Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)(40)

He leaned his hip against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. “So what’s her real story?”

Stepping back, I shook my head slightly. “I’m not sure. I only know bits and pieces.”

His eyebrows jumped up his forehead. “Seriously, Knox, you hired her without running a full background investigation on her? I know she’s attractive, but you’ve never fallen victim to a pretty face before.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Of course I did a background check. It came back pretty clean, which is amazing considering the big ass skeleton in her closet.”

“You. Me. Langley. We all have skeletons in our closets. It’s not always a bad thing.” His voice was soft, gentle even. “Our history doesn’t define us.”

“I get that, Archer. I really do, but I can’t decide what side she’s on.”

He smirked. “That sounds familiar.”

I chuckled. “It does.” Archer hadn’t been sure he could trust Langley, and it blew up in his face. She forgave him, but she made him wallow in misery first. “Listen, I can’t share the details, but I’m investigating a blackmail scheme that involves coercing members of the House of Representatives to change their votes. One of the Representatives being blackmailed is her half-brother, and the secret they’re using to blackmail him with is her.”

Archer whistled as he ran his hand through his almost black hair. “That’s not good.”

I snorted. “I realize that.”

“There’s only one way to stop the whole mess in its tracks.”

“I know,” I said, wary.

Nodding, he shoved away from the wall, one of his hands lingering in the pocket of his pants. “They have to put together a joint press release spilling the details of her identity.”

“Jesus, Archer, I can’t ask her to do that. She doesn’t want the connection revealed and neither does he. It won’t happen.”

“Do you want my advice?”

“Not really,” I lied. I trusted Archer. He was one smart son of a bitch. He never steered me wrong.

“Too bad because I’m going to give it to you anyway.” He followed me down the hall, the soles of his shoes clipping over the tiled floor. “Ask her to do it. See how she responds.”

I yanked on the cuffs of my shirt. “And if she refuses?”

“Then you have your answer.”

I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. “What answer?”

“You want to know whose side she’s on? Where her loyalties lie? If she doesn’t ask him, she’s on his side, and you can’t trust her.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I agreed, my gut clenching uneasily. I didn’t want to let Trinity go, but I might not have a choice. Benton and I were on different sides. He betrayed the trust of his constituents by folding under the weight of a blackmail scheme instead of coming clean. I was hired to expose him and anyone else involved.

“Don’t look so distressed. She might surprise you.”

I tugged on the collar of my shirt. “We’ll see.”





CHAPTER





TWENTY-THREE


Trinity



“So what did you think of Langley and my brother?” Knox asked as he handed me a glass of wine.

I flopped down onto one of Knox’s tan sofas and tucked my legs underneath me. “I don’t think they hated me. That’s a good sign, right?”

“Yes. I think they liked you a lot.” Knox sat in the sofa directly across from me, bracing his elbows on his thighs, his eyebrows lifted. “I want to talk you about something.”

“Oh.” I twirled my wineglass by the stem, watching the golden liquid swirl in circles. “Is it bad?”

“Not bad.” He shook his head. “The opposite really. I had an idea on how to defuse this situation with Benton.”

I took a sip of the white wine, not even paying attention to the flavor as it rolled down my suddenly dry throat. “What’s your idea?” I said, turning my attention to the window. Clouds hovered near the darkening horizon, cloaking the skyline.

He scrutinized me with a gentle smile on his face. “If Benton acknowledges you as his half-sister publicly, this entire situation will go away. The blackmailer won’t have any power over Benton, and it will keep both you and Faith safe.”

“There has to be another way.” Even as I said it, I didn’t know if it were true. What he said made sense.

He rose and sauntered across the room. He braced one hand against the sliding glass door. “There might be, but it will take considerably more time than we have given the threat against your sister.”

“I’ll just leave. I’ll move across the country, change my name, and start over. If I disappeared, nobody could prove anything. It’d be unsubstantiated rumors.”

“That won’t help anything and you know it,” he said wearily.

My stomach plummeted, and I nodded even though he wasn’t looking at me. He was right. Even if I disappeared, I’d still exist and that was probably enough to blackmail Derrick. “I know.”

He turned to face me, the murky light shading the lower half of his face. “Nothing good will happen by keeping this secret.” He shrugged as he moved closer to me. “The story will play out in the tabloids and on a few websites, but it will fade quickly enough. Richard Benton died six months ago. Nobody will care and given the type of scandals floating around these days, having an illegitimate child is pretty tame in comparison.”