Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)

by Lisa Cardiff

  With her phone pressed against her ear, she stood on the front steps of her townhome in a curve-hugging black lace dress with a plunging neckline. She wore her hair in a loose braid that hung over her bare shoulder. Her lips were pale, and her eyes were smoky. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her. She looked beautiful.

  I jumped out of the car, jogged around the front end, and flung open the passenger side door. “Hi.”

  She lifted her head, and a big smile spread across her face. My breath stuttered in my chest. Her smile was a weapon of mass destruction.

  “You’re late,” she announced as she dumped her cell phone into her purse and slipped into the passenger seat.

  “Sorry. I got caught up at work,” I answered once I joined her in the car.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I pulled into traffic. Speaker Benton lived in a historic home in northwest D.C, near the Washington National Cathedral. His home had to be worth over ten million dollars. Members of the House of Representatives didn’t earn enough money to live like Benton, but he had family money, lots of it. His father, Richard Benton, made millions of dollars writing inspirational books on living with honor and morals. His earnings only added to the already bloated fortune of one of America’s wealthiest families. Their holdings included cable, television, radio, and newspapers. They flew under the radar, but they had their fingers in everything. As an only child and the heir to the Benton family fortune, he didn’t need to lift a finger for the rest of his life. Instead, he pursued a career as a lifetime politician.

  “What’s the plan for tonight?” Trinity fidgeted nervously with the gold buckle on the front of her small rectangular purse.

  “Nothing special. Just stay glued to my side. I’ll introduce you to Derrick Benton and his wife. We’ll make small talk. Then we’ll leave. We’ll be in and out in under an hour.”

  “Does your plan include confronting Miles?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “But if he approaches us, we’ll have to improvise.”

  From the corner of my eye, I noticed her entire body tense. “What do you mean by improvise?”

  My lips tipped upward. “Well, Jones, I plan to do everything within my power to make a convincing argument that you’re with me now. That means touching, kissing.” I cocked my head to the side. “You know, the things normal couples do.”

  I wasn’t against a small display of affection to shove our fake relationship in Miles’s face. In fact, I looked forward to seizing any opportunity to touch, kiss and do a whole lot more with her.

  Her mouth popped open, and her breath rushed out of her mouth. “Are you serious?” she hissed, sounding more appalled than I liked.

  “Deadly serious,” I answered, my voice cold and flat.

  “No.” Her hands shaking, she tugged on the hem of her dress. “I will not put on some cheap display in front of a bunch of people I don’t know to piss off Miles. I will stand by you. I will follow you around with a big fat smile on my face and pretend I like you. We can even touch each other in the normal course of things, but that’s it. I won’t do anything else.”

  “We’ve kissed before.” I grinned, not taking my eyes off the road. “You didn’t have a problem with it. Actually, I got the distinct impression you enjoyed it.”

  She smirked. “You wish.”

  I chuckled. “Don’t lie, Jones. You were so into it. You didn’t utter a single word of protest when I took your gun and the thumb drive.”

  “Like you pointed out at the time, I didn’t have any other options. So when you kissed me, I closed my eyes and went along for the ride.”

  I tightened my hands on the steering wheel. “If it makes you feel better, you can keep telling yourself that, but we both know the truth.”

  Her grin dimmed. “You know, you’re not much of a gentleman. You’re kind of an asshole,” she said, her voice strangled.

  As I turned into the Benton family estate, a steady string of curses rolled through my mind. What a disaster. I needed her compliant, which meant I should be charming her instead of taunting her. She was in a good mood when I picked her up, and now I needed to start all over.

  I turned off the car and waved away the valet. “I know. I’m sorry.” I shoved my hand through my hair.

  “Great,” she mocked, her gaze trained out the passenger side window. “Let’s get this over with, so I can go home and go to bed.” She reached for the door handle, but I grabbed her hand, halting her exit.

  “Jones, look at me.”

  “What do you want?” Her head snapped toward mine and her dark braid whipped around her shoulder. Tears glimmered in her eyes.

  Guilt lanced through my chest. “Dammit,” I muttered, brushing my knuckles along the side of her face, and she jerked away.

  “Don’t touch me,” she hissed.

  “Do you want to know why I kissed you that night?”

  She shrugged. “Apparently, because it was expedient.”

  “Yes, there was that. But mostly because I wanted to kiss you from the first moment you walked through Lang’s study door, so forgive me if I’d like to believe we both enjoyed it.” I brushed a kiss along the inside of her wrist and released her hand. “Now, are you ready to go inside?”

  Her eyes sought out mine and she sighed. “No, but I will.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Trinity

  I twirled my glass in my hand, smiled politely and responded to questions, but I couldn’t take it any longer. Between the speculative glances Derrick’s wife aimed in my direction, and the daggers Miles shot me from across the room, I needed a break.

  I tugged on the sleeve of Knox’s jacket. “I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

  He eyed me suspiciously for a second, then nodded.

  I was halfway down the hall when someone grabbed my wrist and whirled me around.

  “What are you doing here?” Derrick hissed next to my ear. “I thought we agreed to stay away from each other until this thing cools down.”

