Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)(15)

“Yeah.” I tugged on the sleeves of my shirt. “So what do you think he’s up to?”

He scrubbed his hand down the side of his face. “He asked if business was good. He mentioned he heard you took a trip to Moscow last month. Then he babbled about Trinity Jones for a few minutes.”

“That son of a bitch. Of course, he knew about Moscow.” I went to Moscow to get information about Dima Antonov, the person I suspected of hiring Miles to orchestrate the whole blackmail scheme. Antonov was a Russian businessman involved in a lot of nefarious shit.

Unfortunately, my trip wasn’t successful. All of the people I interrogated were careful not to give up anything. I could’ve used more forceful techniques—ones that violated the United Nations Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions—but I didn’t want to risk being detained by Russian authorities if Antonov got wind of my presence. He had enough government authorities in his pocket to make my life uncomfortable.

He nodded. “Yeah, and that means he knows you didn’t get squat while you were there.”

“What did he say about Trinity?”

His gaze collided with mine and his lips curled up at the corners. “Nothing special. He casually mentioned they were more than business associates. Then he laughed about your run-in with her at Lang’s house. He apologized for attempting to poach our work but said business was business and not to have any hard feelings.”

“And what’d you say?”

“I told him we got what we needed, but he should stay the hell away from us, and do his own dirty work.”

I nodded. “Good.”

“That’s where things went south. He said he’d do whatever it took to take us down.” He cocked his head to the side. “Well, you in particular. Apparently, I’ll be collateral damage if I continue to associate with you.”

I balled my hands into fists. “Yeah, well, I feel the same way about him. I won’t be happy until I find a way to put him behind bars for the foreseeable future.”

He tipped up the bottle of beer, emptying the last half in one swallow. I shook my head. Jack rarely drank like that. “I know,” he finally said. “Just be careful. I think he’s getting desperate.”

“We’ve talked about this. It means we’re getting close.”

“Possibly.” He wiped a hand over his mouth. “He also told me to tell you to stay the hell away from Trinity.”

“That’s too bad because I have plans for her.”

“Dammit, Knox,” he muttered under his breath. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

My grin widened. “Don’t worry about it. Just keep reviewing the documents from Lang’s computer and I’ll take care of the rest.”

He shook his head. “Miles is going to freak. Remember what happened with his ex-wife.”

I raised my hands in mock surrender. “That was a mistake. I didn’t have a clue who she was, and nothing happened. She’s crazy. She sought me out because of Miles’s never-ending need to compete with me.”

Jack pursed his lips. “I know, but Miles probably doesn’t see it that way.”

“Miles is a jackass.”

He burst out laughing. “I’ve never heard truer words.”





CHAPTER EIGHT




Trinity



For twenty-four hours, I avoided everyone.

Miles.

Faith.

Leslie.

Knox.

I locked myself in my townhome and refused to answer my phone. I didn’t have a choice. After Knox left, my mind wouldn’t stop spinning in circles, and for the first time in over six months, I knew I needed to talk to Speaker Derrick Benton, my half-brother. We didn’t talk much any longer. Recently, he hadn’t made much effort to stay in contact. It wasn’t unexpected. We didn’t grow up together. In fact, I didn’t even know he existed until right before I turned twenty-one.

He sent me letter after letter. When I didn’t respond, he showed up at my uncle’s house. Basically, he’d been nominated for Speaker of the House, and he didn’t want me to reveal our connection. I nearly laughed in his face. Before he made contact with me, I didn’t even know anything other than my dad’s first name, Richard, and I didn’t have any interest in seeking out a man who didn’t want to be part of my life.

In short, I promised to keep our parentage a secret, and in exchange, Derrick helped me out financially on occasion. At his insistence, I relocated to D.C. He found my townhome and paid the security deposit. He gave me enough money for a down payment on a car three years ago. Simply put, he handed me the rare opportunity to reinvent myself without the demons of my past nipping at my heels. For that alone, I owed him even if he decided he didn’t want to be a part of my life anymore.

When I started dating Miles, I occasionally ran into him at political events, but we never acknowledged each other in public. It was better that way. He didn’t want to call attention to our dad’s infidelities, and I didn’t want to call attention to myself.

I had to call three consecutive times before he answered.

“Hello.” His voice was stiff and icy.

“It’s Trinity,” I blurted out, my voice shaky.

“I know. Hold on one second.” I heard a puff of air as his hand or something else muffled the speaker of the phone.