matter how hard it was going to be. I couldn’t let anything jeopardize this case. As much as I wanted to watch Tiffany melt as I made her come on my fingers, on my mouth, and on my cock, I had to walk away.

  I got out my phone and texted Tiffany to tell her I needed to discuss something with her in person. After a few minutes, my phone vibrated letting me know she responded.

  Tiffany: I’m here now. You can stop by. David’s here, he wants to ask you something.

  Me: I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

  Damn it. I forgot about David. I can’t give him ninja lessons anymore. I only gave him and his friend lessons once, after Tiffany made that amazing dinner, but I had a great time. I’m usually around intense and emotionally closed off government agents, so it was refreshing to goof around with some kids.

  I left the café. As I made my way farther south toward Tiffany’s building in a taxi, I tried to come up with an explanation that wouldn’t break that boy’s heart.

  By the time I was in front of her building I realized I had thought up every excuse but nothing was going to prevent me from letting him down. He reminded me so much of my cousin, Ben, which made this worse. With Ben, I could be angry at his mother, and especially my father, for doing what they did, but with David, I’m the one abandoning him.

  Tiffany buzzed me inside and I took my time getting to her door. I wanted to prolong the inevitable forever but knew that couldn’t happen.

  The door swung open before I even brought my hand to knock.

  “Jagger!” A shining pair of blue eyes with a mop of dark hair greeted me.

  “Hi, David. Is your mom here?” I didn’t have to force the smile on my face. That boy was always alight with life, even when he was unsure and awkward like the first couple of times I was around him.

  “Yeah.” He held onto the door as he stepped back, stumbling slightly.

  He was still working on his balance, which I noticed when I taught him some tae kwon do. I decided to give him extra core strengthening exercises to help him better master the moves I was teaching him.

  “Before you talk to Mom,” David said as I followed him into their living room, “can I ask you something?”

  I helped him onto the couch and took a seat next to him. “Shoot.”

  “I’m having a party on Saturday. It’s my birthday,” he said as his eyes darted to the carpet and his cheeks turned pink.

  “Happy early birthday. How old?”

  “Thirteen.”

  “How does your mom feel about you becoming a teenager?” I laughed, making light of it but David frowned.

  “She still thinks I’m a three-year-old. I’m surprised she’s even letting me have a party.”

  I hated to admit it, but I agreed with David. Tiffany was a little too protective of that boy.

  “Where’s the party?”

  A smile broke out and his face glowed with happiness. “At Kart One in Buffalo Grove. They have kart racing. It’s going to be cool.”

  I took a big gulp of air to brace myself and tell him why I couldn’t be at his party. Why I couldn’t be in his life anymore.

  “The thing is, David. I am going to—”

  “Oh, you’re here. Did you ask him, David?” Tiffany’s voice came from behind.

  I turned upon
hearing Tiffany. The back of my neck already tickled as electric awareness grew the closer she came.

  Her hair was down. Most of the times I had seen her, her thick mass of chocolate waves was pulled back in a ponytail or braid. The few times I had seen her with her hair down, it captivated me. But this time it framed her face bringing to life the red of her lips and the soft pink of her cheeks. I even noticed a dusting of freckles on the bridge of her nose.

  I stared. It was obvious, but I wasn’t going to hide it. If this was going to be the last time I saw Tiffany, I wanted to memorize everything. Even how the corner of her right lip lifted a little higher when she smiled. As if her lips contained knowledge only the luckiest members of the human race were privy too.

  But when I got to her eyes, there was something there that had me wondering something I shouldn’t. And as I wondered, my heart pounded. I knew there were going to be people upset with what I was about to do, but I wasn’t trained for how she affected my heart.

  “Yes, he did. I’d love to come to his party,” I said and didn’t regret it for a second.

  THIRTEEN

  Tiffany

  “Crush them, sexy!” Aria yelled at her boyfriend who was currently whipping around a small indoor racetrack in a red electric kart.