  “Not here,” I said, yanking my wrist out of his grasp.

  I pushed open a nearby door, pulled him inside and locked it behind us. I glanced around the room. A large mahogany desk took center stage in the middle of the floor. Sunflower yellow curtains framed the window. A cornflower blue and ivory rug blanketed the floor. We were in his office.

  He paced the length of the room, pausing near the window with his hands on his hips. “Why are you here?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. I left you a message this afternoon warning you. Didn’t you get it?”

  “No.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “Jesus, Trinity, my mother was here.”

  “I didn’t realize,” I said, my voice trailing off. “I didn’t think—”

  His hand slashed through the air. “No, you didn’t. My wife is coming out of her skin. She doesn’t want you here. She has this crazy idea that someone will notice a family resemblance between us.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Other than the color of our hair and eyes, we look nothing alike.”

  His gaze swept over my body. “I don’t think so either, but Ellen doesn’t agree.”

  “Great.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Well, tell her I’m sorry, and I’ll avoid darkening her door from now on. I didn’t even think she knew about me.”

  He glanced at the floor. “She didn’t know anything about it until I got that letter,” he said, his voice lowering an octave. “The one that started this whole mess.”

  “Why’d you tell her?”

  He raked his hands through his hair. “Because I didn’t want her to find out about it through the media if things got ugly.”

  I leaned against the side of his desk, feeling lightheaded. “We’re going to figure a way out of this mess, Derrick.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know. I can’t do this much longer. I won’t drag my family through the mud. If it doesn’t stop soon, I’m going to withdraw from the race. Then they won’t be able to hold anything over my head.”

>   “Give me a couple of weeks before you decide. I have a lead. That’s why I’m here.”

  He jammed his hands into his pockets. “What is it?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it tonight, but I think you’re right about Miles.” I didn’t want anyone to find us in Derrick’s study. It’d raise red flags, and people might dig into our connection. If Miles knew Derrick was my half-brother, other people might be able make the connection.

  He angled his head to the side. “What do you know?”

  “Not much.” I pushed away from the desk and moved to the door. “But I think he has something to do with the blackmail scheme. I don’t think you’re the only victim either.”

  “Fuck.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Who else?”

  “I don’t have any concrete information, but I think Representative Lang is involved, either as a co-conspirator or a victim.”

  His shoulders tensed, then he gave a jerky nod. “Okay. I’ll call you Monday and we’ll get together again. I want to know everything.”

  I tugged on the lapel of his jacket. “Don’t spend the weekend worrying about this. We’ll figure something out.”

  “I won’t.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “How does Knox Black fit into this whole thing?”

  Several answers flickered through my mind, but I decided to keep the details to myself. “He doesn’t.” I shrugged. “He’s just a tool to get Miles to stay away from me. Why is Miles here, anyway?”

  “He donated to my campaign in the past. My staff sent him an invite without consulting me.” He rocked back on his heels. “Do us both a favor and don’t get involved with Knox.”

  I froze with my hand in the middle of turning the delicate glass doorknob. “Is there something I should know about him?”

  “Nothing in particular.” He picked at the lint on his charcoal jacket. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea to get close to anyone right now given what’s going on.”

  I studied him for a moment, trying to determine his motives, but his face was perfectly blank. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” I opened the door. “Stay here for a few minutes before you join the party again.”

  He nodded, and I closed the door softly behind me. I sucked in a deep breath through my nose, struggling to calm my frayed nerves.

  “Did you find the bathroom?” Knox said, leaning against the wall just outside Derrick’s study, his arms folded across his chest.

  The fabric of his navy suit jacket pulled across his arms. His blond hair kissed the collar of his crisp white shirt. A lopsided smile inched across his face. His attempt to disarm me didn’t work. Beneath his façade of relaxed charm, anger seeped from his pores, and his icy eyes contradicted his phony smile.

  My gaze fell away, and I twisted the bracelets on my wrist around and around. I contemplated how to sidestep his question, but in the end, I decided to tell him the truth. I needed his help, and I wouldn’t get it if he didn’t trust me.

  “I never made it to the bathroom. I ran into Derrick Benton, and he wanted to talk to me.”

  He shot me a damning look. “I thought you didn’t know him,” he said, enunciating every word with meticulous detail.

  “That isn’t entirely true, but we don’t talk often.” He held up his hand to interrupt me, but I ignored him. “Can we save this conversation for the car ride to my place?”

  I held my breath, my eyes wide and pleading as I begged him without words to accept my explanation. For now, anyway. I didn’t know what I planned to tell him, but it couldn’t be the entire truth. My relationship with Miles taught me not to trust easily, and I needed to keep that in the forefront of my mind with Knox unless and until I understood exactly what he wanted from Derrick and me.

  Knox shoved his hands through his hair repeatedly. His previously tamed locks stuck out in every direction, and I buried my hands in the folds of my dress to stop myself from smoothing them back in place.

  “Fine, but no more lies.” Knox’s eyes held mine for a beat, and when I couldn’t take it any longer, I turned and moved toward the party. Still behind me, Knox cleared his throat pointedly and I glared at him over my shoulder. He held out his hand, wiggling his fingers, a smirk on this face. “Don’t you want to hold my hand, sweetheart?”

