Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)(18)

“Can you talk?” I asked.

“One second. Let me step outside.” When the music and voices faded, he continued. “What’s going on?”

I squeezed the steering wheel with one hand until my knuckles whitened. “I’m not sure, but Benton just showed up at Trinity Jones’s house.”

“What the f*ck? What’s going on?”

I shook my head. “I don’t have a clue. Either Miles is using Trinity to communicate with Benton or Trinity is working with Benton.”

“Or she’s having an affair with Benton.”

“I don’t know. Benton and his wife seem pretty solid. Other than the blackmail scandal brewing around him for the past year, he’s kept his nose clean.”

“This is ridiculous, Knox. Do you hear yourself? We both know Benton is up to his eyeballs in shit. He refused to bring up another bill for vote in the House just this week. Getting involved with this woman who may or may not be backstabbing Miles or f*cking Benton on the side is a bad idea for so many reasons. There are other ways to unravel this mess. We don’t need her.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” I rubbed my temples, my gaze glued to Trinity’s home. I didn’t know what I thought I’d see.

“Not maybe. I am right. This girl is trouble. First, she’s connected to Miles, and that’s reason enough to stay away from her, but now she’s f*cking Benton and—”

“We don’t know that,” I snapped, interrupting him. “They could be friends or she could be working with him.”

He exhaled. “A man only drops by a single woman’s house at ten-thirty at night for one reason and it’s not to paint each other’s fingernails or share stories about their day at work.”

I glanced at the yellow light glowing like a beacon from a large picture window at the front of her townhome. The possibility of catching a glimpse of her tonight made me decline Jack’s invitation to go out for a drink. What had this woman done with my balls?

“I’m not stupid. I realize that,” I muttered as the shiny red door of her townhome opened. Shadows shrank as the interior light spilled onto her front steps.

Benton stepped over the threshold. Her head moved up and down, and he leaned in, whispering something in her ear. Almost immediately, he engulfed her in a one-armed hug, which didn’t offer any insight into the nature of their relationship.

“He’s leaving,” I said.

“Are you going to follow him?”

“No.”

“There’s still time to meet me for a drink.”

I tapped my fingers on my thigh, staring at Trinity’s townhouse. “Where are you? I could use a drink.”

“I’m at Mercy.”

Trinity closed the curtains of her front window, and her home faded to black. “No,” I said, changing my mind instantly. “I have a shit load of work tomorrow, and I need a clear head.”

“Are you going to look into the connection between Trinity and Benton?”

“I will.”

“Good. Call me tomorrow if you need anything.”

“Will do.” I disconnected the call.

I sat in the car for nearly an hour before something compelled me to go inside. I needed answers, and somehow I convinced myself seeing her would tell me what I wanted to know.

Not long after, I stood at the foot of her bed watching her sleep. She had left her closet door cracked open and a bar of light lit the lower half of her face. One of her legs had slipped out from beneath the white sheets. She wore a faded black t-shirt that barely covered her panties. Her mink colored hair fanned her pillow. Her face was scrubbed clean of makeup, and a small smattering of freckles dusted her nose.

For a fleeting second, I pictured sliding into bed next her and stripping off her clothes.

I imagined what she looked like naked.

I wondered how her hair smelled.

I speculated how she’d taste as I explored every inch of her long, toned body.

Then I shut down the fantasy as fast as possible. I was treading a slippery slope. I needed to snap out of it and stay focused on the end goal.

Slipping out of her room, I quietly searched the house, investigating all areas I failed to check the previous time and double-checking others. Empty-handed, I snuck out the front door nearly an hour later.





CHAPTER TEN




Trinity



Sweat snaked down my spine. My thighs burned, and my chest heaved as the soles of my gray and orange sneakers slapped against the red brick sidewalk at six-thirty in the morning. Growing up, I always dodged the cracks. It was a habit I picked up as a kid after my mom disappeared. As ridiculous as it sounded, taking the silly children’s game to heart and avoiding the cracks was the only thing I could do to keep my mom safe. I’d never been able to shake the compulsion. The brick sidewalks of Capitol Hill made it impossible to play the game.

Faint pink and red brushstrokes still painted the horizon, softening the hard edges of all the buildings. It was my favorite time of the day. Some people loved twilight. Some people loved the night. I loved the morning, especially those few hours where the city was still sleepy and the day was filled with infinite possibilities.

I mouthed the words to “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten as they blasted from my earbuds for at least the sixth time since I started running. It seemed more than a little trite, but I needed all the courage I could get to show up on Miles’s doorstep this morning. Even though Derrick begged me to stay away from Miles and distance myself from his problems, I refused. I needed to help Derrick. He helped me start a new life in D.C., and I wanted to help him now. Besides, I didn’t want the media to drag me through the mud because someone revealed my connection to the Bentons.