Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)(28)

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Tell me about Benton.”

I jerked my head to the side so I could see his face. “What do you want to know?” I asked, stalling for time.

“Everything. I need to understand your motives, and while I believe you’re done with Miles, I’m not sure what’s going on with Benton.”

I chewed my bottom lip. “Why does my relationship with him matter? You told me Lang and Miles were involved in a blackmail scheme. How does Benton fit in the picture?”

“I’m not revealing anything else until I understand the exact extent of your relationship with Benton.”

Defeat settled in my bones, and my shoulders sagged. “There’s not much to tell. I met him before I moved to D.C. He’s helped me out financially on occasion. That’s it.”

“Did you have an affair with him?”

I snorted. “No. Not even close.”

He turned to face me, his back pressing into the driver’s side door. “Then start explaining because I’m not interested in playing twenty questions tonight.”

“His dad knew my mom. Derrick found me in Texas and helped me relocate to D.C. We’ve kept in touch over the years, and he’s helped me out from time to time. That’s it.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “That doesn’t make sense. There has to be more than that.” I saw the moment the pieces of the puzzled clicked. His head jerked up, and his blue eyes were glacial. “Please tell me you’re not some long lost relation. Are you cousins?”

“He’s my half-brother,” I whispered, my voice nearly inaudible. My stomach churned with acid. I hated breaking my promise to Derrick, but I didn’t see any way around it. I needed Knox’s help.

He slammed his hand against the center console. Then he pressed the ignition button and shifted the gearshift into drive.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” I asked, tucking my hands under my thighs to stop myself from fidgeting.

Silence engulfed the car as he pulled away from the curb. “Does Miles know?” he asked without looking at me, cold anger wrapping around his words.

“I’ve never told him, but it’s possible.” I rubbed my face. “Derrick thinks he knows,” I added.

“He’s probably right,” he said gruffly.

“Are you mad?”

His hooded gaze slanted to me, then returned to the road. “No, but I’m revoking my offer. You can’t work with me. This arrangement is over.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and my mouth felt dry. I needed Knox’s help. I was running out of options. I didn’t want to disappoint Derrick after everything he had done for me. “Why not?”

“I can’t trust you.”

“You can,” I insisted, moving my head up and down, my heart pounding inside my chest erratically. “Give me a week to prove it.”

“Why the f*ck would I do that?” he snarled.

“You need my help with Miles,” I answered, my stomach clenching painfully.

His car came to a stop in front of my townhome. His head dipped, shrouding his face in the shadows. He looked…dangerous. Ruthless. I didn’t know this man.

Uncertainty ghosted down my spine, and I cleared my throat. His icy glare landed on me, and his features appeared more rugged than usual. His cheekbones looked like they were carved in marble, his eyes hooded, his lips sensuous and cruel at the same time.

“No, I really don’t. Benton is tangled up in this whole mess, and something tells me you already know that. You’re a liability. The best thing you can do is get the hell out of my car and forget you ever met me.” He didn’t hesitate. He leaned across me and cracked open the door. “Goodnight, Trinity,” he gritted out with a steely edge that said he wouldn’t change his mind.

I stared at him for a second, looking for a crack in his frosty veneer. His eyes narrowed, and he shook his head slightly, almost warning me not to argue with him.

I sighed in resignation. “Fine. If that’s what you want, I won’t fight you.” I grabbed my keys from my purse. With my head high, I vaulted out of the car and jogged up my front steps, never looking back once.

Screw Miles.

Screw Knox.

I didn’t need either of them.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN




Knox



“Fuck.” I curled my fingers around the steering wheel until my knuckles whitened. I wanted to hit something. I needed to calm down before I drove home or my car would end up wrapped around a tree.

I fell for her game.

I lost myself in her kiss.

I got sucked into her dark, soulful eyes.

She played me.

“Dammit,” I yelled, pounding my hand against the steering wheel.

I knew Trinity had secrets, but it never crossed my mind that she could be Benton’s secret half-sister. That not so little revelation screwed up my entire plan. I’d already given her too much information. I had no doubt she’d spend the next half hour spilling everything to Benton. She’d blow my cover. She’d compromise my investigation. And if I didn’t walk away from her for good, I knew my life would never be the same.

A little voice inside my head whispered that maybe I wanted things in my life to change. I’d spent my entire life avoiding commitment and believing Archer was the only person I could trust. It made me feel safe. If I avoided romantic entanglements, I could keep my life on track.