Page 28 of Trial of Deceit

“You’re getting too close to this, Ash…” Romar said.

She leaned off his shoulder and looked at him.“I’m not making it personal if that’s what you’re trying to say.It’s just business, right?”

“Not all of it…” he answered, and her brows furrowed.

“What do you mean?”she asked, and Romar quieted.

Then, he leaned in and kissed her.

Ashari’s eyes widened.She forgot how to function as her brother pressed his lips harder against hers.When he moaned, Ashari shivered and jolted back to reality.She pushed him away and slapped him across the face.“Are you crazy?!”She yanked herself away and moved to stand at the other end of the room.Her heart raced while she harshly rubbed at her lips.

Romar stood.“You have Lyssa eating your pussy every day.Why can’t I get a chance, too?”

Ashari stopped rubbing her lips.She swallowed the bile that forced its way up her throat.“Are you sick in your head?!You’re my brother!”she exclaimed.Romar didn’t react, and Ashari laughed before holding her head.“Oh, this isn’t real!The drugs haven’t worn off yet, and I’m going crazy ’cause of Jediah—”

“I’m not your biological brother, Ashari.”

Ashari froze.Her laughter faded while her hands fell to her side.Her brows furrowed as she noticed the regret rush to Romar’s face.No hallucination could fake such raw emotion.“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, Ash.Sorry.Forget what I said and pretend this didn’t happen.I shouldn’t have.”

“Romar!”she ran after him as he rushed toward the wall.She pleaded for him to stay, but Romar shrugged her off, slipped through the wall, and closed it.

Ashari felt the onslaught of a headache.She pushed past the disgust she initially felt to let confusion settle in its place.

She went to her room, got her phone, and demanded a meeting with Senior.She wasn’t sure if Jediah had eyes on her, so she used the fake wall, then slipped through the back door of that apartment.The wall was built into the apartment weeks before she officially began her first high profile case.She kept her head low until she was miles away from St.Ann, parked near a port in Kingston, and was sitting across from the man whom she knew as father.

“You do not summon me as if I am a low ranking official with too much time on my hands,” he said.“I am busy trying to get a hold of Jaia and overseeing other cases—”

Ashari glared at Senior.“None of them are high ranking like this one, so spare me the excuses.”

Senior’s brows shot up.“Ashari Payne—”

“Is that even my name?”she challenged, and his brows lowered while his lips tugged into a straight line.“You’re not fair, Senior!You said I was ready, and you sent me into this case blindsided!You said Jediah couldn’t find anything beyond the fake life you created, yet he knows everything about me.Tell me how that works!”she barked, and he opened his mouth, but she didn’t stop speaking.“And to make matters worse, I watched that mad man kill the only friend I made on this case, and Romar kissed me ’cause he said we’re not related!So, unless you’re going to fix your lips to give another long monologue about who I am, I don’t want to hear it!”She was huffing by the end, but Senior was unmoved.Ashari shook her head as she looked away from him.She crossed her arms and stared through the window, unsure why she’d expected anything different from him.

Senior had never been the type to yield.Even when people forced his hand.

But he surprised her.

Because he started saying words that had Ashari sitting upright.Her mouth and arms loosened as she stared at him through wide, tear-filled eyes.She clung onto every word as he approached the bitter ending.

“They were my good friends before we joined the F.B.I.I was doing them a favor even though your moth… my wife, rest her soul, and I did not plan to have any more kids after Romar,” Senior said.

Ashari gaped like a dying fish.Words were eager to escape the confines of her mind, but shock rendered her mouth closed.

Senior laid a hand atop her shoulder.“Understand why I did it, Ashari.I did not lie.Youareready, but you cannot let emotions cloud your judgment on such a high profile case.”

An hour later, Ashari entered her apartment through the front door.She was surprised to see a man waiting on her sofa.

Cameron Reeves.

Ashari moved her hand to her side.

Cameron stood while shaking his head.“Wouldn’ do that if me a you,” Cameron warned.“Mi don’ wan’ hurt yu, so easy yuself.Jed wan’ see yu.”

“W-why?”she asked, her eyes darting around the room for a means of escape.The trap door was too far, and Cameron would grab her before she could run through the front door.

Cameron shrugged.“Mi don’ question him.Yu wan’ waa sweetie fi come?”He grabbed a lollipop out of the bowl atop the table, then stretched it toward her.

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