  I think it was her boyfriend Alexander. Everyone had helmets on, and I couldn’t tell who was who. I even lost David in the crowd of testosterone that filled that track. Except for Morgana—she was the lone female of the racers.

  “There are kids out there, Aria. I wouldn’t encourage a six-foot-three man to crush them while racing around in metal vehicles.” I pointed to the red and black blurs going around and around.

  It was David’s birthday party, and everyone was having a great time at the kart racing center. Several kids that David got to know through Diego were here, including Diego. Even Matt and his mom flew in to visit.

  Matt was excited to see David walking. It was like no time had passed as they caught up with each other. Matt had sensory sensitivities, so he stood on the sidelines and watched everyone race around. Every so often, David would stop racing and come over to hang out with his old friend.

  “When does he get here,” Evaleen mumbled between bites of her hot dog.

  I pointed to the corner of her mouth. “You’ve got a little mustard right there.”

  She wiped at the glob. “Answer the question, Blackburn.”

  “Who do you mean?” I asked as I turned my attention back to the track.

  Of course, the SWIM Meet gals showed with their men. Evaleen and Aria were sitting with me at a table filled with hot dogs, French fries, and pickles. Evaleen was eating most of the food.

  “Is it Jagger Chance?” she asked.

  That made my spine straighten.

  “Jagger? Why would Jagger come to David’s party?” Aria asked appearing just as uneasy as I felt.

  Evaleen leaned a little closer to Aria, dripping some of the mustard from the hot dog on her arm. “Because they have the hots for each other.”

  “We do not,” I lied.

  I was a healthy woman that may have been celibate for a decade—not by choice—but that doesn’t mean my libido had shriveled up and turned into a tiny little raisin. Jagger had the body of a cross between a Greek god and a lumberjack. At least, that’s what I imagined in my head when I pictured him naked. If he were a model in New York City, I’m sure he would be rolling in cash.

  But he isn’t a model, he’s a secret government agent. I don’t even know his real name. It could be Gerald or Gavin or Griffin. Why can’t I think of anything but names that begin with a G?

  “Stop lying to yourself, Blackburn. If anyone needs to get laid, it’s you,” Evaleen said.

  “I one hundred percent agree with that statement.” Aria balled up the paper napkin she used to wipe up her arm.

  “What does me needing to get laid have to do with whether or not Jagger wants me or not? Or that I might want him?” I shrugged but wouldn’t look into Evaleen’s defense breaking blue eyes.

  “Oh, well, if it doesn’t matter then you won’t care that he’s heading right this way,” she said before popping a fry into her mouth.

  You know that moment when you feel a sudden charge in the air. In that second, no, less than a second, that nanosecond, you know everything will change. That’s how I felt when I turned my eyes toward the front of Kart One, formerly a Skate-O-Rama that went out of business in the late 90s. The roller rink expanded and turned into a race track.

  I don’t know if it was the smell of the burned rubber or Evaleen’s hot dog, but I felt nauseous and exhilarated all at the same time.

  Evaleen was right. I had the hots for Jagger. I didn’t like that I desired him like a warm bag of nuts at a World Series game, but I did.

  He was sexy, great with David, and was kind to me. But I shouldn’t have those feelings. Not for Jagger. He was the opposite of safe.

  I know that, logically, he’s not someone I should consider for myself especially with me having a son. I guess that’s why my heart wasn’t my brain and my brain certainly didn’t feel like my heart.

  “Hello, ladies,” Jagger said as he approached the table.

  “Agent Chance.” Evaleen nodded before wiping her mouth with another napkin.

  “Hi, Jagger. It’s great to see you again,” Aria said but stared at me the entire time.

  “Jagger, glad you could make it. I know David will be excited to see you,” I said as I waved for him to sit on the red plastic seat at our white linoleum table.

  Aria began to cough. She got up and waved Evaleen to follow her.

