Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)

by Lisa Cardiff

  Trinity opened her door and rubbed a hand down her face. Her dark hair was piled on her head. She wore a faded blue t-shirt that stopped at the top of her thighs.

  “Why didn’t you come back to my place tonight?”

  Silence fell between us, thick and heavy.

  She shifted uneasily. “I sent you a text. Didn’t you get it?”

  “I did, but it wasn’t much of an explanation.” I peered over her shoulder, my hand resting on the doorframe. “Can I come in?”

  Staring at the floor, she scraped her teeth over her lower lip. “Sure.” She opened the door wider, and I stepped inside. She didn’t say anything, so I filled the space with meaningless words. “The place looks good.”

  She blew out a ragged breath. “Knox, why did you come here tonight?”

  This woman had me on edge. Somehow or another, without even trying, she’d managed to climb inside my head and screw up all my plans. I’d been content with my life until she’d stormed into Lang’s study with her gun pointed at me. I never imagined I would get so wrapped up in a woman that I would want her at my side and in my life as much as I did with Trinity.

  It happened too fast, almost like a train wreck. I had this preconceived notion that when I hit my mid-thirties, I’d get bored with the status quo and slowly but surely move to the next step in life—a more permanent girlfriend or even a wife. But this heady, nerve-wracking, merry-go-round with Trinity was insane. And here was the biggest mind fuck of all—if I were honest with myself, I’d have to admit the feelings I had for Trinity sure as hell resembled love, and I never planned on love.

  My mom fell in and out of love as fast as the wind shifted. She always thought the next love affair would be her salvation, but every last one of those men used her. And she let it happen. She served herself up on a silver platter over and over again. As crude as it sounded, she was a high paid escort with a Pretty Woman fantasy. Love ruined people, or at least I thought so, but now something told me I had it all wrong. Maybe love wasn’t about ruin or salvation. Maybe it was about living your life with the one person who made it bigger, brighter and more worthwhile.

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “I missed you tonight. I couldn’t sleep.”

  She shuffled her bare feet. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just say what’s going on in your head. Tell me why you changed your mind about staying with me tonight,” I said calmly.

  She tugged on the hem of her shirt. “I don’t know where to start.”

  I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Start with the truth.”

  “I just needed a break from us.” She rolled her shoulders back. “I’m confused and I wanted some alone time.”

  My muscles tensed, and I balled my hands into fists, my gut sinking. Maybe I misunderstood everything, and I’d been wrong to think the past few days had been anything more than a fleeting affair. “About what?”

  Sighing, she took a couple steps back. “I just ended things with Miles. My life as I know it is dangling from a thread. I’m worried about Derrick and my sister. I don’t know. I’m pretty much a mess.”

  Hurt twisted inside my gut. “Is this your way of ending things between us?”

  “It’s just one night.” She rolled her head in a circle. “Maybe two.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “Is it?”

  “I don’t know, Knox.” She wrung her hands in front of her chest. “I just feel like this is going too fast, and I wanted to take a step back.”

  A large part of me wanted her to give us a stay of execution and draw this out for another night. But every second I spent with her would only make it tougher to walk away later.

  “I’m an adult, Trinity. We both are. You don’t have to dance around your feelings in order to spare mine. Just say what you want instead of dragging this out.”

  “I like you. A lot. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you for the past few weeks. You’ve supported me, you put my home back together, and you’ve given me a place to stay. So many things.” She swallowed. “But we need to go back to the real world. You’ve got your company to run, you have to finish your case and all the stuff that goes along with that.”

  “Wow.” My eyebrows shot up my forehead. “So that’s it? You’re done with us?”

  She trained her gaze on the floor. “I think it’s probably for the best. At least temporarily, anyway.”

  I tipped up her chin, forcing her to look at me. “For who? You? Me? Miles? Or your brother?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not saying this is it forever. It’s just no for right now. I need to get this sorted out with Derrick, and I don’t want to drag you through the inevitable minefield with me.”

  I ran my fingertips down her arm. “I don’t care about that. You need someone to support you. Let me be there for you, even if it’s only as a friend. I’m not giving up on us.”

  “Thank you for the offer.” She smiled gently. “But this is something I need to do alone, and I always have Leslie.”

  “Have you heard from Derrick?”

  She kept her face carefully blank. “No.”

  “Will you call me when you meet with him? I want to go with you.” Trinity might feel comfortable with him, but I didn’t trust him.

  “Knox.” She drew out my name. “I can’t bring you with me. You’re investigating him and even though he may have done something wrong, I won’t facilitate his downfall. He may not have been part of my life for long, but he’s still my half-brother, and I need all the family I can get. I don’t want him to alienate me forever because I destroyed his life.”

  Anger surged through my veins, but I tamped it down as fast as it came. Yelling at her wouldn’t help. It’d only push her further away, and I sure as hell didn’t want to force any more distance between us.

  “So you’re going to play by his rules and keep his secret as long as he wants.”

