Page 284 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

“What do you want to know?”

“Who is that woman?”

Shelby turned away, and I knew at that moment that whoever she was protecting meant more to her than me, any future we might have, and even her own life. There was no convincing her no matter how hard I tried. Doing the only thing I could, I said the last two words she would likely hear from me again.

“Goodbye, Shelby.”

With those words, I then turned and walked to the door. I had my hand on the knob when I heard her clear her throat.

“Carley. The woman you saw in those photos is my cousin.”

Relief filled me, especially because she had finally told me the truth. I turned back around and she was now sobbing into her open hands. I wanted to go to her, so I did. As I hauled her into my arms and pressed my chin to the top of her head, I inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo. I also held her as she sobbed, her body heaving heavily with each one. We stood there for several minutes before she pushed me away.

“If she’s your cousin, why does she look just like you?” I asked her as something struck me, and something I knew would need to be explained.

“We’re quaternary twins. My parents each had an identical twin. In fact, her mother and mine were sisters, and our fathers were brothers as well. They met decades ago at a twins camp, and Carley and I were born very close together. We’re basically cousins who look identical to one another.”

I heaved a sigh. This entire case had been one discovery after another, and knowing I would need to try to explain this to my boss, I released her from my hold, then pulled out my cell phone. Once I had a link to an article on them, I pulled up my contacts. Soon, I had the cell phone to my ear as I waited for Bob to pick up.

“Warden, I have a name for you,” I told him.

“This better be good. What do you have for me, Bradford?”

“Gemini is not Shelby Prescott, but actually Carley Prescott. They’re identical cousins. I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m sending you something...”

I then attached the article to a text message and sent it, then waited for him to read it. I also tried my best to explain what it was, although I likely got some facts wrong. He did pull up Carley in the California database, and I heard his disbelief through the line.

“Damn, if this is right, she’s been in the system the entire time and will go away for even longer.”

“She was. I think we need to go ahead and catch her in the act. The sting you were talking about, let’s move forward–”

“No,” Shelby cried out before rushing over to me. “I won’t go along with this.”

“Who’s that?” Bob demanded to know.

“It’s Shelby.”

“She’s not entirely in the clear yet. Does she know that?”

I growled low at his words. “Yes, she does.”

“I do what?” Shelby demanded to know, and when my boss went to speak again, I cleared my throat.

“Hold on. Let me talk to her for a minute.” Not waiting to hear his response, I set the cell phone down, then pulled Shelby away from it before continuing. “You’re still on the DEA’s radar, and without evidence exonerating you and implicating Carley, you’re still a suspect.”

“I understand that,” she told me, but I wondered whether she really did or not.

“We have to catch your cousin red-handed so you can be cleared. A sting is the best–”

She grabbed my arm with both hands. “I can’t trick Carley by setting her up. She’s been trying to turn her life around, and if I–”

“She’s been selling potent drugs to kids, then letting them die, Shelby. You can’t seriously think she has turned over a new leaf.”

“But I do. She came here for a new start. Yes, you likely have evidence in California, but everything here in Denver has been circumstantial at best. You want me to take the word of a man I barely know over the woman I’ve known my entire life. A woman who has my face, and finally my drive and ambition. I can’t do it. I won’t purposely set her up to fall.”

She released me from her grip at that point, and I narrowed my eyes at her. Shelby wanted to see the good in her cousin, but anything she saw was nothing more than a ruse. Carley wanted Shelby to think she had changed, when the truth was that her cousin simply came here to hide out until the heat in California died down. Only it wouldn’t. The longer Gemini was out on the streets, the more people would die.

I had no idea how to make my submissive understand that. She was currently pacing back and forth in front of me, and the pain on her face was indescribable. Forgetting my lot in life, I was now thinking purely as a Dominant wanting nothing more than to draw her back into my arms and kiss the sorrow off of her beautiful face. I’d then make her forget everything, including her own name, as I shed each layer of hurt and betrayal from her.

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