Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)

by Lisa Cardiff

  “Yes?” I answered, sliding one of my hands inside his jacket, twining his striped tie around my wrist.

  His hands slipped from my waist, and he stepped back. He cleared his throat. “The car is here.”

  I blinked away the fog of lust and zeroed in on Knox’s blue BMW sedan, idling next to the curb. The valet stood next to the open passenger door, his eyes carefully averted. “Right.” I nodded. “I see that.”

  Ten minutes later, Knox pulled over to the curb on a quiet side street and lowered the volume on his radio to a faint hum. The sudden stop set my already frayed nerves on edge. Neither of us had made a single comment when we got in his car. At some point, he planned to bring up my connection to Derrick, but my mind was stuck on repeat, replaying our kiss so many times I thought my head would explode.

  “Look, Trinity, I’m sorry about that kiss. It got out of hand.” My stomach rolled, and I clutched my purse to my chest, digging the pads of my fingers into the gold buckle. I didn’t like where this was headed. “But when Miles followed us out, I realized he intended to approach you, and I took advantage of the opportunity to make him believe him we’re together.”

  Red-hot shame crept up my face. I’d forgotten about his suggestion to pretend we were together. He’d been playing a game to goad Miles, and I got caught up in the moment, romanticizing the kiss. Romanticizing the moment.

  “Right, Miles,” I finally muttered when the silence threatened to become uncomfortable.

  “Good news, though, I think it worked. Did you catch his expression after we got in the car?”

  “Um.” I licked my lips, then cleared my throat. “Actually, I missed it.”

  He chuckled. “Too bad. I think you would’ve enjoyed it.”

  “Yeah. You’re probably right,” I mumbled, focusing on the details of the darkened windows in front of me so I wouldn’t give in to the insane urge to cry. I felt like a total idiot. Sadly, I didn’t want or need another man in my life right now, but the second Knox kissed me I’d been ready to toss my convictions out the window.

  He squeezed my upper arm. “Are you okay?”

  “Of course,” I blurted out. “I was just thinking.”

  He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Tell me about Benton.”

  I jerked my head to the side so I could see his face. “What do you want to know?” I asked, stalling for time.

  “Everything. I need to understand your motives, and while I believe you’re done with Miles, I’m not sure what’s going on with Benton.”

  I chewed my bottom lip. “Why does my relationship with him matter? You told me Lang and Miles were involved in a blackmail scheme. How does Benton fit in the picture?”

  “I’m not revealing anything else until I understand the exact extent of your relationship with Benton.”

  Defeat settled in my bones, and my shoulders sagged. “There’s not much to tell. I met him before I moved to D.C. He’s helped me out financially on occasion. That’s it.”

  “Did you have an affair with him?”

  I snorted. “No. Not even close.”

  He turned to face me, his back pressing into the driver’s side door. “Then start explaining because I’m not interested in playing twenty questions tonight.”

  “His dad knew my mom. Derrick found me in Texas and helped me relocate to D.C. We’ve kept in touch over the years, and he’s helped me out from time to time. That’s it.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “That doesn’t make sense. There has to be more than that.” I saw the moment the pieces of the puzzled clicked. His head jerked up, and his blue eyes were glacial. “Please tell me you’re not some long lost relation. Are you cousins?”

  “He’s my half-brother,” I whispered, my voice nearly inaudible. My stomach churned with acid. I hated breaking my promise to Derrick, but I didn’t see any way around it. I needed Knox’s help.

  He slammed his hand against the center console. Then he pressed the ignition button and shifted the gearshift into drive.

  “Aren’t you going to say something?” I asked, tucking my hands under my thighs to stop myself from fidgeting.

  Silence engulfed the car as he pulled away from the curb. “Does Miles know?” he asked without looking at me, cold anger wrapping around his words.

  “I’ve never told him, but it’s possible.” I rubbed my face. “Derrick thinks he knows,” I added.

  “He’s probably right,” he said gruffly.

  “Are you mad?”

