Page 46 of The Jade Stone Sleuth

He nodded.

“That’s a lot of money.”

“It is. But it’s not about the money.” His dark eyes seared into her. “Before I met you, the money and status were what I lived for. Like I told you, I’d become a hollow shell of myself. I thought the million dollars could make me happy, clear my debts, give me a chance to soar in the social scene.” He shook his head. “But I’m not here for the money anymore.”

“Then why are you here?” She licked her lips, uncertain if she could trust his answer. For months she’d been falling in love with him under false pretenses. He’d only been dating her as a cover. The pain and betrayal of that hit her like a hammer.

“I’m here for you, Clara. I want to protect you, stay by your side, love you.”

Now he brought up love? Trust and love went hand in hand. He hadn’t trusted her. In fact, he had lied to her. Their entire relationship was built on falsehoods. Her stomach twisted and her neck tightened.

“Brex. All of this …” She gestured between them. “You got close to me, dated me, k-kissed me, because I was your assignment and you were supposed to prove I was the murderer?”

His eyes were wary, but he nodded. “Originally, yes.”

Clara’s world dropped out from under her. She backed away from him. “Do I even know the real you?”

“Yes.” He didn’t move toward her, but his dark gaze begged her to trust him. “I’m still coming to know myself, honestly, but you saw the real me, saw through my pretenses. I’m still the same man you claimed to love.”

How could he say she only ‘claimed’ to love him? That wasn’t fair or true. She was confused and upset, sick to her stomach and betrayed, but she still loved him.

“I was conflicted and hated that I was playing a role,” Brex continued, “but I fell for you, Clara. I was lifted by your light and your goodness, your sincerity. Amazed by you and completely gone over you.” He paused, waiting for that to sink in. She wanted to love the words but didn’t know if she could trust anything he said now. When she didn’t respond, he said, “I’m so sorry that I had to keep all of this from you.”

“You had to?”

He looked miserable. “It’s the nature of my job, undercover work. If I told the suspect why I was interacting with them, it wouldn’t play out very well.”

And she was the suspect.

“Isthisplaying out very well?” She gestured between them.

He drew in a breath. His shoulders lifted, and he shook his head. “No.”

“What did you expect? What do you want me to say?” Her chest hurt, and she was having a hard time catching her breath.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I hoped you could forgive me and love me still, but I wouldn’t blame you if you want to scream at me and throw rocks at my head.”

She was somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. She backed up and turned away from him.

He followed her.

“Please don’t.” She held up a hand, not looking at him. “Give me some space so I can pray and figure out how to deal with … you.”

“Okay.”

He backed away, and she closed her eyes. She didn’t even know what to pray for. She’d been lied to, deceived. Brex claimed to have fallen for her, but it was all a pretense. He’d pretended to be her boyfriend for his job. Thinking back, she remembered the times he’d seemed conflicted or said he shouldn’t kiss her. He’d been struggling with his conscience.

No matter how conflicted he was, he’d played her, hadn’t trusted her, had lied to her and taken advantage of her for a job.

A wisp of sound came, and then a rumble. Was that an earthquake? She spun, looking around. Then she spotted the massive boulder launching off the cliff and on target to smash Brex’s head open.

“Brex!”

He dove forward, seeming to fly toward her. Wrapping her up tight, he rolled and skidded on the sand-covered trail. She was protected by his arms and larger body. The boulder crashed to the ground and shot dust and small particles at them.

Brex looked to where the boulder had fallen, and his jaw tightened. She glanced over. A jade-colored stone sparkled in the dust next to the massive rock.

He lifted her off of him and murmured, “Stay here, Clara.”

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