  “I can’t answer that question right now. I haven’t decided what the end game is. Our lives are tied together—”

  “Dammit, Trinity.” I clenched my jaw, barely holding my temper in check. “This isn’t just about keeping the Benton family skeletons in the closet. He’s the Speaker of the House, and he’s allowing a foreign government to sway his decisions. His votes. Everything, so he can spare his family the embarrassment of a two-decade-old scandal. Wake up. He’s endangering national security. Don’t you get it? There’s no going back anymore. Just like Lang, he’s going to lose everything. It’s only a matter of time. Once I have enough evidence, he will resign.”

  Her eyes widened. “What kind of evidence are you looking for?”

  I shrugged. “Anything that definitely demonstrates he’s changed his votes or actions under the threat of blackmail. It could be as simple as the testimony of someone with insider knowledge.”

  Her face whitened, and it hit me. She knew. He told her everything. She’d been holding back. “Trinity, did he confess to you?”

  “Stop. I can’t talk about it.” She covered her face, shaking her head. “I’ll get him to come clean, so neither of us has to worry about someone holding it over our heads in the future. I can’t deal with the rest right now.”

  Stunned, I propped my elbow on the fireplace mantle, my head leaning against my hand. “You have to tell me what you know.”

  She pressed her open palm against my chest, her eyes wide and pleading. “Please, Knox, give me a couple of days to get Derrick to do the right thing before you make me turn on him.”

  “Fucking hell.” My hand pummeled the wall. The picture of Trinity and her sister clattered to the floor, tiny glass shards showering the slab marble hearth. “Why did you lie to me?”

  A tortured groan escaped her parted lips. “I didn’t lie. Not really. I just didn’t tell you.”

  Anger wrapped around me and my chest tightened. “An omission and a lie are the same fucking thing.”

  Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and a strangled sob tumbled from her lips. “I’m
sorry. I wanted to exhaust all our alternatives before I told you. I know it was wrong, maybe even a little delusional, but I thought I could find a loophole that would make everyone happy.”

  My teeth locked together. I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t look at her. I fucking loved this woman. I told her some of my darkest secrets. I invited her into my life, and she didn’t even trust me. I stalked to the front door without looking at her.

  “You have forty-eight hours.”

  She grabbed my hand, her eyes wild. “Don’t hate me. Don’t push me away.”

  I scoffed, bitter, cutting laughter flowing from my mouth. “You’re the one doing the pushing, not me, darling.” My voice was hard and mocking, but I couldn’t stop myself. Her lack of trust made me feel like she’d hollowed out my chest with a spoon.

  “Oh my God.” She tugged on the front of my shirt. “Please tell me I didn’t ruin us.”

  I threw my hands into the air. “Why do you care? You already told me you needed space. There is no us.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” She draped her arms around my shoulders, bringing her body flush against mine. It felt right to have her in my arms, which only pissed me off more. “This is killing me. You’re the only thing that’s kept me sane in the past month. I wish this would all go away, and I could concentrate on you because I’m falling so hard for you. You know that, right?” She tipped up her head, her dark gaze meeting mine. “But wishing and hoping won’t change reality. I need to work things out with Derrick and figure out a solution I can live with.”

  Tired of all the games, secrets, and lies, I pried her arms off my neck. “Like I said, you have forty-eight hours. That’s all I can give you. After that, you’re on your own. I can’t wait any longer. I have a job to do.”

  “Thank you. I’ll make it work.” She brushed her hand down the side of my face. “When this is behind us, do you think you can find it in your heart to give me a second chance?” I opened my mouth to respond, and she pressed a finger to my lips. “You don’t have to answer now. I just wanted to put it out there so you know how I feel. My decision to put space between us has nothing to do with how I feel about you.”

  Uncertainty billowed between us. She fisted her hands in my shirt, her chocolate eyes rife with confusion and insecurity. I’d never seen such depth in a pair of eyes. I wanted to pull her into my arms, but I didn’t. I stepped back, breaking her hold. As my hand curled around the door handle, a million sentiments swirled on the tip of my tongue, begging for freedom.

  I wanted to tell her I loved her.

  That I’d wait for her.

  That I needed her in my life.

  I didn’t say any of those things. Instead, the anger won out, and I drove a stake into both our hearts. “Don’t worry about us. You made the right choice. Just don’t do anything stupid. We still don’t know who’s behind the notes.” My words were subdued, sullen. I shook my head, hating myself for acting like a pussy and hating her for being able to walk away from me so easily.

  A weighted sigh escaped her lips. “Thanks for everything, Knox Black.”

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-ONE

  Trinity

  “Uncle Mac?” I smiled faintly, tilting my head to the side, and he frowned. “What are you doing here?”

  My uncle glanced over his shoulder and popped up the collar of his worn black leather jacket. He looked exactly as I remembered except he had a few more wrinkles around his eyes and his beard was more gray than strawberry blond these days.

  His eyes narrowed. “You look like shit.”

  I folded my arms across my chest. “Well, thanks. So do you.”

  He didn’t say anything my reflection hadn’t told me when I looked in the mirror this morning. My eyes were puffy from crying myself to sleep. I hadn’t bothered with makeup, and I’d barely run a brush through my hair, but he didn’t need to point it out. Not that his comment shocked me. He’d always been blunt and to the point.