  His hooded gaze slanted to me, then returned to the road. “No, but I’m revoking my offer. You can’t work with me. This arrangement is over.”

  Heat rushed to my cheeks, and my mouth felt dry. I needed Knox’s help. I was running out of options. I didn’t want to disappoint Derrick after everything he had done for me. “Why not?”

  “I can’t trust you.”

  “You can,” I insisted, moving my head up and down, my heart pounding inside my chest erratically. “Give me a week to prove it.”

  “Why the fuck would I do that?” he snarled.

  “You need my help with Miles,” I answered, my stomach clenching painfully.

  His car came to a stop in front of my townhome. His head dipped, shrouding his face in the shadows. He looked…dangerous. Ruthless. I didn’t know this man.

  Uncertainty ghosted down my spine, and I cleared my throat. His icy glare landed on me, and his features appeared more rugged than usual. His cheekbones looked like they were carved in marble, his eyes hooded, his lips sensuous and cruel at the same time.

  “No, I really don’t. Benton is tangled up in this whole mess, and something tells me you already know that. You’re a liability. The best thing you can do is get the hell out of my car and forget you ever met me.” He didn’t hesitate. He leaned across me and cracked open the door. “Goodnight, Trinity,” he gritted out with a steely edge that said he wouldn’t change his mind.

  I stared at him for a second, looking for a crack in his frosty veneer. His eyes narrowed, and he shook his head slightly, almost warning me not to argue with him.

  I sighed in resignation. “Fine. If that’s what you want, I won’t fight you.” I grabbed my keys from my purse. With my head high, I vaulted out of the car and jogged up my front steps, never looking back once.

  Screw Miles.

  Screw Knox.

  I didn’t need either of them.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Knox

  “Fuck.” I curled my fingers around the steering wheel until my knuckles whitened. I wanted to hit something. I needed to calm down before I drove home or my car would end up wrapped around a tree.

  I fell for her game.

  I lost myself in her kiss.

  I got sucked into her dark, soulful eyes.

  She played me.

  “Dammit,” I yelled, pounding my hand against the steering wheel.

  I knew Trinity had secrets, but it never crossed my mind that she could be Benton’s secret half-sister. That not so little revelation screwed up my entire plan. I’d already given her too much information. I had no doubt she’d spend the next half hour spilling everything to Benton. She’d blow my cover. She’d compromise my investigation. And if I didn’t walk away from her for good, I knew my life would never be the same.

  A little voice inside my head whispered that maybe I wanted things in my life to change. I’d spent my entire life avoiding commitment and believing Archer was the only person I could trust. It made me feel safe. If I avoided romantic entanglements, I could keep my life on track.

  Every time things took a turn for the worst, Archer had my back, but now he had Langley. I knew Archer would always be there for me, but it wasn’t the same. I didn’t begrudge her. She loved my brother, and he loved her. She melted his icy reserve, and I’d never seen him so happy. Watching them made me consider maybe I wanted more than a string of casual flings.

  I rubbed my hand down the side of my face, trying to shake off the thought, when a scream pie
rced the air. Fear surged through my veins. A thud of pain shot through my heart. Without a second thought, I jumped out of my car, not even bothering to fully close the door behind me.

  My feet pounded against the pavement. The space between Trinity’s townhome and me seemed like a mile instead of twenty feet. When I reached the top of the steps, I ripped my gun from the holster strapped to my ankle and kicked the door open.

  The minute I stepped foot inside her townhome, Trinity wrapped her body around mine. I circled one arm around her waist, shoving her behind me, my gun pointed into the dimly lit interior.

  “Look, Knox,” she said, her voice shaky and her body trembling. Tears streamed down her face.

  I scanned the room, and my blood turned into ice. “What the hell,” I hissed, my hands clenching into tight fists. An ochre colored cat with a brown tipped tail dangled from a rope strung from the kitchen light fixture. Who the fuck did sick shit like that? “That’s your cat, isn’t it?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice calm when I wanted to tear apart the person responsible for this.

