Page 110 of My Temptation

“Why did the director open that investigation? My dad always seemed to be revered at the Bureau,” I asked the most obvious question to me.

“The director and your mom were involved in a relationship. His argument for opening the case was that your mom planned to leave your father and take you with her. According to a conversation between the director and your mom, she’d planned on telling your dad the night she died. But they had that conversation in person, so the only two people who knew about her plans were the two of them. There was no record, so it didn’t hold any weight. They still opened the case and investigated but couldn’t find anything to substantiate what the director claimed.”

Disappointment flooded me. “So they closed the case?”

“They did. It was deemed an accident.”

I ran my hand over my forehead. “Do you believe it was an accident?”

“It doesn’t matter what I believe.”

“It does to me,” I answered honestly.

He glanced at Brody before frowning in my direction. “I’m not sure my opinion will help you move on, but since you need this, I’ll tell you.” He waited for me to nod before continuing. “Brody and I reviewed the case not long after you started. Because we don’t like surprises, we do a complete investigation into the history of our employees. We read over the reports and even spoke to that director who retired not long after your mother’s death, and he felt strong in his conviction that her death was not an accident. I believe him, but I can’t prove it. And neither could he.”

My heart sank when I realized there was nothing I could do. If these men couldn’t find the evidence to back it up, then there wasn’t any to be found.

“What happened to her wasn’t fair, but I’m sure she knew what she was about to do was dangerous. She was attempting to start over for both of you, and you have to appreciate her courage.”

“Especially going against a man like my father,” I concluded, and he jerked up his chin. Something had bothered me since meeting with my father, and I assumed now was the best time to ask. “Why is he leaving me alone?” I glanced back and forth between Brody and Jax. “I walked out of his office that day knowing I would hear from him sooner than later, but I haven’t. He’s been silent.”

A slow grin spread across Jax’s mouth. “I talked to Director Reed the day you shared that information with us. After discussing the case we just closed and what our help could mean, he agreed there would be no more offers for you to return to the FBI.”

“Why would he just agree to that?”

Brody leaned his hip against the desk. “Because he wanted this case solved badly enough, he would give us whatever we wanted. The FBI refused to open this case without more to go on, and we were willing to provide that with certain stipulations.”

Jax nodded and added, “I also explained that if your father harassed you in any way, Elite would make it their personal mission to dig out every skeleton in the FBI’s closet, and with Kyle on our team, they know that’s a very real promise. They also know Brody and me well enough to know we don’t make idle threats.”

“I don’t understand why you’d put yourselves in that position.”

“Two reasons. The first is we need your head in the game. You’re an asset to our team, but only if you remain focused. We think your father is a distraction.” I nodded because that made sense. I was distracted after I met with my father the last time, but I hadn’t thought it was noticeable. And maybe it wasn’t to the average person, but Jax and Brody were not average. “The second reason is that you’re family. Everyone who works for Elite is here because we value and respect them, but also because we consider them family. In our experience, we can only be successful if everyone on the team supports the others.”

Brody sat on the edge of the desk. “Our family means everything to us. The one we were born into and the ones we’ve created. No one…” He shook his head slowly. “And I mean no one, Mila, will cause pain to anyone in our family without retribution.” His stare was intense when he finished speaking. “And that includes your father.”

When tears threatened, I swallowed them back, not wanting to make Jax or Brody uncomfortable, but they had to know how much that meant to me. I’d felt alone for so long, but I wasn’t alone anymore. They proved that by their actions. They had no plans to tell me they threatened my father to leave me alone. They took care of it for me so I could start to rebuild my life the way I wanted it to be.

“I appreciate that,” I replied sincerely.

“We know.” Jax grinned.

“We’re good?” Brody asked, and I nodded before he continued. “If any new evidence comes up, we’ll follow that lead.”

“Okay.”

Brody studied me for a minute and ran his hand over the back of his neck. “I need to ask you a personal question.”

I glanced at Jax, but he put his hands up and settled into his seat, telling me this was Brody’s question, so I focused on him. “Okay.”

“You need to understand I don’t get involved in this shit, but I have a feeling that some comments I made may be at the root of this.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s going on with you and Ethan?”

My eyes widened because that was the last question I’d expected Brody to ask. I shook my head and told him the truth, as of now, anyway. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

Brody ran his hand over the back of his neck. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

“I don’t understand,” I admitted.

Jax chuckled. “Brody’s trying to find the words to tell you he screwed up.”

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