  “That’s no way to talk to your uncle. I haven’t seen you in over three years. Why don’t you invite me inside?”

  I twisted my leather bracelet around my wrist, not answering him for a second. After Knox had left last night, I sent dozens of texts to Derrick, begging him to meet me today. After thirty minutes of back and forth messaging, I threatened to reveal our connection with or without his support. He finally responded this morning with a brisk text instructing me to come to his house at one o’clock sharp.

  “I was just about to leave. I have an appointment soon.”

  “This won’t take long. I need to tell you a few things about your mother.”

  My heart skipped inside my chest. “Hold on. Let me get my purse and we can grab a coffee.”

  “You’re wasting your money on that shit.”

  I rolled my eyes. “My coffee machine is broken.”

  The carafe had been one of the victims of the ransacking of my apartment. Instead of running out for coffee, I’d spent the morning composing and deleting texts to Knox. In the end, I turned off my phone without sending anything. What could I say? Nothing had changed since last night.

  “So tell me about Mom,” I said, as we walked down the front steps of my townhome.

  “First, I want you to tell me why you look like you spent last night crying.”

  I huffed. “I had a fight with some guy I’m seeing. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  He hooked one arm around my shoulder. He still smelled like leather and cigarette smoke. “You’ll figure it out, and if he’s stupid enough to walk away from you, then good riddance.” His eyes swept over my face. “You’re even more beautiful than your mother. Did I ever tell you that?”

  I chuckled weakly. “I don’t think you ever told me much of anything about my mom. You preferred to pretend like she didn’t exist,” I said, purposely changing the subject because I didn’t want to think about how my cowardice may have spoiled any chance I had with Knox. Just thinking about him, what I did, and what we could’ve had made me the kind of miserable that ate at my gut like I had swallowed a gallon of acid. When I woke up this morning, sadness wrapped around my body like a shroud. I couldn’t stop replaying the look on his face when I asked for space.

  “Yeah. You’re right.” His arm slipped from my shoulder and he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

  I yanked open the door to the coffee shop at the end of my block. The coffee they served tasted more burnt than anything else, but my caffeine-fueled withdrawal had resulted in a dull ache inside my head, so I couldn’t be picky. “How’s Faith?”

  He shrugged, his leather jacket creaking. “About the same. She doesn’t come around much, but you probably already know that.”

  I ordered a large black coffee and stuffed the change into the tip jar. “I don’t hear from her much either, except an occasional text about tuition.”

  “Yeah.” He nodded, his lips spreading into a thin line. “I didn’t think so. She was pretty pissed when you moved to D.C.”

  We settled into a booth at the back of the coffee shop. I stared at him over the rim of my paper cup. “Are you going to talk about my mom or did you change your mind?”

  He leaned forward, sliding his elbows over the table. “I should have told you this before you moved to D.C., but I didn’t want to worry you.” He blew out a breath. “The day your mom disappeared, she planned to meet up with someone who represented your biological father. She said he agreed to a financial settlement in exchange for her silence. She was over the moon.” He shook his head, his gaze drifting to the side. “She had all these plans for you and Faith. She wanted to buy a house and put down some roots instead of floating around.”

  I curled my hands around the edge of the table. “So what happened?”

  “I don’t know for sure.”

  I twisted the coffee cup sleeve. “What do you think happened?”

  He scrubbed his hand down the side of his beard. “I think Richard Benton had her killed.”


  My hand jerked and my coffee tipped over. Brown liquid spread across the table. My hands shaking, I tossed a stack of napkins on the table, blotting up the mess. “That doesn’t make any sense,” I whispered, my gaze fluttering from table to table looking for anyone eavesdropping on our conversation.

  “I don’t know for sure, but I got a letter a few days after she disappeared.” He shifted in his seat. “I can’t remember the exact wording, but it basically told me to shut up, or we’d all end up dead.”

  My heart skidded to a halt, and I shuddered. “Why didn’t you go to the police?”

  “Because I’m an ex-con, and the last thing I needed was the police sniffing around me. I’d come a long way since my ass landed in prison, but I hadn’t exactly kept my nose clean. They would’ve taken you and Faith away and stuck you in foster care.” He balled up the coffee drenched napkins. “I wasn’t the best role model, but your mom and I spent the last five years of our childhood in foster care. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

  I drew in a fractured breath as I nodded absently. I knew what he was talking about. My mom told me a few things about foster care. Most people would consider my uncle a below average guardian, but he didn’t abuse us. We had clothes. We had food. We had a roof over our head, but we didn’t have an outpouring of love or emotional support. He was essentially a roommate who paid the bills.

  “Are you sure the letter was about my mom and not some of the things you did in your past?”

  He scratched the side of his neck. “Yeah,” he admitted. “I won’t lie. There’s some ugly stuff in my past. Stuff that would make people nervous. Stuff that might be worth killing or threatening me over, but the people in my past don’t hide behind letters. They deliver their messages in person accompanied by a good ass-kicking.”

  A chill zipped down my spine. “Why now? Why didn’t you tell me years ago?”

  “Because people have been asking questions about you over the last six months.”

  My brows scrunched together. “Asking who?”