  “Yes. Well, kind of.” Her eyes drifted shut, and a visible tremor ran through her body. “It’s Max. I found him when I moved to D.C. He kept coming around my place, and eventually he became mine by default.”

  “Did you touch anything?”

  “No.” She buried her head in my chest. “I flipped on the light switch next to the front door and tossed my purse on the sofa. That’s it.” A fractured breath tumbled from her lips. “Somebody killed my cat. What kind of person does that? Why would you hurt a harmless animal?”

  “I don’t know, babe.” I swallowed hard. “Why don’t you go sit in my car? I’m going to take a look around, and I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes.” She didn’t need to see this. She shouldn’t have to deal with this shit.

  “No.” Her lips pursed into a tight line. She stepped away from me and my hand slid from her waist. “I’d rather stay here with you. I don’t want to be alone.”

  I heaved out a breath and shoved my gun into the holster at my ankle. “Fine, but stay right here, and don’t touch anything.”

  Not waiting for her answer, I stalked through the living room, pausing in front of the small round kitchen table. A sweet yet rancid smell coated my nostrils. Breathing through my mouth, I popped open the switchblade on my key chain and raised my arm to cut down her cat. Spotting a folded white piece of paper on the table, I paused mid-reach. Instead, I lowered my hand and flipped open the paper with the tip of my blade. I saw a typewritten note in all caps:

  SILENCE IS GOLDEN. SOME SECRETS ARE WORTH KILLING FOR. WHO WILL BE NEXT? WILL YOU LOSE FAITH?

  I read the note over and over. My throat dried up, and my hands trembled. Cursing under my breath, I backpedaled a few steps.

  “What’s it say?” Trinity said, her voice low and hushed.

  My lips curled with distaste. “That some secrets are worth killing for.”

  Her face paled, and she swayed. “Oh my God. Do you think—” Her voice faded, and her chin dipped, resting against her chest.

  “Do you trust Benton?”

  “Yes.” Her head jerked up. “He wouldn’t do this. It doesn’t make any sense. He found me. He helped me move closer to him. Maybe Miles.” She shook her head. “No. I can’t see him doing this either. Besides, both of them were at the party. Neither of them would’ve had the opportunity.”

  My gut told me whoever killed her cat and left the note wasn’t messing around, and despite what Trinity said, I had no intention of ruling out Benton or Miles. Both of them had an interest in keeping Trinity’s connection to Benton a secret. Benton likely wanted to protect his family’s reputation and his political career. Miles needed the information as leverage to control Benton’s votes in the House of Representatives. I peered around her townhome, looking for more clues. I’d only been inside her place once, but everything appeared to be undisturbed except the cat and the note.

  Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I moved to the front door. I needed to think before I acted. I needed evidence, even though my irrational side wanted to put Miles and Benton in a room together and beat the shit out of them until the truth came out. One of them was responsible for this.

  “Where are you going?” Trinity asked, her voice sounding lost.

  “To make some calls.”

  Her heels clicked across the floor, and she tugged on the back of my suit jacket. “Don’t call the police.”

  I spun around. “Why not?” I didn’t have any intention of involving the police, but I wanted to know her rationale.

  Her neck tensed in defiance. “They’ll ask me questions about my past. Unless I lie, I’ll have to reveal my connection to Derrick, and I promised him I wouldn’t do it. I gave him my word. I shouldn’t have told you either.”

  “I think it’s obvious your connection to his family is the reason he’s being blackmailed.” I shoved my phone back into my pocket. “Why do you want to protect this secret? Why does either of you care if people know you’re related? Richard Benton is dead. He’s been dead for three months or more. Nobody will give a shit that he had an affair over two decades ago.”

  Her gaze skittered around the room, and she swallowed. “Derrick wants to protect his mother. She doesn’t know about me, and according to him, she’s in poor heath.”

  I scoffed. “That’s bullshit. Darcey Benton is not sick. Barring an accident, she’ll live well into her nineties. She sits on countless boards. She attends charity events every week. She’s an avid tennis player. She’s in great health.”

