Page 57 of A Secret and a Lie
As I stare at my email’s inbox, my eye snags on the notification that’s been markedreadat the bottom. Clicking on the email, I scan the contents for likely the thirtieth time.
I shouldn’t have taken Ford’s money, and it’s the first time I’ve felt this way. I’ve never had an issue being paid for my services, but taking his money when it wasn’t a job for me…it’s wrong.
I close out of my email as the dinging of the elevator in the corridor filters inside my office on a tendril of sound, interrupting the voice of the newscaster discussing the conflict in Kazakhstan in a low volume on the television. I smile, huffing in amusement as I glance at the clock, expecting Corinne, late as always. But when she doesn’t flounce into my office with a flurry of apologizes for being tardy, myheart punches my ribcage, the hair on the back of my neck prickling as a haunting, unnerving silence fills the floor of my office instead.
The quiet seems to pulse, taking on a life of its own as alarm bells toll in my mind, my skin erupting with goosebumps. The serene calmness washes over the room, cleansing the space with its tide before the storm moves in.
A small horde of men in black tactical uniforms, their heavy artillery drawn, storm into the room, wearing bulletproof vests like this is some kind of combat zone. The words across their vests read SWAT, but the half a dozen officers who bring up the rear are in street clothes with FBI gear.
I don’t move; I don’t even breathe as I take in the ocean eyes that belong to the man at the back of the group. The officers part, and he glides to the center of the room, and everything except for him becomes a tunnel of muted colors and fuzzy sounds. It’s as though I’ve finally been dragged beneath his sea, glimpsing what’s hiding below the surface for the first time.
His gaze is cold and steely, his features firmly set. I hardly recognize the man staring back at me. I swallow down the disbelief. It’s nearly impossible to claim he’s the same person I knelt for, the one that shifted something within me.
Trapped in a bubble of our own making, we’re sucked into a vortex of power, secrets, and lies. The farther we slip down that chute, the faster we pick up speed until there’s no one and nothing but the two of us.
Someone grabs my arm a little too aggressively, and his face morphs into one of fury, effectively popping the bubble with a serrated blade.
“Don’t touch her,” Ford bites out, and the man’s hand falls away. The room is crawling with federal agents, all looking to him for instruction.
Not a lone wolf then, the leader of this governmental pack…
Ford holds my gaze for a moment longer before stalking toward me, a gold badge glinting on his hip as he rounds my desk,and I wish to God that my nipples didn’t tighten at his proximity—especially now.
He stares down at me, his eyes cool like glacial water, as he declares, “Genevieve Watts, you’re under arrest for criminal solicitation and extortion. Stand up and put your hands behind your back.”
I blink. I knew this line of work would come for me one day. I’ve been living on borrowed time for more than a decade, and I have a contingency plan. It’s why I have my journal of coded secrets, confidences that I’ve memorized. The belly of this beast is hideous, but I’ll survive.
Why did it have to behim?
On semi-steady feet, I stand and give Ford my back, placing my arms behind me. I close my eyes as the cuffs are fastened around my wrists, the metal biting into my skin like the razor-sharp teeth of an alligator.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney…” I tune out the rest of what Ford is telling me. I know my rights.
The metal cuffs pinch the tender, delicate skin of my wrists as he guides me from the room, with one beautiful, veiny hand curled around my left tricep. As soon as we step into the reception area, the elevator dings and Corinne emerges.
She gasps as she takes in the scene, nearly dropping the bag that carries the lunch that Brett packs for her every day, her palm moving to cover her mouth. Her ample chest rises and falls rapidly as she silently fumes. It’s been a long time since I saw Corinne this angry.
“Gen,” she whispers, and I shake my head.
When she steps aside, my gaze locks with her blazing chocolatey irises as Ford steers me into the elevator. I want to apologize for putting her through this experience, but I say nothing. Instead, I silently communicate that she should activate our emergencyplan, which starts with contacting my lawyer. She blinks, nodding ever-so-subtly, and I know she’s on it.
There’s only one thing on my mind as my lips remain sealed tighter than my vault at home as I’m led from my building.
Thisis why I don’t submit.
Genevieve
The red light on the camera in the top left-hand corner of the concrete room blinks every three seconds. I know, because I’ve studied it…for hours.
Blink. One, two, three.Blink.One, two, three.Blink.
Everything in the room is made of metal or concrete, and I shiver for the millionth time, my bare thighs stuck to the chair that’s screwed to the floor. The cuffs still slice into my skin like razor wire from where they’re fastened to the table.
My feet ache in my stilettos, but I don’t bother kicking them off. Who knows when I’ll have the privilege of wearing them again.Probably at my court hearing.
I cough, though my mouth and throat are dry, and I shift to try to alleviate the pressure on my bladder. It doesn’t work.
Finally, the solid steel door creaks open on its industrial hinges, and Ford enters alone. His eyes snag on the one-way glass behind me as mine catch on the familiar blood-red journal in his hand, along with a folder.
