Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)(13)
She placed a small brown paper bag on the rectangular, glass entry table and leaned her shoulder against the wall. “I see that. I’m sorry you wasted your time.”
“So, tell me.” I propped my leather-soled boots onto the metal coffee table resembling a steel drum. A loud thud boomed throughout the room. “Did you tell your boyfriend I already passed along the thumb drives?”
“I did.” She licked her lower lip and glanced to the side, a tan colored cat slipping between her legs, then scurrying down the hallway. That cat had been driving me crazy for the past hour, hissing at me and stalking me from room to room. “And stop referring to him as my boyfriend,” she added. “He’s a business associate. That’s it.”
I chuckled. “I bet he blew up when you told him the thumb drives were gone.”
She pushed away from the wall and took a few steps toward me. The thick cream rug swallowed up the clattering noise of her heels. “Nobody likes to fail. Miles isn’t any different.”
“True, but I’m sure it’s worse when his ass is on the line.” I tapped my finger against my lips. “Tell me. Did he pout or throw a tantrum?”
Her eyes narrowed fractionally, and she folded her arms across her torso. “Why do you care?”
Placing my feet back on the floor, I leaned forward, planting my hands on the tops of my knees. “Jones, tell me what you know about the content of those thumb drives.”
She shrugged, but I didn’t miss the anger flash across her face before she could suppress it. “I don’t know anything. It’s not my job to know.”
I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth twice. “And that’s where you’re going to get yourself into trouble.”
Deep lines marred the smooth skin above the bridge of her nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I stood and circled the coffee table once before I addressed her question. “You should never agree to a job unless you know every person involved and their motives.”
“Miles screens the clients. He makes sure we don’t jump into anything…” She paused for a flash of a second as though she couldn’t find the right word. “Unsavory.”
I barked out a laugh. “Everything about Miles is unsavory.”
“You’re entitled to your opinion.” She flicked her hand dismissively, her red iridescent fingernails catching the light. “But I know for a fact Miles makes sure we stay on the right side of the law.”
I pressed my lips together. “There are so many things wrong about that statement, I don’t know where to start.”
“Go ahead,” she said wearily. “I know you’re dying to tell me exactly what you think.” When I didn’t respond, she rolled her eyes. “I don’t have all night. Either finish your lecture or let me go to sleep. I’m ready for this day to end.”
“Let me make this simple.” I blew out a breath, trying to release some of the frustration boxed inside my chest. Miles had thwarted my moves for months now. I was damn sick of it. “Do you trust Miles to make the right decision every single time? Because that’s what you’re saying when you follow him blindly.”
Cringing, she ducked her head as she chewed on her lower lip. She looked so defeated. I closed the space between us and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at me when she answered. Instead, she blinked her eyes what seemed like a hundred times, then closed them as if she were pained.
My gut knotted with concern. What this woman did or didn’t do shouldn’t matter to me. Life wasn’t a picnic. People needed to look out for their interests because, at the end of the day, there were very few people who cared if you sink or swim. For some reason, I cared what happened to Trinity Jones. Twisted as it was, I couldn’t stop thinking about her from the moment she strutted into Lang’s study with her gun pointed at me. I was self-aware enough to realize I was interested in her on more than a professional level. Too bad—warm, fuzzy feelings chock full of sentiment didn’t have a place in my life.
I came here tonight for one reason. I hadn’t found enough information on the thumb drives from Lang’s computer to force him to resign, but I had a feeling Miles had all the information I needed. If I convinced Trinity to flip sides without alerting Miles, I could wrap up this case. I’d been chasing dead ends from Moscow to D.C. and everywhere in between for over six months. Jack hadn’t wanted me to take this mission, and I refused to stop now that I was so close. It slowly evolved from a paycheck into an obsession.
If I had to use the attraction simmering between Trinity and me to succeed, I’d do it. But I had to be smart about it for a couple of reasons. Most importantly, I needed to find out how much she actually knew about this case and whether she had a vested interest in the outcome, other than her job.
Second, Trinity wasn’t like any woman I knew. Generally, I lumped the women in my life into two categories—women who wanted a no-strings f*ck and women who wanted marriage. I sought out the former and avoided the latter like the plague. Trinity didn’t fit neatly into either category and that alone gave me pause about my course of action.
She swallowed, and her throat bobbed up and down. I could tell she was lost somewhere in her memories. “No,” she admitted, her chocolate colored eyes popping open. “I don’t trust him. Not completely.”