  She stared blankly at the wall for a second, then shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. But he doesn’t need speculation about me to derail his career, and his family doesn’t need their name dragged through the mud over something that happened so long ago.”

  “Great. I understand why Derrick wants you to keep your relationship secret, which, by the way, is a strong motive for him to threaten you.” She held up her hand, but I kept talking, ignoring her. She wanted to protect Derrick, but I didn’t like it. He wasn’t telling her everything. “And yet, you didn’t give me one reason why you cared about keeping your connection secret.”

  She fisted her hands and her lips thinned in frustration. “I care because Derrick is my brother, and it’s what he wants. He’s been good to me. He sought me out and encouraged me to move to D.C. He helped me financially when I had nothing.” She chewed on her lower lip. “And I don’t want anyone to pry into my family or my past. They’ll splash my ugly history on the cover of a bunch of magazines. They’ll make my mom look like trash. They’ll make light of my uncle’s criminal history. And Faith…she doesn’t need to deal with the gossip. She finally has a life.”

  I stiffened. “Faith? Who’s Faith?”

  She sighed softly. “My younger sister. She goes to college in Texas near my hometown. Why?”

  I groaned. This was worse than I thought. Her sister’s name likely popped up in my investigation of Trinity, but I hadn’t committed it to memory. “I think the rest of the note threatened your sister.”

  Her hand fluttered to the base of her neck. “What do you mean?”

  “It said ‘Who’s next? Will you lose Faith?’ The words were in all caps. I didn’t realize it referred to a person. I thought it was a bunch of cryptic bullshit.”

  She gasped as she dropped onto the sofa. “No. No. No,” she sobbed over and over again. “I can’t let anything happen to Faith. She doesn’t have anything to do with this. She’s innocent. I need to protect her. She’s worked so hard…”

  I hunkered down in front of her and pushed back the wisp of hair that had fallen out of her braid. With puffy eyes and red cheeks, she was still one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. “I’ll send some friends over here to dust for fingerprints and look around. I’ll have them clean this up. Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?”

  She attempted to wipe the tears from her face. Instead, she managed to smear her mascara halfway down her face
. “You can drop me off at The Lux. It’s a bar on 9th,” she muttered through frozen lips.

  I frowned. “I know what it is, but I’m not dumping you at some bar.”

  Her chest jerked up and down rapidly. “My friend owns the place. I’ll wait in her office until closing. Then I’ll go home with her. She won’t mind.”

  “No.” I rubbed my hands up and down her thighs. I didn’t want her to be alone even if it were only for a couple of hours. “That won’t work. You’re staying with me tonight.”

  Having her in my space wasn’t a good idea. Without a question, if I welcomed her into my home, she’d suck me into a potentially deadly tangled web of lies. That didn’t stop me from making the offer. Every cell in my body lit up with the need to protect her.

  Her body softened, and she leaned into me, resting her head on the top of my shoulder. Her braid slipped around my back. “You don’t have to do that. I know you don’t want anything to do with me.”

  “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.”

  “Are you sure?” She lifted her tear stained face. Her coffee-hued eyes glimmered in the dim lighting. “I could go to a hotel or I could stay here.”

  “This isn’t a game, Jones. This is serious. Someone is threatening you. You shouldn’t be alone.”

  I dragged my thumb across her lower lip. She looked fragile, staring at me trustingly with lips that looked so fucking kissable. Damn her for being so pretty. So perfect. She made me want things I didn’t think were possible.

  “I want you to stay with me.” I gave in to the insanity twisting in my chest and brushed a kiss across her forehead, knowing I shouldn’t, knowing I was making a big mistake, but I couldn’t walk away from her. Not now. Just like that, my decision was made.

  “Okay, Knox.” She nodded. “But just for tonight.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Trinity

  I should’ve argued with Knox, but I didn’t have the energy. I wanted to get away from my house, and agreeing to stay with him for the night was the fastest way to make it happen.