  Right. I’d forgotten about our arrangement. He shoved away from the wall, and I laced my fingers through his. The self-satisfied look on his face didn’t escape my attention. “You’re enjoying this whole charade quite a bit, aren’t you?”

  “I am, actually. Miles is playing right into our hands. Have you seen the way he’s been looking at you?”

  “No.” I shivered. “I’ve been ignoring him.”

  “Good.” He squeezed my hand tighter. “Whatever you’re doing is driving him crazy, but I think we can go. I’m done bullshitting for the night.”

  I smiled at him. “I know what you mean. If I hadn’t bumped into Derrick, I would’ve barricaded myself in the bathroom for twenty minutes to recuperate for round two.”

  With his hand burning a hole in mine, Knox guided us out of the house and to the front sidewalk. He handed our ticket to the valet.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The sky was a gloomy blue-gray. I stared into evening light, taking in the decadent expanse of Derrick’s brick-paved driveway. It stretched the length of at least three football fields, looping underneath the white-columned portico of the house and returning to the serene tree-lined street. Flickering gas lit lamps cast a warm glow over the double door entrance. The opulent two-story foyer and the oversized ballroom resembled a hotel more than a private residence. For all its grandeur, something about it unsettled me. Maybe it was the ivy that curled up the side or the twin rows of pines that cast shadows on the driveway like guards ready to pounce on unwilling victims.

  A tremor rippled down my spine. Not for the first time since Derrick walked into my life, I noted the disparity between his life and mine. We had the same father, but he had everything handed to him whereas I had to claw my way through life. I didn’t resent him for his inherited wealth, his success, or the relative ease of his life, but I couldn’t lie. My life would’ve been so much easier if my father had sprinkled a little fairy dust in my direction. I could’ve gone to college. My mom might’ve stuck around to raise Faith and me. I wouldn’t have worried when my uncle lost his job. I could’ve taken all the ballet lessons I wanted.

  Sometimes, I wondered why my mom never pressed him for money. But more often, I wondered why he never offered. Unfortunately, I didn’t think I’d ever get the answers to those questions. Richard Benton died almost six months ago, and my mom had been gone so long she might as well have been dead too.

  I shivered as a puff of cold air curled around my bare arms, goose bumps peppering every inch of exposed skin.

  “Are you cold?” Knox said.

  “I’ll be okay once I get in the car,” I answered, rubbing my hands up and down my arms.

  “You might freeze to death before then.” He hooked his hands around my waist and pulled me against his warm muscled chest. Stunned, I stood motionless. “At a party this size, they need more than one person manning the valet,” he said, his warm breath whisked across my hair. My body softened, already traitorously drunk on the feel of his body against mine. What was it about this man?

  I nodded absently, each sweeping brush of his thumb against my dress making me breathless in anticipation of his next move. I should’ve pushed him away, but I was incapable of doing the sensible thing. Voices trickled from the party. The front door opened and closed a few times, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything except the tightening of my breasts, the staccato beat of my heart and the rich scent of masculine cologne.

  Before I could make sense of his actions or my reactions, he buried his cheek in the curve of my neck. “Did I tell you how much I like this dress? You’re beautiful,” he whispered, the stubble on his face brushing against my ear. The air hummed with electricity, sharpening the magnetic pull b
etween us.

  Temptation surged hard and fast through my veins, and I tipped my head to the side, inviting his touch even though my mind begged me to stop whatever this was before it went too far. God knew, I didn’t need to complicate my life any further. In fact, there were thousands of reasons why I shouldn’t get involved with Knox, even for a night or a moment. Then he caught my ear between in his teeth and nipped.

  “Knox,” I muttered. “We shouldn’t—” My voice trailed off as his warm lips pressed against the curve of my shoulder, skating up my neck and across my jaw to the corner of my mouth. Thoughts of resisting evaporated like tendrils of smoke in the night.

  He transfixed me.

  He captivated me.

  He held me hostage in a web of desire.

  His lips paused near my mouth for a second, waiting for something. A sign? My capitulation? His dilated eyes stared into mine, and my insides knotted uncomfortably. Tension stretched between us, lengthening and thickening with each passing second. At that instant, I would’ve done anything for him to kiss me. It was all I could think about. My body felt like a time bomb ready to explode.

  I opened my mouth to ask for what I needed, and the air tripped in my lungs, a small moan escaping my parted lips. That was all the encouragement he needed. His body shifted closer to mine, our legs tangling and erasing every suggestion of space between us. I didn’t know who made the next move, but suddenly our lips fused together like two halves of a whole.

  My hands edged up his chest and around his neck, eventually landing in the silken strands of his hair. His lips slanted against mine, and I unlocked my mouth, giving him what he demanded and taking what I wanted. I clung to him, tasting him, exploring him and meeting him stroke for stroke. I melted into him.

  “Trinity,” he breathed against my mouth, and my heart swelled with warmth. I loved the rumbling sound of my name on his lips.