Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)(12)

“I know. I’m going to start looking for something else soon. I’ve put out some feelers. It won’t be long now.” The truth was, I hadn’t done a damn thing. The fear of Miles finding out I was looking for a new job paralyzed me.

In a matter of days, I probably wouldn’t have an alternative. Normally, Miles approached our missions with a cool efficiency that I admired, but today he was crazed. I walked out of his office, mid-tantrum, and sent every one of his calls to voicemail since then. Something about the information on Representative Lang’s personal computer had him on edge. In fact, Miles had been acting weird for months. Every time I pushed for answers, he deflected all of my questions.

“Good.” She patted me on the arm. “I’d hate for you to waste any more time on that *.”

Smiling faintly, I tapped the side of my glass. “So I found some new information about my mom.”

Her eyes widened. “What? How?”

I shifted in my seat. “I came across her name on a file while I was doing some research for Miles. I didn’t get the chance to read it, but who knows?” I shrugged. “This might be the break I’ve been looking for.”

“What are you going to do?”

I chuckled. “Try to get my hands on that file again and make a copy.”

“Is it at Miles’s office?”

I chewed on the inside of my lower lip. “Not exactly.”

She studied me curiously, her lips stretched into a pinched line. “Do I even want to ask?”

“No. Please don’t.”

She shook her head, and her short hair danced around her face like a puff of cotton. “You haven’t told me much about what you do for Miles, but I put together enough bits and pieces of information to know it’s not exactly risk-free.” She sighed. “Be careful, okay? Don’t put yourself in any more danger to dig up dirt on your mom. Some things are better left in the past. Maybe your mom falls into that category. If she wanted to be part of your life, she would’ve made it happen, or at least contacted you.”

I couldn’t respond because, at this point, I refused to stop looking. I needed to know what happened to my mother. After spending the first years of my life drifting from place to place, my mom settled down in a small town. It didn’t last long. She ended up pregnant with Faith, and we moved in with my uncle.

Not too long after Faith was born, my mom didn’t come home from work one night. I spent an entire week glued to our front window crying and waiting for her to return until one day my uncle couldn’t take it anymore. He told me she’d never come back. He was right. I never heard a word from her again, and my uncle refused to talk about her. Every lead I had on her was a dead end…until now. Knox Black held the key. I was certain of it.

Impatiently, I bounced my leg up and down. “We’ll see. I haven’t decided what, if anything, I’m going to do with the information,” I finally answered.

Staring over at me, she wiped the counter with a damp towel, silently absorbing my words. “Okay. Just think before you jump.”

“Hey, Les,” a guy I vaguely recognized shouted from the end of the bar. “Can I get a refill?” He raised his empty glass, waving it back and forth.

“I’m on it,” she said before turning her attention back to me. “Are you stickin’ around for a while? I’m off in an hour if you want to grab something to eat.”

Twirling a paper coaster in circles, I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I’m dead on my feet.”

She lifted the bottle of caramel-colored whiskey and leaned over the bar. I slapped my hand over the top of my glass. “I’ll have vodka on the rocks this time.”

Relief washed over her face, and she smirked. “About f*cking time, Trinity. I was wondering when you’d start being yourself again instead embracing the persona Miles created.” She squeezed my hand. “Don’t let anyone make you feel less than you are. You’ve lived through some crappy stuff, but you made it through without becoming a hard person. You should wear your life experiences as a badge of honor instead of a black mark.”

I crossed then uncrossed my legs, letting her words sink in. “I know. I got lost for a while, but I’m my own person. I won’t get wrapped up in anyone else ever again.” I couldn’t. I had to stay focused so I could help Faith. Even if I worked things out with Miles, it’d be different this time. I wouldn’t lose my identity. I wouldn’t blindly follow him or believe him. I’d keep my eyes open.

Genuine relief washed over her face, and she knocked her knuckles against the counter two times. “Let’s hope so.”





CHAPTER SEVEN




Knox



From the living room of Trinity Jones’s townhome, I heard keys jingle outside the door. The deadbolt clicked and the heavy paneled door pushed open.

About freaking time.

“Jesus, Knox.” Trinity froze mid-step with her hand over her heart. “What are you doing here?”

Leaning back in the chair, I propped my arms behind my head. “Returning the favor of an uninvited visit.”

As she hung her purse on a hook adjacent to the front door, her gaze flitted around the room. I’d spent the last hour rifling through her kitchen cabinets, the makeshift desk pushed against the living room wall and her bedroom. For someone in her mid-twenties, she hadn’t accumulated much stuff. Needless to say, I didn’t find anything of interest in her home. Either she lived a tediously boring life, or she routinely discarded every last piece of personal information. My instincts told me Trinity had something to hide. But didn’t we all?