  “Looks like Dixon needs water. See you later.” Evaleen got up but brought the red plastic basket of fries with her.

  “Looks like everyone is having fun on the track,” Jagger said.

  “Yup. Sure does,” I said as I felt the electricity devolve into awkwardness. The kind of awkwardness that crept up under your armpits and decided to go swimming by creating a pool.

  “It’s hot in here,” I said flapping my arms and pulling at my white and green flower-patterned blouse.

  I slid my eyes to the side and noticed Jagger tug at the neckline of his blue T-shirt.

  “I thought it was just me. Maybe I can speak to the manager about turning up the air conditioning.” He looked around and gasped just before his eyes widened.

  Waving his hand in the air, I turned to see a man about ten years older than us wave back.

  “I know him. We used to work together.”

  The man was coming toward us. Maybe I could find out something about Jagger other than he was a secret agent.

  Jagger stood and opened his arms. “If it isn’t Hack! What are you doing here?”

  The guy, wearing a red button-up dress shirt and black slacks, hugged Jagger.

  “I own this place. And it isn’t Hack anymore. I can use my real name now—Tom Martinez.”

  They pulled back and Tom gazed over at me, nodding.

  I stood and held my hand out to him. “Hi, I’m Tiffany. My son, David, is having his birthday party here today.”

  He gave a firm shake and then pointed to the track mentioning he wished David a happy birthday before he got into the kart. He talked about kart racing for a while before he asked about me.

  “So, Tiffany, how do you know Jagger?”

  I frowned and glanced at Jagger who didn’t appear any happier at the question.

  “We’re married,” I said because what could I do? I’m not going to lie to the man.

  If Jagger needed to lie, he could do that himself. We both messed up getting married in Vegas, but I was drugged, or at least I think I was, so I didn’t really have control over my actions. Jagger admitted he was drunk, but not so drunk that he couldn’t remember. Not so drunk that he had no control.

  “Married? You finally settled down. How’d they take that at the agency? I’m sure you’re not in the field any more then.”

  Jagger was rubbing the back of his ne
ck. His face red. “I’m still in the field.”

  Tom’s brow creased. “But that’s risky. When I met Nina, I knew she was it. I made a decision I had to take a desk job at the agency or leave. Since I hate paperwork, I chose to leave. Best decision I ever made.”

  He waved his hands around him, proud of his business.

  “That’s sweet you gave up your career for the woman you love. That’s risky too. You could have grown to miss it and regret giving it up,” I said.

  “No, I knew it was time. I had that uneasy itch for a while.”

  “Uneasy itch?” Jagger asked.

  Scratching the back of his neck, he gave a slight chuckle as if remembering a joke. “It was crazy. I kept asking to do more and more dangerous assignments. Is Katlin still there?”

  Jagger nodded.

  Tom sighed. “She knew. One day she sat me down and talked to me about burnout. It’s not an easy life, and most agents don’t do it long-term for a reason. I thought it odd after our talk that she invited me to a barbeque she was having that weekend.”

  “Katlin Chester? The walking, talking, government robot. She invited you to a party at her place?” Jagger asked with wide eyes.

  “I know, crazy. I didn’t even realize she owned a home. I just thought she slept at the office. The woman is all work and zero emotion. Anyway, I go to the barbeque and that’s where I meet Nina. After dating her for a few months, I knew it was time to walk away.”

  “I guess when you two met, you were ready for something new, both professionally and personally,” I said.

  “Not so much new. More like, I was ready to face my fears and open my heart.”

  We stood for a moment in silence. I smiled up at Tom. His gaze flipped between Jagger and me before he slapped him on the shoulder. “I’ve got to get back. I’m glad you found happiness, Jagger.”

  Once he left, Jagger turned and as his eyes landed on me, it all came back at once. The heat. The electricity. And all that intensity seemed to drown out the noise and melt away the people around us.

  “I need to talk to you, Tiffany. I meant to tell you three days ago when I came over and David invited me here.”