Page 30 of A Secret and a Lie
“It was nice to see you again, Ford,” I interrupt coolly as I maneuver myself free of the confines of my position, grateful for the newfound breathing room.
He steps smoothly back in front of me, his hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you next week.” After a beat, his head cocks to the side, and he presses,“Right?”
I purse my lips. “You’ll see Sloane, but yes, I’ll be there as well.”
Something dark flashes in his gaze, but before he can say anything else, I give him a simple nod, abandoning the notion of using the restroom. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find my date.”
Ford
“That her?” Drake asks, emerging from the shadows as I watch Genevieve slip through my fingers like beautiful, fine grains of sand—again.
She’s so fucking hot. No, that’s not right. She’s seductive, yet elegant. Tempting, yet classy. Sultry, yet refined. Beguiling, yet sophisticated. The woman oozes sumptuous sex appeal while having also mastered an erudite aura.
The ultimate enigma, Genevieve is so profoundly mysterious that all I want to do is peel back her layers. I’ve only been this ensnared once before in my life, but the years since have been devoid of this feeling.
I’m a thinker, an analyzer, a logical person. I don’t act on impulse—unless forced to. I take my time and study things, considering my options from every angle. But here I am, attempting to break free of the shackles Genevieve has managed to secure me with.
Turning toward him, I scrub a hand over my face. “How much of that did you see?”
He smirks. “Most of it.”
I raise an eyebrow, and he chuckles.
“All of it. For what it’s worth, she’s really fucking stunning. But a woman like that is nothing but trouble. She’ll chew your ass up for breakfast and spit you out before lunch.”
My blood burns as I invade his space, getting in his face. “Never say that shit about her again. Do you hear me? She’s not like that.”
I’ve never once gone off on Drake, not in the twenty years I’ve known him, not once. We’ve had each other’s backs on countless missions. I even took a bullet to the thigh for him once, and he has the scar of a stab wound in his shoulder that was meant for me.
Based on my overreaction to his statement, it’s safe to say that I’m already in over my head.What the hell is happening to me?
His eyes expand a fraction, and he nods once. “Never again,” he assures me. I step back, rubbing the nape of my neck as guilt edges in.
He lowers his voice again before commenting, “You really like her.”
When I don’t respond, he sighs, shaking his head. “They’re gunning for her, man. What the fuck are you going to do?”
After my appointment on the twelfth floor, I went home to find Drake waiting for me, which was an issue, considering the hard-on I acquired from imagining whipping Genevieve instead of Sloane. Both fortunately and unfortunately, my erection disappeared the moment he said,“Samuel Choi is a client of Madam Allison’s establishment. I found his wife’s diary on my walkthrough of the crime scene, and it took me a few days to get through. Vera was selling State secrets. Her husband knew about it. I’d bet the retainer fee you paid that Samuel Choi’s secret was the same secret that got her killed.”
That’s the problem with secrets; the only way to keep them is to bury them in a pine box.
Looking at my friend now, I answer honestly, “My job.”
Turning on my heel, I stalk toward the exit. In a stroke of magnificent unluckiness, I arrive at the doors just behind Julien and his date. The same date who should be on my arm instead. Why did I not think to ask her to this dinner?
Standing behind the couple, I get a front-row seat to her tossing her head back at something he says, boisterous laughter exploding from her like a spontaneous volcanic eruption, her ensuing giggles trickling like lava. It’s real laughter, too, the same kind that gives youa fluttery, satisfied feeling when you bring someone unbridled joy like that.
Reason number five hundred and ten why I’m jealous of Julien Winston.
Instead of crashing their moment like an asshole, which I’m tempted to do, I watch them, stuffing my hands into my pockets instead.
“Think they’re really together?” Drake asks under his breath, stepping next to me.
“Doubt it.” But the truth is that I hope not. Genevieve is difficult to read, and even harder to get to know, both on a personal and professional level. She keeps everyone at arm’s length, which is likely how she’s managed to stay out of jail and build an illicit empire.
They leave a moment later, the two of them gliding away like graceful swans. Then, a hand clamps around my shoulder, and I spin to find Richard Aubrey, the director of the FBI, as well as my direct superior and handler, Theo Jackson.
“I wanted to meet the man who will be responsible for taking down the largest sex ring in recent memory,” Aubrey states, offering me his hand, which I take, shaking it firmly.
